Good timing

It looked so nice out on the water as Oz and I went for our morning stroll on the dog beach that I decided to take the Core Sound out.  Anne agreed to come for a couple of hours, and we managed to get out on the water by about 11.30. 

The wind was variable in direction and strength, and basically I set up the sails and the tiller and let the boat go where it wanted, heading over towards Williamstown, then south, then over towards Point Cook.  I sailed back in and dropped Anne off at the AYC beach, then headed out again. What had been a grey misty day had developed an increasingly ominous looking sky.

Apparently the poet Shelley liked storms, and would deliberately sail towards them when he saw them.  Looking at those clouds, I could understand some of the fascination - but I remembered Shelley's fate, and decided that it was time to get home. 

As I was waiting to retrieve the boat, three nice young chaps, speaking Arabic, were making a right hash of launching their boat.  One smiled and told me "first time..." as his friend erratically attempted to back their boat down the slipway. 

Probably not the best time to be heading out for their first trip, as just as I packed up, a mighty blast of air tore through the car park. Here is the wind graph for the day. 

The gust was over thirty knots, three times the forecast wind strength for the day.  Which goes to show, keep an eye out, and listen to that voice of caution, regardless of the forecast.

It was good timing that I was back in before the blow, and good also that I went today.  The forecast for tomorrow looks dismal now.

Distance 5.8 NM, top speed 4.9, Moving average, 2.3

Point Cook

The forecast was for light northerlies, swinging round to moderate South westerly in the afternoon, about as good as it gets this time of year. Anne agreed to come out with me today, her inaugural trip in the Core Sound. Our past boating outings have not always gone that well, so I was keen to make sure all went as smoothly as possible.

Light variable winds meant it took a good few hours to get past Point Cook - slow but pleasant. Soon as we turned to go home, the wind kicked up. We followed the coast around, and anchored off a sandy beach. We had lunch and a spot of beach combing for old times sake.

When we set off for home, the wind had picked up, and we surfed along on a broad reach aided by about 15 knots breeze, top speed 6.3 knots. It was fantastic to feel the surge of speed in the gusts. The boat feels wonderfully stable and sure footed in those conditions.

I decided to anchor off AYC to furl the sails but dropped anchor in weed, not sand. The result was a rapid backwards progress towards the sand bar, as the weed choked anchor skidded across the bottom. I managed to get sails furled and engine going before we beached, but it was a bit rushed and I was not as organized as I would have liked to be heading back to the ramp. Moral, make sure there is sand for the sand anchor. I think I was getting a bit tired by this stage, and our docking, while not catastrophic or damaging, was a little clumsy.  Nonetheless overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable sail.  The Core Sound is a lovely boat, and we are looking forward to many more adventures with it. About 11 nautical miles, top 6.3, moving average 2.5.

We read when we got back that a couple in their sixties capsized their boat - a new power boat, not a yacht -today in the bay at Blairgowerie, with the chap now in hospital in a serious condition. A sad reminder that things can go very wrong very quickly on the water.

Pirogueing along

It was a relatively light winds morning, and I only had a few hours spare, so I dusted off the Bolger Pirogue. I can launch it at the local beach, it is super quick to rig and get on the water, and it I dont worry much about scraping it so I go closer to rocks and reefs ghan I would dream of in any other boat. I am sailing it more Duck Punt style, lying down with the windward leg draped over the gunnel. I went a bit over 2 nautical miles, average speed 1.9 knots.

Ozzie is distinctly unimpressed by the Pirogue. A bow wave from an inconsiderate stink boater broke over the front of the boat and splashed him while he was snoozing,  and he was understandably vexed. He will be glad to get back on the Core Sound where he has his own sheltered cubby cabin and where he can stretch out.

First sail of the year

On New Year's morning, despite being a lovely day to be on the water and a public holiday to boot, it was very quiet down at the Altona Boat Harbour.  Some hangovers to nurse perhaps.   I launched, and motored round the rock wall to anchor off the yacht club and rig the sails.

Kate, a fellow AYC sailor, came down to meet me round 9, and we sailed slowly along the coast past Altona Pier.  The wind was light to non existent, but it was very pleasant in the sun, and we kept enough way on to be able to steer. We landed for a leg stretch on the beach past Skeleton Creek.  It always makes a sail seem more like a journey if you land.  The wind picked up for the broad reach back. 

I dropped Kate back at the Yacht Club, then motored back into the boat harbour.  Ozzie was too eager to be back on dry land, and misjudged his leap to the dock.  He fell into the water and submerged - I could see a very worried looking eye looking back up at me from under the water.  Luckily he had his life jacket on, and I was able to grab the handle and drop him back in the boat.  I hope he got enough of a fright not to try that again. 

Despite the minor drama, it was a great way to start the New Year.

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.