Next Meeting: Monday November 19th, 7:30 pm

-
No. 10 November 2012
2011
1-04
Maralyn
Miller
200911-04
VOLUME No. 32,
Editor:
Next Meeting:
Monday November 19th, 7:30 p.m.
2009
B.Y.O. BBQ 6:30 p.m
2009
Guest Speaker:
Phil Darling
Seamanship and Self-Sufficiency
Sailing to 33°49’S 151° 29’E for the 090°
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CRUISING DIVISION OFFICE BEARERS – 2012
Cruising Captain
Colin Pitstock
0407-669-322
Cruising Vice Captain
Phil Darling
0411-882-760
Vice-Commodore Cruising
Colin Pitstock
0407-669-322
Secretary
Glynne Attersall
0417 028 931
Treasurer
Trevor D’Alton
9960-2878
Membership
Jean Parker / Michael Mulholland-Licht
0403-007-675
Name Tags
Lena D’Alton
9960-2878
Compass Rose Coordinator Maralyn Miller
0411-156-009
Safety Coordinator
Bill Allen
9977- 0392
Waterways User Group
Mike McEvoy
9968-1777
Sailing Committee
Colin Pitstock
0407-669-322
Guest Speakers
Royce Englehardt, & Committee & Members as required
On Water Events
Coordinator
Colin Pitstock/ Michael MulhollandLicht/ Phil Darling / Glynne Attersall
On Land Events
Coordinators
Jean Parker / Hilary Gallagher / Scott Saunders/ Charo Devery
General Committee
assistance
Royce Englehardt, Scott Saunders, Trevor D’Alton, Phil Darling,
Maralyn Miller, Hilary Gallagher
Michael 0418-476-216
Phil 0411-882-760
Editor's note:
Deadline for the next edition of the Compass Rose,
is: 6th December 2012
The EDITOR for the next Compass Rose is
Maralyn Miller. Please forward contributions
c/-:
MHYC PO Box 106
SEAFORTH NSW 2092,
or
email:
Darling.maralyn@ozemail.com.au
Opinions expressed in the Compass Rose are those of the contributors, and do not
necessarily reflect opinions of either Middle Harbour Yacht Club or the Cruising Division
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MHYC Cruising Division Program 2012 – 13
Nov ‘12 Mon 19th
CD Meeting – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm)
Dec ‘12 Sun 2nd
CD Breakfast at the club – Xmas decorating
Fri 14th
Jan ‘13
Feb ‘13
Mar ‘13
Sat 15th – Sun 16th –
TBC
Wed 2nd
CD Christmas Party – combined with last Friday at the
Club – 6:30 p.m. start
Parade of Lights & raft-up Sugarloaf
Annual Cruise - TBA
Mon 21st
CD Post Cruise BBQ – 6:30 pm start
Sat 26th
Sat 23rd – Sun 24th
Australia Day – Sail to Zoo and Anchor for beach
celebrations
CD Meeting – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm) – Quiz
night
Wachman Exercise & Raft Up
Sat 9th - Sun 10th
Sydney Harbour Regatta
Mon 18th
CD Meeting – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm)
Thur 21st
Last Twilight Race
Fri 29th – Mon 1st
Easter long-weekend Cruise – Combined clubs cruise
Pittwater & Lake Macquarie
Barefoot Ball & Twilight presentation
Mon 18th
Apr ‘13 Fri 5th
Sat 13th – Sun 21st
Port Stephens Regatta
Mon 15th
CD Meeting – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm)
Thur 25th – 28th
Anzac Day long-weekend – Cruise
Fri 27th
MHYC Annual Presentation
Next Meeting:
Monday November 19th, 7:30 p.m.
B.Y.O. BBQ 6:30 p.m.
Guest Speaker:
Phil Darling
Seamanship and Self-Sufficiency
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Captain’s Column – November 2012
Summer’s around the corner and cruising season has begun, the silly
season just about to begin, so always keep a good watch out when
you’re on the water, as there are lots of idiots out there. Don't
forget when you’re in your dinghy at night after a couple of Sun
downers enjoying some beautiful anchorage, things can very quickly
turn into a disaster, so make sure you don't have too many drinks, make sure you put
your life jackets on, and you have a white light that can be seen for 360 degrees. I've
been in a dinghy that has flipped over and had to pull a person out of the water, so
please be safe and careful. Don't take any risks so you can have many more great
experiences.
We had another Cruising Division event over the last weekend not too many takers
for the of shore event with a breeze from the South gusting up to 25 knts. But a
couple of us put our noses out the heads fortunately we had Glynne on board and we
practiced some of our safety skills, a big thank you Glynn for what you brought us.
Then we had a fabulous night rafted up in Sugar Loaf with John’s new toy ‘Flemmingo’
as anchor boat. We had fabulous food and a great evening, with 7 boats in company in
Sugar Loaf. We also celebrated Michael’s birthday, and also it was great to see Helen
Humel out on the water on the weekend.
Don't forget we have last Friday of the month coming up, plus breakfast on the 1st
Sunday of December, and make sure you put in your diary December 14th for our
Christmas Dinner at the club.
It's also great to see some our Cruising Division out doing Twilight's and Saturday
Racing, and Tony and Wendy Bates with their new Viva Hanse 38 look fabulous - but
we still beat Viva across line last Thursday. Another good race for the Cruising Division
which is coming up shortly is the 7 island race, and entries are open now.
