We’ve had to keep on the move as Shoalwater Bay is closing once again and becoming a military zone. Civil watercraft will be completely banned for the next two weeks under threat of something dreadful, possibly being bombed. So although we would have liked to have stayed on, we set out early with a forecast of NW/NE 15-20 knots and storms predicted. We had all of our sails hoisted before we left the calm of the anchorage. This turned out to be a mistake as it was blowing 30 knots as soon as we cleared the Port (see photograph of Port Clinton northern anchorage). Strengthened by adrenaline, I had no trouble reefing our sails!
During this leg of our journey I have employed some of the more effective sailing tips and techniques that I have developed over the years. For instance, when Peter says “Look sweetheart, 35 knots” I find it helpful to eat a chocolate, put my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and repeat over and over again “Why me? Why me? Why me?”. The same technique proved helpful as we surfed down a wave and he said “Look sweetheart we’re doing 8.5 knots” . A big sea needs a slightly different approach. Staring at a speck of dirt on the cockpit floor can be effective, again chanting the “why me?” mantra. This time the sea was too big for this to work very well but going below deck, wedging myself against the galley workbench and eating chocolate did help. Caution: practice this with care if you are prone to sea sickness.
Conditions settled after we passed Cape Manifold and from there we enjoyed one of the best sailing days so far this year, averaging a boat speed of 6 knots on a beam reach. All went well until we reached the shoals about 5 n / miles north of the entrance to Rosslyn Bay. Once again I used one of my favourite tips, a hint that I will share with you. While Peter helms I think that it is important that he knows the depth of water. I have found that this is best achieved by reading the from the digital display, increasing the volume of my voice as the depth drops. For instance, “Darling we’re in 6 metres, 5.9, 5.8 dropping, 5.5, 5.4, 5.3 dropping, dropping, 5, 4.5” and so on. I've also found that holding my breath between each reading seems to improve the situation. Try it yourself, if you haven’t already, and see if your helmsperson appreciates it as much as Peter. By the time we reached the harbour entrance I was surpirsed that Peter took over the role of audible depth sounder. When he said “0.2m under the keel” I resumed my favourite mantra!
During this leg of our journey I have employed some of the more effective sailing tips and techniques that I have developed over the years. For instance, when Peter says “Look sweetheart, 35 knots” I find it helpful to eat a chocolate, put my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and repeat over and over again “Why me? Why me? Why me?”. The same technique proved helpful as we surfed down a wave and he said “Look sweetheart we’re doing 8.5 knots” . A big sea needs a slightly different approach. Staring at a speck of dirt on the cockpit floor can be effective, again chanting the “why me?” mantra. This time the sea was too big for this to work very well but going below deck, wedging myself against the galley workbench and eating chocolate did help. Caution: practice this with care if you are prone to sea sickness.
Conditions settled after we passed Cape Manifold and from there we enjoyed one of the best sailing days so far this year, averaging a boat speed of 6 knots on a beam reach. All went well until we reached the shoals about 5 n / miles north of the entrance to Rosslyn Bay. Once again I used one of my favourite tips, a hint that I will share with you. While Peter helms I think that it is important that he knows the depth of water. I have found that this is best achieved by reading the from the digital display, increasing the volume of my voice as the depth drops. For instance, “Darling we’re in 6 metres, 5.9, 5.8 dropping, 5.5, 5.4, 5.3 dropping, dropping, 5, 4.5” and so on. I've also found that holding my breath between each reading seems to improve the situation. Try it yourself, if you haven’t already, and see if your helmsperson appreciates it as much as Peter. By the time we reached the harbour entrance I was surpirsed that Peter took over the role of audible depth sounder. When he said “0.2m under the keel” I resumed my favourite mantra!
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