august 2008 cn - Royal Brighton Yacht Club

NOTICE BOARD
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
FRIDAY 15TH AUGUST
DINNER MEETING: GUEST SPEAKER
– ANDREW GARRETT
Andrew recently sailed from Melbourne, up the East Coast,
over the ‘Top’, and down the West Coast to Geraldton – much
of it single-handed. Andrew is an entertaining speaker and has
many interesting tales to tell about his adventures.
Usual format – gather at about 6:30pm, guest speaker 6:45pm
followed by dinner at 8pm.
Please book with Mandy (9592 3092) by Tuesday 12th August.
Gold stars for those who book early!
FRIDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER
DINNER MEETING: GUEST SPEAKER
– JOHN HUTTON, BOAT BOOKS
John Hutton, from Boat Books, will talk about charts. He will
reveal new chart symbols, the black art of amending charts
and many other ‘titbits’. Mark this date in your diary now.
FRIDAY 17TH OCTOBER
DINNER MEETING: GUEST SPEAKER TBA
*Also in the planning stage is another Cruise Weekend in the
Bay when the weather’s just a little warmer. Keep an eye on
Cruising News on the RBYC website for details.
MEMBER NEWS
David & Rosie Ingenue, have headed north again, this time
to participate in Hamilton and Airlie Race Weeks. They were
planning to go the long way round (via Vanuatu), but the
Vanuatu Race was cancelled this year due to lack of entrants.
Ron Thiele has recently sold his beautiful cruising boat Taurus.
Taurus is heading south to Tassie and Ron will apparently have
‘visiting rights’.
Also sold, we hear, is Ron Vandenberg’s boat Conrad.
Another great cruising boat – not sure where she’s heading!
A warm welcome to new cruising members Michael Davidson
Rough Red, Hugh Jones Polly Jane and Elaine Markby.
Hope to see you all at our forthcoming functions.
Sue Drummond Folie a Deux has spent the past few weeks
in Europe and has covered more than 1700 kilometres on a
bicycle. (No, not in that race!) Having a wonderful time by all
accounts. Husband Brian is about to join her and they plan to
spend some time on a French Canal Boat.
Also overseas, Roger & Ronda Walker, (in between boats
at the moment), are visiting Scandinavia as well as other
European countries.
Cor, she’s tough, the editor of
this rag. “I want a Chair Chat
and I want it now.” is what I get
month after month. A sensitive
artist like me needs time (and
maybe a snifter of brandy) to create the mood necessary
to produce Pulitzer Prize winning copy. I get no sympathy
for writer’s block. I get no help when my muse (name of
‘Urania’ if you must know) has forsaken me. Then there’s
the sexual harassment question. Not only am I treated
like a hack, but also, if I want to keep my job, I have to
sleep with her. Mind you, losing the pay packet wouldn’t
be much of a loss. The remuneration consists of board
and keep, a little pocket money and that’s about it.
Then there’s the ‘print paper ceiling’. Is there even the
remotest possibility that I’ll ever crash through it to make
the position of editor? No chance of that happening I’ve
been told. Apparently promotion is extremely unlikely
since I’m a ‘man’. Have you noticed that the present and
previous editor is of the female gender? Take heed dear
male readers, all too soon the requirement to put the
toilet seat down will not be a joke.
I’m telling you, it’s enough to make a man run away to sea.
Now there’s a thought. I even have access to a boat. On
second thought, the weather is a bit chilly at the moment.
Further more, I’m not sure where my gloves are or whether
there are any sandwiches in my lunch box. Come to think
of it sleeping with the editor is kind of warm at this time
of year. Perhaps I should wait until summer before I take
off. Besides, I don’t think this month is my chance for the
‘Pulitzer’ so I guess I’ll have to hang around to try again
next month.
CHAIRMAN WILL
(Editor’s Note. Does anyone know of a reputable home for the
terminally bewildered?)
NEWSLETTER ARTICLES If you’ve been cruising,
know anyone who’s been cruising or even just dream
about going cruising then we’d love to hear from you. Any
articles, with or without photos, would be most welcome.
Letters to the Editor are also welcome. Please e-mail to:
willm@hotkey.net.au - thanks Ed.
R o y a l B r i g h t o n Ya c h t C l u b C r u i s i n g G r o u p
CRUISING NEWS
AUGUST 2008
Mandolin Wind - CRUISING YACHT OF THE MONTH
SUE & MARTIN STEVENS
Our boat is a Catamaran – so die-hard monohull lovers,
bail out now!
Long term cruising is something Martin and I have been
working towards for several years – and our preference
has always swayed towards ‘horizontal sailing’ for long term
‘live –aboard’ comfort. Add in the roominess provided by
most Cats (not to mention the maneuverability of those twin
screws, 6m apart) and the choice of a Catamaran was a
done deal.
