Welcome to edition 19/2013 of the Halyard

The spirit of Algoa Bay Week seems to have inspired our readers into bursting forth with submissions for “View From The Deck”. Wouldn’t it be great if we could keep this enthusiasm going through the end of the season and winter and into the next sailing season?

ABYC has so much to offer and so much potential. Keep the momentum going, get involved. Whatever it is you like to do, do it at ABYC!

Reminders and Special Notices

• Club Fees: All members will be invoiced shortly for their club fees running from 1 June 2013 to 31 May 2014.

Upcoming Events

• Tuesday 14th May: On the 14th of May this month’s Ambiton draw will be held. As usual there will be lots of prizes up for grabs in addition to the cash draw. Thanks once again to Ambiton for your continued support.
• Sunday 19th May: Live music on the deck

Sailing News

• Sunday 19th May: NOTICE OF RACE – NOORDEHOEK. SKIPPERS: 0900. Race is subject to weather, and whether a turning mark can be dropped in front of the Noordehoek ski-boat club. Please consult the relevant chart(s) to re-familiarize yourself regarding the waters to be sailed!

Sailing Results

None this week

Social News

None this week

View From the Deck

Your chance to voice your opinion and contribute to the Halyard.

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Dwyer Weather Station

Dear Editor,

Recently ‘The Tyneside’ donated free of charge 50 graph paper sheets for our 1910 vintage barograph. Robbie Gwynn is the custodian of this extremely valuable piece of equipment and and I am his ‘appy’. Should any member wish to know more about this instrument, its workings and how to interpret the meanings of the graph as drawn over the week please speak to Robbie or Warwick. We have a little knowledge, but not that little for it to be dangerous!

How did this all come to pass? I sent Gavin a pic of our Dwyer Weather Station and he ‘was so impressed’ that when I ordered more paper, he said I could have it as a gift, all FOC, courier fees included (see his mail below).

I would appreciate it if you could give Tyneside a punt in the Halyard extolling their virtues as a top notch ships chandler.

Incidentally ‘The Dwyer’ was sponsored by;

• Cape Wire [Aubs Cullum] and
• TV Doctor [Jerome Putter]

and ‘base’ gauge installed/erected and calibrated by the ‘TINKERS’*, as part of their support for the Due North Rum Club’s ‘GIVING SOMETHING BACK’ [to sailing] project.

LOOK FORWARD TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK

Warwick Owen

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ABYC Week

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to;

1. The Sponsors, without who’s sponsorship this event would have been a sad shadow if itself.
2. The Bridge boat, Bridge Crew and the owner of the bridge boat, who despite their advancing years, endeavoured to set courses and run the bridge under at time trying and very windy times well done!!
3. To the Organiser and admin people, without you there would be no event and so I am forever indebted to you, as I really enjoyed every minute of it.
4. To our Vice Commodore sailing who cajoled begged, threatened, spoke to, and at times even smiled!! We did listen to you!!! Thank you!
5. To all the competitors, boat owners and skippers who took part and sailed, without you I would have not had anyone to sail against/lose to! Or at times you only saw my transom! OK most time you only saw my transom but that’s sailing!

To one and all a big thank you!!

I’ll be there again next year!!

Regards

GRUMPY

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2013 ABYC Week Images

Over ABYC Week I took a total 978 photographs totalling 2.6 gigabytes.

I have sorted them into daily images and each daily image folder is further sorted into 505, Fleet 1, Fleet 2 and Workers sub folders. The images are all the original high res versions and are printable.

The image totals for each fleet are:

• 505′s: 228
• Fleet 1: 460
• Fleet 2: 228
• Workers and Stuff: 62

If you want all the images from ABYC week 2013 please leave an empty Memory Stick (at least 4 gigabytes in size) in an envelope in the bar marked for my attention (Alan W. Straton) and with your name and e-mail address on it.

I will transfer all the high res photos onto your Memory Stick for you, confirm via e-mail and return it to the bar for collection.

The payment cost is up to you and you can either:

• Slip some cash into the envelope or
• Dump some cash into my ABYC bar account or
• Not pay at all.

Your choice entirely.

