Monday, August 11, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday 6th Coffs to Trial Bay
Lil and ‘Hoover’ trekked down to the shower for a pre departure drenching and just after turning on the water Lil was heard yelping that her eyes had gone foggy……..helps to remove one's sunnies before showering.
Had a great display of whales breaching and slamming for a full 10 minutes about 4 miles off the coast as we journeyed south in calm waters and abundant sunshine.
The wind slowly built through the day till we were experiencing gusts of up to 33 knots which again was well over the forecast 13 to 18.
All hands nimbly up to bring the main down and batten down the hatches and shorten sheets. The only casualty during the exercise being Lil, who copped a big greenie over the bow, returning to the cockpit looking like an unhappy entrant in a wet T-Shirt competition, “Nice Tits,” Quipped the Admiral, not improving her mood at all.
We made Trial Bay about 2.15 and then jilled around trying to find the best place to anchor for the evening as it was still blowing hard from the west and we were a little exposed. We finally dropped the pick just off a spot where the charts indicate 3 shipwrecks; nice one!
The winds began to ease as Lil cooked the best lunch of Korean Beef….life ain’t bad when you can sit in trial bay, chardy in hand, surrounded by beautiful hills and sparkling, clean azure water, not a soul in sight and be presented with a gourmet meal. Lil seems able to do such feasts so ably and so often we all consider ourselves very fortunate to have her with us.
As darkness fell, The Admiral fed the fishy inhabitants of Trail Bay. He was determined and persevered for some hours without success. When his fingers froze around the line; we dragged him inside and prized them free; a disappointing result for a man who regularly boasts of having once caught crabs around ‘The entrance.’
Thursday 7th Trail Bay to Laurieton/Camden Haven
Up early were the Admiral and Sparrow getting us underway at first light with a strong wind warning for the area later in the afternoon. We wanted to be safely tied up in Laurieton before the squall arrived.
Lil and Curvy decided to luxuriate in their cabins as Twin Spirit made her way down the coast and didn’t surface till 09.00. Lil said she felt like ‘The Queen of Sheba.’ The Admiral said he felt like her too and was quite disappointed when Sparrow pointed out she’d been dead for some time. ‘Hoover’ compensated for her indolence and prepared a delightful breakfast for the crew complete with champagne cocktails to compliment the champagne sailing. Three fabulous hours under sail at 8.5 to 9.5 kts on a flat calm sea. It doesn’t happen often.
Highlight of the day; observing a place named ‘Delicate Nobbies’ indicated on our GPS around midday.
Lil and ‘Hoover’ trekked down to the shower for a pre departure drenching and just after turning on the water Lil was heard yelping that her eyes had gone foggy……..helps to remove one's sunnies before showering.
Had a great display of whales breaching and slamming for a full 10 minutes about 4 miles off the coast as we journeyed south in calm waters and abundant sunshine.
The wind slowly built through the day till we were experiencing gusts of up to 33 knots which again was well over the forecast 13 to 18.
All hands nimbly up to bring the main down and batten down the hatches and shorten sheets. The only casualty during the exercise being Lil, who copped a big greenie over the bow, returning to the cockpit looking like an unhappy entrant in a wet T-Shirt competition, “Nice Tits,” Quipped the Admiral, not improving her mood at all.
We made Trial Bay about 2.15 and then jilled around trying to find the best place to anchor for the evening as it was still blowing hard from the west and we were a little exposed. We finally dropped the pick just off a spot where the charts indicate 3 shipwrecks; nice one!
The winds began to ease as Lil cooked the best lunch of Korean Beef….life ain’t bad when you can sit in trial bay, chardy in hand, surrounded by beautiful hills and sparkling, clean azure water, not a soul in sight and be presented with a gourmet meal. Lil seems able to do such feasts so ably and so often we all consider ourselves very fortunate to have her with us.
As darkness fell, The Admiral fed the fishy inhabitants of Trail Bay. He was determined and persevered for some hours without success. When his fingers froze around the line; we dragged him inside and prized them free; a disappointing result for a man who regularly boasts of having once caught crabs around ‘The entrance.’
Thursday 7th Trail Bay to Laurieton/Camden Haven
Up early were the Admiral and Sparrow getting us underway at first light with a strong wind warning for the area later in the afternoon. We wanted to be safely tied up in Laurieton before the squall arrived.
Lil and Curvy decided to luxuriate in their cabins as Twin Spirit made her way down the coast and didn’t surface till 09.00. Lil said she felt like ‘The Queen of Sheba.’ The Admiral said he felt like her too and was quite disappointed when Sparrow pointed out she’d been dead for some time. ‘Hoover’ compensated for her indolence and prepared a delightful breakfast for the crew complete with champagne cocktails to compliment the champagne sailing. Three fabulous hours under sail at 8.5 to 9.5 kts on a flat calm sea. It doesn’t happen often.
Highlight of the day; observing a place named ‘Delicate Nobbies’ indicated on our GPS around midday.
