International Maritime Sea Dog day

 

Today, August 26th, is International Maritime Sea Dog Day, so here's to you Oz. He often doesn't think much of some of our maritime pursuits, but he goes along with it good faithful sea dog that he is.  

I have finished "Barca" and launched twice now, once before paint job, just to check that Oz and I would fit in it.  There is plenty of room for him.  I am not sure how we will go getting from SCAMP to Scraps and back again, but so far so good - it is a fun little boat.  I launched again at the WBA sailing day, with a coat of paint and a name plate screwed on - a more official launch.

One nice surprise is that Barca fits in the back of the Subaru Forester.  It is way easier than getting the boat up on the roof.  I drove to Albert Park Lake on Sunday with the boat in the car, and nearly gassed myself with the paint fumes.  But it was a nice first real try out. Barca certainly handles very nicely, I am sure I will have fun with it, and it will certainly be fun for grand children.

The weather last week was lovely, and Chris suggested a sail over to near Webb Dock for a lunch at anchor.  It was a splendid sail, and I am very glad we seized the opportunity, as the weather has definitely packed up this week - the allegedly mythical Equinoctial Gales are upon us I suspect.

You can see from the video that Oz is much happier on the SCAMP - he is grinning his head off as we are getting ready to cast off, unlike the dour expression in the smaller open boat.

Now I have more or less finished Barca, it is catch up time.  I pruned the vines and the fig yesterday, and mowed the lawn.  Today a bit of a tidy up sort out day, slowly finding things I have hidden over the last couple of months.  

Fingers crossed we get some more quiet days so I can continue the Barca experiment.

If at first

 

The months run away like wild horses over the hill. Since my last post, just about a month ago, it has all been a bit of a blur, post COVID maybe, or maybe just getting older. But looking at the Scraps pictures, I can see I must have been doing something. That's one good thing about boat building, it gives some sort of physical  marker of time's passage ... and with luck you get a boat to use at the end of it.

I have quite enjoyed this little boat build. It looks very salty, and being small, the steps are relatively achievable with small bursts of activity. I went from the Turkish delight look stage  (when the epoxy is sanded it takes on a whitish powdery appearance) yesterday, with the boat all sanded, to the shiney stage with the last coat of epoxy on the outside today. Epoxy inside tomorrow, then paint, then launch.  With luck, we are nearly there. 

Thanks to Chris' help, a couple more legs of the round the bay challenge have been completed, not without some excitement. Our first attempt to get across to Clifton Springs was rather more exciting than we anticipated.

The winds were much higher than the forecast, but Anjevi did a great job. We didn't make it into Clifton Springs on this attempt, as the Torqeedo clogged up with weed.

Undaunted, we tried again the next week, from Avalon this time, with much better weather. We managed to get into Clifton Springs, and I managed to break the shear pin on the Torqeedo, but it was a long but much more relaxing day. If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

For completeness, I should probably go around Corio Bay in the SCAMP, launch at St Helens and make sure to cross our course from Avalon. Then the next leg is to launch at Clifton Springs and sail round to Portarlington and back. Then a leg from Portarlington to Queenscliff, if that's not too far to do in a day, maybe split at St Leonards, and that's the Western side of the Bay done.  Logistics for the Eastern side are a bit trickier. There maybe some overnights required.  

Hey ho, hopefully the next month sees "Barca" the Scraps launched and a bit more round the Bay progress.  Perhaps the two are not unrelated.

My log tells me I have been on the water on 61 days in the SCAMP since launch, and covered over 500 Nm. Great little boat, it has more than lived up to my expectations. Good boat Anjevi.  

Out of the fog

 Well, I hope so. The last week has been a bit of a write off, but I got a clear RA Test this morning and I am feeling a bit more lucid.

I haven't been able to get out, beyond the daily shuffles with Oz. We go and inspect the shifting sands down towards the revetment each day. The big excitement this week was Frank's red dinghy taking on water. The pelicans were very worried. He has emptied it out now and the pelicans are very relieved.

I put together a flat pack book case that Anne got for the hallway ... and managed to put all the rear panels on back to front. A clear illustration of the level of alertness this week. Took 5 times longer than if should have, but we got there in the end.

Meanwhile, I  kept chipping away at the Scraps project. Hopefully not too much evidence of mental vagueness encapsulated in epoxy for posterity.

Scraps is a clever design, the seat acts as a sort of check to keep the frames more or less in the right place. The side panel and bottom panel seem ok on a dry fit.  Glue tomorrow. 

