First for the year

 

I got the Skerry out for the first sail of 2022 yesterday. A bit humid but lovely on the water. I was a bit stupid rigging and wrapped the sail round the peak of the yard, which I didn't notice till we were underway. I hove to, dropped sail, untangled snafu, then rehoisted and sailed on. Easy. The Skerry is a very well behaved boat. It was a relaxing sail.

Art, life, cat ketches

 

I follow a couple of maritime art groups which post some fantastic images. The one above and the one below both struck a chord. A bit like how I feel as we head into 2022.

I got some nice footage of the Core Sound from Peter B, and used a hot morning when inside was the only option to run up a one minute cat ketch video. Looks nice out there, and it was.

Sandbar swim

 

I was planning a sail down at Swan Bay with Mike and Khiem down from Sydney for today, 31 December, but it was clear from the forecast it would be too hot for us older geezers, so that has been postponed.  I was going to rest up and get organised for the Swan Bay expedition, but cancellation freed the day up, so I got the Skerry out. Anne wanted a swim, and wanted to come out for a sail. Andrew was down with his laser and took this photo of us getting ready to set out. Which was just as well as I had all my cameras and gps in a lovely new canvas bag Jess gave me for Christmas, but managed to leave the bag sitting on the floor at home.

It was Anne's first sail in the Skerry, and given less flexible knees, it took us a while to find a workable crew distribution. Starboard tack was a bit problematic with Anne sitting to the rear - next time I will get her to sit amidships. Or build some side sears for that forward section. But Port tack was fine. We sailed over to the little sandbar which has appeared behind Wise's reef, and anchored using the little grapnel, with about a foot of water beneath the boat. Anne went for a swim, I experimented with some bits of ply between the side seats. I can lie down and the boat felt quite stable. I think I can camp in it. Next step, work out how to rig a fly sheet. I think I need a pole at the stern, which may require some modifications.

When we got going again, I sailed Anne over to Flemmos beach so she had a shorter walk home. I dropped sail and rowed in,  which was a bit of a circus. I should just have sailed as I can see better where I am going. A chap on the beach was very envious of the Skerry. After depositing Anne I rowed out a way, raised sail, and continued over towards Point Cook for a while, before turning for a great reach back to the red stick and home. 

I think that is the sort of sailing that I really enjoy. I like solo stuffing around sailing. John Welsford in his happy new year post invited his readers to think about what they want to achieve in the coming year and what they will do to make that happen. My aspirations are pretty modest: I would like to do lots more solo stuffing round sailing, and get around the bay with a few overnights. 

My performance for 2021: I got out on the water 62 times, launched Kirsty Anne 21 times, Derry 28 times (not bad as first launch was 5 July), the Sabre and Mirror both sold now accounted for 10 launches, and I sailed with other people 3 times. Given all the lockdown restrictions that's not too bad, but I hope to have a better record in the log book for 2022.

Four go to Williamstown

 

Peter who built my Core Sound rang and suggested a sail on the 29th. On the day, four boats launched, Peter and Kirsty in their newly built Lapwing, Andrew in Mars, Gerard in his ts14, and Jim came along with me and Oz in the  Core Sound. A lovely not too hot day with a steady southerly breeze. We sailed round into Williamstown and back. Gerard needed to be back by 2 to take Jennie to a medical appointment. 

It was a very nice sail.  We were hooting back on a broad reach, going 5+ knots, when Sandra came whizzing past in her Sabre,looking like she was going 8 knots. She has some fancy glasses that can take 30 second video clips.

It was a nice way to spend some of my 70th birthday.

The sleeping crew

 

When she sees us setting up down at the beach, Lena who minds Ozzie for us sometimes, has been keen to get her son Connor to come out for a sail with me. Poor lad got marched down at 8.30 on the 22nd and shipped aboard as crew. It was a steady southerly, nice and steady, quite the sort of sailing I like. But I think not that interesting for a teenager.  I put him on the helm but he handed that over pretty quickly. We sailed over past T28, and luckily the seal was home. On the way back, the crew retired to the shelter of the dodger and went to sleep for most of the rest of the trip.  I don't think that my sort of sailing is all that engaging for that age group.

Coming back into Altona we met Mark coming out in his brother's Dolphin, a lovely open sailing boat. I dropped Connor off, then went out again for a sail around with Mark.  

2 big questions

 

Gerard was itching to try out his Hartley ts14, Jim and Penny wanted to get out for a pre Christmas sail, I had my Pfizer booster shot appointment at 9. I arranged to meet them at Werribee South ramp round 10. Jim and Penny brought their Drascombe.  It was a bit of a grey windy day but we got out inthe chop. The two boats were fairly similar in speed. Gerard is still sorting the rigging on the Hartley, and his furling gear got into a right tangle. Once we sorted that, I managed to rip the vang attachment off the mast. Either I don't know my own strength, or those rivets were just not up to it. 

We sailed round for a while, almost to Wedge Point, then hove to for lunch. Heaving to in the Hartley was a fairly bumpy experience, but fun, sort of like being cast away, watching the waves come rolling by. We got going again, ran Bach to the river mouth, dropped sail and motored in without incident.Along the way, we discussed some of dinghy cruising big questions.

 

To the island

 After Monday's rather sketchy sail, Andrew was keen n to get out again with his new Laser sail. Jamie with his Mirror wanted to get out too, and Paul and Sanddra both launched their Sabres. It was a beautiful morning for it.

The Sabres and the Laser are way faster in the light airs and quickly vanished over the horizon. The Mirror and the Skerry much more even in pace. Jamie and I sailed to the mouth of Kororoit Creek. The tide was rising, but there was a little sandbar island there. We stopped and had a cup of tea. While we were there, the wind picked up bit, and getting off the lee shore in the Skerry was interesting. I nearly collected a few obstacles, but we got away ok eventually. It was a nice sail, but I wonder what the future of sailing with the faster boats is.