SATURDAY.
We wouldn't be ourselves if we didn't start without adventures, would we?!
Standard - we overslept. Before we got together and did our last shopping, we left Sydney around noon.
On the way, Marcin suddenly found that he did not remember seeing a pump for a pontoon in the car. As you know, our boat stands in the middle of the canal and to get to her, we have to get there on a small dinghy equipped with a small motor, which I like to call the Drunken Hare (because this is haw he behave sometimes).
Usually the small foot pump goes with the pontoon in the motorhome, but during the lockdown, Marcin changed the entire camping structure inside the car. And you know how it is - everything has to be kicked out of the car, things are swirling, and we have a lot of it there - mattresses, tents, chairs, plates, stoves, sleeping bags, snackling sets ... well, a brothel in a word.
So Marcin continued:
"I don't recall, if I was packing it back. But I also do not remeber if it was lying there somewhere. But all the gear was in one place."
"It's definitely somewhere." - I said - "We will get there, we will throw everything outside and it will be found."
Guess what?!
It didn't!
We called a friend where Marcin was doing a campervan. Nope, he searched here and there. There is not! Stone into the water!
Okay - what are we doing ?! There are three options.
drive to all the nearby camping or boat stores and look for a pump. There are only two such shops in the area and none of have them. Because it still has to be a pump with a special dinghy tip. There are not.
we go back to Sydney and we are searching diligently at our friend's house. We lose one day, because it would not be profitable to come back (too far), and as you remember from the previous post, each day of delay means worse and worse weather.
the last option. We have a spare pump on board the boat. We can ask local sailors or fishermen to drop us off with their dinghies, ask the mooring owner to lend us his little boat, because we have oars or ...
SWIMMING INFLOW.
And here, all in white, comes Captain Marcin...
...and just as Bear Grylls wades waist-deep in mud, he fights with the current and waves and the impending dusk and swims for that damned pump, thus saving the whole plan! Look what determination! This is called sacrifice to sailing, no bullshit!
Maybe the world has Bear Grylls, but I have my Beer Grill :D
This is how we started.
SUNDAY
On Sunday, we caught up with everything that we had not done the previous day. Before we both reached the boat (fortunately by dinghy), it was evening and a huge storm broke out. It is this storm that will rock the waves, the strength of which we were soon to feel by ourselves. So in the evening we took care of the things possible to do below deck. Marcin installed EPIRB, which is the most important thing on each boat. What is this? To Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) - a device for alerting search and rescue services in the event of an emergency at sea. It is tracking equipment that transmits a signal on a specific band to locate a boat, life raft, ship or people in distress. In an emergency, the red button is pressed and the device sends a rescue signal to all possible units in the area, which is automatically the message "MAYDAY" "S.O.S". It is used as a last resort when all other forms of assistance have failed (radio call, sound and light signals etc. and/or any method that works).
In the morning we got down to work and started getting ready for the trip. As I mentioned in "Preparations" we had to check the engine, electrics, bilge and manual pump, sails and rigging, anchor, prepare provisions and a rescue bag. It is required by law. It must be on board - we could have control of the maritime services at any time. Our bag is an airtight sailing sack with a first aid kit, knife, flares, V-shit (such a special rescue flag), magnesium flint, 1 liter of water and 4 Chinese soups! : D Chinese soups always on board!
we had to check the engine, electrics, bilge and manual pump, sails and rigging, anchor, prepare provisions and a rescue bag. It is required by law. It must be on board - we could have control of the maritime services at any time. Our bag is an airtight sailing sack with a first aid kit, knife, flares, V-shit (such a special rescue flag), magnesium flint, 1 liter of water and 4 Chinese soups! : D Chinese soups always on board!
In the evening, however, we went a liitle bit crazy and ordered ... a toilet! Ha! You already thought that some party, pizza, boozing, pathology and other bad things, and we were just happy as children for buying online our ordinary toilet!
Because whatever with EPIRB, provisions, sails - no toilet is the biggest problem in the ocean!
But seriously. There is a small toilet on the boat, which we use as a last resort. When we were on mooring, we would always go ashore when needed. But for the next two or three days, the shore will be a little far away. So we ordered a small, neat, composted, camping toilet. You pour some water here, a special neutralizing fluid here, here you have a pump, ram-pam and done.
Luxury.
And not - ... a plastic pail and life on the edge. Okay, I am done with this subject. : D
MONDAY
A challenge awaited Marcin that day. For him and our friend - Witek, a passionate diver.
BOAT BOTTOM CLEANING!!!
That's why Marcin looked like this in the morning.
The bottom of our boat was overgrown, like a scooter in the bush. Under the waterline, especially on Justine's screw, entire metropolises of barnacles were formed. They are such crustaceans that like to cling to everything. For example, whales. You have certainly seen whales covered with white crustaceans in the movies or photos.
