Fishing breakthrough

Whiting at last!
They eluded us at Two People's Bay but Dillon Bay is our new most favourite spot.Yum Yum!

Fisherman genetic heritage finally wins through 7 King George Whiting WOW!

Leg 7 - Wray Bay - Dillon Bay. Two seasons in one day.

Let's get the hell out of Dodge! Rocking and rolling all night long without let up made our minds up. We wouldn't be hanging about. The people in the salmon shacks and the mystery campers that set up near the boat ramp right on dusk would be in for a shock to find the bay empty when they woke.
We left in a low blanketing cloud at stupid o'clock (... that's 0500). Seems a common effect on this south coast. We headed for Dillon Bay, the next one along in pursuit of a calmer anchorage. The cruising guide or is that the cursing guide, described 3 options in Dillon Bay. Since the wind was coming from where we wanted to go and keen to get there ASAP we told the Iron Donkey to clipity clop.

The seas were very confused. Breeze from the SE and swells from the SW. We could hardly wait to cover the 20nm and well pleased to get it over with  before lunch. The waters as we passed Cape #6 or is that 7 - Cape Knob were likened by B1 over the radio to being in a washing machine agitate cycle. The Bloke said getting past was like being released from a maw. The ocean was immediately easier.

Of the 3 possible anchorages in Dillon Bay identified by the cruising guide, the most Easterly one called  'Little Boat Harbour' was reckoned to be the most versatile offering protection from the SE (today) as well as from the SW (tomorrow).

Who comes up with these names? It's actually a tiny steeply sloping beach probably caused by surge and protected by a small headland. There is steep a gravel road (around 40deg)leading to a small car park. It's possible to launch very small craft from the beach -think very small dinghies, canoes, kayaks and the inevitable scubie doo. I have a hunch we are going to come across innumerable 'Boat Harbours' in our travels and they will rival the number of Five Mile Creeks that caravaners would encounter.

Call to the cats - get over here fast, the anchorage is a 'Peach with 5 bars' - of internet cover that is!

Anyway, it's a very popular spot and by the time we got here to perform our weird anchoring dances (the cats seemed to like sampling multiple spots again before settling) there were plenty of hardy locals swimming, snorkeling etc and the clouds had largely burnt off and the sun was warm and shining.

View out across small reef and protective headland from Small Boat Harbour. Do they mean for small boats or the harbour?

Seeing as we are once again in a rolly spot however and on anchor watch for the night; as pretty a spot as this is, I think we could be moving at dawn ahead of strong SW winds predicted for Tuesday.

Leg 6 -Two People's Bay to Groper Bluff approx 50nm

Leaving for Groper Bluff was an on again off again affair. The Bloke agonized over the weather predictions. We'd leave Sunday, on the other hand Monday would be OK too. The others preferred the outlook for Monday but on Saturday the Bloke once again preferenced Sunday.

Done: 0500 set off and this time we'd prepare better with water, snacks and be fully thermalled up. We'd be well prepared just like we would if we were taking on the 10 hr Mandurah to Bunbury trip.

Summer sailing in the Southern Ocean

Astro Boy? Yetti? No, just hate being cold. Thank you Mr Musto

Plan A was to motor for the first couple of hours out to Mermaid Point/ Bald Island passage and charge up the batteries by which time the wind should not only swing to the SW it should also come up and allow us a gentleman's sail upwind.  Too good... It worked out just like that and we frequently reached boat speeds of 7 and 8 knots in the 10-15kn breeze even as we passed the more confused seas off Cape #5 - Cape Riche. We reached Groper Bluff at the head of Wray Bay, well before 1500 giving us ample time to anchor and settle in for the night.

Bald Island at 07:00, 10nm from Two People's Bay and there were 4 tiny fishing dinghies there already. Talk about keen!

In the end we didn't anchor at Groper Bluff at all but further up the bay at the imaginatively named "Boat Harbour". This was rather a grand name for a dirt track, boat ramp and a couple of salmon fishing shacks.

The cats had already beaten us in, conditions really suiting their sailing needs and Urchin had it's "screecher" deployed first on one hull and later in the other to great effect. Oh yes, we were racing as usual. The cats were sampling the anchorage at Groper Bluff as we rounded the headland but it was in 7m of water with high cliff walls and a noticeable roll as the SW swells wrapped around so we headed instead for the "Boat Harbour". The cats were still sampling every anchorable metre of Groper Bluff by the time we'd returned to make a comparison. It wasn't on as far as we were concerned. Back we went to Boat Harbour  and by the time we'd returned after our reconnaissance the multitude of 4 wheel drive vehicles parked along the beach out towards the Beaufort Inlet replete with big boy toys such as quad bikes, scoobie doos and trail bikes had departed leaving only the people occupying the salmon shacks. It wasn't too long before the cats gave up on Groper Bluff too and continued their anchoring antics all around us. We must have made a fascinating sight. It's probably not common for a yacht to arrive, let alone a yacht and 2 catamarans.

Urchin at rest at last with the Beaufort Inlet in the background just down the beach from Boat Harbour.

Disappointingly, this location also proved rolly with the breeze in one direction and the swells opposite. Dang! At least we were in 3m of water and less formidable looking lee shore than at Groper Bluff.  So to ensure some sleep, we took turns at anchor watch.

In every other respect, it was a perfect day.

Zen - when skipper and boat become one

Looking out towards the entrance to Two People's Bay, the Bloke noticed a small yacht tacking around the Drunken Sailor reef and heading into the bay. "It's Zen" he declared. Whatever was he on about?  We've seen a small yacht of around 20' (max) called Zen on nearly every Rottnest trip. I've even seen it midwinter in Thompsons Bay. It's pretty low tech and I'm not sure that it even has an outboard.

"No, it's definitely Zen" he said, reaching for the binoculars. He'd spotted it in Albany Harbour. Who would have thought? And he was right.

B1 and Maree went over for a chat after the skipper had attached the boat to a scabby looking mooring float. He deserved the rest!

We've been advised to avoid lone sailors so we thought B1and Maree very courageous. B1 utilised his quieter interrogation skills and learned the key points that the skipper's name was Maurice and he had built Zen himself. The weird motiff over the coach roof was to disguise a 2nd grade paint job and that he was rather surprised that he wasn't at Rottnest as would be normal for him at this time. Surely he'd noticed that he'd turned to port rather than reaching across to Rottnest from metropolitan Perth!

