Yachting

Melissa Yeomans

It is the Sailing Season

Nath on GAC Pindar
Nath on GAC Pindar

I really am so lucky to be born in Sydney and into a Sailing Family. Last week the Extreme Sailing Series was in Australia taking place on our Beautiful Sydney Harbour. I spent three days on the headland cheering on my oldest friend Nathan Wilmot as he was steering GAC Pindar along with Tom Slingsby who we sponsor onboard Oman Air. I joke that Nath is my oldest friend as in he was born first and we have known each our whole lives. It is not that he is old hahahaha. Although the Saturday of the EXSS was his 35th Birthday which was mentioned regularly by the commentary team.

It was great to sit on the Hill with his Family and in particular his Mum (my mum’s best friend) who was back in Sydney to watch. Who would have thought growing up that we would find ourselves here. Two little kids who loved to sail and would play with little boats to test each other on rules while away on my grandfathers boats. Now Nath is a Gold Medallist and skipper of amazing boats and I am organising a Sailing Expo for our city! Sailing was always going to be a huge part of both our worlds growing up surrounded by sailors and Sydney Harbour. We have it good. Yes of course I have asked Nath to be involved in the Expo and like all those I have spoken to the answer is of course, if I am in Sydney I am there! Thanks guys it means a lot.

I do hope the Extreme Sailing Series comes back to Australia in the future. It was fantastic to watch especially with so many Aussies involved! We really are so strong as a nation when it comes to Sailing. To have such stadium racing in a location that allows for so many spectators is fantastic. We are lucky! Not to mention some pretty cool Sydney Icons in the back ground.

It has been such a busy time at work with the Sailing Season in full swing. Throw in the Sydney Sailboat Expo and all that needs to be done for that and I am certainly busy!

This morning I walked the CYCA dock to check out what was happening and have a look at a couple of the newer boats. Less then a week away from the start and once again I will be part of the Start Team for the second line. This year I expect to be BIG. The SOLAS Big Boat Challenge saw more spectators then ever before with so many Maxi’s Sailing. Boxing Day will no doubt be even bigger then ever and I don’t think the weather will scare away the spectators if it is overcast if the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge was anything to go by.

The big question is how many Helicopters will be above us this year?

Melissa Yeomans

Back in Sydney and back on the water already

10389418_392947390860425_92243335414990299_nAfter just one day back in the office I was on the water Umpiring! Having only been back in Sydney for two days and with lots of work to do this was a little crazy but an event I really wanted to do.  The Jet Lag certainly was a struggle unlike when I got to Europe.  I think it was the heat when I got home as it was so humid and hot making it hard to adjust!

For the next four days I was Umpiring at the MUSTO International Youth Match Racing Championships.  I have now done this event a couple of times and the level of racing this year was fantastic! It makes it very enjoyable to umpire when the racing is so good.  The Umpire and RC Teams were fantastic as is the case each MUSTO.  The weather this year behaved with the round robins completed in a nice time which was very kind of huey!

NZ did manage once again to take the Win with Harry Price and his crew coming Second.  Great racing by both teams, a special mention has to go to Caitlin Tames on Mainsheet for Harry.  She well and truly was the shorty of the team as seen in this photo and did a fantastic job on mainsheet.

As you can imagine with being so busy and trying to get all the DeckHardware and Sydney Sailboat Expo work done there is a pretty long to do list in my head at the moment.  Yep it is in my head as I have not even sat down to write it down yet!  There is so much to do after METS and so many new products to put up on the website etc!

10428475_392590107562820_2385613362224578398_nTomorrow I am finally back at the Gym to do some Pilates and make sure my health continues to move forward in the way that is has.  A few months ago I honestly did not know if I would be able to handle the last few weeks physically, however it looks like I finally found a way to get the Hyper Mobility back under control.  Now to keep the forward progress happening so that I can keep up with this workload I have taken on!

New Zealander George Brasell was crowned Champion of the 2014 Musto International Youth Match Racing Championship, after defeating local Harry Price in a four-match thriller this afternoon.

Melissa Yeomans

METS 2014 was fantastic!

Sitting here at the CYCA before the last day starts of the MUSTO International Youth Match Racing event I am trying to remember back to just over a week ago when I was in Europe for METSTrade. METS this year was EPIC! It had been a few years since I had attended and this year Visitors and Exhibitor numbers were cracking some magic numbers which is fantastic for the industry.

