B-log ~ June 2015

June 2015                                                                        May 2015 >>
Blog of Jack and Jude
explorers, authors, photographers & videographers

Back to home base

Wow, we’ve been back at the shack three weeks now and are still more or less confined to ground zero. It’s been a disaster so far. Here’s our news.

Goodbye to friends at Strahan – See you again in the Spring

The flight couldn’t have gone better. With lots of good friends, an easy trip across the island, a superb goodbye party in Hobart, made the early flight next day and smooth change over in the mainland city, even getting our weighty rucksacks accepted straight through. Family waiting at the airport whisked us away to their place for never ending catch-up cuddles and kisses from five littlies with wet noses dribbling who wanted us to sleepover. Nah, must go. Got to catch the food store and open up our shack while there’s still a skirret of daylight.

Mum with her sons

Mum with her sons Happy to feel their arms around her

 

We didn’t make it. And here’s where the good ends and the bad starts. Driving up to our place in pitch darkness, I fumbled through every pocket but couldn’t find the keys. It’s never easy changing headspace after six months. Lugging heavy bags after a nervy 24 hours, whoopee, the door opened, lights went on – all looked sweet even if a bit like an abandoned cathedral full of spider webs and dead cockies tainted by a slight smell of dead rat.

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Sydney Harbour – One of the best and most beautiful in the world

 

20150529_172418Torch in hand, water tank turned on, then into the pump shed. There, water is pouring onto the floor. Hmm! That’s not right. But no worries I’m thinking. Probably just needs a run. But flicking the switch was like Hoover Dam bursting. Water’s not pouring out, it’s gushing.

Back into the shack, taps are jettisoning bursts of air like a ramjet trying to take off. While back in the pump shed, it’s awash. The pump seal must be had so I shut it down.

“Looks like we’ll bucket water tonight’ I tell Jude who encouragingly quips, “Hot showers in the morning?”

Next morning, first task is to borrow a big pipe wrench to remove pump. All my good tools are on the boat of course. Disassembling the pump, the skirt on the ceramic seal is rotten. I ring around, “A seal for a 1980s pump! You got no hope, sonny. New pump here. $700. For you, make it $650.”

Being long term cruising yachties and now pensioners to boot has trained us to go easy on the folding stuff so I surf the net and find a Chinese look alike at Hardware Direct for $300 delivered. Needing more supplies, we decide on the long way round to town to avoid paying the ferryman until we can buy a season ticket on Monday, and as a good excuse to check out the neighbourhood. Lovely drive, green hills, everything seems bigger and busier. The recently completed highway bypass seems to be bringing more cars into our coastal hideaway. Oh well, suppose that’s progress. We scout the hallowed halls of our local Bunnings, so big it dwarfs the Pentagon. Up and down rows of stuff, but they’re out of stock of pumps. Damn! We used to have five hardware stores, now it’s just Bunnings and an old one trying to hang on, but still not a pump in sight. “Who uses them anymore? Everyone ‘cept the peninsula has piped water.” Decide to order online, we’ll live by the bucket a few days longer.

Second morning home we’re early at the pool with the littlies for swimming lessons laughingly cavorting around in the water with eight tagging rides. Wet faces and dribbling noses, we had a wonderful morning then celebrated by flashing out for a much needed play set. With five kiddies under ten and another about to squirt out we reckon it a wise investment.

Busy week follows ordering pump, cleaning shack and trying to gravity feed water into it, which didn’t work. So, no washing machine. What! No shower. Heck! We’d rather be pumping the toilet out on the boat, but instead, must use buckets. The pump is not due until Thursday.

Thursday comes. Pump doesn’t arrive. I ring Hardware Direct. “Where’s my pump?” I ask a rather bored voice that sounds awfully high or just plain dumb. After much waiting, he responds, “Well. It’s here.” And Mount Vesuvius explodes in my head. “What! There’s a long weekend coming!”

“Yeah, guess you’ll get it next week.” Now, Hardware Direct boasts low prices, but their ad doesn’t mention poor service.

