job but they have come up beautifully. I relocated a winch that we don’t use much to a position where it will help with sail handling and enable us to manage the new yankee better, and hopefully
increase its working life.
It’s hard to believe the four months we spent on Lake Macquarie could slip away so quickly.
This post probably won’t be of much interest to many who follow the escapades of Wind Wanderer, but it’s a rocking chair post. More a record for when the time comes where the only rocking is accompanied by the squeaking veranda floorboards in the late afternoon sun.
But that’s in the very distant future and we have a few sailing miles ahead of us yet.
As usual, we had a lot of work to do on the boat, but it’s amazing how much easier it is when it
gets fitted in between catching up with family we hadn’t seen for just on 2 years.
We’d had the good fortune of Lake Macquarie Rescue towing us right up to Warners Bay after our somewhat less than glorious arrival, where we anchored in 4 meters with reasonable protection from most directions and a short dinghy ride to shore. A shopping centre with a good sized supermarket, bakeries, lakefront restaurants and coffee shops all easily accessible just added to the general convenience and ambience of the area.
We arrived just before Christmas and hardly had a chance to put on a clean shirt before the festivities started with Christmas Eve with Bek and Anthony. It was good to see what they’ve
done to the fixer upper they bought. They plan to keep it as a rental when they buy the next
one and it is perfect for that.
It was the first night we’ve spent off the boat since we moved on in June 2012 and it felt strange. The next morning Bek lent us her car and we checked on the boat, then went to Sandy’s parent's place in the country for Christmas Day and the gathering of the clan. It’s always interesting to
see how much has changed, and how much hasn’t. So much has happened in our lives it feels like we must have been away much longer.
The one thing that really has changed is the family’s acceptance of what we’re doing. When we
left many were trying to talk Sandy, and therefore ‘us’ out of this idiocy, and there have been
times when I’ve wondered why we didn’t listen.
Now there is admiration and respect, maybe even a bit of envy with some. Her parent’s in particular who feared for their daughter’s safety as all parents would, are now openly proud of
her and are quick to show photos to friends.
On Boxing Day we drove up to Nelson Bay where some of my side of the family and extensions
had rented a large house for a holiday break. It was good to see them all, in particular Georgie,
granddaughter number 1 who lives with Claire in Melbourne. We don’t get to see much of her but she is a confident, bright-as-a-button 4 year old with the wildest mop of blond curls, and as usual with kids, took to Sandy instantly even though she could not have remembered us from 2 years ago.
We had the good fortune of a car to use for our time on the lake. My brother in law, Russ
describes it as an Ebay oops! He bought a 1998 Mercedes with a wrecked gearbox by putting
in a ridiculous, low ball bid, and got it. Even after the reconditioning of the gearbox it was an amazing buy. I still don't think Meg has forgiven him. All I had to do was take a train to Tamworth and pick it up from Rob and Sherry.
Life on the lake was good. At night it was beautiful and restful and on Friday evenings we could enjoy the live music drifting across the water from the bandstand on the foreshore.
The downside was a few water skiers and jet skis ripping up the lake on weekends and before and
after work sometimes, often coming way too close, but it was tolerable. Friends and family came out to the boat to catch up and it was great one on one time with all of them.
Our captivity in the lake was due to the channel being too shallow to come and go, and the dud transmission. It meant we missed something we really wanted to experience, the New Years Eve fireworks from the deck of our boat on Sydney harbour. In fact between the delays in the
dredging and last minute repairs we never did get to sail down to Sydney before the April winds signaled the time to head north again.
We did make some interesting new friends. John left a note on our dinghy because he is keen to buy a smaller boat with the same olde worlde character. He in fact has a narrow boat on a river in England and tends to spend time there and with his daughter in Australia.
We also met Peter and Tracy, a great couple with a small yacht they keep on a mooring nearby. They invited us to their home for lunch with two other couples with various boating interests and it was indeed a wonderful day. We were invited to bring Wind Wanderer to the Classic Boat Festival over Easter and give a talk on our experiences so far, but Easter was a long way off and we were sure we’d be gone before then.
