Issue date
Hello everyone and Compliments for the coming festive season,
At one stage, we tried to get a newsletter out in September, but October arrived, so we got the “Septober” newsletter out to you. Suddenly, we are rushing down the track to Christmas day and all that entails before most of us then head out for two or three weeks, sometimes more of sunshine, sailing and sleeping (I hope!).
I rediscovered one thing at the end of November. Hauling out to do the bottom, waxing of the top sides and little jobs, is so much more pleasant than freezing cold temperatures and very unpleasant conditions in June July and August. It also ensures that we have a relatively clean bottom for the summer holidays.
Our participation in the Patio Bay race with the Cruising Yacht Association turned out to be such a great event and so well received by those 11 boats that came along that we are scheduling this event again for next year. This turned to be the biggest fleet turn out yet. Our report follows later.
The AC72’s are advancing in their experience on the Auckland Harbour after the strange time frame allowance given each participant. Has that rule come back to bite Oracle? Artemis looks shaky with major crew changes and doesn’t yet appear to have foiled. Prada must be pleased to have chosen to tie in with Team New Zealand for their first boat. I regret not having been able to get out to see TNZ on the Gulf and to really see how fast they are going. Oh well! Our son Bruce was out in his Rib last week and was coming home at 30 knots. Team Emirates foiled past him making him feel as though he was going backwards. He was in shock as to how fast Team NZ were going. 40+?
Check out also the Vendee Globe for some tough sailing. At last count, only 13 out of 20 were left.
The Townson Owners and Townson 32 Booklet and register.
Our 2013 Townson booklet will be posted to you, (our financial members) shortly. There are some recalcitrant non paying Townson 32 members who have the note Nf to their name. This means Non financial. You will know who they are. They will no longer get newsletters or assistance from the Association or be sent the booklet. There have been some non paying Townson Owners also. They have been removed from this year’s register. Tough? Maybe.
Inside, there have been considerable changes to the content at the back. Check it out and be aware of the content and offerings to you. Note the new VHF layout. Ever wondered which channel to listen into when the Maritime weather report comes out? Check the Maritime area that you are in from the list of channels. That is your channel for the night. If you are cruising in distant areas, check the AM/FM channels for whichever station you wish to listen to. I think that it is right. Let me know.
New members. Welcome to John and Sarah Peacock, Responder a T33 Dreamtime design which they keep up at Westpark. Theirs is a 3 windowed varnished coaming Townson, the varnish being looked after as a labour of love.
For sale. Dave Stephens has Bliss, a Townson 25, for sale as he wishes to become a gypsy and go campervanning for awhile.
John Cronhelm has decided to put Sunset up for sale.
Colin Hunt has gone and bought a Farr 1020, so Pott Black is being flossied up for sale also. Colin has offered to keep in contact with the Townsons and will continue as T32 measurer.
All 3 Townsons are in top condition for sailing away this Summer season.
Still for sale are Spoiler, Khadine, Evening Star and in Picton, Stardrift.
We still have a family looking to buy a wooden Townson 34.
Patio Bay Cruise, Saturday December1.
Townson designs made up 1/3 of the Classic fleet for this year’s Patio Bay Race. We had 11 Townsons in a Mark Foy (split) start spread out over 27 minutes from 9.55am. The start line was nice and wide extending from the Orakei Wharf yellow buoy across to the yellow buoy off Torpedo Wharf at Devonport. The weather was mild, sunny and very blue. The winds were very delightful at 10 to 15 knots from the South west giving us a run with an outgoing tide all the way to Browns Island. From there, we sharpened up for a beam reach nearly all the way to Passage Rocks with the occasional squirt up to 20 knots to get us really boogying along at times. We had the expected privilege of having those glorious looking old timers reach past us for great photographic opportunities. Their spread of main sail on the gaff spars was impressively huge, especially Waitangi, Wairiki, Rawhiti and Thelma.
