Monday, November 03, 2014

It was the last hurrah

Cheshire Cat has a new home, not far away down near the Iron Cove Bridge. It was a quick sale and relatively painless as, after the big clean up, there wasn't too much needed doing.
The new owners have joined the Balmain Sailing Club and I hope we see her racing soon. They are planning to change her name though which is a shame. But they are very happy with her which is nice. And so they should be. She is a lovely boat. I was sad to pass her on but am now sailing with other people and enjoying the new learning curve that brings.
So that is the end of this blog. I will keep sailing and maybe even do another blog if I am planning a big adventure. But for now, thank you if you are still reading. I'm looking at you Michael.








Tuesday, April 29, 2014

A (maybe) Last Hurrah

Although the decision to sell has been made that didn't mean no more sailing.
We entered the Balmain Sailing Club's 3 Islands Race. This takes the fleet past Goat Island, under the Harbour bridge,  down the harbour, around a buoy near Sow and Pigs, around Shark and Clark Islands, back past Fort Denison, around the windless side of Goat Island and home to the club. I have no idea why they call it 3 Islands. there are 5 islands with some of them twice on the course. It was a race of mixed winds, with almost nothing under the bridge, some hefty gusts in the main harbour and a very patchy run home. Once again we fell foul of the temptation to cut a tad close to Yuralbin Point but eventually escaped and crossed the line with much relief. And we won!! A very happy result for what may be our last race. We sailed the 3 Bridges Race in Hughie 11 and did OK as well. Skipper Karen was a very happy bunny at the end of that race as her first one as the captain. So the adventure continue. These are a couple of my favourite Cheshire Cat pictures.

Monday, April 07, 2014

Highs and Lows

Since Christmas we have had some adventures on Cheshire Cat.

We did a couple of twilights but work kept us off the water many Friday evenings. We collected some new crew who seem to be enjoying themselves. And we did some Sunday races coming 5th overall. It was a different style of race as the starts were handicapped so first over the line was the winner. One unfortunate misreading of the course instructions lost a few places but it was a lesson well learned and didn't happen again.

And we reprised our participation in the Manly Women's  Regatta but came third this year and no wardrobe win either. C'et la vie.

But the decision has been made to sell. We have had 12 very good years aboard Cheshire Cat but it is now time for a new adventure. Jenni unsure what her boating future holds and I am thinking of looking for something more for racing and less for cruising since that is not what I am doing just now.

So it is a sad time but also it is time. Here are just a few of the memorable moments.