Mainsail blows out at BRSC regatta

This was my first time as a participant at the Big River Sailing Club annual regatta. The forecast was 13 - 18 knots SE, so Nicky and I were looking forward to a thrilling sail in Little Dragon. We planned to follow the fleet from Harwood to Iluka and back (we don't race).

The fleet was divided into six divisions from super fast cats across various fast mono hull classes such as the NS14s and finally a bunch of trailer sailors - mainly Hartley 16s.

It was less than 13 kts when we set off but the wind just kept increasing and on the way back it was gusting up to 25 kts (or so the post mortem claimed). We were having a ball and extremely pleased with Little Dragon's performance. Nicky took the helm most of the way and I kept control of the main sheet. We were trying to keep well out of the way of the race fleet - but that was easier said than done. I wished that I had a reef in but it seemed too difficult to reef while under way. I didn't anticipate needing one when we set off. Small boats were capsizing all over the place and when we returned we learnt that a Hartley 16 and a Cole 19 had gone over.

A boat overtook us gesticulating madly and yelling. We were puzzled as we weren't in their way so we assumed it was just friendly encouragement. Within seconds we realised what they were trying to tell us - our mainsail was starting to rip and before we could come head to wind the rip went across the width of the sail. It was all over for us, we got the main down and motored back to Harwood.

I spread my damaged mainsail out in front of the clubhouse at breakfast the next morning. The consensus was "repairable" and I was introduced to one of the competitors, Andrew from Grafton, who is an experienced sail maker. With a spot of luck I should have it back with a new panel within a week. Andrew confirmed that it was almost certainly the original sail so almost 30 years old - not bad.






The Big River Sailing Club members, and in particular the catering group, do a splendid job and I look forward to attending their next regatta - the Bridge to Breakers next November.

I am sorry Beronice and Savaad that I had to cancel your Sunday sail, I think the photo of the sail shows that sailing was out of the question. It might not have been such a bad thing as by early afternoon it looked like the wind was coming up to well over 20 kts just like the day before. It was also rain and shine, hence the rainbow.

Modelling the nautical caps

Caz Coffey gave me the jaunty nautical caps, so Nicky and I felt we should model them, thanks Caz. I reckon if we showed our up wearing them at the Big River Sailing Club we would be expected to shout a round of drinks!

Nicky and I decided to launch at Brushgrove on the Clarence River (between Maclean and Grafton). It is a good ramp and we launched uneventfully. However we were spooked by the high voltage power line just below the ramp. It said 10.9 metres and we clear under 9 m but they did look like instant death. So I towed Little Dragon about 100 m behind the zodiac just below the power lines and then we raised the mast.

Although it was almost 3 pm before we got under way we had a great sail almost all the way downstream to Lawrence and back again - only slightly marred by hassles with the jib furler. Nicky got heaps of practice tacking. The wind was NE initially around 6 kts and increasing to maybe 14 kts. I thought about putting a reef in and we would probably have sailed better if I had. Next day we met a Big River Sailing Club member who told me that he had capsized his Hartley 16 racing the previous day at Harwood, so it must have been blowing.

We returned to Brushgrove and anchored for the night just clear of the power lines and rowed across to the pub for dinner. Excellent. Then it was a moonlit row back to Little Dragon for a night aboard. We rapidly spread the fly wire across the entrance to the cabin as the mozzies were ferocious
Next morning it was, as seems the norm on the Clarence River, a dead calm. We had a leisurely start and sorted out the problems with the jib furler and there still wasn't any wind. I was hanging out for a cappuccino at Ulmarra, so we decided to motor upstream. It was fascinating to watch the bird life and observe rural life on the banks. We really need to learn more about the vegetation. Were the impenetrable reeds native or weeds? We tied up at the pontoon at Ulmarra and found that the trendy coffee shop was closed for annual holidays. Never mind the beer garden at the pub is gorgeous.

By lunchtime it was absolutely stinking hot so we braved the muddy water and went for a refreshing swim. At last, at 1.30 pm, the wind finally arrived, initially a light NE but it soon increased to a brisk breeze. We set sail and hadn't been under way for long when there was a heavy rain squall. Nicky at the helm got drenched and a bit chilly. It was amazing to be so hot and within an hour cold. I was snug doing some repairs in the cabin - very well timed.

We got back to Brushgrove by 5 pm with the sky looking like a thunderstorm was imminent so we packed up and got ashore as fast as possible. After enjoying a cuppa and snack we set off on the long drive home. Thanks Rob for cooking dinner for two weary, windswept but happy sailors.