Those sheerlines and overhangs just fitted the wave formations beautifully. For the run into Patio Bay off Muddy (Oamaru) Bay, most poled their headsails to windward for a smooth run to the finish.
We were privileged to see these sights on the day. Photos of Jesse Logan and Waitangi above and Wairiki, Rawhiti and Thelma as they passed us on their way after the Mark Foy start.
The Townsons entered were Triumph, a Pied Piper; Bliss, Dave Stephens & Ingrid, Townson 25; Quickstep, Craig Stanton, Townson 29; 4 T32’s, Delicado, Derek & Joanne Brebner, Melanion, Peter & Judith Hall, Manutaki, Rob & Pam Lorden; Sunlight, Peggy & Tony Kendall; 3 Townson 34’s, Talent, John Macfarlane, Barbara and crew, Amaryllis, Terry & Margaret Cammell, Delante, Brian Crawford and Sara Poore; Hotspur, a Townson 36, Simon Smith and his “mans” crew.
It was interesting to have 3 Townson 32’s finish within 2 minutes of each other after 3 hours sailing. Delicado sneaked over the line carrying her #1 genoa, but towing her dinghy. Melanion came next carrying her #1 and dinghy on the deck. Sunlight carried her #2 on a furler and towed her dinghy finishing 1 minute further back. Pleasant fun sailing in company. The 32’s started 8 minutes behind the 34’s and finished among them. Hotspur, the 36, started with the 32’s and beat them to the finish by 6 minutes. All very close in the end.
Hotspur, Delicado and Melanion heading towards Bean Rock after the start. Most of the Townsons (excluding the “Men Only” crew of Hotspur) were sailing with just two crew giving a relaxed atmosphere to the fleet. Like to join in next year with no spinnakers?
The event has been described by the participants as marvelous, fantastic, really great and all want to do it again next year. What say you make the effort and take advantage of such a nice event too. We also hope to make it a picnic on the beach after the event so that we can all meet. This could be THE Townson event of the season! The Cruising Yacht Association would also love to have us again.
Results: Class H’cap Mark Foy Start Finish Time Elapsed time
Thelma A10 A 845 10.32.29 12.59.45 2.27.16
Waitangi A6 A 760 10.12.38 12.53.00 2.40.22
Wairiki C5 C 708 09.58.08 12.57.30 2.59.22
Hotspur 2912 T36 800 10.22.30 13.21.53 2.59.23
Delicado 2005 T32 800 10.22.30 13.25.24 3.02.54
Melanion 1924 T32 800 10.22.30 13.26.15 3.03.45
Sunlight 1925 T32 800 10.22.30 13.27.32 3.05.02
Talent 3116 T34 767 10.14.26 13.21.26 3.06.54
Quickstep 8851 T29 781 10.13.55 13.25.05 3.11.10
Bliss 2498 T25 700 09.55.43 13.08.09 3.12.26
Delante 4162 T34 767 10.14.26 13.27.35 3.13.09
Triumph Piedy 775 10.16.27 13.30.38 3.14.11
Manutaki 2614 T32 800 10.22.30 13.38.15 3.15.45
Amaryllis 2947 T34 767 10.14.26 13.30.28 3.16.02
The handicapper based his history of Townson windward work,, not the waterline length slide that eventuated. Such are the joys of handicapping. (We weren’t racing!!!! Were we?)
What’s next? Book in the Mahurangi Regatta on the Saturday of Auckland Anniversary weekend.
And then? Our Altex & Burnsco Townson Regatta and Townson 32 Championships on 13 &14 April. See next page.
The Altex Marine Paints and Burnsco Leisure Townson Regatta and Townson 32 Championships
Date 13, 14 April 2013.
This is giving you advance notice to book this event in your calendar. For the Townson 32’s, a 2 day 6 race series of windward/leeward courses planned for under 1 hour each. For Townsons, a 1 day regatta with 2 windward/leeward and 1 harbour course to stretch your legs. It is the 31st year that Ron Brown from Altex (initially Awlcraft) Boat Paints and the 33rd year that Hauraki Marine (Burnsco) have been associated with the Townsons and their support for our Regattas. We are privileged to have had this long term association with both companies, almost legendary and historic!
