My Hydrovane Video

On the Hydrovane website they claim that people have almost no problems making the Hydrovane work right from the very start. I was sceptical. The very first time I set it up I picked a bad moment - just as I locked off the wheel a Coastguard boat came thundering up from nowhere and I freaked so switched back to hand steering, but once it had gone and the wash had died away I tried again and to my utter amazement it just worked, exactly like they predicted. I was overjoyed and amazed.And I still think the Hydrovane is the most marvellous bit of equipment on the boat. There is a learning curve though, because there are settings which you can vary and I am still in the process of learning and working out what settings work best in what conditions.So heres a video I took with my ordinary Canon digital camera in March 2009 when I was returning to Sydney from Port Stephens. The wind and sea were from behind and I rolled away the headsail because running wing on wing without a Pole is a drag - and something I havent learned to do yet - but boat speed was hardly affected. 6 knots is a respectable speed for Sapphire.

The trouble with Sydney Harbour

The trouble with Sydney harbour for people wanting to sail is the ever increasing number of people in what former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating called "Tupperware Boats". These are the shiny white motor cruisers that criss cross the entire harbour at great speed and set up wakes and washes that destroy the "quiet enjoyment" of sailors everywhere else on the water. Yachties generally dont seem to have a lot of affection for these craft or for their owners because their approach to the water seems to be the absolute opposite of the true sailor : Whereas a true sailor loves nature and the sea and has to learn to understand it and the weather and takes pleasure in observing it at leisure and working with it, and has to learn special skills to sail, the Speedboat requires minimal skill to operate, makes a lot of noise and is costly to run, interferes with everyone elses enjoyment on the water and travels at such speed that there would seem to be no time to appreciate the beauty of the ocean or even hear it. Fishermen in their boats on the other hand I have great admiration for, as they practice an art and skill to earn a living and have wonderful practical sturdy vessels that are often full of character and charm. Tupperware boats on the other hand are predictably shiny and clean, lacking in anything that resembles "style" , are charmless and usually everyone aboard is ostentatiously overdressed and waving around a plastic glass of (probably) cheap champagne. It all seems like so much inconsiderate pretense.

There are other problems with Sydney Harbour : the ferries have absolute right of way and seem to creep up suddenly on you then frighten the hell out of you with an almighty blast on the horn if they think you might get in their way. Theres a You Tube video of one of the ferries slicing a sail boat in two, and Ive seen it nearly happen on more than one occasion - though not to us!

Another problem are the racing sailors who get very pissed off and make it very clear to you if you happen to be on the bit of harbour they want to be on, the worst offenders being the 16foot skiff sailors who are obviously really pumped as they hurtle from one side of the harbour to the other. Theyre fantastic to watch but just look out if you get in their way. It can really be quite unpleasant.
In fact Sydney Harbour is a magnificent waterway, and mostly I enjoy sailing there, but what I really wanted to do was sail on the wide blue ocean away from the irritation of having to share the sea with boats I didnt like. What I needed to do next was make Sapphire into a proper blue water cruiser, albeit a small one.