Do fishermen tell the truth?

We have all held great hopes for fishing success at Streak Bay, in particular for a catch of King George Whiting - KG's. The prospect of them was enough to cheer us up when on passage across the Great Australian Bight.

Now, the Bloke and I are very familiar with the lengths people will go to to conceal their favorite fishing spot. And the South Australians seem to be no different. The Bloke's Dad had announced his preferences for what to do with his ashes after his death (he passed away some 12 years ago). Half were to be sprinkled over his favourite Skippy hole in the Blackwood River. On the appointed day, one of his faithful fishing chums made himself available to ferry the family to said patch to complete the formalities. A whole flotilla of caravan park locals followed out of respect... or so we thought. When eventually we had well and truly passed the 'spot', Berry bought the dinghy to a halt. When I suggested that this was not in fact the spot at all, Berry just threw a look over his shoulder at the other boats and said "Oh yes, I think you'll find that it is".  As a final act, the Bloke's Dad had the last laugh and the location of the 'Skippy patch' kept secret beyond the grave.

When raising the matter of KG' s with locals we have been told all manner of highly suspicious things like, 'The water is too warm just now'; 'You'll need to get over a sand patch, no you won't find any of those here'; 'You'll need to go out to Cape Bauer' etc....It seems the South Aussies as a sneaky lot too! Luckily we met a lovely chap from Port Perrie when he paddled past Zofia one afternoon. A couple of days later he dropped over with 3 filletted and cleaned KG's in a zip lock bag (i.e. 6 fillets) and said he'd be back to visit us with the missus the next day.

Heather and David Errington. The best part of this trip has been the people we have met along the way

Thanks so much David. and Heather.  The fleet was very impressed and so were we! YUM.

Sea food and eat it! B1's brothers came to celebrate their big brother's achievement. Here's Cheers, Roddo and Trev!What an epic surprise!

Replete with gifts from the sea.....time for bed!

Far out, brussel sprout!

The Bloke has been operating on some weird overdrive. Off to shore for more water, ULP fuel etc... and all before breakfast. A voice in his head drives him on to get everything done; repaired, cleaned etc... So the hit list for today included checking the rudder and propeller plus turning the outerhaul rope around.

The underwater inspection was masterfully achieved by attaching the GoPro camera in its waterproof case to a boat hook. 100% successful operation to confirm all is in order. The Bloke was on top of his game.

Now for the outerhaul. It probably needs replacing after 6 years and will definitely become a part of our spare ropes inventory by the time we lay up in Port Lincoln. It's not that this rope is frayed, rather that it's become flattened where it routinely gets clamped in the jammer to retain the main sail when it's dragged out. This flattening makes it inclined to slip ever so slightly once we've taken it off the winch. It's a 'no brainer': it's trouble in the offing.

We made a trip to shore for a coffee, scones and to give the bay a good looking at. I was left to run some errands (shopping) while the Bloke returned to continue with his mission. When he returned to collect me, the outboard cut out as it hit the weed. Rowing was accompanied by loud grumbling I could even hear from the shore. Had I been gone too long? Well probably, yes. Was the Bloke hungry? Well probably, yes. But I did have a cooked chicken and bread rolls in my back pack, all would surely be forgiven.

The question about how his morning had gone was cautiously delivered. Kapow! That's when I got the vivid detail. I had earlier had a nanosecond's thought as we left the boat for the shore, that the length of mousing cord being cable-tied to the end of the outerhaul was a bit ambitious. And it was. Note to self: No shortcuts for this one....stitch it on in the time proven way. Anyway, the mousing cord had come off. At some point, our coil of mousing cable must have been enlisted in one of those misguided 'ah ha' moments. It's a massively useful bit if DIY kit that has pushed and pulled cables up the mast and around the wiring run-throughs around Zofia, and several other boats too. Probably our most frequently loaned 'tool'. Alas, never to be loaned again. End of days for the mousing cable is the Streaky Bay sea bed! And just in case your mind is straying to the 'Why not just dive in a retrieve it?' line of thinking, I'll just mention that the professional fishermen informed us of a number of smallish sharks that had been sighted off the end of the jetty. Smallish as compared to what? Your finger? Your car? Not checking!

To add to the general agro, a piece of the strapping that restrains the Bimini tore off. Oh, the grumbling. FGS eat up your lunch and have a sleep! His floppy hat wasn't worn and the Bloke got a 'spot of Sun' so he was dispatched to bed with 2 panadol. When he woke it was time to Skype Lily for her 4th birthday and the cabin now looked like this.....