Also keep a close eye on the weather it changes very quickly, so keep your radio on
channel 16 and listen for updates, also you can now get Apps for your Phone and Pads
so you can have alerts sent to you. There are a couple of good web sites out there like
Seabreeze and BOM so always keep up to date with the current weather as there is no
real reasons to get caught out in poor conditions, and if you have to call for help you
are putting others peoples life's at risk.
So get out on the water and have some fun.
Colin Pitstock, Cruising Captain and Vice-Commodore, Cruising.
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FUTURE EVENTS:
November Meeting
Guest Speaker:
Mon. 19th November, 7:30 p.m.
Phil Darling - Seamanship and Self-Sufficiency
As well as being the Cruising Vice-Captain, Phil is a commercial Master V and
Yachtmaster Instructor. During this last presentation before the Christmas and
summer cruising period, Phil will take you through a number of topics relating to sail
cruising seamanship and self-sufficiency for short- handed coastal cruising.
Christmas Party – 14th December
Festivities are now just around the corner, so make sure everyone
starts getting involved early with brunch on Sunday 2nd December.
Not only will we enjoy wonderful food and good company we can
"deck the halls" whilst singing along to Christmas carols. So don't
forget 9am Sunday 2nd December.
The Christmas party is all set for Friday 14th
December with a wonderful Seafood dinner and Christmas
dessert provided by Cala Luna. Limited other choices will be
available from the bar, so let’s get the party started with a
champagne or cocktail at 6:30pm followed by dinner.
Bookings and payment will be required in advance via the office the cost is just $45. So
dust off the festive frocks and party attire and see you there on the 14th December!!
Hilary Gallagher, ‘Galan’
ʌ
ʌʌʌ
On Saturday 15th December
Parade of Lights and Sugarloaf Raft-up
Arranged by Middle Harbour Marine Watch.
Assemble in Pearl Bay at 8pm for an 8.30 start
Yachts parade in line astern displaying as many festive lights as possible.
Why? Because its good fun and a great way to get to Sugarloaf Bay for a raft-up
around 10pm, and
To my way of thinking, it’s a good way of saying “Thank you” to the inhabitants
surrounding Middle Harbour for keeping a watchful eye on the security of moored
craft in Middle Harbour throughout the year and reporting suspicious activities to
police. During the parade it is not uncommon to exchange shouted wishes for the
festive season to those ashore.
Glynne Attersall,
SV Simply Irresistible
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Middle Harbour Yacht Club
Cruising Division
New Year’s Cruise by Mike McEvoy
January 2 to 16, 2013
SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Here is the header and some of the content for the New Year’s Cruise Sailing
Instructions. Start your planning now; it will be a great cruise and we plan to see the
whole of the lake.
1. PREAMBLE
The intention is to sail north to Lake Macquarie, weather permitting, and enjoy
delights of exploring the lake.
the
2. THE CRUISE
The intended cruise shall be as indicated below. Vessels are responsible for their own
navigation, in accordance with good seamanship. The Coordinator will initiate a
Compass Rose call on VHF Ch16 at 1045 on Jan 2nd, 2013 to all vessels to confirm who
will be participating in the event.
The planned schedule (subject to change due to weather conditions) is as follows:
Jan 2nd, 2013
Jan 2nd, 2013
Jan 4th, 2013
Jan 5 – 15th
Jan 16th, 2013
1045
1100
Roll call on VHF16/VHF77
Depart Hunters Bay en route to
Coaster’s Retreat, Pittwater. MHYC
mooring booked for cruise participants
0600
Depart Coaster’s Retreat en route to
Swansea to be there at the top of the
tide at noon.
See section inside Enjoy exploring the lake and other
activities
11:00 Swansea Depart for Pittwater/Sydney
Bridge
LAKE MACQUARIE CRUISE PROGRAM
The following is very much an indicative program for the cruise, as it will be
dependent upon weather and wind conditions and also if better ideas etc come up
during the week. It is with the benefit of direct input from the LMYC Cruising Division
for which we give grateful thanks and acknowledgement.
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Once we get into the lake we will head for LMYC for the night. LMYC is at Belmont, not
far to the North East of the “drop over” from the Swansea Channel into the lake
proper. The drop over marks the demarcation point of tidal stream. Once on the lake
the tide varies by only about .2 metre.
The cruise on the Lake will start on Friday 5 January and we will spend the night
around the Rathmines F jetty or Styles Point area dependent on wind direction. This
way we start the Cruise on the lake at about the middle of the length of the lake. The
program below also gives some ideas of the activities we have in mind for the week,
even if they may change from day-to-day.
Indicative Program
 Friday: Sail to Styles Point/Rathmines for Happy Hour and BBQ ashore starting
about 4 pm. Activity – Preview the Cruise – last minute ideas/plan changes.
 Saturday: Sail to Warners Bay/Cockle Bay/Marmong area via Toronto and
Kooroora Bay. Optional afternoon Activity – visit Art Gallery. Evening meal perhaps
in a nearby park.
 Sunday: Sail the Lake to Chain Valley Bay at the southern end of the lake. The lake
is about 24 km long, so this is a good sail
 Monday: Lazy day – morning coffee ashore, games, sail to Pulbah Island for
overnight stay. (Side depending on weather.) (Your Coordinator once spent the
night on the northern side of Pulbah Island in a stinking Southerly storm and felt
quite comfortable).
 Tuesday: Morning coffee ashore; explore Pulbah Island. Lunch aboard, then sail to
Crangan Bay/Gwandalan. Dinner at Gwandalan Bowling Club.
