I have to admit they give me the ****s slightly when they come in to my local once a year and I have to walk ,weave and climb over there sails and crap to get on my yacht....but I always smile and so no problem mate as I know they only get a bit of time to go sailing a few times a year as most are to busy working to pay for there racing toys.

Sorry to hear they're an inconvenience South. Where is home for you?

Select to expand quote

shaggybaxter said..
Sorry to hear they're an inconvenience South. Where is home for you?

On my yacht is home but really no fixed addresss!
I don't mind if they put there expensive sails on the the berth with there coffee cups and wet weather gear....etc but please just use half of the pontoon on your side to let me back onto my own yacht that's all I ask!

Select to expand quote

southace said..

shaggybaxter said..
Sorry to hear they're an inconvenience South. Where is home for you?

On my yacht is home but really no fixed addresss!
I don't mind if they put there expensive sails on the the berth with there coffee cups and wet weather gear....etc but please just use half of the pontoon on your side to let me back onto my own yacht that's all I ask!

Absolutley agree with you, and you should give them a gentle chiding if they do. Personally I have never seen any racer take up the whole dock, on the contrary I've always found they have gone out of their way to ensure they don't enroach on other boats. Maybe that's because all the racers I know all own their boats outright, and they're out on the water more often than not.
Different circles it appears, thankfully. Never any excuse for bad manners.

so damn excited . its actually happening...ETD , sunday. Light winds though, but all good.

Select to expand quote

shaggybaxter said..

Hi EC31,
It was funny, the crew were going pell mell throwing everything onto the dock. I had to draw the line when a 10 pack of those little alfoil trays you use for cooking got tossed onto the dock :) .

I'll make sure I look you up mate, we'll be either rafted up somewhere or on the X-41, CR div.

Are you doing Cruiser div with/without kites?

With kites

Select to expand quote

EC31 said..

shaggybaxter said..
G'day Tamble,
You certainly can stay on your boat, lots do. I was going to do this last year too, but the day we arrived we of course promptly stripped the boat of every removable part and dumped it on the dock then wrapped it all in a tarp. Getting back after a hard days racing, I took one look at the enormous pile on the dock, looked downstairs at an utterly gutted boat, and went and stayed in a very comfy unit for the week .
There was still some bungalows for rent this year, but the price is just nuts for what you get.

We've worked out a plan, we've got a mate doing Hammo. We're both doing the Keppel race, but he's not doing Airlie. So, we'll wander over to Hammo and say G'day, hop on for some of the week with them, and they'll hop on Fusion for Airlie week, as they've got no commitments from Keppel to the start of Hammo.

So hopefully a win/win!

Sounds like a plan.

No wonder your thing goes quick if you strip everything out. We will probably still have the dinghy on the foredeck and the outboard on the rail. Well, maybe not, but only because the foredecky will get annoyed with the trip hazard.

Tamble, what division are you racing in?

Drop over and say g'day. Not many Eastcoasts entered, so we should be easy to find.

how are you guys going out there?
just watching that low moving its way east.

We are without kites. At least I will have a Catalina 320 to race cause everything else is huge.
We are in Port Stephens now. On the motor all the way from Pittwater, light wind dead on the nose. Looks the same tonight. Plan to get to Laurieton by 11:00 tomorrow.
Photo of BigBoris at the helm. Under the layers, he is grinning like a cheshire cat.

I'll be on board tomorrow [at Laurieton] EC31. I'll watch out for you. Bar was real flat today.

Select to expand quote

EC31 said..
We are without kites. At least I will have a Catalina 320 to race cause everything else is huge.
We are in Port Stephens now. On the motor all the way from Pittwater, light wind dead on the nose. Looks the same tonight. Plan to get to Laurieton by 11:00 tomorrow.
Photo of BigBoris at the helm. Under the layers, he is grinning like a cheshire cat.

He does look a little mad doesn't he

I hear you guys are making good progress to Camden haven. Well done and hope the weather holds out for you.

Stopped at the southern end of Russell Island for the night. Off to Redcliffe tomorrow , very quiet after the Gold Coast missing the tourist duck boats, sea planes, whale watching tours and helicopters lol

Select to expand quote

nswsailor said..
I'll be on board tomorrow [at Laurieton] EC31. I'll watch out for you. Bar was real flat today.

