Lights, Liferaft Leaks and Luggage

The Photos are views from Sapphire at her mooring near Church Point. Jason from Mainsail Marine is putting in long hours to get everything done, and Ive been trying not to get in his way. Actually hes been teaching me all sorts of useful shipwright stuff, so the boat is a shambles at present. In the evenings I clear away the tools and the dust to find my galley and then my bunk. But I said to him today, a glorious day for sailing, this beats working for a living.

I remember reading in a journal some time ago, an article in which seaasoned yachtsmen were asked for their single best piece of advice for cruising sailors. All had excellent tips to give, summarised in a paragraph, complicated opinions about the type of something or other and depending on the conditions and not forgetting whatever else and so forth. Only one stuck in my mind though, and it seemed so sensible and was so succinct : the wise old sea dog said "Keep the water out" And that was it. And that has been one of the jobs we've been tackling this week on Sapphire. The heavy rain which kept me trapped on the boat for 36 hours provided a perfect opportunity for me to see where all the leaks were - mainly around the mast but also from the chainplates and possibly from under the track for the headsail sheets, and around the hatches - all small leaks but can make life damp and miserable as well as corrode and rot.

The other jobs include fitting the liferaft, replacing the cockpit drains, replacing as many bulbs as possible with LED's - its amazing how little power they consune compared to ordinary bulbs- getting the engine service ( oil change and change of diesel and oil filters), replacing the Impeller in the water pump, fitting a couple of extra harness attachments in the cockpit, getting the fridge to work, fixing the Toughbook docking bay to the Nav Station bulkhead, fitting some rails to shelving to stop stuff from falling out.... I could stay here and find jobs for ever but in a few days , probably early next week weather permitting I'll be sailing up to Newcastle.

Goodbye Sydney

I left Clontarf and Sydney harbour yesterday with the Radio working properly, the SOB software working and picking up AIS targets, lights on the mast all fixed up, a lovley new Dodger and the hull clean and smooth. The forecast was for SE winds up to 20 knots and easing later in the day so I was looking forward to a lovely sail. I cast off at 9am with light wind but enough to get the boat moving at least and it felt good. Once out of the harbour however the sea was all over the place and in such light air Sapphire just rolled and crashed about going no where so reluctantly I rolled up the headsail and turned on the motor and headed north, "motorsailing" at 4.8 knots for Pittwater, about 16 nautical miles up the coast. To escape the engine noise I went up front for a while and later plugged my ipod nano into my ears. I get cranky when I cant sail, and especially when the forecast has been so promising.....

Apart from passing through a huge group of sea birds resting on the water nothing much happened till I was approaching Barrenjoey lighthouse. The wind finally picked up and I was pleased to be able to turn off the motor . Next, I was about to unfurl the headsail when I heard the unmistakeable sound of a whale exhaling just beside the boat! I caught a glimpse of its back and tail as it disappeared under the water a boat length away - and then it reappeared twice even closer and it was obviously a calf. On its fourth reappearance it was accompanied by its mother who shepherded the curious calf away from Sapphire and then they disappeared. Wow....suddenly a day of dreary disapppointment turned into a memory that will stay with me for ever...and thats life at sea folks! I was happy again.

And as the wind had picked up I was able to sail the rest of the way into Broken Bay and the length of Pittwater at 4 to 5 knots to a mooring near Church Point. I'll be staying here for the next week or so for a whole list of little jobs that need doing - such as fitting a Firdell Blipper to the mast. A What? I hear you say.....details next week.

Dion up the mast

We discovered the VHF was dodgy and the TriLight on top of the mast wasn't working so i hauled Dion up the mast in 18 knots of breeze and he fixed up the Tri Light and the VHF cable and put a Windex on as well. A Windex is the thing that points to where the wind comes from.

