Three Shielas swan song (for now)

6 December 09

"Four shielas" launched Little Dragon nearly two years ago, Lee, Nicky, Cathy and Pam. Cathy has been tied up with her family recently so that left "three shielas" and we have continued to sail (as well as swim) together. Now Nicky is moving to Lord Howe Island for a 2 year teaching contract. We wanted to make our swan song a positive memory.

It was still a dead calm at 10 am. We relaxed on the BRSC verandah, enjoyed the ambiance, chatted and watched the fishermen. Around 11 am a very light NNE wind arrived and we set off. It was a flood tide and we planned to sail against it towards Iluka. For at least an hour the tide was stronger than the wind and we went backwards almost as far as the sugar mill. Never mind, it was very pleasant just being together afloat.

Around noon a sea breeze sprang up and we headed on a run towards Iluka for an hour or so. It was magic. We had left lunch back at the BRSC so around 1 pm it was time to head back. Although the tide was still with us the wind was on our nose. The wind increased and with memories of the strong winds the previous day we decided to reef. It is the first time I have reefed while underway and all went well, I put on the motor (which still won't start immediately), then came head to wind. We anchored, put in the reef and were on our way. No worries. The observations at Yamba show that at 3.3o pm the wind was NNE 19 - 28 knots.

In no time at all we were back at the BRSC. The pack up went really smoothly, maybe we have learnt a bit in the last 2 years.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch and post lunch swim (well, we had missed our morning ocean swim). Then it was time to head homeward. Nicky and Lee both proclaimed that it had been an excellent sail and a great weekend. I thank you Nicky and Lee for being such excellent company and crew.

We retired before the start

5 December 09 Saturday is club day at the BRSC. In the morning there are Accessible Sailing and learn to sail sessions followed by racing at 1.30 pm.




The Accessible Sailing went like clockwork - disabled sailors, volunteers and carers seemed to work together as a well oiled machine. Ron Stone gave me permission to take a series of photos of him being winched out of his wheel chair and gently lowered into a ballast assisted dinghy. Then I went over and watched Hariet Woodrow and John Woods teaching two small boys how to tack in a small dinghy on land before letting them loose afloat. All the while Rod was cruising around in the rescue dinghy. The Accessible Sailing and learn to sail were over before the weather got "interesting".

Nicky and Lee had come down for the weekend and we decided to sign up for the race. Another first for Little Dragon. I haven't sailed a "round the buoys" course for 50 years but Nicky has a good sense of direction and said that she had got the hang of the compicated figure of eight course



I knew that the forecast included "late thunder". By the time we had the race briefing the word was out that the wind was expected to increase to 30 knots and the briefer gleefully predicted that boats would "crash" in the second race.




At 1 pm it didn't look too bad so we decided to give it a go - reefed and wearing life jackets (just in case ...). The wind was around 15 knots SSE and a huge storm cloud formed in the south, then there was thunder and lightning. The wind wasn't really strong (yet) but it was increasing. With memories of being caught out by a Southerly Buster once before on the Clarence River we retired just before we crossed the start line. Better safe than sorry etc. As it turned out the storm circled round to the east and never hit Harwood. With hindsight we could have continued, instead we sat on the deck watching the others and admiring the efforts of Sarah, a talented junior sailor.




That evening the trio headed to Maclean for dinner. Nicky and Lee stayed at the Top Pub (basic but friendly) and I returned to sleep aboard Little Dragon.

Ted is a poodle not a dog

4 December 09. John Woods had volunteered to meet me at the BRSC on Friday afternoon to see if he could fix the loud hum in the centreboard case. John arrived with Ted and I made a grave error in referring to Ted as "a dog". I was promptly informed that he is "a poodle". Seeing that John was doing me a favour it seemed wise to agree - Ted is a poodle. Ted the poodle later came sailing with us.
John got underneath the trailer to see what he could do. He found that the only thing he could access was the bolt holding the keel. So he loosened it 3 turns.




Then we went off sailing up to the bridge to see if this slight adjustment had made any difference. It had. The hum was almost, but not quite, gone. Thanks John.




