We drifted to 2nd!

Sunday's race started in no knots of wind and ended up with about 4 knots! We spent the first 20 minutes (although Dayna says it was 40 minutes) on the wrong side of the start line pointing in the wrong direction, unable to turn Cheshire Cat towards the first mark. The rest of the fleet were drifting away from us at about 0.5 knots. Eventually a stink boat wake helped us turn around and we were OFF! After creeping towards Birkenhead with the headsail flapping we decided to furl it for a while and let what little breeze there was fill the main. It worked and we started to close on the back of the fleet.

Meanwhile the dinghy sailors had started and they too were drifting slowly. We eventually caught up to Amon Re, Scylla and a couple of others. The committee boat had been ferrying beer and collecting bored crew for a while. Then they came past and said the race had been shortened! Like that was a surprise.

Determined to persevere when all around us were abandoning the race we managed to pass Rogate at the corner of Snapper Island and finally found a small breeze. The wind made us forget all about the beers we were about to open. It was quite exhilarating to be clocking 2.5 knots on the speed log and we finally felt we might actually finish within the 3 hour time limit! And we did, with about 10 minutes to spare.

When we got to the club they asked if we actually did the race! The cheek of them. It was because we had furled the heady. They thought we'd decided to quit! Never! And we came 2nd which was great.

A DNF and a Win!

After a few very pleasant social sails where we just pottered out had lunch and came home Cheshire Cat is now back into racing having entered the Balmain winter series.

Julie says it's 10 months since she last raced. Her knee op had something to do with that.

So on Sunday 20th we gathered early with a plan to scrub the poor Cat who had been suffering from neglect and bad weather. But flat batteries kyboshed us getting round to Balmain Sailing Club for power and water. We still did a clean up and Alan Clarke jump started us from another battery. Thanks Alan. Lucky he was at the marina at the time.

We eventually chugged to the start line a little late and then with very light winds found ourselves on the wrong side of the line at the warning signal. That meant getting to the right side of the line, doing a 360 which we did with great skill! and starting. Given the lack of wind and the very grungy bottom we moved extremely slowly round the first leg of the course. It was a lovely day so we enjoyed ourselves. And it meant newcomer C Moore didn't have to work hard.

We were soon being lapped by the faster boats even though they too weren't going very fast. We finally approached the line in front of the club as the cut off time loomed. We didn't manage to finish even the short course! Only one boat finished (just a minute or so in front of us) the long course but results were taken from the short version. So we scored DNF.

Then on the 4th July, with new batteries and clean bottom, we set off, got to the start in time and even though I missed the warning signal we started close to the rest of the fleet. Then we started the chase. We eventually passed three other boats (Rogate, Copelia and Ambitious) by virtue of squeezing past the edge of Cockatoo Island when they all had to tack. And we held the advantage for the rest of the race, almost passing Umbakumba as well at Goat Island.

And so we won! That will bugger our handicap but we don't care. It was great to not be last for once. And the day was lovely, if a bit cold, and the sausage sizzle and beer at the club, plus the prize of a bottle of sparkling red, made it a great day.

At last - back on the water!

It's been ages since we went sailing. Actually we did go out to the ASCC race in early September but that's ages ago.

On Sunday we sailed with BSC. The weather was lovely if cool and the wind interesting. We had some good gusts but the rest was between 8 and 14 knots - nice.

Maggie, a friend who does the starts for the twilights, sent this picture taken from her balcony.

And we enjoyed the sausage sizzle afterwards along with some hungry four legged friends.

Terina, Julie, Jenni and Alice. Also on board was new sailor Sam who did a great job for a beginner.

And we came 8th out of 16 or so boats. Much better than our usual last.

Skandia

Half way through Broken Bay week, John, Jason and I drove back to Sydney to go for a sunset sail on Skandia, the 98 foot maxi. Happy boys. We all got to steer and that explains the big smiles.
Lots of room in the cockpit

Big sails

We drove back to Cottage Point in the rain but we didn't care. We didn't even mind missing Laine's celebrated paella. We had a great time.

Broken Bay

Another great week has passed. Here are a few pictures until I get time to post properly.
We set off in glorious sunshine after taking hours to load the boat, get the dinghy on board and make sure we had enough alcohol.

This is what we woke up to the first morning.

John gets a push from Jason

The theme for the cocktail party was "f". We were the fuckarewes

Terina brought Firefly 2 along

The trip home was smooth sailing.