Our friends will tell you that we have always ‘lusted’ after a
Perry Catamaran – but there was a time when we despaired
of ever being able to afford one. The choice of a Perry was
easy – built on the Gold Coast, Perrys are well known
amongst the catamaran fraternity and have a reputation
for being well designed and built, strong and sea worthy.
In particular, the high bridge deck clearance and the quality
and size of the deck fittings and rigging set them apart from
many other Australian built Cats. They are true blue water
cats originally designed by Grainger in consultation with
Perry. But all this comes at a price, of course!
A new Perry was totally out of the question (over $1,000,000
now) so we started surfing the Net/scouring boat mags in
search of the perfect (ie affordable) vessel. Due to their
popularity (and the fact that only about 8 vessels have
been built each year since 1999), second hand craft proved
reasonably difficult to locate, and those that we found
wanted pretty much their original purchase price. To say
they held their value was an understatement!
Over a period of 18 months or so we began to get a feel
for what was around, and on a holiday in the Whitsundays
in 2004 we did the rounds of the boat brokers and saw
several Cats – only 2
of which were Perrys.
One of these was
‘Zenani’. Built in 1999,
Zenani was in charter
with ‘Whitsunday
Private’. She was
a 4 cabin version
(a double/queen
cabin at the end of
each hull) which
was particularly
popular with the
charter companies.
Despite being number 3 off the
production line her hull design was exactly the same as the
current batch of boats coming off the mould and although
she could do with some TLC, she was in pretty good
condition. There was one problem however – she was still
too expensive for us – and so the search continued.
A few more months went by and we were just about at the
point of giving up and settling for a monohull to cruise on
instead(!) – when out of the blue we received a call from
a Yacht Broker at Airlie Beach. “Were we still looking for a
Perry?”
After our assurances that we decidedly were still looking
– the Broker informed us that due to personal issues, the
owner of ‘Zenani’ had decided on a ‘fire-sale’ as he was
desperate for cash and we could have first dibs if we had an
answer for him in the next day or so.
continued over page...
CRUISING GROUP COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chairperson Will Merritt
9598 8626
Secretary
Jenny Collins
9553 6156
Editor
Pam Merritt
9598 8626
Ian Mather
David Pollard
David Asprey
John Sagar
Sue Stevens
Mavis Sheedy
9800 1474
9596 5633
9592 5300
9712 0281
0418 700 227
9347 5561
PA G E 2
CRUISING NEWS
MANDOLIN WIND
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR
AWARD WINNERS FOR 2008
(continued from cover)
CRUISING YACHTSMAN OF THE YEAR
CRUISING YACHT OF THE MONTH
DAVID PIELE
Martin was on a plane up to Airlie Beach almost immediately
and the deal was soon done – much to our delight and the
disappointment of the many other would-be purchasers literally
waiting in the wings to swoop if we had declined to sign. As if!
That was in May 2005 – and by August 1st , after a full survey
which she passed with flying colours, we were the proud owners
of our own Perry. And we were in for a couple of pleasant
surprises when we finally looked over our purchase in more
detail. Unbeknown to us, the previous owner had recently fitted
a $14,000 Spectra watermaker that had never been used as
he had planned to go cruising, but it didn’t happen. In addition,
we were also happy to discover that the boat already had radar
(unusual for a charter yacht) and, less importantly but still nice,
air conditioning! And as an added bonus, she already had
Australian Shipping Registration.
Her vital statistics - Zenani/Mandolin Wind has a LOA of 13.1
metres and a beam of 6.6 metres, a draft of 1.2 metres and
a total sail area of 1,100 sq ft. She is powered by 2 x 48 hp
Yanmar turbo diesels and can carry 1000 litres of diesel and
1000 litres of water. She weighs in at around 10 tonnes (dry).
She cruises nicely and like all cats really picks up her heels with
wind just forward of the beam or further aft, effortlessly cruising
at 8 – 9 kts on 12-15kts true wind... and no heel!
So much for stats – now for some very interesting historical
facts. Remember Alby Mangels – well he was the original owner
(and Martin is still hoping to find a blonde stashed in one of the
lockers as Alby always seemed to have one draped off his arm!)
It was Alby who came up with the name ‘Zenani’ – apparently
the name of an African Goddess.
Why did we change the name, I hear you asking? Well, our
trip south to bring the boat home to Port Phillip Bay occurred
not long after the Boxing Day Tsunami and over the air waves
‘Zenani’ sounds a lot like ‘Tsunami’! Not too happy with being
continually referred to as ‘Tsunami’ during coastal volunteer
radio scheds we decided to risk the wrath of Neptune and
change the name to ‘Mandolin Wind’
So what’s next for ‘Mandolin Wind’? Well we have spent the last
year or so making changes (read: spending many ‘boat units’ on
things that visually have not changed the boat’s appearance!)
(1 boat unit = $1000 Ed) The boat is now nearly perfectly setup
for two handed long distance cruising.