However, next day when we went out the hum was back - not as bad as the previous weekend but much more than when I went out with John.




Andrew the shipwright told me that he had cut the new winch wire long enough so that the keel was fully down when there were 3 turns left on the drum. It seems that the hum is much reduced if I keep winding so that there are no turns left on the drum. The problem really is irritating. Just when one wants to enjoy the pleasant sound of lapping water there is this tiresome hum.

14 hour round trip but worth it

I planned a weekend at Harwood with Hans Schwab-Triado crewing on Saturday and Nicky on Sunday - but as so often happens bad weather forced a change of plan. There was a strong wind warning on Saturday as well as thunderstorms forecast. So I cancelled - just as well as there was a storm right over Harwood on Saturday afternoon.

I ended up going with Hans for a day sail on Sunday - a long day - 14 hr round trip. Teacher Nicky was still busy writing end of year reports that had to be handed in the following day. The forecast had improved and was now for NW - NE 15 - 20 knot winds with "isolated thunderstorms". The tide was just right to head from Harwood to Iluka on the ebb and return on the flood.

Hans is an experienced sailor (as well as being yet another ocean swimmer) and owns a part share in a trailer sailer moored in the marina at Ballina. I was flattered that he heaped praise on Little Dragon. We set out reefed but the forecast winds didn't eventuate and we soon shook it out. The wind was closer to E than NE and never above around 10 knots en route to Iluka so we had to tack. It was a pleasant but slow sail only spoilt by the extremely intrusive, loud "hum" from the keel case. That wasn't present before the keel was removed for maintenance.

We swam, lunched and were enjoying a short doze in the harbour at Iluka when a NSW Maritime launch turned up and asked to see our life jackets. It is the first time I have have been checked and was a bit disappointed that they didn't also want to see my compass and other safety gear. Then we sailed back to Harwood. I kid you not, the wind shifted to NW so for much of the trip we didn't get the expected run. We watched a storm forming to the south but nothing came of it.

Most of the trip we relaxed enjoying watching eagles soaring, huge rays jumping out of the water and the occasional dolphin playing. Our mood was shattered when Hans spotted this new sign on the bank.

Dropping the keel the easy way

There has been an animated online discussion on The Trailer Sailer Place about ways of getting the keel out of a trailer sailer. The ideas including tipping the boat over on one side and securing the mast to a tree - but there was speculation that might distort the hull. I had two offers of help but finally I decided that it was too heavy a job for mates and to do it the easy way. I took Little Dragon to Harwood Slipway just next to the BRSC.



The boat was lifted and the keel removed, sandblasted, painted and put back again with a new winch wire, bushes, block, flanges etc - I am still on a steep learning curve.

I was pleased to find a Kiwi shipwright at Harwood Slipway who was a Farr afficionado, he used to own a Farr 7.4m and has sailed with Bruce Farr. When he took the winch to bits he found that the tiny block the winch wire goes round was totally stuffed. Needed replacement. Problem: The New Zealand makers had gone out of business and no-one else makes one the right size. My mate Peter Barnes (a retired fitter and turner) came to the rescue and did an amazing job totally rebuilding the old block using a lump of brass he has had since he was an apprentice. Thanks a heap Peter.

I had a hunch that it was time to get the keel and winch checked and I am relieved that it is now done - even though my wallet is now lighter.

No

Bragging - we came third!

Sunday 15 November 2009 was the Port of Yamba Yacht Club Founding Fathers Regatta. What it boiled down to was a repeat of the previous day sailing from Harwood to Iluka but adding 2 circuits of a triangular course and finishing at Iluka rather than racing back to Harwood.

Chris Cook volunteered to take the helm of Little Dragon on the understanding that he was in it to win. He is the President of Sailability and came second in the last International Federation of Disabled Sailing world championships in Auckland. Sounded good to us.
Chris found an old blue plastic crate that fitted neatly into the cockpit and modified it so that his short legs could reach it to brace (see photo 2).