ASCC Regatta

Julie and I raced with Gavin in the 2009 ASCC Mardi Gras Regatta. And we won!!!

Here we are just ahead at the bottom mark

We won the first two races, then Gavin said " to win this regatta we just need to win three races". Then we came second - twice!

Heading for the windward mark we were determined not to be distracted by Quest (Sydney Hobart winner) trying to fly a spinnaker!

So going in to the final race it was a dead heat and we were battling against Gavin's nemesis and former crew member Dale who is also from Melbourne.

It was a hard fought race but we eventually passed Dale who got the better start and we held on to win.

The relaxed smile is only because this is crossing the line at the end of the last race

New Year's Eve

We had a great spot, fabulous view.

And had a lovely night.

2 Prizes in 1 Day!

Its been a long time since I posted anything but we have been sailing and winning. But not races.

The Balmain Regatta gave us another opportunity to bring out the rainbow flags. And this time our style was appreciated and rewarded with first prize for best dressed boat. Way to go girls!



And this is Tony Partridge who is Cruising Captain at Balmain with me, Terina and Julie accepting our prize.

And then after an interesting race we went ashore at the Balmain Sailing Club which was jumping with dinghy races, a band, beer and the prize giving. Sadly we did not do too well on handicap in the race but I did win the raffle! And am now the proud owner of a Walker 8 white plastic dinghy with blue seats. And it has a spot to put a centre board and a mast so I can sail it as well. Could be fun in Broken Bay.


Two other ASCC boats raced but not very happily. This is Leapfrog skippered by Scott Davis in the Classic division
Balmain Regatta results here
There are more photos here

Winners are Grinners

The ASCC Annual Prizegiving Dinner was held on July 4th at the CYC. Tony Tyson made a wonderful toast to the club and talked about how our club is not about a place but the people and the community spirit we share and foster.

Cheshire Cat won the winter series and we scored a very nice trophy. As it was the only series we entered we are pleased with ourselves.

I also won all three places in the photo competition! Mainly because Dayna didn't enter and Mike McCabe who also takes lovely photos didn't get his entries in on time. Still I'm not complaining. It was judged by Angela Catterns. She is obviously very discerning. The prize is a digital photo frame. It wasn't plugged in which is why it is blank black.

Third - Coming home after the winter series
Second - Chris Mugden's steam boat in front of Mathilde at Broken Bay
First - Early morning in Castle Lagoon, Broken Bay This is the one that I think most epitomises the club and the cameraderie we share. It didn't even get a mention.


And Helen and I presented the inaugural "HELP" Award to an absent John Harris for his seemingly endless willingness to hlp me and others out of difficulties on water. So congrats John.

This is Helen and I with the trophy - a lighthouse - in the background.

No Sailing

No sailing at the moment. Maintenance goes slowly.

But I found this picture of Michael bailing out after having let me drive the jet boat at Broken Bay.

At last - some regatta pictures

Very close racing! We are in Club Marine followed by Dale.
The third and fouth teams also had close races.

S/he who hikes hardest goes fastest.

A finish that was a little close for comfort. Less than a second in it. You can just see Dale in #3 behind our bow.

Mally has the time of his life with Rob and Chris.

Jenni Bonnitcha keeps a close eye on us.

Jenni and Evan. Sadly Jenni is leaving the CYC so we wont have the blonde bombshell looking after us in future.

Our four skippers - Gavin, Jenny, Chris and Dale

Broken Bay

Once again Cheshire Cat and her valiant crew set off for Broken Bay week. Julie Terina and I were on board. Jenni was following in Mathilde. Can't understand why. The forecast was promising and once we'd loaded a mountain of supplies we motored to the Heads because there was no wind. But no sooner had we turned left than a very nice north easterly filled in and we set the sails and made Barrenjoey in one tack. Very cool!

On the way we were passed by John, Paul and Jenni in Mathilde but unfortunately John managed to delete the pictures he took of us sailing happily north. Behind us were Wayne in Far Out, his new stink boat, and his friend John in a sailboat called Phoenix. Aboard Quest Laine, Neil and Mike plus some others were way ahead of us and already in Coasters Retreat having left too early for the breeze and therefore having to motor the whole way.

We picked up a mooring close to Mathilde and Quest and got ready to go ashore for a BBQ. Wisely we all prepared our beds prior to imbibing. There were twenty or so revelers on shore boosted by a huge contingent on Far Out and Bernie in Xantippe with Zane and Ross. Zane made someone very happy.