Regards

Alan W. Straton

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Three Decades of Fun, Foolishness and Firstmates

The town of Chipping in southwest England is over nine miles from the closest water, yet that has not hastened (sic) Chipping Sodbury Yacht Club from celebrating its 30 year anniversary.

A yacht club famed for the fact none of its members actually own a boat is celebrating sailing its way through three decades. Chipping Sodbury Yacht Club, one of the original parody clubs of its kind, first set sail on April 1, 1983 – the irony of April Fool’s Day not being lost on its founder members.

Although lacking in any navigable waters, Chipping Sodbury has provided the joke-loving club many an opportunity to celebrate its birthday each year with a watery attempt at an April Fool. “One of our best was when we said we were going to build a marina at Nibley,” said secretary Bunny Groves. “We put up a giant sign saying we had acquired the land and it resulted in receiving phone calls from developers.

“Another year we made a 25-feet long yellow submarine which got stuck under the Wickwar Road bridge on the River Frome. We put in a planning application for a lighthouse at Yate Rocks, and on another occasion we said the yacht club was called in to Tanhouse Lake to sort out shark problems.

“It is a lot of good fun,” said Bunny. “We have a lot of very sociable people in our group and we hold an annual weekend away to other yacht clubs in the country where we have earned a kind of begrudging respect for our dogged determination to stick around.

“The fact we don’t actually sail has not impaired our progress at all.”

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Have a great sailing week ahead.

More submissions for “View from the deck” are always welcome

Please email to Hilary at abychalyardnews@gmail.com

Welcome to edition 18/2013 of the Halyard

Algoa Bay Week has come and gone. Some great sailing was had but even better were the times spent waiting in the bar for boats to come back or the wind to arrive or go away! A big thank you goes out to all who were involved in any way and helped to make the week run as smoothly as it did. An even bigger thank you goes out to all who took part in the racing, without you guys there would be no Algoa Bay Week at all.

Well done everyone, you can all be proud of yourselves and our club!

Reminders and Special Notices
Club Fees: All members will be invoiced shortly for their club fees running from 1 June 2013 to 31 May 2014.
ABYC Leisure Apparel: Shirt orders need to placed before Sunday 12th May and payment made into the bar account. Orders will be sent off on Monday 13th May.

Upcoming Events

• Sunday 12th May: Jonathon is singing on the deck from 12:00 to 16:00.

Sailing News

• Sunday 12th May: Medium distance – Race of Cardinals; 09:00 start. Should weather conditions be contra-indicative the reserve date is the following week, Sunday 19th May
• Sunday 12th May: East West Challenge – May 11, and 12, 2013 – Fairy Knowe

The East West Challenge will take place this next weekend, May 11 and 12 in Wilderness at the Fairy Knowe Hotel.

This is a fun event and was won by the East last year. We have 8 participants going from ABYC who are hoping to make a meaningful effort to retain the trophy, not to mention have a lot of fun. Support is always welcome, and last year we had the “RA RA girls” who made quite an impact with their support.

This year ABYC will be hosting the event, although it takes place at the Wilderness. This is purely to allow participants from all over the country to join in.

The event is on the National Calendar.

Best of luck to all – bring back the trophy!

Rodney Idris

For more information contact Rodney: idrisathome@telkomsa.net / rodney.idris@mtn.blackberry.com / 083 656 9170

Sailing Results

ALGOA BAY WEEK UPDATE

ALGOA BAY WEEK showed some top class sailing from the 505′s and the Fleet 1 sport boats. Fleet 2 where unfortunate with the number of races sailed and scored.

Tikalox 2 in Fleet 2 started race 3 with a vengeance to leave the fleet standing with an impressive demonstration of sailing.

This year’s regatta highlighted how it is possible for a yacht Club such as ABYC can successfully pull off a quality regatta by getting its members involved and with enthusiasm. Another highlight is the fact that sailing is alive and well in PE, this is demonstrated by the “protests” lodged during the regatta. Sailing is still taken seriously in all classes and at all levels, and yet still have fun.

SAILING CALENDAR has a few sailing races left to complete the season, watch this space and the Club notice boards. At this point in time it is unfortunate that we still do not have a Lipton Team with Lipton Cup regatta just over 2 months away.