There was very little wind at the start, but Chris managed to time it just right. Well done. It was a little depressing to watch the rest of the fleet getting away from us. Not much we could do. They are all rated faster than us.

Gradually the sea breeze picked up and soon we had around 10 knot ENE - N winds gusting up to 17 knots and fluky. Chris took the helm most of the way but Noela and both took a turn.

When Noela took over Rob White's elegant classic wooden boat from Coffs Harbour was about a couple of hundred yards astern. Noela's dormant competitive instincts were awoken. She was determined not to let her overtake - but try as she did she failed. The classic yacht very slowly snuck ahead and maintained the lead all the way to the finish.


After the finish at Iluka we decided to sail straight back to Harwood rather than put in at Yamba. It was a pleasant, broad reach or run most of the way and no pressure - the race was over. In fact both Chris and Noela were so relaxed that they both had an afternoon nap below on my comfortable bunks. I admit that I rather enjoyed having the cockpit to myself for a while.

Thanks to both of you Chris and Noela, you were great and well and truly earned your afternoon nap. Chris, you gave me some great tips that I will try to remember if there is a "next time". When the handicap results were published we discovered that we had come third in Division 7 which was way better than I expected. I am unashamedly bragging to all my mates.

The third photo is of John Woods, the BRSC training officer, who has been unfailingly supportive of me, despite my steep, and at time eventful, learning curve since the day nearly 2 years ago that the "4 Shielas" launched Little Dragon.

The final photo is of the BRSC, the social hub of the regatta. I heard tales of other events such as a weekend race from Tin Can Bay to Hervey Bay - food for thought... By Sunday evening it was all winding up, tent city was no more and most boats had headed home. I was so weary that I slept aboard Little Dragon another night. All in all it had been a great weekend.


During the regatta I took the opportunity to buttonhole other trailer sailer owners and seek advice as to the best way of getting the keel out for maintenance. The upshot was that I took Little Dragon to the Harwood Slipway on Monday morning - but more of that in the next post.

Little Dragon goes racing

Although I have tagged along with the annual Bridge to Breakers race for the last 2 years from Harwood to Iluka and back, a marathon 42 kms, I have steadfastly refused to race. The last time I entered a race was around 50 years ago when I was about 18. However, after surprising myselfy by enjoying a Sailability scratch race on Lake Ainsworth in a 2.2m access dinghy, I started thinking well "why not give it a go?".

I spoke to my friend Duncan Dey, who regularly wins the NS14 class. He was very supportive and lent me the latest racing rules. They have certainly changed in 50 years. Way back then if one stuffed up one had to retire, now one is meant to do penalty turns - a much better idea. I spent hours doing the the Kingston Beach Sailing Club animated on line racing rules quiz.

Although my crew Noela had never competed in a yacht race she has competed in other sports. She was willing to "give it a go". So, with considerable trepidation, I signed the entry form.

The Big River Sailing Club runs the 2 day regatta. Hariet Woodrow, Commodore, was amazing. As well as appearing to coordinate absolutely everything she cooked 10 dozen sticky date puddings for the Saturday dinner. I bet she is the only Commodore in the world to do that. In fact the whole BRSC team did a great job and I thank you all for giving us all such an enjoyable and smooth running regatta.

The race briefing was given by Phil Cavanagh. There were over 60 boats competing, split into 8 divisions with 3 starts. Little Dragon was with the other trailer sailors in division 7.
I was so determined not to be over the start line, or in fact anywhere near the yachts jockeying for position, that I ended up around 2 mins late in crossing the start line. I consoled myself that it shouldn't make much difference in a race that was going to take around 3.5 hours.

The conditions were near perfect, warm and dry, winds E to ENE around 7 to 11 knots. Unfortunately we never caught up with the boats ahead of us - but they were all rated as faster than us. Noela and I took turns at the helm and although maybe we concentrated a bit more than usual we enjoyed ourselves. Noela spotted sea eagles. We watched the fast catamarans come flying past us with athletic sailors hanging out on trapezes. It was far more comfortable in Little Dragon and I have to admit that on the run back from Iluka to Harwood we even had a cup of tea. Very civilised but apparently not the norm when racing.

