Small steps

 

I really need to push on with the Round the Bay exercise. Friday was a nice day for July.   I got up before 7 and pottered, which meant I was not on the road till 11, got to Kirk Point at 11.30, stuffed round with rigging, flat trolley tyre, disintegrating trailer, tangles, forgotten phone,etc, which meant I wasn't properly underway till after 12.30, at which time the wind just about faded to nothing. I rowed a bit, ghosted,  had lunch,  rowed a bit more, ghosted, and didn't get very far, till turn around at 1.45. It was very pleasant, some rafts of little penguins keeping apace but a cautious distance away, a few gannets and seagulls and the odd cormorant, but otherwise pretty deserted.  I rowed back most of the way. I made a complete stuff up of approach to the ramp. Forward rowing so I could see where I was going, but reacted dyslexically when one oar hit one of the pair of tyre covered pylons, and crunched on the rocks adjacent. Lucky it was calm. I sanded and repainted today, no serious harm done. 

It was a nice day on the water, and good to get out, but I suspect I will never get round unless I try some different strategies. That leg from Kirk Point to Avalon is round 12 miles, too far for  there and back in one day.  Some opttions: A)  I can try another day with a more advantageous wind to get half way and back. An earlier start might help. 🤔  B) I can do it one way and arrange car shuffle or bike. The latter idea appeals to me, but probably could not take Oz. C) Or I could do an overnighter, sail one way, camp and return next day, though the ramps at either end are a bit remote and I am not super keen on leaving  the car and trailer at either. 

Messing about

 It was the WBA AGM and sailing day on Sunday.  I really don't want to catch the bug before Anne's book launch, so I skipped the lunch, and rowed over to the island to tie up off a tree and munch a solitary sandwich.  Which I must confess I rather prefer, but still felt a bit odd.  Oh well.  It was a good turn out, and I got to try a few things, the new set up for down wind spinnaker and oar sailing, and my sculling rowlock. 

Testing the limits

 

Andrew posted on the WBA facebook group his intention to get out Thursday, and the weather was indeed perfect.  I got down with the Core Sound to Altona ramp round 9 and despite being a bit distracted, managed to get on the water by 10 without too many disasters.  Andrew wanted to head over towards the huge oil drilling platform that has been anchored off Point Cook for a few days along with its three attendant massive tenders.

There was no wind first off, and the water was as clear as I have ever seen it.   I was following Andrew with the Torqeedo burbling along about 3.4 knots.  We got to well off Point Cook, and the display on the Torqeedo said I had used 50% battery, so we stopped, and rafted up for lunch.  The wind, a South Easterly, kicked up a bit, blowing us towards Werribee coast at about 0.6 knots.  We had a long lunch in the sun, yarning about this and that.  By the time we decided to head back we had drifted quite a way.  I could clear Dumb Joe on a tack, so I sailed off slowly, at around 2 knots.

Round Dumb Joe, at round 2 pm, the wind died away.  Andrew had vanished and was just a dot heading back to Altona. I started the Torqeedo, which told me I had 56 minutes left at around 3 knots.  The GPS told me I would be back at Altona inaround 45 minutes.  I figured that I might squeak it in.

I was about a mile away, a bit off the red stick, and the readout told me I had .12 hours left, when I got an error message, and battery stopped.  Luckily there was no wind, and I can row the Core Sound at around 2.4 knots, so I got home ok.  Andrew waited for me which was kind of him.

I guess the moral is that I need to keep above around 15% battery to be sure. The pressure is on when you are out with someone else.  I would have drifted home eventually I am sure.  Still, it was a great day.

Little River #3

 

Gerard and I launched from Kirk Point ramp and rowed the few miles to Little River mouth. The weather was fine if chilly, the tide not so much. We got in behind the spit but it was too shallow to row, or drag the boat. No idea how far till it gets deeper. I will  have to try again when the tide is fuller. 

The exercise has whetted my appetite to complete the leg down to Geelong. I need to get cracking on my RTB challenge. I will try heading towards Point Wilson and explore the bay with the sand hummocks next.

