Father of the year!!
Best way to see Vivid. Well done Mick

Quick trip up Pittwater and saw a rather large cruiser hanging out and a odd houseboat with something on top.... otherwise a great day out, early winds and a motor/sail home.

Cabron said..
Quick trip up Pittwater and saw a rather large cruiser hanging out and a odd houseboat with something on top.... otherwise a great day out, early winds and a motor/sail home.

My god Cabron,
Is this the norm in Pittwater? I worry about a houseboat flopping over in a 3' swell let alone have a chopper land on the roof.
Is that your liferaft bracket in front of the mast? It looks neat, was that you?

shaggybaxter said..

Donk107 said..
Hi all

Had a rdo today so went for a sail this afternoon on the Huon

It was overcast but at around 16 degrees so it was pretty pleasant for a Tassie winters day

There wasn't a lot of wind forecast but we probably had around 8 to 10 knots all afternoon and occasionally a bit more

The river was fairly busy (we passed 2 fish farm boats and a seal) but all in all it was a nice relaxing afternoons sail

Regards Don

You guys are making me all twitchy, and it's only been a week!
Good to see I'm not the only one with mast mounted winches, what are they Don, is that headsail and spinnaker?
The reason I ask is that my two kites and headsail halyards are all at the mast, but my staysail halyard and main are run to the cockpit winches. The concept is that in heavy airs, all the halyard work is done from the cockpit ( I still have to go forward to the mast to attach the reef hook if I'm reefing though)

How does your mast/cockpit winch split work?

Hi Shaggy

On my boat the only thing that goes back to the cockpit is the main sheet but I guess the advantage of this is that there is no addition friction as lines go around blocks and through clutches and the head sails are hank on

There are four winches on the combings in the cockpit that are not self tailing

The rear mounted ones are two speeds are used for the head sail sheets and the forward mounted smaller single speeds are used for the spinnaker sheets

Because of the long tiller the crew on the head sail sheets are always behind the helmsman and no one gets in each others way

The winch on the port side of the mast is for the main halyard and the one on the starboard side is for the head sail halyard and spinnaker halyard if needed

Because it is only a 28 footer with a small spinnaker if I am quick hoisting the spinnaker I can get it to the top of the mast in the lee of the head sail without needing to use the winch but if i stuff up I can finish it off with the starboard winch after I have dropped the head sail

It is actually pretty easy for the forward hand (me) as the down haul for the pole goes to the base of the mast so the pole can swing from the side stays to fore stay without having to adjust the down haul and with everything at the mast I don't have to yell out to anyone in the cockpit to adjust anything when end for end gybing the pole

Also when dropping the spinnaker I can feather the spinnaker halyard as it is dropping as the person in the cockpit gathers it in and shoves it down into the cabin

Sail handling and spinnaker packing on mine is a pleasure after doing it for the last few years on Jeff's 34 footer (with oversize sails) and normally if we are racing four on the boat works well with one steering, one on each head sail winch and me up the front tripping over stuff, making bad calls and generally stuffing up

We have used the spinnaker in a race where it was light with only two of us on board but my mate who was steering and on the sheet and brace was pretty busy during launches and drops

Regards Don

How Lydia

Sounds good

Was there any breeze down the river today as it was pretty glassy up here until about 30 mins ago

There is not much moving but at least all the boats in the bay are now hanging in the same direction

I have a mooring in Eggs and Bacon you are welcome to use if you want to at any time

Let me know and I will tell you which one it is

Regards Don

AzureF305 said..
A beautiful day on Sydney Harbour, but no breeze worth speaking of, so I fired up the iron headsail and motored to my favourite spot. Sitting with a cuppa enjoying the view.

Any penguins around there by any chance?

Gusting to 50kts seemed a fantastic day to try the storm jib and two of the three reefs out in the new main sail,
i should of used the third reef but it wasn't set up and I didn't quite expect what I got hit with .
it was with baited breath I watched the rig as the little yacht fought her way through Pittwater , the 50% ballast ratio was pushed to its max.

boty said..

