Sailing and travel related posts by PK and friends for family and friends
It seems only a little while ago that this Blog was a going concern. It was updated as often as possible and usually, the content was timel...
We have to thank a number of people for their help and advice in locating the right piece of Oregan for the work especially Donny Finch who spent days with me travelling round the countryside trying to locate the right piece. And John Moorcroft who located two likely sources before we selected a third.
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paulfkerriganMonday 04.01.2010
1600hrs: Motor sailed on to Simpsons Bay. Dropped anchor at the North end at 43.24S and 147.35E close in to the beach and in company with several other yachts... Nice and snug from the breeze.
All the boys went ashore to walk across the island to the ocean side. It’s about a 1000 metres. I remained on anchor watch and got ready for dinner.
The flathead fillets proved a very welcome starter
for a dinner of roast lamb with rosemary and of course the traditional Pink Eyes. The boys all returned by pre dinner drinks time and we all enjoyed a leisurely dinner followed by the usual red wine.
Overnight the wind died and we enjoyed a beautiful anchorage.
Tuesday 05.01.2010
0900hrs: Late breakfast onboard with bacon and eggs courtesy of Gouldie and after a bit of a tidy up we set of on our journey further down channel.
The weather picture has confirmed our original expectation that the best window for the west coast will be a departure early Thursday morning... so we will overnight tonight within reach or Recherche Bay either at Dover or Southport a little further down.
1030hrs: up anchor and off further down the channel. We reached across to Dover and tied up at the fishing wharf at about midday. Gouldie, Brooksie and Champ go ashore to top up our fresh our provisions and to see if there was any chance we could snatch a cray or two.
That left Ralph and I on board. Ralph set off to chat up a couple of lobster fishers from a nearby boat and see if he could scam a cray. After about an hour or so he returned with a grin from ear to ear... see his prize below...
Ant when the boys returned from the shopping trip they unveiled their prize... three little tiddlers that together weighed about 1.5Kg and cost $145.00 yep real Aussie dollars....
So the afternoon was spent preparing the above and having a few dinner drinks in anticipation of the wonderful repast that awaited us for dinner.
We also ran into the famous Tasmanian sailing couple Jeremy Firth & Penny St Clair and WHO SAIL A BILGE COOLED YACHT called Rosinante ... not sure of the spelling. I first met them on the Circumnavigation a few (possibly four years ago) with Michael on Drina and in close company with Erich Broselle (erich.brosell@transproduct.com.au )
Erich is the proud owner of a beautiful Baltic Yacht named Holger Danske... He’s entered in the next circumnavigation and is a born sailor. He’s a hero of wooden boats locally.
If you are interested in a really detailed description of the 2005 circumnavigation then I suggest you follow this link:
1500hrs: Having secured an invitation for a BBQ at Penny and Jeremy’s on our return leg we slipped our lines ad set off for Rabbit Island for the night.
Log of the Yacht Strewth 02.01.2010 - 20.01.2010 - Day 2
02.01.2010.
At 1430hrs: we let slip the fuel wharf at the RYCT and motor sailed with headsail down river. Much discussion resolved that we should spend the overnight in Barnes Bay on North Bruny Island. Link to Google map below...
at 1630hrs: In very little water in the southern arm of the inner bay we dropped anchor at 1630hrs. Position 43.13S - 147.35E. Despite our fears, the bay was empty except for two other yachts and they left within the next half hour. Fishing tackle was deployed and Ralph and Champ set about catching our dinner. Just in case they didn't succeed I started roasting our first beef roast and getting the famous pink eye potatoes on the go. As it turned out the fishing was all fishing and no catching so roast beef it was, washed down with several bottles of Shiraz.
03.01.2010.
0900hrs: After a very pleasant evening and a quiet night we breakfasted late and discussed the next stopover. The long range forecast for the south west coast indicated that we might get a window for the leg from Recherche to Port Davey in two to three days. Brooksie and I thought that Thursday 7th Jan was probably the earliest we could expect the right conditions. So it looked like we had a few days to spend getting to Recherche. It was decided to make for Simpson Bay or rather the Northen tip as our next overnight anchorage. Since this wasn't all that far down channel some fishing for flathead was suggested on the way.
1030hrs: raised anchor and under motor made for the channel. Somewhere off Woodbridge at approx 43.17S - 147.25E we dropped anchor and sent the boys away fishing in the duck. The remainder of the crew spent the next few hours lazing about reading, sleeping or in Gouldies case checking under the floorboards for leaks... Earlier in the day we had nudged a sandbar and he thought it worth checking... It was all in vain as we had a leaking rudder bearing and so much water was coming in there that it was impossible to check for other minor leaks.
1430hrs: The duck returned and they proudly displayed a bucket full of flathead... These are very bony fish and have to be expertly filleted to be any good. They are also slippery little buggers. Luckily Gouldie had the necessary skills and in a matter of an hour he had a respectable plateful of flathead fillets ready for the cook...
Log of the yacht Strewth: 02.01.2010 to 20.01.2010
Rendezvous with Zeus at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania at 10.30 hrs to transfer the wine I brought for the trip. We are also to collect our inflatable dinghy and outboard form Bruce Champions neighbour. 11.00 alongside the fuel wharf at the club we begin fuelling while the rest of the crews say farewell... Dave has been delivered to the airport the previous day with his leg in a serious way... However the hospital has given him the all clear to return home. He is replaced on the Zeus crew by my old friend Pat Price a local cruising sailor who jumped at the chance to join Jim, Robert and Phil for the delivery back to Sydney. Jim is due in hospital in Sydney to have his heart fixed on the 18th January hence the need to leave asap. Bruce Champion has arrived with lots of dry and canned goods that need to be stowed and the boys have gone to collect the meat and milk, beer etc.
A check of the boats systems results in some bad news... The auto pilot is not working! This is a major blow to our cruising plans as we have only five on board and with no auto pilot to steer one of us will be tied to the wheel at all times. Which in turn means that we have to stand a two person watch system while underway. If the auto pilot was working we could all have an extra hour off watch.
Otherwise all the usual stuff seems to be in working order,
Instruments OK
Navigation computer OK
GPS #1 Position Check OK
Navigation Lights OK
HF Radio OK
VHF ship OK
VHF Handheld #1 OK
VHF handheld #2 OK
SeaTalk Network OK
Power voltage 12.9v OK
Bilge pumps OK
Circuit polarity OK
Chart set complete OK
Auto Pilot RS
Engine Oil Level OK
Engine Coolant OK
Start Battery Voltage OK
Water Tanks Full Ok
Fuel Tanks Full OK
Anchor Warp check OK
Anchor tackle OK
Spare anchor checked OK
Electric winch check OK
From: Posterous [mailto:post@posterous.com]
Sent: Saturday, 6 March 2010 11:16 AM
To: paul@kerrigan.net
Subject: Posterous | Re: C77 Sorrento
A View of Bathurst Harbour, that's Strewth at anchor in the foreground. The shot gives a little view of the extent of this beautiful harbour... It stretches on out of shot both to the left and right for miles and miles... Truly a great harbour!
Stuck on the beach at Port Davey on the west coast of Tasmania with a fecked outboard waiting for the wind and tide to change so we can paddle back to Strewth moored out in the bay across the bar and about two miles away... 