Zen is just an extension of Maurice's being. They are as one. Note Urchin in the background to give a sense of scale

Awesome sailor this make no mistake! After catching his breath be turned the bow for the head of the Bay and sailed off around the point, presumably returning to Albany. R E S P E C T

The awesome awards

Our intended stay of 5 nights at PRSC became 7 and was hardly a rest. Under the careful direction of B5 we all had work to do and our hired car/shopping trolly should have earned frequent shopper points at Bunnings, chandlers, outdoorsy type shops and timber yards around town. B5 should most certainly get a spotters fee too for directing B1,The Bloke and Steve here, there and everywhere. They came back to the jetty day after day with various trophies. The dockets to be entered into expense spreadsheets piled up.
Steve was a real champ doing most of the driving - even all the trips to the laundromat and supermarket with the girls were good-naturedly chauffeured by him. He had the pleasure too of answering the police at the booze bus road block that his last drink was about ..... "Mmmmm...7 years ago". That's how long he's been teetotal!
So, did this qualify him for the Awesome award? No. B1 was the first recipient.
While we were all gone on one of many provisioning missions, B1 was left alone with B5 on the jetty. By the time we'd got back, B1 had been for a joyride in B5's light aircraft. They'd even overflown Two People's Bay where we were next headed! Yup, that was AWESOME. 

Cabin chaos as the shopping piled up and the cooking for Xmas began

The dark art of anchoring part II

Christmas morning began with a trip to shore to locate a phone signal. Easy Tiger were already there pacing about seeking that elusive thing. We stood on park benches, we stood on timber posts waiving phone handsets skywards like a strange religious ritual. Going hands free meant a handset could be held higher above our heads for better effect. Some of you got a call. Some missed out. Sorry if is you!

We all returned to our boats satisfied that we'd done the best we could and set about checking our anchors A G A I N! It was meant to blow up again. Easy Tiger had already established the day before that they were hooked up onto something BIG - like the mother of all mooring chains! They wouldn't be moving any time soon but Oh! Oh! Steve was all suited up, flippers and goggles on and dipping into the water to investigate. Sensing problems, 2 dinghies and crew presented to assist in a flash.
Steve admitted that he had not seriously dived before and in any event couldn't hold his breath long enough to make progress. Urchin's dinghy raced to get air tanks, we raced off to collect diving weights, underwater torch and diving gloves. Steve was determined to get the job done himself even though a diving novice. We all stared down into the water watching Steve kicking his flippers wildly in the air as he went down. His son Luke,  aka Captain Pugwash, an accomplished diver would have been proud. Our tension was short lived. Steve returned to the surface in a short time having freed all the ground tackle from the old mooring chains below. Phew, that was a lucky break and for his troubles, Steve won the Awesome Award for the day - he too would be wearing the "green jacket" and silly hat.
For good measure, Easy Tiger have just added diving tanks to their shopping list. Here we go again!

Steve now adorned in Awesome regalia of the Green Jacket and Silly Hat as we play the Meerkat manor at Xmas lunch.

The spirit of Christmas

The Bloke knows how much I obsess about Christmas and since we were to be in Two People's Bay at least until after Boxing Day, it was terrific to return to the boat from a shore excursion with Maree to discover that my solar lights had been hoisted up a couple of halyards. Our anchor light would give the star effect as if at the top of a tree. Fantastic.  The arrival of the lights at the boat the previous year, as a 'never to be missed bargain' from Bunnings post-Xmas sale was met with derision and try as I might, no occasion seemed important enough to soften the Bloke's attitude, until now anyway. What a fun way to brighten up our anchorage at night.

Tidy paths on the reserve

It turns out that Two People's Bay is a nature reserve with a heritage trail, visitors centre (very, very  interesting but the Bloke dragged me away), boat ramp, spotless gas barbecues and spotless amenities block. We'd observed people walking up the hills and popping up at what must have been look-outs. My trip to shore with Maree confirmed this was the case. Everything is immaculate. We couldn't help feeling that the custodians of Rottnest could visit this site plus the Big Four holiday park at Middleton Beach for a meaningful lesson. Forget lavish overseas junkets, the people of the Great Southern have nailed it! To keep the public from tramping willy nilly through the bush, designated and well gravelled paths have been created. Where necessary on steep gradients, steps have been made with small logs that have been staked into place. There was an interesting mauve bottlebrush that I'd not seen before that we were able to look at close up. From the ocean the large clumps of this bottle brush on the slopes gave a 'heatherish' look. On our way back, our progress was delayed the appearance of a large metre long monitor lizard that ambled along the path ahead of us for around 10 minutes before at last ducking off. We were a bit alarmed that it might take fright and try to climb us or something: bungarra style. It looked like the Lilliput version of a Komodo Dragon so we just kept our distance and wondered how long before it would relinquish it's occupation of OUR path.

As usual nobody reads signs! 4Wheel drive vehicles are parked all along the beach.

We were satisfied that there was quite a lot we could do and see in the bay and after the hectic week in Albany we were glad to think we could catch our breath, so long as the wind didn't blow in with an 'N' in it. We always had an early indication if the day would be mild or inclement because the fishermen came when the weather would be fair and were a 'no show' on the bad days. Christmas Eve was a 'no show' day.

Our boys like to taunt me at census time "So Mum" they begin "...where did you say you came from on the forms?". OK, if your Mum is Polish and your Dad is too, then that makes me 100% even if I'm UK born (and for the record boys, that makes you 50% Polish so you can quit taunting me!!). Our Christmas traditions then are somewhat different from our travel companions. Urchin and Easy Tiger for now, are our kin and were about to be introduced to what goes on at Christmas Eve albeit with a couple of adaptations. But by hell and high water there WOULD  at least be barszcz, rollmops, ogurki, rye bread and mizeria as a minimum! 12 Courses would be unreasonable and pączki (dohnuts) and Makowiec would definitely be beyond capacity.

Weather predictions counter indicated a normal Wigilia commencing with the sighting of the first evening star, so a luncheon start it would have to be. I can compromise. To make ourselves feel better we all nodded at one another when we tried to be dismissive with the comment that "Christmas is just another day....Isn't it?". Well no, it's not!

