Christmas holidays at Harwood

What a privilege, I can use the BRSC during the Christmas holiday period. Perfect tranquility. A world away from the holiday madness in Byron Bay or even the somewhat lesser crowds at Iluka. During my 3 full days sailing I doubt I saw more than a dozen sailing boats, a few tinnies, dolphins and flotillas of large white jellyfish. Robert and Liz were the only other members staying overnight and Martin and Theresa crewed on Little Dragon for the first couple of days then Noela for the final day. The weather was kind to us, not too hot considering it was midsummer and winds varying from gentle to moderate mainly southerly. There were major storms to the north and west but although at times it looked ominous they stayed away from the lower Clarence.

27th December

Martin and Theresa announced over a much needed cuppa at the end of the day that they had enjoyed themselves  and admittedly we had an exhilarating sail running downriver on the ebb. However my personal debrief was that I had spent the day averting a series of potential crises. I made a hash of getting off the lee shore which was compounded by the centre plate winch cable jamming, then the mainsail stuck as we tried to hoist. The next incident was when we rashly followed John and Gary up a narrow channel inside the sandbank off Folbigg Pt. for lunch. When the depth went down to 1.3m on an ebb I gave up and anchored in deeper water but in the process got the anchor line caught round the plate. While freeing the line I slipped and hurt my foot - for a while I feared seriously. By that time I had had more than enough drama for one day so we motored most of the way back to Harwood against both wind and tide.

Martin and Theresa

28th December
There was a gentle southerly and it was very high tide at 12 noon (full moon). John and Gary were keen to sail upstream and float back on the ebb during the afternoon. No worries for them as they easily fit under the 8.6m Harwood Bridge. They were convinced I could get under "easily". I have done it once at dead low tide and I was told by fisherman that there was less than a foot of clearance. It was terrifying.

My mast is 6.8m and add 1.30m from waterline to mast step plus .25 for the wind indicator. That makes 8.35m. 0.25m is not sufficient margin for me to feel safe. My insurance company have kindly sponsored one new mast and I am not keen to ask them for a second.

I reluctantly agreed to give it a go. Martin, Theresa and I sailed up to the bridge then dropped the sails and at exactly noon proceeded very cautiously under motor. Theresa was sitting at the bow clutching the boat hook with instructions to try and see if we could get under. Martin and I stayed in the cockpit. When we were less than a metre away Martin and I decided simultaneously and separately that we wouldn't make it by about half a metre. Martin did a great job of reversing out of harm's way.

After that adrenalin producing escapade the slight wind died away and we drifted back to the clubhouse. John, Gary and Robert were still sure that we were just chicken. I am willing to give it a go again at high tide with one of them aboard on condition that they guarantee me a new mast if they are wrong!

That evening there was the most stunning sunset I have ever seen at Harwood. The river was bathed in pink light and finally up towards the bridge it turned ruby red. Strangely the next night I was ready to enjoy a repeat performance but no sunset display at all.

29th December
Change of crew - Martin and Theresa left and Noela came down for the day. There was much more wind than the day before, still southerly but it swung more towards the north later in the day. It made even more sense than the previous day to sail upriver. So a new plan. I dropped the mast but left it attached to the mast step and then towed Little Dragon to the ramp in front of the Harwood Hotel. As she was still half rigged it didn't take long to get the mast up again and ready to launch.

It was worth the effort as we had a splendid sail up the river, past Maclean and on to lunch in the Broadwater before turning back to the ramp at Harwood Hotel. We dropped the mast and packed up before driving the short distance back to the BRSC. Noela and I were glad that Robert and Gary came along to help us launch as it wouldn't have been easy on our own.

Packed up at home

Another go at single handed sailing



Saturday  15th December was BRSC's Xmas party and social sail. Usually the juniors enjoy being towed up and down the river on rubber rings behind the rescue launch. This year I suspect that they were rather put off by the flotillas of large white jellyfish in the river. The seniors (mostly Ancient Mariners) seemed far more interested in relaxing on the deck over an excellent lunch than social sailing. I suppose I shouldn't critisise as they have been racing every single Saturday afternoon for months. So as I couldn't find anyone keen to crew I decided to head off single handed. There was only a light breeze. I really enjoyed myself but I agree with comments Colin made later that Little Dragon could be modified to make single handed sailing easier.

