2Birds2Hobart

Another view of Currawong after the sparkling start of the Bird Island Race.
There's a short clip from Bow Caddy Media here from the C*CA race start video here: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxAlVlkdTQZFR4dI_UKRmGH5UfgwVnyCJ1?si=jcW1gsjmlZdTaV6W
and you can watch the whole video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8HYSmzK4wk

Mixing it with the giants! Bird Island race about 10 seconds before the start. Thanks Shane for a great photo.

Another lovely view of our new mainsail with the first reef in, but sadly not the view we wanted just now. We’re heading back to Sydney, having to retire from the race due to an engine problem I can’t deal with at sea. So disappointing after a cracking sail.

We're out and racing! Had a great day on Sunday with close racing in a fresh nor'easter in Race 2 of the Sydney Womens' Keelboat Regatta, hosted by the C*CA and with 3rd Bird Jen on board.
Thanks to wonderful support from Katana 1 we have a new rig ready for the Sydney-Hobart, and will soon have some new sails.
Who are Katana1?
Katana1 people are all about the Data.
Katana1 people are experts in Securing, Analysing, and Management of Data.
They crush it and they’re great to work with.
Take a look at https://www.katana1.com/

Looking forward to a harbour race this Sunday!

Sydney Harbour Women's Keelboat Series
Some more of the C*CA Teams getting ready for Sunday

Our first race in the Audi Blue Water Pointscore race was last weekend, 260 miles to the Tollgate Islands in Batemans Bay and return. It was a scramble to the start line with rigging delays, but we made it. Thanks to Simon at 33°South for our 11th hour radio certification and to the C*CA Sailing Office for their understanding.
It was great training for Hobart, a three day race that gave us a variety of winds and opportunities to revisit our watchkeeping, sleep and rest management and sailing techniques. The race began at 7pm Friday, so straight into night watches, and then a Saturday of 25+ knot westerly winds giving us great reaching down the coast with many whales, albatross and shearwaters.
The wind died completely and after dark it took us 10 hours to sail 11 miles around the Islands, and then some lighter nor'easters for the retune trip, before a spectacular southerly buster came in at 41 knots off Bondi.
We had a great tussle with Sylph, losing our lead to them in the run home where they found better winds out to sea. They beat us by 15 minutes in the end and stayed out in the gale to watch us cross the line. Such a great gesture!
It's great to be back amongst it, thanks to the incredible support from Katana1, the awesome team of Data Gods who made the new rig possible.

Two birds who definitely won't be sailing to Hobart! This pair moved in, built a nest and laid two eggs in the space of 10 days while the mast was out! Sorry guys, but four's a crowd and you made a big mess!!!

Another well-overdue update from 2Birds after a busy month.
October kicked off with the pleasure and privilege of coaching at the RSYS Ladies of The Sea (LOTS) Regatta. The mix of on-water training, racing, and workshops, learning from and sharing insights with other women is a wonderful format for building skills and confidence in women of all ages and at all levels of sailing.
Next was a trip to Noakes Boatyard where the mast was lifted and work begun of refurbishing some fittings and replacing all the standing and running rigging, made possible thanks to the generous support of Katana-1.
This was the game changer: Currawong would not do the Sydney-Hobart unless the rig was replaced.
Then to Woolwich Dock for Currawong’s annual haulout, scrub, paint and polish. Many thanks to Jeff and Jen who helped us out, and to Woolwich Dock, Mitch Buckingham for their excellent service.
Then a trip to Doyle’s sail loft where we have ordered a new mainsail and storm jib.
Then over to the C*CA for pre-season safety checking and lots of running around getting our safety gear serviced and certified, and finally back to Noakes where the new mast was finalised only hours before the Audi Blue Water Series Tollgate Islands Race. Phew!!!

Would we do another Sydney-Hobart is the question we've been asked all year.
We can now say YES!!!
Thanks to the support of Katana1, a bright energetic Sydney company of data warriors. We are completely blown away by their enthusiasm and can now make some upgrades to make Currawong faster and even safer.
Preparation is well under way. Last weekend we sailed the 88 mile Flinders Islet race course revisiting our light weather steering skills, concentration and energy management.
Currawong is being currently being re-rigged at Noakes as part of the preparation for the race, and will soon be out of the water for a scrub and antifoul.
We are already entered in the Audi Blue Water series of offshore races between now and the end of the year. We are SO EXCITED!!! 2Birds will fly again!

2Birds and Currawong doing what we love! Beautiful seas and skies, excellent winds and speed, and a great destination. We're 2nd from the right among the rest of the double-handed fleet in the marina at Shellharbour.