The previous day we were treated to a flypast by B5! We all happened to be aboard Zofia at the time. Rushing up on deck to acknowledge the aerial visitation heralded by a growling engine overhead, we delivered a Mexican waive to reciprocate! This was then followed by txt from B5 asking why the heck were all anchored so far from shore? It turns out that the depth drops off very rapidly and the arrival of a local and beautiful version of the African Nile called Sebastina demonstrated the point.

We had an early start on Xmas Eve. Cooking, cooking, cooking. We'd invited everyone for a more or less traditional Polish Christmas Eve meal. While I was flapping about with food prep, the Bloke was zigzagging about the Bay (in the now pur r r r ring dinghy- Yup! outboard definitely fixed now) with the hand-held depth gauge checking for better pozzies. (Dale, we bought one just like yours and it's our new most favourite thing!) Where to go, where to go?.. Decision: to shift or to stay put? At least we knew that the anchor was set where we were. Mmmmm pondering, what about that Drunken Sailor reef to our lee? I was getting flash backs of anchoring 2 days earlier.  Anguishing. The weed, the weed!! By 10:00 the breeze was freshening and the Bloke decided to up my complication factors and relocate to a new anchoring position, to a lovely looking blue patch discernible with our new S U P E R R R  sunglasses. (Mum, the Maui Jims have proved to be great and worth the $'s.. a good spend of my birthday pineapples). The Bloke had picked his target and in contrast to the anchoring effort of a couple of days previous, we performed the dark art of anchoring without incident or unkind words. A perfect illustration of the adverse effect of tension. I was back in the galley in a flash.

Urchin had also decided to move in closer. But then again perhaps not. They sampled multiple anchoring spots, first here and then there and for all the world appeared eventually to be even further out than they'd been in the first place. What the heck! With the soundings fresh in his mind, the Bloke decided to intervene and escorted them into a nice sandy patch where they eventually locked on to the bottom. It was great pre-meal entertainment for Easy Tiger and ourselves. Guys - not laughing at you, laughing with you... honest!

As it turned out we had to entertain in the cockpit aboard Zofia so we could all do an anchor watch. The wind whipped up across Two People's Bay sometimes gusting to 30 and 40 knots in bright sunshine with hardly a cloud. How odd.  Odder still was the wind gauge we used. The Blokes jeans got drenched during the escort work and were still pegged up and flapping when we were all assembled. One inflated leg seemed to calibrate with the wind instrument's reading of 20knots, two legs 30knots and full legs and seat was 35-40knots. Easy entertained by this stage with only a cautious amount of alcohol on board, we roared laughing with each inflation thus masking any underlying nervousness about what was occurring at the end of our anchor chains. All we knew was that it was blowing dogs off chains.

But wait! Easy Tiger was moving oddly. Steve and Leanne were sent off to quell everyone's anxiety. Inspection revealed they were snagged on some GIANT chain. Possibly the legacy of a long  abandoned mooring. They were attached to the bottom in a manner they'd not anticipated. The chances of this happening as slim as a lotto win and it would have to be a job for calmer conditions...probably tomorrow so with nothing else to be done we ate and were merry.

Such good sports... they ate all the weird food with good grace.

Good grief - that outboard again!

Good grief? Is there such a thing? I mean, grief is just bad isn't it?
We left Bunbury with high hopes that the outboard motor was now a working model. But nope, by Quindalup a new issue emerged and we could only be hopeful that the 'boys own fun' had by The Bloke and Steve dismantling our outboard motor on the lawn at the Dunsborough Bay Yacht Club  would diagnose and maybe resolve any remaining issues. Alas, happiness in this department was intermittent and random. It was all good for a minute then there was grief.
Next stop - Albany. This grief must end!
We can now report that the carburetor and fuel line clean-out done in Albany and now on test in Two People's Bay over the last couple of days, is a SUCCESS. The motor starts on the first tug - no more outboard motor envy for me and regular ULP is no longer on our shopping list to be sure, to be sure.

The Bloke seems well pleased with his One-Tug outboard!

Two Peoples Bay - a short hop

Well how about that! Just 20 Nautical miles and you fail to prepare correctly. Several disagreements some anxious moments dehydration, hunger and stress. You know it is not the expected that knocks you about it is the assumption that it will be easy. Nothing can be taken for granted on the ocean, Note to self- ALWAYS prepare as if your life depends upon it, because, you know it DOES.

Leg 5 - Albany to Two People's Bay

Another diamond day presented when we finally motored away from the jetty at PRSC- I suspect BTW that jetties are to be avoided. They are hard to leave AND you spend money like a maniac while there. The day was just gorgeous, by far the bluest sky of any in the preceding week. B5 was there to help with our lines and waive us away. How lucky we have been to have met him, his cruising partner wife - Maxine, and one of their daughter's - Trina. They have been so generous with their time, stories, help, advice and even produce from their gardens!

B5 was on the jetty to ensure we got away without hitch and to bid us fair winds.

B5 had one last tip. In Albany, what comes after 2 rainy days? Answer- Monday!

Albany from PRSC. Pretty as a postcard.

We were only half way across the bay when a light breeze arrived justifying our decision to delay our departure from 6am to 8am. Perfect, a bit of sailing at last for a mere 20 nm trip round to Two People's Bay. A similar distance in fact as to Becher Point on our old bit of pond. The trip would be nothing like it though and a kind reminder about RESPECT.

We had a fabulous 10 -15 knots most of the way, some in the relative protection of King George Sound as we slipped in behind Michelmas Island and over the shallows behind what probably represented a former connection to the mainland. Wow, the water color was stunning.
Once we moved in the direction of Cape Vancouver (Cape number 4) things became a bit more energetic. The wind was unexpectedly on the nose and lots of tacking was needed to get around the Cape. In fact we had 2 goes at laying the Cape as the 'Cape effect' played havoc with the wind direction and sea state. All three crews underestimated and messed up this rounding to some extent. Easy Tiger finished up being the first around though; the Bloke marveling at how close she was sailing to the wind. Doh! Of course 3 boats traveling in the same direction - it's a race. 


