Journal Entries

January 2008

2 January - Happy New Year!

I am over waiting for this cyclone to develop. The low pressure system is just hanging around and not making a move. I wish it would just make up its mind and do something. I am getting out of here early in the morning and try to find a sheltered anchorage. The weather prediction is for 30 - 40 knots over the next couple of days and hopefully easing by Saturday. Unfortunately it's going to get worse before it gets better but every day that passes sitting here is another day just wasted. Sailing in strong conditions is good experience, I just wish I had a wind vane or my tiller pilot was working.

Sitting here tonight listening to the wind howling and the sound of halyards slapping on the masts of surrounding boats really stirs something inside me. Perhaps it's the sound of adventure calling.

Everything is stowed and ready to go and I'll leave at 5am, just before the high tide. I've also stowed the dinghy away since it's going to get pretty rough out there and the less on deck the better.

3 January - It wasn't looking too bad this morning. It was going to be a long day, particularly since I will be tied to the tiller for most of it, since my tiller pilot is out of action. I had read a tip from Lyn & Larry Pardey that baked potatoes are great sailing food. This made sense so I put a few in the oven and hoped they would be done by the time I was hungry.

I'm glad I did because within a couple of hours the wind had picked up and was blasting. The waves were also increasing in size very quickly. Fortunately the waves don't get much bigger than a couple of metres on Moreton Bay, but being so shallow they are very short and steep. They hit the boat 2-3 times more frequently than an ocean swell which makes it really difficult to sail to weather.

The old Westsail began to ease into her environment and with a half furled genoa we were sailing at 6.5 knots. The wind was getting up to 30 knots and every now and then a squall would pass. The decks were wet not only from the sea pounding but from the heavy and continuous rain.

Cutty usually seems to enjoy sailing but this was getting too much for her. We were both wet, cold and miserable. Normally she prefers to stay on deck with me and complains when she is down below. I understood this look on her face to mean, "I've had enough up here, take me down below where it's warm and dry". I did just that, toweled her off, grabbed some hot potatoes from the oven and came back up to man the tiller.

Those hot baked potatoes were the most delicious things ever. It's amazing how good something can taste when you are tired, cold and hungry.

After hours sailing East I was looking at the charts again and re-considered my plans. There were several narrow passages, islands and lee shores on the trip ahead and I didn't have an engine or a tiller pilot. With such strong wind I was making lots of leeway and I didn't like the high probability of finding myself trying to claw my way off a lee shore or a sand bar. The wind was also increasing and by the afternoon was predicted to hit 40 knots. I'm certain some of the squalls which passed me were every bit of 40 knots.

To add another problem into the mix I heard a loud noise at some point and not being able to find the origin of it I dismissed it as just an old boat creaking. I later discovered that one of the boomkin stays had failed. Ironically I had intended to replace these, together with the bobstay and bowsprit whiskers. The rigging shop told me they couldn't do it before Christmas so I planned to do it early in the new year. Subconsciously I must have known they were overdue.

Below is the terminal fitting which has given way. It is just sitting there now and gives no support to the boomkin. Potentially this could cause the entire rig to fall down. How close was I to losing the mast today?

and a close up of the failed fitting. Terrifying stuff.

I decided to take my losses and head back to Brisbane where there was a pile berth awaiting and the shelter of high rise buildings. It was another three hours sail to get back to the main channel of the Brisbane River and I had to account for the amount of leeway I was making. I approached the channel at a very wide angle, hoping to intersect at the mouth of the river with enough water beneath me. There were a few uncomfortable incidents with freighters coming into the port and a passenger ship which had leeway trouble of his own, but the captain was very accommodating once he was aware I had no engine and we worked out a plan for him to pass in the narrow channel.

We were finally into the reaches of the river which were well sheltered from the wind. Cutty had slept and was keen to come back on deck. The sun was even making a brief appearance and the decks were beginning to dry off. I still don't think she is impressed.

We made it back to the pile berth in the city late in the afternoon and it was a relief to be out of the wind. I'm glad now that I didn't continue on as I would have been spending the night on anchor with gale winds and a sleepless night.

Poor little Cutty was exhausted, as was I. She crashed on her bed and I did the same. Today was an exciting day.

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16 January - So much for holidays. The weather has been wet, humid, wet, windy, wet and wet. I've been dragged back into the office and flat out for the past few days with work despite officially being on holidays.

