On our way in I made contact with a few of the big name sailmakers such as Doyle, North
and Hood and started getting quotes. None have lofts in Bundaberg and the local directories
only list two, Pacific Blue and Port Canvas and Sails.
As I’ve probably mentioned before, we’re members of Cruisers Forum, a huge online cruising
pool of sailors and dreamers from all over the world but with a majority USA bias. I’d guess
about 10 % of us are actually out there or have boats and are sailing when we can, but when
there are around 100,000 members that is a substantial pool of knowledge and experience to
draw on. We’ve dipped into the pool a number of times, and contribute what experience we have when others do the same.
I asked if anyone had any experience or recommendations in the Bundaberg area and within a couple of hours IslandHopper responded with a strong recommendation for Port Canvas.
In fact he will be getting them to make him a new main and mizzen next year.
Other good friends of ours, Jim and Ann with more sailing miles than Drake, Cook and the rest
combined, urged us to use someone who is on the spot if at all possible, assuming they know
what they’re doing. The tales of woe of people who have bought cheaper from someone distant
and then had nobody to turn to when the sail isn’t right are legion.
I had spoken to Martin from Port Canvass before we got here and he sounded knowledgeable.
As soon as we docked I gave him a call so he could come down sometime to discuss what we need, measure up and get the old sail down. We do higher miles than most so a robust sail is vital.
He wasn’t prepared to quote until he saw the job.
I’d had quotes in from the big names, so was already in gibbering idiot mode.
None of them could come to the boat and the haggling process had begun. The scary thing is,
how does the buyer know what quality is being quoted, or supplied for that matter?
The big names are franchises so have fees they have to cover, as well as the higher rents for loft
space in the main cities. They all get their sails made overseas, China and Sri Lanka mainly.
Some do urgent work here, but with the time scales quoted the sails could easily be flown in.
Having said that, I know many people have bought sails like that and are very satisfied.
We may have considered it if we were in a major centre and had the local guy to do the fitting
and fix any problems.
No matter who you deal with, you end up having to trust someone, even if it is with fingers on
both hands firmly crossed.
Martin turned up at the boat that same afternoon to take an initial look and welcome us to Bundaberg. Typical small town friendliness.
Sandy asked where the nearest doctor would be so she could drag me there to get my thumb looked it and it turns out the marina is a good 20 minute drive from the city itself. It had been
2 days since the accident so too late for stitches, there was no indication of infection so I was happy to just let it get on with healing.
As it happens I was totally out gunned. Martin was going from us to pick up his wife to go into Bundaberg and immediately offered us a lift in to Bundaberg Base Hospital. No wriggle room
left so I accepted defeat, not with much grace.
On the way in we were shown the devastation the flood had caused 16 months ago. We’d heard about it, vaguely, when we were overseas but the reality and scale of it was a real eye opener.
The year before they’d had the biggest flood in 100 years, and then this one far surpassed that
to be the biggest since records started being kept. Dozens of boats were washed out to sea,
many never found again.
At the hospital we got really good care. We had about a 90 minute wait but they gave the
wound another clean and redressed it, put me on antibiotics and gave me a tetanus shot.
The staff and doctor were friendly and helpful, to the point of phoning around the local clubs
to see if any had a courtesy bus going to the marina to save us a $50 cab fare.
None went that way, but to our surprise Martin was waiting as we walked back into the
reception area. They’d called back to see if we needed a lift again, found I was being treated and decided to wait. The cynic in me wants to say touting for business, but I believe they’d have
done it anyway.
The wind really gets up here during the day so any attempt to get the sail down needed to be
an early morning exercise.
Martin’s loft is a couple of minutes away and he turned up around 7am to give us a hand. The shredded sail was not going to make it easy. We got it half unfurled but then it jammed, loose threads from the rip having wrapped themselves tightly half way up as I’d furled it.
Martin called his sidekick down to help and in minutes he was here, looking like a .303 pull through. You sure can’t tell a book by its cover. Richard has a ton of experience. In fact he
was the skipper on Gina Reinhart’s yacht for many years (Australia’s wealthiest woman/mining magnate). Between us we got the threads free, only to discover the mandrel's top section is out
of alignment so the furling swivel locked as soon as it dropped to that point. Australia being
what it is today, OH&S won’t let them go up the mast and I’m one handed.
Time for a rigger.
But there is no local rigger in Bundaberg. As it happens one is coming up from the Sunshine
Coast to do a few jobs here later this week, including a couple for Martin’s clients.
A few phone calls and we’re now on his schedule too. He will service the whole mandrel while
he is about it so all joins will be aligned and secure.
We refurled the sail bits as best we could but there is a section near the top that the wind catches sometimes and it flogs, shaking the whole boat when it does. Fortunately it doesn’t last more
than a minute when it does happen.
Martin had given us a price that was close to the top of the range and I sent him off to talk to
his supplier. I also had the big players trimming their prices. I’d asked Martin how he manages
to compete with the high volume lofts and he explained that the small operators do all the measuring and final make up of the sail. They all then use a few niche companies who have the equipment and software to enter the details, the sizes are calculated and panels and reinforcing patches cut and numbered by a specialized machine. This gets sent to the sailmaker who
stitches it all together making any final adjustments necessary. These outsourcing specialists
are working for many sailmakers so can buy fabric in as big volume as the big names and this levels the playing field.
The next day Martin came back with a revised price, not the lowest but we are happy to go
with him given the problems we’ve already had and his Johnny on the spot willingness to get solutions. With luck we may have a sail by the end of the week, but next week is probably
more realistic.
In the mean time we’ve moved to a lower cost berth in the marina. We were at the end of a
finger but it was swell prone and we were being charged cat rates.
With the help of a couple of other liveaboards on the marina we did the deed early, before the wind got up. The sun was directly behind the berth we were entering and totally blinding. It
took a false start and back out before we re-entered and settled in comfortably.
It took a lot longer to get Sandy settled comfortably again!
Most marinas have at least one. A guy living on a boat who is genuinely being helpful, but
goes that step too far and tries to take control. They assume nobody but they knows how to
secure the lines and set effective springs (additional lines to stop the boat moving forward
or aft as they do with just a bow and stern line).
I ignore them and let them get on with waving their arms while I concentrate on watching
Sandy’s signals, wind and current and maneuvering the boat.
They also tend to be single and assume any woman on a boat is a passenger. This goes down
like a lead balloon with Sandy, and I’m sure with many women who are the other half of the
sailing team. Probably also why there are so many single guys sailing.
Sandy took great delight in hearing him ask me what the snubber line was. “Hah! He didn’t even know what a snubber is!”
This girl has come a long way, baby.
The ironic thing is, I walked past a boat called Awatea on the marina the day before and only learnt later that it was his boat. I had to look twice before I could be sure it was the same boat
I had sailed on from Sydney to Pittwater in the 1980s. She had just been built and an old friend
of mine used to be paid by the original owner to sail it because the owner wasn’t confident enough. It is now navy blue where it used to be pale blue. She was also a big boat at the time, a 50 footer. Now she looks a lot smaller.
It’s amazing how experience and time changes perspective!
Until next time…