 Wednesday. Lazy day, coffee ashore, games, trivia quiz. Replenish supplies. Sail to
Shingle Splitters near Balcolyn. Sundowners and evening meal ashore.
 Thursday: – motor/sail to western side of Bonnells Bay, anchor and do a dinghy run
up Dora Creek. Lunch at a convenient spot. Return to boats and sail to Brown’s
Bay. Meal ashore.
 Friday: Sail to Wangi Wangi to head ashore for dinner at the Wangi RSL which has a
boat jetty or Wangi District Workers Club.
 Saturday: Styles Point for “left-overs” meal ashore or “take-away” meal or eat at
local restaurants
 Sunday: Sail up to Marmong Point and Warners Bay to see the remainder of the
lake and head to Croudace Bay to overnight.
 Monday: Sail to LMYC to gather for a BBQ with the LMYC Cruising Division at the
Club. BYO food or purchase a meal at the Club’s restaurant. In need we will arrange
a run to a butcher to buy meat for the BBQ. This will be a great opportunity to
7
renew acquaintances and thank our friends at LMYC for their support and
assistance.
Some possible activities:
Cards, Games – Boule etc Trivia quiz
Fancy dress night
Don’t forget to bring folding chairs and portable BBQ if you have one.
A table would also be useful.
I look forward to feedback on what activities you would like.
Sunday Breakfast at MHYC
Breakfast in the Sandbar 9:00 a.m. Sunday 2nd December
Come along and join the Cruising Division for an indulgent breakfast
and
Deck the halls for our Christmas festivities while you
practice your Carol singing
PAST EVENTS:
090° Easterly Cruise and raft up
November 10, 2012
This year we had nine boats interested in participating in the 090!
Saturday’s forecast reduced the fleet to five starters. Winds were
up to 30 Kts with a combined sea and swell of up to 4 meters. Very
different to last year’s 15Kts NE and 0.5 m swell!
It turned out to be Southerly winds 18-23 Kts with gusts in the upper 20’s and
combined sea and easterly swell of about 3.5 meters.
Crew from Shazam, Bliss, Inish Kea and Simply Irresistible met at MHYC to discuss the
weather conditions and possible alternatives. Simply Irresistible was having window
repairs and Inish Kea was undergoing keel repairs so we decided to share the crews
and take a shortened course east and practice heaving-to on Shazam and Bliss.
Meanwhile Phil Darling and a crew of students set out from Port Hacking on
Nightingale, a Beneteau Oceanis 37, to the pre-arranged mark, 33°49’S 151° 29’E. Phil
sent us a message that it was “pleasant but vigorous”!
8
Due to a communication breakdown John Eastway took his newly acquired 50Ft
Flemming motor sailor, Flemmingo, up the Parramatta River to get some traffic
maneuvering experience.
Shazam and Bliss headed out with 2 reefs in their mainsails and half headsails furled.
Just the right amount of sail to stay in control in the conditions. As we passed through
the Heads a fleet of off shore racing boats were galloping out on a NE course to an
ocean mark. We had to pass due East through the fleet! We positioned Bliss below
the third boat looking for a gap between two boats to cut out to the East. We all
charged along together on a NE course punching over the swells. One race boat
gestured that they wanted to get below us. We replied that we wanted to go above
them. They yelled back: “Then slow down!”. A quick bit of trimming and a dash
through the gap between two boats and we were through and galloping East with
Shazam.
Once a few miles out to sea we tacked around a Caltex gas ship and reached toward
South Head, surfing the swells all the way in. Shazam mastered heaving-to in the big
seas. Ask Colin and Glynne how this is done under main alone. Once back inside the
Harbour, Bliss continued South up to the Opera House seeing a top wind speed of 27
Kts. We had an exciting sail, testing our new headsail (only half of it as half was furled)
in which Tony Hannan put a window for better forward vision.
As we returned to Middle Harbour Nightingale crossed our bow on their return from
the said mark. They were the only boat to actually go to it this year. Last year we had
three.
The 4:30 Spit bridge opening was a parade of MHYC CD boats: The Breeze, Bacchus,
Rapture, Shazam, Bliss, Inish Kea nearly all heading to Sugarloaf Bay for the night.
Three other boats, Flemmingo, Peter Pan, and Artful Dodger, were already there.
Many of us descended on Flemmingo for the Cooks tour. I hope that we will see a full
review in My Boat soon. Those of us who visited the engine room were dazzled by an
immaculate Gardiner diesel and hydraulic system off which I would happily eat my
dinner. BBQ’s and ovens blazed producing another delicious evening of boat food. I
do hope that Chef’s Corner will one day feature the 3 tier birthday cake that the Peter
Pan crew baked for yours truly.
Sunday Morning was fine and sunny with a gentle nor-easter to sail home on. Could it
get any better?
Michael Mulholland-Licht, ‘Bliss’.
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Delivery of Zen – Part 2 - Rosslyn Bay to Sydney
Tuesday – Arrived at Rosslyn Bay early in the a.m. and refuelled. The
weather forecast a big southerly so we decided to wait it out in
Rosslyn Bay on the marina. After the very necessary showers we
were ready to face the day. A curious incident happened to one of
the crew from TPC. She had come back from the showers to where both boats were at
the far end of the marina. Maybe the marina management thought we were a rowdy
bunch of yachties (not so), so we were as far away from the live-aboards and
restaurant as possible to the northern end of the marina. Anyway, the female member
of TPC crew was using the time of the long walk back from the shower block to send
an e-mail on her iPhone. So intent was she in this task she walked off the end of the T
head between ZEN and TPC. So much for the shower and all her gear, including iPhone
which all got a thorough soaking, I think another shower became necessary.
