Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Cruising Helmsman

I SPENT most of May 1977 aboard my 36 foot Carol ketch, Serenity, in the Brisbane River and Moloolabah. I had begun my voyage in August 1975, departing from the Isles of Shoals off the New England coast and proceeding down the US intercoastal waterway, through the Caribbean and into the Pacific via the Panama Canal. From there, the Galapagos to the Societies, American Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia and reaching Australia on 26 October 1976. I had a short trip back to American Samoa to assist a rebuild of William Robinson’s brigantine, Varua. To call this voyage life-changing would not be an exaggeration, but until recently I had no occasion to dwell on the events and their long-term repercussions. That changed only after I found, among my mother’s personal effects,…

First published in 1986, this 300 page cruising guide is an essential reference for any vessel planning on anchoring anywhere on the Queensland coast between Bundaberg and Mackay. Noel Patrick knew the coast like the back of his hand. With Wistari (now owned by one of his sons), Noel and his family and quite a few mates have collated ‘mud maps’ into a very professional and trusty reference. That the publication, last updated in 2008, remains current 25 years after Noel’s passing, is a testament to the quality of work in compiling this guide. With around 10,000 copies in circulation, Noel’s daughter has been the publisher for many years. Copies are available from some marine outlets and from the publisher. More details can be found on their website, www.curtiscoast.com.…

LIFELINES OR DANGEROUS FALSE SECURITY? While there are valid arguments for leaving boat decks unfenced, most sailors agree that a well-designed lifeline system adds to the safety of all on board. However, poor maintenance or damage makes this a false promise, with life-threatening consequences. The major components of a lifeline system are the rails either end, stanchion bases, stanchions and the wire or fibre rope lifelines. On many boats this is complicated by the existence of gates in the lifelines, introducing even more potential failure points. The entire assembly is designed to break when overloaded to protect the deck to which it is attached. The stanchions bend first, and then perhaps the end rails. The stanchion bases are meant to break before ripping out a chunk of deck, and the…

IT was strange and not a little unsettling, to sail off the edge of Australia knowing there was nothing to one side of us for almost 3000 nautical miles, save for the forbidding icy zone of Antarctica. Early one autumn morning we had motored out of Recherche Bay near the bottom of Tasmania, the last human outpost in Australia’s southernmost state, intent on reaching one of this country’s most isolated locations: Port Davey in Southwest National Park. Located in the farthest reaches of Tasmania, as we rounded Southeast Cape the next major land mass heading south was Antarctica. Between us and it were the daunting weather bands of the Roaring Forties and the Furious Fifties. This was not the place to make a mistake, so our skipper ‘Rocket’ Robertson had…

TAHITI LOOKS NICE The Moorings yacht charters are offering specials, including a five percent discount, on all-inclusive crewed yacht charters in Tahiti, where you can island-hop amongst its 118 islands. There is also an offer of seven nights for the price of six and 14 nights for the price of 12. These offers are available until 31st. October 2019. All-inclusive, crewed yacht charters include a skipper, chef and all the food and drink included, so sit back and relax and let the crew look after you for once, while you check out the glorious Society Islands. Tahiti’s nautical conditions are pretty much near perfect all year long. To sail in Tahiti means to enjoy not only the beauty of the islands, but also the chance to see schools of fish…

This night at last he slept serene, his long tired mind at rest, when on the east the sheer bright star arose that tells of coming dawn, the ship made landfall and came up islandward in the dim of night. Phorkys, the old sea baron, has a cove here in the realm of Ithaka; two points of high rock, breaking sharply, hunch around it, making a haven from the plunging surf that gales at sea roll shorewards. Deep inside, at mooring range, good ships can ride unmoored. – Homer: The Odyssey, book twelve. Robert Fitzgerald translation. INTO THE LIGHT The wind was gusting all over the place and I was at the tiller, soaked by sheeting, blinding rain with a few hailstones thrown in for good measure. We were in…

VMR Gladstone (www.vmrgladstone.org.au) is a very professional outfit. In the main, they remain comfortable in sharing information with passing cruising vessels. With regard to The Narrows, they recommend vessels transitting should allow for a Gladstone tide of your draft + 1.5m. Vessels with exposed propellors are recommended to allow their draft + 2.0 m. So long as you are in the right place, the minimum clearance should be 0.2 m. They also recommend you commence the crossing (from Black Swan to Twin Islands) half an hour before Gladstone high tide. Given the distance from Gladstone, you cannot expect to be rescued / dragged off should you have strayed into the wrong position and find yourself ‘stuck’!…