With the year getting going in early January we phoned around for quotes to repair the transmission. Some we eliminated from the initial call because we were obviously being
groomed for a fleecing, others came out to the boat, promised a quote and then disappeared,
but we ended up with Bruce from East Coast doing the job. He is an independent operator and his wife was his assistant. We were happy with the job and the price was reasonable. We changed the pressure plate at the same time because the old one was starting to show signs of wear.
The jobs never end and while the transmission was out we discovered a split in the generator exhaust muffler, so got that out and welded too. Other jobs we did included repairing the anchor switch, getting Bruce’s mate, Bruce, (this is Australia) to weld cracks in the davits, making cross bracing wires to strengthen the davits, making a new spinnaker pole, repairing the main boom outhaul track, and replacing the lost ball bearings in the traveler, removing, straightening and resecuring the damaged yankee sheet track, and replacing more bits on the water maker than I care to think about. Some a couple of times under warrantee and there is still one more warrantee claim being argued. What a nightmare.
I’ve never liked the fact that a boat this size has only I electric bilge pump. It has a manual one as back up but I’ve had to use it once when wiring corroded through and I’d hate to have to keep the
boat afloat with it for any length of time. We now have a second electric pump and I’m a lot happier.
Our fridge wasn’t getting as cold as before so we got a fridge guy to solder the leak and regas it. Now with it set on 1/3 we have to turn it off overnight or the milk is solid in the morning.
In amongst all this hurley burley we had a major event and welcomed a new granddaughter into this crazy family. Isabelle Rose, Marian and Craig’s first baby, arrived with a shock of auburn hair and of course beautiful from day one. Marian has taken to motherhood like a pirate to sailing and it is wonderful for us to have been here for it. We've been able to enjoy not just Isabelle's arrival, but seeing her first 3 months of rapid development to the smiles stage. A special time indeed.
Towards the end of January my brother, Rob and his family rented a house in Caves Beach for a week or so and my sister and Russ came down to the lake for a long weekend too. It was a rare opportunity to all catch up and some great memories made.
We were also home for Sandy's parents' joint birthday. Ross and Betty's birthdays are close enough to pick a date in between and this year we all got together at Myree and Graeme's place (Sandy's sister). Their home is big and beautiful and we can see all the work and improvements over the last 2 years. It was a good day.
In March we had a visit from the Maritime Authority. There are very strict rules governing the amount of time you can anchor in the lake (3 weeks), and they’d had a complaint so they had to act. They knew our situation and that we would be heading north soon so had turned a
blind eye to our length of stay. The guy was very apologetic because he knew we keep our boat looking good and we don’t bother anyone. He also knows that there are no commercial moorings on the lake able to take our weight so our non-anchoring options were limited. He thought it was likely to be some busy body who knows the rules and is just trying to throw their weight around, or had paid millions for their waterfront property and resented us having the same view for nothing.
This was a new experience for us. So many people love seeing our boat at anchor and seek us out to tell us. We sometimes kid ourselves that we’re the view others pay millions to have.
His solution? Just move the boat around a bit . In fact he suggested Croudace Bay, the next one along the eastern shore.
At first we resented the move figuring it to be less convenient. Within a few days we wished we’d been moved along sooner. Not only was the bay more sheltered, but there were no jet skis or water skiers. The bay has a very good public jetty we could tie the dinghy to, so no more wet feet getting to and from the car. The Valentine Bowling Club was right there with good food at reasonable prices, and it was a dead end road. No through traffic. An added bonus was the weekend yacht
race. We used to sit on our back deck with cheese and crackers and have a very pleasant afternoon.
But best of all, we managed to bring Wind Wanderer to the jetty on a high tide and Sandy’s parents, Ross and Betty could come on board for a couple of hours. They’re at an age where a dinghy ride just wasn’t possible so this was wonderful.
They hadn’t realized how big and homely she is. When Betty was climbing on board she made sure we understood she would only be on board for a very short time.
Well, the time flew and they couldn’t have been more at home. I don’t know what they’d imagined but I’m sure their visit has made our life a lot easier to understand and accept.
I so wish my own parents were still around to see it.
One of the jobs that has needed doing since the Caribbean is pulling the boat out and antifouling the bottom. We were going to get it done in St Martin but had to get the bobstay rebuilt by their local robbers, so when we lifted the boat there to add a watermaker scoop and check anodes we just pressure washed and hand scraped it.