 On Sunday Nicky came down for the day with her mother Joy who is visiting from England. Like the day before after a very hot and still morning a light breeze sprang up in time for a gentle afternoon sail. Nicky's mother is a seasoned yachtswoman having sailed round the world with her husband some years ago.

A shame job

 I have been eyeing up this Puffin Pacer for a while. The BRSC has a couple which are used for sail training. It is a long while since I have been dinghy sailing and I am even less agile than usual at present. However there was a gentle breeze and I decided the time had come to give it a go.

 

Luckily Brodie (11 years old) came along to crew for me. All went well for a while.  We tacked back and forth across the river getting round the bend out of sight of the clubhouse (and the rescue boat). The breeze increased from gentle to moderate and I tangled my foot in the main sheet as we tacked. Capsize. No problem for Brodie. He quickly had the boat upright and was back on board. He couldn't understand why I didn't join him but suggested that he sail the boat towards the bank. I doubt I could have got back on board even if a shark was nibbling my toes. He towed me astern and I was surprised at how fast we were going, fast enough to pull off my loose fitting trousers. I hoped that I would manage to keep my underpants on and not lose that last shred of dignity (I did). 

 

At the bank I jumped aboard and off we sailed a second time but we hadn't gone far when we capsized again. I got the boat head to wind and Brodie got it upright and jumped aboard. Soon we were back at the bank. This time I decided that Brodie had well and truly earned the right to sail the boat back to the clubhouse which he did with great aplomb.  I demoted myself to crew. Well done Brodie.

 

I will think very carefully before heading out in a dinghy again. 

Little Dragon's crew head off to Fiji

Paso Doble in SavuSavu, Fiji

Diana James, Cathy Jones, Helen Tom and  myself have all sailed aboard Little Dragon as has Hans Schwab-Triado. I assume he felt that was qualification enough to invite us to join him on Paso Doble for a couple of weeks. Diana and Helen crewed from Tonga to SavuSavu in Fiji and Cathy and I took their places from SavuSavu to Musket Cove near Nadi in Fiji. There is just no comparison between the luxurious conditions on Paso Doble and cruising on Little Dragon.

Little Dragon's crew members Diana, Cathy, Pam and Helen

Paso Doble is a 13 metre Fountaine Pajot Belize catamaran and her voyage started in Barcelona almost 18 months ago and will end just before Christmas in Brisbane.

Tillman  (left) with owners Hans and Christian

  

Sometimes it is wet, windy and even chilly in Fiji

Most of the time the weather was glorious

We visited a village near the Blue Lagoon in the Yasawas

We spent many glorious days snorkelling on so many different coral reefs that it is hard to say which was best, but I reckon Namena Marine Park takes the prize. Hans reckoned it was as good as the Coral Gardens in Tonga.

Just a typical coral beach in the Yasawas

After two wonderful, decadent weeks on Paso  Doble it is hard to come down to earth and focus on mundane matters such as Little Dragon's hydraulic trailer brakes. A whole hearted thank you to both Hans and Christian for being such wonderful hosts and hope to see you soon in Byron Bay.

PS Paso Doble will be up for sale soon. Know any prospective buyers?

Never too old for sail training

Lee and Nicky are Wayne Culph's trainees

Nicky and Lee are two of my most loyal crew but now they have decided that the time has come to sign up for Big River Sailing Club's dinghy training. Interestingly Nicky, Lee and Wayne are all teachers. The session went very well and both Nicky and Lee praised Wayne's teaching style.
It was a good that both Wayne and Hariet were on tap that morning. Hariet took charge of the littlies while the seniors had Wayne's undivided attention.

A novel way to teach tacking on terra firma

Commodore Hariet Woodrow is also a dinghy instructor

Rigging takes concentration

 

John Hayes, the indefatigable boat builder, and John Woods preparing for Driftwood's maiden voyage

Sail training ends before lunch so we were able to spend the afternoon aboard Little Dragon. It was great weather and there was plenty of time for Nicky and Lee to take the helm. We reminisced about our early joint voyages in Little Dragon which involved various minor disasters. This time everything went smoothly and we reckoned it had been an excellent day. 