“NICE boat!” is a comment we often hear and it makes us smile. “Of course!” we reply, because every boatowner thinks that his or her boat is the prettiest in the anchorage. “Fibreglass?” “What design?” are usually the next questions. Another smile, “no steel, Bruce Roberts 44”. We love seeing the jaws drop after that reply. Our Anna Caroline is a well-made boat, which we have given a thorough paintjob. She certainly does not look her age. In 1988 she was built in New Zealand by Dennis Field, an ex-boilermaker who turned to boatbuilding. He made five for clients and he always regretted not making a sixth one for himself. After two owners, Larry Amos bought her and sailed her in ten years to Spain. There he was done cruising…

THE attrition rate in the recent Golden Globe Race around the world has led to some lively debate about the safety of these old designs compared with modern ocean racers. Those decrying the use of traditional long-keel yachts point out two differences compared with modern high performance yachts. Firstly, they are slower with limited opportunity to get out of the way of approaching storms. This seems irrefutable to me. The second point they make is not nearly so clear cut: they claim the greater directional stability of a long keel means that if the yacht is surfing on the back of a wave, it will go out of control once it stops surfing. This comment made me recall a piece of work I did many years ago, attempting to explain…

OCEAN Marina Yacht Club have invested in Thailand’s burgeoning disabled sailing scene with the purchase of eight SV14 boats from Fareast Yachts. A two-person modern dinghy, the SV14 is designed for people with disabilities and is the result of a global collaborative design and build effort initiated by Peter Jacops, founder of Disabled Sailing Thailand, lead by Simonis Voogd Design and built by Fareast Yachts in China. This kick-start to the class in Thailand by the Pattaya-based yacht club will be a precursor with the intent to host the Thailand Open Parasailing Championship at next year’s Top of the Gulf Regatta. www.oceanmarinayachtclub.com.…

ABELL Point Marina’s owner Paul Darrouzet has purchased the Coral Sea Resort next door to the marina. The move is seen as the next step in a plan to continue developing Abell Point as a leading international marina. Over recent years the marina has undergone a $30 million upgrade to now host 520 wet berths, with the ability to accommodate vessels up to 80 metres in length alongside award-winning restaurants and recreational venues and services. A manicured 2.5 hectare garden opened at the start of last year, so the marina already boasts a resort-like feel. The addition of Coral Sea Resort’s boutique accommodation adds an array of facilities: an award-winning oceanfront restaurant, a private dining seaside gazebo, cocktail lounge, fitness room, private jetty, 25 metre pool, wedding chapel, 200 seat…

SINCE our initial trip down the Murray some two years ago (CH August 2016), we have since covered the Clarence in NSW from Grafton to Yamba, Noosa everglades Queensland via Lake Cootharaba and Harry’s Hut and Manly (Qld) to Gold Coast away from the main channel. Now it is time for the Myall Lakes situated south of Port Macquarie and just north of Nelson Bay, Port Stephens in New South Wales. In fact there is an opening just south of the Tea Gardens at the southern part of Myall Lakes that leads into the entrance at Port Stephens. If you are in a trailer sailer, as we were, unless you enjoy an exciting challenge it is best left for calm weather. As per usual with our cruising, owner Rex trails…

WE had been four months cruising the Queensland coast and, being October, were making our way south. Northerlies are usually expected in the last three months of the year, which allows visiting cruisers to escape the cyclone belt and the building tropical heat. A great stop-off point, on the southern migration, in northerly weather is Long Beach at Great Keppel Island. It is well protected, has great scenery, holding is adequate and, in contrast to the rolly anchorages which often occur in dominant SE weather around the Keppels, Long Beach is very comfortable. After a few days sharing Long Beach with an ever-growing flotilla of fellow cruisers, our plan was for a midnight departure, so as to arrive at Pancake Creek around 12 hours later to take the high tide…

IT has been a long time since I reviewed a production yacht this small, other than the Cygnet 20 trailer sailer back in April last year. The forty to fifty foot range is indeed a crowded market with these size boats now built to be easily handled by crewing couples and novices. So it was refreshing to step ‘down’ onto Jeanneau’s latest Sun Odyssey in Australia, the 319. What makes it even more interesting is that its owner has also stepped ‘down’ from previously owning larger 30’ yachts. What was he thinking? Does not everyone follow the usual path of upgrading to a larger yacht? Given the interiors of yachts nowadays provide the feeling you are in a yacht five feet longer, surely there are more factors at play here?…