The last photo is of Little Dragon with her anchor light anchored at Brushgrove.

The prawn trawling fleet

Another peaceful night aboard Little Dragon and at 7 am I had just boiled the billy and brewed up my earl grey tea and was contemplating returning to my bunk to finish the SMH. Suddenly the boat rocked violently and my cuppa was in the scuppers. A prawn trawler had motored down the river towards Iluka. I looked up river and saw about 100 metres behind a second trawler, then a third, then a fourth. They were all motoring at the same speed and keeping the same distance apart like a military convoy. I lost count but I reckon that there were around 30 and each one rocked Little Dragon violently and heaven knows what damage they cause to the banks.

Keith Mountford (another swimming friend who has sailed with me previously at Ballina) arrived for a day sail and to help me pack up. Unfortunately there was virtually no wind. Undeterred we set off under motor hoping for at least a light breeze to come up. It usually does by late morning on the Clarence River. It didn't so we anchored on the opposite side of the river and had lunch. Still no breeze and we were just about to give up and motor back when we saw cats paws. A slight ripple on the water. The sails started to fill. In the nick of time the breeze came and we set sail very tentatively upstream towards Harwood Bridge.

By the time we reached the bridge there was enough wind to start enjoying ourselves and we tacked all the way back to Harwood. Unfortunately our time ran out and we had to pull the boat out and pack up. Thanks Keith for all your help.

Beronice frees the anchor warp

At last it all came together, boat ship shape, fair winds forecast and keen crew - Savaad and Beronice - available. Three year's ago Savaad was first mate on the sailing catamaran Pelican andBeronice and I were passengers on a voyage from Darwin to Broome.

The clubbies at the Big River Sailing Club are bemused at how many different crew I have, but I really enjoy giving my friends the chance to share the unpredictable experience. Despite the mishaps described below we all had a ball and quite remarkably both Beronice and Savaad are keen to come again.

After the usual delays in getting rigged and launched we were finally underway - heading downstream towards Iluka. It was one of those magic days when everything was just right, a perfect SE sailing breeze. We kept going until Iluka was in sight but the tide turned and it was time to reach back again.

Our only adventure that day was while sailing past a formidable looking dock keeping outside some yellow marker buoys. A tug steamed out from the dock towards us at full speed. Initially we thought it hadn't seen us and was about to ram us. Then they got a loud hailer out and bossily instructed us to "Keep Outside The Yellow Markers". The whole episode was quite intimidating. Later we learnt that Yamba is a port of entry and it was the quarantine dock. The tramp steamer alongside must have been waiting for clearance.

Beronice and Savaad spent the night at the Harwood Hotel, fortunately not too disturbed by the local bucks and hens parties. I had a peaceful night aboard, stern anchored as usual in front of the Big River Sailing Club.

Next morning the SE wind came up early so we decided to forgo our planned coffees at Yamba and set sail. The wind kept increasing and swung SW. This time the plan was to sail up to the Harwood Bridge (3 km), drop the mast and motor under the bridge, raise the mast and sail towards Maclean then back again to Harwood, again dropping the mast to get under the bridge. I warned Beronice and Savaad that it would be the first time I had dropped the mast and raised it again when afloat. As I feared it was a time consuming hassle and I don't intend to do it again if I can avoid it.

When we eventually got under the bridge we anchored on the other side, lunched, raised the mast and prepared to sail off the mooring. Beronice tried to raise the anchor and it wouldn't budge. This time I realised what had happened as it has happened once before - the anchor warp had twisted round the keel. Savaad and I flattered Beronice by praising her diving skills and persuaded her to descend into the muddy, fast flowing water to free the anchor. She mentioned "bull sharks" but Savaad and I and seemed to be temporarily deaf - neither of us fancied the job! I tied a line round Beronice's middle so that I could haul her aboard if anything went wrong. Beronice saved the day. Many thanks. Although she deserved a whisky (I keep a medicinal flask among the stores) all she would accept was a cup of tea.

We decided to abandon the plan to sail to Maclean and instead drop the mast again, motor back under the bridge, anchor, raise the mast and sail back to Harwood. I should mention that by this time the wind was far stronger - enough to justify a reef but we decided not to put one in for the short sail back to Harwood. Instead we were going to drop the sail and motor back if it was too much for us. We had almost completed this manoeuvre and I was forward, minding my own business, raising the anchor for the final time. Suddenly the boat heeled so dramatically that I feared capsize. I decided that the best way to avoid a this calamity was to remove my considerable weight from the lee rail by sliding into the water. I was much relieved when the boat rapidly righted itself and I clambered aboard, dripping wet, up the swimming ladder at the stern. The specs say a Farr 5000 is self righting but I have no desire to test this. You need to ask Savaad and Beronice what happened in the cockpit...

