Keswick and St Bees

We'd missed these Islands on our way north and we were intrigued by their geography. Two Islands separated by a narrow channel and unlike most of the other Islands, not 100% National Park or Resort Islands. Knowing it might get a bit chirpy, the sound of a couple of public moorings in the current-prone channel sounded interesting. As it turned out however, conditions were more than chirpy, the channel was a no-go zone and we'd actually be ducking for cover from an aggressive 25kn northerly delivery even on the southern side of Keswick Island.

Our anchorage of choice was in the wide bay on the bottom right side of Keswick. The St Bee's anchorages were badly effected by 'bullets' - accelerated wind bursting off higher ground.

En route, we had communicated with SV Sandsara and they decided that the might attempt to connect with us. We went through the channel while they reached the southerly anchorage by motor-sailing round the bottom of Keswick Island. We converged at the bottom and decided to scout out the best anchoring possibility. We went one way and they the other.

Sandsara with Rom and Basia aboard. Last seen in the Clarence River

Other yachts hugging the cliffs around the corner in St Bees

Sunrise silhouetting pine trees that look like the wind often goes berserk

Dawn sunlight illuminating cliffs on the Eastern side of St Bees

A few days after leaving Keswick for a couple of lovey days at Scawfell Island we had to return to position ourselves for impending strong Northerlies. Throughout the Islands in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park there are very few places to hide from a Northerly. Arriving back in beautiful weather and ahead of the change we had the opportunity of anchoring in Homestead Bay for lunch and get a better view of the channel and airstrip which runs along the waters edge. We stayed until the tide had run out so much that we needed to be on our way or be left high and dry 'on the tiles'.

Palms at the Keswick airstrip "terminal".

Another in a list of terrifying places to land.

View up the channel. Airstrip in the left!
We were joined in our hiding place that we'd recently 'tested', by Barrenjoey Light (an RPAYC - Pittwater  crew we knew) but once again there would be no visiting as the tenders remained harnessed aboard both boats. Although we were anchored on a very rough bottom (the anchor chain transmits a rumbling at the roller) our anchor was set as if in araldite. Not so, Barrenjoey Light. Right on dusk they began to drag.

Anchor games on Barrenjoey Light

Rather than play games like "You are the one dragging, you need to re-anchor" we shifted pretty smartly, leaving them to deal with their situation and re-settled for the night and for the thunderstorm which came soon enough.

Testing Times

Popping ashore to the Kingfisher Resort on Fraser Island to experience earthly pleasures such as a walk on firm land, a cup of coffee, an actual 'paper' newspaper and experiencing wildlife in closer proximity is generally rewarding enough. Sometimes however there are some surprises.

Would we assist the bar staff at the car ferry jetty test some new cocktails? What kind of question is that? After all, we weren't 100% committed to an AFM - alcohol free morning. Who cares that it was just 11:00!

Two, too willing taste testers?

Mine was being called a "Mauve Sunset" containing Vodka, Blue Curacao, Peach Schnapps, lemonade and lime juice. They could be onto something. It slid down very easily. Happy to oblige and also to calm myself after an earlier encounter with the wildlife. Fraser Island; you might easily be thinking Dingos, but in fact something smaller.

Testing times indeed!

A Good Paddle

Sometimes the wind is with you and sometimes against you; although in principle 'Gentlemen only sail downwind'. Sometimes the current is with you and sometimes against too and the best way of knowing is by comparing the SOG -speed over ground GPS calculation Vs the boat speed in the water.


Any difference will indicate the impact of current. Here we see a boat speed of 5.4kn but a SOG of 4.2kn. We are pushing against an out going tide.


To obtain this information the transducer paddle needs to spin freely.
When it looks like this, you're in business!
 When it looks like this, the paddle won't turn.   Not only can one not get an estimate of beneficial or adverse current but the equivalent of the boat odometer does not get updated.

In the last 3 years alone, we've traveled well over 6,000nm, so it's evident that the log paddle is operational as often as it isn't. Tut tut!

We got down and dirty this morning and pulled the transducer out, cleaned and replaced it. It requires that we push a 'blank' into the hole in hull in the bottom of the boat to stop the water rushing in while the transducer comes out. A nerve-wracking process with lots of mopping up of the bilge cavities afterwards which is why we always hesitate and procrastinate about doing it. For now though, it's a good paddle.

A Stitch in Time

Boat maintenance is relentless, ensuring that any marina visit is quite exhausting. None more so than to the Bundaberg Port Marina. One big item became 2 with the sails being taken for repairs. Incredibly the turnaround was 24 hours which allowed several opportunities for a calm morning to get them up again.

The lovely lawn at the marina was too good to miss according to The Bloke. He added 'Washing the sails' to his job sheet. That inevitably made 'Helping fold sails again' find its way onto mine!


