Racing results

The results are a bit belated but it's taken a while to come to terms with a loss on handicap. The Bloke's boat (SeXtant) beat Fresh even though we crossed the line 20 minutes earlier.

It was absolutely exhilarating and I must confess I messed up on the very first tack. Being mindful of the giant boom, the moment of hesitation in scrambling across the coach roof to the other side of the boat left me at a very adverse angle and only the speedy work of other crew members saved the day when they dragged me by the armpits to the other side. Wow what a heel. We are always mindful of not spilling the wine aboard Zofia! 

I didn't make THAT mistake a second time and it didn't cost us the race. Sadly it was quite close to the congestion at the start and my blunder was witnessed by the Bloke! I'm still living it down.

Thanks for the photo's Sally... what a brilliant day!

 A quiet moment

 

 The 2014 crew of 'Fresh' with a visitor. Luckily my Musto kit matched theirs perfectly.

Axe murderers posing as marine technicians

We decided from our earliest days of boat ownership to label most so-called experts in the Marine industry: 'Axe Murderers'.

We asked the dealer why a switch on the electrical control panel seemed not to have any impact. It was clearly marked as being the controller for the HWS. In fact, if the boat didn't have a HWS why even give it it's own dedicated switch AND inscription on the panel? The dealer insisted the only method of getting hot water was to run the motor, which you needed to do anyway to recharge the batteries. This was 'kind of' true. Running the engine did create hot water (tick) and the engine needed to be run to recharge batteries when away from shore power (tick) but what about about the hot water when you were in a Marina using shore power?

Ever since we acquired Zofia there has been an issue with the hot water system.

Our investigations and boat familiarisation efforts located the lovely 40L stainless steel HWS drum. Closer inspection revealed that it was not plugged in - Doh! A classic. We'd encountered this over 20 years as a cause for our computer software seeming not to not work - PC not plugged in or switched on -lol! It happened a lot on a Monday at one office. It was eventually realised that the cleaner used that socket for the vacuum cleaner every Friday night. The Bloke and I thought we'd nailed the solution for our HWS and it would be happy days from then on.

Neither the plug nor intended socket for the HWS were converted from the European type to the Aussie type.  Axe Murderer epic fail #1 - failure to convert all plugs and failure check every connection and appliance. Do they have any kind of check list? Very questionable quality control surrounding the boat commissioning we thought. Being pragmatic, we connected the two European parts and 'presto' were rewarded with hot water when in the Marina. No engine running required. Our happiness was comparatively short lived when activation of the HWS began to trip the fuses. Enter Axe-Murderer #2. The marine electrician: unable to resolve this matter fully - something to do with 'moisture in the heating element', but he noted that he'd dried it out and it should be OK for a while and his bill is going to be less than the cost of replacements. Really? What did we know? We were boating numpties. Grateful and hopeful we paid the bill.

Are we being harsh to be calling these people Axe Murderers? You be the judge. Try these: Our electrical control panel also had another switch that was factory inscribed yet inactive. The deck light. Flick it and nothing was happening. No deck light. Dealer said there's no deck light. Yes that was clearly apparent, but where is it if there is a switch for it? It's actually a safety thing. If you need to go out on deck at night to check or repair some rigging you need that light? Who checked the parts list on arrival? Who checked all the systems were operational at commissioning? But the best bit was the masthead lights that wouldn't work. The Bloke solved this one while the Axe Murderers seemed incapable. Three phase wire had been run up the mast even though only two phase was required. Maybe it was all the electrician had in the van that day? The blue wire was connected at the masthead to the masthead light but faced with a choice of 3 colours at the mast step, the Axe Murderer connected the wrong one at the bottom of the mast at the junction box - epic fail. He did have a 1 in 3 chance of getting it right! AND he could also have checked all the connections. FAIL.

Time passed and once again the HWS had been tripping the fuses although strangely the HWS would work if using the generator. Why? More time passed and we could now only get hot water by running the motor. Sick of this, and unwilling to continue this exercise with new and unfamilair Axe Murderers, the Bloke took on the challenge.

The upshot: a new part arriving in the post. The supplier knew exactly what the problem was and had dealt with 20 in the last 6 months (evidence that Axe Murderers are hardly an endangered species). Partial cause of problem was declared to be lack of care when fitting the heating element causing a bending or breakage of the 'earthing' part. Axe Murderers are everywhere it seems!

The Bloke is on a roll and with a 100% success rate of solving problems either caused by Axe Murderers or only half fixed by them. The best part is that the Bloke gets a result for no fee!