The Transcontinental Race is on at the moment. All those self supported riders heading off across Europe with only what they can carry on their bikes I find inspirational.  What I can carry on the Skerry would be luxury to them, and the effort I need to expend to cover ground far less. https://www.transcontinental.cc/

Training

 

I put in an EOI for Tawe Nunnugah earlier this week and booked car with Skerry on the roof onto the ferry over to Tassie. Now I wait to see if I shilly-shallied too long, or if they don't consider the boat or the crew sufficiently seaworthy for the voyage.

In the meantime I have started trying to build my capacity to put in longer days in succession. Today was very light SW winds.  A big gas rig has appeared off  point Cook, so I headed towards that, after a late start, about 12.30. We ghosted along a bit, rowed a bit,had lunch, worked out where to put the sculling oarlock, rowed a bit more... and got all of two miles, not even off point Cook. Rowing with sails up seems to make it a bit harder, more awkward, maybe more windage. Coming home, wind died away, and we were making under a knot, so back to rowing. 

Back at Flemmos the tide was in. Kevin, who I met at the Bone Bus, and his friend Phil, were there and had many questions about the boat. Once I got Ozzie on the concrete ramp, he barked his head off, perhaps because we were a bit late for his dinner. 

So, only about 4 miles today, and I am feeling seriously stuffed tonight. I guess all the getting the boat in the water and set up, then home again and put to bed, all takes effort. But I think I need to get a used to putting in more sea miles.

Traditions

 

It was a splendid, chilly, sunny, light South Easterly day yesterday. I  wheeled the Skerry down to the local beach, and rowed the three miles over to the buoy that marks the gas pipeline. I had a nice drift in the sun eating my peanut butter sandwich and banana, and a nice steaming hot cup of tea from the thermos. Two little penguins swam by, I think they didn't even notice I was there.

When I got back to the beach, an older gentleman came over. He said he had heard that someone had been launching "a real boat" from the beach. He was pleased to bump into me at last. He was a former Seaholme resident, whose dad built wooden fishing boats, and he had memories of many small boats being launched from Flemmos beach. He was very pleased to see me continuing the tradition. He remembered "the Beasley boys" fishing off here, the many boats anchored and the red shed round at Wise's reef.  We had a good time getting stuck into the plastic stink boats and Jetskis. It was a nice end to the outing, my longest row only outing so far, about 6 NM.

It is, incidentally, a year since I launched the Skerry. It has been everything I hoped for and more. I will have to count up the launches and the miles from the logbook, but I rekon this boat has hit a sweetspot for me, it fits my environment and the sorts of sailing I like best.

Lake sail

 

This Sunday was the rescheduled WBA sailing day at Albert Park. A long story, but I started the ball rolling for moving the date. Luckily the weather was dismal the week before but clear this Sunday. I might not have been too popular if it had been the other way around. A few of the Port Phillip Bay Dinghy Cruising Facebook group came along, very nice of them. I think there is some small boat cruising energy building up, maybe we can get a few people out when it gets warmer.

Mark Snowden took lots of footage on his phone which I cobbled together.

It was a good day. Some decent gusts came through. Towards the end of the day I was thinking about heading off for one last sail, when Geoff who was out in his Shimmy with another member capsized near the Island. I  had just dropped sail into the lazy jacks to row over, but the rubber ducks from the sailing competition got there while I was getting organised. Somehow I was not thinking very fast. But two cold, older wetter blokes were delivered back to us. A bit to think about in all that.

Free ride

 

A lovely blue sky light wind Tuesday, so I got the Skerry out for a row, a few miles out into the wind towards Point Cook, then I tried an idea from this month's Small Boats Magazine, and rigged my old Mirror Spinnaker over one oar set in the mast step. I used the other oar to steer. It was very relaxing, gliding back home round 2 knots. I could row faster, but then I  would have to row, not sit back enjoying my lunch and a cup of tea. I found I could steer through about 10 degrees either side of the wind, so I could sail pretty much back home.