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron new membership detail. The Townson Owners Assn members have been offered a special membership rate for the Squadron as a “crew” member for $285.26 per year with an extra reduced rate for the remainder of this financial year. Contact Amber at the Squadron if you are interested in taking advantage of this special rate.
A Toilet Shock! We have tolerated a leaking 3 way valve from our toilet to the holding tank for too long, in spite of replacing the insert valve a while ago. Enough was enough, so I braved undoing those non smelly rigid plastic hoses to remove the whole system to get a new valve. The plastic hoses were like steel. I managed to remove the hoses from the elbows and was shocked to find that the internal hoses had a wall build up of about 5mm of thick hard brown scale!!! Yuck! We had always thought that flushing fresh water through the toilet at the end of each sail would have kept the hoses clear. No! Apparently not. What to do?? We tried white vinegar to soften the scale – didn’t even look at it. We tried dissolved Surf with the scale – Maybe. It turned a cloudy brown but no change. We tried baking soda (Grandma’s cure for everything), some scale reduction and cloudy brown liquid but not enough! Result? New hose as well as the new valve and a wrestle with the hoses to get it all back together again. After a week in the workshop, the scale dried out, one bang on the pipe and all the scale dropped out leaving the insides clean. An alternative process? Maybe I could have saved $40.00. Ours were 11 years old. How are your pipes? Dare you look? The photo shows the build up on the insides of the elbow and pipe.
Coastal Classic : Wandering Star, Pott Black, Takahoa
All three Townson 32’s had decided to sail in this year’s Coastal Classic. In the end, Rob Ellis, Takahoa and Colin Hunt Pott Black decided that it would be more civilized to watch the start from North Head. Gareth Wells, Wandering Star braved the start and rounded North Head after the worst of the squall had passed and looking very tiny amongst all the larger boats around her and headed North out into the wild blue yonder for an exciting passage to Russell. Wandering Star’s elapsed time was 18 hours, 20 minutes finishing just 2 seconds behind Mix T Emotions.
In 2011, Colin Hunt, Pott Black, had an amazing run also to finish that year in 18 hours, 17 minutes. Are these record T32 times?
Both years were sailed in perfect winds for a fast time, just 3 minutes difference over 18 hours between the two years.
Argentine ants ex Professional Skipper Do you endure all those repetitive notices from Coast Guard, DOC etc while trying to get real information from the Nowcast? Do you get those reports about our “treasure islands”? I wonder if Government should be made aware of our “treasures’ so that they don’t destroy them in some weird aquaculture venture. You are told to make sure that you don’t let rats and mice loose on our “treasures”. Then they mention Argentine ants and rainbow skinks. Have you ever seen one of these, know what they might look like and how could they get on your boat?
Finally, the Professional Skipper magazine has shed light on these pests.
The Argentine ant is one of the world’s smallest but most invasive insect species and arrived in NZ in 1990 and set up home here. Damn! They are small, 2 – 3mm long, are a pale honey brown colour, not black, like house ants. They travel in defined continuous trails, up to 5 or 6 ants wide and tend to walk or swarm over objects rather than go around them. They are often found on citrus trees and like sweet things such as flower nectar and any food with sugar. They also need protein like meat, fish and eggs for nest growth and can take over native plant root systems. Worse, they threaten native birds, skinks and insects, either attacking them directly or competing for food.
Argentine ants are now found on the Auckland mainland including marinas at Westhaven and Gulf Harbour. They also are now on Kawau, Waiheke and Great Barrier islands. Ant free islands are Rakino, Broken Islands and Little Barrier with work currently being done on Great Barrier Island
If you see a trail of ants on your boat, you have a problem and maybe even a nest. Act quickly! They are extremely difficult to control as the only effective method is XtinguishTM Argentine ant bait. Contact Auckland Council Biosecurity or DOC on 0800DOC HOT and keep specimens in a well sealed container for identification.