I came upon this scene as I made my way back to the boats after my shower. After
some quick action with the iPhone with a rinse in fresh water, some metho to dry it
out and a hair dryer it started to operate again after some hours of drying out.
Rev wasn’t quite so lucky when the following night a wave thundered through the
cockpit during a round up and the small hatch in the cockpit had been left open. All his
gear and iPhone were drenched. The iPhone didn’t recover. It was a good lesson to
both of us to keep the hatches closed while at sea.
Once we were cleaned up some crew went to town in Yeppoon and one went on a
tour of Great Keppel Island. Others of us went to the Keppel Bay Sailing Club where
we arrived too late for lunch. So, a liquid lunch it became. I discovered a local brew
called Summer, from the XXX group, perfect for quaffing on a summer’s day. By the
time we headed back to the marina it was time to head for Beaches Restaurant at the
southern end of the marina, where we all had a lovely meal.
Wednesday – We set out for Pancake Creek, Bustard Head, timing our arrival to settle
down for the night after late sundowners on board ZEN and a combined meal. We
departed Pancake Creek at dawn to time our arrival with the incoming tide to the
Great Sandy Straits.
Thursday – By the time I came on watch we were into the Straits under power and
starting to follow the markers , with TPC being advised to stay close behind us because
ZEN had a close call to touching bottom on the way north. Fortunately the track taken
north was still recorded on Simrad because when we got to the tricky point where the
course diverts south east thick fog rolled in, reducing visibility to zero. At the time I
was on the wheel with Gordon at the nav table guiding us using the track on Simrad.
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The depth below the keel was down to about 50 cm at the floating port mark. I had
been using the iPad chart to navigate up to that point but was very relieved when the
fog lifted. From there on we had bright sunshine and emerged at the Wide Bay Bar
with a relatively calm sea. Over the rest of the day the wind rose from the North until
we were doing 9 to 12 knots constantly with the odd burst of speed up to 15 knots
with the strongest breeze 35 knots. This continued for many hours until dying away
considerably as we headed around the Stradbroke Islands coming in from seaward to
Southport, where we arrived at 00.30 on Friday morning.
Friday – flew back to Sydney
Once we arrived at our designated berth on the SYC marina it was a quick clean-up of
the boat and hang out our foul weather gear to dry, a rum and coke (or two) then
some sleep. Gordon had decided we would head back to Sydney rather than wait out
the predicted southerly over Saturday and Sunday then no breeze for two days. So on
the Friday we packed up the boat put the covers on, handed over perishable food to
TPC and headed for Coolangatta airport and flew home for the weekend, including
Father’s Day, so I unexpectedly got to spend Father’s day with my family – brilliant.
Following Tuesday – flew back to Gold Coast airport thence to Southport. ZEN was
hauled out of the water on the travel lift to insert a new rudder bearing because
scraping noises could be heard. We departed Southport bar at 16:00. The wind came
round from the north, poled out headsail, averaging 11 knots at times. ELENI (Tonly
Levett’s Sydney 38) with three on board had departed Southport early in the morning
and maintained a 50 NM lead on us all the way to Sydney. The Philosopher’s Club,
again with three on board left a little later and got back to MHYC in time for lunch at
Cala Luna on Thursday.
Wednesday – Wind again from the north, top speed 19.5 knots under poled out
headsail and reefed main.
Thursday 6 September – Wind to sou-west, boat still doing 8 – 10 knots. The trip from
Southport to North Head, Port Jackson took just 45 hours. ZEN was flying. As we were
heading in from about 12 NM offshore to Sydney Heads I took a break from steering
and lay down on the afterdeck for a rest after switching on the auto-helm. I could
again hear the scraping noise which we had thought was the top of the rudder
scrapping the hull. It occurred to me that when hand steering I could not hear the
scrapping. It turns out that the hydraulic arm on the auto-helm was making the noise.
Relief all round, as we had previously thought it might be an expensive repair job.
It was some of the most exhilarating sailing I have done, not under race conditions.
Gosh those beers at MHYC were good after we got in about 14:00 and did a quick
clean-up of ZEN. Gordon had mentioned the problem he had with 4 x 20 litre jerry
cans of diesel roped off to the back of ZEN, in that they would sit in the garage for
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eight months and he had more empty jerry cans than he knew what to do with. I
jokingly suggested that I might be able to take the four off ZEN to relieve him of that
problem. Over the beers he agreed to my suggestion. So, the following Wednesday
when I was taking Jabiru around to Davis Marina for slipping for an anti-foul, I
dropped in to B Arm at MHYC and transferred the jerry cans from ZEN to Jabiru where
we transferred the fuel to Jabiru’s tanks. As I said to Gordon in a thank you SMS “I did
my best to use about 20 litres of diesel on the short trip from MHYC to Davis Marina in
North Harbour.
So, there you have it, even though I now have a “stink” boat I can still get the chance
to enjoy sailing as well. Hence Jabiru’s registration number on the MHYC register
“MH5050” i.e. 50:50 Sailing and Power.
Mike McEvoy, ‘Jabiru’.