All our Teddies were enlisted to sing 'Happy Birthday Lily'!

... WOW those panadols are powerful... might have a few more!

We had a shower prior to heading out for drinkies on Easy Tiger. When wiping up after us, the bathroom hatch cover handle came off in my hand. Doh!.....So you might just say that I just topped off the day!

The great escape

It took us a couple of days before venturing ashore. Everyone was more or less in shell shock after completing our Bight crossing but we were itching to defrag and be together. It was time for the 6 of us to go ashore and perhaps compare notes but above all celebrate with a LOT of hugs.

In view of the still inclement weather we had decided on an 11:00 am rendezvous at the Streaky Bay Hotel which overlooks the town jetty and the anchorage area. We could observe our boats from there and by having a lunch rather than dinner we could be back on board before the anticipated sea breeze kicked in at 14:00 or so.  We had already dragged anchor the day before after having sat OK for nearly 24 hrs. At least we had the whole bay behind us and for a change, no Easy Tiger since they had been escorted to a mooring after having dragged anchor the day after being escorted in by the local VMR.

We gobbled the pub food we'd so frequently chatted about in our radio exchanges. B1 spoke only about the steak and chips, the Bloke was propelled ever onwards towards his next sausage roll. It would barely matter if it was bird droppings rolled in puff pastry, it would taste mighty fine!

For all the joy in our hearts lunch was a bit subdued. Six sailor-folk still tired. I looked out across the bay vacantly observing a couple of teenaged boys skylarking about on the edge of the shark proof caged ocean pool along the edge of the jetty. 'Boys will be boys' I was thinking. So overcast and cold. Do they not have nerve endings to sense the temperature? How did a dinghy get to be part of their game I wondered?

We decamped for the promise of coffee and cake at the coffee shop that overlooks the beach, jetty and anchorage. This gave us a glimpse of the beach where our dinghies were..... once! Yikes..... No dinghies. Synapses suddenly connected. The boys. The dinghy. They had rescued Urchin's dinghy and tied it off on the shark proof fence. Easy Tiger's dinghy was not to be seen. Ours was tantalisingly only 10m off the shore. A bit far for the Bloke to wade or god forbid, swim with the natives (white pointers). Every moment of hesitation was a metre added.

You can point all that you want....

...but this little dinghy 'ain't coming back!

We had dragged our dinghy further up the beach than the others but still not enough... The tides are around 2m here (we NOW know) and the wind was blowing briskly off shore. Maree and B1 sprinted 200m along the jetty in an unusual gate (they still had sea legs) retrieved their dinghy, hastily thanking the bemused boys.

Next job; rescue the others. Maree and B1 fanged it towards our dinghy and brought it back to the Bloke who then accompanied by Steve, joined Maree and B1 in pursuit of Easy Tiger's recidivist craft. Is this the 3rd escape?  Being the first into shore, their dinghy was closest to the waters edge and had a good head start on its great escape.

Mission accomplished and all dinghies reunited with an owner, the Bloke headed back towards shore but detoured to visit Zofia. Leanne and I had been left on the shore while all this was going on and watched helplessly. I observed the Bloke in the distance with his head in the anchor locker. Ah ha! I thought. Good idea.  Put out another 5-10m of chain. I hadn't seen Zofia making a move. The Bloke began waiving in that criss cross 'look at me' pattern. Oops. Something going on here. Luckily Steve had just arrived back to collect Leanne.

Steve, would you mind taking me out to Zofia? she's adrift too!

Streaky Bay's rainiest day since 1938

109 mm of rain fell overnight in Streaky Bay and far eclipsed the drenching of 79mm that Adelaide received yesterday. We took it for the team and the local community though. Imagine if we hadn't prevented this foot of water from getting to the town!

We hadn't gone to shore yet. The dinghy was preloaded with rubbish

The Bloke will have hours of fun

We seem to have had a sprinkling of rain

The jobs list just got longer and everything re-prioritised. Dinghy bailing now top of list!

The Great Australian Bight Crossing 7-12th Feb, 2014. Technical review.

This post was obviously written after our crossing of The Great Australian Bight. The outline of the conditions at each stage, aligned with the actual synoptic situation gives a practical perspective of the passage. The synoptic charts were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology metEye Archive. As a general comment, we would say our timing was wrong. We should have waited longer at Middle Island for better conditions. Leaving to cross The Bight with an approaching cold front and cyclonic activity developing in Northern Australia was a poor decision. Having said that, summer is less harsh and even though we encountered some 'bad' weather, it was nothing compared to what this stretch of ocean can offer.