To our absolute amazement when the handicaps were worked out we came 10th out of 13. My aim had just been to finish.







After an excellent dinner Noela and I slept soundly aboard Little Dragon and the last photo was taken early on Sunday morning before I dressed for breakfast.

Sailing round Russell Island with Peter

Day 3, Friday, our last day as we needed to get back to Steiglitz by the end of the day to pack up the following morning.



It was good to have Peter around and after a chinwag on his boat we agreed to sail round Russell Island and back down Main Channel to Steiglitz and Rudy Maas. At first there was a pleasant sailing breeze, maybe around 10 knots. There is plenty of room in Canaipa Passage to sail. We had a ball sailing up the eastern shore of Russell Island, although we still had to follow the channel markers. At last we felt we were on a sailing trip and it was good not to have the chug chug of our 2 stroke motor all the time.



When we reached the top of Russell Island the wind was rising somewhat alarmingly and we had to beat up the channel to the north of Karragarragarra Island. The tide was against us. Peter's Farr 6000 is faster than Little Dragon and he was well ahead. Suddenly the whipping I had done fastening the clew of the jib to the new jib sheet came undone. Luckily the jib rolled up on its furler (it didn't when we were in The Clarence last time).

I decided to anchor for us to put a reef in, sort out the jib and have lunch. Peter was out of sight ahead. I learnt later that he was worried about us and kept ringing me on his Optus mobile but I have Telstra and had no coverage. I am not at all surprised that Cleveland recorded gusts of 29 knots that afternoon. It was wild.



TJib fixed, reef in and fortified by lunch we set off again but this time under motor at least until we rounded the corner and turned south. The plan worked well, we took ages to motor against wind and tide to the corner but we made it. Once we were heading south we were able to hoist our reefed main and continue sailing. Another exhilarating sail.

All 3 days there was either too much or too little wind and by the time we got about three quarters of the way back to Rudy Maas it died away completely. We dropped the main and motored. Peter probably thinks we are wimps because a gentle breeze came up again and he managed to continue under sail the whole way. I was worried that we wouldn't get back before sunset without the motor and I don't have the experience to sail down the slalom course in the dark.

Thanks Nicky for being a great crew the whole time, without you I couldn't have done it. Thanks also Peter for your support and offering to make a little seat to fit over the transom of the new Zodiac.

The Bedroom at Jumpinpin

The Bedroom is near Jumpinpin on South Stradbroke Island. It is only accessible to shallow draft vessels like Little Dragon and, unfortunately, a host of stink boats. Friends tell me that during school holidays it is packed out, but the day we were there we had the place to ourselves. It is only a couple of hundred metres walk over one sand dune to the surf beach. There is a track the ranger uses to drive in and maintain the toilet/shower block, rubbish bins and BBQs, but otherwise it is only accessible by boat. We'll be back...

We were determined to get to The Bedroom

It was a flat calm when we set off on Thursday, day 2 so we again motored. We didn't mind as we still had some windy, narrow channels to navigate to get to The Bedroom. The black dashes on the Beacon to Beacon chart show our route on day 2.



I know that Peter manages to navigate all the narrow channels under sail in his Farr 6000, well all I can say is "You're a better man than me Gunga Din".


At one point early in the day the channel widened and we hoisted the sails but there was so little wind and a strong ebb tide that we were going backwards. So back to motoring.

Why did we want to get to The Bedroom? Well we know two couples with trailer sailors, Cheryl and Terry and Liz and Garry. They all said it was stunning and we must get there. So it became rather like a holy grail. It was obviously a foolish venture on an ebb tide but as we nosed our way in the depth was only 1.4m. It was worth it, we agree it is fantastic. We only stayed 15 mins as we didn't want to go aground but we will be back for an overnighter as soon as possible.


Once we got out of the shallow channel into The Bedroom we anchored off The Southport Yacht Club which appeared to be a youth training camp. We planned a relaxing cuppa with lunch. That wasn't to be. Five speed boats filled with youngsters kept going back and forth and we rocked violently each time. It may well have been a training session for a boat licence now a practical test is required.







