Journal Entries

May 2005

1 May - I was putting another coat of cetol on my companionway hatch today and in the distance I saw a gaff rigged yacht coming up the river. I do love a gaff rig, they are so beautiful and always create a feeling of times gone by. This yacht, "South Passage" was the same one I saw last month when I went out to the yacht club to watch the start of the Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race.

2 May - Today was a public holiday (Labour Day) and Colin had arranged to take some girls out sailing. I was supposed to go along, but I had just started reading a really interesting book, plus I had loads of work to do so I decided to give it a miss. (yes I am serious.... what was I thinking!)

I helped set them off the dock and waved them all off. Hugh Heffner Colin, was certainly in his element with 7 girls as crew and they all had a good day out. Here they are leaving the marina.

3 May - I recently received an email from a girl who had stumbled across my website. She told me that her Grandfather was a writer and had penned a couple of books about sailing. She offered me a copy of one of the books and I readily accepted. This is the book below. "I saw a ship a-sailing"

Immediately upon receiving the book I began to read it. Charles Ladds was a pretty interesting fellow. He grew up on a cattle station in outback Australia and at 15 years of age (despite his Mother's pleading) decided to join a sailing ship as crew. His first voyage was from Sydney to Peru. By the time he was 21 he had been around the world twice on various ships. His story was inspiring and was an insight into the years when the old windjammers were being phased out by the introduction of the more efficient steam ships. This certainly was a different era, when one could stow away on a ship or secure a job (and passage) as crew on these fine old ships.

Mr Ladds certainly makes it sound a simple life. He would board as crew on a ship and sail to some distant port, where he would receive his pay and then desert the ship. After exploring this new city, which ranged from days to months he would crew another ship to another distant port. I found it an interesting and entertaining read and the last thing I needed right now is any more encouragement to set sail to distant shores. Thanks Beatrice.

6 May - This week has been pretty hectic with work. I only managed to sleep 2 hours on Wednesday night, having finished work at 4.30am I had to be back in the office by 7am. I have so much work to get through this weekend, but today Peter (from the slipway) called me to ask if I wanted to crew on his yacht in a race tomorrow. How could I refuse. I am really keen to sail with Peter as he is a genuine racer. In the last Brisbane to Gladstone race he finished 3rd. His yacht is a beautiful classic timber sloop, but despite its age, it is fast and leaves many newer and lighter yachts in its wake. I know I will learn some valuable sailing skills from Peter and I'll post the photos next week. So it looks like Saturday night will be spent in the office.

7 May - As I mentioned above, I'm out sailing today on Peter's yacht "Pagan". This yacht has a unique and interesting history and was actually built in Peter's yard decades before he owned it. She is one of the most beautifully built timber yachts I have seen and the interior of mahogany is stunning. The yacht ended up in Melbourne where he bought it many years ago. Years later he bought the yard up here in Brisbane and discovered all of Pagan's plans in an old cupboard. Pretty bizarre story.

This is Peter on the tiller of Pagan. He is a bit of a legend and it's not difficult to tell that he really loves sailing.

The weather for the race was a perfect 20 - 25 knot winds and virtually flat water. Here is a shot of Pagan from the cockpit. Everything on her is original, even the old winches. Peter's motto is "less is more" and I would have to agree with him.

and some photos of our competitors.

It was a great day out sailing and we even sailed all the way back into the creek and right up to the dock at the yacht club. Pagan's motor gets very little use.

So that was my first yacht race.

13 May - It's just past midnight and today is my birthday. The weather has been wet and cold these past few days. It's been a bit of a struggle getting up early in the morning, as it's so soothing just listening to the rain tap on the deck of the boat. The cold change in the weather has reminded me of when I first bought my yacht. I was sitting onboard tonight and I had that feeling of recollection you get when you hear a song, or smell a scent you experienced years ago and you are momentarily transported back to that point in time. It will be 1 year in July since I took that trip down to Sydney and sailed my yacht back. These past 10 months have gone by so quickly, yet I have learned and grown so much. I am entirely focused on my goal of setting off within the next 5 years and this time will be spent readying the boat and myself for this enormous adventure. If these coming years pass as quickly as the past 10 months, then that day of casting off the dock lines will be upon me in no time.

People often say to me, "you must really love sailing" and I try to explain to them, that it is not just about sailing, but the freedom to be able to travel wherever I want on this planet and live in that place for however long I want. A yacht gives me the ability to move across oceans to distant shores just using nature's breeze. If I want to live in Thailand, Cuba or Costa Rica for a week, a month or a year I can. Imagine sailing to a place like Cuba and immersing yourself in that culture. There is no reason we can't do this. It's just a matter of taking the steps to make it happen.

"I'd rather be the ship that sails
And rides the billows wild and free;
Than to be the ship that always fails
To leave its port and go to sea.

I'd rather feel the sting of strife,
Where gales are born and tempests roar;
Than settle down to useless life
And rot in dry dock on the shore.

I'd rather fight some mighty wave
With honor in supreme command;
And fill at last a well-earned grave,
Than die in ease upon the sand.

I'd rather drive where sea storms blow,
And be the ship that always failed
To make the ports where it would go,
Than be the ship that never sailed."

(Author Unknown)

18 May - Judging by the sudden cold change, winter is upon us. The nights have been fairly cold (by Queensland standards) and I have pulled some of my winter clothes out of the storage compartments. I even started up the fireplace on El Viajero tonight. The problem with the fire place is that it is too efficient. I recall when I first used it in Sydney last winter, the interior of the boat was 25 degrees(C) and that was on its lowest setting with all the hatches open. I think it was designed for Alaska or Antartica. It warms the entire yacht within 5 minutes and is really such a nice feature with the little chimney up on the cabin top. Here is a photo of the heater with the glow from the fire.

The cold weather also called for some baking. I know, I know... I always insist on showing you pictures of my food, but one thing I appreciate so much on this yacht is the galley. The oven/stove is the best and there is a huge stainless steel preparation area ideal for making bread etc. There's nothing better than to be anchored off a remote beach with freshly brewed espresso and freshly baked treats. So here are some chocolate biscuits I made.

19 May - Today I received an email (and photo's) from Luke who I went out sailing with last month. (see April Journal) Luke's yacht is the John Pugh designed steel sloop. He just had his rigging replaced at Peter's slipway and left Brisbane on 10 May with 3 crew aboard. His crew are backpackers who wanted to travel up to Cairns. He spent 3 days out at Tangalooma by the wrecks and then sailed up to Mooloolaba. He will head to Fraser Island next week and slowly make his way to Bundaberg by the end of the month. That's Luke in the green t-shirt (beer in hand) and his 3 crew. The people in the yellow shirts are from Carsten's yacht (a 25ft top hat) which is sailing with Luke's yacht.