idlerboat

yep....do it all....just flew in to Hamilton island....what a mess...

.....just got a brief msg that she is still afloat.... as long as the bilge pumps are working all else can be sorted...phew..

Still no news..... We cant get a call into the Marina... it was just ringing twice and stopping...now there is a recorded msg saying disconnected.. Planes flying out but nothing allowed in.. (removing the 3000 or so people that were stranded on Hamilton and surrounding islands).. The emergency has now increased with massive floods in southern QLD and northern NSW... ..... I cant do much as I am just about to cross Bass Strait...

Thanks IT... I am on my own boat down in Tassie after a years travel but the boat at Hamo is my job. Its a large rather nice timber ketch that I skipper. The marina told me they were putting extra lines on her, but she weighs 36 tonnes plus.... .... cant get on to the marina yet to find out if she is ok...

Now gusting 142 knots with 99 knots constant.... I may not have a boat to go back to work on...

Setting up for a hit on the Whitsundays... http://satview.bom.gov.au/ Centre very close to one of the main coal carrier exits , through the great barrier reef. Hydrographers Passage. 19,50,06 150.21.65 Mackay now on storm surge emergency evacuation. The area already has one of the highest tide ranges in Australia and a storm surge of over two metres is possible. Debbie keeps bearing more south than expected and is now causing possible headaches for places like Hamilton island. Airport already had 60 knots gusts. The marina is just the other side of the rise from the airport and has a v

Spinnaker pole with sheets as stays..? Should pick up W to SW winds from there.. Even at three knots that's 18 days..which has to be within their food and water..? Probably horrible but would save the boat and a lot of trouble.

....I dont pretend too... but I would be curious how many times in x number of operational hours that they have had to resort to a compass ?... ...and the ramifications are ...lets say a little more dramatic if a failure occurs... ....and... I do have a compass on board......and...I would be very curious to know if commercial aircraft run on magnetic or true bearings...which was the point.... ...and...what on earth makes you think that a non electronic compass dosnt fail ??? I got told by a very experienced old pilot ..."The reason why they use the new sh*t, is because it is more reliable

Fair enough.scenarios for everything.. Personally I wouldn't cross a bar I don't know at night..and I wouldn't trust my compass regardless if it was so tight that I couldn't turn around. Given what I have seen plenty of places I wouldn't trust paper or electronic charts for a first time night time bar crossing either

I think its worth remembering that magnetic Changes..... True Does not.... Magnetic is location and date specific.. True is always true... Charts are drawn true..and as such are the constant.

Yep..Zozza exactly .BUT.. It is super important to both remember and understand the fundamentals of traditional coastal nav. If for no other reason than to talk with other navigators and to keep all the facets of a sailing boats motion through the water clear in your head. Or to put it another way I can navigate in a traditional text book manner but usually chose what ever is the easiest, most reliable, and accurate method with what I have at my disposal.

....this has been a good reminder to check my battery powered , hand held GPS and its spare batteries. So, if you are down to one of these devices and need to steer.... (That would be in the case of a catastrophic power fail) Steering to a compass is not easy, but steering to a set of moving numbers or that tiny digital compass rose can be a lot harder.. I like to start by steering to the compass bearing with no regard for variation or deviation etc.. ....(check for a star if available)..and then after a minute or so check the hand held GPS for its bearing. I then adjust my course unt

Ok ..firstly I don't have the energy or accuracy to compete with my most competent helm..so am glad to let Albert steer. Albert dosn't care if its mag or true. All my charts are in true. My chart plotter charts are true. In fact the only thing that is not is my least used least accurate device...the compass. On a small steel vessel the compass table of offsets needs to be done regularly (along with swinging the compass) local magnetic annomolys along with changing variation from your charts rose all add up to traditional paper navigation...which I don't do. Its not accurate enough for me.

