Harbour Performance

Expert Tips

Sydney Harbour is one of the best waterways to sail in Australia, but it can be very challenging. Rob Brown, Australian Olympic Team Coach and 18 footer world champion has been sailing this pocket of water for over 35 years and shares some hot tips on how to race Sydney harbour effectively.

Racing on Sydney Harbour is heavily influenced by the topography of the surrounding shoreline and the harbour floor. Other factors such as the current speed and direction and the number of pleasure craft, racing boats and commercial vessels all influence the decisions we make while racing.

Preparation
The first and key element is in your boat preparation. Your yachts machinery must be in perfect racing order. Check your deck-ware, including blocks, cleats, winches, hydraulics and tracks etc. Make sure your electronics including instruments, radios, navigation and so on are in good order. Pay special attention to the hull. Optimal performance through the water will be the result of a fair and smooth hull, bottom and foils. Check the entire rig and boom well before race day, replace fittings that look fatigued. Pay particular attention to the pole, track and car, gooseneck and boom including reefing system. Also, the , outhaul, Cunningham, halyards, topper, kicker sheaves, ropes and snap shackles. Your sails are your engines so you must ensure you have the correct, working inventory for the regatta. Next is your crew preparation. With your boat properly prepared you can clearly focus on how you and your crew will race the regatta. Collectively as a crew, agree on an achievable goal that gives everyone onboard the catalyst to ‘put in’. Without a goal a team just meanders along. Your goal may be a top five finish, so when you are racing in eight place, it is not out of the question to concentrate on passing a few boats to achieve the goal. It’s important to understand that the only way to achieve goals is to set objectives.

Each day, hold a crew briefing and go through with your crew your regatta and race strategy, the weather and the goal for the day. Realistically, your strategy may not be win every race but it may achieve a top five result in each race without having to try and avoid risky tactics. Play the percentage game and adopt a low risk strategy. Organise to have relevant resource material at hand such as the weather forecast, tide information, sailing instructions laminated, sail selection and target speed charts on deck as ready reckoners. This may all seem a little regimented, but you will find everyone in your team will respond to this and you will find that you all will enjoy theyour regatta because you are well organised! The results will follow.

Reading conditions
Next, look for the on-water elements that will deliver optimum performance. A strong local knowledge of the prevailing winds and the effect of the topography of the land will help move your team towards your goal.

A topographic image of Sydney Harbour and its foreshores shows the many hills and valleys that surround the harbour. The wind direction is altered as it flows across the land and sweeps over the high points and funnels down the valleys into the bays and across the harbour. Wind tends to flow out of the bays, so you can estimate wind shifts as you navigate the harbour by the topography. Obviously as you approach headlands, the breeze tends to go over or mostly around the high point. This causes a wind shadow directly under the headland. Bradley’s Head, for example, in northerly winds provides us with a challenge, because the wind shadow moves with influence from the wind flowing around the point and the wind that is flowing over the top and to the west of the headland. There is always a battle between these two breezes. The stronger one pushes the lull away from itself. So when approaching Bradley’s Head keep a good look out for the progression of the lull and also for the accelerated air that blasts around the lighthouse.

In Southerlies, the breeze tends to come out of the bays at right angles to the bay, so you can work out which side of the harbour will be favoured by concentrating on this fact.

Westerlies are always difficult winds to sail in as the air is less dense than a sea breeze and it is traveling across a large land mass. Also the city-scape of the CBD and North Sydney disturb the ‘already disturbed air’.

Obviously, islands or headlands affect the breeze direction and strength. Sailing on Sydney Harbour is sometimes very congested with numerous other fleets racing and regular navigation by commercial shipping and pleasure craft. These all have an effect on the breeze and your strategy and should be taken into consideration when applying your tactics.

When the wind is flowing over water and then is confronted by an island mass, the breeze will tend to change direction to the right and strengthen on that side of the land mass. The breeze actually lightens on the left hand side of the island. If we were sailing upwind toward the island, we would assume that the breeze would be stronger on the left hand side as we were looking at it and also there would probably be a right hand shift off the lee side of the island as we approached. This would be likened to sailing toward Rose Bay in Sydney Harbour in a southerly wind direction. As we approached Shark Island, we would expect that the breeze would be stronger on the left as we approached and we would get a right hand shift off the island.

Current
Current is another element that should not be forgotten as it can have a major influence on your performance. Less wind means the more importance should be paid to current.

You should make a value judgment on how much influence the tide will have on your tactical decisions and overall goals.. Look at the tide chart and work out what the tide will be doing throughout your race. Also, how much difference between high and low will give you a good feel for how much the tide will be flowing. The greater the difference in these tide heights, the faster the tide will be flowing.
If the wind is strong, then the tide has less influence on the boats performance, but if it is light then obviously the tide becomes a major factor.

