Home again and time for maintainance

Home again and as usual time to hose her down, flush the outboard and generally clean up.

Only a few days later Pat flew back to England and I need to set about some winter maintainance (as well as attack the neglected garden):

* new sails

*varnish the bright work

*decide how/if to get the centre plate out and then sandblasted, bogged and repainted and find a way to hold the plate down if we capsize (a daunting prospect)

*new mainsheet fitting

*turn a large old mainsail into a boat cover

Tin Can Bay to Kauri Creek

Pat and I drove back from the Whitsundays to Tin Can Bay and were reunited with Little Dragon still perched high and dry in the yard of the holiday shack. Nicky and Noela had to fly home and start work immediately.





Again the holiday shack and Tin Can Bay proved a great spot to rest up for a couple of days.



But the sun was shining, the tides just right and the wind favourable. So we couldn't resist planning an overnighter, especially as we had found a chart in the holiday shack.




I thought things were going well when I managed to back down the wide ramp with a reasonable degree of aplomb. Suddenly I heard an ominous crunch. Instead of waiting for me a guy had backed his trailer right into my front bumper. Then he had the gall to blame his wife - her crime was not to be there to guide him!



One can only launch at the public jetty near high tide. This was late morning so we were able to take advantage of the ebb all the afternoon. We had a splendid sail reaching Kauri Creek (which is to put it in non-nautical terms) first on the left past the Wide Bay Bar.





It is time to show that even though Little Dragon doesn't have a galley we still manage to brew a decent cup of coffee. That evening after enjoying the sunset we feasted on a couple of surprisingly tasty precooked rice and curry mixes that only needed heating in their sachets.






Next day we tacked all the way back to Tin Can Bay, this time taking advantage of the morning flood tide.





The shackles keep coming off the track on the mast and the photo is of me (yet again) fixing the problem. Hopefully my new sails (due late August) won't have the same problem.

Little Dragon crew go bareboating in Whitsundays

Little Dragon is a bit small to take round the Whitsundays so Pat and I decided to charter a bareboat from Whitsunday Rent a Yacht for 10 days and invite a couple of Little Dragon's regular crew to join us - Nicky and Noela. The photo is of Amalie, a Jeanneau 37.





My sister Pat was skipper and she had her work cut out as apart from the first and last days it consistently blew around 20 knots and at one time even up to 26 knots. Luckily we practised putting in a reef on day 1. On day 2 we needed to reef and we spent the rest of the trip putting in 1 reef, then 2 reefs and sometimes shaking them out again.





Although it was windy we managed to find sheltered anchorages almost every night: Langford Reef (first night when it was calm), Butterfly Bay, Cid Island, Nara Inlet, Tongue Bay and Hamilton Island (where we spent 1 night in the marina and took on more water and fresh food).


As a bunch of ocean swimmers we were determined to get some good snorkelling. Langford Reef and Manta Ray Bay were excellent, but the western anchorage at Butterfly Bay was our favourite.






Another highlight for me was visiting the Aboriginal cultural site at Nara Inlet. Last time I visited it had been shockingly vandalised. Now it was been superbly restored and it has very moving interpretative displays - an absolute must see.

Pat was keen to hone her navigation skills and Noela proved a keen trainee.







Thanks for everything Nicky and Noela.

High and dry in Tin Can Bay

Pat was lucky enough to be offered use of an old style holiday shack in Tin Can Bay. We drove there from the Dreaming Festival. The photo shows Little Dragon high and dry in the yard only metres away from the mangroves.

We spent 3 days resting up after the Dreaming Festival, checking out Tin Can Bay with a view to sailing at least up to the Wide Bay Bar in a couple of weeks (more of that later) and preparing for our bareboating jaunt in the Whitsundays (more of that later).

Pat and I really took to Tin Can Bay - probably because it was so reminiscent of our childhood at Leigh-on-Sea (nicknamed Leigh-on-Mud) on the Thames Estuary in England.

I couldn't resist snapping Pat waiting her turn to feed the dolphin.

This wonderful road sign is on the exit from the giant boat trailer park at Tin Can Bay. If only there had been such a sign at the Big River Sailing Club... (see earlier posts about my new mast!)

Little Dragon returns to Dreaming Festival

Little Dragon was such a popular landmark and meeting place in the camp site at the 2008 Dreaming Festival that I decided we would return for the 2009 Dreaming Festival. Little Dragon performs well as almost as well as a caravan as a sailing boat!

She rose above a mini tent city comprising my sister Pat, Sue Craig, Andi and Jessie, Lesley and Susie, Cas and Nancy plus others such as Rae and her sisters plus Cathie not far away.




















This photo shows that the Stingray Ocean Swimmers pop up everywhere - there were enough of us at the Festival to wish Cathie "happy birthday".

It was a great festival and the highlight for many of us was David Page performing Page 8. Mick Dodson, Australian of the Year, gave the keynote address.

Pat sails Little Dragon at Harwood

The scaffolding that imprisoned Little Dragon in my back yard was removed just in time for my sister Pat and I to head off to Harwood for a couple of nights.


We were very fortunate as the nights we had identified turned out to be a short window of fair weather sandwiched between periods of wind and rain.


I had wanted to sail down to Iluka and overnight there but the Clarence River was still in flood from all the rains and it seemed inadvisable. Instead we pottered around up and down the river fairly close to Harwood and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. A gentle SE breeze.


We stern anchored at Harwood and slept aboard for a couple of nights but headed out in the evenings for a feed and to escape the voracious mozzies.


Although the Clarence River is amazingly underused by recreational sailors there is often something going on. On Anzac Day a flotilla of classic wooden motor boats put into Harwood for a lunch break.



I was half expecting John Woods to join us in his Hartley 16 on Anzac Day and then chase us up and down the river (Hartley 16s are rated as faster than a Farr 5000). Instead he and Col arrived in a tinny when we were near the bridge. We towed them for half an hour or so and chatted about things nautical.


It gave me a real buzz to show off Little Dragon to my sister Pat and I was pleased that she managed to tune the rig a bit so that the sails now set a bit better. Unfortunately although the wind was moderate the jib tore and we furled it up and found she sailed well under main alone. There is no doubt that both sails are starting to disintegrate and need replacing very soon.

PS Coffee drinkers: we had a seriously good coffee at Cafe Wa in Maclean.

PPS Shame I got a heavy cold and felt rotten on day 2.

Little Dragon imprisoned by scaffolding

Last October my roof was so badly dented by a wild hail storm that it has to be replaced. Scaffolders turned up 10 days ago and the roofers were due the following day. As the photos show Little Dragon is for all intents of purposes imprisoned.





The very next day it rained and there have been gales and storms virtually every day since then. What was meant to be a 3 day roofing job looks like going on for weeks. There is yet another strong wind warning for tomorrow.








Very reluctantly I abandon my plans to sail at Iluka over Easter with Beronice and Savaad.

On a more positive note Andrew Landerberger has done an excellent job repairing my mainsail. Thank you Andrew.

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.