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VOLUME No. 34, No. 4 May 2014

Editor: ColinNovember2013 Pitstock 2011 1-04 200911-04 Next Meeting: Monday May 19th, 7:30 p.m. 2009 B.Y.O. BBQ 6:30 p.m Guest Speaker: Julie Evans 2009 Senior Forecaster – Bureau of Meteorology Presentation: Julie will provide an explanation of current and planned enhancements to the Bureau’s forecasting services, and how these can be better used by cruising sailors

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CRUISING DIVISION OFFICE BEARERS – 2013 - 2014

Cruising Captain Colin Pitstock 0407-669-322 Cruising Vice Captain Phil Darling 0411-882-760 Vice-Commodore Colin Pitstock 0407-669-322 Cruising Secretary Open Treasurer Trevor D’Alton 9960-2878 Membership Jean Parker / Michael Mulholland-Licht 0403-007-675 Name Tags Lena D’Alton 9960-2878 Compass Rose Maralyn Miller 0411-156-009 Coordinator Safety Coordinator Bill Allen 9977- 0392 Waterways User Group Mike McEvoy 9968-1777 Sailing Committee Colin Pitstock 0407-669-322 Guest Speakers Royce Englehardt, & Committee Members as required

On Water Events Colin Pitstock/ Michael Mulholland- Michael 0418-476-216 Coordinator Licht/ Phil Darling Phil 0411-882-760 On Land Events Jean Parker / Hilary Gallagher Coordinators General Committee Royce Englehardt, Trevor D’Alton, Phil Darling, Maralyn Miller, assistance Hilary Gallagher / Jenni Brennan / Paul Wotherspoon

Editor's note: Deadline for the next edition of the Compass Rose, is: 6th June 2014

The EDITOR for the next Compass Rose is Phil Darling. Please forward contributions c/-: MHYC PO Box 106 SEAFORTH NSW 2092, Or

email: [email protected]

Opinions expressed in the Compass Rose are those of the contributors, and do not necessarily reflect opinions of either Middle Harbour Yacht Club or the Cruising Division

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MHYC Cruising Division Program 2013 – 14 May 17 - 18th Visit to Woolwich Pub via water or land

19th CD Meeting – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm)

June 7 - 10th LWE Get Checked Weekend and Raft-up.

16th CD AGM – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm)

July 13th Long Lunch at the Club

21st CD Meeting – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm)

August 8th - 9th Mystery Cruise

18th CD Meeting – 7:30pm at the club (BBQ 6:30pm)

September Sat 6th MHYC Opening Day.

13th & 14th On water event - raft-up and Fish Market Cooking School?? 15th Cruising Division General Meeting

October 4th to 6th Mini Cruise (tides OK) including Slocum LWE Trophy single handed

9th Twilight racing starts

20th Cruising Division General Meeting

November 9th 090 plus sugarloaf raftup

17th Cruising Division General Meeting

December 12th Club Christmas Party Friday 12th (replaces December meeting)

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CAPTAIN’S COLUMN – May 2014

I'm sitting here, thinking should I put another log on the fire. Winter certainly arrived on the weekend, it was freezing. It is the coldest blast I can remember so early for a long time.

In contrast the Easter break and the next 10 days were fantastic, more like summer, not nearly winter. We spent a couple lazy days on Shazam, spending some time in Smiths Creek, my favourite place and it was just perfect. After a quick trip to the airport on Monday morning to drop a friend back after the couple of days aboard, we headed up to Hardys Bay in Brisbane Waters, it was a great place, easy to get into with our draft of 2m. We entered with the last couple of hours of the tide running up to high and came out at the top of the tide which is about 1/2 hour behind.

The bay has easy land access plus a RSL & general store. I recommend a visit to Hardys Bay. I was even swimming. Remember some of the best cruising is in winter.

To all those of you heading north have a great trip and we look forward to updates along your journey.

Smooth seas.

Colin Pitstock Cruising Captain and Vice-Commodore, Cruising.

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FUTURE EVENTS: Advance Notice – Sugarloaf Raft-up and Safety Audits June Long Weekend Sat 7th – Mon 9th June

Our annual safety raft-up is being held this year on the June Long Weekend in Sugarloaf Bay. As usual this will be a combined social raft-up and serious safety check.

If you are coming offshore with us in the next year you will need a Cat 4 Special Regulations Audit - unless you plan only to take part in Harbour events, in which case the simpler Cat 7 is all you need.

Alternatively, if you are not completely ready, you can have a “pre-check” with one of the division auditors, then book in with the club at the “Get Set Weekend” one week later.

You will need to:

a) Have a look at your Blue Book or at last year’s form b) Collect the appropriate Category form from the club or web site c) Service (or replace) any time-expired items. Special attention needs to be paid to: flares; EPIRB registrations (and batteries); PFDs (Cat 4 inflatables will probably need servicing); first aid kit contents; and fire extinguishers d) Check-off the items on the form prior to the audit (there is a column for this), then lay them out to speed up the audit

Fire extinguishers can be serviced at the Club the following weekend.

The good news is that no major updates have been made to the Blue Book requirements since last year.

