Last sail of the year

I got out this morning for a few hours in the Mirror with a couple of the regulars. Ozzie came as crew. If only he would learn to nudge the helm with his nose.

It was a lovely end to a good year's sailing. I kept a log this year. I launched 38 times, excluding race and training days, but didn't actually get that far - a bit under 200 nautical miles. Be interesting to see what this year brings with the new boat.

Thursday sail

I woke up at first light this morning,  just as well as I had arranged to meet a couple of AYC sailors for an early sail to beat today's  predicted heat.

It turned out to be a great sailing day, about 10 knots with flat seas. I was in the Mirror, stolidly ploughing along, while Paul in his Sabre and Anthony with his Hobie Cat scooted off and back.  They very kindly did not leave me too far behind.

Ozzie enjoys the drama of launching and retrieving the boats, and the social element of meeting people down at the boat club.  He goes crazy running madly backwards and forwards and barking when we get back from a sail, as if he as been at sea for days at least. But most of the time we are sailing he snoozes.

I definitely did not need my oars today.

Soggy Sunday Sailing

This morning I met up with Ian in his trailer sailer down at the boat ramp.  I took my recently acquired Core Sound 17.

The weather here has been unsettled, with lots of rain being funneled down the east coast from cyclones in Queensland.  Today there were large dark storm clouds moving around the landscape, some coming in from the East, some from the North.  If you found yourself under one, you would get a good blast of wind, followed by a good down pour of rain.

We didn't go very far before the wind kicked up, and we headed in to anchor in the shallows off Altona Yacht club, working on the basis that if we capsized in 6 inches of water, it would not be life threatening.  I got a chance to try out the spray dodger on the boat, which works remarkably well. With the mizzen up, the boat always points to wind, so the wind driven rain sailed over the top of the dodger and we enjoyed lunch in its shelter while the rain pelted down.  Ozzie curls up right underneath the combing, keeping well out of the elements. Here is a photo of another Altona YC  trailer sailer heading in, which gives an idea of the conditions.

After the storm passed through, we ghosted out past the end of Wise's Reef, in almost complete calm.  With surprising speed, a second storm hit us from the North.  I followed the recommended Cat Ketch practice of sheeting in the Mizzen and freeing up the main.  It certainly stabilizes everything. I glanced at the GPS and saw that the boat was sailing backwards at over 2 knots.  It was quite steerable, and I pointed us back towards the red marker till the wind eased a bit, when I could start sailing again properly.  I would not want to be too close to a lee shore and have to rely on the heaving to though.

 I learned a few things today too - I need to anchor somewhere open to furl and unfurl the sails -  I managed to have two minor close encounters with the furniture in the boat harbor thanks to the pressure on the sails and my poor boat handling under motor.

We didn't go that far, but it was a memorable day sail.

Autumn sailing

It looks like the mild Autumn weather has departed, so I am glad I made the most of it.  Some memorable days sailing in the log, including a circumnavigation of Swan Island with my brother Mike.  That was a great adventure, about six hours from Swan Bay jetty return.  The weather was kind, with light westerly blowing us down to the end of Swan Bay and through the shallows - not a place to need a centreboard for tacking.  We proved conclusively that the road bridge across to Sand Island is about 5 centimeters too low for a mirror mast.  After dropping the mast, getting in a right tangle, and re-rigging, we were swept sideways by the current ripping through the cut, managing not to hit anything.  We were lucky, as shortly after we popped out, beside the Ferry terminal at Queenscliff, a pilot boat was barreling in.  Lucky we didn't meet him while drifting sideways.  Once out in the Bay proper, we followed the top of the West Channel towards the Cole Channel light, with a pod of dolphins performing tricks around us for entertainment and company.  Wind had shifted to a South South Easterly, so we had almost a dead run down to Edwards Point where we stopped on the sand spit for a late lunch.

We managed to get back to the Swan Bay Jetty on one tack.  A fantastic 10 nautical mile round trip, something that could only be done in a small dinghy. 

There have been some splendid outings locally as well.  There are a few other dinghy sailors who also get out down here when the weather permits.  It is good to have someone else out there, just in case something breaks, and nice to have the company.