I was imagining rowing from the revetment beach out to the SCAMP at anchor today. Hope we get to give that a shot, it might open up some interesting possibilities. 

7

Squeaking it in

 

June nearly slipped away without an entry in Anjevi's log. Couldn't let that happen. Luckily last day of the month the forces aligned - weather, car, commitments - so I got Anjevi out for a splendid sail. 5 miles due south, a comfortable tack, and nice sunshine in the cuddy to keep the crew happy

I nearly got self steering going. I have re-read John Letcher's book on self steering, I will make a serious attempt next time. For longer cruises, being freed from the tyranny of the tiller would be welcome.

Lucky I did get out, and lucky I got down to Bunnings for some ply and some wood, as on the weekend my COVID test confirmed that I have not managed to dodge the bug. Anne caught it at a funeral the week before, and I have been sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop.  It doesn't feel as bad this time round but it seriously interrupts my sleep, which has its own knock on effect.

It has definitely led to some very slow cognitive tempo. There have been long interludes of me standing blankly trying to figure out what to do next in the shed while working on my current project, the John Welsford "Scraps" dinghy.  It feels like real boat building.

I hope I can use it to ferry Oz from SCAMP to shore and back. And get it on and off the roof of the car without too much faffing round. Both might prove unworkable, but it is helping me get through the plague days.

Lifelong learning

 Seems like you never stop learning.  Hopefully all these lessons, one would hope to see signs of improvement.  For the WBA sailing day up the Maribrynong, events unfolded such that I was taking the Pirogue.  I dug out my old curtain rod mast and polytarp sail, and got down to the local beach to do some testing. I tried steering with the single paddle, which was a dud, and with the double paddle which sort of worked though I did tend to go round in circles. It was a fun experiment though, and a very pleasant hour or so's sailing. And I had a good conversation with Leonne, a lady who goes swimming there most nice afternoons.

On reflection I figured I probably needed a rudder, so next day I cobbled together a norwegian tiller arrangement onto a rudder that another of my beach acquaintances had found and passed onto me. 

Sunday morning we were all packed and waiting for Chris who was christening his new double decker trailer.  

I was a bit anxious about parking and whether the local Essendon Canoers would be hostile to invaders.  Goes to show, we probably worry about the wrong things, as parking was no problem and the locals were very friendly. 

Jack was there already with his Acorn with remarkably low boom clearance, and Hamish turned up with his lovely Skerrie.  It was very chilled, and the Sunday morning weather was lovely, light zephyrs to ghost us along down stream to meet the fleet coming up.

I think we made a significant contribution to the entertainment and good humour on the river bank - we got lots of waves, people took lots of photos of us, little children called out to us and got very excited as we sailed majestically by.

What could possibly go wrong?  A few miles down the river, near Footscray rowing club, we met the first of the fleet coming up river.  I got my gopro out, and was fiddling with it, and not watching what was happening on the water or holding onto the mainsheet that well, when a substantial blast of  wind came barrelling down the river. 

Note that the BOM was predicting that the winds would be decreasing.  Oh well, no excuses.  When the blast hit, the mainsheet - a crappy, thin bit of Bunnings cord which I had rigged without any mechanical advantage whatsoever - slipped through my fingers.  The sail swung forward.  Instant roll to leeward. Splash.

I managed to capture the whole event on the gopro and the WBA members in the boats coming up gleefully filmed it all too.  I got to the river bank, with a bit of gentle nudging from Chris in Stringybark - that tugboat captain experience is very useful sometimes -  bailed out, got sorted and headed off again.  As the wind chart above shows, the breeze was really kicking up by this time, and we had to slog back into wind gusting up to over 20 knots.  At some points I was paddling as hard as I could and still going backwards, which was a bit dispiriting.  At least it kept me warm.

We got back to the club pontoon, I retrieved dry clothes, used up my 10 minutes maximum use time in the local exceloo getting dry and changed.  We decided that we would forgo the slog up to the WBA meeting spot about a mile upriver, straight into the headwind which was still blasting away, and had a pleasant lunch in the sun instead, chatting to Jack and his crew member, and then  to Hamish who came back down river to join us.   

At least I had everything in drybags that were sealed and tied on - for once I didn't loose anything or drown anything.    My winter swimming had prepared me for the cold water, and some instinct told me not to take my better cameras. No harm done except to my ego.    It actually was a good little adventure.  And I learned a few more things - particularly, I need to invest in better mainsheet rigging for the sailing canoe ... and take and use the outriggers next time I take that boat out!