On our bottom also stretched of sea forests, i.e. slippery algae, between the metropolises of these animals. The layer of this tangle of ocean flora and fauna was about two centimeters.
Without its removal, it would not be possible to sail.
So we patiently waited for Witek to come to us with all his scuba diving gear. And with a toilet, of course. :)
The gentlemen had to hurry. It was almost 2 p.m. and the tide was just starting. Remember that then Justine was standing in a kind of river bed, so when the tide started it was very hard to stay near the boat, let alone scrape her underwater with a spatula. Unfortunately, while the boys were wearing wetsuits, Witek noticed that he had not taken the regulator from home, which is actually the most important thing in diving - right next to the oxygen cylinder. It's the mouthpiece that you can breathe underwater.
However, we could not give up. We have already done so much, we have waited so much for this ideal weather&tide window! We had to keep going! So the guys have decided - we gonna freedive and clean. As much as we can, this will be done! The current was already strong enough that it was difficult for them to stay near the boat. You cannot swing your legs at the same time, hold your breath, hold the rudder with one hand (better not) and scrub the slippery bottom of the yacht. So we threw the rope across Justine's deck and ran it along the sides so the guys could hold onto each other with one hand and scrub the bottom with the other. You can only imagine how hard work that was. From the deck it looked like this:
But it worked! The boys did it! After about two hours, with slightly blue lips, they finally came back on deck! The most important thing was to remove rubble from the rudder, shaft and propeller. As soon as we set off on the second day, you could feel the difference immediately. Justine was running smoothly!
Therefore, from this place, we would like to thank you very much for your help, Witek. We wouldn't be able to do it without you!
TUESDAY
The day has finally come.
We got up in good spirits and ate a nutritious breakfast. I somewhat secured the movable items under the deck, checked the cameras and prepared the main sail and the genoa, which was now lying in the bow of the boat, ready to be hauled onto the stay.
We put on warm underpants, tracksuits and raincoats, caps, gloves and started the engine. Australia, but still cold. The highest tide was approaching. The weather was fine. At times it was a little squalled, that is quite strong, but short-lived gusts of sudden wind were flowing from behind the hills.
I went to the bow, unfastened us for the last time from mooring on the Lemon Tree Passage, waved goodbye to all the boats, and the captain ordered: "Let's sail!"
Were there nerves ?! Sure!
At the beginning, not to much. Just such a thrill.
We sailed out of the canal into a little wider water to raise the sails and shut off the engine. It is not that simple. I position myself at the helm and try to keep the course against the wind and be careful not to affect a sandbank. During this time, Marcin pulls the main sail first, and then the genoa. What is this genoa ?! It is a sail belonging to the forward staysails. A replacement for the jib with an increased surface, intended for sailing on sharp courses. It is a forge sail worn on single- and double-masted vessels. Unlike a seal/jib, the leech of the genoa is located between the traverse of the mast and the stern (in other words: the genoa hides the mainsail).
Just like in the picture below. The green one is the jib. This is what we should have. The blue one is genoa, this is what we have and it's huge. Actually, it's too big! What we were supposed to find that out in the first minutes of the cruise!"
Everything was going very well. Almost. Marcin attached the halyard to the side during the night so that he would not knock on the mast, because it is terribly annoying and he forgot about it. And the genoa got stuck against that halyard and couldn't unfold properly. So he had to figure it out a bit, and I had to maneuver a little longer while the shore was getting dangerously close. A bit nervous beginnings. But that's fine, the problem was quickly resolved. After a while, the main sail was stretched, the second ref was put on (reefing is the reduction of the sail area to reduce the aerodynamic force generated on the sails), the genoa unfolded and I was at the helm. What could have gone wrong ?! That second thing - me stering. When it suddenly gust shot over the hill, we caught such a tilt, everything fell on the other broatside below the deck with a bang, and instead of sharpening my this tilt, I turned it even more with the rudder, screaming in panic from the bottom of my lungs all over the bay:
"MAAARRCIIIN!!!!!"
Marcin quickly grabbed the helm, choking with laughter and led us to the straight. I know the photo won't show it. Here you can only see how we were set relative to the horizon and it doesn't look scary. But in the first 15 minutes after departure, I was already full of pants!
And that was all when it comes to sailing with genoa. We decided that it was too big a challenge for us to start with. This sail was unfolded for exactly 5 minutes, then we retracted it. xD
Sailors...
Well, then we decided to sail only on the main sail on the second reef, using the engine, because the wider waters of the bay we set out, the wind weakened. The rest of the journey, which took about five hours, was even calm and pleasant. We admired the views, navigated, and as we approached the mouth of the ocean, we watched the state of the waves.