If you need any advice – please feel free to contact the Division auditors – Trevor D’Alton, Phil Darling, Glynne Attersall, Paul Wotherspoon or Mike McEvoy.

Phil Darling, ‘eXpresso’ (mob) 0411-882-760

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SPECIAL EPIRIB OFFER …

Safety Inspections are looming again and this year, but do you realize your 406 EPIRB is now down to its last year of acceptability. From 1st July 2015 the YA Blue Book requires all EPIRBs to incorporate a GPS receiver as this additional feature reduces the search area considerably and greatly increases your chance of survival if ever the unthinkable happens. Instead of a search area typically of around 5 Kms radius, your location will be transmitted to an accuracy of 100 metres which in the case of fog or at night, gives you a much better chance of a quick rescue. For those of you that have a GME 406 EPIRIB the Supplier has agreed to upgrade to the 406G model with GPS for $219 compared to the new price of $349. So to those of you who are looking at a battery replacement cost in the near future, you might consider putting this towards the upgrade. If enough members are interested we might consider a run to the Factory at Ryde NSW returning new for old. If you package up the your existing GME 406 EPIRIB together with your … 1. Name 2. Phone number 3. Boat name, 4. along with the $219, The writer has volunteered to collect all EPIRBs at the May C/Division meeting and return the new units at the June meeting. I will make only one run, so don’t forget to button hole me at the next meeting. This offer applies to the orange GME EPIRBs only.

Paul Wotherspoon, ‘Rapture’

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Mystery Cruise Norah Head Lighthouse Fri August 7th - Sun 10th

This year’s Mystery Cruise is to Norah Head Lighthouse, on the Central Coast.

Accommodation for the weekend (Friday and Saturday night) is in the original Lighthouse Keepers’ 2 restored cottages. The above dates are available for a short time, an alternative date is 29th-31st August. Other accommodation is available nearby.

The cottages are very much in demand, and bookings will need to be made very soon. Those interested in coming along, contact Maralyn after the April meeting, or email on [email protected]. A 50% deposit of $720 in total is required to book the two for us. The cottages are self-contained and are heritage listed to retain the original atmosphere. There are three bedrooms and sweeping verandahs; two queen-sized beds, two single beds; two roll-away beds, sleeping a maximum of 8 people. Cost is $780 and $680 for the 2 cottages, or approx. $125 pp if sharing the cottages - more if keeping to a maximum of 6 people.

All rooms are comfortably furnished and there is a full kitchen, laundry facilities; an indoor bath and shower and toilet. The lounge rooms have gas log fires, TV/DVD and video player.

Guests can supply their own linen or linen hire is available at a cost of $15.00 per head and includes sheets, towels, face washer, bath mat and tea towel.

Tours of the Lighthouse are available daily, at a cost of $6 per person. See more at: http://www.norahheadlighthouse.com.au

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CD Quiz – May 2014 by Phil Darling

Firstly – an apology for a typo in last month’s quiz. In question 2 – where I said, referring to a two-flag signal often flown on barges “the lower one is alternate red and white diagonal stripes” – as pointed out by several respondents I really meant “the lower one is alternate red and YELLOW diagonal stripes” which is code flag Y(yankee). Many apologies.

So – on with the quiz for this month. 1. You see a large commercial vessel flying two flags (from adjacent halyards) – one a red swallowtail, and the other showing white and red vertical halves. What do these mean? 2. The whale watching season is about to begin. How close can you approach by ship to a whale? 3. Coming into a port, you see a new marker. It is coloured red over green over red, and had a red can-shaped top mark. What is this and what might it mean? 4. Your chart says (in the notes): IALA Maritime Bouyage System – Region A. Where is region B and what differences should we expect in that region? 5. You are on Lake Macquarie and a strong southerly wind has been blowing for several days. How would this affect your choice of anchorage – position and/or depth? 6. You check your chart and notice an annotation “WGS 1984 positions cannot be plotted directly on this chart”. What does this mean, and should you continue using this chart? 7. The safety checks are coming up (again – they are required annually). What safety category is required before you can join a Cruising Division sail to ? 8. You have the safety audit certificate as per question 7, but wish to join a more extended cruise to Port Stephens. Is this certificate enough? 9. All the offshore safety categories (Cat 4, 3, 2 &1) require white flares. What are these used for? 10. What is a Turk’s Head?

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Letter to the Editor - Quiz Matters

Dear Editor,

In a recent Compass Rose (Feb 2014) Glynne Attersall was kind enough to make a few comments on the CD Quiz.

The April Compass Rose printed my response to the first of Glynne’s queries; my second response (to Glynne’s third query) is below.

Passing to Starboard of a Bouy?

Glynne’s final query was: “How do the rest of you feel about the clarity of this recent answer in the quiz? The Bradley Head safe water mark is stated as a traffic separation mark for big ships, who must keep to starboard of it. My point is that I don't think a buoy has a port or starboard, so how do you stay to starboard of it? I think a clearer expression is that big ships must leave it on their port side (like we do racing marks). Call me pedantic and I know for a fact that our esteemed quiz master gets very tired some nights after a long day of sailing with novices, but I'd hate us to get into the habit of saying leave it on it's starboard side, when leave it to port is clearer and safer. “

Good point Glynne – in fact on the water I have taken to being very pedantic on this one – saying always “keep it to our port” or similar.

