Taken by a Stormy

We didn't originally anticipate spending so much time around Pittwater but lingering has not been a hardship. In some ways it's a luxury to fall into the rhythms of a place. Having even bought a local bus pass (Opal Card) is a sure fire sign that we are here a tad longer.

The Cruising division of the RPAYC have a monthly First Friday get together (we spoke at one 2 months back) and this month was a meal and dance. Peter and Debbie, our mooring hosts, urged us to join them again so we popped over to their house for a shower to spruce up suitable for 'company' and traveled with them across Pittwater in their Commuter Boat to the club. We ended up having a sleep-over as neither of us were in the mood to jump into the dinghy on return and get back to Zofia. Enough transfers for one day we'd decided! We felt less guilty in the knowledge that 'our' bed hadn't been stripped since our last sleep-over. We were 'expected' and complied with the invitation.

The food and company for the evening were great, even if the music was more suited to sleepwalking and the First Friday 'event' is always followed by a 'cruise' the next day. Of course any number of boats greater than 'one', and traveling in the same direction, constitutes a race so 'presentations' in America Bay needed to be made and a 48' catamaran offered the perfect platform - quite literally, for 30+ sailors.

 RPAYC Cruisers on moorings everywhere.

Most of the participating boats left from RPAYC at 11am while we left from 'our' mooring off Scotland Island with Peter and Debbie, as crew, a while later. Conditions were great for racing/sailing, particularly after we'd come out of the lee of the Island and we arrived with the bulk of the fleet despite our delayed start and different route. The Bloke made Peter the tactician in deference to his local knowledge and in an attempt to keep him off the winches to prevent him from aggravating his bad back. Debbie and I managed the winches through the multiple, multiple tacks. The Bloke was well pleased with our performance. He'd worked us like navvies and we earned our rum ration.

The day was epic, finishing up with 8 guests on board for a meal on Zofia. Everyone contributed to the meal of course but we discovered later that we had made an additional contribution, going through half a tank of water doing the washing up. If only I'd remembered the sea water tap to do the rinsing. Doh!

The Bloke wearing his Stormy on a recent trek

During the various boat transfers etc over to the cruise leader's gorgeous 48' catamaran (a Fountaine Pajot Salina 48) which caused acute Bofed (Boat owners foot envy disease) in many participants, we wore our Stormy jackets. They are spray jackets with an inbuilt PFD. They make for less fuss getting about in our dinghy as the jacket and life vest are a single item and easily worn or removed. We wear them a lot: on board and ashore. An impulse buy while we were in Tassie, they've proved to be a 'favourite' amongst our boat kit.  We suspect there could be some orders placed through the RPAYC Chandler for some of these. The RPAYC Cruisers were fascinated and quite taken by our Stormys!

 Cruise over. 

Judy and Martin on Gooniwindi II, taking Peter and Debbie home