Memories
2. Part of the Cruise to Port Stephens and the Myall Lakes Cruise
in 1966
Having reached Port Stephens, we headed for the Myall Lakes. On
the approach to Tea Gardens, we were early for the high tide and
touched bottom, so we anchored to wait for a little more water.
There were no Echo Sounders back then and also no bridge over to
Hawk’s Nest. Not long after an open launch came up the channel with one person on
board and he asked us for a tow as he had an engine problem. I think this fellow
named John was about to run out of fuel. He had realized we were waiting for the
tide.
While we waited John told us his father ran a converted ex-Fairmile Cruise Boat up the
Myall River and into the Myall Lakes on weekly Cruises. She was called the
“Vagabond”, which we still see out these days on Cruises on Sydney Harbour on
Saturday afternoons. John often accompanied his father on these cruises and knew
the river very well. We told John our cruise plans. He offered to pilot us up the river
to-morrow, to the first lake.
We anchored overnight at Tea Gardens and were surprised by the noise of Dolphins
after dark. Early next day, we set off from Tea Gardens, with John’s launch in tow, up
river and passed through Pine Plantations and open stretches and small lakes and
rounded all the various bends in the river, without touching the bottom. John had
been a fantastic guide. It was early afternoon when, just short of the first lake, which
is the Broadwater Lake, John left in his launch to try and return before dark.
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We found a magic spot to have lunch, where the metre high river bank was vertical
and the river over 3 metres deep against the bank, complete with an overhanging tree
trunk, (to tie up to) in a location called Tamboy, about 16 miles from Port Stephens.
Helen went forward and climbed up onto the top of the pulpit, to reach out with a
rope (line) and pass it over the trunk. When leaving, we could just let one end go.
There was a current running against us, back down the river and the tree trunk was
quite large. Helen reached out with one hand over the tree trunk and the other hand
under, but her hands did not quite meet on the far side. As she strived to reach the
rope’s end, unfortunately the current caused the yacht to drift backwards, leaving
Helen hugging the trunk suspended over the water. It is not a good idea to leave your
young bride hanging about! (over cold river water) I decided there was only one thing
to do and that was keep cool and slowly motor the pulpit back under her feet. I can’t
remember what was said during, nor particularly after this incident, but my rating as a
skipper had definitely not improved. Over lunch we regained our composure.
After lunch we prepared to depart by disconnecting the tree trunk rope and putting
the engine in forward. We did not go forward. I had a terrible thought we had lost
forward gear. The thought of backing down the river in reverse, all those miles, was
not a good prospect. Face it and try reverse. We did not go backwards. Gearbox gone?
Then came the terrible thought of trying to sail the yacht back down the narrow
winding river. Damn near impossible, even for a skiffy. How could the gearbox fail
without any warning?
I put the engine in forward again, made sure we
were clear of the bank, checked the depth forward,
there was plenty, then aft and saw water being
pushed out the back by the propeller, which was
obviously driving. The puzzle was too much. I put
the gear lever in neutral, then revved the engine
right up and shoved the gear lever in forward. Not
smart. The boat rocked forward, there was a
terrific snapping crunch followed by a bang as a
large branch hit the deck, but we were away. The
upper part of the mast had somehow become
hooked in the tree.
Lesson learned. Look up. (and don’t try the engine
stunt again, you might just wreck something).
Bill Humel, ‘As free as the Breeze’
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JULIAN IS HOME……………by Noel Parker
Those of you that may remember a little yellow yacht that was tied
off at the end of an arm at the yacht club back in December of 2010
and met the skipper "Julian Musto" may be happy to know that he
has finally made it home to England safely.
I met Julian when he was going through the Spit Bridge. He told me he was looking
for somewhere to moor for the night and asked the procedure for going through the
bridge, I told him of a spare mooring near mine that he could use.
Over the next two months I came to know Julian well. Julian had just spent six weeks
sailing across the Tasman from Auckland. His boat "Harrier" is only 24 feet long and
he was 78 years old sailing around the world on his own. He had left England 9 years
earlier.
Julian moved down to a mooring at the Cammeray Marina and I would often call in
with a few beers or a bottle of red and Jean and I had him over for dinner. It was
fascinating listening to his story, he had set off to retrace Darwin's journey on the
Beagle. I asked him why on earth would he want to do this on his own at his age in
that tiny boat and he said, why not…. I could not think of a better answer.
He told me he had no radio or EPIRB. I offered to give him my old 121. I explained
that they had just been replaced by the 406 but were still monitored by planes and
they would be the most likely to pick up a distress signal. He told me that he did not
want any outside assistance, that if he got into trouble he would not want
to endanger anyone else and he had lived a long and happy life.
He had many stories to tell and has often sent me email updates of his amazing
adventures and asked me to edit his journal with regard to details of his stay in
Australia so I am sure that a book will be forthcoming.
His last email was to tell me that he had made it back to Portsmouth from where he
had set out some 11 years and 50000 miles ago. I emailed Julian back and said I
could not see him swallowing the anchor and sitting back in his rocking chair and
enjoying retirement. I am sure there will be some more sailing and I look forward to
reading his book.
Noel Parker, ‘Ballymagirl’
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Sleep better …… Mike McEvoy MV Jabiru
At a Cruising Division meeting recently I spoke about the Froli Sleep system. I first
came across this in the Afloat magazine where it was advertised. With a new boat a
requirement was comfortable sleeping. On Sarus we had an inner spring mattress
which was custom made to fit the double berth. So, we were not going to put up with
the discomfort of a faom mattress on Jabiru; we wanted at least the same level of
comfort. A bit of research on the net convinced me to try the Foli system.
