Shutdown

I had a long day yesterday waiting on a chat line to cancel our Qantas flights that were booked through a third party travel agent.  I started early in the day, 2015th in queue.  By lunch time I was getting close to 500 when I opened some other window on the computer.  When I flicked back, the chat line window was closed.  I tried again, back to 2000 and something.  Around 15 hours later, at 3 in the morning, I finally got through, and then spent another hour and a half resisting the attempts of the person on the other end to get me to go away, and finally getting our flights cancelled and a travel credit. I think in future I will pay a premium and book direct with the airline, which I rather suspect was the point of their approach - given that we had booked flights with them I can't quite see why they could not give me the travel credit.

But we are all cancelled, our holiday to Western Australia shelved for the forseeable, though we hope to get across there in the teardrop later this year, if we live that long and civilization does not implode. Things are being cancelled all around, and there is an edgy, suspicious air to the relatively few people that seem to be about.  The Yacht club has cancelled the rest of the season and all social events.  I am not sure how this will impact on our social sailing, given that we seldom come within a metre and half of one another.

But maybe, without knowing it, our sail last Monday was the last of what has been a great sailing experience.  A group of up to 5 Sabres, plus Steve and Vince in their 125 and Andrew in his Laser, have been getting out to basically go where the wind dictates.  We usually tack into it, usually round the Altona Reef mark, then maybe over to Altona Pier, then back.  If it is North Easterly, we head over along the coast, as far as the yellow T28 "No Anchoring" buoy near the shipping channel off Point Gellibrand.  It is nice to just hoon along, without worrying too much about the rest of the fleet vanishing while you languish in the rear. Sandra in her boat is faster, and points higher, than the rest of us, so there is no real competition, but it gives us someone to chase. Here are some of the usual suspects rigging up.

The Sabre is a great little boat, and really scoots along when the wind gets up a bit.  It is relatively easy to retrieve and reboard after a capsize, as I discovered a week or so back when my foot slipped during a failed tack in 20 plus knot winds.

Speaking of T28, we drove down by the Timeball tower this afternoon, and I was surprised to see just how close in the T28 buoy lies to the shore.  No wonder the seals have moved on.  They must get sick of being gawked at.  There was a Brigantine motoring up the channel, probably the Young Endeavour I suspect. You can see the yellow buoy just about midships.  I suspect the Young Endeavour program is yet another great thing that is going to be put on hold for a while.