The various repairs and maintenance described in the previous post performed well but of course there had to be at least one fresh equipment failure. One of the sliders that attach the mainsail to the mast track broke and the spare kept jamming. I'll have to get that fixed.

After that it was a bit of an anti climax. We enjoyed the short sail back to Harwood and it was time for Beronice and Savaad to leave me to enjoy another night at anchor and await Keith's arrival the following morning.

Crash course in boat maintenance

It is almost 6 weeks since I trailed Little Dragon home from Lawrence and I have spent most of that period on maintenance. Although the hull is in excellent shape it is becoming clear that many of the fittings have worn out and need replacement, plus I have to admit to causing one or two of the problems.

I owe a huge vote of thanks to both Richard Flavell and Peter Barnes - both boat builders who freely gave of their time and skills to undertake the repairs that were beyond my skill level (most of them).

Richard (the first photo) repaired the hole in the fibre glass hull caused when the boat jumped off the flat roller on the winch. I repainted the patch on the hull (at least I can paint). It also took a day to get all the fibre glass fibres out of the cabin.

The outboard motor went to the workshop and I was told (as Peter suspected) that there was water in the carby.

It was a hassle getting new pintles for the Zodiac. The old ones were just stupid plastic pegs that didn't handle my "robust" rowing. I am not surprised that Zodiac finally replaced that model with steel pegs, the "new improved model". Zodiac say that their inflatables are only designed to be rowed in an emergency- absurd. I don't want to lug around a second motor. I'm having enough trouble with one.

Next it was the submersible trailer lights. They are only a few months old but Nicky noticed that one of them wasn't working. So I am sent back and forth between the auto electrician and the supplier (one half an hour drive north and the other half an hour drive south). Finally the supplier gives me a replacement and the auto-electrician rewired them. The auto electrician hadn't bothered to wire them in a waterproof way first time. Well why would I want the wiring on submersible lights on a boat trailer to be waterproof?

Now on to Peter Barnes and his Brunswick backyard workshop (plus Margaret's many cups of tea and cake - thanks). Peter fixed things that I knew needed fixing and other things that I hadn't even noticed. This is a list of some of them, but I am sure there are more I have overlooked:

a) fixing the jammed spring on the outboard (I had taken it to two outboard engine workshops and both denied that there was a problem)
b) fixing the staunchion to the deck (it had come loose)
c) trying to level the rollers on the trailer so that the boat winches in straight on the rollers. To do this Peter and I got the boat off the trailer and onto his lawn. Then he welded a chunk of stainless tube onto the winch to raise it up as he reckoned it was too low. Finally came the task of getting the rollers level - it took hours to get the rusted on bolts off and to get new ones bolted back to his satisfaction.
d) However Peter looked at my rusty trailer with alarm and said that if it was his he would clean it up. That suggestion resulted in me taking the trailer back to my garage at home and spending a week full time working on it - in midsummer heat. The result is shown in the photo below. I hosed it 3 times to desalt it, then painted with turps to degrease, then a coat of rust converter, after that 2 coats of metal rust proof undercoat and finally 2 coats of white rust proof enamel. Many thanks to Noela and Keith who each spent a day helping with this task.
e) as if he hadn't done enough Peter set to work on the rudder and rudder box/stock. The stock needed sandblasting and a weld to repair a crack that could have become serious in due course. The rudder itself was sloppy in the the stock and has been "bogged" to take up the slack and the lines into and out of the rudder were wrong, so old holes have been epoxy up and new ones drilled.
f) the lifeline needed renewal. Peter offered to suage on a new one. That turned out to be another fiddly task, but it does look good now with a pretty pale blue drinking hose round the new lifeline. My role was to hold the end of the measuring tape.
f) fitting 2 new skim boxes as the old ones were cracking. I could have done that myself but Peter had the vital stickaflex.
g) replacing the flat roller on the winch with a "V" shaped one that I hope will stop Little Dragon's bow jumping off the roller.
h) just as I was about to drive off Peter pointed out that the brakes are binding - probably caused by putting the brakes into the water when launching. So he set to and took the wheel off but wasn't able to free them up. That may be a job for the trailer workshop soon, before the rego is due.

I have learnt heaps but I fear that without years of training and a well equipped workshop I am likely to remain a "trade assistant - incompetent".