We were in early this morning at Camden Haven. Earlier than planned, so bar was flat but shallow. No problems though.
Wind was on the nose again last night, so another trip using the motor. Forecast is for a weak SW change tonight after midnight. We will be leaving about 10pm, should get to Coffs by lunch tomorrow.
Sorry NSWSailor, we crashed for most of the day today, so apologies if you came around and no-one responded.

Beautiful sunrise before Camden Haven this morning.

Oldboyracer, did you cop any of the storms last night? We are anchored in Horseshoe bay, Peel Island and missed the worst of it. loveley morning now though.

Well my run north has come to an end. Time to head west
Will be leaving TI and about 30 mins time for a jump across the gulf to Gove. See you all in a few days.

Keep safe everyone.

Trucking up past avalon now. Was gonna go into barrenjoey but have decided to carry on overnight. First time for me. Slightly nervous but weather should be fairly mellow.
Have sailed all the way. Averaging about 2 knots! 10 knots of wind and a dirty bum

Go for it Steve!

You will enjoy the sail tonight to, Port Stephens? I always enjoyed night sailing with a moon.

Just a weather note, you should keep going on Tuesday to Laurieton as we look like getting a large swell
which will make the bars questionable for the following few days.

Select to expand quote

nswsailor said..
Go for it Steve!

You will enjoy the sail tonight to, Port Stephens? I always enjoyed night sailing with a moon.

Just a weather note, you should keep going on Tuesday to Laurieton as we look like getting a large swell
which will make the bars questionable for the following few days.

Yeah i dont wanna be near big swell and the bar!
Nats gotta work tuesday am so we wouldnt be able to leave port Stephens til 8am tuesday. and we need to bum scrape tomorrow.
It's lovely out here. Just preparing dinner. Winds on nose and tacking north.ive prepped jacklines and made sure all torches have batteries. Full moon rises at 12am.
Boogie man

Good to see you under way SS, take it easy and stay safe and, most importantly, enjoy!
regards,
allan

Have fantastic sail SectorS, I absolutely love sailing at night with a clear sky. I didn't realise that the stars set just like the sun until I sailed at night. I guess I had a vague idea but it is much easier to pick a star that is on the course you want than sail to the compass all the time and then it sets and you have to pick another. They move across quite quickly. As long as you haven't got rad weather its great.
All the best.

Yes had a bit of rain and wind but not a lot,at redcliffe in the marina now for a week to fit an anchor winch.then mooving further up the coast. Only run aground twice this morning so was happy with that lol

Select to expand quote

Sectorsteve said..

nswsailor said..
Go for it Steve!

You will enjoy the sail tonight to, Port Stephens? I always enjoyed night sailing with a moon.

Just a weather note, you should keep going on Tuesday to Laurieton as we look like getting a large swell
which will make the bars questionable for the following few days.

Yeah i dont wanna be near big swell and the bar!
Nats gotta work tuesday am so we wouldnt be able to leave port Stephens til 8am tuesday. and we need to bum scrape tomorrow.
It's lovely out here. Just preparing dinner. Winds on nose and tacking north.ive prepped jacklines and made sure all torches have batteries. Full moon rises at 12am.
Boogie man

Enjoy the sail. Keep a good watch!

Select to expand quote

Toph said..
Well my run north has come to an end. Time to head west
Will be leaving TI and about 30 mins time for a jump across the gulf to Gove. See you all in a few days.

Keep safe everyone.

Enjoy your sail West Toph, wishing you good winds. Any idea when you will be in Fremantle?

Select to expand quote

MorningBird said..

Sectorsteve said..

nswsailor said..
Go for it Steve!

You will enjoy the sail tonight to, Port Stephens? I always enjoyed night sailing with a moon.

Just a weather note, you should keep going on Tuesday to Laurieton as we look like getting a large swell
which will make the bars questionable for the following few days.

Yeah i dont wanna be near big swell and the bar!
Nats gotta work tuesday am so we wouldnt be able to leave port Stephens til 8am tuesday. and we need to bum scrape tomorrow.
It's lovely out here. Just preparing dinner. Winds on nose and tacking north.ive prepped jacklines and made sure all torches have batteries. Full moon rises at 12am.
Boogie man

Enjoy the sail. Keep a good watch!

Thanks guys. Chickened out and pulled into barrenjoey head. I'm absolutely exhausted and not thinking straight. Delirious. Will do the night sailing soon. My Mrs was very keen to do it but theres some ? On a few things on boat. Not majors but things to check. We been working like mad . Stocked boat and left asap without sorting a few things. Scrub hull in morning and leave.