The cats then proceeded quite close to the cliffs while we zigzagged further out, always on a decent heel making me feel that maybe a cup of tea would be enough and that food could wait seeing as this was really meant to be a short hop, wasn't it?. Nope - 6 hours is quite long enough for quite a lot of food usually to be consumed. Thinking it would be over soon, we sailed on. Note to self: Provision the same for 20nm as you would for 200nm. Make sure there's plenty of water to hand and sandwiches and food other than just nuts and snack bars.

Leanne points to our location. Thanks, here is one we made earlier.

But what about those cats - where were they going -surely not behind Coffin Island, in between it and the cliffs! Under a suggestion from B5 with his local knowledge, he'd encouraged B1 and B4 to traverse the narrow 'Coffin Pass'. Too shallow for us of course, so B5 hadn't mentioned it to us but its a seriously narrow gap with not a lot of water over some of the reef. We've yet to see the video but I expect it was awesome experience. There has been some joking to suggest that fenders might have been nice.

Once we'd reached the 'Drunken Sailer' rocks (a true name and not invented by me) it was time to take down the sails and turn into the lovely Two People's Bay. Darn it! Couldn't furl the main sail. It was stuck again, just like it had after we'd rounded Leeuwin. We had intended to fix this before leaving the jetty. We forgot; got too busy and distracted with other stuff and missed opportunities of calm times to sort out this gremlin. Note to self: The value of lists. How had this been missed?
By now fatigued, the Bloke had to clip on the harness and go up front to investigate. The main halyard was lowered an inch, the sail poked back into the mast and then furled away. Problem 'sorted' again for now. We were now tired from the longer than expected passage with lots of going-about and winching, hungry and a bit rattled. Our first attempt at anchoring over the dread weed and hard sand does not bear describing, suffice to say that the language was unusually colorful. And just who did the Bloke think he was talking to anyway? Certainly not the best Deck Hand you could wish for...she was missing in action and replaced by a jabbering wreck!

The dark art of anchoring

Trip planning for a Saturday departure from Albany to Two People's Bay was adjusted to Sunday. B1 and Steve had an overnight delivery from Yacht Grot arriving on Saturday morning. B5 had by this time taken us under his wing and his counseling on the dark art of anchoring in local waters pointed to Easy Tiger's Plough anchor being of suspect use. B1, in fraternal cat anxiety, also thought his Sarca might not make the grade. The attack negotiator (Leanne) was summonsed and secured a price of $495 for each of two 25Kg Delta anchors. Cha-Ching! The entries on expenses spreadsheets are g r o w i n g! Not ours so much in this instance but OMG our Delta is smaller than that, will it be sufficient... ? 
Oh Oh! What now?
Anchor envy!

The Earl of Spencer - Thursday

Who the....?
Actually not who, but where would be an appropriate question. Albany is full of royalty references - King George Sound, Princess Royal Harbour, Earl Street, Duke Street etc... And at the corner of Earl and Spencer Streets, high on the hill with views across the bay is an old world English style pub called the Earl of Spencer. Our friends (since we were all teenagers) Sandi and Hud came across from Denmark to have lunch with us and recommended this friendly pub for a traditional pub lunch. We ate like Queens and Earls and then backed up the right royal feasting with coffee and cake at Limeburners Distillery which was on our way back to the Yacht Club. Our cake sampling plates seemed to be a spread of very cake left in the cabinet so a request was made for a "doggie bag"- the rest of the crew would definitely enjoy the balance we thought.  The grinning waitress cheerily filled 2 little containers, added a couple of squirts of cream for good measure and drew a smile face on each lid. Wow, we left grinning like kids with a trophy smuggled beneath our coats. By now the Princess Royal Harbour, the sky and the gap in between were an indistinguishable grey. Albany's 18mm of rain that day, pretty much arrived as we were leaving.

Hud claims that he and the nation depicted on is T-shirt are declining at the same rate!

FYI the distillery is really worth a visit. They make whiskey in particular, but also a couple of varieties of gin and other liqueurs. They had some of their whiskey in custom urn-like bottles with pulled glass masted tall ships inside. Stunning; you'd want to buy it even if it were rocket fuel - which I'm sure it's not!

Roy, Jean, Sandi, Hud and the Bloke

On the way back to the yacht club we dropped in to see Sandi's Mum and her partner Roy. Roy races model yachts, and was very keen to come aboard Zofia. The purpose of the visit was to invite him. It also gave us the opportunity to see Roy's models which were lovingly detailed with an incredible level of finish. All the finesse he used in creating Sandi's grandfather clock were on show in his models. Very impressive.

Roy and one of his model racing yachts

The Bloke and I hope to catch up with Sandi and Hud again on the West Coast of South Australia in March. They will be in the area for other reasons and agreed that from what they had so far seen of it on their 6 week trip around Australia, it was lovely and worthy of a revisit. Hud's explanation in support of only taking 6 weeks to tour the continent by road is that he wasn't actually discovering it! A get-together after our Bight crossing is a great objective.
Our cake trophies were enthusiastically accepted as a dessert offering aboard Urchin in the evening. B1 and Maree have a similar problem with their Waeco freezer as we do with our Engles. The plug to the boat is a tad loose (on the Bloke's attention list). The full-to-capacity freezer aboard Urchin had become merely a fridge overnight after having been inadvertently knocked, so Maree spent the day converting raw meat into cooked meat and we were enlisted to help eat some of it. The balance of the 18mm of rain was delivered while we did so and getting on and off the boats to the jetty was not for the feint hearted and luckily our centre of gravity, by this time, had shifted to below the belt.

B1, B2, B4 and B5

To be clear, the name Brian must have been very popular once! Brians keep popping up everywhere. Our own trio of boats already account for 2 plus a proxy. Here they are.

This is B1 sporting his new 'Sea Dog' beard with Maree (Urchin)

B2 (the Bloke) and me.