Ramps, jetties and facilities at Maclean, Lawrence, Brushgrove and Ulmarra

Check it out for yourselves, but this is what I found in January 2009.

MACLEAN
Tide turns 3 hrs after Yamba.

PUBLIC PONTOON/JETTY Sailing upstream from Harwood one approaches Maclean from the NE and soon arrive at the "public pontoon" (see mini chart). Small yachts can easily fit into the two inner pens. It is a wonderful modern floating pontoon with all mod cons nearby. There is water on the pontoon, a toilet 50 metres away and pubs, supermarket, news agency and old fashioned coffee shops within a hop skip and jump.


An old pub, Argyle Hotel 02 6645 2015 is about 100 metres from the pontoon. It may soon be restored to its former glory but at present has large, cheap, unrenovated rooms upstairs if you want to sleep ashore.

RAMP: Keep going a bit further upstream (maybe 300m) and there is a fine double concrete ramp. There is room to park the car and trailer nearby adjacent to the police station. So I guess that vandalism is unlikely.

LAWRENCE


JETTY: There is a newish jetty about 200 metres upstream of the ramp. The jetty seems more suited to larger craft than my 17 ft boat. At low tide I wouldn't be able to get ashore as there didn't seem to be the usual ladder to clamber up.


RAMP: It's double width concrete but immediately upstream there is a rock wall and downstream an impenetrable wall of tall reeds. So there is nowhere convenient to tie the boat up temporarily (see earlier post "Goose winging from Maclean to Lawrence"). As the ramp is on the outside bend of the river the tide runs really strongly. I was warned that it drops away to 9 metres depth not far out from the end of the ramp and there is a rocky bottom. I could have anchored in shallow water on the other side of the river but the tide was so strong that I doubted that I would have been able to row my zodiac inflatable back to the ramp.


Warning: There is a powerline over the road between the ramp and the jetty. There really needs to be a warning sign...


It is about 200 metres from the ramp to a toilet block and a little further to both a pub and general store that sells petrol. There is heaps of room to park the a car and trailer. There are splendid picnic shelters, water tap and even an electric BBQ nearby.



BRUSHGROVE

Assume that I am continuing to sail upstream from Lawrence and looking for a convenient anchorage - Brushgrove looks excellent. It is on a tributary running due east from the main river. Quite a few small boats are moored or anchored in the first couple of hundred yards before the bridge. It is a convenient depth to anchor and out of the main tidal flow.

RAMP: There used to be an old ferry across this tributary and the ramps are still in use. I didn't like the look of the ramp on the northern bank next to the pub. The ramp on the southern side looked pretty reasonable, but beware of some overhanging branches about half way down the ramp. There is a tiny beach adjacent to the ramp which would be convenient to tie up briefly. Parking the car and trailer nearby looks OK but I have no idea no safe it would be overnight.



PONTOON: The Brushgrove Hotel is on the northern bank and it has a courtesy pontoon at the bottom of its beer garden for customer's use. The Brushgrove Hotel 6647 6201 has rooms $40 double and $30 single and serves lunch and dinner 7 days a week.

There is a toilet block in the park behind the pub - around 250 metres from the pontoon but no shops or other facilities in the area.

ULMARRA

Ulmarra is a pretty little township and quite unlike Maclean or Lawrence it has become trendy with art galleries, antiques and an upmarket coffee shop.

The tide turns 4 hrs after Yamba at Grafton so I guess it would turn about 3.5 hrs later at Ulmarra.

RAMP: Simple - forget it. I wouldn't try it in my trailer sailer. Much too steep. There is a toilet block above the ramp around 150 metres from the pontoon.

ANCHORING: Just outside the pub on the SE bank very exposed to northerlies. It is shallower on the northern bank but a long row to the township without an outboard in my inflatable.

PUBLIC PONTOON/JETTY This is just below the picturesque pub beer garden and seems to be a popular spot for yachts to tie up in suitable conditions. You will need good fenders.

The boringly named Commercial Hotel 6644 5305 is extremely attractive and right above the pontoon. It has rooms ranging from $35 single to $70 for the large twin bedroom including a light breakfast. There can be music to midnight on Friday and Saturday. There are also a couple of B&B options very close by.

The main street just behind the pub has everything, art gallery, antiques but probably more usefully a good general store and up market coffee shop/restuarant that assured me that they are open all the year 7 days a week from 8 am. It would be a good half km to the nearest petrol station.

The ramps and bridge at Harwood

It may be useful to others planning to sail up and down the Clarence River in a trailer sailer for me to share my experiences to date (Jan 09). If you have anything to add please post a comment.