Martin and Richard did a great job of rescuing our sails from near certain ripping and were incredibly helpful and informative and likely to get the job of replacing our 'work horse' Genoa next year. If you just heard a sound, it will be our hip pocket groaning!

As PR they give this bit of sail with bolt-rope and eyelets to help clean your sail track. Neat!

 

Newly reinforced clews + replaced UV

A calm dawn made the job of putting the sails back up a bit easier.

The main sitting better in it's track.

The creasing at the tack should diminish.

We opted to replace the UV at the clew with the same colour of all our other UV

The impact on our in-mast furling of the mere replacement of a small piece of bolt rope, the dimensions of a drinking straw, has been DRAMATIC! As the on-board 'winch bitch' I confirm that the sail furling is smoother, easier, quicker. All we need still to do is to tighten the leach chord. The UV replacement means it was stretched out to enable the stitching. We'll need a calm day for that. Probably when we are free to leave our current hiding place - River Heads, Susan River, where the heavens are soon to open with a lightening delivery.

PORT CANVASS and SAIL REPAIRS
4 Marina Dr, Burnett Heads QLD 4670 
(07) 4159 5115
sails@portcanvasandsailrepairs.com.au

Head Meister

Our Engine Service marina visit turned into a 'dodge the weather visit' and just when we thought we would be 'good to go', potentially in 36 hours, the salt water intake to the front heads stopped working. Not a total disaster seeing as the heads would still pump out and a bucket of water could be kept at hand to effect the flush. This is the 'Pee' head too, being the one without the holding tank ..... but The Bloke goes spare if the boat is in any way 'broken'.

The process of problem solving began with the easy stuff and then ramped up.

1. Check the ball valve.
I had been manically cleaning and had opened and closed the various thru-hull ball valves in the process. A routine procedure to ensure they don't seize up. Perhaps I'd left it closed? Twist this way and that. Seemed OK. No change. Next ....

Cut-away view of ball valve components:

1) body 2) seat 3) floating ball  4)  lever handle  5) stem

2. Unscrew the top of the hand pump and check for obstructions.
Bingo. A bit of weed caught in the workings. Bound to be the culprit we thought. Screw everything back together. Too easy. Check for pumping action. Disappointment. May be an airlock? Nope. Next ...

Pesky bit of weed  (L) was only part of the story

3. External obstruction?
Getting serious now. Marina water is cloudy. There have been shark sightings and the water is alive with fish. Rosslyn Bay is the first place we'd seen crocodile warnings. The Bloke nervously reached below the water with a stick hoping to feel the water intake thru-hull. Diving in was beyond imagining. Even a couple who'd dropped a ring of great sentimental value overboard during our last stay here, didn't resort to a dip with snorkel and goggles!

4. Obstruction was already inside the pipe?
Much very 'blokey', hard pumping had been performed. If what you are doing isn't working try harder! Initially it was exploratory but later in rage. This could easily have pulled in whatever it was that was causing the blockage - small fish, jelly fish, more weed?

 

By this stage the whole pump was off and dismantled. The Plumbing Tool Box and Mechanical Tool Box were in full operation. The F@#k Box remained unopened but on standby.

Much consultation occurred along the jetty. Someone even had a hose and fitting for exactly this type of event to flush the pipe out and free an obstruction. You'd be surprised what cruisers keep as 'resources'!

Through it all, The Bloke kept cool and even stopped for a coffee with Pierre and Anita, fellow cruisers that we first met in Port Stephens. This would not defeat him. His mantra was "I am a human being and this is just a toilet".

So the mousing strip was inserted. Too short. But not by much. Now time to try sticking the water hose through to attempt a mains pressure flush out. Ha Ha! That entailed removing the bathroom cabinet, removing the cables securing the syphoning loop and feeding the end of the hose out through the deck hatch. The F@#k Box remained on standby.

The cabinet was removed to reveal the sanitation pipes.

Gosh, more mildew too... where's that spray bottle of clove oil?

Food colouring was poured in to check for a blockage. Inconclusive. Eventually a hose was pushed down as far as the hose connector and ball valve. The hose is not completely opaque. Still no joy. Miraculously, The Bloke left The F@#k Box alone and was resolved that it may come down to a failure at the ball valve. By now it was the only answer. Now I was staring at the The F@#k Box! You are rarely going to fix a ball valve with the hull still in the water (although we actually have which is another whole story) and the thought of an unscheduled haul out (think cost, time, shipwrights, drama etc...) was unbearable. Could we not just limp along with a the bucket of water work-around until haul-out time?

Friends wanted to lend us a SEABUNG to secure the hull

while we swapped out the ball valve!