Over time a lot of us have maybe got a little lazy on this. For instance, we often hear “keep to the starboard side of a narrow channel”. However, when I looked this up in the coll regs – what did I find? “A vessel proceeding along the course of a narrow channel or fairway shall keep as near to the outer limit of the channel or fairway which lies on her starboard side as is safe and practicable”.

Well picked Glynne – although I still like keeping it simple so that if in doubt you keep to (your) starboard. I will amend the answer to “It indicates a traffic separation zone for big ships and ferries, who must keep to their starboard of it.”

Thanks Glynne – keep the queries coming!

Phil Darling eXpresso ( and occasional quiz complier)

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Mateship Cruise to Lake Macquarie

On 7/4/2014 Knut and I left MHYC at 11.00 for a 5 day cruise. The weather was fine and we motor-sailed with the Main only. Wind was 15to17kn from the SE and the seas 1.5m on a 2m swell. The water was quite sloppy and we had to steer most of the way to Pittwater. We tied up at the Basin at 2.45 for the night.

The next day we set off at 8.00 for the Lake. The seas had calmed overnight and the wind was 5 to 7kn W early but died right down by mid-day. Again, we motor-sailed all the way. By 2.30 we tied up at the courtesy mooring for the 3.00pm bridge. At 4.00 we tied up the Northern Wall at LMYC. The channel has been dredged and the minimum water at the turning tide we experienced was about 2.8m.

On the 9/4/2014 we motor-sailed in fine and calm weather to Marmon Point. There we filled the tank with Diesel at the marina. Having done that, we swung the auto pilot compass in very light winds near there. Bu mid-afternoon the wind picked up and we had a lovely sail back to the LMYC.

The following day we went to the Catalina Park at Rathmines and tied up at the F-arm. We were the only boat there and it was very peaceful. Lunch at the little corner café was very good. On the way back it started to drizzle, but we had the shade up and did not get wet.

On the 11/4/2014 we left the LMYC at 6.10 for the 7.00am bridge. We experienced an opposing current of up to 2kn in the channel and just made it in time. I suggest at least 1 hour from LMYC to the bridge. (There are 2 courtesy moorings on the lake side and 3 on the sea side). Once in the open sea we had 15 to 18kn winds from the N,turning later to NW and 1m seas on 1.5m swell. We motor-sailed all the way home with the jib only. By 14.45 the wind changed to the E and the sky was overcast. There was rain all around us but we did not get one drop until we turned the last corner at the MHYC marina. By 16.30 we were safely tied up before the rain started.

This was a lovely cruise apart from having to fix a blocked head by changing the outlet hose from the pan, which was a 3 hour messy job. Enough said about this, because it was made worse by Knut scolding his toes with boiling water whilst softening the 1.5” hose.

The photo is of MateShip at the F-arm. 10

CHEF’S CORNER ...... with Colin Pitstock

The big chill has started so for, all you guys do those cold days & nights going up the coast - let’s do a couple of things that need to spend a long time in the oven, so the boats stay warm & cosy. Also so you can have a very nice bottle of red, personally I like a Merlot. So crack the seal & pour a drink.

Sloppy Seas Slow Cooked Lamb Slow cooked lamb with garlic and rosemary ½ cup (125ml) malt vinegar ½ cup (90g) brown sugar 1 tablespoon olive oil sea salt and cracked black pepper 2kg lamb shoulder, bone in 18 single-clove garlic, unpeeled 6 sprigs rosemary 1½ cups (375ml) chicken stock

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the vinegar, ¼ cup (45g) sugar, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the lamb and set aside to marinate for 20 minutes. Place the lamb, skin-side up, in a large baking dish. Add the garlic, rosemary sprigs, marinade and stock. Sprinkle the lamb with the remaining sugar, cover with aluminium foil and roast for 2 hours and 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for a further 30 minutes or until the lamb is cooked to your liking. Serve with the garlic. Serves 4–6.

Tip: Single-clove garlic is a type of ‘elephant’ garlic. As its name suggests, it has one large clove, rather than a head of garlic that’s made up of a cluster of smaller cloves. Single-clove garlic looks similar to a small onion and is easy to peel. Find it at some supermarkets and grocery stores.

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Gale Warning Rice Pud

This will fill you up, plus bring back memories this has dark choc in it so keep going on the Merlot.

Ingredients 1 x quantity basic rice pudding (see below) 1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream 1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind 150g dark chocolate, melted Basic Rice Pudding 1 cup (200g) arborio rice 1 litre (4 cups) milk ½ cup (110g) caster (superfine) sugar 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

Follow the basic rice pudding recipe (below). Add the cream and orange rind to the cooked pudding and stir to combine. Spoon over the melted chocolate to serve.

BASIC RICE PUDDING: Place the rice, milk, sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 25–30 minutes or until rice is tender. Serves 4

Thanks to Donna Hay. I've cooked these, easy & yum.