The Big River Sailing Club is around 3 km downstream of the Harwood Bridge. The tide turns at the bridge (so club members tell me) around 2.5 hrs after Yamba. The bridge is 8.5 metres high. It is possible to ask for the bridge to be raised but I haven't tried that and feel it is a bit mean to hold up all the traffic on the Pacific Highway for my 17 ft Little Dragon to potter through.

The ramp next to the Big River Sailing Club is on public land and is regularly used by recreational fishing boats as well as club boats. It is a single width ramp and needs a bit of care as the tide sluices past and there are annoying posts on the upstream side of the ramp. Also there is a tiresome tree that can (and has) snared masts and rigging on the left when approaching the ramp.

it is possible to tie up overnight to the bank adjacent to the ramp and put out a stern anchor, but be warned it isn't ideal when the prevailing SW is blowing.

There is heaps of space to park cars and trailers in the pleasant park-like area adjacent to the Big River Sailing Club. The Big River Sailing Club has toilets and showers open for members on Saturdays and otherwise by prior arrangement. There are no public toilets. It is around 3 km to the pub and general store.

There are also ramps just upstream of the bridge that used to be either end of the old ferry. The one on the northern shore is just outside the Harwood Pub. I haven't used either ramp and have been warned by several locals of vandalism for cars and trailers left near these ramps overnight.

Goose winging from Maclean to Lawrence

Nicky and I enjoyed a night tied up to the jetty at Maclean and a leisurely morning. The tide at Maclean is 3 hrs after Yamba and it wasn't low until around noon. I wanted to leave on the flood hoping to get to Lawrence or Brushgrove. There was still a fine NE breeze and it would be a run or broad reach all the way.

Thank goodness that Gary was driving Lee down to join Nicky and I for the day. I hoped he would be able to wave his magic wand over the outboard and it would work again. He tried and unfortunately confirmed that it needed a mechanic's workshop.

I had intended to tack back to Harwood with the tide the next day as the forecast was that the NE would keep on blowing. (The day after that a southerly buster was forecast at 35 knots it came in at 41 knots, so I am glad I decided to make sure I was home before that). However I was counting on being able to motor under the bridge at Harwood on the return trip. It seemed foolhardy to approach under sail with the wind on our nose and to be sure that it was exactly low tide. Gary (blessings on you) volunteered to drive me back from our final destination (whereever) to the Big River Sailing Club so I could return with the trailer. In other words we were able to make it a one way voyage.

It was a great sail from Maclean to Lawrence with wind and tide. We goose winged most of the way. The only downside was that it was a bit hot (see the photo of Pam). The new red awning that we put up in a minute when we are anchored is a real boon. However I covet Peter's bimini on his Farr 6000 which keeps him shady while underway.

Unbeknownst to us Gary was following us down the river photographing our progress but sadly his camera wasn't working well that day. We were unanimous - the Clarence River truly is the Big River. We saw a few tinnies fishing, a couple of jet skis, a houseboat or two, but not one other boat under sail all day. Remarkable.

I had missed out on sussing out Lawrence on my preliminary reconnoitres. As I was approaching I thought the ramp was about 200 metres further upstream than turned out to be the case. We suddenly all saw Gary prancing around on the seawall pointing to the ramp. I swung around rather suddenly and we tried, simultaneously, to drop the sails, get the keel and rudder up and jump over the side to hold her against the strong tide. Well, it is best summarised by saying that we need more practice as a team. But we did arrive on the ramp.

Then we had a problem. It was going to take Gary and me around an hour to fetch my car and the trailer and in the meantime Lee and Nicky had to be left looking after Little Dragon. There was a strong tide and it was hard to work out what to do, we ended up putting out a stern anchor and tying up to a post and hoping to hell that no-one would need the ramp as we were completely blocking it. All credit goes to Lee who seems to have been in the water holding onto Little Dragon for most of that hour while Nicky (true to form) served them both a cup of tea.

We had another near miss with the new mast as we came off the ramp. Gary was driving and he turned right off the ramp down the bitumen road to the jetty and back onto the main road (I would have done the same thing). To our horror there was a nasty noise and we looked up. We had just clipped a power line across the road. If the power line had been a bit lower then ...... no I won't go there. Seems that no harm was done.

After that Gary and Lee departed leaving Nicky and me to pack up and spend the night at Lawrence. Should I mention that the zodiac rowlock had bust? Seems that zodiac's are not meant to be rowed. Ridiculous. There is a great spot to overnight in the carpark just by the toilet block - it sounds sordid but it was more like having our own ensuite.