This is Leanne and B4 -actually Steve, but we need some simplicity here! (Easy Tiger)

We were greeted by a few club members when we arrived on the collector jetty at Princess Royal Sailing Club in Albany (Tel 08 9844 403 E office@prsc.com.au). 3 sailing vessels probably don't all arrive at once too often, so we did create some interest. Everyone was very welcoming and one in particular. He'd cruised before, owned multiple boats over the years including a Fontaine Pajot catamaran and was therefore particularly drawn to B1 and Maree on Urchin. He offered a gate key since the office would not be available until the morning, and to come the next day with his trailer so that we could go to a local garage to get fuel using our Jerry cans. We thought we would be able to get fuel at the Albany Marina at the foot of the main street OR at Emu Point but we were informed we'd have to call for a truck to deliver it. Brilliant offer immediately accepted!
B5 has been unbelievably helpful arriving at 8:30 the very next morning as promised! He watched as will filled lots of Jerries - Zofia alone accounted for 4 (around 80litres). He smiled wryly,  noting that we are after all, cruisers! B5 even took the Bloke to a Suzuki dealership to hopefully resolve, once and for all, our outboard mysteries. These are now thought to be debris in the fuel lines. After buying a fuel tank for the dinghy, the Bloke thought nothing of running the small in-motor tank dry and then switch to the new big one. Doh! Mistake. The bottom of the in-motor tank looks to have been full of debris clogging the fuel delivery and allowing the motor to fire up OK albeit not on the first pull, but then stop as soon as it was put into gear and often even before that. Ultimately, the motor would get flooded and the Bloke get an even bigger blister on his motor pulling hand. So much unhappiness.  We are hopeful that this is the end of our troubles in this department. The chaps at G and M Marine were truly helpful and friendly and spoke very knowingly, telling us their care plan. Yes, I'm feeling confident!
Our new best friend..... what is his name? B5, yes another Brian and that's no bull!

The Princess Royal Sailing Club established 1909

An update on the outboard: Verdict, yes fuel line problem but more particularly the fuel itself. The fuel had calcified. Advice given: Fuel for outboards should not be more than 2 months old and it's best to use Premium unleaded. The additives in regular ULP calcify and create white powdery stuff.

Two of our favourite things

These 2 Rosti Mepal bowls were an unbelievably practical gift from Viv and Emma once they realised that our new passion was 'the boat'. The red section with the thumb handles are plastic while the white inserts are ceramic. The lids in the foreground clip on firmly to keep the contents 'in' during transport up the companionway and during windy conditions. Flyaway food.... not a good look! They were intended I think for microwaveing.
These bowls get used daily and often more than once. Thanks guys, they are a gift that keeps on giving us pleasure!

The shipping news

The night sector of  Leg 4 - Quindalup to Albany was far from being a sleepy part of the passage. Easy Tiger and Urchin, despite having lagged behind us a bit for the run down the Capes, remained in close proximity once we rounded Leeuwin. Satisfied that we'd made good time and would meet our objective of rounding the Capes in daylight, it was OK to slow down and slip round more or less as a group. We stayed within visual contact of one another for the remainder of the journey which proved helpful when Urchin noticed that Easy Tiger's anchor was in the water (whoops), and supportive when Easy Tiger noticed that we had come to a halt with the Bloke up on deck fiddling about with the in-mast furling or when Easy Tiger announced problems with their Port engine. Had we been actually sailing more than motoring the disparate wind angle requirements between ourselves as a mono hull and the catamarans would have ensured a greater separation, like when we traveled with Urchin to Shark Bay. We would leave together; arrive together but not see one another in between. The downside to our proximity was that Urchin kept triggering an AIS collision alarm that we seemed not to be able to permanently disable. Endless beeping and acknowledging on the console was doing our head in so we switched off the audible alarm. Note to self: Find out how to halt/modify audible AIS alarm settings for selected targets only.
Easy Tiger haven't yet commissioned their AIS as they are still waiting for a MMSI number from AMSRA. Leanne only just completed her Marine Radio Operators course which qualifies her for this identification number, on the eve of departure from Bunbury. Obtaining the number, although requested with "urgent" written on it and "about to sail around Leeuwin" failed to trigger any speedier release (it is only a government department after all) so ET would need to rely on their Radar and information from us, Urchin and their Ship Finder app if internet coverage was available. As it was, Urchin's AIS malfunctioned after we turned east to the extent that they were emitting a signal but only receiving one from us and no other vessels. Additionally we had determined during our Capes stretch that there was a lot of inconsistencies in VHF transmissions between the boats. We'd selected Channel 77 but we often could not hear Urchin, nor they us and Easy Tiger would need to relay. Sometimes the combination of who could hear whom changed. Mostly we could hear everyone but they couldn't hear us. This was sometimes happening when we could actually see the other boats. Weird. And so it was that we tucked in together to ensure Zofia could share the shipping news -AIS targets - as we entered the shipping highway around this part of the coast. As if this junction between two oceans is not complicated enough!
With the audible alarm off the Bloke nearly missed noticing the freighter that was approaching from the stern (behind) of our group. A trap for young players. Note to self: Remember you can be run down from behind or in front. Oops. Luckily, Urchin's AIS was still working at that time and the heads up came from them. The Bloke was quickly on the radio Channel 16 to the Glorious Peony en route to Albany with a boat speed of 14knots to our puny 6. "Glorious Peony, Glorious Peony, Glorious Peony this is the yacht Zofia,  yacht Zofia do you copy? Over". Silence. Message repeated but more anxiously this time. We are on the clock. Radio comes alive. "This Grorious Peony, Grorious Peony. What you? ". "Glorious Peony, we are a sailing vessel and we will pass you to port" . "This Grorious Peony you want us go port?". "This Grorious Peony, what course you want we go?". Doh! flash backs of Shark Bay trip again. Clock ticking, distance closing. "Glorious Peony, this is the yacht Zofia. Negative. Please hold course and heading, WE will alter course to allow YOU to pass to port." Hoping that the little oriental radio operator understood clearly, the Bloke quickly suggested Urchin and Easy Tiger adjust their course immediately to avert any risk of being run down. Phew! Later, when we passed the Albany harbour wharf on the way into the Princess Royal Sailing Club we saw the Glorious Peony in all its glory at the close proximity we had earlier averted.
The night passage settled for a while. Radio contact was then kept to a minimum except for the 3 hourly scheds to allow for sleeping crew .
The Bloke was now spooked by having nearly missed the Glorious Peony's sneak-up from behind. He also felt a responsibility to the other boats who were 'flying blind' as it were, to provide the shipping information. Urchin's AIS showed only one vessel - no help , it was us. There was one vessel that was particularly catching the Bloke's attention. Is was still 4 hours away (44nm x 11knots) but it was well north and inshore of the other 2 lanes of shipping. One eastbound the other westbound. What the hell was it doing there all on its own? It was westbound and for all the world using the Cow and Calf rocks some 12 Nm offshore, as way points. We had already pinched ourselves inshore having realized that the 60m contour seemed to be the favoured track for all the shipping. Oddly the Bloke had selected the same for our potential course.  Those way points were abandoned pretty quickly. Note to self: When selecting way points near shipping channels, check AIS or Ship Finder in case there is a match.
The raymarine nav console was stabbed by a lot of fast and furious finger pushes to change map magnification, zoom in, zoom out, assess routes, potential course intersections etc... What to do? Normally you pass to port. That would push us out into the shipping lane proper. not a favourable option. What to do to stay safe? 
The Bloke hatched the following plan. If we steered towards land our course would intersect the container ship's. They'd probably get some sort of alarm from that (and if continued would have us running ashore near Broken Inlet).  He hoped to attract the navigator's attention and encourage them to reconsider their heading. The Bloke radioed his kittens. The girls were on watch. "In 30 minutes alter your heading to 90", he instructed. Nearest time of contact was still 2 hours. Watchful waiting followed and the Bloke wasn't handing over the watch to me for now. Radio conversation spluttered as each crew looked at their own Nav consoles.... what about Cow and Calf rocks? Are we planning to past them to port or starb'd. "We'll pass them to port". Shortly, the Bloke on checking the AIS for the umpteenth time was able to confirm that the rogue freighter had altered from 280 to 277 meaning that we would not intersect courses, our signal had worked and once it had passed we could return to our earlier plot. 
I was all eyes when the the Cow and Calf rocks emerged in the gloom to port. The sky was totally clouded over at a low level but slightly back-lit by an almost full moon. We slid by on a glassy ocean. From what I could see in the dim light these two rock, one larger than the other, look very smooth and rounded like two dumplings or bovine backs. A few more calls were made to Urchin to come across to us and Easy Tiger, who by this time,were almost hugging our stern.  Urchin was still hanging out fairly wide when what looked like a floating block of flats chugged past barely 1nm from Urchin's position. 
Satisfied that there was unlikely to be further 'excitement', the Bloke took his break knowing that there would be no more shipping news for me to worry about during my watch....so sweet!

