Light winds high temps....QLD you got to come!

Gave my "new" downwind headsail a test run today. I have a few really good dacron Finn sails about the place. I had initially intended to sew the foot of two sails together and make a high clew headsail but after fooling about in the backyard decided to use one first up. The luff and foot are shock cord and with some halyard tension the sail stretches out in a nice shape. I simply sewed a long tack with a cord up to the Cunningham eye. Filled in the window. Rust stains spoil it a bit but it will only be flown well offshore.

boty said..

Ramona said..
Gave my "new" downwind headsail a test run today. I have a few really good dacron Finn sails about the place. I had initially intended to sew the foot of two sails together and make a high clew headsail but after fooling about in the backyard decided to use one first up. The luff and foot are shock cord and with some halyard tension the sail stretches out in a nice shape. I simply sewed a long tack with a cord up to the Cunningham eye. Filled in the window. Rust stains spoil it a bit but it will only be flown well offshore.

will you drop the main with the twins on

I would in a decent breeze. I think it would work well also in light breezes broad reaching and deeper with the pole on the headsail and the finn sail running by the lee.

Donk107 said..
Hi Ramona

It looks a bit like a version of this http://www.elvstromsails.com/tech-layline/product-news/item/new-product-blue-water-runner

Regards Don

Hi Donk,

I have a twin track on my forestay that I presently have a 125% furling genoa on. I should be able to run a second head sail up the second track and do the same thing as the blue water runner in the video. They should just both furl up and unfurl.

cisco said..

PhoenixStar said..

Would that be Tuamotu or Hinchinbrook ?? We have it all here in Queensland.

That's Hinchinbrook, Gayundah Creek, and we had a great wind to get us into Zoe from there, then back to Orpheus. Back in Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic now. I think I will stay here dodging the freezing weather you Bundaberg people are suffering for another couple of months.

PhoenixStar said..
I think I will stay here dodging the freezing weather you Bundaberg people are suffering for another couple of months.

Don't you believe it. The weather in Bundaberg is just fine. Another of our classic winter days when you only even think about a jacket in the early morning or after 7 pm. Today was a clear blue cloudless sky, crisp air and warm sunshine.

It is no wonder that those that know Bundaberg will not consider living anywhere else.

Pssst! Don't tell anybody else about how great it is to live in Bundaberg otherwise southerners will flood the place and drive our real estate prices up. They have been static or even declining for the last 10 years. The last quarterly report on real estate sales in the Bundaberg region revealed that 30% of the properties were sold at a loss. A three bed room brick home with double garage can be bought here for less than $250,000 any day of the week.

Keep in mind also that if a person or family moves to Bundaberg, they are almost automatically guaranteed a Centrelink income. That is a sad statement of reality and the local news paper has even published that Bundaberg is the fat and welfare capital of Australia.

Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island, when I was last there, last was the eccentric capital of Australia. Is it still that way or have the eccentrics turned themselves into a tourist attraction??

The wife of the drummer of Midnight Oil had a bikini shop on Magnetic. Is that still existent?

I am assuming you are heading further north and if so I highly recommend The Hole in the Wall which on the chart is Mourillyan Harbour. If you go in there you will wonder how they get ships in there. A great spot for an overnighter, and a great spot for a few days. To get into town you need to hitch hike and most anybody will pick you up. Most likely the driver will offer you a joint and say that before he goes to town he needs to call in somewhere and pick up some more mull.

Once you pass Airlie Beach you are in the "Deep North".

cisco said..

PhoenixStar said..
I think I will stay here dodging the freezing weather you Bundaberg people are suffering for another couple of months.

Don't you believe it. The weather in Bundaberg is just fine. Another of our classic winter days when you only even think about a jacket in the early morning or after 7 pm. Today was a clear blue cloudless sky, crisp air and warm sunshine.

It is no wonder that those that know Bundaberg will not consider living anywhere else.

Pssst! Don't tell anybody else about how great it is to live in Bundaberg otherwise southerners will flood the place and drive our real estate prices up. They have been static or even declining for the last 10 years. The last quarterly report on real estate sales in the Bundaberg region revealed that 30% of the properties were sold at a loss. A three bed room brick home with double garage can be bought here for less than $250,000 any day of the week.

Keep in mind also that if a person or family moves to Bundaberg, they are almost automatically guaranteed a Centrelink income. That is a sad statement of reality and the local news paper has even published that Bundaberg is the fat and welfare capital of Australia.

Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island, when I was last there, last was the eccentric capital of Australia. Is it still that way or have the eccentrics turned themselves into a tourist attraction??

The wife of the drummer of Midnight Oil had a bikini shop on Magnetic. Is that still existent?

I am assuming you are heading further north and if so I highly recommend The Hole in the Wall which on the chart is Mourillyan Harbour. If you go in there you will wonder how they get ships in there. A great spot for an overnighter, and a great spot for a few days. To get into town you need to hitch hike and most anybody will pick you up. Most likely the driver will offer you a joint and say that before he goes to town he needs to call in somewhere and pick up some more mull.

Once you pass Airlie Beach you are in the "Deep North".