The next day as Nicky and I are trailing Little Dragon homewards we realise that she has somehow managed to come off the winch roller. It was a very flat roller and I later learnt that I should have been supplied a "V" shaped roller when I bought my new winch (I have now got a "V"shaped roller which she snuggles into far more securely). Anyway there was a nasty hole in the fibreglass and it was dangerous to continue. Luckily we were near the ramp at Maclean so Nicky and I decide to float Little Dragon off and rewinch her back onto the roller. We got organised in advance and were determined to make it a smooth operation. All was going well except that when we push Little Dragon she just won't float off. We push harder to no avail. I call out to a lad fishing nearby to come and help. He looks over and says "has that rope round the middle got anything to do with it? Ignominy, we have forgotten to undo the tie down strap. Well I still say that I will try to avoid the same mistake twice but there seem to be plenty more first-time mistakes.

On the run from Harwood to Maclean

I had it all worked out. Nicky and I would leave the car and trailer at the Big River Sailing Club at Harwood in time to get under the Harwood Bridge at low tide (11 am). My calculation was that we could just squeeze under at low tide. Initially I was going to sail the couple of kilometres up to the bridge, drop the sails and motor under the bridge. The wind was a fresh NE, so we would be on a run approaching the bridge, which I felt was a bit hairy.

At the last moment a well wisher suggested that we motor up to the bridge and raise the mast once we were clear. Knowing how little clearance we had I agreed. The outboard started fine and got us out into the river and then cut out, we tried several times and each time it stalled. Finally we anchored, got the mast up and decided to sail. The worry was that by then it was an hour after low water. We decided to risk it and made it - just. I was so relieved that I would not have to tell my insurance company that I needed another new mast.

Once under the bridge we anchored for a desperately needed a cup of tea and lunch. After that we set off under sail to Maclean which was less than 3 km upstream. It hardly seemed to take us any time at all given that we had the wind behind us and a flood tide beneath us.

Luckily I had visited the jetty at Maclean once before - approaching by road and I knew that a trailer sailor would fit neatly into either of the two inner berths, one approached from upstream and the other from downstream.

It was mid tide by the time we reached Maclean, according to the rule of 12ths that is when the tide is strongest. Sooner than I expected I was alongside the jetty, still with full sail on a run. I just turned into the wind aiming at the inner berth and hoping that we would come to a halt. We did. On the photos we approached from right to left. Nicky jumped off the foredeck onto a rock wall and secured us temporarily with a line round a tree. I rowed another line across to the jetty in the zodiac and pulled us into the berth. Not an orthodox arrival but in the circumstances (minus outboard) we were quite pleased. It worked and there was no damage to us or Little Dragon.

Then we needed more tea!

I thoroughly recommend the inner jetty at Maclean to other trailer sailors looking for an overnight stop close to all facilities.

Harwood to Iluka at last

The next day the wind had dropped to a fine sailing breeze and when Noella arrived at Harwood we prepared for an overnight venture. We inflated the Zodiac, loaded up, rigged and launched. It was a much slicker operation than 6 months ago. It took a very hefty shove from Noella to get us off the lee shore but we made it. Well done Noella.

After that it was a magnificent reach almost all the way to Iluka (took around 2.5 hrs). We did the last little bit under motor as the wind had swung round onto our nose and the tide was against us. It runs pretty fast in the Clarence River. Pat and other readers accustomed to crowded waterways will find it hard to believe that throughout the day we only saw one yacht underway. We had the river to ourselves.

The small yacht anchorage at Iluka is an inner harbour entered through a gap in a rock wall and tucked behind the trawlers. It took us a while to discover all its desirable features. First and foremost we were very well protected. There was a sandy beach less than 100 metres away which was being used as a dinghy park. We went ashore and found the the Fish Co-Op (sells fish and chips), a toilet, the pub and a newsagency within even my limited walking distance.

We sat eating fish and chips with a drink (just one!) watching the sunset over the river. Life seemed pretty good. Noella, like Jan, knows her birds and pointed out a family of plovers and worried that the babies often get taken by kookaburras. Then it was back to Little Dragon and we turned in for an early night. The zodiac had proved very handy.

Next day was again fine with a stiff breeze. If we left around noon we anticipated a run with the tide all the way back to Harwood. Just before noon we started the outboard as we thought that we would motor out of the entrance to the harbour and set sail in the main channel. The motor started fine but cut out after about 3 seconds. We tried several more times and it did the same thing. I cursed my inadequate mechanical skills and I am making a new year resolution to learn more about outboard maintenance. We checked that the fuel was turned on and the breather open. My hunch was a fuel blockage but I didn't know how to clear it, if indeed that was the problem. We had a conference and decided that Little Dragon was a sailing boat - so let's sail.