Bald Head on approach to Albany

Still Bald Head

The priest

Advice given to the Bloke on the topic of fishing included the use of a Priest to deliver a fish its last rights. Heading such advice I unpacked a particularly handsome jarrah rolling pin from among our homewares destined for storage,  a birthday gift years earlier from my brother, and placed it in the box labeled 'For the Boat'. That is why we have this hefty item of hardware on board and more practical than a useless piece of 4x4.
After an extended passage, in this case only 2 days but still a long way, the Bloke is compelled to wash the boat. In fact, any day is a good boat washing day be it by means of a bucket or more of sea water or via a hose. That is to say, according to the Bloke it is.
Giving in to the impulse once more, the Bloke was nearly introduced to the priest today. Enthusiasm eclipsed caution AGAIN and the hatches weren't checked AGAIN.  A phone call to Lucas was interrupted by a beeping warning signal from the gas detector. There is a sensor beneath the oven. It was floating in 2 cm of water. There is a hatch above the stove...... You can guess the rest.
Until the sensor is dried out the gas stove won't work. We are on cold rations for now and no cups of hot tea. The message might sink in by means more potent than I could ever deliver and the priest can be spared its duty for another day!

As it happened

The trip from Quindalup (Dunsborough) definitely qualifies in the Diamond Days department.
With so much apprehension about this sector of the journey we were quite keyed up about leaving. The yacht Annie which had left on the same mission not 4 days before, was returning from a hammering around the Capes. The Southern Ocean was unkind and they decided it was no place for them. Almost the sum of all fears materializing. Smashing into 30 knot headwinds in a heavy sea we hoped would not be what we were signing up for. Our forecasts certainly did not indicate such an outcome but you never know with any certainty. So the attempts to retire early in preparation for the 0200 departure time were unsuccessful.  The Bloke lay listless on the seats in the cockpit while I remained below in the same state. Around 11pm having abandoned hopes for easy sleep we saw the lights on Annie's mast bob around the headland in search of the sanctuary of the anchorage in Quindalup. The Bloke grabbed a torch to signal that someone had spotted them. The flashing was returned and Annie  approached initially searching for the mooring that they had left a few days earlier. Exhausted and unsuccessful, Annie was assisted to a suitable near mooring by the Bloke illuminating one for them. Job done. Relief was palpable across the glassy calm bay both from Annie that had got back and from us that they'd made it. Phew!
We were pretty prompt letting go the mooring. Urchin asked to be allowed out first as they wanted to use Easy Tiger and Zofia as beacons to pass between and miss any obstacles. The race committee has this noted. There was a small kerfuffle on Easy Tiger as a hatch handle came off in Leanne's hand while closing all the hatches prior to departure. Inventively, gaffer tape on was employed to secure the hatch. Tomorrow 5 minute aroldite will make a permanent fix. In no time we were off. The moon was still up and and only 4 days from being full. The sky was crystal clear and we were treated to a show from the Geminoid Meteor Shower. Quite dramatic. The moon set behind the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse as we entered open waters. So this was IT!
The Bloke had been planning this trip for eons on the iPad from the comfort our bed in the apartment and suddenly we were acting it all out, how weird! The trip plan was to get around the Capes during daylight. Leaving at 0200 gave us 2 hours to get to Naturaliste for the first pink of daybreak and he chose to motor there ensuring that batteries would all be fully charged in readiness for all the nav gear, radar and AIS to be up - and for hot water so we could shower on the way (the Bloke's idea). How's that for optimism... Time for a shower on the way?
Naturally, because we were 3 boats, we were racing and we got to Cape Naturaliste  earlier than bargained for and found ourselves immediately breasting ocean swells and very little wind. More motoring. The iron donkey had a big work out in tandem with one sail for stability for a fair chunk of time between the Capes and we were sufficiently close to shore to be able to make out the various iconic townships best known for their surf; Meelup, Yallingup, Gracetown, Cowaramup, Margaret River was an important landmark. The Bloke and I had decided that although we were experiencing a wind direction with an 'S' in it, Margarets would be our assessment point if to return and try another day or keep going. Front of mind was the pounding that Annie took. The Bloke from his surfing experience along this coastline, believed that conditions for 'here' were pretty much as good and mild as could be expected. We would press on and we'd reached this marker point several hours earlier than allowed for, meaning that Leeuwin would be a much earlier rounding too.
We reached Leeuwin and rounded it at 1330. How brilliant to view the lighthouse on its little headland with the small white keepers cottages from the sea. We'd visited the lighthouse years before on family trips to Augusta. I had even climbed to the top of the lighthouse and looked down and out across the water. Now we were out to sea looking up. The Bloke was ecstatic and bested the triumph by sailing around the Cape  full bore at 8knts. The sensation of the water rushing past the boat's skin while in the cabin was also amazing. What a way to celebrate our first proper Eastward course and Capes number 2 and 3!
Photos to come....