Day 1 - Friday 7th February

Wind speed: 10-15 knots
Wind direction: SE
Boat speed: 6-7 knots

Swell Height: 1.5-2.0m
Swell Direction: SW with some SE component

Comments:
Conditions were good with low swell and very little fetch. Boat rode well with very little slamming.



Day 2 - Saturday 8th February

Wind speed: Variable up to 25 knots and stronger 30-35 knots in the evening
Wind direction: SW
Boat speed: Up to 8 knots under reefed head sail, no main

Swell Direction: SW with SE component
Swell Height: 2.5-3.0m

Comments: Approaching cold front generated thunder storms and strong squalls. These moved in a SE direction leaving strong winds, larger swells and a confused sea. The sailing was vigorous under heavily reefed rig.



Day 3 - Sunday 9th February

Wind speed: 10-15 knots increased to 25-30 knots in evening
Wind direction: E/SE
Boat speed: 6 knots

Swell Height: 2.5-3.0m
Swell Direction: SW with large SE component

Comments: Motor-sailed most of the day because the wind angle made for insufficient progress under sail.  Hove-to in the evening and deployed the sea anchor because conditions deteriorated too much. Remained hove-to for 13 hours.


Day 4 - Monday 10th February

Wind speed: 15-20 knots
Wind direction: E/SE
Boat speed: 1.5-2 knots

Swell Height: 2.0-2.5m
Swell Direction: SW with large SE component

Comments: A most unpleasant day. Motored all day at approx 1800 revs to achieve 18 nautical miles. Boat slammed all the time and rigging loosened.



Day 5 - Tuesday 11th February

Wind speed: 5-15 knots
Wind direction: SE
Boat speed: 6-8 knots

Swell Height: 1.5-2.0m
Swell Direction: SW with SE component

Comments: Pleasant sailing day. Tacking into wind but made good ground with wind angle to boat at approximately 45-50 degrees. Motored when wind dropped in the middle of day and then had a exciting sail in the evening. Clouds and rain developed during the day. The swell dropped and the sea was calm.



Day 6 - Wednesday 12th February 

Wind speed: 10-50 knots
Wind direction: SE/E/S/NE
Boat speed: 1-8 knots

Swell Height: 2.5-3.0m
Swell Direction: SW

Comments: In the morning and early afternoon the sailing was the best of the passage. Boat speeds in excess of 8 knots were achieved under full main and jib and then reefed main and full jib. In the evening however, all hell broke loose. A severe storm front developed in the north and then hit us with squalls containing 50 knot gusts and buckets of rain. We motored into Streaky Bay at 1-4 knots for 4 hours to cover the last 12 nautical miles.

Would we do it again? No need: we have done it once and we crossed The Great Australian Bight because we are sailing around Australia. Were we scared? Yes, but not to the extent that we could not control the situation. Did we learn anything? LOTS. We feel we are better sailors for this experience. The boat sails faster and we have no difficulty nor compunction to hove-to if the going gets tough. Would we recommend that you do it? Only if you have to! This is not a stretch of water to 'just have a go' unless you are a John Sanders or an Around The World racing sailor. Cruising sailors will find this a challenge; a challenge that if conquered, will make you a better sailor.

Salt

After 3 months of a floating life and this most recent extended passage across the Great Australian Bight, there are probably very few surfaces aboard Zofia that haven't by now got an invisible dusting of salt! Maybe our foulies are to blame to some degree. We can't keep climbing in an out of them and even when we try to, we need to sit to do it. We stagger around so much we can't always choose what we'll brush up against. When we are in a seaway and if you were a fly on the wall, you'd see two loonies moving about the cabin .... just like those puppets from The Thunderbirds.  Remember Virgil and Miss Penelope? Dress those puppets up in our Musto wet weather gear and we could be them. The salt just transfers from one thing to another like a contagion.

If you've got salt on anything it's never going to be dry and in fact, in humid conditions, it just attracts more moisture. It's a monster. All those sacred images and statues of the Madonna that appear to cry are symptomatic of salt, I reckon.

My mission over the next week will be to wash down every hard surface and to launder every doona cover, cushion cover, worn clothing item etc...... The list is long.

It's probably an ambition to match King Canute's but I'll give it a darn good shot. A good start will be to give the Bloke careful instructions about where he can sit and what he can wear until the job is done. Hope he's in the mood for a good 'listening to'... ha ha

I declare war on brine..... it's the salt, not my Bloke, Brian!

Still at last

Blue blob  stationary--- means boat possibly at anchor .... This time not a sea anchor but lots of metal on sand I hope.......job done TICK