The Bridge to Breakers 2015

Bridge to Breakers 2015. Nicky crewed for me again, thanks for all your energy and enthusiasm. This year my old friends Helen Mower and Chris Hewgill came along as land-based support team. Chris had a heart attack several months ago so is on very light duties. Such a shame for him as he would much rather be afloat. However he has turned to photography while he recovers. He was hoping to take many shots of Little Dragon underway but I headed off downstream not to be seen again for several hours. Oh well, next time....

Photos by Chris Hewgill of Hueysurf

It always seems to blow for the Bridge to Breakers. This time a strong southerly, so everyone had to sail off a lee shore. No trouble for Little Dragon who took advantage of her outboard. After nearly pulling my arms out of my sockets the week before this time I put in a reef. We weren't racing. I reckon we play the role of "supporter fleet" (well we are the  totality of the supporter fleet). We reached off downriver towards Iluka around 10 mins before the first start.

With a reef in we had a comfortable sail although it got pretty choppy around the Goodwood mark. Others who were racing seriously had more "fun" (if you term it that). Many capsized, one fella apparently 6 times (hope he was fit). One cat lost its mast. We made it to the turning mark at Iluka and shook out the reef on the way back when the wind dropped a little. We had to keep alert as the A class cats were fair whizzing along. We were trying to keep out of every one's way - regardless of which tack we were on. The protocol is that "spectator fleet" should give way to the entire race fleet. On the way back we certainly steered well away from a tug in the fairway towing a commercial vessel. The wind observations at Yamba had it gusting 19 knots during the race.

Congratulations to the BRSC junior member Joseph Mulligan who did all the handicapping and produced the results list promptly as well as helping with the starts on the committee boat.

Around 10 pm on Saturday there was a storm - thunder and lightening for ages. I was sound asleep in my bunk when it started. Some of the campers didn't fare too well but I was dry and secure in Little Dragon.

On Sunday morning, after helping with the traditional "the works" breakfast, I packed up and headed for home hoping to make it before another storm hit. I could see on the radar a massive storm offshore just north of Byron Bay. Sadly around 6.35 that evening a surfer was hit by lightning at Suffolk Park. The whole of Byron Shire got a drenching.

Sailing cut short by Suffragettes

It was a rushed but satisfactory dash to Harwood and back. Jill Trevillian and I got to the BRSC early, in time for the pre-sailing committee meeting. Then we rigged and launched as quickly as we could. Despite our best efforts it was still nearly 1 pm before we were underway.

All the week the forecast had been light winds but at the last minute a strong northerly blew up. As it wasn't forecast I didn't take it seriously and didn't reef. Never mind, we had an exhilarating sail for a couple of hours. Most of the time we tacked downriver making very slow progress against wind and tide - but it took no time at all to return to the ramp. By that time we felt like we had had a real workout and the next day it felt as if my arms had almost been pulled out of their sockets. We both slept well. Sorry, no snaps today for obvious reasons - no spare hands.

We were anxious to get ashore earlier than usual and get back to Byron Bay. The British Film Festival was on at The Palace and we both wanted to see The Suffragette.

Fantastic weather for juniors' training long weekend

The whole long weekend was just perfect. Just the right amount of wind. Sunny but not too hot. An enthusiastic bunch of juniors intent on sailing not electronic gadgetry. Some were very junior around 6 to 8 and sailed Bics, others were teenage and had graduated to lasers. Almost all of them took part in the Saturday afternoon club championship race.

Whilst I was quite willing to help it all seemed to be under control without me so Nicky, Noela and I rigged Little Dragon and while the race was on we sailed down river to the Goodwood mark and back. Very pleasant. Nothing untoward to report. 

Noela

Nicky

We cruised around while others raced

I stayed on Little Dragon overnight and changed crews on Sunday. Nicky and Noela went home and John Woods and Ted (the poodle) came instead. I describe John as crew but he was very much in sail training mode. So I couldn't just relax he insisted that I get Little Dragon sailing well - all the time. He is right, I am a bit slack on my own! 

John Woods with Ted (not a dog but a poodle)

Lads having fun issuing tickets but not to us! We had our safety gear

Although there were very few people out on the river, just a few fishermen in tinnies, Roads and Maritime had deployed two officers on top of the range jet skis to zoom down the river and check on fishing licences and safety equipment such as life jackets. What a wonderful job for a couple of lads - perfect conditions, jet skis to zoom around on and double pay and a half for Sunday work.