Happy crushing. Colin SY Shazam.

Exploring Port Hacking, and environs by Mike McEvoy

For some months Phil Darling and I had been trying to find suitable dates (with fine weather) in our diaries to carry out this expedition. They finally came together from 17 to 19 March. Initially the plan was to explore Port Hacking and its tributary which we did in one day and then we turned our attention to Botany Bay for days 2 and 3. We made our first foray out together some months previously so that Phil could get used to manoeuvring Jabiru. That day was, in view of the sea conditions, conducted within the harbour up as far as Olympic Park. The objective was both to explore and for Phil to accumulate more hours on a powered vessel.

Monday was perfect for shooting down the coast to Port Hacking. At 2500 rpm Jabiru was cruising at almost 9 knots into a mild sea following a few rough days of a SE swell that had built up some decent surfing waves on the shore. Not having been into Port Hacking before I felt more comfortable having Phil’s experience as navigator and the fact that Jabiru only draws 3 feet 3 inches, say 1 metre. 12

Our first stop was Jibbon Beach where we picked up a public mooring to commence the nav into Port Hacking. Phil had brought along Alan Lucas in book form plus I had Navionics charts on the iPad, the NSW Transport Marine boating map for the area and, of course, the paper charts. Notwithstanding the aids there was some uncertainty about the depths at Turriel Point on an outgoing tide. We watched a yacht ahead of us slow to a halt apparently stuck on the sandbank, then slowly move on. The shallowest under Jabiru’s keel was 0.2 metres, enough to get through without any problem. Fortunately Jabiru’s design is such that the keel is lower than the propellers so they will not be damaged if she does touch bottom.

We were very careful to follow the route provided by the channel markers, so much so, that we found one new starboard marker not shown in Lucas (published in 2010). Clearly the sand banks move constantly and in key areas the markers are buoys so they can be re-set when necessary.

We gradually made our way past Lilli Pilli Point down into the beautiful South West Arm. Around Gogerleys Point there were a number of large sailing dinghies with 4-5 persons on board plus dragon boats with many more crew from the Anglican youth camp on the point. Given the shallow spots in that area together with an 8 Knot speed limit we were quite happy to go slow. Then on up to Grays Point into Leg of Mutton Bay thence into the and eventually up to the Audley Weir where we had to turn around. Phil had the helm at this point and used the classic two engine power boat version of a three point turn to port. Port engine astern, starboard ahead and Jabiru turned within her own length, easy peasy. It certainly pays to follow the designated speed restrictions particularly when approaching the stream diversion walls. On the return journey back into Port Hacking we took the longest route to see most of the waterways, up into , part of Yowie Bay, Great Turriel Bay, Gannons Bay. From there we went into Little Turriel Bay, and Burranear Bay.

At the time of heading for Gogerleys Point in the morning, we decided that the Public Moorings just south of the Point would, depending on the prevailing breeze and forecast, be a good spot to moor for the night and so it turned out to be. Of the three moorings one had a half cabin boat attached and in the 14 hours we were there no persons appeared on board. Must be nice having a permanent public mooring.

Having decided to continue on to Botany Bay we did so on the Tuesday morning and had a quick run up to Cape Solander and at Sutherland Point we started to head for the shipping channel to stay in deep water. Motoring past Bare Island brought back 13 memories of scuba diving off the island and seeing many sea horses among the sea weed. This approach led us close to the landing strips of the airport where it was quite a novelty to have twin propeller aircraft landing on what seemed like the top of Jabiru as they passed over us to land at Kingsford Smith. About that point we started to head for the leads to the . This took us via the edge of The Elephant Trunk (so named for the shape of the bay when seen from the air), off Towra Point round the channel markers with a depth of 2.2m then under the Captain Cook Bridge which has a clearance of 16.6m above high water springs. Past the bridge the water depth goes back to minimum 6 metres and is 7 m under the with a clearance of 5.6m (just enough for Jabiru with her 5.5m air draught).

With the help of Alan Lucas we meandered up the Georges River keeping to the designated signposted speed limits, unlike the various PWC s zooming around us. We passed through suburbs I had really only heard of before not seen e.g. Como, Alfords Point, Lugarno, Padstow Heights towering above us, past the various Points – Picnic, Sandy and Pleasure to East Hills and Panania until Phil who was at the helm asked ”What is the clearance for the next bridge?” It being the Bridge. My response was “We should turn around, the clearance is only 5.2m” so that is as far as Jabiru could navigate the Georges River.

We had stopped at one of the Public Moorings at Picnic Point for lunch, which seemed very appropriate. Picnic Point must become quite crowded on the weekends as there were probably two dozen people along the foreshore on a Tuesday, many of them fishing. What a great public area it is, so far from the coast yet with the lovely albeit brown river alongside.