Sunday dawned sunny. Jenni had been trying to get the club to go to Lobster Beach for years so with Mathilde at her disposal she and John announced their intentions to go there for lunch. In spite of us keel boats being a little concerned about the depth we decided we would all go too. We sailed north past Lion Island and then switched on the Iron headsail when we were approaching the narrow channel into Brisbane Water. Lobster Beach is just inside the channel so keeping a wary eye on the depth sounder we crept into the bay and dropped anchor. I had never been sure of the setting of the sounder so it was an interesting test. According to the gauge we were in 1.9 metres of water. The bottom of the keel is 5 ft 6 inches from the water level or 1.7 metres. Mike, who was to become my trusty mooring partner, stood on the bottom and put his hand in the air. His fingers just cleared the surface. As a result we knew the depth sounder was pretty accurate and that at 1.9 we were OK and anything less than 1.7 was probably aground.

We had lunch and some of us swam. Being at Lobster Beach was described by someone as sitting in a cafe on Parramatta Road. Because it is right on the edge of the main channel into Brisbane Water, Gosford and all places in between it has a constant flow of boats and ferries motoring past. Jenni has been satisfied and we are unlikely to go there again.

Then it was time to drop Julie and Terina at Palm Beach as they had to go to work on Monday. And then to Refuge Bay for the night. As I pulled into the bay John and Jenni sped up in Mathilde's jet tender and Jenni climbed aboard to pick up the mooring for me.

That night I had dinner with Jenni and John (very nice beef bourguignon) as Jenni was leaving the next day and John was also going home for Monday night.

A lovely glassy morning was followed by a trip to Castle Lagoon via Hallets Beach for lunch. Mike came with me to help with moorings or anchoring depending on our luck. The lunch stop-over provided another test for the depth sounder. After some excitement Laine, Neil, Mike and I had lunch aboard Cheshire Cat featuring smoked trout with horseradish cream. Far Out and Phoenix had gone to Brooklyn for drop offs and pick ups. My plan to patch the hole in the floor of the inflatable was abandoned to a later date.

Motoring in to Castle Lagoon we found empty moorings which made us all happy.
Specially since we were to be there two nights. Dinner was aboard Far Out as Wayne proudly showed off her entertainment potential, not to mention the accommodation including a double cabin with en suite. His attempts to seduce Mike to make use of the currently empty berth fell on deaf ears.

Tuesday's schedule, apart from a work conference call and some light boat maintenance included a trip to nearby Cottage Point for lunch. We all boarded Far Out and moored right at the restaurant feeling very glamourous and important. Mathilde with John, Peter and Michael aboard had arrived when we got back to Castle Lagoon. The obligatory boat hopping included an inspection of Cheshire Cat's emergency steering with Wayne and Phoenix John and an invitation to dinner on Quest for goat tagine. Peter and Michael, still recovering from a trip to Vietnam, declined. John, as my date, collected me in the jet boat bringing a lovely fake hibiscus as a corsage. The tagine accompanied by couscous with cranberries and almonds was delicious. Quest is also a very comfortable boat for entertaining.

Wednesday morning was misty with a river of cloud streaming down the cliff into the lagoon. A great photo opportunity before I went back to sleep.

The forecast was for a very windy afternoon so we all decided to head for the scheduled overnight at Warratah Bay and see how secure it would be. Mike came with me in case we had to anchor. As it turned out the three moorings were empty so Quest, Mathilde and Cheshire Cat were all nice and safe. Far Out and Phoenix had again gone to Brooklyn. A couple of runs in the jet boat saw 7 of us at Bobbin Head for a very nice lunch. On the second return trip John ran out of fuel and had to row from Apple Tree Bay. It didn't seem far at 6 knots but I am told it seems much further when you're rowing. Far Out with new crew appeared late in the afternoon.

After roast pork on Mathilde we all bunkered down for a windy night. In the end it wasn't too bad. In fact it was worse the next morning gusting 15 to 20 knots. Then while we were having our respective breakfasts a rather odd looking work boat chugged into the bay and as I watched nosed up near Quest and had a conversation.
Wouldn't you know it they were there to service the mooring. So Quest rafted up next to Cheshire Cat for an hour or so. In spite of the stiff breeze we sat very nicely together. And then it was time to head for my favourite spot - Smith's Creek. I still remember Wayne, years ago, arriving in his inflatable in the dead of night with Charlie, his faithful dog, wearing nothing but a microscopic leather lap lap and a string tie. Wayne that is not Charlie. He was dressed for the Commodore's cocktail party where the dress code was formal.