While on Nowcast, do you like the positive comment “when” you get into trouble, not “if”. Do you leave a wharf? We have been waiting over 40 years to get into trouble with the weather. Is it inevitable, ultimately?
What about Rainbow Skinks? I went on to “treaureislands.co.nz” to find out about Rainbow Skinks while on the job. They are a nasty Australian thing that arrived in the 1960’s and have been destroying our larger native skink population through prolific population growth and taking our native skinks’ food supplies and sources. Our native skink only begins breeding after 5 years of age and only once a year. I think that you have to be VERY good at indentifying one from the other on the basis that skinks seem to move very fast whenever we come across one on tracks or wherever. Rainbow Skinks are about 3 to 4cm long from nose to hind legs, (shorter than our native species) and look similar to our native skink. The Rainbow skink is brown or grey brown with a dark brown stripe along each side of their bodies and an iridescent rainbow like or metallic sheen in bright light. The metallic sheen has lights of red and blue interspersed along its back.
Top Side Touch Ups.
Last April, I used the marina watering hose to clean away some mud left on our top sides at the gunwhale from our very efficient spade type anchor.
To my amazement and concern, some nice white glossy paint flaked off in the blast!!! What’s this? I came back to the area and tried again. More paint flaked off. Now we are up to 150mm square of yellow paint underneath the glossy Altex Snow White top coat. I decided to stop blasting as I had no idea how far this unexpected exercise was going to go. Take it all off? Then I remembered the Paint your Boat articles in Boating New Zealand from December 2010 written by Kent Gray with help from Ron Brown of Altex Boat Paint. The yellow undercoat surface was as smooth as glass or even smoother and harder. This, after 18 years and into our 2nd repaint coat. How far does this go? I used Ron’s suggestion of doing a cross hatch using a Stanley knife and proceeded to carefully make small noughts and crosses incisions in my glossy shiny white top coat to see how far the paint would come off and proceeded carefully about 50mm around the yellow patch. Then I applied masking tape to the crosses and gently removed the tape. To my relief, most of the area stuck, leaving the faintest scores in the surface. I carefully sanded down the exposed yellow undercoat surface and roughened it with 120 grit paper. Then I feathered out the edges until I could feel no transition from either surface with my finger tips. It is now about 400mm square. I then applied Altex white Undercoat Surfacer over the space as I didn’t need the grey Primer Undercoat. To get the surface dead smooth, I used a 300cm long cement trowel with an excellent smooth edge and layered the paint over the hollow until the surface was dead flush. Trowelling paint? You bet! It only fills hollows as the trowel edge runs across the high spots and only fills the low ones. This paint also dries remarkably quickly, so it was a continuous back and forth, top up, and back and forth again. It took only minutes to get the hollow flush. Next day, I used 220 grit paper on the dried surface, cleaned it off, masked around the dull spots and used a white paint from a spray can to just bring up the gloss. Thinning gloss finish enamels and brushing on the paint is too difficult for me on such flush smooth vertical surfaces. The repair is like new and I hope that that glass surface under the finish coat doesn’t appear anywhere else. At least I know what to do next time. If you get this run away flaking, look closely at following this process and don’t be frightened at trowelling on Altex Undercoat Surfacer. It has worked so many times for me now in all sorts of circumstances. If you get dings or chips in your topsides and want to do a small patch up, try this procedure. More hints next time!
Whangaroa Harbour Fish Farm Application. I have run out of space to tell you about this. We are objecting through Yachting New Zealand as we cant afford the hearing costs.
Enjoy your summer, keep healthy and well and may everything aboard your Townson work well, no break downs and watch that sun.
May we have many calm pretty sunsets like this one and will we ever get to see Name Bay, Te Kouma looking like this again?
All the very best and thanks for your support and encouragement to keep the Townson Associations going!
Tony and Peggy Kendall
Sunlight.