I drove home early on the Monday morning beating the holiday traffic. 

I really must take some bog and paint to a few gauges near the bow and on the rudder and have Little Dragon spruced up for the annual Bridge to Breakers. [Note: 22 October - done]

First sail for 2015 season

During the winter layup Rod had fixed my trailer and the outboard was serviced, so I reckoned that I was ready for the new sailing season. All went well. On Saturday Nicky came down for the day to crew. The weather was pleasant and we just sailed up and down for the afternoon keeping out of the way of the racing.

Sunday and Savaad came down to crew. Again all went well. Again we just cruised up and down for a few hours then packed up and headed home. The wind was moderate the weather kind.

So all in all nothing dramatic to report - just how I like it. I hope it is a good omen for the season.

The Annual Tumbulgum Passage Race on Tweed River

Eve and I were keen to participate in the Tweed Valley Sailing Club's marathon race from Condong to Fingal Head as BRSC spectator fleet. We booked a cabin for the Saturday night at the Hacienda Caravan Park at Chinderah so that we could be on the river bright and early for the race on Sunday 17th May. Seemed like a good plan, but...

Private boat ramp at Hacienda Caravan Park, Chinderah

We were launching, well reefed, at low tide on Saturday afternoon. The boat ramp was covered in a treacherous slime - the worst I have ever seen. You guessed it, I lost my footing and fell backwards hitting the back of my head on the concrete ramp. Not a good start. The rest of Saturday was a write off. I lay on my bunk in the cabin with Eve keeping a close eye on me ready to call an ambulance if I got worse. Luckily we didn't miss much in the way of sailing, it was wild and wet.

Pontoon at Hacienda Caravan Park's private anchorage

Eve Schoenheimer

Sunday morning. The weather had improved, the wind had moderated and it looked as if the showers might give way to sunshine. My head was still not good but I was much better than the night before. I decided to head off under motor. Eve is a sailor so I knew that she could take charge if necessary. It was extremely pleasant gently motoring upriver and waiting for the racing fleet to appear heading downriver to Fingal Heads. I am still confused about the wind. It was forecast to be S.  The weather report said that it was SSW at a weather station close by. We decided to shake out the reef and sail for a while. I assumed we would be on a broad reach or run as we were heading from S to N. However we seemed to be head to wind and having to tack back and forth. Very odd. The racing fleet persevered tacking in light fluky conditions. We reverted to motor sailing and soon I was fading so it was back to Chinderah. We didn't make it to Fingal Head. There is always next year.

Nicky's birthday at Ballina

Time for BRSC spectator fleet to have a burgee

The plan was for Little Dragon to be the BRSC spectator fleet at Richmond River Sailing Club's annual marathon from the sailing club to Pimlico and back. The time came for the race and it was still a dead calm but it was very pleasant sitting on the deck at the sailing club watching the pelicans. The race was postponed but eventually took place with a very shortened course.

Nicky's birthday

It is the first time Nicky has crewed for ages as she has been recovering from shoulder surgery. It suited her that there was so little wind. We launched as soon as there was around 1 knot of wind. Which way was it coming from? Very strange. For a few minutes it was due E then it went due W and back and forth. Tricky sailing. Despite that we enjoyed ourselves and reckon it was all worthwhile.

Duncan Dey on RS 100

Waiting for the tractor to pull us out 

We managed to launch ourselves on the top of the tide but when the tide goes down in front of the sailing club it needs their tractor to pull us out. Thanks to the sailing club for extending this courtesy to visiting spectator fleet.

Ancient Mariners head to Myall Lakes

John's new boat and Little Dragon anchored off our cabin at Myall Lakes Tourist Park (formerly Legges Camp)

Many months ago around half a dozen  BRSC Ancient Mariners boats decided to head off for a few days on the Myall Lakes. When the time came, for various totally legitimate reasons, the numbers  plummeted. A trio made it: John Woods and me with my crew Jill Trevillian. We had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days exploring Myall Lakes on the 26 and 27 March - but in retrospect I wonder whether trailing our boats well over 1000 km there and back was worth it when we can enjoy the Clarence River anytime.

Sometimes they seemed to ignore each other

And sometimes they chatted

John didn't finish building his boat in time for sea trials. Unfortunately it failed its maiden voyage on Myall Lakes. John is sure all will be well with a different sail. Luckily there is room on Dragon for all three of us.