Thermostat side view - a tad corroded due to failure of the Axe Murderers to install correctly

Thermostat top view but only visible when the HWS is dismantled

Thermostat and NEW element with BIG anode. The anode was completely gone on the old part

And do you reckon that you'd have the right ring spanner for this puppy?

Abandoned tools while the Bloke sourced ubersized ring spanners

The braces have already been removed from the drum to create SOME space. This is like servicing your car through the exhaust pipe!

The Bloke seeking applause when all done. With the prospect of lots of hot showers from now on, he might have earned one of those bottles of wine too!

Full moon at Memory Cove

This is the neighbourhood.

Here is a new neighbour

Sunset over Memory Cove

We wish we could share photos of the moon-rise. A huge tangerine that first illuminated some loose cloud over a hill before revealing itself in all its splendor. To top it of,f a couple of seals began slurping through the bay, splooshing and splashing as they arced in and out of the water. They are so quick, and in the dark it's not possible to get a snap to share. It's even hard to photograph them in the daylight!

The next morning the Bloke had me topside pretty promptly as the wind, now from the north and the tide now out, was giving us only a little clearance beneath. All or neighbours were off to convene with the Riviera Rally in another bay closer to Lincoln. The Riviera's will form a chevron led by the biggest Riviera and the smallest ones trailing behind. That rally will be at it's crescendo over at Reevesby Is. over at 'The Group' - the final destination and we are told that when the MV Tacoma (a boat of historic significance here) arrives, there will be a live band and celebrity chefs. We can pass on that gathering. Imagining transom to transom blue underwater lights, spotlights and gen sets burbling away all night.... Aaghh, the serenity!!

Daily 08:30 visit from the Dive with Sharks tour... Hope that's not prophetic for this bay!

Water sports begin early for shore campers. A bit more sensible than yesterday

We salute our LAST bottle of 85c wine from Sandy and Hud's neighbour

This hardy fellow arrived at dusk with 2 pals. They slept on the beach and he swam out to the boat at dawn to go fishing while the pals slept in.  Mad Irishman! Brrrrrr. The Bloke made him a coffee.

Some history on a display board on the beach

The sad tale of Master Thistle, Midshipman Taylor and the others

Apparently the Bloke is waiting for me

Adjusting the rig so we could catch herring - YUM

These guys were catching herring at dusk too - different technique though!

Don't believe everything you read

The beginning of April is the anniversary of our purchasing our current home - Zofia. This year it's the 6th anniversary and we are constantly amazed by what we are still learning about our little self contained planet.

The Bloke and I are almost embarrassed to reveal that things are not entirely as we thought and it's taken s 6 years to discover it. We have taken the specifications for the boat as read. 1 fuel tank. Yup seen that, it's under the aft bunk. Specs say 170L. 2 x fresh water tanks. Specs say 2 x 150L. Yup seen those. One is alongside the fuel tank under the the aft bunk, the other is under the forward bunk. The filler points are on the port side deck and the valves to select which tank to use (or shut off) are behind the settee cushions just in front of the galley sink on the starboard side. Sweet!

The Blokes's recent installation of the new deck wash entailed removing almost every item from the f''rd cabin and revealed the water tank. It's not the first time we've pulled everything out but it was the first time we actually noticed the tank capacity. It wasn't 150L, it was 200L! That was very exciting news since extended periods away from the marina are both welcome and more frequent. An extra 50L can go a long way!

Is this the explanation for why we would daily check the water situation on the control panel and get unexpected and varying results? Oops, seem to go going through the water fast etc....

So when I thought that our cabin could benefit from a good airing and the mattresses were pulled out we decided to have a closer examination of the tanks beneath our bunk. This is what we found.

What we expected was a 150L water tank but it was 155L -TICK ; plus a 170L fuel tank, doh!

Water Tank capacity under our bunk. 155L!

Diesel tank - 126L

The result for the day was more water but less fuel. Possibly a win/lose situation. Luckily, we've always carried lots of spare water AND fuel when it really counted, but we certainly were carrying quite different quantities than we'd thought!

Racing

The Bloke is probably like all others, if there is a race there needs to be a wager. This is how it goes. If I lose, I buy a bottle of wine at the Yacht Club. If the Bloke loses he buys a jug of beer at the Yacht Club.

Today we are going to be racing. The Bloke is going to be a crew member on Sextant owned by the Port Lincoln Yacht Club Commodore and his wife. It's a very smart looking X-Yacht 34'. I am to be a crew member on Fresh an extremely nippy 46' yacht that has participated in a couple of Sydney/ Hobart and Adelaide/ Port Lincoln races. The two boats have been locked in a duel all season we are told. I'm not sure what use I'll be but I'm pretty confident that The Bloke will be worth his weight.