Monday August 4th Yamba Tavern to Yamba Marina
We caught up on washing and considerable showering “It’s my body and my soap and I’ll wash it as long as I like.” (Sparrow)
Peter Sutton who with wife Kay own and operate the Yamba Marina very generously loaned us their car. We shopped, bought a giant beetroot, had a bit of a poke about Yamba town, then, at you know who’s suggestion, lunched on the beach at ‘Pippis’ “It’s my body and I’ll feed it as much as I like!” (The Admiral)
The crew topped up the water supplies then refueled Twin Spirit and the dingy for the return trip to Broken Bay. Lil who, unlike her life partner can count without using fingers and toes, calculated, with some assistance from Sparrow, who was using his, Twin Spirit’s fuel consumption at 5 litres per hour since leaving Sydney. This is mercifully light given diesel prices of over $2.35 per litre at some marinas.
The day was topped off with a wonderful meal shared with Kay and Peter at the old Pacific Hotel high on the headland overlooking the entrance to the mighty Clarence River; not that we could see it because it was pitch black; more of a luncheon venue perhaps.
Tuesday August 5th Yamba to Coffs Harbour
The crew is still recovering from dinner with Kay and Peter. Some will take more time than others. Not mentioning any names but a certain female person whose nick name had up till now been ‘Curvy’ is now being addressed as ‘Hoover,’ say no more!
Met Kay at 8.30 for a pre-departure tour of her gallery and magnificent sculptures then slid out over the Clarence bar and turned right. At least we got that bit right.
Having read Lucas in Afloat Magazine on the subject of undesired contact with whales and their occasional reported aggressive behaviour, the science department of Twin Spirit undertook some computer simulations on the implications for the cruising fraternity.
Based on the number of near misses we’ve had, we have determined that there is currently a 1 in 32,000 chance of ending ones days due to whale activity on the East Coast of Australia. However, once we factored in the 15% p.a. increase in whale population and the 25% p.a. increase in the number of boats cruising the coast, things started to look a little different. It becomes even more complicated; it’s necessary to allow for the deterioration in skills of your average boating type with age and self-abuse AND the genetic changes in whales. Your average humpback still has a 'species memory' of whalers, harpoons and bloody deaths. This has served us ‘yachties’ well over the years ensuring your whale has an inbuilt nervousness concerning large floating things with drunken, bearded men on board. Despite the best efforts of the Japs this memory is fading. On the mariner’s side, careless navigation is increasing exponentially due to the proliferation of sailing aids, GPS, auto helm, and set and forget waypoint instructions. We were going to call this the ‘Fuckwit Factor’ but demurred on the basis of the fact that we have yet to return safely to Pittwater and will be using all aforementioned aids in our efforts to get there.
We caught up on washing and considerable showering “It’s my body and my soap and I’ll wash it as long as I like.” (Sparrow)
Peter Sutton who with wife Kay own and operate the Yamba Marina very generously loaned us their car. We shopped, bought a giant beetroot, had a bit of a poke about Yamba town, then, at you know who’s suggestion, lunched on the beach at ‘Pippis’ “It’s my body and I’ll feed it as much as I like!” (The Admiral)
The crew topped up the water supplies then refueled Twin Spirit and the dingy for the return trip to Broken Bay. Lil who, unlike her life partner can count without using fingers and toes, calculated, with some assistance from Sparrow, who was using his, Twin Spirit’s fuel consumption at 5 litres per hour since leaving Sydney. This is mercifully light given diesel prices of over $2.35 per litre at some marinas.
The day was topped off with a wonderful meal shared with Kay and Peter at the old Pacific Hotel high on the headland overlooking the entrance to the mighty Clarence River; not that we could see it because it was pitch black; more of a luncheon venue perhaps.
Tuesday August 5th Yamba to Coffs Harbour
The crew is still recovering from dinner with Kay and Peter. Some will take more time than others. Not mentioning any names but a certain female person whose nick name had up till now been ‘Curvy’ is now being addressed as ‘Hoover,’ say no more!
Met Kay at 8.30 for a pre-departure tour of her gallery and magnificent sculptures then slid out over the Clarence bar and turned right. At least we got that bit right.
Having read Lucas in Afloat Magazine on the subject of undesired contact with whales and their occasional reported aggressive behaviour, the science department of Twin Spirit undertook some computer simulations on the implications for the cruising fraternity.
Based on the number of near misses we’ve had, we have determined that there is currently a 1 in 32,000 chance of ending ones days due to whale activity on the East Coast of Australia. However, once we factored in the 15% p.a. increase in whale population and the 25% p.a. increase in the number of boats cruising the coast, things started to look a little different. It becomes even more complicated; it’s necessary to allow for the deterioration in skills of your average boating type with age and self-abuse AND the genetic changes in whales. Your average humpback still has a 'species memory' of whalers, harpoons and bloody deaths. This has served us ‘yachties’ well over the years ensuring your whale has an inbuilt nervousness concerning large floating things with drunken, bearded men on board. Despite the best efforts of the Japs this memory is fading. On the mariner’s side, careless navigation is increasing exponentially due to the proliferation of sailing aids, GPS, auto helm, and set and forget waypoint instructions. We were going to call this the ‘Fuckwit Factor’ but demurred on the basis of the fact that we have yet to return safely to Pittwater and will be using all aforementioned aids in our efforts to get there.
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