Regards

John Tudehope

ALGOA BAY WEEK RESULTS

Final Results 505 Overall
Sailed: 7, Discards: 1, To count: 6, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 7, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank – Class – SailNo – Club – HelmName – CrewName – Total – Nett

1. 505 – 8445 – PSC – Kyle Klaas – Robert von Greunewaldt – 12 – 9
2. 505 – 8481 – PYC – Thomas Funke – Peter Funke – 12 – 9
3. 505 – 8789 – PSC – Jonathan Ham – Warwick Ham – 25 – 19
4. 505 – 8471 – TSC – Richard Hutton Squire – James Largier – 25 – 20
5. 505 – 8121 – BYC – Kobus Holtzhausen – Henko /holtshausen – 37 – 31
6. 505 – 8520 – PSC – Mark Biagio – Ferdie Holm – 40 – 32
7. 505 – 6266 – - Andrew – - 56 – 48

Algoa Bay Week 2013 Final Results Sport Boats
Sailed: 7, Discards: 1, To count: 6, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 6, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank – Boat – Class – SailNo – HelmName – TCF – Total – Nett

1. Orion Express – L26 – 58 – Rob Archibald – 0.92 – 11 – 9
2. Jelly Baby – J27 – 202 – Sean Wiseman – 0.947 – 15 – 12
3. Jouster – J27 – 174 – Richard Rath – 0.947 – 16 – 13
4. Unmatched – Pacer 27 – 1 – Graham Wentworth – 1.01 – 31 – 24
5. Wild Thing – Pacer 27 – - Russel Morgan – 1.01 – 49 – 42
6. ABYC Challenger – L26 – - Jim Foot – 0.915 – 49 – 42

Algoa Bay Week 2013 Final Results Fleet 2 – CRUISER Fleet
Sailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 6, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank – Fleet – Boat – Class – SailNo – HelmName – TCF – Total – Nett

1. CRUISER – Tikalox II – Muira – 1817 – Rob Smith – 0.899 – 2 – 2
2. CRUISER – Sewen – RCOD – 3547 – Hennie Haasbroek – 0.897 – 5 – 5
3. CRUISER – Fling – Sadler 26 – 1487 – Paul Martin – 0.8 – 6 – 6
4. CRUISER – Sea Mole – Sadler 32 – 2572 – Anton Hautmann – 0.87 – 7 – 7
5. CRUISER – Watoo – Astove 31 – 1581 – John Tudehope – 0.88 – 12 – 12
6. CRUISER – Lady – Astove 30 – 1488 – Harry Lamprecht – 0.86 – 13 – 13

Algoa Bay Week 2013 Final Results Fleet 2 RACER Fleet
Sailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Rating system: TCF, Entries: 3, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank – Fleet – Boat – Class – SailNo – HelmName – TCF – Total – Nett

1. RACER – Seralon II – Peterson 33 – 302 – Jerome Putter – 0.915 – 4 – 4
2. RACER – Odelisque – Sigma 33 – 4573 – Roger Cady – 0.915 – 4 – 4
3. RACER – Wings – Charger 33 – 737 – Eugene Lombard – 0.915 – 5 – 5

Social News

All are reminded that as it is Mothers day next Sunday 12th May the restaurant will be busy. You are advised to book early to avoid disappointment.

View From the Deck

Your chance to voice your opinion and contribute to the Halyard.

Batteries – love them or hate them it is hard to do without them.

I have had an enquiry concerning where to buy batteries and which are the cheapest etc. Personally I have bought from Kariba Batteries who are official stockists of Willard Batteries. So far I have no complaints and they seem to offer sound advice and be competitively priced. You should probably shop around and try some of the other battery specialists such as Dixon in Newton Park or perhaps the Battery Centre.

Contact Details

• Kariba Batteries; 19, Hancock Street, North End, Tel 0414843770
• Dixon Batteries; 53 Worraker Street, Newton Park. Tel 0413656667
• Battery Centre; Innes Street, North End. Tel 0414871740

It remains to be said though that you get what you pay for and the cheaper leisure batteries may not have the life span in terms of number of discharge cycles of more expensive batteries.

When I were a lad……..

Son; “Dad, Dad, there’s a buoy over there!”