The “a better way to go” website, which is based in Australia gave me the answers I
was looking for. Since the double berth on Jabiru is not a uniform rectangle, having
only two straight edges, it became necessary to send a drawing of the baseboard to
the website. The contact details are on the website and I was sent a template to try
and replicate the shape of the baseboard. Then, when I admitted to Carol that it
would be difficult to do she simply asked for the dimensions and a scanned copy of my
crude drawing of the shape of the baseboard. From that Carol was able to produce
the required shape of Froli compnents to fit the template. This included softer units to
place under the shoulders so there is better support. These are colour coded. On the
curved edges of the bed are placed half units to follow the curve. Where necessary are
tensioner devices to give the system strength to make it more supportive.
I commenced installation from the bow and laid out the base units which clip
together. On those are placed the actual units the matress lies on. They are given a
half turn to clip them in so that they do not come apart in use. The whole process of
installation took about 2 hours. I had quite a number of half units left over so I
ordered more units to be able to install the Foli system under one of the single
matresses in the second cabin. So, if ever you do a sleepover on Jabiru, make sure you
get the bottom bunk. There is a 38mm space beneath the matress that allows airflow,
thus reducing moisture build up.
If you have hatches in the baseboard the complete Foli system can be lifted, much like
you would the mattress, to access the storage under the bunk. So far, we are very
happy with the purchase albeit that the initial cost seemed high but the comfortable
sleep is worth it.
15
Chef’s Corner …….with Colin Pitstock.
It's almost time for the fat man in the red suit to come down the
chimney, can you believe it's almost time to drag out the Chrissy
decorations again, it feels like they have only just gone back in
the box. Let's do some Chrissy food, while you’re doing your
Christmas cooking grab that bottle of brandy that you will use for
your rum ball or the bottle of sherry that you will use for the
cake, remember one for the cook and one for the pot.
Rapture Christmas cake - This is a CWA Recipe
Degree of difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
 1 pound butter
 1 pound castor sugar (2 cups)
 1 tablespoon brandy
 1 pounds eggs (8 average-sized)
 1 pound plain flour (3 1/3 cups)
 1/4 cup self-raising flour
 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
 1/2 teaspoon all-spice
 1 pound dried mixed fruit
 Pinch of salt
 In a large bowl, beat together softened butter and sugar til creamy then add
brandy.
 In a separate bowl, beat eggs until frothy then fold eggs in to the creamed mixture
gradually and gently.
 Sift the dry ingredients together (the flour mixture).
 Spread fruit on to a flat plate and sprinkle some flour on top then rub fruit through
the flour.
 Carefully fold the flour mixture alternately with the fruit mixture in to the creamy
mixture and you have the cake mixture.
 Grease a 20cm cake tin then line the tin with baking paper allowing enough for a
'collar' of about 10cm as well as a base and lid.
 Cook in slow oven (about 150C) for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and after 2 hours remove the
lid so the top of the cake will brown.
 When cooked, turn oven off, wrap cake in newspaper (whilst still in the tin) and
leave to cool slowly inside the oven.
 When cool, pour a little more brandy on top.
Wipe a wet brush over the top of the cake so it has a shine on it when it cooks.
The slower you cool the cake the better wrap it in a towel to slow the cooling process.
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Free as a Breeze Christmas Ham Serves 12–15.- Thanks to Donna Hay.
Remember that one drink for the cook.
You need:
 3kg leg of ham
 1½ cups (265g) brown sugar
 ¼ cup (60ml) sherry vinegar
 ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
 ¼ cup cloves
(Yumm!!!!)
Method:
 Preheat oven to 200ºC (390ºF).
 Carefully remove the skin from the ham,
leaving a little skin on the knuckle.
 Use the point of a sharp knife to score a criss-cross pattern into the fat, making
sure not to cut all the way through.
 Place in a baking dish lined with non-stick baking paper.
 Cover the knuckle with baking paper to prevent burning and secure with kitchen
string.
 Combine the sugar, vinegar and mixed spice and brush over the ham.
 Place the cloves in the centre of each diamond.
 Roast for 35 minutes, brushing with glaze at 10-minute intervals.
ooooo000ooooo
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PHOTO CORNER
……………..hints from Wolfgang Kullik
Looking for a Leica Camera ??
Whilst perusing the web for ideas I came across the Web-site for the Digital Camera
Warehouse. http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/category1239_1.htm
Here I found offers for Leica Cameras. I believe Leica make some of the best lenses in
the world. Panasonic use these lenses for their better cameras. Leica cameras sell at
the premium end of the price offering. On this web-site are 4 cameras on offer.
Ranging from a good quality travel camera (the Leica V-Lux 40 shown below) to the
Top Quality traditional styled Leica X2. (Also shown below)
The travel camera can be bought at a lower price in its Panasonic guise. However, for
something special the Leica X2 is the go.
The Elmarit lense is top quality and should produce excellent results in most light
conditions.