The Bloke, like the champ he is, wouldn't be defeated. He fiddled and fiddled and confirmed the problem was indeed the ball valve. When I'd done my routine opening and closing of the ball valve, the stem connecting the handle to the ball must have sheered but not cleanly. The slight resistance I'd felt was to be expected of a ball valve infrequently jiggled. Luckily it had sheered in a jagged way. This allowed the two bits of metal just enough purchase, if squeazed together, to allow the ball valve to be rotate. Phew! In actual fact, we normally only close it when we are leaving Zofia on a mooring or marina when we go home, so being unable to close it is not a big deal. It being in the closed position was the big deal!

Given that The Bloke kept a cool head and did not resort to The F@#k Box and has returned the heads to full operation he is truly the Head Meister!



Replacement of thru-hulls and ball valves are on the agenda for our next boat lift - LOL!

Dropping the Sails

Taking it while it's going has proved a great mantra. On our return trip from delivering our anchor and chain to be galvanized, we spotted a sail loft right opposite the marina. A chance too convenient to miss. We were only 2 days into a 1 week marina booking and it was right on the doorstep. Just a wheelbarrow ride in fact.


Calm conditions at dawn the next morning and The Bloke was on to it. No time for tea and toast. The loft opened at 07:00 and it looked likely we'd arrive with our sails soon after.

 

We already knew that the main needed the UV fabric to be replaced at the clew and quite likely along the leach. The bolt rope seems to have slipped up its sleeve near the tack too and could be responsible for the furler problems we'd experienced in recent months. When he'd examined the sails the sailmaker commented that bolt ropes were prone to shrinking. Well ours has had 9 years to shrink so maybe, maybe?

  

Evidence of the torn UV on the mainsail

The end of the bolt rope sleeve was empty (crumpled left side) and not plump and round like it should be if it contained the rope (see right side of picture).

 

Our Genoa is our workhorse and delivered the biggest shock. The UV strip was not covering the luff-side of the head, around the top of the bolt rope, and had begun to tear! Golly, we had possibly been only a wind gust away from Armageddon!

Chaos in the making awaiting!

Reinforcement strip at the clew showing signs of wear

As the pictures show, the sails came down and not a moment too soon. It's hard to think they would have survived until Mooloolaba where we had previously planned to drop them and leave with a sail loft over Christmas. Our choosing to drop our sails is a world of difference to the elements doing it for us - a concept we don't even want to contemplate!

Sprucing Up the Ground Tackle

When we asked the chandlery about buying new anchor chain before leaving Mandurah, which is close to 3 years ago, we didn't know that there is chain and then there is Australian certified chain. The cost for 65m (150kg) seemed reasonable. We swapped out the original 6 year old 40m which wasn't rusty but too short. We marveled at the weight we would now had available to deploy and augment the work of the anchor. We painted it at 5m intervals in alternating luminous pink and yellow strips to make knowing the length deployed easier and away we went.

Within months of leaving Mandurah and before we had even left West Australian waters, we noticed the galvanizing was coming off, especially around the 35m mark where the chain was getting a lot of work on the bow roller. Of course once the galv came off, the chain began to rust and as they say, "rust never sleeps". What we have since learned is that knowing the size of chain you want (in our case 10mm short link) isn't the only specification you need to note when replacing anchor chain. We hadn't for example stipulated 'Australian' or 'certified' and had in fact bought chain manufactured in China. Oh no! Next time, it will be Australian PWB grade with each link stamped and tested and not the Chinese junk. We know that we will need longer chain in due course, and a 100m replacement is on our 'hit list', so the lack of longevity of this pile is not as critical even if we do rate it as a 'fail'.

 

178kg of metal ground tackle ready to go

 

Our cruisers grapevine recommended Bundaberg as an inexpensive and efficient place to to have our ground tackle regalvanized. The anchor needed to be treated too as the point was beginning to have a carrot coloured tip of rust . So we booked a week in the Bundaberg Port Marina seeing as we obviously wouldn't be able to anchor out, got a 10% 'Shaggers' (SICYC) discount, plus were eligible for a seafood platter (valued at $40) because we'd booked for a week. A golden deal that only lacks "Steak knives"!

It seems that our mission has been accomplished regularly and routinely by others before us. We hired the tray top utility for $49 from the Marina.  There was a pallet already in it and the marina keeps an old Otto wheelie bin on hand to transport the chain from the jetty to the vehicle. Too easy!

Goodbye rust!

Our ground tackle will have an acid bath overnight and if Kenco deem necessary, will have the anchor sandblasted at the business next door. After our Monday morning drop-off, it should be ready on Wednesday. All up, including 2 lots of car hire, the exercise will cost around $400 and except for the fact that we'll actually have to stump up the cash, the process looks like it will be relatively painless. Amazing!

Kenco Galvanizing
(07) 4151 2944
60 Enterprise St, Svensonn, Qld