Dad; “Yes Son, but is he swimming or standing up?”

Have a great sailing week ahead.

More submissions for “View from the deck” are always welcome

Please email to Hilary at abychalyardnews@gmail.com

Welcome to edition 17/2013 of the Halyard

Algoa Bay Week is now in full swing. From a sailing point of view the first two days have not quite lived up to expectations but have certainly provided a few stories to be recounted in the bar! Let’s hope the remaining sailing days are better!

Reminders and Special Notices

• Club Fees: All members will be invoiced shortly for their club fees for 2013.
• ABYC Leisure Apparel: Order forms are available at the bar for the new range of ABYC clothing.

Upcoming Events

• Friday 3rd May: There was no draw last Friday due the bar being so busy. However next Friday is a double money draw as no money draw was held last month.
• Sunday 5th May: Eric is singing on the deck

Sailing News

• Sunday 5th May: RC ABYC Challenge 2 p.m.

Sailing Results

ALGOA BAY WEEK UPDATE

Algoa Bay Week has finally arrived and has been very well supported. Unfortunately the weather has not played fair.

On Saturday summer returned and our enthusiastic sailors were greeted with January temperatures and no wind whatsoever. The seven 505′s and twenty one keel boats waited patiently all day for the wind to appear but to no avail. At 3 p.m. sailing was cancelled and all retired to the bar to discuss the day’s non events.

The cocktail party in the evening was very well supported. A special thank you to all our sponsors.

On Sunday it seemed that three months had passed and winter was back again with a vengeance. The day opened with over twenty knots of wind from the west. The marks were set in the hope of an abatement of the weather and the racing went ahead. Our valiant 505 sailors tried to make the best of it, one breaking a mast early on in the race. Subsequently all the 505′s retired, the final count being 3 bent masts and one 505 with torn jib and main.

All the keel boats braved the weather to be ready for the start. One yacht retired prior to the start of the race with technical problems but eventually the race was postponed and all returned safely. The remaining keel boats hoped for a decrease in the wind strength but eventually racing had to be cancelled for the day.

Throughout the day the wind was from the west 28 to 30 knots with gusts of up to 47 knots recorded. Let’s hope for better weather today. The weather is forecast to moderate to light winds from the SE by tonight (Monday).

Social News

None this week

View From the Deck

From one of our keen readers:

ABYC WEEK

Day 1

An azure blue vaulted sky, but no wind? Skipper meeting was held the rules were spelt out yaddah!!!yaddah! yaddah!! I wasn’t listening anyway!

Hot and still no wind? So ABYC week there are only two scenarios 1 there is no wind, so calm the smoke rises straight up!!! Or 2 there’s wind, lots of it!! The walk-on’s leaning, people are scared, boat breaking wind!!! Day 1, no wind, wind socks and bunting hung limp in the lifeless stillness and hot!!

Boats were prepped! Lines were run crew expectantly awaited their call which never came!

Slowly realisation set in tummy rumble hungry, lunch on the deck? The racing was abandoned for today! Yippee now at least we could pull the pin in, if we could not sail at least we could dent the bubble salad and dent it we did!! Then rugby the ubiquitous sport, lots of frothy brown stuff later.

The part started!!! Drinking dancing in various orders till sadly home sleep perchance to dream!

Day 2

Where day 1 lulled competitors into the false senses of security day 2 let them have it!!!! True to form we had wind, buckets loads of it!! The 505′s went screaming out the moorings! Sadly one broke its mast so the screaming died abruptly

Out in the bay the rescue craft were valiantly trying to look after the 505′s some were screaming down wind, some were capsized? All in all pleasant disarray!! Until sanity prevailed and they went home!! By now the anemometer was clocking in the thirties, sails were reefed!!

While the course as being laid by the diligent committee boat and mark laying crew. The number of competitors dwindled and the realisation set in that this was complete madness!! We saw 47 knots, 39 apparent and 8 something boat speed!!! Eventually the course was set to the sad realisation that the fleet had gone home to the sanctity of the harbour, warm showers, and cold beers!!

What was lost on the sea was made up for on the deck! Boerrie rolls, cold beer and load of laughter, what more could you ask for???