It's an incredibly small world. I met the wife of the drummer of Midnight Oil when I was in Sydney prior to the 79/80? Syd to Hob. She and one of her friends volunteered to show visitors entered in the race around Sydney and they were assigned to our boat.
She was a teacher then and Midnight Oil was touring up the coast in Queensland.

Yeah boty. Maybe not so much of a problem on larger yachts with big beefy rigging but for my 30 footer I think more cons than pros.

PhoenixStar said..
Not going further north this year, too hard getting back until later than I would like and anyway I hear that the coral around Lizzard is in very bad shape. It was bad enough three years ago when I was there last. Yeah, Mourillyan is a bit different. Caught a two mud crabs there with only three claws between them - just right for three people.

Possibly the most difficult stretch when heading south is between Townsville and Bowen. The last time I did it I sailed over to Cape Cleveland in the afternoon from Horseshoe Bay and anchored for the night. Then got an early start so as to make Cape Upstart by evening and avoid Cape Bowling Green.

There is a lot of easting to make on that stretch.

We had an eventful weekend on board hanging around Yorkeys . Had a sail here there with a bit of a troll without luck so we figured we'd head into the creek have lunch and try some bait fishing. While doing so we had a drift fish and my son spotted a blue handline half floating. I was tempted to leave it but my conscience got the better of me about cleaning our environment and I figured with my lack of luck I'll probably get the fishing line around my prop if it's still attached. So we reversed up and retrieved it. It was still connected but with only the bitter end so I started winding it in. It was snagged but the line was strong and refused to break, I got about 50m in pulling the boat along the way. Eventually we came upon a large clump of knotted line which was a relief as I was getting pretty shagged out pulling it all in. The wind was with us but the tide wasn'tand the line was still tight as a guitar string, I was half hoping it would just break. As we came over the top of the snag it released and gave me a moment of reprieve but was'n't broken and slowly became as tight as guitar string again. After some more line retrieved the next snag came up off the bottom I figured I'd be looking at a log very soon.

Hopefully the video works.
www.facebook.com/slammin.ng/videos/10155584630653151/

slammin said..
We had an eventful weekend on board hanging around Yorkeys . Had a sail here there with a bit of a troll without luck so we figured we'd head into the creek have lunch and try some bait fishing. While doing so we had a drift fish and my son spotted a blue handline half floating. I was tempted to leave it but my conscience got the better of me about cleaning our environment and I figured with my lack of luck I'll probably get the fishing line around my prop if it's still attached. So we reversed up and retrieved it. It was still connected but with only the bitter end so I started winding it in. It was snagged but the line was strong and refused to break, I got about 50m in pulling the boat along the way. Eventually we came upon a large clump of knotted line which was a relief as I was getting pretty shagged out pulling it all in. The wind was with us but the tide wasn'tand the line was still tight as a guitar string, I was half hoping it would just break. As we came over the top of the snag it released and gave me a moment of reprieve but was'n't broken and slowly became as tight as guitar string again. After some more line retrieved the next snag came up off the bottom I figured I'd be looking at a log very soon.

Hopefully the video works.
www.facebook.com/slammin.ng/videos/10155584630653151/

It's a big old grouper. Cut it off ASAP they are like 50 year old. Had one in Airlie beach many years back the size of my tender.

slammin said..

southace said..

slammin said..
We had an eventful weekend on board hanging around Yorkeys . Had a sail here there with a bit of a troll without luck so we figured we'd head into the creek have lunch and try some bait fishing. While doing so we had a drift fish and my son spotted a blue handline half floating. I was tempted to leave it but my conscience got the better of me about cleaning our environment and I figured with my lack of luck I'll probably get the fishing line around my prop if it's still attached. So we reversed up and retrieved it. It was still connected but with only the bitter end so I started winding it in. It was snagged but the line was strong and refused to break, I got about 50m in pulling the boat along the way. Eventually we came upon a large clump of knotted line which was a relief as I was getting pretty shagged out pulling it all in. The wind was with us but the tide wasn'tand the line was still tight as a guitar string, I was half hoping it would just break. As we came over the top of the snag it released and gave me a moment of reprieve but was'n't broken and slowly became as tight as guitar string again. After some more line retrieved the next snag came up off the bottom I figured I'd be looking at a log very soon.

Hopefully the video works.
www.facebook.com/slammin.ng/videos/10155584630653151/

It's a big old grouper. Cut it off ASAP they are like 50 year old. Had one in Airlie beach many years back the size of my tender.

Managed to get the hook out and he/she swam away pretty strongly.

It should highlight the danger of losing or leaving tackle unattended, imagine the poor bugger being stuck on a snag till it died..

Just cutting the line would have sufficed. SS hooks only last a couple of days in the fishes mouth before falling out.

Not going to far sitting on a maritime mooring waiting out the blow

Some pics of our last trip south.

Nothwest island

Masthead island

Anchorage at Big Woody island sandy straits

Smoothest wide bay bar crossing

Double island

Out for the weekend on the Channel. Tucked up inside Simpsons Point for the night out of the westerly. Rainbows over the Bruny Island isthmus with Fluted Cape off in the distance.