This is just a short item to let our followers know we wre home, safe and sound. You can find us back where we started from six years ago.
Pier D, No 10, Seaview Marina, Lower Hutt.
We shall post a blog about our trip from Port Victor later.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The captains view on SOLO SAILING. :)
We all know about those intrepid sailors, mostly men...but occasionally women, many of whom circumnavigate the globe. This feat usually takes three to five years to complete. ( although we do know of one fellow ( yacht Sourdough) who completed his circuit this year after starting out 16 years and 8 months ago, his path wandered far and wide.)
But now do we have a new breed of solo sailors?? And this is my poser to set the mind ticking !!!!
The young man I fathered, who is also my wives son gave my crew member ( Carol) an IPad. For an avid reader this is great ......come bed time the lights go out and she reads on :(. But then this small pecs of equipment becomes a telephone for talking to NZ for almost no cost.....Even better....but wait....THERE'S MORE.....email and all that sort of invisible stuff fly into the IPad, somehow from somewhere ......
Next thing squeezed in is a GPS, which shows you where you are ...anytime, anywhere.......land or sea..day or night. A sweet electronic voice can tell you your speed, your average and how many thousand of hours you have been going.
Now on CHARIOTEER we have paper charts and electronic charts, so we are in touch with where we are....OH NO , now with the IPad we can add, at a small cost, Navionic charts...with a small icon showing our position , how far we have come, where we are going :)
Not good enough yet, you say ...... CORRECT.......as these charts can be over laid with Google Earth views. If Father Christmas has this aid he will be able to see right down your chimney :)
What a marvelous gizmo....NO NO ...we aren't finished yet...weather forecast six days ahead...anywhere in the world (Buoyweather)...you can find ships far enough away that you can not see them with the naked eye (ASIS)
Now where is this all lleading to.......I'm out there in the wind and cold tending sails, keeping a lookout....so I call to Carol...( all snuggly and warm in the pilot house) " a coffee would be good"...... The hasty reply..." can you do it...there is an email I want to answer , and I'll have one also" !!!!!!!!!
I ( Brian) am a new age solo sailor :)
The crew replies....ah yes but the captain does enjoy reading
www.stuff.co.nz or www.trade me.co.nz
and looking at the photos the family send, and the weather forecasts..........:) I just love being crew, who wants to go out into the cold to alter a sail........
But now do we have a new breed of solo sailors?? And this is my poser to set the mind ticking !!!!
The young man I fathered, who is also my wives son gave my crew member ( Carol) an IPad. For an avid reader this is great ......come bed time the lights go out and she reads on :(. But then this small pecs of equipment becomes a telephone for talking to NZ for almost no cost.....Even better....but wait....THERE'S MORE.....email and all that sort of invisible stuff fly into the IPad, somehow from somewhere ......
Next thing squeezed in is a GPS, which shows you where you are ...anytime, anywhere.......land or sea..day or night. A sweet electronic voice can tell you your speed, your average and how many thousand of hours you have been going.
Now on CHARIOTEER we have paper charts and electronic charts, so we are in touch with where we are....OH NO , now with the IPad we can add, at a small cost, Navionic charts...with a small icon showing our position , how far we have come, where we are going :)
Not good enough yet, you say ...... CORRECT.......as these charts can be over laid with Google Earth views. If Father Christmas has this aid he will be able to see right down your chimney :)
What a marvelous gizmo....NO NO ...we aren't finished yet...weather forecast six days ahead...anywhere in the world (Buoyweather)...you can find ships far enough away that you can not see them with the naked eye (ASIS)
Now where is this all lleading to.......I'm out there in the wind and cold tending sails, keeping a lookout....so I call to Carol...( all snuggly and warm in the pilot house) " a coffee would be good"...... The hasty reply..." can you do it...there is an email I want to answer , and I'll have one also" !!!!!!!!!
I ( Brian) am a new age solo sailor :)
The crew replies....ah yes but the captain does enjoy reading
www.stuff.co.nz or www.trade me.co.nz
and looking at the photos the family send, and the weather forecasts..........:) I just love being crew, who wants to go out into the cold to alter a sail........