Grumpy

Batteries – love them or hate them it is hard to do without them.

Selection Use and Care of Batteries – continued

In previous weeks we have discussed two options for solving the problem of providing power for both your ancillaries and starting your engine. The third option is to use deep cycle batteries alone for all your 12v needs.

Using a deep cycle battery as a starting battery

There is generally no problem with this, providing that allowance is made for the lower cranking amps compared to a similar size starting battery. As a general rule, if you are going to use a true deep cycle battery also as a starting battery, it should be oversized about 30% compared to the existing or recommended starting battery group size to get the same cranking amps. That is about the same as replacing a group 24 with a group 31. (See battery chart below).

With modern engines with fuel injection and electronic ignition, it generally takes much less battery power to crank and start them, so raw cranking amps is less important than it used to be. On the other hand, many of our older boats do not have these wonderful new engines and have an old dog which would suck the life out of Prius in a few minutes.

In summation, it will not hurt a deep cycle battery to be used as a starting battery, but for the same size battery they cannot supply as much cranking amps as a regular starting battery and the battery is usually much more expensive. See the chart below to work out what deep cycle battery would be required to replace your starting battery. As before the salty dog will always have two batteries and use them independently so as to avoid the embarrassment of having both batteries flat due one technical fault!

Conclusion

In my view, taking into account the additional expense and weight of the other two options, the separate starting battery and deep cycle battery provides the best solution for most needs.

Have a great week ahead.

More submissions for “View from the deck” are always welcome

Welcome to edition 16/2013 of the Halyard

Algoa Bay Week is almost upon us. We would like to thank those who have already put in so much effort towards making next week a success and to those who have committed their time to helping out. For anyone who would like to help but is not yet involved we are sure there are plenty of jobs to be done, please see below in the notices section. Finally we hope as many as possible will take part next week, whether you are a seasoned racer or not, head down to the club every morning next week, bring a change of clothes and a towel just in case! Go sailing!

Reminders and Special Notices

• Club Fees: All members will be invoiced shortly for their club fees running from 1 June 2013 to 31 May 2014.
• 27th April 2013 to 1st May – ALGOA BAY WEEK: We are looking for crew to help with the Mark laying boats, if you fancy dashing about in a speed boat! We are also looking for assistance on the Bridge for ABYC during Algoa Bay Week. If you are available contact Ronnie Baer or the ABYC office.

Upcoming Events

• Saturday 27th April: Breakfasts @ ABYC from 07h30. Egg and Bacon rolls @ R15-0, Mini Breakfasts, 2 eggs, bacon, rosa tomatoes and toast @ R25-00, House egg & bacon rolls R15 for 4 May.
• Sunday 28th April: Greg playing on the deck and will stay later for Algoa Bay week entertainment.

Sailing News

ALGOA BAY WEEK Sailing regatta is 100% on. This past Sunday saw crews hitting the water for last minute tweaking and practice. The best was one boat who rather than put to sea, were going through the motions (short of actually hauling the spinnaker) whilst still in moorings. Registration closes Friday evening so there is still time to enter. This year’s regatta signals what’s to come in the future years, Algoa Bay Regatta will become South Africa’s premier Sailing event, given how ABYC members are positively responding there is no doubt that this reality will be achieved.

Good Luck to all participants.

The past Saturday a “FEW GOOD MEN” 2 small boys, plus the Rhodes Sailing Club, turned-up to help clear the main lawn and Boat Park. A very big thank you to all.

Monday 22nd April: Pre regatta meeting:

An informal meeting will be held to explain basic racing and start procedure rules and flags prior to ABYC Sailing Week.

Date: Monday 22 April 2013
Time: 17.30
Place: Committee room ABYC

Ronnie Baer – 0828937905

Wednesday 24th April: Wednesday evening sailing; 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

27th April 2013: ALGOA BAY WEEK

Races are from Saturday 27th to Wednesday 1st May. There will be a pre regatta meeting. This will be an informal meeting to explain basic racing and start procedure rules and flags prior to ABYC Sailing Week.