We hoisted the sails and sailed out of the harbour with great applomb (why had I been stressing?). The dolphins put on a fine display in the main channel and followed us for a way up the river. As well as dolphins there were also some fearful looking brown jellyfish, enough to deter us from any thought of swimming. While on the topic of wildlife a huge sea eagle circled above.

It was an exhilarating run most of the way back to Harwood. I was glad I had the depth sounder as it made it easy to avoid a few sandbanks. I was a bit worried about sailing onto the lee shore at Harwood but all went well and we timed the dropping of the mainsail just right and glided ashore under jib. For once it looked as if we knew what we were doing.

Next came the pack up, it is the least desirable aspect of owning a trailer sailer. We were both surprisingly weary but pleased with ourselves. We had sailed from Harwood to Iluka and back.

Yet again too much wind

Nicky, Lee and I had been looking forward to a pre-Christmas sail for ages. They had both gone to great lengths to free themselves up from Christmas preparations for a full day.

So on the Saturday before Christmas we met up at Little Italy Cafe (chosen as it it is en route to Harwood, serves excellent coffee and it is easy to park trailers).

Then on to Harwood by 11 am for The Big River Sailing Club's scheduled "Christmas social sail". We were trying to ignore the strong wind warning but on arrival the omens were not good - not a single boat afloat.

We got out of the car into a howling onshore wind and during the next hour or so it got worse. The silly photos are very misleading, despite it looking calm we would have been stupid to launch.

We joined the Big River Sailing Club's festivities for a while - an indoor BBQ and pressies for the kids. They sure know how to put on a spread. After that we headed off to Iluka so that I could check out the best spot to anchor Little Dragon, if the wind ever dropped enough for me to sail there.

Peter comes to the rescue

So far all I have told you about Peter Barnes of Brunswick Headsis that he sails a Farr 6000 (which I covet). You need to know more about him, as a young man he qualified as a fitter and turner and later in life was a prawn trawlerman and even built his own trawlers. Although he has now retired he still has a well equipped workshed and enjoys "fixing things".

While we were on The Tweed (see previous post) we rafted up and he came aboard. I mentioned a few hassles and he spotted some problems that I hadn't noticed. He said that he can't stand a boat [referring to Little Dragon] not being up to scratch:

* mainsheet slipping in jam cleat -the obvious option of a new jam cleat wasn't a goer as the present one is probably well over 26 years old and the new sizes just won't fit. Solution: he offered to take the fitting to pieces, file the teeth and put it together again.

* rudder needing superhuman strength to raise and lower - Peter worked out that new nylon bushing material cut into shape [a fiddly job] and inserted at the base of the rudder would fix the problem.

* the jam cleats for the jib sheets had come loose - problem was that the wooden blocks had started to disintegrate with age. Solution to fabricate new ones with nylon bushing material and fix with long new screws.

* missing peg attaching boom to mast - it had fallen out and Peter offered to fabricate a screw.

* pointed out that I need new scim fittings and life rails - I now know the signs of wear to look out for and will deal with these early in the New Year.

* last but certainly not least he offered to fix the rewelded mast step securely to the cabin top. The boatyard was closed until after Christmas so I was thrilled with Peter's offer and relieved that the insurance assessor gave him the go ahead. This involved fabricating a metal plate to go inside the cabin and screwing the mast step down onto the plate with giant screws.

Peter worked solidly on all these jobs for three long hot days with complete success. I ran around buying the various bits and pieces. It is not easy to obtain marine grade stainless steel screws or nylon bushing material around Byron Bay. I have learnt heaps. I now know the difference between 304 and 316 grade stainless steel.

Peter I don't know how to thank you enough for doing all this as a volunteer. I have no idea who else would/could have undertaken such fiddly and time consuming jobs. When the mast step broke (see previous post) I thought it was virtually impossible that I would be sailing again the next weekend. You made it happen.

The new mast step fails

This was meant to be a shake down cruise for Little Dragon's handsome new mast. Jan Davis flew up for 3 days. We had planned to head out of Rudy Maas marina near Jacob's Well on the Gold Coast and sail to Jumpinpin in company with Peter Barnes in his Farr 6000. Storms and gales meant we cancelled that plan.

Instead we waited a day for the weather to improve and headed off to the Tweed River, which is close to the Gold Coast Airport, for an overnight sail. Peter came along as well (see last photo).

