Our Sailing News

Has anyone seen the SailMaster application for the 3G iPhone? 

A yachtie mate Harry Brigden developed this which transforms the phone into a Complete Tactical Racing System, and is available from Apple iTunes store for only $15.

 

He developed the application for his Blaser 23 yacht that he sails on Sydney Harbour which had no instrumentation, but he quickly realised that it was an application that all dinghies and sports boats could use.

 

It gives you all of the features and more of many of the current devices.

 

SPEED - in either knots or km/h

DIRECTION – expressed as a compass heading

COURSE PLOTTING – using Google Map, courses are plotted by setting waypoints and can be saved for future reference

COURSE HISTORY – displays actual course sailed

VARIANCE – indicated in degrees as either a lift (+) or header (-). Key indicator of optimal time to tack

ANGLE OF HEEL – displayed in both numeric and bar chart formats

STARTER LINE COUNTDOWN – configurable for a 15, 10, 5 or 3 minute countdown. A warning horn is given on each minute, with dual horns on last minute and beeps every second for last 20 seconds

TIDES – displays direction with the time and height of the next full tide

 

Harry is open to feedback about how it can be improved, so feel free to have a look at the website (http://sailmaster.structure6.com)

 

 

HARRY BRIGDEN

Managing Director
nOcommission.com.au

T      1300 NOCOMM 

F      1800 NOCOMM

M     +61 416 010 863

www.nocommission.com.au

 

                                               
is weather Ok 

Usually Easter and April it rains a lot- that is good, it fills the dams and the grass grows. May through to August is our winter, short , but we own the harbour with few power boats. In a few weeks the winds start from the west, the skies are crisp, clear and blue with usually not a cloud in sight.  In August it is cold around 4 to 4.30, but we are usually back in the Sydney Hobart Bar for debriefing and having our 2nd Rum and Coke ha ha.  If it is Sunday, you may need to wait a while as 150 crews are back from racing and are in debriefing mode already. Call PSS and find out how you can join one of our bigboats and join in the Fun. Don't forget to bring your sailing and dancing shoes and maybe take Monday off work.  The pic is ladies day last season in Fun mode.

Our new Web
It is much the same but updates are now easy. Thank you to my fantastic web guys Brad, Jeremy and James at Position me on Line.  I highly recommend these guys and if you do contact them let them know we sent you.

The updates
better crew service and boatowners now must register and be approved before access is granted

New Blog on front page
weekly blogs - I want this to be like our slogan 'We teach sailing, safety and Fun' .

Submissions welcome
I want them to be informative, we would love 100 words or so from you to add to our blog. Your experence in sailing, any safety questions or experiences and we need Fun Stories - did you meet someone at PSS and fall in love, did you have an amazing day sailing....

your feedback is very welcome

signed
Terry Wise - chief tender driver

Pacific Sailing School had 60 people attend the set sail theory evening last night at the cruising yacht club of Australia.

While the office team entertained the students in the social part of the evening Terry Wise was crossing Bass Strait on Calypso. (calypsofishingcharters.com.au)

Terry has a team of 7 on board to support Allison Shreeve, 4 time world wind surfing champion and ambassador for coast care to be the first women ever to sail across Bass Strait. Click on www.bassstraitchallenge.net and help us support coast care and Allison with a small donation.

Sydney Harbour is in fine form. Everywhere we look there are white caps, the flags on Harbour Bridge are streaming wildly and our J24 - Jagged Edge - is having a ball riding the choppy waves. Not bad for the last session on Sunday. Christina, Natasha, Maria and Ellie agree, although, it must be said, they were a little anxious at first. That's understandable since it's their first time on a sailing yacht.
With 25 knot winds forecast we decide to take it easy to ensure that their sailing debut is safe and enjoyable. Before we leave, they do hank the headsail, but for the better part of the lesson it is left untouched on the foredeck. Once out of Rushcutter's Bay we only hoist the mainsail, which gives us ample speed to manouevre comfortably around the harbour. We shoot up to Taronga Zoo, which is in the lee of the land, so the sisters can all have a few turns at tacking. They must have sailed in a previous life, because they all make it look too easy.
Their confidence increases gradually and the oldest sister, Maria, who initially was terrified of falling overboard, relaxes and starts to dream about chartering a yacht in the Greek Island, where her roots are. "The four devils sailing the Greek Islands. Now that would be something", she says with a big grin. Greeks be warned, these four sisters mean business.     

 

Wild seas, sea containers and sharks. These are just some of the obstacles Allison Shreeve (27), four times windsurf world champion and speed record holder (70 km per hour), will face during her attempt to cross Bass Strait in record time at the end of this month.

In 1998 Nick Maloney completed the 240 km journey from Stanley, Tasmania, to Inverloch, Victoria, in 21 hours. Allison thinks she'll be able to smash his record and cross one of the most treacherous stretches of ocean in seven hours.

Allison will windsurf across Bass Strait as an ambassador for Coastcares Life on the Edge Campaign to raise funds for coastal care. She also hopes to increase her exposure in an attempt to try and find a sponsor for the 2012 Olympics.

The world champion has prepared herself rigorously: running hundreds of miles, sailing extensively on Botany Bay and spending long days in the classroom participating in courses required by captains and crew for offshore sailing.

Pacific Sailing School armed Allison with a Yachting Australia Offshore Crew Course, a Marine Radio Course and a Safety and Sea Survival Course in Mackay. Principal Terry Wise of Pacific Sailing School will also be on the support boat which will follow Allison during her Bass Strait Challenge.
 
During her race Allison will keep a GPS-transmitter on her vest which will allow people to log onto her website to check her progress in real time. For live footage of the Bass Strait Challenge go to www.aus911.com and www.bassstraitchallenge.net.

Terry will take the support boat accross Bass Strait this monday and we hope to start the challenge this wednesday 25th March 2009.....ye ha