“Tracking number?” I ask.

“You’ll get one when it ships.” Paying peanuts get monkeys.

This pump has done a lot of work.

This pump has done a lot of work.

In desperation I squirted some boat sealant into the broken pump seal, reassembled it, and gave it 24 hours to do its magic. Jude’s in need of water to finish cleaning the shack, which, by the way is looking pretty good – only one broken window from a suicidal bird. The new shed is still standing. While we were away it survived its first fifty knot blow down the river, so pleased us being dry inside – but the roller doors needed un-sticking. The garden and grounds look fantastic and lush, the new hedge doubled in size, reflecting the copious amount of rain and the care of good neighbours after all the hard work we’d put in before leaving.

But, after a week on buckets, life became rather tedious. Missing our boat, the mountains, the big trees, and the silence.

The Friday night before swimming again, Jude starts hacking a snowstorm that becomes a blizzard, vainly trying to cough up thick gooey stuff. By morning she’s pale like death. The floor covered in white tissues. One has bright blood flecks. Swimming’s called off for us. Jude stays in bed sliding further downhill. Isolated in the riverside ward she’s feverishly hacking painfully, popping panadol and gulping foul tasting cough syrup, while I quietly prance around hoping I’m impregnable.

The long weekend passes. It’s beaut weather and warm but we’re inside in isolation. Tuesday arrives and we wait for a tracking number as if for a Governor’s pardon. But it doesn’t come. Wednesday early I’m calling Hardware Direct. After bucket living for two weeks I’m not getting off till I have a number or my money back. I get a number. Be here Thursday. It comes, but to the wrong address. I receive my Chinese look alike on Friday. By which time my nose is running like a tap and my chest sounds like a broken church organ. But I work all day planning the changeover, buying the plumbing bits. By nightfall we have water in the shack, albeit with a few small leaks.

C360_2015-06-20-13-55-55-339_orgNo swimming that Saturday either. Jude’s still not good, and I’m failing fast. But the new swing set arrives to the cheers of many excited small voices. We go up and, surrounded by a band of Indians, try to make sense out of the thousand pieces found in four big boxes using the 50 page manual. Light rain is falling when we put the first bits together.C360_2015-06-20-17-15-26-725

 

Nicely wet by dark, refusing dinner I want only my bed. Terrible night. Drenched the bed. Hacking didn’t dislodge the glue in my chest or cement in my sinuses. Fully exhausted, finally sleep, to be awoken early by five high pitched kiddies wishing me, “Happy Birthday Poppi!”

For once I was somewhat pleased to be nearer death so I wouldn’t need to breath. But, a shinning example and trouper, I dress, shove a toilet roll in my pocket and it’s back up to the family to continue putting together the play set. Then surprise! Our other son has organised an evening BBQ. A fun time after belting down a few celebratory drinks. Plenty of kids, who we love dearly. Love wresting, swing high to the sky, plenty of stories and cuddles while holding our breaths. So good, we’re the last to leave.

Heavy to bed for one of my worst nights ever. Jude’s a tiny bit better, holding out hope for resurrection. But by Origin Night, it’s really bleak. Can’t breath. Panadol doing nothing. Cough syrup tastes like bitter poison. Decongestant hardly breaking up the cement. The white flag goes up. Thursday morning we visit the doc. He listens to our chests. Jude’s not good. Bronchitis. Prescribes antibiotics and chest x-ray. Me. I’m one step away from pneumonia. I get the antibiotics plus something super powerful for a couple of days and a puffer so I can breathe. Plus an x-ray to see the damage.

That pretty much brings you up to date. It’s Saturday again. No swimming again. But dang, we’re feeling good enough to break out and go to finish off that mammoth new swing set. Oh yeah, it seems we’re not the Bloody Mary spreading this. Everyone here already has it. Just bad luck we came home in time to get our bit.