Monday, November 28, 2011
HERES TO THE MEMORIES 7
On from there we made Hilarys Harbour Marina and third time lucky found a rigger to repair our wounded yacht. He checked all the rigging and changed the lower aft shrouds from 8 to 10 mil. After one week we we're off again amongst the ever present whales. Stops at Mandurah, Bunbury, Quindalup, and Hamlin Bay.
We had met a solo launch heading the same way so we moved along together. At Hamlin Bay it was a wait for conditions to get around the southern cape. Eventually it was a go...so around to Albany. We anchored out by an old whaling station. whaling only ceased Australia in 1987 !!!!!
Next day we moved closer to the town. An old wharf is inside the breakwater, so we tied there for the weekend. Come Monday an official told us we would have to pay $AUS 7.50 per metre. that's $AUS700 per week.!!!!.....we could rent a house for half of that.
Our launch friend was at anchor in another bay, so we headed there. The entrance was shallow and narrow. With winds up tp 30knots, made things a little tense until at anchor :)
In this bay is an island now a bird sanctuary . In the early days local grew the vegetables here as it was safe from the rabbits. pelicans with their huge beaks and large bodies seem so ungainly. but in flight they ar so very graceful. Their flight is a mixture of slow wing flapping and gliding.....great to watch. At a fishing wharf here our friend took on 1200l of diesel, by tanker...and we filled containers with 100 litres. Prices vary considerably t ports. marinas charged up to .20cents a litre more than pump prices...but here was our best buy so far.
Our next sail was a 900 mile run across the AUSTRALIAN BIGHT.
We left behind a low so seas were a little boisterous at first, but we often exceed 9knot boat speed. Nights we were usually light winds, with our speed dropping at time to under three knots. After 962 nautical miles we anchored in a desolate bay for the evening...a couplemof day hopes and on to Victor Harbour. Our friend went into Coffin Bay and will stay there a while.
The leaking water pump on the genset was now putting more water in the bilge than out the exhaust. A bus ride to Goolwa and at the third chandlery , where owner Murray spent an age endeavouring to help us.
On the way across the BIGHT our haliyard again broke dumping our gennaker into the sea. Murray had a roll of 10 m spectra rope which was old stock, and as all the local yachts are considerably on the smaller size we purchased the rope at $ 4.00. :) Later Murray and his wife Denise, invited us to dinner at their place. Their property being thirty minutes out in country. On the way a gum tree across the road held us up while a local farmer, with tractor and chain saw cleared the way. Our hosts were in a thirty acre block in a really nice setting.
Shopping in Victor Harbour is great, with some giving discount when paying with cash. Fuel vouchers from supermarkets gave us 08cents discount plus the stations gave an extra 02cents for cash.
With our trolley we carted 120litres back to Chrioteer. Access to town was nice and easy...a dinghy ride to the wharf and then a walk along the causeway from Granite Island to the mainland and one was in the middle of town.....
We had met a solo launch heading the same way so we moved along together. At Hamlin Bay it was a wait for conditions to get around the southern cape. Eventually it was a go...so around to Albany. We anchored out by an old whaling station. whaling only ceased Australia in 1987 !!!!!
Next day we moved closer to the town. An old wharf is inside the breakwater, so we tied there for the weekend. Come Monday an official told us we would have to pay $AUS 7.50 per metre. that's $AUS700 per week.!!!!.....we could rent a house for half of that.
Our launch friend was at anchor in another bay, so we headed there. The entrance was shallow and narrow. With winds up tp 30knots, made things a little tense until at anchor :)
In this bay is an island now a bird sanctuary . In the early days local grew the vegetables here as it was safe from the rabbits. pelicans with their huge beaks and large bodies seem so ungainly. but in flight they ar so very graceful. Their flight is a mixture of slow wing flapping and gliding.....great to watch. At a fishing wharf here our friend took on 1200l of diesel, by tanker...and we filled containers with 100 litres. Prices vary considerably t ports. marinas charged up to .20cents a litre more than pump prices...but here was our best buy so far.
Our next sail was a 900 mile run across the AUSTRALIAN BIGHT.
We left behind a low so seas were a little boisterous at first, but we often exceed 9knot boat speed. Nights we were usually light winds, with our speed dropping at time to under three knots. After 962 nautical miles we anchored in a desolate bay for the evening...a couplemof day hopes and on to Victor Harbour. Our friend went into Coffin Bay and will stay there a while.