You remember from the previous post that after the storm from two days ago, the sea was riotous. You really couldn't see it. Because the perspective from the boat is quite different. You look into the distance and see that ocean is calm. And like that, I started to think, "Hey, it's not so bad. Maybe we could swim out into the ocean after all and anchor there in the little hidden bay of Shark Island." We were there about a year ago and it is a really charming place. When the water level is low, the island of Shark connects with land and, like Moses, you can walk to it with a dry foot. I even have an old video here - forgive the quality.
I have already seen through the eyes of my imagination how, in a romantic setting, we spend our first night at anchor, a beautiful sunset, wine and dinner, and you know all that. But the captain ordered: "Okay, let's roll up the sail. We'll go to Nelson Bay - see if there is a free mooring, if not - then we're going to Shark Island. Here, grab the helm, put us upwind and against waves and stay on course."
"Aye, aye captin!" I shouted back and took the wheel.
And again!!! I, as soon as I am touching the rudder, Neptune clearly wants to discuss with me!
Marcin is folding the sail. I am sailing, observing the course and the surface. And suddenly such a huge wave does grow in front of us - it was three meters high! And I am centrally positioned with my prow to her! When it hitted us, I saw Marcin with this sail and the entire prow one meter above me! Almost vertical! I only saw my Captain laughing at me under his breath again at the sight of my expression! Oh, mommy, my high blood pressure rose even higher! Normally a rodeo!
After that, I was not so keen to go on Shark Island. I silently prayed for free mooring.
Fortunately, there was one.
We attached ourselves to it quite efficiently and started looking at where we were at all. Nelson Bay is a very nice, small bay surrounded by huge rocks, which form an opening to the ocean on both sides, similar to a some big gate. You have to sail between them to get out to the wide waters. From the deck we had a view of a small town and a very nice beach, where the local residents caught the last rays of the sun. We were greeted by a lone dolphin during the evening hunting, which surfaced several times to see who just came to his home. There were several boats and one catamaran moored in the bay, but closer to the rocks. Catamarans have a smaller draft, so they can moor in shallower waters. The mooring we stopped at was quite old, public after all. Anyone who wanted and with they wanted could moor to it. Scary a bit. The more, that it was located in a terribly strange place. We were completely unprotected from the waves and the wind. Already after the first minutes we felt what was going to happen. The boat danced on the rope, jerked by the wind, waves and, what's worse, by the current in every possible direction.
It's gonna be a tough night.
NIGHT
And it was. Despite the fact that the day said goodbye to us with a beautiful sunset, the night did not herald any changes in the weather.
We were hoping that the wind would decrease with hours - as the weather app pointed. But it only grew stronger and stronger. If I have complained so far that at Lemon Tree Passage we were rocked from time to time, I am taking everything back. We were lightly swayed to sleep there. But here we were sitting on a wild horse. The thought of anchoring in a romantic bay already quickly passed me. It would be constant vigilance. I am almost 99% convinced that we would drag the anchor. Probably any boat would drag it under such conditions. But it was jerking us! Left, right, up and down!
Bumping into everything inside, somehow we managed a warm dinner and drank a beer to loosen up and then went to sleep. We knew wh had to wake up at 5 a.m. tomorrow and a very demanding section to sail was waiting. We had to rest.
What can I say. It was impossible to sleep. The wind howled, the rails squeaked, the halyard bounced against the mast, despite the fact that it was compressed to the maximum, which made rumble noise inside. The boat swayed not only side to side, but back and forth, and up and down. Lying in a bunk, I felt like in a washing machine. Each successive swing was from a different side, the wave hitting one side, then the other. At one point, I developed a certain system for catching the moment of sleep. I was counting the waves. After the sixteenth, the seventeenth and sometimes the nineteenth vawe the boat would calm down and then I could close me eyes for 20 seconds of sleep. But already around two in the morning, the current started to place us parallel to the mooring buoy, which, like a ball, started hitting against us, which resulted in a loud "BOOM!"
Boom !!! .... Boom !!! ...... Boom! .... Boom ... Boom boom boom boom .......
Boom !!! .... Boom !!! ...... Boom! .... Boom ... Boom boom boom boom .......
Boom !!! .... Boom !!! ...... Boom! .... Boom ... Boom boom boom boom .......
Marcin went out three times a night to somehow pull the rope with his boat hook and set us correctly to the direction of the current. Finally when the wind eased at three in the morning, the boat was properly positioned and the buoy stopped banging on the boat. Only then did Marcin fall asleep for two hours but I was already so nervous that I knew I would't fell asleep again. And there is a minimum 8-hour cruise ahead of us. And what a cruise!
To be continued...