I called a rigger last week about replacing the failed boomkin stays and thought I'd get the bobstay and whiskers done at the same time. He gave me a quote of $1600.00 and I almost fell overboard. After considering what was needed I took a good look at the stays and thought I could do the job myself, after all how difficult could it be. I decided that I didn't like the idea of wire terminal fittings anyway particularly since they are so close to the water and thought chain would be a better and more simple option. So I went to the chandlery today and picked up some stainless steel shackles and 10 mm stainless steel chain. Below is the finished job.

I'm not completely satisfied with the job but had to make do with what was available at the chandlery. I will most probably increase the size of the chain to 12mm as this will allow me to dispense with one of the shackles.The sizing of chain is probably a bit excessive but I'd rather be on the safer side and weight isn't an issue.

Total cost of replacement boomkin stays - $80.00

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17 January - I still haven't been able to get away sailing and have been in the office pretty much full time this past week. The weather is still very average with inconsistent showers and lots of wind. I will try to get away next week. When I arrived back after Christmas there was a beautiful old gaff rigged double ender on the piles. It's name was "Vixen" and it sounded familiar. I looked at my Colin Archer books and came across some information on the boat. It was built in 1950 and was an Atkin design adapted from the original Colin Archer rescue boats. Vixen has been around the world at least once and is now owned by a nice young couple from Canada who are part way around the world. Vixen's dimensions are what the Westsail probably should have been to be ideal. She is 34ft LOD and 10ft Beam as opposed to the Westsail's 32ft LOD and 11ft Beam. You will notice the absence of any wind vane and this is due to Vixen's ability to steer herself. Apparently she is so well balanced she will sail herself for days on end.

Although the weather has been pretty miserable, there have been some very humid days. Poor Cutty was feeling the heat so I took her for another hair cut. She loved being with all the other dogs and I think she really likes getting a clip. When I returned to pick her up from the dog salon they had put a pink ribbon in her hair. It was a nice touch but since we had close to an hour walk to get home through some of the seedier parts of Brisbane I didn't like my chances of making it without getting mugged. We lost the ribbon.

We stopped at the park to play on the way home. Here she is with her new haircut.

After that it was back to the boat for a rest.

I recently added some new shade awnings since my big one I had previously covered the solar panels and as a bit of a hazard when on anchor. The old one is excellent when I'm in a marina and I'll keep it for that purpose, especially since I'll probably spend a bit of time in the Hobart yacht club marina when I finally get there.

Below is the new awning which has 3 separate sections and works well.

It has Cutty's approval. (Photo is pre haircut)

19 January - It's the weekend and I have lots of projects to do. We went out to Wooloongabba today to pick up some pieces from the chandlery, only to find they didn't have what I wanted. It wasn't a total waste though as it confirmed a couple of things I was concerned about. More on that later.

I also came across a great little shop which sells old brass hardware and oil lamp chimneys. I need to get some brass hinges for some of the cabinet doors. Some have been previously replaced with steel ones which are now rusted. I also need to get a couple of chimneys which are difficult to find.

We stopped off for a late breakfast at a cafe called the "browndog cafe" which is run by some really nice people and is extremely dog friendly (as the name might suggest).

In the afternoon I had to get some fuel for the outboard and went down river to the local petrol station. On the way back we stopped off on a little beach so Cutty could have a swim. She went crazy and I'm surprised she had any energy left after the big walk and run this morning.

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I was getting a bit dissappointed about putting my plans off for Tasmania. I kept telling myself that I've had the boat for 3 years now and I should be making a move. However I was recently reading a book in which the couple fitted out their boat over a period of 7 years before cutting the docklines and setting sail. So that gave me some reassurance and perhaps I've been rushing myself.

Despite putting off Tasmania for the short term I have put the wheels in motion. I have secured a long term lease on my marina berth at the yacht club which is right in the city of Hobart and currently being occupied by some Tasmanian friends who I met in Brisbane. They needed a place to keep their boat for the next year so it worked out well for everyone.

I have also received an approval for my mooring in this remote little Bay pictured below. I'm keeping the exact location to myself for the time being but if you are ever passing a little bay like the one below and you see an old Westsail moored in between the two boats pictured, be sure to stop by and say hello.

I have some other long term plans for this little Bay which involve a farm and maybe a place for long term cruisers to take a break ashore, but those plans are a while away and I'm not giving too much away just yet.

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Tomorrow, it's off to the market in the morning for our usual Sunday breakfast then I have some work to finish up so I can try to get away next week.

Also, thanks again to everyone who has emailed recently. It's great to get some feedback on the site and get to know some of the like minded people out there. I hope someday we get a chance to meet in person.