And we still plan to go cruising in the not too distant future. In
fact, the plan is to leave Port Phillip next March as we have
signed up to cruise Indonesia and need to be in Darwin by the
end of June - but you will have to stay tuned to the ‘Cruising
Newsletter’ to find out more about that!
David and his wife Robyn left RBYC two years ago to fulfil
their dream of long-term cruising on their yacht Maajhi
Re. They have
cruised to New
Zealand and
many South
Pacific Islands,
and are currently
spending
some time in
Bundaberg
before heading
off again
Robyn and David Piele next year.
Cruising Yachtsman of the Year
MOST IMPROVED CRUISER
SUE DRUMMOND
Sue and husband Brian spent some time at Blairgowrie
last year practising going in and out of the Heads on Folie
a Deux before actually taking the big step and heading off
into Bass Strait.
In December last
year they took that
step and sailed to
King Island with
their crew (see
July Newsletter
story). Sue has
been a driving
force behind
Folie’s cruising
A happy Brian Drummond collects the Most
ventures.
Improved Cruiser trophy for wife Sue, who
was overseas.
STARS AND COMPASS TROPHY
PAM MERRITT
What can we
say – cruise on
Andalucia and
you shouldn’t
get lost
Stars & Compass winner
AUGUST 2008
PA G E 5
FROSTBITE CRUISE 2008
BY PAM MERRITT
And another Frostbite Cruise really lived up to its name. Sunday
morning (6/7) dawned sunny and warm(ish), but right on cue,
at lunchtime, the clouds rolled in and a cold wind sprang up.
Despite the wintry weather it was a great Frostbite BBQ with 60
cruisers and 14 boats.
Ten boats - Dallimore, Y Knot, That’s Amore, Emma Kate,
Andalucia, Currawong, Thunder, Mandolin Wind, Tales and
Valkyrie, spent Saturday night up the river, with Charliebird,
Ilkara, From Russia With Love and Folie a Deux joining them
for lunch on Sunday. More people arrived by car and even one
by bicycle!
It’s warm near the barbie!
For those who over-nighted, it was interesting to see how
‘cruisers’ rose to the challenge of backing into their allocated
pens, as is required at Yarra’s Edge Marina. Well it is hard
when you’re used to going in forwards! The entertainment
over, we gathered on the walkway at YE Marina at about 5pm
for the usual ‘cruisy’ drinks and nibbles before heading off to
nearby restaurants.
After helping the Sunday arrivals tie up, picnic baskets
brimming with goodies were unloaded and over a welcome
drink we chatted and admired the colourful array of woolly hats,
scarves and wet weather gear. Some were so well rugged up
it was difficult to identify the wearer. Gourmet delights sizzled
on the BBQ – prawns, kangaroo steaks, marinated chicken
and plenty of humble snags as well. At least it was warm near
the barbie’s.
Who’s the odd man out?
By about 3pm, when we were so cold we were numb, it was
time to pack up and leave. For those on boats, a brisk sail home
in a 25 knot northerly was an exhilarating way to complete a
great cruising weekend (or day). No, it wasn’t a race home...
was it?
Cuddle up and keep warm
JULY MEETING – ROUSEABOUT’S CIRCUMNAVIGATION
BY PAM MERRITT
On Friday 18th July 63 cruising members gathered in the
Olympic Lounge to hear about John and Pat Bloom’s sailing
circumnavigation. It was an excellent talk and an inspiration to
anyone planning some long distance cruising in the future.
John and Pat left Mornington in 1991 on their Catalina 37E’
Rouseabout with the remarkably flexible plan of (in John’s
words) “to cruise for 2 weeks or sail around the world!” Well,
sail around the world they did, eventually. Their first big trip took
them to New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Noumea and back
to Brisbane, where they spent some time preparing their boat
for their circumnavigation. With the benefit of this long distance
sailing behind them they had a better idea of what they needed
to add / change / modify / fix / adapt before setting off.
They headed off again when they finally considered themselves
ready for the big adventure. Their circumnavigation took them
north to Gove and Darwin, then on to Bali, Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Red Sea, Suez Canal and the
Med, where they spent time exploring the wonderful cruising
grounds of Turkey, Greece, Malta, Italy, France and Spain.
Then an Atlantic crossing to Barbados, Trinidad, Venezuela
and on through the Panama Canal. Across the Pacific, calling
at various islands along the way, and home. Sounds easy
doesn’t it?
They were cruising for 7 years altogether, and of course had
many experiences, adventures and some mishaps along
the way. They were Guests of Honour at a local wedding in
Vanuatu and were seconded to appear in a locally produced
movie. They lost a propellor blade on the way to India, and
cleverly fashioned a replacement to keep them going until it
could be replaced.
John was a most entertaining speaker and we were fortunate
to be able to hear about their adventures from the comfort of a
warm, cosy Olympic Lounge. What a fantastic achievement Pat
and John – you didn’t just talk about it, you did it!