We wish to thank the following for their support of Algoa Bay Week;

• YUKANI GAMING – V SLOTS – ELTON SLATER & LINDIE McINTYRE
• VT.BIELBY ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS – TREVOR BIELBY
• FEROBRAKE – KEITH CHECK
• ARNSCHELL ENGINEERING – SEAN WISEMAN
• NORTHFIELD ENGINEERING – ROB ARCHIBALD
• WEZANDLA GALLERY – GLYNIS BEAR
• CONCORD SUPER CHEMICALS – DOUG STANNARD
• CAPE WIRE – AUBREY CULLEM
• SOUTH AFRICAN BREWERIES – GARRYN HEATHMAN, ANDRE van der PUTTE, DEIDRE van HEERDEN
• VIKING LIFE SAVING EQUIPMENT – TRACY WILLIAMS
• TUNSTEAD MARINER – CRAIG TUNSTEAD
• MORVAN MACLEAN
• WATERFORD HOTEL – NICOLAS GOMES
• ESMOND AND ELIZABETH MCHUGH
• SAMSA – DARON BURGESS
• AMBITON – PHILIP PUTZIGER
• ED RICHARDSON
• COCA COLA – CHERYL PRICE
• ARABELLA – NICOLA MALHERBE
• DOUGLAS GREEN BREWERIES – RICHARD WILDING

Sailing Results

None this week

Social News

None this week

View From the Deck

Your chance to voice your opinion and contribute to the Halyard.

From one of our regular contributors – his (or her!) view of batteries;

Dear Ed, on your article “Batteries – love them or hate them it is hard to do without them”;

1. How come they weigh a ton? And after lugging 50kg of lead, copper and H2SO4 all the way to your pride and joy, the damn thing is just a little bigger than the one it’s replacing?
2. How come they are still upright when they go flat? At least then you won’t even try to crank the donk??? If you can see they’re flat????
3. How come they work perfectly in the calm of the walk-on moorings, but stubbornly refuse to turn the donk over in 50knots of westerly gale and all you want to do is get back into the harbour and home
4. How come they cannot turn the donk over but can still spit sparks scaring you witless causing you to drop the spanner you shorted it with, trying to get the pole bolts loose?
5. How come after scaring you witless the spanner you drop, falls irretrievably down the side of the battery you’re trying to remove?
6. How come they can deliver a current enough to start the motor in 2 minutes but then need 2 hour running to charge? Answers to these mysteries would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Ed, here’s some trivia for your next issue;

Fish survive two year journey across ocean

Scientists are baffled as to how a group of small fish native to Japan survived a journey across the Pacific after they were found on a boat swept away by the 2011 tsunami and washed up last month on the coast of Washington state. The small school of striped beak fish – five in all – were discovered submerged in the hold of the 20-foot-long fishing skiff. The vessel, found beached right-side-up, was confirmed this week to have originated from the region of northern Japan that was devastated in the immense tidal surge generated by the March 2011 Fukushima earthquake

ABYC sailor Joshua Woolard

Joshua Woolard was the youngest member to join ABYC Years ago and learnt to sail at the ABYC Development Sailing School. Joshua is now 17 and is still sailing in different dingy events. He has sailed in two Optimist African Events for South Africa one in Richards Bay and one in Kenya and now, thanks to Sean Wiseman’s Daughter lending him her RS Terra, he will be completing in the RS Terra Pro Worlds South African Team in July/ August 2013 in Weymouth United Kingdom.

Maybe some of the junior sailors at the Saturday training with Ronnie and his team came be encouraged by this and continue to sail and get to represent South Africa in Sailing.

Batteries – love them or hate them it is hard to do without them: Selection Use and Care of Batteries – continued

In previous weeks we have discussed the different types of batteries normally encountered and looked at the first solution; that of fitting one starting battery and one deep cycle battery. Now we take a look at the second option; Hybrid Batteries, often called dual purpose or Marine Batteries

Dual-Purpose Batteries

It’s usually best to install separate cranking and deep-cycle batteries. If your boat is small, however, and there’s only room for one battery due to space or weight restrictions, consider buying a dual-purpose marine battery specially that handles starting and cycling. As said before a prudent mariner is always going to want two! Bear in mind, however, most dual-purpose batteries won’t start an engine quite as well as a true cranking battery and won’t endure as many deep discharge/recharge cycles as a dedicated deep-cycle model.

