I'll answer that next week - Melbourne Latitude Series

7:04 PM Tue 16 Jun 2009 GMT

'Small sails and smash into it. Steel IOR is best suited to that. - Melbourne Latitude Series' John Curnow

He probably is crazy to go out into Bass Strait at this time of year, which is why it is going to take Robin Hewitt a week to recover from the recent Melbourne Latitude Series. At the very least he walked away from it as the winner, so that will go some way to allaying the fears about his mental state.

The Melbourne Latitude Series is designed as an opportunity for beginners and initiates to gain blue water experience. The 'Yoko' team has always been generous in providing the opportunity for such crew, even when it involves a 05:00hrs start in the depths of Winter, with an inclement forecast!

'What am I doing here?' was the first question that Robin Hewitt asked himself as they stuck their nose out into Bass Strait on Saturday. At least it was a Northerly for the run down to the turning latitude, so a little warmer and definitely flatter than the slugging match back to the Heads once they'd turned. Hence when I asked him how he enjoyed it, all I got from Robin was an 'I'll answer that next week' retort. 'The biggest redeeming feature of all for the whole day was that due to only a smaller proportion of experienced crew onboard, was that the novices had to do so much more and I got a bit of time hugging the kettle down below!'

What a great run to our designated latitude! What a miserable, cold work to the finish! What a great drink afterwards! What an early night!!! So ended Day One.

The man himself - Robin Hewitt. Softly spoken, mild mannered and hugely knowledgable from a hell of a lot of ocean miles. - Melbourne Latitude Series - John Curnow

By way of yet more contrasts, Sunday morning was a totally different picture. A delightful breeze and warm (relative term) conditions greeted the starters for the Pursuit race back to Sandringham Yacht Club. 'Yoko' tacked up to Channel Marker #19 and was able to ease away to a 50? broad reach in flat water. 'Giddy Up' as Neville 'Nifty' Rose would say. It was one of those days when the water is relatively warm, so that the breeze slides along above the temperature boundary layer and does not reach down to the water. Robin explained further, 'Some ominously shiny water ahead was called to my attention and a quick glance around suggested a local thermal breeze system, almost akin to a land breeze. The sink was visible well to the East, so we made closer to the shore, where it should have been stronger. Thankfully, it was. It really was a weird experience sailing with the wind only in the upper half of the sails and massive twist.'

'Once we were positioned correctly, the Gennaker went up and it could be said we never looked back. But we did - countless times actually, in order to confirm that our competitors were fading away behind us. What bad luck for them. We stayed in the breeze with the Genny up right to the finish, although a calm was creeping down from the North and we just made it in time to look back and hope 'The Secretary' wouldn't cop it', Robin remembered. 'Yoko' went home to Williamstown under Diesel and could only look back at the others with their collapsed kites and reflect on what a brilliantly pleasant sail the latter part of the weekend had been.

'Huey's a bit like that. He throws everything at you, so you think it's a mugs game and then he goes and gives you such pleasantry, so as to make sure you'll come back - and then he can have another go at you', Robin told me.

So well done, Robin. After all the miles you have done, including those two Melbourne to Osakas, you deserve a bit of pleasantry and yet another prize in the end.