Thank you, thank you Lake Macquarie Yacht Club for coming our to hear our story, and for your generous donation to our next Hobart. It was so great to meet new friends, catch up with old ones and hear about all the sailing people like us are doing. It's really given us a boost to move our 2023 S2H campaign forward. K&Bxx

Go Kirsten! You've inspired us and kept us glued to the tracker for months!

ETA UPDATE..ENGLISH/FRENCH: .THE WIND IS HOLDING! Kirsten messaged her mandatory 100 mile out ETA as Today 27th at 1500UTC or 5pm local time. She is on fire holding 6.9kts for many hours! she does not know the wind will soften a little in the afternoon. At that time my estimate is she will be about 24 miles off Les Sables d'Olonne and making between 2-3.5kts so official GGR ETA around Midnight local time or 2200hrs UTC Thursday 27th. Abhilash 100 miles behind may arrive around 0800hrs UTC or 10am on Saturday 29th. Simon may arrive around 13-1400hrs UTC or 3-4pm local today 27th!! will update again during the LIVE TRACKER UPDATE 0800 UTC or 10am local :)

KIRSTEN TWEET....hey don. just read have to provide eta when within 100nm. now 100nm. eta. 15z tomorrow but who knows. k

ABHILASH TWEET...Visibility less than half a mile. Everything is cold and damp. Cant sleep.

LE VENT TIENT ! Kirsten a envoyé un message avec son ETA obligatoire à 100 milles qu'elle estime aujourd'hui 27 à 1500 TU ou 17 heures, heure locale. Elle est très rapide tenant 6.9 nds pendant des heures ! elle ignore que le vent sera un peu plus léger l'après-midi. Mon estimation est qu'elle sera à environ 24 milles des Sables d'Olonne et fera entre 2 et 3,5 nœuds, donc ETA GGR officielle vers minuit heure locale ou 2200 heures TU Thursday 27. Abhilash à 100 miles derrière peut arriver vers 08h00 TU ou 10h00 le saturday 29. Simon peut arriver vers 13h-14h TU ou 15h-16h heure locale aujourd'hui 27 !! Nouvelle mise à jour à nouveau pendant la MISE À JOUR DU TRACKER EN DIRECT 0800 UTC ou 10h00 locale :)

Another photo from our NYE never-to-be-forgotten finish!

The crowd at midnight where chanting CURR-A-WONG!!😁

Sorry about the long wait for a post, there have been a few technical challenges.
But, WE MADE IT!
We had great coverage by the race commentators, Peter Shipway and Gordon Bray, and by the C*CA media team, who did a great job of putting out our message - if we had one - follow your dreams throughout your whole life, and never say never!
Here are a few snaps from the race, not that we took many photos.
We had some great sailing: 21 hours straight flying along with the spinnaker up, down the NSW coast sailing at 9+ knots, (max 10), running with No 4 jib and 3 reefs before a fresh northerly and majestic waves as we entered Bass Strait, a SW front then some light winds before two days of beam reaching in 20-28 knots from Flinders Island to Freycinnet. Then another kite run down to Tasman Island and a blast in 30-35 knots across Storm Bay. Sailed on one tack from the Iron Pot to the finish, scraping across the line as the breeze vanished, just in time for the New Years fireworks and an unbelievable welcome.
Why did we pause in Eden?
I (Kathy) was extremely tired and depleted after the first two days and the forecast was for following winds potentially gusting up to 50 knots and it would be dark when we got into Bass Strait. Those conditions need great care especially on steering the boat or you risk getting knocked down. For two handers the consequences of mistakes and injury can be high, and I knew that after a couple of hours of complete rest I'd be ready for whatever Bass Strait throw at us.
It was a tough decision. We had worked so hard, so many people were supporting us and it meant bailing out of the competition with Gunrunner and Maluka, but in the end 2 handed sailing isn't 1.4 handed sailing!
We never contemplated retiring, and once underway we sailed hard, with the goal of finishing in 2022.

Can’t wait to meet Ian and Annika this week.
Their project is pushing boundaries in many directions and is truly inspirational.

First electric yacht enters Sydney to Hobart The Thomsons found J-Bird rotting in a mooring almost three years ago and rebuilt the former diesel yacht to become fully electric, becoming the first of its kind to enter the race.

As a thank you for your incredible support, 2Birds warmly invite our friends to visit us on board Currawong at the C*CA on Wednesday 21st December from 3.00pm.
Please let us know if you'd like to come!
(photo: Andrea Francolini)

We featured on the C*CA's coverage of the start!