I always run everything true. Why would you take a technology that is capable of constant and introduce "an error" ? I don't know any long distance cruisers who steer to a mag compass. Its only there as a last ditch back up. Adjustment for leeway with an auto pilot set using mag or true is easy and the same. Set a waypoint track ...then check the xte (cross track error) adjust the bearing a few degrees until the xte is as stable as possible. Check as part of normal watch keeping duties. I only hand steer if something is broken. By the way..steering to a star if possible is way more acu

....just did another batch with fresh mango and tinned apricots....coconut milk and condensed milk...YUMMY.. add bananas as prepared above with a decent drizzle of baileys or similar chocolate liqueur..

Recipe for Boat ice cream 1. Magic Mango Madness 3 Mangoes coconut milk (400 g tin) 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk pinch of nutmeg blend all ingredients until fluffy.. put in freezer until slushy ....blend again.. Repeat until thickish and ice crysticals have disappeared. Freeze until solid.. Makes aprox 1 litre 2. Gone Nutty and Banananas 6 Bananas 2 to 3 tablespoons of peanut butter. A tablespoon of maple syrup (macadamias or pecan nuts optional) blend all ingredients until fluffy.. put in freezer until slushy ....blend again.. Repeat until thi

We make icecream !! Takes two days but is super easy. ....... anyone want the recipe ??

I love having most of my lines back to the cockpit. I promised myself that I would do this when I built the boat I now sail. When it gets bumpy cold and wet, being able to stand wedged in the companionway and drop in another reef is the best. I have heard criticism that it makes you lazy and wait to long before reefing...I have found that the opposite applies. You tend to do it more often and sooner when you can do it easily ! I made all my own deck organizers cheaply and have 12 rope clutches. I bought basic but very strong units from the USA. Dont forget to have reasonable size winches

Not by a long shot !!! 1998 This year is infamous in both sailing and weather forecasting history. A small scale low formed over Eastern Bass Strait late on Boxing Day and produced extreme weather that was underplayed by the leading computer models. A paper writtern by Peter Joubert (a retired Professor of Fluid Dynamics from Melbourne University), covered some of the extreme aspects of this low, including the measurement of a 42.7m wave by rescue helicopters and also mean wind-speeds in excess of 68kts (125km/h+). The maximum wind gust recorded at Wilsons Promontory was an incredible 92kt

Bought a cruising main from them six years ago. Price was one third of local quotes at the time and included air frieght . For cruising it has been spot on . Now many thousands of miles and still in great condition. The stitching has either been done by a computer controlled machine or by a super human. Far East make sails for lots of other sailmakers (even if you dont know it ) They have made trillions of them... If you want finaly tuned racing sails then you may be crazy or have lots of dollars and are better off setting up a relationship with a sail loft that will work with you twe

...um...I hate to say this...but the last thing a teak deck needs or wants is regular cleaning...... ..lots of salt water only..(and watch out for long hot dry days)

Greetings from New Caledonia.....which is the point ! It all depends on how much you want to spend on the vessel for looks and how much you want to spend sailing. Please do no think me being unkind or smug in saying this. I work on boats for a living. (and manage a large all timber yacht) Timber deck work is expensive because A. the materials are expensive and B. it is very time consuming. Do a quick calculation of the number of meters of seams on even a small boat. Traditional layed timber decks leak...... They are beautiful and define a truly classic timber yacht....but.... If you want

I do this by using a "trucky's hitch"...on my fore sail (furler). It runs out of the mast and through a block at the base of the mast, then back up to tie the hitch. I hitch it down and tie it off, (Halyard is 12 mm spectra). no need to winch or cleat.

Thanks for the reply's.. I dont have a lot of time and a lot to do to get properly ready so any input is very helpful. (...and I have to do 800 NM before I even jump off the cost..)

Hi all..heading for New Cal then Vanuatu in a few weeks. (From Oz). Any suggestions for public liability insurance (Please may I come into your marina insurance) Cant afford offshore full insurance and boat is currently insured in all Australian territorial limits. Boat has high spec safety stuff..excellent condition. Two up.