A further update, visited doctor again today. Good news, x-rays for both of us are clear. More pills prescribed. We’re better but not quite back to where we began. And the big news is after three weekends, we have finally finished putting the mamoth play set together and aren’t the kids excited!

SKYFORT - should be fun for six kids under ten !

SKYFORT – should be fun for six kids under ten !

I’ll leave you with the wisdom of Helen Keller who had a most difficult and amazing life turning adversity into fun.

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Helen Keller

A fleece, three jumpers and a beanie

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Last year June to June we sailed nearly right around Australia, notching up lots of miles that were made even more testing by Jude breaking her leg in the Kimberley. This year since Christmas we’ve taken things far more easier. Smelt the roses you could say. Although we did start gangbusters from Adelaide by sailing six hundred miles in spring’s thirty knoters that Garry Kerr nicknamed Banyandah Winds because we only had fair winds during strong wind warnings.

It was all heavy weather sailing to reach west coast Tasmania by Australia Day, just in time for Hobart’s Wooden Boat Festival. The good weather enjoyed at the festival continued during our easy return to Strahan aboard the Jane Kerr with the maestro Garry at the helm. That set up a summer as live-aboard land-folk with loaned wheels alongside a mate’s jetty whenever we were not up the Gordon River tramping World Heritage forests. All up, we made four expeditions into the forests including nearly a week camped in the thick stuff searching for an elusive bridge and historical track.

Next to the Wilson pride

Alongside at Mill Bay with Wilson Pride

We notched up another three hundred miles in the protected waterways of Macquarie Harbour and the magnificent Gordon River. As a result many hours of video need editing this winter. We’ll post some clips after we settle into our new environs. Might even produce a DVD of the entire summer and include the best of the Boat Festival’s Sail Past, crewing the Jane Kerr, kayaking up the King River and our walks; Betsy’s Bay to West Coast and from Farm Cove to Mount Sorell’s plateau for magical views. Plus there’s a heap of footage in the forest searching.

 

After five fantastic months afloat in Tasmania we were wearing at least three jumpers, a beanie, plus the boat heater going whenever the sun was lost or the wind blew fresh. Therefore late in May we booked flights back to home base. Thereafter while securely mooring and winterizing our ship, life began beckoning from a totally different direction and we started planning and dreaming of the days to come. Living voraciously in one direction for nearly half a year then abruptly changing course re-energizes us.

  • While freezing in Tasmania, our Coral Sea article was published in Modern Boating
  • After safely mooring Banyandah,>/em> we took a walk to Motezuma Falls
  • Motezuma Falls has a suspension bridge that scares most.
  • Autumn colours bringing the wet

 

two menDuring our last week in Strahan, as tagalong helpers we once again joined the film crew of “Two Men in a Punt” to record additional scenes requested by the producer. Jude was in heaven working alongside Joe Shemesh, who recently was awarded a golden tripod for his filming of cave spiders in sub zero conditions. But he was here in Strahan to produce an educational demonstration of the old Piner  way of harvesting a Huon Pine. We landed in three loads on a narrow access road, tight between trees, a tricky spot for a helicopter with heavy loads. Scary inside, spectacular on camera. Great footage was taken over the two day shoot that will be merged into the original footage for a new production run. Going by what we’ve seen, it will be great. We’re one hundred percent behind connecting people to Earth.

  • the flight was fun - landing was scary
  • Jack asked Joe whether he ever got used to landing in tree tops
  • Good to see Franz and Joe again
  • Forestry's bulldozed lanes gave us access
  • The actors go over their lines
  • Huon Harvest
    And then Joe shouts "rolling"
  • Taking off proved more difficult than landing

 

Then in one catalytic day we were transported from being afloat at Strahan, now with a fleece coat added to our three jumpers and beanie, to being land based at home in shirtsleeves, cuddled and loved by family, a bonzer sunset blazing across the river. Oh! And a badly leaking pressure pump meaning bucket water until it is fixed.

From a world where everything moves and every action must consider movement, we have been taken to a world where nothing moves. Our platform may have become rock solid, but around us the pace has become hectic and our world filled with muted human noise.

