The awful creek/drain that exits into the bay between the AYC ramp and the Altona Safe Harbour wall has redirected itself to run parallel along the shore front past the club ramp. The creek deposits silt, mud and slime which is building up between the shore and the outer sandbanks. I guess this is sort of nature at work, but it makes launching at low tide a work out. Especially if, as was the case last Thursday, one tyre on your beach trolley has gone flat.
It took me ten minutes to drag the boat across the quagmire. and it was hard work.
Once on the water. the wind was light, but it filled in and I had to hike out on the last tack over to Altona Pier.
Andrew very kindly offered to help me drag the boat back, so it was only half as bad coming home.
I discovered that one of the pair of tyres on my Sabre is also flat. Two inner tubes on order.
It was a good sail though, worth the effort, though I will try to time my sailing to higher tide from now on in I think.
Yesterday morning we awoke to thick damp fog. I had arranged to meet Andrew and Gerard at Werribee South, so despite the temptation to stay in bed, we got organized and on the road. It was clearing but still grey when we got the boat rigged and launched.
We motored out, and ghosted around, waiting for Gerard and Andrew to tack out. The current was noticeable, especially when the wind eased. It was chilly. Poor Ozzie started shivering. Anne wrapped him in the emergency blanket and he looked much happier.
Anne had cooked a delicious quiche, and we pottered along in the sun,which at last had broken through, eating quiche and drinking tea from the thermos. Anne read her book, I steered us around in a few lazy, erratic loops. Gerard took a nice photo of us.
We sailed back to the dock, managing not to hit anything too hard, and got home safely.
I took a lot of photos and video, but most of it was rubbish, blurry, jerky, or dull. But I cobbled a short video, and tried using narration to make it sort of meaningful. A lot to be learned, but here it is
Yesterday, Friday, I went for a sail with Gerard who came up and introduced himself as I was retrieving the Mirror last week. He has a Shimmy 12, a very nice looking boat with a loose footed standing lug. The weather was chilly but moderate winds, but the sun came out for the last half hour. The Shimmy certainly is a lovely looking boat.
Steve was down from Wonthaggi and came out with Oz and I. Gerard took some photos of us. It would have been fantastic to get a photo of both boats sailing together. I must investigate kite photography, it would be great to get outside the boat to take an image.
I offered ages ago to give Sandra, one of my Sabre sailing buddies, a sail, and she was asking plaintively about the sailing weather. The wind forecast wasn't too bad so I suggested today. It turned out to be what the Scots would describe as a "dreich" day, grey with a constant drizzle. Sandra tooksome great photos.
Thanks to the weather we pretty much had the ramp to ourselves. We sailed over to visit the seals off Point Gellibrand, and luckily they were home today.
I introduced Sandra to the term "grim relish" today. It described the experience of being out in the grey drizzle nicely. There were a few glorious patches, of a few minutes at a time, when the sun broke through and we basked in lovely solar warmth. It was a really good sail with some splendid skies.
I think maybe I begin to understand the roots of my obsession with dinghy cruising.
In our household, growing up, each night there would be table cloth and place mats for each family member. They had particularly boaty themes, including this one, which somehow or other I have managed to hold onto to this day.
This is pure speculation, as my memory is very foggy and general, but perhaps I would be sitting, probably hungry, gazing at the picture on the place mat, when lo and behold, the image would be covered by a plate of something delicious and nutritious and three veg. Thankyou Mum. I guess Pavlov could suggest why the neural pathway associating dinghy sailing with good things is so firmly established in my head.
After days of glorious Autumn still weather, we finally got some wind yesterday. It felt like round 15 knots.
I got the Mirror out, Andrew got out in his Laser. Unfortunately the gps konked out after an hour and a half, but in that time we averaged 4.7 knots, max 6 knots. Oz stoically held his station. The crew quarters on the Mirror are a little cramped.
And he was very good when we got back to shore, waiting patiently till he was told he could get off. He is a very good sea dog.
The restriction on recreational boating was lifted Wednesday. Thursday I launched the Pirogue, fitted with the Optimist sail that I bought last year. It was my first try with the new rig. Andrew came out in his laser, and kindly took this photo for me. The Pirogue does have lovely lines, for a simple boat. Phil Bolger was a clever man.
After two months of no sailing, now we can sail, there is no wind. The calm makes the water surface extraordinarily beautiful though.
The slow hardner epoxy has not been a great sucess for coating larger surfaces. I have ordered some West Systems and I will hold off progress on the cradle boat till it arrives. In the meantime I trial fitted the rockers. Ozzie was not particularly impressed.
Even though I have named the boat after him. I started work on a name plate.
The big news is that sailing is on again from Wednesday. Wednesday's forecast looks grim, but I am planning to get out on Thursday. Woo hoo!
Today's weather looked pretty good, and the epoxy on the cradle boat a bit tacky thanks to the cold, so I got up early, took Oz for his walk, then after breakfast wheeled the kayak down to the Flemmings pool ramp. I am a bit rusty with the process, and left my sandals on the shore, but they were still there where I left them when I got back.
I paddled down to the mouth of Kororiot Creek, and managed to squeak over the shallow bits to get in. Tide was about .06 above datum, still a bit to rise. Maybe a few more kayak entries and I will get the hang of it. There are a few decent rocks along the way, hull damage waiting for the unwary.
After lunch we went to the Lost Dogs home in North Melbourne to collect the newest addition to the house, Maggie the cat. She is a lovely little tabby, with a ginger patch on the back of her neck, very like Ozzie's.
While Anne was collecting Maggie, Oz and I checked out the local dog park. It was dog heaven for Oz I think, a much higher density than round here of dogs of all shapes and sizes.
Last few days I have been working on the rails/gunnels of the cradle boat. I took my time ripping the wood pieces, and clamped one side on a day. A fiddly job but hopefully they will turn out ok.
The weather has turned cold, and the slow hardener epoxy is proving very slow indeed. I am carefully measuring with syringes to get exact measurement. Ozzie came out and distracted me right at a critical moment in the counting today. I am about 98 percent sure I got it right, but I will be very pleased if it sets ok tonight.