METS this year had extended trading hours which I thought I would not need till I found myself still there on the last day almost at close. For people who have not heard of METS it is the Marine Equipment Trade Show. This is an industry event and all about the product and technology in the marine industry. This is simply an incredible event for those in the industry. For those who aren’t I have also had the opportunity to attend a few of the best boat shows in the world. Annapolis, London, Auckland and Dusseldorf which I call the best in the world. I hear Paris is pretty amazing but it is just at the wrong time of the year for me to attempt attending. I often tell people if you ever get the chance check out the Dusseldorf Boat Show. AMAZING!

Back to METS. Before the start of the show I had pre booked meetings with all my suppliers. This was to try to ensure we caught up on as much as possible during the three days and that I did not miss out on seeing anyone.

Day one I managed to get to see a few of our suppliers and get around a couple of the halls.  I didn’t even make it to the hall with the Aussies in it on the first day!  Yes this is how big METS is.  I finished the day with a few drinks at the Allen stand with their team.  It was great to catch up with those I have met and meet a few more of the team at Allen.  They had a few new products on display including one that was nominated for a DAME Award and got a special mention.

On Day two I went to see Forespar and they were so busy we decided we would meet on Day three! To see one of our longest standing suppliers so busy with new customers was fantastic. Art and Bill are two of the loveliest people I have had the pleasure to work with. Both have been with Forespar for over 30 years.

We have also worked with Liros Rope from the beginning and Like Forespar Sven and Uwe have been fantastic to work with and have a long history with their companies.  I also had meetings with PROtect Tapes, Schaefer Marine, Blue Performance, Passage SAS and JDC.  If I were to go through all the new products I got to see and each day at METS it would take me hours hence the shorter version! I will be updating the DeckHardware website with new product details over the next few weeks.

METS has introduced a new Youth Club which is fantastic news! I remember the first time I attended METS as a young female, it certainly was a big step to take.  So to see there is now a group to support the younger generation is fantastic.  It was good to have a place to go and talk to people about the busy days.   The industry needs some youth with new ideas and it is great to see this being recognized. The industry is changing that is something we are all well aware of and METS is certainly adapting to suit the changing marketplace and way of marketing and connecting!  Thank you to the team at METS for the hard work and research you must be doing.  Thank you also for featuring me in the Tuesday Newsletter as a Young Professional.  METS was certainly EPIC this year more than ever.  I have been three times now and each year I seem to be more exhausted.  I don’t know if that is age or just showing how much DeckHardware is growing and how big an effect METS has on us.

This time around I didn’t stay near the RAI.  I wanted to enjoy a short walk each day in the centre of Amsterdam so that it would feel like a holiday even though the days were filled with work.  Enjoying the view on the walk to and from the train station was worth it, even with blisters from so much walking!  It certainly didn’t feel like home hahahaha which was entirely the point.  They say a little change is as good as a holiday right? I was lucky enough to get a deal on an amazing place called the Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam.  The Employees were fantastic and it was so nice to be able to have some good food aka fuel to get me through and keep me going.  I certainly would look at staying there again next time!

Thanks to all the DeckHardware Suppliers for the catch-ups.  It was great to see you and discuss what comes next for us all!  Amsterdam once again you were AMAZING and I promise to one day make time to be a tourist in your city instead of flying out the very next day.  Beautiful you were as I was leaving with the sun shining!

Don’t forget: Keep an eye on www.deckhardware.com.au for new products coming soon!

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Melissa Yeomans

The International Sailing Summit 2014 – My First One

DSC_0947As I was in Europe for METS and the International Sailing Summit was on the day before, it was the perfect opportunity for me to attend the summit which is something I have been wanting to do.  The program certainly was of interest to me especially as a young female in the Sailing Industry.  I was very impressed at what was put together, the topics and speakers.  Naturally everyone would have different highlights of the event.  It certainly was a little scary but not surprising when we were asked to put up our hands if under 34, I did not see many hands…  The gender divide is however something we are all well aware of and it was good to hear it being discussed as still this sadly can be an issue in the Industry.

This years speaker to welcome everyone was Iain Percy who had some interesting stories to tell especially on the way sailing is changing.  There is no doubt that the technology and training involved at his level of sailing is incredible.

For me the highlights were Molly Winans from Spinsheet who spoke on “Changing your game plan to welcome diverse customers” with a fantastic slide show to go with it showing the reason we need to rethink the images we use for marketing.  Richard Percy did a great job talking about the Bart’s Bash effect and their plans from here which were certainly great to hear.  Then there was Terry Greenwood from British Cycling who showed the changes British Cycling had made and the opportunities that came from doing so.  If I had to pick my top three that would be my choices. However there really were some other great topics on the day.

This year the event was live streamed which was fantastic to see for those who couldn’t make it to the event.  To check out some of the action from the day visit the YouTube account of sportsXstream.