Speaking of boats, I have started another build, this time a John Welsford "Scraps"  a 6 foot long pram type dinghy. It actually does look a little bit SCAMP like - an Anjevi minime.  Of course a 12 foot boat needs a 6 foot tender. 

My hope is that it is stable enough for me to get Oz from Scamp to Scraps to shore for his at least twice daily shore leave requirements.  If not, I think the Welsford brand is sufficient that I will be able to at least get my money back.  I am using as many scraps as I can to build the boat, but I suspect this project will wind up with a net increase in the amount of bits of ply and off cut lying around.   Hey ho, I am enjoying the process of the build enormously, it is really good fun.  I think I will add a mast step, rudder gudgeons and a lee board, so it can sail as well.  

The Scraps is built upside down on a strong back.  I have never built a boat that way before, so it is a learning experience!  Lifelong learning in action!

 

Blythely spend the gowden day

 As we have been sliding into Winter, there have been more than our fair share of golden days.  I managed to keep swimming into the first week of June, but got a cold, then got distracted, and I fear I have lost my super power of cold water acclimatization.  

I finished the outriggers and got one sea trial in with them.  I need a few more blocks to get the mainsheet working properly, then I am good for some more serious testing.  I have been very slowly shaping and hand sewing a tent for the SCAMP too.  It looks a lot better than a tarp draped over the boat and hanging down at odd angles.   Next step, ad a zip.  I have not had the SCAMP out for a while, it will be good to get back on the water for some winter sailing soon.

Speaking of SCAMP's, I helped my neighbour Frank, who is 80, collect his SCAMP kit.  It was not so long ago that my SCAMP looked like this:

It really is magical that this turns into a SCAMP!  I have largely forgotten how it all happens, so I better brush up on the manual so I can give sensible answers when asked for advice.

Meantime, we had a nice trip down to Warrnambool to celebrate our anniversary - I haven't been anywhere since Tassie in February, and the longer the interval between getting away, the harder it seems to get.  But it was a good trip, and for just about the first time, it did not rain non stop while I was in Warrnambool. 

I said to the family that this blurry photo demonstrates why they call them whale flukes - it is a fluke if you press the shutter button at the right time to capture them.  Anne points out that in fact it is the pectoral fin of a female whale, which they use to slap the water and send out a signal.  The fluke is the tail.  

Back home, Chris and I got Derry the Skerry launched on the Maribrynong, as reconnaissance for the upcoming WBA river trip.  We established pretty conclusively that launching a heavy-ish row boat, such as was being suggested by a couple of members - would be pretty difficult.    We also managed to discover and visit the mysterious Steele's Creek.  The entrance is very difficult to spot, but the creek itself is quite deep and goes quite a way.  It was a very pleasant, golden day on the water.  These low wind winter days are perfect for rowing, you don't overheat, and you know if you were trying to sail you would be going nowhere fast.

The big event of early winter for us is our lovely grand daughter Harriet's first birthday.  We bought her a nice walker as a present which has been a big hit and has all sorts of possible entertaining uses.

Jess and Chris are wonderful parents, it is so nice to watch Harriet growing into herself in such a  loving, secure, happy environment. It was chilly today, but Hattie's birthday made it indeed a golden day. 

Where's my haliberd?

 The weather has given us a lovely run of balmy days. No rain, not good for the farmers, and more evidence of global warming, but it is hard not to enjoy it. The Bay temperature is more than a degree warmer than this time last year. I have been getting down for a swim most mornings, I might make it to June with luck, though the weather looks a bit grim for the weekend and a string of days with other commitments might finish off my acclimatization.

Geoff brought his SCAMP down from Learmonth last week. 5 boats got out, a nice little fleet. The more boats the more people going in all directions, and the ramp gets crowded. I think 5 is a good number.  Neil Murphy on Andrew's Red Jacket took this photo of the two SCAMPs ghosting along in light airs. Whenever I see a photo of people in SCAMPS from front on, I am reminded of E.H.Shepard's wonderful drawing from "Wind in the Willows":

All we need are some revolvers, haliberds and truncheons to brandish to complete the picture.

I am very conscious that this fantastic weather won't last, and I should be getting as much on water time as I can, but lack of car and sheer laziness have gotten the upper hand. Plus some other jobs ticked off the to do list.

Meanwhile I have been pushing on with the outriggers. Not a brilliant job but good enough I hope. I will be interested to see how they go on Peero the Bolger Pirogue. 

Video of Friday's sail btw:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/191DEtiP8Y/