That first night walking our land we visualized dreams only spoken about and quickly became excited by life offering so much. Saturday began early, a day with the kids, first swimming lessons and fun in the pool, then a BBQ lunch followed by little shy Sophie and racer Dylan – We’re Poppi and Nanni again. Love the boys and family. Love everyone in the balmy 22 C temperature and cerulean blue sky, quite still with patchy white and lovely river reflections too. But we do miss the mountains and the daily boat traffic of Macquarie Harbour. But do not miss the grey skies and scudding squalls. 🙂

While we enjoy family and good weather, down south our lady remains shrouded in grey, wet, and wind

While our lady remains surrounded by grey and wet,  we’ll enjoy family and good weather, and be in training for next summer.

 




Comments

B-log ~ June 2015 — 10 Comments

  1. Great to read all your stories, we’ve been following your adventures as we ourselves have sailed around the coast of Australia (blog address above), at present berthed at Magnetic Island Marina. We enjoy a 7 month (winter/dry season) sailing season and 5 months back home in Albany riding the motorbikes (you may remember them when you came to dinner), which seems to work for us. The longer term plan is to move offshore and spend longer periods on the boat, but older parents keep us coast bound for now. Good to hear you’re over the disease, hope all continues to go well for you both. Peter Scott

  2. Hi Jack and Jude,
    I am a subscriber to your newsletters, and have been following your exploits for some years. I have been delivering yachts for 14 years, some overseas, but nowadays mainly around the Australian coast (based near Sydney). I learnt a lot from your published material when I was planning a delivery a couple of years ago from Sydney to Fremantle. This trip went very well, in the month of February 2013, and I even wrote an article that was published in CH you may have seen.
    So much for the background, I have now been approached to do a delivery from Fremantle to Hobart, much the same passage as you have previously done. I have read your article in the latest CH, plus previous material, and have a question: given a free choice which month of the year would you choose for the trip? I firmly believe both from my research plus the experience of my own E –W trip in 2013, that the summer months (Jan thru March) is not the time for going W – E. Nor are the winter months June thru August. That leaves Sept thru Dec or April thru May. At these times the high pressure systems should tend to be centred around the latitude of Melbourne to Albany, and not generating the strong westerlies of the winter, nor the strong SE’s of the summer. My present inclination would be to aim for either mid November or late March departure from Freo. What do you think? (which month was the crossing in your article in the June CH? You only mentioned “With winter approaching”).

    I would very much appreciate your thoughts when you have time to respond.

    Good sailing,
    Roger
    http://www.coastalyachtdeliveries.com

    • Hello Roger,

      You are reading the situation correctly. We’ve made that journey in every season and that will dicatate route and degree of comfort.

      Our last crossing would have been in early May, we celebarted Jude’s birthday in Albany and then hopped along the coast to Daw Island. Winter swell was already making the ocean a washing machine near the coast, but we had more favorable winds, in fact no easterlies I can recall.

      We’ve made the crossing in January by sailing south to 40 and then direct towards SW cape Tasmania. A wonderful voyage, albeit slow with two totally windless days, and only one with a fair wind of 30 kts. The rest were easy going south to west. No motoring. We tried the same voyage in April one year, waited for just the right system and headed south only to see the our glorious HIGH split into two that created strong south winds. UGH cold and too hard on the vessel to make Tassie, we ended up in Portland. Another time we went in August. Good for a thrill, not such a good idea on a delivery.

      Remember that Darren at Emu Point Slipway in Albany (Oyster Harbour) is a terriffic shipwright that can sort out any hiccups in the delivery vessel. Hope that helps, Cap’n Jack

      • Hi Jack and Jude,
        Many thanks for your quick reply, and your thoughts on the subject. Maybe I should re-consider the January-February time frame. A bit will depend on the clients situation – he first has to sell a house in WA and move his family to Hobart. Will have to see how it all turns out. Roger

        • If you go in summer, of course you need to get on the other side of the HIGH. Choose a stable one that looks like it’ll stay put in the bight and go just as far south as needed to get westerly winds.