Tidal gradient is a valuable consideration when applying tactics. The longer you spend in the deeper water (faster flow) the greater the influence on the boat. So if you are sailing against current, the quicker you get out of it, by heading into shallower water (a shoreline for example) the better. And vice versa, if you are sailing with favourable current. Obviously, sailing on a course with up wind and downwind legs, your current strategy changes when starting a new leg of the course.

The current flow in Sydney harbour is affected by the underwater topography of sandstone channels. A ridge runs down the middle of Sydney Harbour. As the tide comes in through Sydney Heads, the main flow is down the western shore, but a percentage of it also flows into Middle Harbour and North Harbour. Acceleration of the current occurs due to the underwater topography just inside South Head and also off Georges Head at 1.0 knot. There are channels either side of the harbour which separate the water flow in both Flood and ebb tides.

As the water continues down the harbour proper, it splits once again to flow into Rose Bay but with a little less in speed than the main flow; not much ends up flowing around Shark Island.

On the other side, Bradley’s Head experiences an acceleration due to the underwater topography and flows quite fast mid channel and not as fast around the outside of the curve. Back eddies are experienced around Watson's Bay, South Head, Obelisk Bay, Taylor Bay, Bradley's Head and the Opera House.

Tidal relief is experienced sailing to windward in a North Easterly by sailing into the bays on the western shore. If the breeze has east in it, then sailing up the eastern shore is the go but a little more tricky.
Try not to cross the tide more than you have to. Wind lanes occur on Sydney harbour due to the friction of the wind across and along the foreshores.

In northerly winds there are two lanes of wind, one on each side of the harbour with a transitional zone in the middle. Depending on the wind direction and strength of each of these wind lanes at any one time will determine which one is dominant.

AS A GENERAL RULE: If the true wind direction is left of 045 degrees, usually the western foreshore is favoured, especially in flood tides.

Right of 045 degrees TWD, the eastern foreshore is generally favoured, especially in ebb tides.
In southerlies and easterlies, the wind is more bay influenced and tends to flow out of the bays. Sailing up into Rose Bay from Chowder or Taylor Bay, Shark Island is the dominant factor affecting the wind strength and direction. Wind lanes flow down the Neilson park shore and there is an acceleration of the wind causing a wind lane down the eastern side of the island. Once again, each side can be dominant causing large pressure differences and quite different directions. Crossing from one lane to another is normally disastrous because you are generally down in pressure and sailing a header.

Westerliey's are more gust-orientated breezes but once again the shoreline affects the direction. In ebb tides, you have to pick a shore. Generally the southern, Garden island shore pays off. If there is any north in the westerly then the Taronga park zoo shore starts to pay. In Flood tides you can be a bit more free range in your tactics and you tend to sail toward the pressure, not hard toward a shoreline.

Timing
With the knowledge of course area and probable conditions firmly sorted, always allow enough time to get to the course area and carry out your course and start line analysis.

Finally, your ability to navigate amongst the shipping and other general traffic on Sydney Harbour can make or break your final result.

Often under-managed by a lot of Sydney Harbour sailors, it is is absolutely necessary to delegate this responsibility to one of your crew to keep a good look out for traffic including other fleets, cruising boats and most importantly Sydney Ferries and commercial shipping.

Always call the approach of the ferries and shipping from both directions and try and work them to your advantage. The worst thing that can happen is being caught between the shore and a ferry and not allowed to cross over when you want to.

Anticipate the onset of commercial vessels as you have to give way. A Red Diamond above the wheel house signifies they have right of way; or any large ship also has right of way. Sydney Harbour Ferries, including the Jet Cat fall into this category. If you are crossing the path of a ferry for example, you must be able to do so by clearing it by 200 metres. If you are either passing the ferry in the same or opposite direction, your course must not go within 30 metres of the ferry.

If you pass too close to one of these vessels, you can be reported and fined. Their speed is deceptive, so make your decision early when crossing in front of these vessels.

Other racing fleets can be just as bad big a threat to your race if not worse than commercial vessels, especially if they are going at the same speed as you. Be aware of racing fleets and work your strategy out early in how to deal with them and the best way to minimise your risk and therefore loss. Quite often, you can turn a situation into a gain if you think ahead far enough. If you have to go behind a large vessel, be aware that the wind will be affected for a long while if it is light wind. If the duck behind a vessel traveling in the same direction is required, don’t try and out run it. It is better to duck and get clear early rather than traveling more in the wrong direction.

So, with a prestigious Audi vehicle on offer for the winner of this year's regatta, get prepared early. It could be this that helps you make it to the winner’s podium.