Yep, interesting times indeed. Here in NSW we have had the lockdown due to the corona virus pandemic. Fortunately, due to the lockdown and social distancing etc they haven’t had the rates of infections and deaths that they have experienced in other parts of the world. But we aren’t out the woods yet. Recently, there has been a bit of a spike in NSW and a big spike in Victoria. At least we are allowed back on the water again. …
Here we go another blog post when there hasn’t been all that much to report on either maintenance or sailing. In the last blog, which was only about three weeks ago, I took La Mouette out for a run up Coal and Candle Creek to give the engine a much needed run. Sad to say, I haven’t done much since then. I spent last weekend on the boat at the marina, with the good intentions of doing some electrical work,…
Happy new year and welcome to 2020. Last year, I didn’t get as much done as I had originally planned. The broken arm in July effectively wiped out the second half of the year, although we did manage to get back out on the water in October for the long weekend. That was the only outing but hopefully we get more sailing done this year. Things are off to a good start already with a run up Coal and Candle…
Another year almost done and dusted. It’s now almost halfway through December and the countdown for Christmas has begun. Luckily for us, we won’t be around for Christmas day as we are going to Switzerland for a white Christmas. Actually, the plan is to go skiing for a week and then stay with some friends in Zurich for another week. However, due to my broken arm, I don’t know if I will get all that much skiing done. I have…
Another month, another blog. What do I write about this time? A friend of mine, Debbie from Missouri has a blog also but it’s not a sailing blog. Just a personal blog, however, she manages to post something on it almost everyday, which I find really amazing. https://beingauntdebbie.com/ I suppose that if I really dug deep, I could do a weekly posting, but sailboat stuff would be thin on the ground (or water). There is only so much stuff you…
My first solo sail. First time taking the boat out of the dock and up the marina channel and out into the water ways by myself. That’s a pretty big step and without a doubt probably the most significant day out sailing I have ever had. More significant than the collision in the Booker Bay marina. Much more significant. Of course I am writing this in hindsight and have done lots and lots of post mortems of the day and…
A lot of water has flowed under the keel since the last blog post. Has it really been two months since I last wrote a blog? Paradoxically, when things a quiet, the blog gets regularly updated, albeit once a month. You would think that when things are busy, there would be more to write about and hence more blogs but not so lately. The last blog was about the yearly engine service, thrilling stuff indeed! Since the service, the boat…
The annual haul-out, bottom clean and antifoul should be a fairly routine exercise, but it’s usually quite stressful. Seeing your beloved boat manhandled by strangers, being lifted out of the water in the travel lift and subsequently propped up with stands. However, it’s something that is necessary – like going to the dentist I suppose. The Akuna Bay boatyard has a policy of no DIY, so all the grungy work of pressure washing, scraping off growth and barnacles, followed by…
The allied invasion of Europe in June, 1944 occurred on the sixth, which was seen by the weather forecasters as the best day. The invasion was originally schedule for 5 June, but a spate of bad weather delayed the actual invasion until June 6, D-Day. The bad weather prior to the invasion, would, according to the meteorologists lessen to such an extent that they would be able to launch the invasion. The German weather forecasters predicted that the weather wouldn’t…
Grab the bucket and sponge. Grab the spanners and screwdrivers. Charge up the drill and dremel. Plug in the fridge and make sure it has beer in it. Easter is coming and La Mouette and I are going to spend some time together. The Easter bunny can come if he wants but he or she must be prepared to bring beer and help out with jobs. I have four days free and as I did over Christmas, I plan to…