DSC_0946

The evening finished off with a Gala Dinner.  As you can imagine it really is a nice dinner with everyone talking Sailing.  Which is what we all love to do!

For those who work in the industry I highly recommend looking at these videos and finding time to attend the International Sailing Summit in the future.  The sport does need our nurturing for us to have a sustainable industry, let alone if you happen to love our sport.

As someone who is working on an event to support the sport and industry with the Sydney Sailboat Expo, I know it would not happen with out the effort of those behind it and the sponsors.  Well done all involved! Check out the Facebook page for more info!

Melissa Yeomans

Winter turns on the blues and it is stunning

The winter blue of Sydney really is something special.  Clear air and blue sky with beautiful clouds showing off.   During the week I managed to escape the office for a few hours to go for a walk around Long Reef.  Well worth it for the view, fresh air and exercise!  So good!  It was fantastic to see so many other people with the idea.  Despite it being winter and meant to be a cold day, out of the breeze it was a perfect day causing many of us to feel way over dressed for the walk!  I might just have to try to find a little more time to escape for a few hours when the view looks like this.

 

Yesterday I was back out on the water.  This time watching the start of the Sydney To Gold Coast Yacht Race.  It was an extremely slow start for the fleet taking them well over an hour to get out of Sydney Harbour.   Here are a some of the photos I took from on the water and a couple from the Northern Beaches as the fleet made their way up the coast!

Images from the start

I really am very lucky to live in Sydney.  So many beautiful spots to visit and views to enjoy.
Melissa Yeomans

Out on the water again

On Sunday I competed in Manly Yacht Club’s Helly Hansen Women’s Challenge.   It’s been a few years since I have steered an Adams 10m and Ben Nossiter was extremely generous to allow me to borrow his boat. With some of my old Animus crew onboard it made it even better and a great deal of fun. I’m extremely lucky to be able to borrow Sirius and that Ben says yes before I ever can ask the whole question.  I am extremely grateful to be in such a position.

I didn’t know how I was going to feel having spent so much time off the water to focus on getting my hypermobility under control.   With the help of a great massage on Friday I can now say two days later I am feeling ok!  YAY!  This is a huge relief and makes all the effort, cost and time worth it.  I am so glad I have a physio who has been able to help manage how I move forward.  I just wish I could afford to visit more often for treatment to speed along the process!

There is still a long road ahead with this morning having more tests done but at least I can now hopefully get out on the water racing a little more than I have the last few years.  The first lap saw a fair few cobwebs and with two fairly new crew onboard we eventually found our rhythm and had the boat going nicely.  Sydney Harbour helped too as it was a stunning day to be out on the water racing.  We managed a third place in our division which was great considering new crew and sailing only 5-up.  To be honest we weren’t really focused on a result we just wanted to have an amazing time.   For me it was all about having the chance to go for a sail again in the hope that I could do so.

Massive thanks to Ben for the boat, Damo, Brad, Tais and Lucy for a great day on the water!  It is always a great event to do and so much fun thanks to Manly Yacht Club especially Ivana and the organising committee for talking me into entering after a few years away.

This weekend once again I will be around the water volunteering at an event.

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Melissa Yeomans

Sailing getting some recognition!

The Australia Day Long Weekend of 2014 has been a great one for sailing.  We have seen sailors rewarded with Australia Day Honours along with others who are behind the scenes of our sport.  Over the weekend we also saw Richard Hinds counting down the current 100 greatest Aussie sports stars which was featured on the Daily Telegraph.  Sailing as a sport is currently growing in interest and awareness.  Australian Sailors have always been up there as some of the best in the world but recently the achievements have been even great to see them getting noticed more.

The Olympians, Paralympians and America’s Cup Sailors bring our sport into the limelight.  It is not what everyone does when they go sailing on the weekend and many sailors often would like to see the focus shift away a little from the high profile events.  As someone who is in the Sailing Industry and involved in my local club I honestly am happy to see anything that will help increase the participation rate of sailing.  The more sailing is in the news the better chance we have of people deciding that it looks like fun and something worth trying out.  The more people aware of how much fun it is spending time on the water and at your local club the better!  Let’s face it, it is a lifestyle and makes us who we are. There are often boats looking for crew and many clubs have a variety of ways for people to get into the sport.

Seeing the sport of Sailing in the news and getting recognition can only be a good thing.

OAM ‘s on Australia Day were awarded to Our Medal Winning Sailors Tom Slingsby, Mathew Belcher, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen, Daniel Fitzgibbon.

