week report 25-Feb

A lovely few hours was spent on JS on Wednesday afternoon. The weather had been ordinary elsewhere but here at Clareville Beach the southerly flow was cast aloft by the surrounding hills, trees and multimillion dollar homes. There were a few sailboats about. May be its the Wednesday evening races? It didn't look busy enough though I did see an old gaffer with six sailors standing on deck as she motored through moored craft at a decent clip. Odd that was.

The rudder head was measured for windvane mounting. 

   On board I replaced another chain plate which makes the boat feel better, stronger, under my feet. When checking the sails to do a hank audit, the first grab to move the headsail saw it rip to touch. Oops! Put "repair sail" on the list and Google "secondhand headsail for sake". The other headsail was obviously the one that had been furled on the foredeck for some time. It was sun stained and also brittle with age.  Anyway it needed 8 hanks @ $3.20 each. These have since been ordered and my search for a good used headsail reveals a cost of about $500. Another sail forward looks like a mainsail, which is odd. Two shitty jibs and two decent mains, is a lopsided little wardrobe. Its more common to have a worn out main and handful of headsails, the smaller ones commonly only lightly used. 

Down below my attempt to rewire the cabin lights was thwarted by a brief investigation that revealed the little round lights mounted on the bulkhead are actually battery powered. Odder and odder. That would explain why the boat surveyor from a few years ago had trouble getting the cabin lights to work. After returning home I bought an LED strip that can be cut and joined and mounted where needed. I'm thinking of putting these under the side decks to port and starboard. 

To get sailing I just need the headsail repaired and hanks fitted on the other, and I need to check safety gear requirements. I know I'll need to get the ground tackle sorted, I have PFDs and a bucket/pump. There's no working radio yet but I'm not sure of I need one for enclosed waters. 

   Meanwhile at home the Hebridean windvane build is progressing steadily. Like most boat building projects, it moves ahead in stages; a) read plans, b) shock and confusion followed my c) a vague comprehension, d) do some actual cutting and joining e) some resolution occurs before f) self flagellation as the issue which now seems blatantly obvious, g) read plans followed by h) more confusion. Several weeks may be needed yet.

   Elsewhere I listening to  Old Man Sailing podcast and between spurts of realising he knows something's, i am overwhelmed by a sense of him being a guy that loves nothing more than the sound of his own wit and believes that everyone will benefit from hearing it. My lpbr/hate relationship with English people continues. I suppose if ever I get laid up on aged care after dome more sailing, I'll get on that bandwagon too. Fortunately Ive asked my daughter to kill me should I end up in an institution; making it look accidental for her benefit. 

The promise of a seasonal reduction in my work hours is keeping me very happy. Knowing that I have the basics of a solid cruising boat near at hand fuels my motivation to get cruising. My aim is to take many offshore sails, basically out and backs for 24 hours or more on order to test systems in various conditions. From there, a long coastal cruise to test out my abilities to provision and enjoy life aboard for am extended period, as well as my capacity to put miles under the keel. My preference to sail up into SE Asia rather than tackle the Indian Ocean is tempered only by regular reports of violence in Papua New Guinea. There are options to sail east to Vanuatu before going north, skirting PNG waters. All very exciting.