Leica V-Lux 40 Digital Camera - 14.1 Megapixel
$699.00
Leica X2 Digital Camera
$2099.00
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Boat Bits:
Buy,
Swap, & Sell
For Sale: Sails - from my Bavaria 42 “Union”
2 x 3DL mainsails [with frp battens]
3 x non-overlapping jibs, light, medium & heavy
1 x carbon mainsail
1 x 150% Kevlar/mylar genoa
5 x zip up life jackets
To be sold as one lot only. View at Hood Sailmakers - 19 West St Brookvale
$3300 the lot
Contact:
Bruce Ritchie on 0419 436 151
Or 9948 1026
To Swap: Outboard for tender - 10hp 2-stroke Mercury outboard, recently
serviced by OMS for a smaller outboard - about 7hp 2-stroke.
Contact:
Greg Cockle on 0450 311 190
or email
gcockle7@gmail.com
For Sale: 50m of 5/16 galvanised chain.
In reasonable condition. Offers?
Contact:
Glynne Attersall on 0417 028 931
Or email
Glynne01@optusnet.com.au
For Sale: 4 Person Life Raft For Sale Zodiac 4MP 'Open Sea"
In Container with Cruising Emergency Pack DOM 7/2006
Currently Certified to 9th Aug 2013 - Offers
Contact:
John Eastway on 0419 717757
Or email
john@eastway.tv
If you have any items you wish to sell, or are searching for an item, please email Jean
Parker at jnparker@live.com.au for inclusion in next month’s magazine.
19
COASTAL CRUISERS – where are they now?
Kachina – Final Log Extracts to 17th October 2012.
4/9/12
At 07:00 hrs left Bundaberg for Pancake Creek which is about a ten hour
run. Signed on with VMR Bundaberg and later in the day transferred to
VMR Round Hill. Wind from the south at 7 kts. During the day it moved
gradually around to the east and increased to 15 kts. Had a minor
accident around 14:00 hrs when Lena scalded her arm whilst making
tea. Immersed the area in cold water for 5 minutes before inserting the
arm into a plastic wine bottle cooler collar from the freezer. Then
slathered the area with Solugel (see...it does come in useful) topped this
with gauze and wrapped the arm in cling-wrap to keep it in place.
Although it was a bit red and tender for a couple of days there was no
blistering or long term damage.
Negotiated the leads into the inner anchorage and dropped the hook.
Eleven other boats here.
6/9/12
Left Pancake Creek after a pleasant two days and decided to head
directly for Rosslyn Bay rather than out to one of the islands. We
certainly wanted to avoid Gladstone given all we had read about the
impact of the development of the Curtis Island gas terminal.
Passed about eight bulk carriers waiting to go into Gladstone. For the
first time we began to see the surface streaked with the reddish brown
scum we have always seen before. The first mate has read up on the
phenomenon and it is most likely a bacterium called Trichodesmium
which appears when water temperatures rise and nutrients are present.
This information comes from the director of the GBRMPA (Great Barrier
Reef Marine Protection Authority). Crossed the Tropic of Capricorn just
after 11:00 hrs. Headed into Keppel Bay and entered the marina.
9/9/12
After reprovisioning and refuelling we visited the Capricornia Cruising
Yacht Club which is within the marina precinct. They have a floating
pontoon which will take two 40’ yachts and the club house is a small
fibro house with a bar run by the members. No food is available but a
reasonable bottled white wine was only $4 a glass.
After checking that there were no recent closures at the Shoalwater Bay
military exercise area we left at 07:15 hrs for Pearl Bay. Heaps more
Trichodesmium in the water. An uneventful motor sail in light S-SE
winds. Just before entering the narrow passage into Pearl Bay we were
treated to a display by a whale and its calf. Dropped anchor at 14:15 hrs.
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Anchorage is a little rolly but hopefully it will settle down.
10/912
11/9/12
13/9/12
It didn’t! We were going to spend a leisurely couple of days in Pearl Bay
but the swell made it uncomfortable, so we set off today for N.E. Percy
Island which is sheltered from the fresh S-SE winds we are enjoying at
present. Logged on with CG Yeppoon. And were told to transfer to CG
Thirsty Sound when abeam Hexham Is. Great sailing today in 15-20 kts
on moderate seas. Arrived off NE Percy Island at around 14:00 hrs and
spent about half an hour searching for a good anchorage. Eventually
dropped in 7 m. Sheltered but plenty of bullets and quite a swell. We
will be safe but uncomfortable tonight.
As predicted, we did not get much sleep last night. However, the wind
had dropped a little and the sun was shining again. As I was retrieving
the anchor a three metre shark cruised slowly past in full “JAWS” mode,
almost on the surface and with dorsal fin cutting the water. I tightened
my grip on the rail!
Great sail to Curlew Is. which is a lovely anchorage protected from the
south by the island and from the north by a long sand bar which has an
entrance from the east and west. We decided to spend the day we had
set aside for Pearl Bay here. Dinghied ashore to the long beach and
swam and fossicked. Very peaceful night with one other boat in the
anchorage. Sea temperature 24.3⁰ C.
Left Curlew at 07:30 hrs headed for Mackay. Motor sailed most of the
day in 10 to 15 kts. Passed through the Hay Point Coal Loader traffic
control area. Reported in as required to VTC and were told that they had
us on their AIS plotting screen. They cleared us to proceed through the
channel and we heard them warning a vessel who had just taken on a
pilot to ensure they had picked up our Class B transmission. The vessel
responded that they had us on their screen and had been watching our
course and speed for some time. I was also able to see all the ships on
my navigation screen as we have a transponder. I find AIS a very useful
safety addition to our navigation suite. Arrived Mackay 14.00hrs.