Select to expand quote

Datawiz said..
Good to see you under way SS, take it easy and stay safe and, most importantly, enjoy!
regards,
allan

Thanks mate. Certainly isnt easy making this happen! Need a rest already! That's what we're doing now. Nice anchorage.

Select to expand quote

Sectorsteve said..


Thanks guys. Chickened out and pulled into barrenjoey head. I'm absolutely exhausted and not thinking straight. Delirious. Will do the night sailing soon. My Mrs was very keen to do it but theres some ? On a few things on boat. Not majors but things to check. We been working like mad . Stocked boat and left asap without sorting a few things. Scrub hull in morning and leave.

Good call. You dont make good decision when tired. We have been pushing the envelope with night motoring the last few days, then sleeping for long hours on arrival. Play it safe.
No wind last night, some fog after Port Macquarie, then the wind came in at Trial Bay to let us sail for a few hours. In marina at Coffs tonight, then early start to Yamba tomorrow morning.

Obligitory whale photo.

Select to expand quote

Sectorsteve said..

Datawiz said..
Good to see you under way SS, take it easy and stay safe and, most importantly, enjoy!
regards,
allan

Thanks mate. Certainly isnt easy making this happen! Need a rest already! That's what we're doing now. Nice anchorage.

I seem to recall suggesting fatigue will be your problem going coastal. It is great that you recognised the symptoms and took the right option.
You will get good at this if you survive and survive you will with pragmatic decisions.
Are you on one of the moorings inside Barrenjoey or over in Coasters? You will have a northerly tonight, inside Barrenjoey will be good.

If any of you cruisers need fuel in Yamba Iluka and don't want to pay marina prices message me I've got wheels and can carry cans

Select to expand quote

Sectorsteve said..

Datawiz said..
Good to see you under way SS, take it easy and stay safe and, most importantly, enjoy!
regards,
allan

Thanks mate. Certainly isnt easy making this happen! Need a rest already! That's what we're doing now. Nice anchorage.

My advice would be never head out on long passage plans with a dirty bum. Not only does it effect hull performance it will also effect manovorbilty when entering harbours or crossing bars. Hot Coffee , milo and chocolate will keep you up all night that's what I use for night passages!

Appreciate the support. The last few weeks and especially the last week have been sleep deprived. My fingers are numb on right hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome maybe from cutting firewood. Need rest. Sailing past broken bay looking at the black cliffs ahead i realised i wasnt able to process basic things. Had to stop. Just using my great heavy anchor. Very peaceful. Theres a few available moorings but when here at easter they banged the heck out of my hull so chose anchore. (Thanks sir g its a great anchor!)
Scrape a few barnys off tomorrow am. Check my spark plugs.set up reefing lines grease traveller etc. Just a few minor things. Was kinda the point today to come to Pitt water but delirium said "you can keep going" we cooked dinner easily in flat sea. Good thing is we used no fuel from fort denison. Was slow though! Left mooring at 7am. Woodford bay

Select to expand quote

Sectorsteve said..
Appreciate the support. The last few weeks and especially the last week have been sleep deprived. My fingers are numb on right hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome maybe from cutting firewood. Need rest. Sailing past broken bay looking at the black cliffs ahead i realised i wasnt able to process basic things. Had to stop. Just using my great heavy anchor. Very peaceful. Theres a few available moorings but when here at easter they banged the heck out of my hull so chose anchore. (Thanks sir g its a great anchor!)
Scrape a few barnys off tomorrow am. Check my spark plugs.set up reefing lines grease traveller etc. Just a few minor things. Was kinda the point today to come to Pitt water but delirium said "you can keep going" we cooked dinner easily in flat sea. Good thing is we used no fuel from fort denison. Was slow though! Left mooring at 7am. Woodford bay

I'm with Southace, don't go to sea with a dirty hull. The boat is much easier to handle when clean, especially when you need it in strong winds, big seas, entering harbour, squeezing into tight spaces, making port before the weather closes in and crossing bars.
Scraping a few barnacles won't make an iota of difference. If you can get it all clean that's great, if you can't get a diver in.
A mob called Aquaman in Pittwater can get a diver onto it for a reasonable price. I have deleted their number but it can be googled.
I you can't afford a diver you might not be ready for a big passage.