Zzzzzz said

















Gusting to 50kts seemed a fantastic day to try the storm jib and two of the three reefs out in the new main sail,
i should of used the third reef but it wasn't set up and I didn't quite expect what I got hit with .
it was with baited breath I watched the rig as the little yacht fought her way through Pittwater , the 50% ballast ratio was pushed to its max.

great stuff i love going for sail with abit of breeze on you get achance to find out what will happen if you get caught out

Hi Boty exactly I found the sheets to the storm jib where rubbing on the stays to late to change but now I need to rethink for next time, it was very enjoyable though worrying if the rig came down .

Yesterday we took Fusion up the Brisbane River to the city where the council has finished the first of a few pontoons for use in picking up and dropping off people for ....recreational vehicles!
The council deserve applause for an awesome job, previously there were no spots close to the city, and you can tie up for 2 hours without a booking.
Really cool.




We had 24 on board in very light winds, so we put the main up only and motor sailed up and down for a few hours, it still surprises me how the boat seemed to just swallow that many people . On the way back to drop them off it picked up to about 10 knots, enough to get a slightest amount of heel and eliciting squeals from a few of our guests.
I'm just about to kick off from my overnight stay (thanks to Rob and Sal for the berth!) for the delivery home, which'll take about 4 hours and I'm sitting with a coffee listening to one of the main roads into the city clogged in peak hour traffic.
A look down the river in comparison and it's empty, it's like you have it to yourself .
Good times.

Last race of the season on Sunday - crew snapped a great photo of me!

What my erstwhile mate is also not disclosing is the purpose of his voyage!
Something grabled message about a photo shot with 12 models for an shooting an ad.
And this was not going to get out on seabreeze.
It is costing you lunch as Sono portside not to leak to SA.

shaggybaxter said..

lydia said..
What my erstwhile mate is also not disclosing is the purpose of his voyage!
Something grabled message about a photo shot with 12 models for an shooting an ad.
And this was not going to get out on seabreeze.
It is costing you lunch as Sono portside not to leak to SA.

Hi Lydia,
I've eaten at Sono and paid the bills, asking for my firstborn would give you better odds.... oh dear, imagine what JS will say.
And there were only 11 models, and a former miss Australia as one of the judges.
A modicum of concentration on the sailing part was needed...

Edit: Gary, I spoke with council, it appears it was Lord Mayor Quirk's idea. They've also just announced a contract for jet boats leaving from these facilities in the city direct to Moreton Island, trip time of 90 mins. That's impressive time from town, I can do Moreton usually in 90 mins from Manly, but from the city? It's a long river.
Brisbane is going after the tourist market in a big way, and they're thinking of the water. I'm impressed and a bit shocked, but in a good way!

The boys I work with were telling me they are developing Toondah Harbour, with a bit of outcry from the locals.

Lazzz said..

shaggybaxter said..

And there were only 11 models, and a former miss Australia as one of the judges.
A modicum of concentration on the sailing part was needed...

I think we're gonna need some pics!!!

Just for you buddy
All pics and kudos belong to Vogue Cosmetica Academy who put it together, the two girls who run it worked their butts off that day, with girls changing outfits and hairstyles and god knows what else, it was like controlled chaos.
I was just the bus driver...

Phoebe Hang by Ben Graham


Lara Gibson by Chris Dahmen.


Our guests....I won't tell you how much they weighed but we were still 1800kgs short of max tare.


Amy Heller by Ben Graham



VCA Director Rohina and friends! Apparently it is considered good form to tag the girls names and the photog when using their photos hence the real names.

Edit: We were spotted by one of the crew off another boat from the club who was drinking in town, so my name is now officially mud because I didn't invite the 100 extra crew that are now sticking up their hands...sigh.

crustysailor said..
shaggybaxter

shaggyhollywood from now on.

Hi Crusty,
I was concentrating on the river traffic and sailing /driving the boat so much I kinda feel like I'm playing it up a bit, as I hardly remember any of it.
Doh!

wow shaggy you might have convinced me to buy aplastic boat