The leaking water pump on the genset was now putting more water in the bilge than out the exhaust. A bus ride to Goolwa and at the third chandlery , where owner Murray spent an age endeavouring to help us.
On the way across the BIGHT our haliyard again broke dumping our gennaker into the sea. Murray had a roll of 10 m spectra rope which was old stock, and as all the local yachts are considerably on the smaller size we purchased the rope at $ 4.00. :) Later Murray and his wife Denise, invited us to dinner at their place. Their property being thirty minutes out in country. On the way a gum tree across the road held us up while a local farmer, with tractor and chain saw cleared the way. Our hosts were in a thirty acre block in a really nice setting.
Shopping in Victor Harbour is great, with some giving discount when paying with cash. Fuel vouchers from supermarkets gave us 08cents discount plus the stations gave an extra 02cents for cash.
With our trolley we carted 120litres back to Chrioteer. Access to town was nice and easy...a dinghy ride to the wharf and then a walk along the causeway from Granite Island to the mainland and one was in the middle of town.....
Friday, November 25, 2011
HERES TO THE MEMORY 6
We motored into Carnarvon .....tie up at a rickety old wharf and go to find Customs....of course one of the officiers had to be of the rude type..full of his own importance........Quarantine was based five hours drive away so our quarantine inspection was done over the telephone...at a cost of $AUS 340.00.
It was with relief all round that our crew was able to get a flight to Perth that afternoon.
Brian was able to strengthen our damaged rigging a bit more, and rather than pay over $AUS 50.00 for another night tied to the disgusting wharf we left the next day.
We were able to refuel before we left....the fuel operator charged us $AUS 30.00 to walk 100 metres to the pump.
These charges came up time and time again as we sailed down the West Caost of Australia.
WE have seen so many whales on this coast it is almost a case of "look whales"....
" oh yeah whales....."
At Geraldton we met a lovely couple ...Ursula and Colin, who put themselves out to elp us source what we needed..... at $AUS53.00 to tie to the wharf we planned on staying for a short time...but look out ..here comes Murphy again...our engine would not start....injectors on strike. Fortuately Ursula and Colin had a friend who was a mechanic and there was an injection specialist business just across the road...so after another few days we were mobile again. And joy of joys ...no charge for tieing to the wharf as it was an emergency :)
further south at the Port Of Dennison we tied up in an empty pen...the owner had his boat elsewhere and after checking it was okay for us to use the space at no charge. In the pen next door was a launch in the same colours as Charioteer. Conversations and a very enjoyable drinking session followed, with a breakfast on board Charioteer invitation and a dinner at their house invitation being extended...
During the dinner they presented us with the most amazing cruising guide for the South of Australia.....glossy colour photos, charts and sailing directions... :)
It was with relief all round that our crew was able to get a flight to Perth that afternoon.
Brian was able to strengthen our damaged rigging a bit more, and rather than pay over $AUS 50.00 for another night tied to the disgusting wharf we left the next day.
We were able to refuel before we left....the fuel operator charged us $AUS 30.00 to walk 100 metres to the pump.
These charges came up time and time again as we sailed down the West Caost of Australia.
WE have seen so many whales on this coast it is almost a case of "look whales"....
" oh yeah whales....."
At Geraldton we met a lovely couple ...Ursula and Colin, who put themselves out to elp us source what we needed..... at $AUS53.00 to tie to the wharf we planned on staying for a short time...but look out ..here comes Murphy again...our engine would not start....injectors on strike. Fortuately Ursula and Colin had a friend who was a mechanic and there was an injection specialist business just across the road...so after another few days we were mobile again. And joy of joys ...no charge for tieing to the wharf as it was an emergency :)
further south at the Port Of Dennison we tied up in an empty pen...the owner had his boat elsewhere and after checking it was okay for us to use the space at no charge. In the pen next door was a launch in the same colours as Charioteer. Conversations and a very enjoyable drinking session followed, with a breakfast on board Charioteer invitation and a dinner at their house invitation being extended...
During the dinner they presented us with the most amazing cruising guide for the South of Australia.....glossy colour photos, charts and sailing directions... :)
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