Category: Year (Page 12 of 12)

Year of the event

Pittwater to Newcastle

May 2, 2020 / fiandadrian

The day had come, and we planned to leave the gorgeous cliffs, flat waters, fish (no fish) and vistas of Pittwater, and head north. We were originally hoping to drop in to Lake Macquarie but a safe entrance on a rising tide would have meant travelling through the night or arriving in the dark which we’re not so keen on at the current point in our sailing adventure. So we picked a day with favourable southerly winds and aimed for Newcastle.

We use a program called “Predict Wind” which provides us with 4 models of how the winds (amongst other things) will affect our journey, and therefore which course we should take and when we should leave. 3 out of 4 of the forecast models had us hoisting the sails and sailing most of the way, leaving at 6am and arriving around 4pm, but the 4th model was correct and we motored much of the way in rolly seas and arrived at dusk.

We noticed this tug that seemed to be pulling a barge gradually catching up with us. Using AIS really helped us with working out which direction they were going and whether or not we’d have a collision. As they passed behind us the ‘barge’ turned out to be the retired Manly ferry ‘Lady Northcott’ being moved to Newcastle.

The final couple of hours almost made up for the motoring (and queasiness) with a a great sail past all the massive ships lined up to enter Newcastle harbour. Although Fi is frowning, she actually really enjoyed this moment on the helm! This is concentration face.

What happened to our flat water sailing in Pittwater?

Adjusting to life on a small boat

April 28, 2020 / fiandadrian

We wake up in some beautiful spots and don’t need to change our background to some exotic location when on Zoom meetings. But whats it like living in a space smaller then many peoples living room?

Washing up at home was stacking the dishwasher. On the boat we have been experimenting with water conservation to see how long we can last without going into port. Washing up is one of the biggest uses of water so we have been washing in salt water (we have lots of that) and rinsing in fresh water. Much less water but its also slow even for two people.

Showering every day…I remember that. To save water, most days we basin wash with a towel and have the occasional camp shower on deck. Bernie gets most of the showers as he has been doing most of the swimming.

Toilets that flush? We have a composting toilet that is really just a box with a fan and some compost. Its surprisingly odourless and just requires a quick turn of the handle after each use. Emptying the wee bucket is a more smelly task! Overall we think its much better than the smells of many (especially sea water) toilets on boats and has freed up lots of storage space (we use that for Bernie’s food so he appreciates it too!).

Living in a small space means everything takes longer as it needs to be set up and put away. Before we set sail we fold up the dinghy, stow the outboard, put everything away inside, fold up the sun shelter, tie down the freezer…you get the idea. The boat converts from a house to sail boat but it all takes time. The biggest adjustment we have found living in a smaller space is making peace with the extra time everything seems to take.

Life would be much easier in this 55ft $2m world cruising boat that pulled up beside us, but for now we are enjoying the challenge of making a small space work for us.

First week out – living on a small boat

April 17, 2020 / fiandadrian

Our first week cruising around Pittwater enabled us to really get to know “Addictive” even better, plus experience how we can change from living in a nice sized house to a small boat. We were able to get more comfortable with our battery consumption, water consumption and food consumption.

We discovered we don’t eat as much as we thought we would (always good to overcater), but that the fresh food we were able to store served us well and there was no wastage. We used about 50 litres of water, which tells me we likely weren’t drinking enough! The batteries can support us easily on sunny days, but a few days of cloud will mean we would need to have run the motor, which we likely will anyways as you can’t sail all the time.

We tried fishing, and discovered we’re not at all that good, although we had success with our crab pot and got a fantastic sized blue swimmer crab which was great with a lemon soy dressing, shallots and some rice noodles. We bent a few forks trying to get the meat out so we’ve since purchased some proper crab eating implements with the hope we can catch some more. Adrian also had some oysters we shucked off the rocks in a little bay which were fresh and delicious! Given he survived, I’m planning to try them next time.

Bernie is settling in really well and having no toilet issues at all, and getting some good swimming exercise. He adores the water, but I don’t so adore salty wet dog inside much to his dismay. We need to keep absolutely on top of this as he’ll bring a tonne of salt and dirt into our small living area which won’t be nice, so he gets rinsed off, made to sit outside until dry, then groomed a little before I’ll let him inside. He’s handling it fine. I’d have to do a whole separate post about doing his business. Its been a journey.

So in conclusion, things are going well and all our preparations have paid off. We definitely need some more guidance on fishing techniques, locations and lures and fortunately have a wealth of knowledge available in my step dad who has since given us two tackle boxes of his fishing gear, and some much needed words of advice. So here’s to the coming weeks and catching some actual fish! Fishing challenge to be continued…

We left the dock!

April 7, 2020 / fiandadrian

We left the marina in Pittwater late Sunday afternoon as the weekend boats were heading back home. It felt good to finally be those live aboard people and not the weekend sailors.

We had a wonderfull sail up Pittwater and the Hawkesbury was deserted. We tacked up the Hawkesbury in a warm evening breeze not worried about arriving after dark as we know this area well.

The wind stayed with us all the way to Refuge Bay.

Just in time for sundowners at Sunset.

We are itching to head North but waking up to a perfect morning reminded us that self isolation in Pittwater is not all bad.

Rigging complete…

April 1, 2020 / fiandadrian

The rigging work is finished and we are back onboard. This was one of the bolts holding up the mast. It was an expensive exercise but the alternative of a rigging failure at sea would be quite distracting.

We replaced some stays, updated the furler and replaced all the chainplates. The furler was broken and could have damaged the sails. Also old enough that parts are difficult to come by.

New shiny chainplates. These are the anchors for the rigging. They are made from stainless steel and eventually suffer from metal fatigue.

It also looks like there was some water ingress around the chainplates at some stage (stain at base of chainplate). This was due to the original installation not allowing for any movement.

Anyhow, no need to install that mirror in the bathroom now…

We are almost ready to leave. There will always be more jobs, but none of them are major safety concerns. Only issue is that the world has closed. We are thinking to stay in a marina for a few days and then to self isolate in the sheltered nooks of Pittwater.

Waiting…

March 27, 2020 / fiandadrian

The world is shrinking every day. First there was doubt about getting into WA, then Queensland shut down and it now seems even NSW may not welcome travelling sailors.

We get Addictive back from the riggers on Monday when the mast goes back up. New chain plates, rigging and an aerial on top of the mast. Sounds expensive. It is, but better than worrying about it failing at the worst moment.

Our current plan is to stay around Pittwater and do some coastal trips as weather and lockdowns allow until the picture becomes clearer. Improving our fishing and blogging skills are high on the priority list.