ANZAC Day 2014

We like to attend ANZAC Day dawn services. Maybe it's more me that likes to but the Bloke comes too. Today we are in Port Lincoln so we attended their Dawn Service.

In years gone by we've been to the Perth Dawn Service in Kings Park which has in recent times grown to be the single largest one in the country, attended by some 35,000 plus, adults and children. My brother and his 3 little Gorski men will be there with too. The Bloke and I would walk up from our apartment to Kings Park via the Jacobs Ladder steps up the Mt Eliza hill-face which is now a very popular Boot Camp training element among the fitness fadistas. We have even attended the Albany service on Mt Clarence, overlooking King George Sound, where the ANZAC forces last sighted Australian soil. Very moving especially when a lone flare is detonated over the water as the sun is rising!

The Bloke's brother will be marching in Busselton today with a group of other Vietnam Diggers. We are very proud of him and his mates as they have had a lot to overcome to get to the point that they felt that they could face an ANZAC Day March and all the memories it might ignite.

My Dad no longer marches at the head of the Perth Polish Ex-servicemen. They disbanded their group when it was felt that their number would be insufficient and mostly too infirm to participate with dignity.  For a good many years after that my Dad joined the slouch hat vets that tended the Kings Park War memorial. It was a very busy role with never a month passing between commemorations of some significant military event. ANZAC Day was a pinnacle of the year though and in the end became too much. Taking the job of standing to attention for the duration of the service very seriously is not for those with any kind of health issues. While he was still participating, it was nice to catch up with him afterwards for a thermos of coffee or a breakfast back at the apartment.

My Dad told me a beautiful story about the Highgate RSL where he is still  I think, a member. There was a returned serviceman there who headed a small committee that tended all the small plaques at the bases of the trees planted along the avenues in Kings Park. Each tree and memorial plaque recalls a fallen comrade. This chap quietly performed this task for decades and always ensured that the plaques looked their best for Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day. Eventually Dad put this fellow forward for official recognition. By this stage the chap was gravely ill. Realising that he would unlikely survive until the official announcements, the WA State Governor's office was contacted and the award was presented at his bedside just before he died. It's nice to think this fellow was not forgotten while he was doing his best to ensure none of the fallen were forgotten.

So at stupid o'clock today, the Bloke and I rowed the dinghy across the dark marina canal to save 20 minutes of walking, leaving us with only 40mins of brisk walking to the far side of Port Lincoln to reach the local memorial and service. It was attended by at least 1,000 people. It was fascinating to see all the wreaths being laid by representatives of not just the armed services but all the groups that form the nerve fibres of the community organism here. Noted omissions were the State Schools. The private colleges sent student reps and laid wreaths. The State Schools were announced as if they were meant to be there but were a 'no show'. The trumpeter that played the Last Post did a great job given that his playing was echoing off the nearby tallest building in Pt Lincoln. The feedback would have been most disconcerting but he nailed every note just the same!

Our reward for our own pre-dawn march was to witness a stirring coming-together of appreciative inheritors of a country shaped by sacrifice.

Next on the agenda was a coffee at the Port Lincoln Hotel prior to our fave coffee place, Del Giorno's, opening at 08:30 for breakfast. Re-fuelled we ambled less purposefully full of contemplation back the marina. Mission accomplished.

L E S T   W E   F O R G E T

 Helmet of the Unknown Digger casts a shadow

 This Captain looked like he's stepped straight out of a history book

 This splendid memorial was the impressive backdrop for the Port Lincoln ANZAC Day Dawn Service. Note there were actually 2 flags, our Australian flag is out of picture and both flags were lowered to half mast.

The dawn crowds now long gone and the seating left ready for the conclusion of the march later in the morning.

Icarus

Not content with being captain of our little ship, the Bloke is attempting to control something new. Boys and their toys!

In the midst of the deck wash confusion 2 weeks ago, the final bids were being placed on an eBay auction item. A triumph in multi-tasking to be sure. This was the object of his desire and fascination since they first came to market and now it is to be his birthday present trophy to self. I'm secretly glad of this as it will provide an outlet in coming months when sailing opportunities will be less..... So what did he purchase? Answer: an AR Drone!

Just what is it exactly?  It is described as a wi-fi quadricopter - flying toy with on-board GPS

What does it do? We'll apart from being the source of amusement for grown ups they do have some commercial uses. One famously crashed onto the back of a triathletes head in a recent Geraldton, WA event while filming the event. By strange coincidence she happened to be the wife of one the Professional Irornmen who trains our son Viv, when he's preparing for Ironman events.

For now, we'll focus on the amusement. The package arrived just as we were due to head to Memory Cove so there was no chance to do much more than unpack the parcel and drool over the contents. No internet at Memory Cove also meant that none of the YouTube tutorials on how to pilot these gizmos could be accessed. Now back in the Marina these tutorials are being viewed VERY frequently and the funky French electronic mood music betrays the viewing of another bog lap around some chateau in the French countryside. Have a look at this link :-  AR drone director mode tutorial   . It's aspirational for the Bloke. He's part the way there. He has the device.

Progress has been slow due to other jobs to conquer but today he'll be off to the nearby lawn area next to a building site which the bloke thoughtfully hopes will disguise any otherwise potentially annoying sounds. Hopefully progress will be made.

Ooops, he's back....tears before lunch...more practice required.... after the glue has set!

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.