In the fresh water of Gatun Lake crossing Panama we got an automatic freeby clean because all
the salt water growth died. In Ecuador and The Marquesas we got divers to give the bottom a
clean very cheaply. Eventually we could defer it no longer, particularly as Lake Macquarie seems to be a particularly rich environment and we became a tropical reef very quickly.
I started phoning around the lake and Newcastle and soon established Marmong Point had the only travel lift in the lake that could handle 30 tons and was the only marina that had deep enough
water for us. Newcastle could do the job easily but it appears they may be relatives of the guys in
St Martin. Eventually we decided to bite the bullet and with the help of family pulled the boat, cleaned, spot primed, applied 2 coats and a third on the waterline and resplashed in 3 days. The lift struggled until the balance was right but it was operating at its limit. After it was all over they told us we're the biggest yacht they've ever done!
Our position in the yard was right up against the fence and Wind Wanderer was an eyecatcher as you came over the ridge. So many people came to look at the boat and chat, we were amazed. In fact some even came looking for us when they saw we weren’t at anchor on the off chance we’d be antifouling at Marmong Point.
While the boat was on the hard we noticed water seeping out of the bottom of the dinghy hull. We’ve hit a few underwater obstacles in places you’d least expect to find them, fortunately never at high speed, but obviously enough to wear through or cause a split. I’d noticed the dinghy was sluggish but thought it was growth too. Turning it over on the lake edge to scrape the bottom a few months before was incredibly difficult. I’d never thought it was that heavy, or that I'd grown that flabby.
Sandy was going with her friend, Lyn, every couple of weeks when she had a longer work trip (merchandizing) and they’d catch up on gossip, meet up with Sandy’s parents and sister for lunch etc. I picked one of those days and drained the cavity between the floor and hull of the dinghy. It was full of water. I flipped it to dry for a few hours and went to visit Marian and Isabelle. It was a hot sunny day so doing the fiberglass repair didn’t take long and it was all ready by the time Sandy and Lyn got back. Now the dinghy flies again.
As time had marched on we were still around for Craig's 50th. Marian had gone to great lengths to have a surprise beach party with everyone turning up dressed with something from the 60s, or something starting with 'C'. After scratching our heads for a while Sandy came up with Caribbean pirates! The weather turned it into a house party but their home lends itself to entertaining with a big covered deck area so we all still had a great time.
The last major job on the list was getting someone with good knowledge to tackle our Raymarine auto pilot and wind instruments. We’d crossed the Pacific not knowing our wind speed, which was
probably merciful, and the direction indicator was obviously off by around 15 degrees, which I’d just allowed for. The auto pilot was much more serious with an inclination to not turn up for work at times.
I’d spoken to the local agent, Jason at JSE a couple of times and we eventually got him out to the boat. I figured it’s better to pay someone who knows their stuff a high rate for a shorter time than
to pay a regular sparkie at a lower rate while he’s learning on my nickle. It proved true. Jason was quick and efficient and established in fairly short order that it wasn’t the gyro, but the mother board that had failed. The expensive option as usual.
It was going to take a few days with a weekend in between to get the new one so we decided to leave the boat in Anthony’s care while we took a 4 day break up on my sister and B.I.L’s trout
farm at Hanging Rock. We had a wonderful time there catching up them as well as Roger, Rob and Sherry and their sprogs. It confirmed our thinking that when our sailing days are done, we will be living somewhere remote and off the grid.
When we got back we did a quick round of farewell visits to family, Jason reinstalled the motherboard, took a trip to the top of the mast to replace the mini motherboard for the wind instruments, and while I had him in the bosun’s chair I taught him how to tie a bowline and had
him replace the sheets on the yankee.
The old ones were coming apart and I’d made up new ones.
Half an hour sea trial to recalibrate everything, took on a couple of hundred litres of diesel to tide us over (it’s cheaper in Queensland!), and we headed for Pelican, touching bottom 3 times in
the newly dredged channel! We anchored there overnight to catch the tide out the next day.
We only ever made one trip to Sydney by car and that was spent catching up with family there. We were so sure we'd go down a few times and catch up with friends too but it wasn't to be.
I guess that’s how 4 months disappear.
Until next time…