          If going that route, a HF is handy to get weatherfax images. Does the vessel have HF? If so I can point you to a program that will decipher the noise to produce all the maps availbale from BOM

          • Hi J&J,
            Thanks for the info; yes the yacht does have HF, and I have a laptop with jvfax software, which I have used a lot, often with my Sangean all-band receiver if no HF on board.. (I used to work for Codan and HF has always been a hobby as well as a job for me. As a matter of interest I am sure you remember Pentacomstat, the HF station run by Derek and Janine Barnard near Forster-Tuncurry? I have known them for years, and since they closed the station, then Janine died a couple of years ago, Derek now lives close by and we get together every few weeks for coffee. He still runs the sailmail station, with a heap of transceivers and computers, with dipoles strung around the trees in his yard! A great guy.)
            Thanks again, Roger

  3. Hi Jack and Jude,

    I have just finished your lovely article in the June Cruising Helmsman and as usual I thoroughly enjoyed it as also the many videos I have of your travels and and am now just ordering your new book!
    I have a small heavy displacement sailing vessel of only 30′ (Laurent Giles Wanderer30), I have been gearing up for a long time now for setting off, but there is always something that gets in the way ….money usually!
    Anyways the time is now very close, the boat is nearly equipped and ready and am looking for simple ways to get connected to the internet for getting up to date forecasts and weather charts. I have no SSB radio on board which I presume means no grib files etc.

    I like to keep everything very simple and I was hoping you could give me an idea on how to connect to the internet when coastal cruising? I am also looking into buying a self steering. The Monitor or Hydrovane look good but again your input would be very welcome. I sail single handed and find the tiller pilot gets tired too!

    Thank you both for inspiring so many of us boaties and non boaties alike to get off the sofa and to engage in life and to appreciate this wonderful world we live in.

    Kind Regards

    • Thank you Steve for your kind words, so pleased you like our books abd DVDs.

      Internet connection while coastal sailing usually means an account with Telstra as they have the most extensive network at this time. Optus is adding new towers, but Telstra still outreaches them in the rural areas. Tasmania much more so.

      For years we used a blue tick phone, with an extendable antennea and an antennea socket which could be connected to a broomstick like COL2195 made by RFI. It has a max gain of 6.5 db and not so narrow a beam that it loses the signal when the vessel rolls.
      Our new Samsung is a grand phone but lacks ext ant connectivity.
      With the flood of smart phones, the external antenea feature has been elminated and a passive connection is used to connect to an external antennea. Not as good I hear but we are leaning towards Smoothtalker and then will have to transfer data via bluetooth.

      A dongle could be the way out for you, there are still many that do have external antennea jacks. But you’ll be coastal hopping and may find adequate towers to handle your needs. We have not sailed the Qld coast for many years and can not offer advice on that. Whether you’ll have coverage at say lady Musgrave or coral anchorages more than 30 miles offshore, maybe you should ask someone on a aussie sailing forumn.

      in our case, we use one account for both phone and data. Cheapest way for us – Boost ( a Telstra company) gives us unlimited phone (3g) and 3 gb of data for $40/month. Works well.

      Regarding self steering, you would know we have used an Aries since the 70s and find Sir Aries irreplaceable. Vanes by their nature are more finicky to set up, require more tweaking but of course run without power and just as importantly, no noise. Either of the machines you mention should handle a thirty footer so pick the one that best fits your transom, or is the best buy. Running the control lines to the tiller will make adjusting the vane for weather helm easier than if it were connected to a wheel.
      Cheers, Jack & Jude

  4. Great photos guys – love the one of Pinocchio. Glad you are enjoying being back home with family and friends. Thoroughly enjoyed your most recent visit and the meals we shared – the Meredith Dairy goats cheese has been used in several delicious dishes since you left, so thanks for that. Lots of love Wendy (and Barry) XX

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