The campers a few sites down had a big night Friday night. No music, but lots of grog and talking. By midnight I went down and asked them to quiten down. I thought one guy was going to have a go at me, but, surprisingly they did stop, and after I calmed down, I got a bit of sleep, awakening to a bright tent at 5.30.
It was raining. After breakfast we rigged up and loaded the boat, then drove the trailer down to the ramp, then walked back and set off, about 7.30. I was keeping close in to the mooring piles, but a boat appeared coming the opposite way, so I moved out to give him room, and shortly ran aground. The Padook earned its keep. We wound up backing out, as I could see the water and the channel better over the stern. Poor Oz didn't think much of all this.
There was not much wind but enough to sail. I met up with the other WBA boats off Kabeethong jetty round 9. Jim and Norm had launched from there, a smart move skipping all the channel. Andrew in Mars caught us up. Andrew took this photo of us in the rain, ghosting towards the Narrows.
I had to use the Toqeedo in the Narrows, and when I got to top lake, the rest of the fleet had vanished. I tried beating across with a shifty wind mostly on the nose,but started to worry I was getting too far behind, so I fired up the Torqeedo again.
There is an interesting balance of factors that come into play with the Torqeedo. The faster you go, the less distance. Sailing into the wind, the CMG can often be about the equivalent of a knot made good in the direction you want to go. With the Torqeedo, you can burble along about 2 knots and have a range of round 16 NM.
Into the Genoa River, I met Jim and Penny and Chris coming down. They had given up on Gypsy Point and were heading back to a jetty in Top lake for shore leave and lunch. I kept going, and met Andrew and Bob in Mars at Cape Horn. Just as well I did go on, as they thought Jim and co were up river, and would have been waiting a long time for them to come down. We rafted up, and Andrew provided a very welcome coffee from his thermos.
Andrew offered a tow, which I declined, but in retrospect it might have been a good idea. It was round 9 NM up to Cape Horn from Mallacoota, and my Torqeedo said I had about 7 NM left, at 2 knots, and well after 2 pm. The WBA dinner in the pub was at 6.30, and I had to get back, get the boat on trailer, get back to campsite, unhook, and clean up.
I sailed and motor sailed as much as I could, and had a good sail across Bottom lake, in strengthening wind. I ran aground on the Goodwin sands again, despite being well inside the line between markers. It was a good sail though, something in me really likes that sort of thing.
The wind was blowing strongly right on the nose, and I had 1 NM of torqeedo left at the top of the channel. I was doing ok, till I ran aground yet again a few hundred metres of the ramp. I got off, managed to start up the Torqeedo, which now said I had less than 10 minutes. If I had run out, I am not sure what I could have done, as the wind was right on the nose, and the channel too narrow to sail/. But we got in, with 4 minutes battery life left.
Oz had been on the boat for 8 hours, and as I was taking down the mast, he took off, through the campground and everyone cooking sausages. It was a real mutiny, I was calling and running after him, but he looked over his shoulder and kept going. But I caught him, and we got the boat packed, and trailer back to campsite, and to the pub by 6.45.
It was the Flathead Fishing competition at Mallacoota this weekend, and there was a group behind me that got right on the sauce that night. I vaguely heard them, talking bullshit, when I got back to the tent, but I slept through whatever racket they made that night.
Next morning, I got up at 5.30 again, packed up, hit the road about 8.30 and drove home. It was a good trip all in all, but hard work.