The Willy Wagtail nest

 I think the photo says it all - a willy wagtail decided to build a nest and lay two eggs. It was a great spot from the willy wagtail's point of view as my boat cover protected the eggs from wind and swooping sea eagles. 

 

What a dilemma. I only found the nest several hours after I moved Little Dragon across the paddock. Eventually we decided to carefully detach the nest and without touching the eggs relocate the nest to a similar spot on a catamaran that wasn't going anywhere for several weeks and was only a couple of metres away from the original location. We hoped that the parents would find the nest that night although it seemed more likely that these eggs were already doomed. Dick reassured me that this pair of willy wagtails had been around for several years and always laid two clutches a year. 

Next day, feeling like a murderer, I rigged Little Dragon ready for my crew Martin and Lewis Bail to arrive. It was a long weekend and we planned to stay a couple of nights, but the forecast  was so bad that we decided to settle on a day sail then beat a retreat homeward. There was a fine breeze in the morning and we zoomed up and down the river for a couple of hours then came back to the clubhouse for lunch and made a snap decision to take part in the Saturday afternoon race.

There was still a good breeze and we were enjoying ourselves although somewhat frustrated by our difficulty in laying the mark close to the clubhouse. I admit that we finally decided to keep going without rounding that mark. I fully intended to own up to our "course adjustment" when the race was abandoned due to an approaching storm (which circled round and fizzled out).
 

PS A week later Dick told me that during the week the nest had been smashed up and the eggs gone. He isn't sure what happened, maybe a possum.

Little tackers sail training

15 September 2012

Six very young future sailors turned up for the the BRSC's first sail training session of the 2012/13 season.

Peter

Noela

Noela and her friend Peter arrived at midday and as more often than not happens at Harwood after a very calm morning an afternoon sea breeze sprang up. I had already rigged so without further ado we launched and headed off down river intending to cruise (not race) in company with Norm in his 19 foot trailer sailor as far as the Goodwood mark. However we were going so well that we kept going to the first port marker. Despite some help from a flood tide by the time we got back to the club house the Saturday afternoon race was over, boats packed up but we were just in time for the last slice of Jan's home made cake. Noela had told me that Peter had "some experience sailing in Sydney Harbour". It was quite obvious within a couple of minutes of setting off that he was no novice. So I interrogated him and found that he has sailed 16, 14 and 12 foot skiffs and even competed in a world championship on Lake Macquarie. He quickly slipped back into competitive mode and tried to get the last ounce of performance out of Little Dragon.

 

The prototype Clarence Cruiser

 

Ancient Mariners Gary Winter, John Hayes and John Woods have been busy all winter designing and building this Clarence Cruiser. At last she was ready for sea trials. On Friday there was far too much wind for any of the Ancient Mariners to venture out to sea or even into the Clarence River. On Saturday morning Gary at least established that she floats but there was too little wind to see if she will sail to windward.

 

Last week I complained I turned into an ice block sleeping aboard Little Dragon. This weekend it was again chilly at night but I was well prepared with masses of bedding and stayed warm as toast. In the early morning while I was sitting on the veranda eating my muesli a sea eagle swooped down to the water just in front of me. Magnificent.

 

 

Pretty chilly for first day of spring

Cathy Jones and Jill Trevillian

The last week of winter was glorious, balmy and sunny. I was looking forward to sailing on the first day of spring. Unfortunately although it was sunny and there was a pleasant light breeze there was also a very wintry chill in the air.

Cathy hasn't stacked on weight, there is a PFD under the jacket!

Cathy and Jill came down to Harwood for a Saturday afternoon sail and all went according to plan. We zoomed up and down the river keeping well clear of the BRSC's racing. The conditions were just right for my crew to handle Little Dragon leaving me standing comfortably out of the wind inside the cabin with my head emerging just far enough to issue the occasional skipper like command.

Jill and Cathie headed home after enjoying the BRSC championship afternoon tea. I decided to camp overnight in Little Dragon and leave the following morning after chores like charging the battery. Big mistake. Well before dawn my feet turned into blocks of ice as the temperature crashed to single digits. I find that down at Harwood  the cliche that every cloud has a silver lining is always true. Just before I turned in for the night a huge orange full moon rose over the river.  