Liesl Tesch was recognised for more than her sporting abilities, awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) for both her Paralympic success and her “promotion and facilitation of sport for people with disabilities”.  Liesl is the co-founder of Sport Matters, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes disabled sport in developing countries.  Make sure you check out all she does for Sport Matters.  How she finds time to do all the she does is remarkable and she deserves to be recognised for what she does for those with disabilities as well as inspiring others.

Peter Campbell was recognised for his journalism in Sailing with an OAM.  Just do a search for his name and many articles appear as he has been at the front of sailing journalism for a long time.  He has been recognised by Yachting Australia a number of times for his efforts.

David Tillett was awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia).  For significant service to the sport of sailing.  Here is a link to an article on just some of what he has done for our sport.  His Yachting Australia Profile just gives us the tiniest insight into the time and energy he has given to Sailing.

Robert Oatley received appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in this year’s Australia Day Honours.  Bob received the honour in recognition of his service to the wine industry, tourism and yacht racing.

Next up was the list compiled by Richard Hinds.  A Massive congratulations to Tom Slingsby, Mat Belcher and James Spithill for being recognised. To have a sailor at number 5 is just awesome and a fantastic highlight of where our sport is going. It is a shame that Nathan and Goobs missed out as their achievements have been fantastic and worthy.  As with any list like this there will always be a big discussion on how you would see it differently.  There is no doubt that I am more than a little biased when it comes to some of the sailors I have had the privilege to support and get to know.

Sailing in the spotlight.  We need to see this more to ensure our sport continues to grow as when it grows it just gets better for us all!  More competitors, better clubs, more crew, more skippers looking for crew, more chandleries, sail makers, boat builders and so much more.

Congratulations to those who have been recognised.  If I have missed anyone please let me know so I can add them!   Sailing going mainstream media, who would have thought!

Melissa Yeomans

It is all about one yacht race

Sailing is my sport.  Yesterday reminded me that I am truly very lucky to be so involved in such a great sport.   In my fathers role as MHYC PRO we each year head out on Boxing Day to volunteer our time on a Start boat for the biggest yacht race of the year.   The Sydney to Hobart is such an iconic event and yesterday it reminded us why.  We have done this for a number of years now with my Father in charge and a few friends supporting.   This year we got to see off the middle line with all the Clipper boats which are known for sailing around the world!

Onboard the start boat were a number of close friends, many of them regular volunteers known around the Harbour and beyond for donating their time to our sport.   They included well known race official / judge / umpire Jeremey Atkinson and Umpire / Judge Erica Kirby.  It is a little way that we see we can thank them for what they do for our sport.  Yes we are there to start a race and as normal that is fairly time consuming.  However the atmosphere of the Sydney to Hobart is such an enjoyable experience and one to share.   Onboard to help add to the atmosphere was good friend Liesl Tesch well known for winning a few Paralympic medals over the years as well as being the most enthusiastic person we know.  Liesl has done the race in the past and loved having the chance to see what else happens to make the race possible.

We couldn’t do it without a great team onboard and it is nice to know that everyone also enjoyed it.  With Erica bringing yummy cup cakes and Liesl purchasing some bubbles to drink afterwards.  The team all came back to our place for a BBQ and to watch the TV version of the coverage to see what we missed!   I am sure many people probably think we have it easy and a prime location but many of us didn’t get to see the start due to flag duties, penciling etc etc. Then there was the fact that many of us didn’t really have much of a chance to eat the sandwiches we had brought onboard either!  You have to love the Christmas Day leftovers!!!

This years race was always going to be epic.  With so many Maxi Boats entered I called it early that helicopters would reach double figures and they did!   Standing on top of the MHYC Start Boat with Liesl the two of us had massive grins and remembered why we are so proud to be sailors.  The Harbour was packed and looked fantastic with a spectator fleet out in full force thanks to the rain clearing early in the day.  The yachts looked fantastic as they lined up at our pin end boat to check in and show they were ready to race with their storm gear up!  The race was always going to be big this year despite next year being an anniversary year.   As I type this there are some AWESOME battles going on in the fleet both up the front for line honors and further back as well.  It is great to see such good close racing!

I didn’t get to take too many photos but some are on www.facebook.com/deckhardware   you can also listen to the Chix coverage of the event .

Aussie Sailors Rock, we are so lucky to have such a great country to sail in.  Boxing Day, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Sydney Harbour!