The first day the wind was very light and we sailed (and at times reluctantly motored) past Bombah Ferry, up Two Mile Lake and down Boolambayte Lake to Violet Hill. An ideal spot for a lunch stop but a shame that although I boiled the kettle and we were looking forward to a cuppa I had forgotten to pack any tea/coffee. We agreed that if we returned that we would enjoy camping at Violet Hill camp site.

A very cheeky kookaburra  kept swooping on our lunch at Violet Hill camp site.

The second (and final) day there was a fine sailing breeze and we charged across Bombah Broadwater and then up the Nerong River to lunch at Nerong tied up to another very convenient pontoon. Of course these lakes are not only very shallow they are also not tidal - takes a bit of getting used to after the strong tidal flows where we usually sail.

The lakes were generally shallow and rich in sea grass

Pontoon at Nerong

It was such a long drive to Myall Lakes that Jill and I decided that we should make the most of having a car in The Hunter and head off on a couple of side trips. I abandoned Little Dragon for a few days at the Myall Shores Tourist Park. First we went to stay with old friends of mine from my days in Alice Springs, Sandy and John Nader. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were joined by another friend from those days, Jenny Green. Their property is out west near Merriwa. Then I did a quick dash to Sydney while Jill visited an old friend in Kempsey. After that we broke the journey north by staying overnight with another old friend, Helen Mower at Nambucca. Thanks Helen. Finally we made it back to the Northern Rivers just in time for our monthly book group meeting. All in all a good trip.

Sandy and John Nader, Jenny Green and Pam

Dawn at Harwood

Well after dawn but still quite early Rod King arrived in his work truck with an air compressor. He demonstrated how easy tasks such as attaching my new mast plug look when done by a skillful person with the right tools. He went on to consider why it was so difficult to attach the mast to the deck and saw that it was slightly out of whack. So of course he took it to pieces and put it back so that it sat properly for the very first time. Many, many thanks Rod.

With the mast fixed it seemed only proper to rig Little Dragon and head off for an afternoon sail. Noela and her friend Peter arrived but the wind didn't. We sat on the clubhouse deck and waited and waited. Eventually a gentle breeze ghosted up the river and off we went. It was only forecast to get to 8 knots but it did better than that. We reckon it reached 14 knots and we got as far as the Goodwood mark and back.

Altogether an excellent day.

No sailing for Little Dragon at the Annual Regatta

15 February 2015

Eve and I headed down to Harwood looking forward to the Annual Regatta. Although we weren't racing we intended to be spectators and accompany the fleet to Iluka and back. Unfortunately when we tried to raise the mast it just wouldn't go up straight. Odd as it is something that I have done without difficulty every other time. Not sure exactly what happened. The lug on the mast plug fractured so we couldn't attach the mast to the mast step on the deck. We could have launched and motored but that didn't appeal to either of us.

Fractured mast plug

Such a shame as it was perfect weather and a SE breeze of around 10 knots possibly up to 12 knots at times. Instead I busied myself with shore duties. The smooth running of these regattas relies totally on the hard work of BRSC's small membership.

Thanks to Rod for drilling out the old mast plug so that I could order a new identical one.

Summer holiday on the Big River

Tuesday 6 Jan - Wednesday 7 Jan

Noela and Keith

Another permutation of crew, Noela and Keith this time. We enjoyed a couple of relaxed summery days, light winds provided gentle sailing and it wasn't too hot considering that it was January. Nothing specially memorable and none the worse for that. The finale was to pack up Little Dragon and I trailed her back to Byron Bay.

It is amazing that although it was peak summer holidays we only saw a few fishing boats zooming up and down the river and not more than half a dozen boats under sail.

I never see any ship movements at the Harwood Slipway at weekends but this time we were at BRSC midweek. We watched the tug Molly Grace deliver what we think is a floating dock. I knew that their slipway is kaput at present and we guessed that this is going to play some role in its repair.

Action at Harwood Slipway

Jib furler fixed at last - I hope!

The .... jib furler hopefully finally fixed

For several years the jib furler did what a jib furler should do - it furled the jib. Then about 3 years ago it started playing up. On land we practiced furling and unfurling - no problem. Then at the end of a sail when we tried to furl it just flatly refused and flogged wildly. Most of the BRSC "brains trust" have had a go at fixing it but any fix was always temporary. This time John Woods and Rod King took the ...... thing to pieces and found that it was slipping internally. Bingo. Rod took it away to his workshop and put a tiny screw in to stop the slipping. Now it works like a dream. Long may it continue. Many thanks to Rod and John for your persistence.