Cape Cruisades Leg 4 - Quinadlup to Albany

This is just a quick heads up before we collapse into our bunk to let you all know that the Bloke and I plus the crews of Urchin and Easy Tiger all arrived this evening into Albany.
We are all tied up on the collector jetty (Guano Jetty) at the Princes Royal Yacht Club which has a fantastic aspect across to the City of Albany over the water.
The weather committee did such a good job of planning for 'not too much wind' that they forgot to bid for just a little bit.  They did a perfect job as witnessed by our safe arrival this evening and probably about 8 hours ahead of schedule! Arriving before dark is most definitely a bonus, we've had lots of hugs together and a defrag session over drinkies and we'll shortly collapse into bed.
The Bloke has had way too much excitement. He sailed around Leeuwin with all the sails up and was almost throwing up rooster tails as he clocked 8knots. Too many Volo 40 videos methinks! And then there was the fish. He'll be dining out on that story for days or weeks to come!

Para-anchor in readiness

At the Nav station with THE PRINTOUT

Now that's a fish!

Bald Head Rock as you enter Albany Harbour.

Approach into Albany

Getting in before dark

Hooked

We are not quite at our destination but it looks like the Bloke has ensured that we won't go hungry at supper time. Just look at what he gets up to while I'm asleep.

Looks like a Narrow-banded Spanish Mackerel but not sure about the fish on the hook?

Leave on Friday 13th - Are you kidding!

The weather panel convened last night and decided that weather gods looked better for a Sat am departure than a Friday 13th departure. This pleased us all because the day had been spent rather too energetically cleaning, stashing, stowing and generally getting prepared - we were all quite weary really after all the flurry so the 1600 discussion over tea and pikelets quickly dissolved into drinkies and pikelets since we had effectively bought ourselves some extra time.
The Bloke had prepared printouts from predictwind, our satellite weather routing system and added in the pertinent waypoints where off-shore weather is predicted with available information  e.g. Margaret River, Leeuwin, Broken Inlet (Walpole) and Albany. Did the predictions line up? What about wave heights and swell.... We wanted some intersecting lines. In the end it all looked more reasonable for Sat which meant that Black Friday could be as black as it liked - we were not taking it on. And for everyone, the bonus was a day of rest since all was pretty much ready.
Easy Tiger had even moved themselves to an outer mooring to make navigation out of the anchorage at night a little easier. This maneuver was noted by the race panel and may constitute 'Breaking the start'. They immediately offered up a defence suggesting they should be given points for initiative. As it turns out we have done the same today. We were using our own mooring lines on the Sally Jane mooring (thanks once more Peter, for the kind use of your fabulous mooring) so it was necessary to fiddle about with the leads anyway. So now we too are a little closer to the start line and think we will collude with Easy Tiger and deduct points from Urchin for being lazy and not following suit.
We've logged in with Richard at ACRM base and can log off after 0700 on Monday. Rae is sadly in hospital at the moment with ongoing health problems. Richard is soldiering on and manning the radios with his usual dedication and good humour. Encouragingly, Richard is of the view that this appears to be a reasonable weather window although there is no accounting for that man Murphy!
FYI we are call sign Mandurah 303, DPI rego number DN060 with 2 POB, approx 170l fuel on board. We will be departing Quindalup anchorage at 0200 14/12/2013 and our ETA in Albany is Mon 16/12/2013 around 0300 after traveling approx 480 nautical miles.
We'll of course update you on Leg 4 -The Capes Adventure after our arrival in Albany.
This is Mandurah 303, over and out.

The lotto life

As if we are not having enough fun, the 3 crews, prompted by the Bloke, agreed to share in a lotto ticket. Our syndicate is named after our skippers: B1, B2 and B4. Success has come early with a modest win of something like $20 or $30 Whoopidee Dooo! We are banking on some further good fortune to fund additional enhancements to our dinghy outboard. We like to think of them as enhancements rather than repairs because that is what we believed we had paid for when we had the outboard motor serviced before we departed Mandurah. It was on the Big List and ticked off. Mr Happy was meant to check it over, service and fix as required. Doh!
Today the Bloke and B4 (Steve) took the motor to shore and then to pieces. The last problem was to do with no power and was the fault of a worn bush.  A new prop assembly that included the new bush, sorted that issue out but why did the motor so often run for 30 secs or a minute and then conk out? All air vents open, fuel definitely available. Worse, was that this did not happen all the time but always at the worst time.  Like the lucky lotto ticket a resolution and conquest presented - the ol' fuel jet blockage. Sigh. Parts to be ordered. Tick another box - it will be for the larger bank withdrawal thanks.