Their cameras caught us at a bad moment, but they gave us great support!
Thanks Gordon Bray!

https://youtu.be/SGME4nOBvkE

After a slow start we had a great tussle with Gunrunner who were in sight most of the race.
Thanks Carlos from 2 hander Crux for making this animation https://youtu.be/XZUYOG7Imw0

Some shots from last weekend's Cabbage Tree Island Race, the last race before Hobart. 73 yachts, 175 nautical miles. We had mostly light reaching conditions and had a good workout for our gennaker, kindly lent to us by Paul and Triny Fitzgerald from Tassie. We were looking forward to brekkie at the C*C on Sunday morning but the wind dropped completely and the last few miles took hours until the nor'easter came in. Andoo Comanche finished in 12 hours and 19 minutes, Currawong, 2nd smallest boat in the fleet, took 38 hours and 9 minutes.
Photos:
1 Many AIS signals in the harbour!
2 Sailing into a beautiful evening
3 Passing Point Stephens
4 Rounding Cabbage Tree Island.......
5 Cabbage Tree Island (and Gunrunner) astern
6 A mass of seaweed we collected on the propeller half way through the race would have slowed us down.

We always thought that getting to the start line would be 80% of this challenge, and we can hardly believe we've made it to here. All our entry documentation is in, and Currawong is close to ready. Now the reality of the challenges of the race itself loom extremely large.
We can't thank our friends and supporters enough for the generous contributions to our project both privately and through our Gofundme page. It's not just the financial support that is so welcome, but your enthusiasm spurs us on.
Last weekend we practised spinnaker gibes over and over, and it looks like we'll need that for the Cabbage Tree Island race starting tomorrow evening. The 180 mile race to CTI, at the entrance of Port Stephens, is the last race before Hobart and is a good chance for us to test our watch system, making sure we rest enough, eat enough and keep well hydrated. We're trialling a range of freeze dried foods as Currawong does't have a fridge and will be making use of our autopilot.
Follow the race on the tracker at https://bwps.cycaracing.com/tracker

Q: How many ways can a gennaker wrap around forestay?
A: Too many!
No dramas, and we unwrapped it every time as we practiced gybing, until we had the timing right.
And then a few what-ifs: What if one of us falls overboard? Can we pull each other back on board? Can Bridget grind Kathy up the mast? How do we set up the storm sails?
We tried all these today, and discovered that our purpose-built retrieval ladder/sling can double as a partial mast climbing ladder.

Today Currawong was featured along with Maluka at the media launch of the 2022 Rolex Sydney to Hobart.
Kathy was on the panel of interviewees along with Peter Langman (Maluka), Matt Donald (Gweilo), Mark Bradford (Black Jack) and Herman Winning (Andoo Comanche). So many inspiring stories, and all of us equally I’ll at ease in front of a room full of cameras.
This was followed by a photo shoot then Bridget and I were interviewed by reporters from ABCTV, SMH, 7 news and 9 news. There will be a segment on tonight’s TV news on 7 and the ABC.
Phew! I think I’d rather deal with 30 knots on the bow!

Great training for us doing the Port Hacking Two handed race on Saturday. In a 15-18 nor'easter we chose our no 2 jib for the start, set our spinnaker for a run down to the mark, and changed to no 4 jib and a reef in the mainsail for the long beat back as the nor'easter built to 25 knot gusts. Sail changes meant Bridget busy on the foredeck and Kathy steering and managing lines and halyards in the cockpit. Happy with our boat speed, surfed at 8.5 knots and 6 knots to windward with rainbows in the spray from our bow. We worked hard match racing Scaramouche all the way but this time managed to stay in front. As we entered the harbour the wind increased big time and we poled out the headsail for the run to the line.
The boat performed really well and the small modifications we keep making are proving effective.
After 9 and a half hours racing we sailed back to the mooring, then 2 hours to pack down the boat.
2 Birds tired but happy!

The two-handed Currawong, co-skippered by Kathy Veel and Bridget Canham, is the final boat across the line to bring the 2022 Bird Island Race to a close.

It was an excellent debut in the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore for Kathy and Bridget, as Currawong won PHS Division 2 and Two-Handed PHS. 👏

View the final standings ➡️ bwps.cycaracing.com/standings/

Bow Caddy Media took a nice photo of us passing Hornby light near the finish of the Bird Island Race.

*****ERRATUM****
Apologies to Katherine Veel and Bridget Canham (and thank you to our beady-eyed followers Benny Feens and Colin Brady) for a case of mistaken identity in our earlier post on Currawong's finish. This, I believe is the correct picture of Currawong!

None of which should take away from a mighty accomplishment by the Currawong duo, showing patience and persistence when many others pulled the pin and called it quits.

Cruising Yacht Club Of Australia