During my time in the army I had been to the Holsworthy Military Reserve quite frequently but hadn’t realised the proximity to the Georges River. At about Mill Creek we observed soldiers in small landing craft practising setting up a mobile bridge so my guess is they were Engineers. As usual, the officers were standing on the shore, quite dry, watching the diggers getting wet. The signage makes it very clear that the public is not welcome on the southern side of the river. I had then gone below with the request that Phil not run across waves as I didn’t want to be thrown from the throne. It seemed that as soon as I went below the speed limit opened up from 4 to 8 knots so the boat suddenly reached the speed limit. Sometimes learner drivers can be a challenge!

Having achieved our objective of navigating the Georges River so far as possible we then meandered back down the river having a sticky beak at the bays along the way. This gave Phil many opportunities to practice the turning power of the engines without using the rudders. At low speed Jabiru handles much better just using the gears and throttles rather than the rudders, which are quite small. We eventually arrived back at Bald Face Point, which we had identified earlier as a good spot to

14 moor, with a SE wind predicted overnight and rising in the morning. Again we were able to avail ourselves of one of the three Public Moorings.

Wednesday morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we headed back to but ending up in the shipping channel behind a cargo ship loaded with containers as it came out of the Port Botany terminal. Once at sea we experienced quite a good SE swell. With the throttles set for 8 knots the swell was pushing us along at up to 15 ½ knots. This was the first time I had this experience in Jabiru, having often been at the helm of various yachts on delivery trips charging down waves at up to 20 knots. It was a bit scary at first because you are seated at about 5 metres above the water and the bow seems to be awfully close as you charge down the face of the waves. This is one time it was prudent not to set the trim tabs to keep the bow down.

We were back at Middle Harbour in about 1.5 hours and after Phil, who had offered to pay for half the fuel, got over the shock of the cost, we headed for the MHYC marina where we offloaded the RIB’s outboard, to collect later in the car. At Jabiru’s mooring after the usual 45 minute close up we considered the adventure over having achieved our objectives and more. The outboard is now at home and is for sale. My back is telling me that I need a lighter outboard so that I can lift it more easily from under the cockpit deck out on to the RIB.

Overall we did 96 nautical miles over the three days which we enjoyed for the beauty of the scenery, the wonderful weather, the absence of crowded waterways, the navigation experience and good company.

GIPPSLAND LAKES CRUISE – Bill Humel

On Saturday the 8th March 2014, our “As Free As The Breeze” crew, Harvey, Phil and myself, left in Harvey’s BMW, at 5.25 am, for a 7 day cruise on a Charter Yacht, a Catalina 32 from Metung, on the Gippsland Lakes in Eastern Victoria.

Our route was to by-pass Canberra, pass through Cooma and then along the Snowy Highway to Cann River, which is on the coast and also on the Pacific Highway, then follow the Pacific Highway to the turn off to Metung. Driving time was about 8 and a quarter hours. Our route was much shorter and quicker than all around the coast, on the Pacific Highway.

This Lake Cruise was agreed on for a number of reasons. Our last four Coastal Cruises, (not C D Cruises) did not reach most of our intended ports, because of bad weather. We had gales or no wind, both with nasty big seas and rain. We looked for a different Cruise, one we could complete and hopefully in good weather and later, when the years have rolled by, we may continue sailing on the Lakes along the Australian East 15

Coast, when retired from Offshore Sailing. Having sailed on and explored only a few of the many lakes and waterways along the Victorian, NSW and Queensland Coast, I would like to explore many more, under sail.

We Chartered the Yacht from Riviera Nautic, the main and really the only Yacht Charter Company on the Lakes. They are based at Metung. A Charter Motor Cruiser Company is based at Paynesville. The town of Bairnsdale, on the Pacific Highway, is at the North West tip of Lake King. See the Map.

About 4.00 pm Saturday afternoon, we arrived and checked in at Riviera Nautic. Riviera Nautic had kindly advised us, we could sleep on the boat Saturday night, prior to our Charter start on Sunday morning, to save motel costs. We took the cold food 16 and put it in the yacht’s Frig Freezer. Harvey’s car had been crammed full, with all our gear and frozen food and dry stores. Then off we went to a small supermarket, to top up our stores with fruit, salads and incidentals.

Our Catalina 32 was about 9 years old, in good condition, very beamy and roomy and amazingly had 1.95 metres of headroom. Great, at 1.9 ms tall, I had thought I might have to bend my neck or knees for the week, but no, I could stand up straight and had 50 mms to spare. The Linen Package we ordered was great, sheets pillows, two warm blankets and Towels for $18.00. The layout was, Fore Cabin with double V berth, Main Cabin with Settee berths each side, then portside, the chart table and Galley. The Frig Freezer was surprisingly very large and very cold. Aft of the Saloon, the Toilet Cubicle was to Starboard and aft of that a door opened into the Aft Cabin, which had a seat, full headroom and a large roomy double berth across the boat under the cockpit, all remarkably roomy for a 32 footer. Sails were Main and Roller Furling Headsail. This yacht had a compass, but no other instruments, only a Tell-tail each side on the stays. Also no dingy, but a ladder fixed to the Lifelines!!! This Yacht was setup for the Lakes, not offshore.