 

Melissa Yeomans

So busy time flys past me

It has been an insane few weeks!  Two of them were spent out of the office at Match Racing Events on the water of Sydney Harbour and Pittwater.    This was followed with coming back to the office as Phil headed down to Sail Melbourne!  Which coincided with the busiest month of the year starting and it was BIG!  Then we get to this week and Monday Night I had the opportunity as a sponsor to attend a special function for the Australian Sailing Team – the “Road to Rio” Begins.  Then Tuesday was the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge and I took the time to head down to the shore and take some photos and videos!  So where do I start…

I truly love this time of year.  Plenty of time on the water at different events as well as a business which is all about the sport of Sailing meaning we get extremely busy at this time of year!   The Match Racing saw some interesting conditions and I do not think I have ever been as wet as I was umpiring on Pittwater and it was not even raining!  The conditions and breeze saw waves breaking over the boat and the umpires!  It was however great fun with a great team.  The conditions at both events truly were all over the place making it really hard and some long exhausting days.   By the end of the 8 days I was looking forward to a bit of rest and that was never to come!

The good news is however that business has certainly hit the peak season.  With DeckHardware keeping us more than busy as we try to keep up with the demand!  A huge thanks to Cam McDonald who turned up just in time to help unpack the big Liros Shipment. Cam is well known in the 18′ skiff fleet in particular for his splicing. Thanks Cam! We all know he wanted first go at the new stock haha

The Road to Rio Launch was a fantastic event to be able to attend.  We have been involved with the team for a number of years now as well as some of the athletes and even some of the support team are friends so it was great to be included.  We were reminded that we are all a part of the journey and have our part to play.  To find out more about the Road to Rio Launch head over to the Australian Sailing Team’s Website.

Australian Sailing Team Embarks On Road To Rio

The SOLAS Big Boat Challenge was the very next day.  For the seventh consecutive year, the CYCA has decided to dedicate the event to raise awareness and funds for its SOLAS Trusts, which were established following the stormy 1998 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race when six lives were lost.  This is something that is extremely important for many of us.

Link to my photos

 

Up next is the Sail Middle Harbour Regatta which is going for the next three days out of two of my favourite clubs MHYC and MH16’SC. For those who remember my yacht Animus, I had both clubs written on the stern as my crew was often filled with skiffies.

To finish off I have a ThrowBackThursday moment from 2008, I stumbled across this great photo! One American Sailing Anarchist who wanted to see what it was like to sail with a chick crew hahaha.  Yes he flew to Aus!  What a great day! Most of the time I did not seek out an all female crew it just sometimes happened when none of the guys could make it.  Other times as the skipper I would be the only chick onboard.   #TBT

The Animus Crew
The Animus Crew
Melissa Yeomans

Sailing again!

Well today I couldn’t be happier! This week my physio remeasured my core and we saw a great improvement! It has taken a long time and been a long road as I could not afford to go to the physio as much as I would like or been able to do as much reformer Pilates with her as we would like. My main source of improvement has been thanks to Pilates at Virgin Active. Michelle is a great instructor who really mixes up the types of equipment she uses in class which is great fun and often a big challenge. The reason for choosing Virgin Active to try and get better was all the facilities they have available such as the pool, spa, sauna and plunge pool as well as their class time table.

I’m not just happy today because all the hard work and time has seen an improvement. I went SAILING yesterday!!! I wanted to test how I was going on a slightly more relaxed race like a Wednesday Race instead of on the weekend! I went out on Sirius an Adams 10m with Ben Nossiter who has always been a huge mentor of mine. I also had one of my old crew Jen onboard along with of course knowing a couple of Ben’s crew. I wouldn’t have wanted to be on any other boat for my first sail back! It was a typical gusty westerly which is always interesting as the breeze plays games on you. When we realised we had more than a full crew we decided to unhank the #2 headsail and go for the old cutdown #1 as we figured there were enough of us onboard. So much for taking it easy!

I love sailing on an Adams 10 in big breeze and found myself in trim with one of Ben’s longest serving crew who has known me a long time.  Needless to say because we knew each other well there was plenty of heckling and a great time had by all onboard.   We were fastest 10m around the course which is always nice too but Ben has an incredible record of wins at MHYC in the Adams 10 class.  If you are wondering what an Adams 10m is check out the website.

Unfortunatly I won’t get to go sailing again in the near future as I am spending the next two weeks umpiring at a number of Match Racing Events in NSW followed by a Teams Racing Regatta in QLD.  It will be a hectic few weeks with just the one day off to be here in the office to get some work done at DeckHardware.  I am extremely lucky my work is in the Sailing Industry and allows me the time out to do such events.  Bring on the huge weeks ahead!  Yes my Physio knows I have a lot happening and expects to see me at the end of it all hopefully for Pilates and not in pain.  Lets hope!