BRSC changes secretary

I headed south down the Pacific Highway early and arrived at Harwood in time for the AGM. Ended up club secretary. The photo shows outgoing secretary Colin Hinwood with me. I wonder how much work is involved. Time will tell.

The plan was for Nicky to arrive by noon and for us to spend the afternoon sailing. The preliminaries went fine. By the time Nicky arrived Little Dragon was all rigged and ready to go. Go where? There was so little wind that we decided not to bother to launch.

We cut our lossses, packed up and headed over to Woody Head to join some friends who were spending the weekend camping and playing Irish folk music.

Pam becomes an Ancient Mariner

Finally I made a Wednesday gathering of the BRSC Ancient Mariners. Learn more about them on their blog http://www.brscancientmariners.blogspot.com.au/

Keith Mountford came along to crew for the day and the weather was so perfect that it would have been a crime not to launch Little Dragon and have an afternoon sail. Wind just right. Temperature just right. Slack tide.

Keith and I alternated at the helm while we were tacking down river, but Keith came into his own on the run. He handled my whisker pole with great applomb. Not surprising really as when he was a youngster he was forward hand in those seriously competitive 18 ft skiffs on Sydney Harbour.

 

 

I thought lunch time was the right moment to drop a hint that my starboard navigation light needed wiring up. I suspect tongue in cheek, the Ancient Mariners produced soldering gear and told me to get on with it. I have never even seen a soldering iron before let alone a crimping iron and hadn't a clue how to start - but I am happy to learn. After the requisite period of teasing Barry Swanson generously stepped in and wired up my new light. It ended up not needing soldering. Thank you Ancient Mariner Garry Swanson.

18th August start of Big River Sailing Club sailing season

I haven't been afloat in Little Dragon (or anything else) since my last post which is see was four and a half months ago. Since late March  I have had some spells of ill health and it has been a horribly cold winter.

It was great to meet the BRSC regulars again and have a couple of hours sailing. Like most new parents who think their baby is the best in the world I still reckon Little Dragon is pretty special.

When I left Byron Bay I doubted that I would launch as the wind was gusting 26 knots. Fortunately it was less than that Harwood. John Hayes and I headed out into the river well reefed. Then the wind dropped off and we could have shaken out the reef but didn't bother and had to motor back to the clubhouse unable to stem the strong ebb tide. That didn't matter as I wanted to give the engine a good run after sitting idle so long.

I was keen to show off how spick and span Little Dragon looked with freshly varnished bright work, touched up red topsides and the chips in the white fibreglass filled in. I have even varnished the wooden step down from the cockpit into the cabin. Not a good idea with semi-gloss varnish. It is dangerously slippery. Never mind: the Ancient Mariners of the BRSC always seem to have a solution to boaty problems. John Hayes suggested I revarnish and while wet sprinkle on granulated sugar and hose off when dry. I will report if this works.

I have left Little Dragon semi-rigged at Harwood saying "see you again next week". I will have to go back as soon as possible as I stupidly forgot to flush the outboard with fresh water. I am clearly not back into the routine yet.

Report: Sugar does work and I have washed it off very carefully so I don't attract ants.

1974 Citroen upstages Little Dragon



1974 Citroen DS 23 Safari

Lewis and Teresa Bail

Little Dragon was seriously upstaged by Martin's new pride and joy - his dream Citroen. Some members of the BRSC positively drooled over it (a boat is a "she". Is a classic car a "he" or "she"?). I realised it was pretty special when I was driven to the Harwood Hilton in great comfort for dinner. All eyes were on us as we pulled up. I said "yeah", rather bored, when Martin raved on about the hydraulics but when I saw the front and back rise when the engine started I realised it was quite some car.

Lewis, Martin and Theresa were meant to be spending the weekend at Harwood to sail on Little Dragon and despite the best efforts of the Citroen to divert attention we did get afloat on both Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday Martin and Lewis joined me as crew on the last club championship races for the season. It blew SE around 15 knots so we had our work cut out. Yamba recorded 15 knots gusting 22 knots at 2.30 pm. Our first start was shocking. We were still on shore at the 5 min signal but never mind we caught up (taking a few short cuts on the way). Yes I did own up to the course "variation" when I signed off.