Steve Millard

This was the Saturday of the BRSC Christmas party, so merriment and snags all round. The juniors enjoyed their annual treat of being towed by Rod behind the rescue boat. Steve, another of my swimming mates, came for the first time as crew. Like so many of the swimmers he has some sailing experience and we enjoyed the usual stately sail up and down the river followed by dinner at the Harwood Hilton. Thanks Steve for your good company and especially your prowess at backing the trailer.

The Bridge to Breakers: a winch handle and a shiner

The Bridge to Breakers weekend was forecast to be a scorcher, 40c to 41c, but dry with a delightful 10 knot northerly. Noela and Nicky were again crewing although Nicky was on light duties with a frozen shoulder.

We weren't racing but just enjoying a sail down river to the Goodwood Mark and back as spectator fleet. So we  decided to shelter from the sun under the bimini, it does reduce vision a bit but we weren't frizzled. A few dinghy sailors ended up pretty dehydrated. Luckily the temperature on the river didn't get much over 30c but the wind was well above forecast, around 15 knots gusting 18 at times. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. A great sail and we had fun dodging the fleet who were all intent on racing.

There were a couple of incidents that I should put on record (I won't put on record a couple of dodgy gybes which proved that Little Dragon behaves very calmly when a dinghy would have capsized).

First, that damn jib furler. We tested it out several times before setting off and the jib furled and unfurled just fine. When we needed to furl before coming in to the shore it just refused. I am at my wits end over how to fix this problem. Ideas?

Second, the trailer winch handle flew out and hit me hard on the cheek when I started to winch Little Dragon in. My fault as I assume I hadn't locked the handle on properly. Now I have a splendid shiner (no photos). It missed my eye by about half an inch. I keep saying I won't make the same mistake twice and I certainly don't intend to do that again.

A "just right" Saturday afternoon afloat

It was a "just right" Saturday afternoon afloat, a gentle breeze but enough for the enthusiastic crew to hone their skills, not too hot/cold, no rain (we need rain but not while afloat) and best of all No Mozzies (? too dry).

Green frogs have made the BRSC ladies heads their home. I wonder why they never fancy the gents?

Pam and Cathy

Rae

All the best crew help with the wash down

The weekend followed a familiar pattern. Leave Byron Bay early, stop at Little Italy en route for a coffee, arrive at the BRSC around 10.30 and rig Little Dragon followed by a first rate sandwich from the canteen. Better gloss over the next bit as I still haven't got the hang of backing Little Dragon down the single ramp. Once afloat Rae and Cathy practiced motoring head to wind. Hoist the sails and we're off up to the Harwood Bridge and back. I couldn't resist the temptation to join the last round of the Saturday afternoon race. Good fun especially as we had to gybe round all the marks. Rae and Cathy did the pack up and wash down while I was at a committee meeting. Then off to an excellent dinner at the Harwood Hilton. Next morning we headed home after breakfasting on the club deck watching the sun burn the mist off the river. We reckon this is the best glamping ever.

Caz photographs rigging Little Dragon

I went down to Harwood with Rae Wills and Caz Coffey for a relaxed weekend on the Clarence. Unfortunately at the last minute the forecast changed and on Saturday there was such a strong southerly that we stayed safely on shore and just watched a small intrepid fleet of dinghies racing. Luckily the wind dropped on Sunday and we spent several glorious hours afloat and that made the whole venture worthwhile.

Caz is an experienced photographer and took the snaps below of us rigging Little Dragon.

Pretty easy to step the mast on Little Dragon

Caz Coffey, photographer and new crew, took this selfie

I insist on having a wind indicator although John Woods says that only wankers use them

John Woods was determined to fix ongoing hassles with the jib furler

Pam and Rae getting the mainsail lugs into the mast track

Securing the lugs with whipper snipper cord (an excellent tip)

Rae flaking the mainsail

Pam showing Rae the mainsail winch

Rae - I hope enjoying herself

Caz at the helm for the very first time

All went well, Caz is a natural. It must be in her genes as her great great grandfather was Admiral of the Australian Navy.

Harwood is a superb spot to chill out - except when there is a raging southerly