Marine batteries are usually a “hybrid”, and fall between the starting and deep-cycle batteries, though a few (Rolls-Surrette and Concorde, for example) are true deep cycle. In the hybrid, the plates may be composed of Lead sponge, but it is coarser and heavier than that used in starting batteries. It is often hard to tell what you are getting in a “marine” battery, but most are a hybrid.

Starting batteries are usually rated at “CCA”, or cold cranking amps, or “MCA”, Marine cranking amps – the same as “CA”. Any battery with the capacity shown in CA or MCA may or may not be a true deep-cycle battery. It is sometimes hard to tell, as the term deep cycle is often overused – the term “deep cycle” has even used in automotive starting battery advertising. CA and MCA ratings are at 32 degrees F, while CCA is at zero degree F. Unfortunately, the only positive way to tell with some batteries is to buy one and cut it open – not much of an option.

So the upside of two marine batteries is that both can probably start your engine without any worries. You will need to check the CCA or CA/MCA required to start your engine.

The down sides are;

• They will be heavier and physically larger than dedicated starting and auxiliary batteries,
• You still have to charge and use them separately rather than risk having no power to start your engine plus
• You are unlikely to be sure of what exactly you are buying.
• The arguments that would indicate the choice of a marine battery are; if you only need or have space for one or if two is cheaper than dedicated batteries for engine start and auxiliary power.

Next week; deep cycle batteries

Welcome to edition 15/2013 of the Halyard

Yet again this week’s edition is very slim. Every week we ask for contributions but very little is forthcoming.  So don’t blame us if the information in the Halyard is outdated or simply incorrect! In short if you think there is something that club members should know, send it to the Halyard.

Reminders and Special Notices

• Club Fees: All members will be invoiced shortly for their club fees running from June 2013 to 31 May 2014.
• Sailing School: A reminder that the sailing school continues on Saturday mornings. Tuition is FREE provided that the prospective sailor becomes a member. Contact Ronnie Baer; Cell 082 928 4970

Upcoming Events

• Saturday 20th April: CLEAN-UP DAY – Members are called upon to assist with “Tidying Up” the club lawn, yard and surroundings, in preparation for ALGOA BAY WEEK 2013.
• Sunday 21st April: Live music on the deck

Sailing News

• Wednesday 17th April: Wednesday evening sailing; 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
• Sunday 21st April: RC ABYC Challenge 14:00 start
• 27th April 2013: ALGOA BAY WEEK – It is still not too late to sign up and ready your boat. Entry forms are available at the ABYC Bar, and ABYC Web site.  Sign up while you still can.

Sailing Results

None this week

Social News

• Go to http://abyc.co.za/category/house/ for a report on the QM2 visit.
• For all ABYC news and results you can visit the web site; http://abyc.co.za/ and go to “Regattas” for upcoming sailing events and past results or “House” for social events and news.

View From the Deck

Batteries – love them or hate them it is hard to do without them.

Selection Use and Care of Batteries

As discussed last week for us mere mortals of the battery world, there are three types of battery; Starting or Cranking Batteries, Deep Cycle or Leisure Batteries and Marine or Hybrid Batteries. So which should you choose?

The prudent mariner is always going to want to have two of everything so let’s assume that we are going to have two batteries in our boat and that we will want at least one capable of powering all our expensive electronic gadgets for a reasonable period of time.

The choices are therefore;

• One Engine Starting Battery and one Deep Cycle battery
• Two Marine Batteries
• Two Deep Cycle Batteries

What are the Pros and Cons?

One Engine Starting Battery and one Deep Cycle battery.

With one battery for starting your engine and one for your power requirements you can have both batteries as small as is possible given your electrical needs. The engine start battery can be sized according to your engine start needs in terms of cold cranking amps (The amps the battery needs to deliver to turn your engine over). The deep cycle battery can be sized according to your average electrical load and the time you want to go between charging the battery, bearing in mind the 50% discharge rule and a margin for safety.   However they will need to be charged separately. The two types of battery not only discharge differently they also charge differently and should never be connected together for charging.