To atone for the debacle of the first start I achieved one of my best ever starts on the second race. I followed Chris Cook who approached the line on port. It was scary seeing the rest of the fleet hurtling towards us on starboard. However he went about onto starboard in the nick of time and I followed suit. I reckon I may have been one of the leaders for a hundred metres or so.

The last race of the season coincided with the Commodore's closing season picnic. So we all enjoyed a complimentary sausage sizzle and a very welcome feast when we got back from racing. My thanks to Commodore Hariet and all the committee who work so hard from August to the end of March to make the BRSC such a wonderful club.

Well over 2 metres length for Martin and Teresa to sleep in the Citroen so Lewis gets the tent



After Martin and Teresa's first night sleeping in the Citroen and Lewis enjoying having the tent all to himself they woke up ready for more sailing. As the forecast was as much or more wind than the day before Lewis, Teresa and I decided to set sail soon after breakfast while there was still a gentle breeze. It was the first time Teresa has been aboard and she seemed to enjoy herself and Lewis enjoyed being promoted to first mate in recognition of the steep learning curve he went through the day before while we were racing.

Then it was back to the shore, a second brew of strong coffee and a change of crew. This time Martin and Lewis came out with me and the wind was getting stronger all the time. It seemed prudent to reef. I had briefed Lewis before racing the day before how to use the whisker pole to goosewing the jib. We never got the chance while racing but Lewis insisted that we gave it a go despite the gusty conditions. Lewis and Martin  revelled in the strong breeze and just wanted to see how much they could make the boat heel while they were at the helm. They worked out that I made sure that I kept hold of the main sheet at all time. I described its function to these car buffs as enabling me to depower Little Dragon instantly like taking the foot off the accelerator.

Tin Canoe non-event 2012 cancelled

Savaad checks Tin Dragon is seaworthy or at least yardworthy

Savaad fixed the leak from last year's "non-event" at Iluka and we both spent a few days sprucing up Little Dragon ready for 2012 "non-event". Sadly my co-owner and co-skipper was unable to make it on the day so had to settle for a test sail in my back yard.

Well what do we do now?

Perhaps the rigging needs tweaking

Tin Dragon is ready (well almost)

This year the crew can hike out when we are on starboard

By Saturday morning there were eight tin canoes busily erecting outriggers, tweaking rigging and checking out the opposition to see if there were any good ideas to pinch.

There was almost no wind on Saturday so test sails were very tame - no real preparation for the conditions on Sunday. 

Will this tiller extension will work better?

8 tin canoes did final preparations on Saturday

More tin canoes looking ready to sail

Pam took Tin Dragon out for a spin in very light airs on Saturday

I took Tin Dragon out for a spin in light airs on Saturday morning. All went well. The photo shows just how much I need the weight of a crew forward. I also found the tiller extension a problem. When I came ashore John suggested how to modify it and I liked his way of joining the tiller and the extension with a section cut from a bike inner tube.

The sea trial went well but need the weight of a crew forward

Sunday racing cancelled but Rob Crosbie can't resist giving it a go

Unfortunately the forecast turned out to be correct. A strong southerly coming in on  Saturday night and blowing hard all Sunday and rain and wind on Monday. By 10.30 there was a strong wind (at least 24 knots). A decision was made to cancel the 10th anniversary "non-event". Observations at Yamba show that it was blowing around 27 knots most of the day and gusting up to 31 knots.

For a while Rob gave a spectacular display

4 guys decided to give it a go anyway: Paul, Azzo, Rob and his brother Steve. They all demonstrated the skill to sail in these conditions and put on spectacular displays for the landlubbers. Some sails blew out but there was much less damage than I expected and the skippers all came ashore safe and sound. Luckily the southerly blew the canoes onto the soft muddy shore not the rock wall.

Then the tin canoe filled with water

Rob managed to sail his submerged canoe to shore

Rob's brother Steve also headed out but decided on just a jib

Steve got back to shore but needed to bail