In calm water, the engine drove the yacht above 6 knots at two thirds throttle, which was fine. We checked the time over a fixed distance between marks. I expected this “wide plastic tub” yacht, with shallow wing keel, would not sail all that well, but this yacht achieved 5 to 6 knots under sail, fairly easily, with only the two Charter sails, the Roller Furling Headsail, and slab reefing Main sail. We did make a number of adjustments, to improve performance, such as adjusting the Headsail halyard, headsail car positions, leech line, the Main halyard, main outhaul and Boom vang. We also decided to reef the main, when necessary, rather than the headsail, to maintain some headsail shape. Most Roller Furling headsails, when partly reefed, to me, look woeful. (Like half a baggy balloon) One day we broad reached with full sail, in about 18 knots of wind, for 9 miles, averaging 7 knots, with only the wind chop assisting. . The Briefing on Sunday Morning at 9.00 am was given by an experienced sailor, who knew the boat and the Lakes well. It was thorough and our many questions were answered. We made notes to help us remember many of the details. Since most of the bottoms of the Lakes are soft to very soft mud and or weed, the Charter Company had found Echo Sounders indicated more depth than was actually there. So they are not fitted. We were underway before 11.00 am, sailing under a clear blue sky, just great. The weather for the entire time was great. Cool overnight (about 14 C) and quite warm in the middle of the day (about 27 C) and mostly sunny. 17

The Lakes lie in a roughly north east, south west direction, with the Lake King bulge near the north-east end and a separate lake, Lake Wellington, at the south west end. It is shallow and connected by a narrow winding channel. It is over 20 nautical miles from the south-west end of Lake Victoria, to the north east end, through the south end of Lake King, in almost a straight line. However, we only sailed on the darker blue areas, (see the Map) the deeper water, plus up a river to a small town and also through two channel systems to locations just over narrow sand hills, which separate the Lakes from Bass Strait. Since Metung is near the north east end and the Lakes entrance (at the town of Lakes Entrance) is even closer to the north east end, we decided to explore this north-east end first. See the Map. The surface area of these Lakes is 4 to 5 times the area of Sydney, but we only explored about 50%, because of time and concerns over depth of water. There are very little tides in the Lakes. We noticed near Barrier Landing (not far from the Lakes entrance) the tide was only 150 to 200 mms. We were told of a further variation. When firm winds blow consistently along the length of the Lakes for a few days, the leeward end rises about 200 mms.

Going near the Entrance or crossing the Entrance to the town of Lakes Entrance, is out of bounds for charter yachts, so we went to a recommended location, not far from the north eastern limits, through channels to Barrier Landing. This location is in a narrow reach of this part of the Lakes, with a narrow sand hill between the Lake and Ninety Mile Beach, Bass Strait.

Barrier Landing has a Public Wharf, in good condition. The top edge of the Wharf was painted in three different bands, Red for special use, Yellow for a few hours stay and Blue for overnight. Onshore out of sight in the scrubby trees, were quite clean well maintained Echo Toilets. The roof drained into a Rainwater tank for washing hands. We were very surprised to discover at least a dozen such wharves and toilets, around the parts of the Lakes we explored. The locals told us the Boat Registration Fees paid for these and their maintenance. We asked ourselves, where are all the public wharves on Sydney Harbour, paid for by Boat Rego fees.

The Wharf was fully occupied, probably because of the Labour Day Holiday weekend in Victoria, so we followed the directions given in the Briefing. Along the shore are many poles, like stumpy telegraph poles with a wide wet stretch of Sandbank, before the drop into deeper water. So you select a pole and head in until your bow runs aground on 18 the Sandbank. Yes, run the boat aground!!! I was amazed. Then place the ladder over the pulpit and tie it on. Backpack on, Joggers around your neck, short Shorts on, (AFL style) climb down the ladder into thigh deep water (remember short Shorts) and wade ashore and tie your Bow Line to your selected pole. Then from your stern, fix lines both sides to adjoining poles, to keep the bow straight in towards the shore, to stop the minor current pushing the boat side on to the shore. I always suspected the Victorians were at times a little different. Just joking!

After a lovely Ham Salad lunch (and a little vino) we set off over the narrow sand hill, the short distance to 90 Mile Beach and the Bass Straight surf. The beach was deserted. Harvey, having come mostly from inland North America to over 13 years ago, is becoming a surfer, but declined this opportunity. Phil and I took the plunge into the 18 degree C, Bass Straight surf. There was a strong rip along the shore, so we were quite careful in such a deserted location. The water was crystal clear and very refreshing. Back at the Yacht, we used the Hot Shower on the Stern Boarding Platform, to keep the Cockpit and Toilet Cubicle dry. Sitting in the cockpit, having a little drink, we watched the beautiful sunset over the water, listening to Classic Spanish Guitar music. Ahhhh, this is yachting.

Monday morning, we set off back down the Channel to more open water and sailed south west past Metung, until the wind died as we entered Lake King. On the way another Catalina yacht similar to ours, was sailing near us heading the same way, so we went into racing mode and left him way behind. We saw this yacht later and found it was a slightly smaller version, which deflated our ego. We motored in no wind and flat calm, under a cloudless sky, for several miles and turned into Aurora Channel, which leads to Steamers Landing. Here we found a Boomerang shaped Public Wharf and Toilets and one space for us beside the wharf. After lunch we walked over the sand hill to the surf, for another swim at 90 Mile Beach. It was absolutely beautiful and a little warmer. Harvey abstained again! He needs practice.