This time, as I rounded the corner I saw one empty mooring and a house boat just leaving. Further in, it turned out all the moorings were for us - hooray. Quest on one, Mathilde on one. I was able to pick up my mooring single handed just before John arrived to help. A small moment of accomplishment. We tied Wayne's dinghy to the fourth mooring as he had again gone to Brooklyn for a change of crew. To identify it we also tied a rainbow flag to the outboard. So we ended up owning the bay for the night. And Michael encouraged me to drive the jet boat. That was fun! If a little scary. But I have since discovered it is also against the rules. Just as well, as it could become addictive.

Another roast dinner aboard Mathilde. Laine and Michael have mastered the art of roasting now. Peter was practicing horizontal pole dancing and John tried out a wig.

The morning was for exploring up the creek a bit where there were lots of fish and sting rays in the water. Yet another work conference call and then off to Akuna Bay for the Commodore's Cocktail Party. And a final brush up of my performance piece. Mike came with me again as we knew we would have to anchor, there being no moorings. Once again we had the place to ourselves. Bruce and Bert were already there in their little cruiser Antibes. Bernie reappeared in Xantippe with Zane, Robert and Ross aboard, and Chris Mugden in his little steamboat Aldebaran with a new member, plus Cheshire Cat, Quest, Mathilde and Far Out. I don't know what happened to Phoenix. Afternoon included helping decorate Mathilde as well as an ice run to the shop at Akuna Bay. A messenger run in my dinghy to tell people what time the party would start ended with a slight mishap that meant I got a bit wet.

Commodore Roger with his Davey, Rear Commodore David and, as a special treat, MY HELEN arrived on the 7pm pickup from the jetty.

I had been going to offer bunks to a couple of girls who were said to be going to come but who never arrived or to Roger and Davey, but with Helen as my surprise guest I was glad we could have cheshire Cat to ourselves.

The theme of the party was "Hello Sailor". Bereft of inspiration I went as a sailor in wet weather pants, Gay games t-shirt, gloves, cap etc. Helen dressed as the gorgeous Sunday sailor that she is. Laine was Popeye, Mike a shipwrecked bum, and various other takes on the concept were seen. Michael was resplendent in a rainbow t-shirt, white pants and white cap. Very gay and ultimately the winner of the costume prize. The judges, Helen and Bernie, felt his outfit most expressed the theme of both gay and sailoresque. Neil's costume was apparently too subtle. But he again did a great job as cocktail maker.

The performances were all good. The Quest crew sang "Popeye- the sailor's man" , Chris and his crew did a poem which I am told is well known, but with lots of innuendo in it. Roger reworded the Jamaica song with the line "I had to leave a lovely boy in London town". Given that Davey is now here and not in London it was a bit old news I thought. But sweet and well sung. Bert and Bruce did a very rude poem and friggin' in the riggin' and I did a version of "Friends, Sailors Cuntrywomen lend me your yachts". Chris won based on performance. I felt unjustly discriminated against because Helen was a judge and may have therefore felt compromised, but the verdict that while clever, it wasn't as well performed was true. Note to self - try harder next time.

Lots of fun, dancing, champagne and then bed with my girl. And no dinghy mishaps, thank god.

Next morning Helen and I had a leisurely breakfast and watched Chris give tours on Aldebaran. The boys from Xantippe were skinny dipping and jumping off the rope on shore. Some folk were not on the boats one would expect. Some very big grins were seen! We had a snack aboard Mathilde once the boys were dressed (no dangly bits for us) and then Mike and I dropped Helen back at Akuna Bay. She drove home while we motored back to Coasters Retreat to pick up Terina and Lea from the ferry. On the way we took pictures of Quest and she took pictures of us. Mike was on the helm.

Again plenty of moorings to pick up. Scott and Tony in a rental yacht were there too. Another BBQ ashore, a few drinks on Quest and then to bed. Julie came over on the morning ferry and we prepared to head back to Sydney. A still morning meant we might have to motor home but again the breeze filled in just at a perfect angle to sail down the coast on one tack. So we sailed all the way to Balmain. Jenni had the BBQ ready when we got home which was a lovely way to finish another perfect Broken Bay week full of sun, sea, food, wine and mucking about in boats.
Some of the pictures are Neil's and some are mine.