Tag: Boatjobs

Winter Boat Jobs

April 6, 2022 / fiandadrian

Being in Eastbourne we have not had too many distractions from the long list of boat jobs we wanted to get done before heading to the Baltic. Here are some of the jobs we got done.

We secured some storage boxes in the cavernous unused spaces under the floor.

Installed an retractable clothes line in the tech room.

Modified the bimini cover so it can be put away without detaching the front frame which simplifies set up and put away.

Organised the sail locker with some boat hook holders, shelves for paddle boards, storage boxes, and electric outboard mount point.

Installed a gas strut under the bed so we can get to the storage without holding up 753kg with one hand whilst accessing storage with the other.

Crocheted an orchid hanger (first indoor plant…its a slippery slope)

Installed an offshore safe fruit bowl

Improved the bike storage (yes it was worse before)

Found a good spot for Bernie’s folded carriage

Fixed some issues and learnt lots about our distributed power system. You CAN read the stories here.

There are always more boat jobs to be done, but for now this represents for us a good start and it means we can head off. Its sometimes hard to break the inertia, especially when boat jobs are always there, but we are committed to continuing our journey. The last big job is to haul out and hose off the bottom of the boat from a winter of sitting still (its looking pretty green), plus check our anodes, however the Sovereign Harbour boat lift is fully booked for months, so we have to find another port in which to do this – so off we will go!

Getting Away

August 15, 2021 / fiandadrian

By Fi

I’m genuinely not sure that the puns using the boat name are ever going to stop… but I expect they will have to because there are only so many variations using the word “Away” that my brain can compute.

Again, its been a while between posts but for good reason! We got Away! And its been hectic. I’ve taught the boat yard folks doing the handover with us a new phrase – “Drinking from the fire hose” – because that is how it has been feeling.

Our first two days on Away (Thursday and Friday), entailed getting to know the boat a little so we could sleep and cook and do the necessary. We also moved all our belongings (12 boxes plus suitcases) on to the boat and tried to get as much of it put into logical places. Easier said than done when the lockers are all different shapes and sizes, and also there is storage under storage, under beds, under floors etc.

We learned about the systems and did a lot of testing. Then we had the weekend to really unpack and settle in, and take the 25 minute walk to the shops over and over again for supplies, and the supplies we inevitably forget. I promise I will include some nice inside photos in a sec.

Day 3 and 4 were spent on the harbour here in Cherbourg, hoisting sails, testing the single line reefing system on our mail sail (used to reduce the amount of sail for windy conditions), testing the stay sail, the solent and the gennaker. All working so well and we love how the boat sails (thank goodness because prior to now, we didn’t actually know how it sailed).

Here you can see our beautiful red gennaker looking fabulous against the ocean and our black hull.

We also spent time doing some “close quarters manoeuvring” – or in other words, trying not to hit other peoples boats while we try to dock ours.

I was up first for close quarters work, and with the help from Kevin (our handover specialist) I parallel parked the boat a few times, using the bow thruster and getting the feel for the dual rudder system. I wasn’t allowed yet to reverse the boat into our slip, mainly because neither of us had seen it done before, and the space between the dock on one side is about 20cm, and the neighbours boat on the other side is about 20cm, so you can imagine Kevin preferred to show us how it was done, prior to either of us giving it a bash – literally. Apparently this is as tight a slip as we will see anywhere, so if we can reverse into this slip, we’re going to be well set up.

Here is Bernie and I happily looking out for crab pots while I helm on our first day sailing. Needless to say there are no photos of us doing close quarters manoeuvring we’re a little busy (read stressed).

Adrian was up the next day (our last day) to practice some manoeuvring as well, and we had a chance to ask some final questions. Not to be outdone by me, Adrian was this time allowed to reverse the boat into our slip, and did so like a champion. I have dubbed him the official reverse parker of the boat now. To be fair, a few days later I would have my own chance to reverse the boat in and would do so successfully.

Here we are after some successful docking practice. Successful meaning I managed to lasso the cleat on the dock by throwing the docking line over it from the boat while Adrian, driving the boat towards the dock, didn’t hit anything. Oh, and Bernie didn’t jump off the boat mid docking manoeuvre to say hi to everyone. Happy days.

So after completing the final systems check, both of us having helmed, docked and sailed the boat, we signed the paperwork and Away is officially our home. The next few days we spend working with Garcia on a few items that needed correcting (to be expected when building a new boat), fitting out the boat with our safety gear, moving our belongings around and around and around finding the best spots for things, and buying storage boxes – lots of storage boxes.

Again we didn’t think that would make interesting photos so here we are sailing again.

And we buy sheets and plates and storage boxes and towels and cookware and dog food and storage boxes and tools and glasses and baguettes and storage boxes and spices and a board for my magnets and hooks and storage boxes. Tiring stuff!