Problems arose as soon as we tried to raise the new mast - the mast step started to pull of of the deck a bit. We persisted and once the mast was raised it seemed pretty stable. So we sailed off from an excellent ramp on the road to Fingal Heads.

We enjoyed some excellent sailing mixed with a few dramas. The first drama was that the shackle holding the jib clew to the jib sheets came undone so that the jib was flailing around and had to be sorted out. We thought that we had the problem licked but it recurred the following day. Now I have an entirely different system which I am pretty confident is secure. The other drama was when I tried to pull up the anchor after our night afloat. To put it bluntly it didn't budge. I worked out that it was caught round the keel. Then I made the situation worse by trying to raise the keel which jammed the line inside the keel case. Peter kayaked over (he uses a kayak as a tender) to see what was going on. His analysis was the same as mine, next step was for someone to dive down and have a look. I was quite prepared to do that but he volunteered and managed to release the line in a few seconds. Peter suggests that in future I always take the keel up when I anchor - so much to learn.

After that we spent a pleasant morning sailing the Tweed. Rather like the estuary at Ballina there are so many sandbanks that except at high tide there is a very limited area of navigable water - not a patch on the Clarence River.

It wasn't all sailing and drama. It was the day after full moon and we had a magic time watching the moonrise. Also Jan amazed me with her knowledge of the bird life and recognising their calls. I have never been any good at that.

We returned to the ramp and all went well until we started to lower the mast. The screws on the mast step immediately pulled out making it hard for us to lower the mast safely, especially as there was again a strong cross wind. Peter showed up and we all looked at the mast step. It was buckled and the screws projecting were less than 5 mm - far too short.

I was pretty shaken at how close we had come to injuring ourselves and disappointed that what I hope would be a successful shake down cruise for the new mast and a chance for Jan to join me on a sailing trip had ended so badly.

PS The next day S & H Spars (who had supplied but not fitted the mast step) kindly welded it back together and did a couple of other minor modifications to the new mast. That left me with the problem of how to get the mast step securely fastened to the deck. More of that later.

Bridge to Breakers

All the year I have been looking forward to the Bridge to Breakers Regatta at the Big River Sailing Club. I reckoned that Little Dragon could tag along from Harwood to Iluka keeping out of the way of the real racers. But my mast is still "in transit" from Melbourne.

Peter Barnes from Brunswick Heads owns a Farr 6000 (just like my Farr 5000 but 20 ft not 17ft). He came to my rescue just when I thought I was destined to be a landlubber and invited me aboard for the weekend. I really covet his boat but I keep telling myself that it is too heavy to tow behind my Subaru Forrester.

We left Harwood in a strong wind around 2 hrs ahead of the official start and it took us over 2 hrs to get to Iluka. We dubbed ourselves "the spectator fleet".

We anchored in Iluka Harbour and boiled the billy positioning ourselves to watch the fleet race past the entrance to the harbour to the buoy not far downstream and then come screaming back again on the way home. Once the way was clear we set off back to Harwood. The wind had come up further so we had a reef in. Even reefed it was an exhilarating sail. It must have been exhausting for the racing fleet none of whom reefed.

The next day the wind had risen still further - some were talking of a near gale but that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Peter and I decided to watch the racing from the verandah - a great spectacle with all classes from Lasers to Hartley 16s. Unfortunately there were several breakages of both equipment and crew.

Thanks again Peter.

Dismasted

I needed to move Little Dragon just over 100 metres from one side of the Big River Sailing Club to the other. The mast was up so I set off at walking pace determined to avoid all obstacles - but I failed miserably.

Maybe if there was a sign like the one I later spotted at Amity Point, North Stradbroke the incident would not have happened.

I heard a crash and to my horror saw that the mast had snapped when it hit the power line slung from the main pole to the clubhouse.

The caretaker, Richard, came rushing out to see what had happened and he checked that the power to the clubhouse was still intact - but my mast certainly was not.

I climbed on board pretty shaken and angry at my own ineptitude. I have always known that the side decks on Little Dragon are very narrow and need to be negotiated with extreme care. Not surprisingly I slipped and slithered to the ground catching my ribs on the way down. I had broken my rib.

Richard was the perfect gentleman and ordered me to stay at ground level and he went aloft and efficiently lashed the broken mast so that I could trail the boat home don't forget that we were fleeing the storm (well that is an exaggeration but it felt a bit like that).

I am now wonderering which will take longer to mend - my rib or my boat.

PS 19 November. My rib has mended but the new mast is still "in transit" from Melbourne.