There are two solutions. The simple solution is to have the usual two battery rotary switch, the type marked “1”, “Both” and “2”, and manually manage the battery charging. Always remember to switch from one to the other through the “Both” position and not the “off” position, otherwise damage will be sustained to the alternator diodes. Never leave the switch in the “Both” position for longer than is necessary. This will optimise charging and also ensure that if one battery goes flat the other will still be charged.

The more complicated solution is to have an intelligent charging system which will charge the deep cycle battery from the engine’s alternator but only after the engine start battery is sufficiently charged. The ancillaries are only connected to the deep cycle battery, an emergency switch being provided to allow cross over from one system to the other. The down side of these systems are that they are expensive and complicated and at the end of the day you are relying on electronics not to flatten both batteries at the same time leaving you on a lee shore with no engine!

There is another solution for the committed cruising sailor; two alternators fitted to your engine with completely separate systems for engine start and your ancillary power requirements. This provides ultimate redundancy; in the event that one of the alternators fails you still have the other.

Next week marine; batteries and deep cycle batteries

Please email to Hilary at abychalyardnews@gmail.com

The Editor

Welcome to edition 14/2013 of the Halyard

With all the activity of Hobie week behind us and no keel boat racing until Algoa Bay Week there seems to be somewhat of a lull in activities. One can imagine boat owners and their crew locked in their garages discussing tactics and polishing boat hooks by the light of a swinging kerosene lamp. However it is more likely that they are in the club bar exchanging tall stories of previous exploits! Let’s hope that this year’s Algoa Bay Week produces stories that will be told at the bar for years to come.

Reminders and Special Notices

• Club Fees: All members will be invoiced shortly for their club fees for 2013.
• Shirts: We will be taking orders for our winter range shirts soon. More info will be available at a later stage.
• Pictures: Some event pictures have been put on the club computer. If there are any event photo’s that you have and would like to share with us please contact Lee Godwin.
• Baby Clothes for Vanessa: As you will all be aware by now, our office assistant will be having her baby girl in July. Vanessa is still very short of baby clothes etc and it would be helpful if members could donate any baby clothes they no longer require. It would be a great help to Vanessa and lovely gesture.

Upcoming Events

• Sunday 14th April: Live music on the deck

Sailing News

• Sunday 14th April: RC ABYC Challenge 14:00 start
• 27th April 2013: As you all should know by now, Algoa Bay Week is from 27th April to 1st May 2013. 1 or 2 days of leave to be taken by participants. Entry forms are available at the ABYC Bar, and ABYC Web site.

Sailing Results

None this week

Social News

None this week.

View From the Deck

Your chance to voice your opinion and contribute to the Halyard.

Batteries – love them or hate them it is hard to do without them.

Batteries come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and yet few people appreciate that there in fact many different types of batteries which all have very different characteristics and different uses. In the marine leisure industry there are only a few types of battery commonly used and if you depend on batteries when you are out on the water then you owe it to yourself to learn a little about them.

The batteries we fit in our yachts all look the same but in fact fall into three groups;

Automotive type batteries (starting or cranking batteries)

Leisure batteries (deep cycle batteries)

Marine batteries (hybrid or dual purpose)

Automotive batteries are intended to provide the very high power (current) required to start an engine over a very short period of time. However they should never be drained below 80% charge and will last longest if only discharged by 5% when starting the engine.

Deep cycle batteries are intended to be discharged much further than starting batteries but are not designed to deliver the high current required for engine start. Deep cycle batteries can be discharged by as much as 80% but will last longest by only discharging to 50%.

Marine batteries are a combination of the above two.

Construction

All lead acid batteries are composed of plates surrounded by electrolyte. In a starting battery the plates are constructed more like a sponge with quite fine material which vastly increases the surface area and therefore the rate at which electricity can be produced. In a deep cycle battery the plates are usually just as you would imagine them to be, thick lead plates. This gives less surface area but much more material to work with before the plate becomes damaged. Marine batteries use plates made of a thicker material “sponge” giving more surface area than a deep cycle battery but less than an automotive battery. Therefore to perform as well as a deep cycle battery in its ability to repeatedly discharge and yet still start your engine, the marine battery has to be much larger and heavier.

Next week selecting, use and care of your battery

Please email to Hilary at abychalyardnews@gmail.com

Have a great week ahead,

The Editor