On Tuesday morning we left the wharf, and reached a fork in the Channel. We chose to take the alternate Grange Channel, for different scenery. We were taking great care 19 in the Channel and all went OK for over a mile. Then we started to slow, then bumped and stopped. Aground in mid channel! Full reverse, no go. Rock the boat in full reverse, still no go. Since there was no dingy, we could not row the anchor out and pull the boat back around into deeper water. It was time to call the Charter Base as instructed in the Briefing. While we were waiting for the tow off, a few Yachts sailed past very close to the Channel Mark, on our starboard side. Oh for local knowledge. After about one hour the Tow Boat arrived. He took our Main Halyard and pulled us well over and sideways into deeper water and then using his Echo Sounder again, led us along the Channel to deeper water in the Lakes. Our Ego (mine anyway) had just taken another hit. We hoisted sail and sailed towards Paynesville. Off Paynesville we lowered sail and motored into another “L” shaped Public Wharf and took an inside Berth. The Sky was threatening with the South-west blow due, as we walked to the Yacht Club (closed dining room) and then along the main street to a Café for lunch. Before leaving, we had a swim inside the “L” shaped Wharf and then used the very good Toilet and Shower Block facilities on shore, for showers. Duck Arm, less than 2 miles from Paynesville, was recommended as a very safe anchorage, plus it had 6 public moorings. We headed there and on entering we could see a number of yachts near the end. Assuming all the moorings were taken, Picnic Arm was a small Arm off to starboard, with 1 of the 3 moorings vacant, so we picked up this mooring at the inner end of the bay. In this very protected bay, we were protected from the blow, which started just on dark.

Wednesday morning we headed back to the Metung Base, to pump out our holding tank, refill our water tank and get rid of our rubbish. Then we motored to another Public Wharf, beside the Metung Hotel Wharf, for Lunch at the Metung Pub, on the waterfront. Phil and his wife Anne, had visited this Pub, in the last 12 months and found it was fine. The Dining Room was packed, but after a drink at the Bar, the Barman went out of his way to organize a corner window table in the dining room for us, The view was great and the meal was, tasty, all worth a return visit. We had not realized until arrival in Metung, that this weekend was the Victorian Labour Day long weekend. A Lakes Cruise group, were also in the Dining Room.

From the wharf we motored around Metung Point, into Lake King and set sail for the entrance to the Tambo River, about 5 miles away, beam reaching in a 15 knot south- wester under grey skies. The Marks were difficult to see at the River Entrance in the grey light. Eventually we sighted them taking care, entering between dead trees and stumps on sandbanks either side. A few miles up the River, we came to a very neat small town called Johsonville, complete with Public Wharf and backed by a well kept park area with clean Toilets. This area was so neat, we asked a local fisherman, how was it kept so neat. The Local Council cleaned the Toilets and maintained the wharf and a roster of local volunteers did the rest. We had a very calm night.

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Thursday morning, under blue skies, no wind and memorable reflections, we followed the river up to the Bridge across the river at Swan Reach. Exiting this river we sailed west, broad reaching in a 12 knot south east wind towards Eagle Point, at the west end of Lake King. Lake King is almost cut off from Jones Bay, by the two narrow banks of the Mitchell River. These narrow strips of bank extend over 3 miles out from the shore and are the second longest in the world. We approached the Public Wharf at Eagle Point slowly and tantalizingly, only one boat length away, the mud bottom stopped us, aground again. This time we managed to back off and sailed away tacking upwind in the building wind, with a reef in the main. We passed through McWilliams Strait, where most of Paynesville is located on the western shore. Back at our same berth at the Progress Jetty, Paynesville Wharf, we had lunch on board. Later we headed for Duck Arm and from the Entrance to the end of this Bay is about 1 mile. The yachts we saw the first time, were actually tied up to small shore jetties and the 6 moorings were all free. One of the Boats tied up near the shore was a Halvorsen motor cruiser and another was a Swanson 38, both in very good condition.

Friday morning a Pelican’s very deep call, brought me up into the cockpit. There, just astern were two Pelicans fighting. The larger one had a strong grip well up in its beak, of the other’s head and beak and was forcing the head of the other under water. The defender was desperately struggling to rotate and try and keep it’s head above water. It looked deadly serious to me. However once the fight stopped they did not part company!!! It was flat calm out of Duck Arm on Victoria Lake, so we motored towards the south west end, along the shore on our starboard side, almost to abeam of Loch Sport, on our port side, before turning around and exploring the other shore as we returned. We entered Aurora Channel again and headed for Steamer Landing Public Wharf again. Harvey wanted to have a swim in Bass Strait and this was our last full day. So after lunch we walked over the sand hill and the three of us dived in the surf. Photos had to be taken. Harvey had broken the ice.