Had an eventful if Pythonesque dining experience at a new Turkish
Restaurant in the Marina Precinct. The story is too long to relate here,
suffice to say that on our return from our home trip on 27 September
the restaurant had closed down!
Spent the next few days getting ready for our trip to Sydney to catch up
with family and mail and also get the First Mate some medical attention.
Left Mackay for Sydney on Sept 18th.
6/10/12
On return from Sydney fitted an engine starter battery for the first time,
having managed on one bank for everything up to now. Connection was
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relatively straight forward but when testing the installations was totally
confused by the readings from the voltmeter and my battery monitor. I
worked logically through the problem but was no wiser. Then I
remembered my Sherlock Holmes quotations... “when you have
eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must
be the truth.”
I had assumed a few immutables during my testing, one of which was
that when I switched the main switch to battery 1 I was actually looking
at the start battery. However, if this was not the case then this would
explain the confused readings. So I dismantled and removed the chart
table to get at the back of the main switch panel. Sure enough, despite
having 1 and 2 written in felt tip pen on the huge 3/0 AWG red cables
they were connected 1 to 2 and 2 to 1, unbelievable! This wiring error
was not noticeable with a single battery bank, but with two....wires
switched and all retested O.K.
Time to get further north. Left Mackay Marina at 09:00 for Port Newry
27 nm further up the coast. This is our first visit to Port Newry which
was recommended by our neighbours in Mackay. It is a secure and
pretty anchorage protected from NE to South. There is a small campsite
on the opposite island. We liked it so much here we decided to stay an
extra day.
8/10/12
Left port Newry for Abel Point Marina, at least that was our original
intention but as we approached Dent Island we changed our minds and
headed for Hamilton Is. We wanted to have a look at the new sailing
club house which was just being finished last time we were here but not
yet open. Docked on ‘F’ arm very near the commercial wharfs, plenty of
activity to relieve any boredom but a bit noisy. We had a couple of nice
meals on the island and the First Mate swam in the pool (no sharks).
One evening we visited the new club building for sundowners, Robert
Oatley Wines were almost all that were available as you might expect.
Whilst architecturally the club was impressive and the fine dining
restaurant beautifully positioned it somehow lacked the character or
feel of a club. Not sure what we were expecting but whatever it was we
were disappointed. However we still like Hammo as a destination and a
place for a break. After washing and cleaning the boat and laundry we
headed out after an enjoyable couple of days.
10/10/12
Left Hammo this morning headed for Nara Inlet. Whilst circling Refuge
Bay looking for a suitable place to drop anchor. CRUNCH!! We hit an
isolated bommie. Well, in all honesty it wasn’t that isolated. The Skipper
had become a little cocky and ventured too close to the fringing reef. The
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boat sat where she was whilst we assessed the situation, or rather the
skipper did. The first mate was in the corner of the cockpit in the foetal
position. After determining the surrounding area we gunned the motor
and ‘Kachina’ slid off her perch back into deep water. The First Mate is
convinced we have been holed below the waterline and keeps lifting the
hatch in the cabin to check the bilge for water. Whilst the noises of the
grounding were scary the Skipper is convinced we have scraped off some
antifouling paint and perhaps gouged the fiberglass cladding on the keel.
However, we might get a diver to take a look when we go over to Abel
Point Marina tomorrow, there are 30 kt SE winds forecast for the next
couple of days.
11/10/12
Abel Point Marina is currently functioning under administration having
become insolvent. It is still in need of maintenance in the section where
the charter boats and visiting yachts are berthed. Decided not to have a
diver look at the keel. The performance of the boat has not been
affected and there is nothing I need to do until we get back to Sydney.
13/10/12
Still blowing hard but decided to head out today for Woodwark Bay
which should be sheltered from the SE. Headed down to the western
end of the bay but it’s still quite boisterous.
15/10/12
Winds forecast to strengthen again to > 30 kts so we have decided to
move around the corner to Double Bay to see if that is any quieter. It
was a bit calmer and the winds blew themselves out overnight. Yet
another lovely sunset.
16/10/12
to
17/10/12
Headed out this morning for Gloucester Passage. Winds light from SE
but heavy swell left over from the passing low made the trip
uncomfortable. We were going to anchor off Monty’s Resort but the
wind picked up a little and this would have left us on a shallow lee shore
so we continued around to the Eco Resort and picked up one of their
moorings. This proved a bit tricky as the one we picked up had its top
line of ½” chain!! I didn’t realize this until I had lifted the marker float
and by then I did not want to let go. Eventually rigged a bridle. Now
VERY secure, this mooring could hold the QE2. Next day the wind was
much calmer and we took the dinghy ashore and had lunch and beers at
the bar overlooking the beach. We returned to the boat at 14:00 hrs
dropped the chain and turned Kachina’s bow south. We are heading
home.
Trevor & Lena D’Alton SV Kachina
Photographs courtesy of Lena.
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Members are invited to submit articles on subjects of interest, including sailing
adventures, travel experiences, book reviews, jokes, and so on. Write your article
with title, your name and boat name, and email to the editor.
The Cruising Division of MHYC meets on the 3rd Monday of each
month, and uses as its sailing pennant a flag with a white
compass rose on a red background.
MHYC Cruising Division members invite a raft-up or cruise in
company whenever they fly our pennant, which we refer to as
‘the compass rose’.
The Cruising Division newsletter is titled ‘The Compass Rose Cruising Log’ and is
published monthly. The newsletter is also available through the MHYC web-site at
www.mhyc.com.au
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