The Bloke (r) and B4 drive by to announce success with a Smile and Waive

The cusp

Jan and The General made their "shopping trolly" car available for the Ironman event as well as for getting that pesky molar sorted. Additionally, The General's dentist was charmed into agreeing to an emergency appointment. Calls were made, details exchanged, the time set. Full of apprehension and convinced that I had a crater in my mouth that could house the space shuttle and swallow up a super fund, more land miles were clocked to sort out some kind of care plan.
The dentist was lovely and made a repair to the tooth cusp that should last me until the Bloke and I take a couple of weeks out of our wet and wild tour of Australia and can have a consultation with the regular fang farrier. He even tried to relax me by discussing a biography he'd recently read about Matthew Flinders and the Beagle. Hope we get round a bit faster than that though. Of  course the use of the term 'discussion' is not in the least bit accurate. "Ugh, ugh" is hardly is hardly a conversation starter but it was the best I could manage in view of the instruments, cotton wool rolls etc...The Bloke is of the view that I can talk under wet cement but there are limits and this was one of them.
I'm hopeful that this cusp work is a 'robusta' as Jim's Italian Job, we have spent the last 2 days getting on with business.
The Bloke is always thinking and worrying. He came to the view that the battery for the anchor winch and bow thrusters needed replacing. For the benefit of you land lubbers, they are not sex toys but important equipment! Could the man at the Dunsborough battery shop have been more surprised than to see us for the second time in a year? We had already replaced all our house batteries (5) in January when on 'holidays' and the Bloke had another bout of thinking. In any event, this battery was the only one we had not replaced and was causing an alarm to go off when we were raising greater lengths of chain. What a domino effect! Install more chain (and use it) so you can retire the nagging thought of dragging an anchor and then cause stress in a battery and subsequently the bank account.
In reality, the real reason that the battery was in questionable condition had more to do with the wrong charge cycle having been selected on the charger when the boat was commissioned. It's just another in a long list of things done, or failed to be done, by a category of anonymous people that the Bloke and I affectionately refer to as the "axe murderers".
What might have been a simple task was made more complicated by this battery being the least accessible and requiring the for'd cabin to be almost dismantled. That man Murphy and his Law got on the boat with us. We didn't inspect the battery before we'd purchased a replacement which proved stupid because our assumption that it would be the same as our others was far from true. The windlass battery is housed in a little plastic casing like a lunch hamper and secured to the cabin sole beneath the bunk so the dimensions are quite defined. Like a pair of loonies, we ferried the batteries back and forth lugging them across the sand, into and out of the dinghy and working up quite a thirst. Thank heavens for Jan and The General's 'shopping trolly'. Luckily for us a refund was available for battery #1 and an exact replacement located for the second attempt.
Will we be able to lower and raise the anchor without the engine running? We've never been able to so far but the Bloke is convinced from his reading of the Boat Manual that it should be possible even if the recommendation is to have the engine running as a precaution. And that is how all this battery malarkey started in the first place. The answer will soon be apparent though, we are on the cusp of departing 'Quinny'. The Bloke thinks that the planets are aligning and the weather forecasters are pointing to a departure opportunity in coming days.

Beer o'clock

A PB

Not content to simply complete an Ironman course, Ironmen also try to best themselves. The chatter in review of the event is replete with PB's, sub 4hour marathons, blowing up, cramps, gels, chaffing... the list goes on.  Each person's pain greater than the other's. Anyway it was heartening that our boy finished the event in a PB time of 10:20. An improvement of 10 minutes.

Viv gives the thumbs up on lap 2 of the run

We were well pleased but for selfish reasons. Wrangling an 18 month old on the sidelines is a sport in itself even with the assistance of The Bloke.....and did we mention the flys? Despite them it was a far better day than the year that the "taking on board" of fluids and food went wrong and the marathon was mostly walked by our competitor, resulting in hours and hours of extra cheering/goading.

There are lots of sad as well as uplifting stories. The best one was of the girl who beat the 17 hr cut off to complete the course by a matter of seconds. It's common that some competitors return to the finish to cheer in the stragglers/strugglers. For this girl they made an archway with their arms but either the group was not straight enough or the girl was so wonky on her feet that she knocked into one of the spectators and the delay nearly cost her the title of Ironman finisher!

Shaved down for the event, Viv models his company bikesure label - a moving billboard!

Anyway, job done for another year and after yet another last breakfast, last hug and last waive, the Bloke and I were able to return to the job at hand..... Chillax and get ready for our passage Southward.

The Bloke in Poppa mode with colour coordinated Gals

Phil's footsteps

History is set to repeat itself with the catalogues of family photos once again to be dominated by pictures of fish.... well potentially anyway.
'The General' is the Bloke's brother. He likes things organized and he will stop at nothing to ensure everything that can be, is well planned and executed. Ensuring that his little brother is well fed with fish has been the focus of The General's attention, especially as he's no longer going across The Bight to do the fishing for us - albeit that the Achilles' tendon injury is repairing well. Depending on the outcome of my dental appointments we might be dependent on some fish to stretch the budget and I might be on a diet of steamed fish and mushy peas a bit earlier than at the old pensioners home. Hopefully the dental work will be quicker than an Achilles' tendon rehabilitation.
So The General commandeered our fishing rods to check out tackle requirements and ensure we would be ready to catch our dinner -after all we are floating over a larder, are we not? What we received back blew us away. The rods have been returned with clip-on rigs ready for the appropriate and most likely catches we should encounter. Zip-loc bags have been populated with replacement snap-on rigs all made up and in readiness. The fishing box augmented with pliers, scissors and all the necessary extras. More boxes of  fishing hooks, weights, lures etc added to the arsenal and all delivered with love! WOW.
Thanks Keith (and Jan) so very, very generous and unfathomably thoughtful. Now we are organized to the n'th degree - just how you like it!
Our piscine knowledge and angling capabilities are puny and the fish photos are unlikely to resemble Nin and Phil's - trophy snaps of herring mountains, taylor, whiting, snapper, queen fish, barramundi etc... caught from rocks, beaches, jetties and boats. From rivers, lakes and oceans! Family slide nights were a competition... How many shots out of the multiple carousels on offer would NOT include one without one or more fish? Almost the only photos to be fish-free were of newborn grandchildren not yet home from hospital. It would only be a matter of time before they'd be holding a rod and be eligible for inclusion in the fish photos too. How is it then, that The Bloke is a fishing numpty? Probably the same principle as the the teetotal child of an alcoholic! 
We already have a precedent for what our fish photos are likely to look like. Shot #1 a fish in a bucket. Email #1 with photo attachment to Mum. Text:"What is this?". Reply from Mum - "It's a lovely herring"..... 30 minutes later.  Email#2 to Mum "How do we clean and cook them?" 30 minutes later Email#3 to Mum with photo attachment showing a tray of herring fillets for two.

Thanks General! Hope we don't get out of internet range - you've ensured we are more likely to catch some supper but it will be a while before we know what we've got and what to do? Hope you'll be on standby!