Getting fuel and water at Clontarf Marina

Good Luck Jessica Watson

Jessica Watson set sail yesterday, Sunday October 18th on her quest to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone unassisted and nonstop. I predicted she would go the day before when as it turned out the weather was perfect for sailing, whereas yesterday the winds were light and inconsistent. I think maybe media considerations made Sunday a better day to leave on, but who knows...Sapphire joined the throng of boats that followed her out to the start line and beyond. There were only 5 or 6 yachts but a few dozen kayakers initially and a dozen or so motorboats, but most dropped off in the harbour. She waved enthusistically when I went in close to wish her well before I finally turned back 3 miles out to sea by which time there were only 3 boats left keeping her company. Today apparently she has experienced light winds which is probably a good thing, giving her a chance to settle in to life alone at sea and to let some sort of order start to emerge from what must have been a chaotic and hectic last few weeks. She is clearly an extraordinary young woman and I will be following her journey closely over the next 8 months. Theres a link to her blog on the left hand side...

Updates and Progress....

1. The New Dodger

Alex Robison from AR Marine has made me a great new dodger. Its slightly higher than the old one and has a single massive window that gives amazing views forward that we didnt get with the old one. Hes made it much easier to unclip the sides so the main sheet wont rub on it when the booms is out on a broad reach. I'm very pleased.

2. Jessica Watson

Her boat, Ellas Pink Lady was up on the slip straight across from us, and Ive been keeping an eye on it from a distance the last few days. However this morning I went over to have a closer look because right next to the slip is a smart little coffee shop. I sat down to order my coffee and muffin and then noticed jess and her parents and a couple of others sitting at the table two across from me. I noticed she was mostly over under the boat looking at stuff the guys were doing to the hull and engaging them in what looked like quite serious conversation. Her boat is loaded with stuff and looks really strong. However I noticed there was no liferaft - at least not externally mounted - and there was no sign of a Parachute Anchor. I would have been most interested to find out what their thinking is in relation to those two things - I know she at least has a "series" type drogue because I saw her dragging that out on the jetty the other day - I read ages ago someones view that the series type drogue is the best - its a really long heavy rope with dozens of little canvas cones every couple of feet along its length and a heavy weight at the far end. I decided not to get one because if the weather was so bad I was wanting to slow the boat down I would rather just use the parachute anchor and stop altogether. The experts warn that sailing on your own in such conditions would be too tiring. As far as the parachute anchor is concerned, Alby McCracken at Paraanchors Autralia, who supplied mine, recommends that it be set up ready to go before leaving port. So as I say I would like to know what their thinking is. Looking at the weather charts today I would say she might be planning to go on Saturday....

3. My Liferaft

I took it off the boat and out to RFD for its annual service. It was amazing walking into their massive warehouse with dozens of different liferafts in various stages of testing and repacking all over the place. There were huge navy rafts that would carry 20 people being packed into drums the size of a small car! A nice chap called Benny unpacked my little one and inflated it with compressed air from a hose - he said I could activate the cannister and inflate it myself if I liked but as the cannister was not past its useby date he would not need to replace it and that would save me $160. So I let him blow it up and then he said I could get in! I felt like a kid in my new play pen and fiddled with all the bits and pieces - it was MOST useful to check it all out. The full check will be done and then I've asked them to repack it into a hard case so I can mount it on the cabin roof just in front of the Solar Panel.

4. SOB

I ordered a special bracket to mount the Toughbook on and that stopped progress on getting that all sorted out, but we've made some temporary connections just to see if its going to work. Its complex to the uninitiated but the GPS data came through straight away, showing Sapphire in the right place on the chart and a readout of her heading and speed as she swung this way and that on the mooring in winds gusting up to 28 knots. So thats working and now we have to get the AIS data recognised.....

5. Slip

Today Sapphire was hauled out at Clontarf marina to have her annual antifouling treatment, and also checks of through hull fittings, Prop shaft and rudder bearings. She also needed some repair to damage I inflicted on the keel when I rammed a rock at Broughton Island earlier this year, in a salutary experience wherein I was relying on the GPS to avoid hitting a well marked submerged rock. And I KNEW one shouldnt rely on GPS to be THAT accurate but I did!!!

Clontarf

Sailed the length of Sydney Harbour to get here from the mooring at 5 Dock. Staying here for the next ten days to get new dodger and other preparations done. This message and pic sent by my phone to the blog.

Tacking towards the Bridge

Cast off from the mooring at 5 Dock at 3pm. It could be a long time before Sapphire ties up there again. Good wind ( 12 - 15 knots) but easterly so had to tack all the way down the harbour with ominous thick black wall of cloud building up and spreading from the south. I didnt quite make it to Clontarf before the rain came thundering down. (Phone Blog)