Saturday morning after breakfast and preliminary packing, we headed back to the Charter Yacht Base. We docked about 12.45, unloaded our gear from the Yacht and packed the car. We set off in the car at 1.45 pm to travel near 200 kms, to avoid a dawn start next day, to make it back to Sydney and the danger of hitting animals. On the way down we noticed two Foxes, several Wallabies and Roos and a few Wambats, dead on and beside the road. So Sunday morning we left sometime after sunrise to reduce the risk. We still saw at least 8 Roos and Wallabies beside the road and had no dramas.

We returned home about 2.30 pm Sunday and we all had enjoyed our different Cruise. Bill Humel

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ60

Here is the latest release from Panasonic. The TZ60 is really state of the art.

Here is a summary of its specifications:

 Fully manual or intelligent auto operation.  30x Optical Zoom Leica Lens. (equivalent to 24-720mm)  Electronic LVF (live view finder)  Full HD Video , 1920x1080 and 100fps (frames per second)  Stereo Microphone  Image stabilizer (even effective at the maximum 30x)  Zoom whilst recording Video  Wi-Fi and NFC (near field communication)  (Touching a NFC compatible Smartphone or Tablet can turn these into a  remote controller or used to transfer data)  Wireless TV playback, Print and Cloud Sync.  GPS can show real time info such as Country, State, City or Landmark.  3” monitor  AC or USB charging of the battery.

This Camera has very impressive capabilities and testers have commented favorably. The image quality is very good. The body is relatively small which makes this the ideal Travel Camera.

The only negative comment was that it has not got a touch screen as on the TZ40. My personal concern would be the stability at or near the maximum Zoom of 30x for older shaky hands. I would like to try this myself.

Priced from $464 but shop around.

For details have a look at http://www.cambuy.com.au/panasonic-lumix-dmc-tz60- digital-camera-silver/?gclid=CNb57Y-_k74CFUdvvAod0UgAwA

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Keep shooting – and keep sending your photos to Maralyn !!! CD Quiz – May 2014 – Answers . 1. The solid red swallowtail flag is code flag B (bravo), meaning dangerous goods are on board. The flag with red and white vertical halves is code flag H (hotel) – meaning pilot on board. On Sydney Harbour it is most likely an oil tanker heading to (or departing from) Gore Cove terminal. 2. No approach from behind a whale and no waiting in front. You can approach to a minimum of 100metres from the sides (300m etres if a calf is present). In the caution zone (between 100 and 300 metres from a whale) vessels must travel at a constant slow speed and leave a negligible wake. 3. As in all cases with unfamiliar markers (or familiar markers in unfamiliar places) you should consult your chart to verify its purpose. However – if this does not help (or if your chart had not been recently updated) – this is a “preferred channel” port marker, stating that you should keep it to port (if heading upstream) to be in the preferred channel. This might be a “channel within a channel” (such as a big ship channel), or it might be a case where there are two alternate channels.

4. Region B is the Americas (North and South), Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, while the rest of the world (including us) is in region A. The difference is in the lateral markers – Red markers are to port going TOWARDS the sea, whilst green are to starboard towards the sea. The only other difference is that red markers have a (red) cone shape on top whilst green markers have a (green) can shape on top. All other markers (cardinals, special, safe water, isolated danger and wreck markers) are the same.

5. Naturally you would look for a sheltered position out of the wind. However – the wind

may have produced an effect on depths, with lower depths at the southern end of the lake and greater depth of water at the northern end. I would be cautious entering any anchorage in the southern end to ensure I had enough water depth for safety.

6. This means that the chart has not been adjusted for use with the WGS84 datum used by the GPS satellite system. You can probably still use the chart to plot GPS positions – check the notes to find the adjustment process which will most likely require you to first plot the position, then move it a specified distance west (or east) and north (or south). 7. For offshore Cruising Division events (and for any offshore daylight events under Yachting Australia auspices) you must have a safety audit certificate to Category 4 minimum.

8. No – since it is likely that the Sydney to Port Stephens cruise could involve significant sailing after nightfall a Cat 3 certificate is probably required – unless you plan to “port hop” and stay in (say) Newcastle overnight.

9. The white flares are for collision avoidance use – especially at night. If you are about to be

run down by another vessel they are the last resort (after radio calls, shining flashlights, etc) to gain the attention of the other vessel. Naturally you will already have changed course and tried every other means to avoid collision!

10. An ornamental knot with a number of interwoven strands, forming a closed loop. Often used to denote the “straight ahead” position on a ship’s steering wheel, but other uses can include anti-chafing protection and to give a better grip on a pole or post.

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Members are invited to submit articles on subjects of interest, including sailing adventures, travel experiences, book reviews, jokes, and so on. Write your article with title, your name and boat name, and email to the editor

The Cruising Division of MHYC meets on the 3rd Monday of each month, and uses as its sailing pennant a flag with a white compass rose on a red background.

MHYC Cruising Division members invite a raft-up or cruise in company whenever they fly our pennant, which we refer to as ‘the compass rose’.

The Cruising Division newsletter is titled ‘The Compass Rose Cruising Log’ and is published monthly. The newsletter is also available through the MHYC web-site at www.mhyc.com.au

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