Tension in the cabin is high and sledging has commenced. Whether the result is beer or wine will be revealed tomorrow. In any instance, the final event for the Port Lincoln Yacht Club season 2014 (followed by a barbeque at the Clubhouse) should be another fine day to remember.

A deckwash

A visit to the Chandler with the Bloke has provided me with ammunition to deflect shopping criticism for some time to come and demonstrates the hidden danger of ever visiting such an outlet. We went in for a new bucket. The last 'replacement' the Bloke bought was always going to be inadequate for the task.... a $1.00 jobby that was never going to cope with being drilled to allow for the spliced rope "handle", nor with UV light, nor the rigours of daily and sometimes twice daily scooping into the ocean to enable the Bloke's obsession with swooshing the cockpit with 'salt water washes'. These washes have occasionally become saltwater floods if our cabin portholes are not secured PRIOR to commencement. But the Bloke has reformed it must be said, and does now check first that they are closed. Having experienced a degree of wrath from his deck hand, it is proof he can be trained, just like Paovlov's dog.

Having been delighted to locate a robust and proper white fisherman's type bucket the Bloke marched to the counter where he met Mr Helpful. "An excellent choice sir, is there anything else you are looking for?". The Bloke fell for it! "Oh, yes I'm wondering if you have a deck wash kit?". Mr Helpful's eyes of course gleamed YES. "Come with me". So the two wondered around Aladdin's Cave for the next 20 minutes until the job was done.

For those of you that are not familiar with the word BOAT, it's actually and acronym and not a noun. It means Bring Out Another Thousand. In this instance it was a lucky escape as we were only required to commit to a little less than half of that. By now the bucket had morphed into a useful shopping receptacle and contained, clips, clamps, hoses, hose fittings etc...and the receipt. The real trophy was carried under the Blokes arm: the Deck Wash Kit.

Having squared off with a replacement for swooshing saltwater around at one end of the boat the new trophy item would enable squirting at the other end. Always thinking ahead, the Bloke is getting ready for muddy anchorages in Queensland where one needs to hose down the anchor and chain as you haul them up. My eyes nearly rolled right out of their sockets. Really? We won't be getting to Queensland for at least 2 years yet but we will be ready!

Understanding that one needs to buy things when you have an opportunity, I envisaged that installation of all this new kit would be a winter project for those days when the rigging will be hooting and Marina time is the only option.

I never imagined that installation would commence the very next day although Murphy would have predicted it wouldn't he?. The job left only our cabin and aft bathroom intact. 2/3rds of the boat was a riot of open and emptied lockers, plus removed panels from cabin sole to cabin roof. It took 3/4's of a day to complete and was the same day we were expecting Ian from Midnight Blue to arrive after lunch to then stay the night after collecting his car. I was in the midst of cooking curries for dinner and cake. Jim and Jeannie from Onora had been invited for dinner so that they could catch up with Ian again. A client rang for support (1hr) in the middle of making the pear tarts. Half my ingredients were buried beneath the contents of emptied lockers. Somehow we pulled it altogether. The cabins were restored. We had somewhere to eat and entertain. Ian had a cabin with V-berth made up and importantly, the Wine Club had delivered and we had some wine. Actually, there was a lot of wine and 7 empty bottles needed to be disposed of the next morning.

Although it is not yet wired up, this is the visible evidence of what all the fuss was about.

Hear no evil.  See no evil etc... they'd better not poop some evil!

Birthday Bash

Having discovered that the Bloke and Jim from Onora shared a birthday it was inevitable that we'd go out for dinner. A booking was made to Del Giorno's, a popular and highly regarded cafe/restaurant on Tasman Terrace. Note the homage to explorers and nautical references in some of the street names. It's not far from the intersection with Bligh Street. There is even a Talley-Ho Street. The booking started as one for 4 which then grew to 8, then 10 and finished up as 12.

The Bloke and Jim exchanged little gifts and proceeded to have a fine old time. Now the owner of a Chicago White Sox baseball cap, this makes the Bloke and Jim officially of the same tribe. It has been the source of hilarity ever since with Wikipaedia research ongoing as to what this might mean. Evidently the last World Series was won in 2005 and the home ground is known as 'The Cell'. For a moment we had raided our Blues Brothers based knowledge of Chicago and wondered if the home field might be Wrigley Field but no: that is the home of The Cubs, now understood clearly to be our adversaries!

Birthday Boys still looking innocent enough

Not a trick photo. The grinder is really that B I G!

Candle for 1

Candle for 2 - what were the staff thinking!

The Bloke in his cap reading up on baseball

The Chicago White Sox official cap