We soon decided to get underway and head for Canaipa Passage. The plan was to enter Canaipa Passage by rounding the eastern tip of Crusoe Island. By this time it was a flood tide so I didn't see myself getting swept over the Jumpinpin bar, but the wind was rising as as we got close to the eastern point it was getting choppy and my 5 hp motor was only making ground slowly against the flood tide. So a quick decision - retreat. We turned back and retraced our steps up Whalley's Gutter and McKenzies Channel and then into Canaipa Passage.


It was late afternoon by the time we reached Slipping Sands and a strong N/NW was coming straight down Canaipa Passage. We tried anchoring at Slipping Sands, but we rocked wildly - not a good omen for a good night's sleep. We up anchored (thanks Nicky) and decided to keep going to Fishermans Channel and hope that was quieter. It was and we anchored right over the yellow anchor in Beacon to Beacon north of Oak Island. It didn't take us long to have a glass of red wine, dinner and settle down for the night.


Peter Barnes wanted to join us in his Farr 6000 but he had been delayed by a funeral in Mullumbimby so wasn't able to launch until 7 pm. It shows his years of experience as a professional seaman that he navigated from Cabbage Tree Point to where we were anchored down Fishermans Channel in the dark. We woke up next morning to see him anchored alongside.

Slalom course in a dust storm

It was quite eerie motoring off into the dust storm. We were novices at following the slalom course of port and starboard channel markers in Beacon to Beacon, but I must give credit to Nicky who did a valiant job. In very non-nautical terms we knew that we turned left out of the marina and first right!

When I say motored off I mean it. There was no way we were going to hoist the sails. The wind seemed to be on our nose (whichever way we went) and it just kept increasing.

For the record I have just checked the archived maximum wind gusts recorded at Cleveland (the nearest location as far as I know). The recordings don't give wind direction but I reckon it stayed NW most of the 3 days we were out.

Monday 12th Oct 29 knots, Tuesday 13th Oct 31 knots (thank goodness we stayed home)

Wed 14th - the day we left - 28 knots

Thursday 15th - 17 knots

Friday 16th - 29 knots (no wonder we needed to reef)

Our plan had been to anchor for the night at Slipping Sands in Canaipa Passage, but way before we got there we decided that we needed to find somewhere far more protected so we slipped into McKenzies Channel to the West of Crusoe Island. It proved a good decision as we found a great spot and by early evening the wind dropped away completely and with it the dust storm. You can see from the photos below how still it was early the next morning.

Nicky got a well deserved good night's sleep. I also slept well even though my chest felt full of dust.

Rudy Maas Marina

By Wednesday 14 October BOM coastal waters forecast for Gold Coast had moderated (a little) to:


Wed: N/NW 15-20 knot, tending W/NW at 20-25 knots during the day, shifting W/SW 15-20 in the late afternoon and evening.



Thursday W/SW 10-15 knots easing to 5-10 knots during the morning. Shifting NE/NW during the afternoon and evening.



Friday W/SW 10-15 early shifting SE/NE during the afternoon.

There wasn't a strong wind warning so we decided to give it a go. The forecast had said "hazy". We had no idea that meant there was going to be another dust storm almost as bad as the one that was reported worldwide a few weeks ago.

We had the tide times and it was, loosely speaking, high morning and evening and low midday.



Rudy Maas must be one of the few places in the Gold Coast that hasn't been "done up". I rate it as a 1 star place and it suits me just fine. For a very modest sum we launched down the excellent triple concrete ramp and stored the car and trailer nearby within what they claimed to be a secure area. I am scared of dogs but but these guard dogs didn't even scare me!
They also let us stay in their mini-marina on our last night. Thank you Rudy Maas.


We probably should have read the signs better, the palm trees were bent horizontal and no-one else was launching. However we went saying to ourselves that if it was too bad we could anchor just outside the marina. After the debacle in the Clarence River (see the Southerly Buster post) Nicky and I were determined not to provide more tales of calamity for our post-swim coffee group..