We also now have a book for the local area and the charts, so looking at the weather, we hope to be out exploring more of France next week or very soon thereafter. It will be excellent to get off the dock. The Fastnet race has been in town and Bernie INSISTS on jumping off and saying hello to every sailor that walks past. Horror for his introverted parents but he is having the best time. A lot of people also want to talk to us about Away and where we are from, if we like France and where we are planning to go. We feel quite popular, but it can get very busy.

Here are some nice photos of the interior and our first few days on the boat – hope you enjoy!

Sunny Yamba/Iluka, and on to the Sunshine State

July 21, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Fi

After arriving in Yamba, we took some time to explore the town. With the Queensland border still closed, we were in no rush and spent a few nights here. There is a great market on Wednesday mornings from 07:00 near the headland that sells local meat and veges, cured meats, gin, sushi, cheese and dairy, and so we stocked up on some yummy produce and groceries. Here is Adrian and Bernie enjoying a walk at the beach after visiting the markets.

We’d heard some stories as we travelled up the coast that Iluka was “packed full of boats waiting on the border” so we had been a little dubious about adding to the numbers, but on a sunny morning, we decided to pop over and have a look, and there was plenty of space for us to drop our anchor and visit one of NSW coastal town gems. This gorgeous beach is along one side of the anchorage. Behind me is the dock where we set our dingy to go ashore.

Iluka is a small coastal town, and the bay where we anchored is right next to the pub and the fish coop. Iluka prawns are some of the best we have tasted. We went for some walks around town, and out to the surf beach where Bernie got to play with his bumper things. Spotted this little guy eating at the side of the road too (Echidna). Iluka was a great town to keep us stocked up, and we also leaned a little on the Post Office in town as we needed to get a few things ordered for the inevitable boat jobs that we would have to do. The most pressing being the anchor light.

When we anchored in Iluka, and as dusk settled in, I turned on the anchor light, and to my dismay realised it wasn’t working. Fast forward a few days later, and we had enlisted the help of our friends on some other boats, and borrowed a bosuns chair (chair/harness device that I sit in to go up) and hoisted me up the mast to figure out the problem. It was about 3 hours later, and a lot of tools going up and down, and discussions, that we all realised the light had no serviceable parts and needed total replacing. It did need replacing anyways, after I mangled it trying to figure out how it worked whilst gripping on to the mast with my legs 14m up. This photo shows how I had to basically rip it off at one screw because the flat head screw was cheap and nasty and I couldn’t get the screwdriver to stay on to get it out. This was all fine in the end, and a week or so later we had our new light and up I went up again crimped the wires, tested it, and screwed it on. Works well now!

Around our time in Iluka we also cruised the Clarence River and wrote a post here: https://fiandadriansailing.com/travelling-inland-the-clarence-river/

As the dolphins circled around the bay night after night, we found ourselves settling in to the Iluka life, making friends, exploring the trails, trying out new recipes on the boat, and attempting new skills. In some respects, I stopped being cranky around this point about the Queensland border because we wouldn’t have had these experiences in this stunning little place, or perhaps even met some new friends for who’s friendship we are so grateful! Oh, also new toys – our new toys are two stand up paddle boards and this is my first attempt ever.

And one day, the news came that Queensland was opening up to us Southerners, and the race was on! The borders opened midday on the 10th of July, and whilst the weather window for our boat would have been okay-ish, we decided to let the bigger faster boats head up en masse and we’d see how they got on. Plus we could partake a little more in the delicious local seafood. All was fine and we planned our own passage for a few days later.

We planned to head north on the 14th of July, as the swells were quite low, which would mean leaving Yamba/Iluka over the river bar would be straightforward. We left at midday on a rainy and cool day, and planned to stop in at Byron Bay for the evening. During our travels, the whale activity was epic, and we saw many whales breaching, flapping around and playing quite close to us. Here you can see a whale just breaching out of the water. So awe inspiring. We finally dropped the anchor at 10pm in the rolly Byron Bay anchorage.

We had a little bit of sleep rolling around, and the next morning picked up the anchor at 06:30 for our final leg across the border and into the Gold Coast. I had been in touch with Maritime Safety Queensland to ensure our safe passage across the border, and had been assured that the authorities were aware of our approval to cross the border and we would have no troubles. It was so exciting off the Tweed Heads/Coolangatta coast line to know that we were entering Queensland finally and more adventures were to come, plus more whales, dolphins and the biggest turtle I have ever seen were there to welcome us! We travelled through the Gold Coast seaway late afternoon (shown here), and picked our way north to a marina we had booked arriving about 17:00. Big day and we were ecstatic to arrive in Queensland. The plan from here is to head into Moreton Bay and then further north to Mooloolaba and Noosa as weather permits, and as quickly as we are comfortable with.

Bernie is doing well! And so photogenic.

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.

Tag: Boatjobs

Winter Boat Jobs

Getting Away

Sunny Yamba/Iluka, and on to the Sunshine State

Waiting…

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