GBBC NEWSLETTER April 16 - Geilston Bay Boat Clubgeilstonbayboatclub.com.au/.../06/GBBC-NEWSLETTER...GBBC NEWSLETTER Issue 5 April 2016 ... Second Series: 1st Saltair, 2nd Footloose

GBBC NEWSLETTER Issue 5 April 2016

FROM THE COMMODORE

Action on our two slips is progressing. At this stage we are looking at a reasonable price to fix No 2 rails. No 1 slip is still under consideration but the proposed plans seem achievable.

In the absence of a Vice Commodore, Past Commodore Keith has stepped in and seems to have things under control. Thanks.

To finish, within two years the Club faces a looming disaster. We need a Commodore, Vice Commodore, Secretary, historian, editor and some normal committee members. Please consider stepping up to help run the Club that will shortly celebrate its 50th anniversary. Being on the committee is not an onerous task.

NEW MEMBERS. The club welcomes Geoffrey Watkins and David Rodway

CONDOLENCES The Club offers it condolences to Anne and Chris Hadrill, Andrew and Anne Montgomery, and Paul and Pam Bonnitcha; all of whom have suffered a recent family loss.

DJ Motors Twilight Series Congratulations to the winners

First Series: First Division: 1st Footloose, 2nd Pyxis, 3rd Watershed First Series: Second Division : 1st Bahloo, 2nd Sixpence, and 3rd Magnum Second Series: 1st Saltair, 2nd Footloose and 3rd Pinta All races were closely contested

HAPPY HOUR SUNDAYS 4 to 5pm. Beer and wine reduced by $1 Reminder to club members that the bar is no longer open on Saturdays between 4 to 6pm. The bar will remain open on Sundays 4 to 6pm but this will only continue if members support it. If there is a lack of support then Sunday trading may have to cease also.

Friday Night Members Draw Draw now starts at 6.30pm. Any name drawn out will win a prize. If present they will get the jackpot – if not a $10 meal voucher for a Friday night

Raffle

Raffle tickets will be out shortly. To be drawn Friday 15 July at 7.00pm. Cost $2 each

1st prize – Overnight trip for 2 on Stormbreaker from Strahan up the Gordon River (donated by T.Norton)

2nd prize – Quilt (donated by the Quilt & Pillow Factory)

3rd prize - 2 ton wood (donated by A. Palmer)

4th prize – Framed picture (donated by N. Grey)

NOTES FOR YOUR DIARY QUIZ NIGHT – Saturday 28 May starting at 7pm. Get your friends together and book a table through Karen.

Dads Army Report

Dads Army have rebuilt the kitchen swinging door hinge system supports - it doesn't sound much but it is heavily spring loaded and was about to go into orbit. The exterior painting of the clubhouse is finished.

ON THE SLIP for the first time in eight years.

ON THE WATER

The last Twilight race was cancelled due to weather. Only three boats attended the annual Club picnic. The persons who went had a very enjoyable day. Kettering to GBBC on April 9 was cancelled. The support of DJ Motors as sponsor of the Twilight Series is greatly appreciated.

Sailing Program to 30 June 16

17/4/16 – Boat Sales Tas Series Race 3 1/5/16 – Pieroth Wines Trifecta Leg 1 22/5/16 – Boat Sales Tas Race 4 B2B 12/6/16 - Peiroth Wines Trifecta Leg 2

Scorpio II’s Adventures - Richard Hewson writes Whilst on the slip at GBBC repairing Scorpio from damage endured during our trip around Australia I had a lot of people asking me about our adventures. I had a few

people asking if I would write an article for the Club’s newsletter. I have written an article about our trip around Australia. If you like you can break it up into little bits and scatter it between issues or publish it whole. (Editor’s note – Richard’s article will be serialized in this and in future editions) For interesst sake we also made the March and April editions of Cruising Helmsman Magazines. Kind regards, and thank you to all your members for their help and patience whilst Scorpio II was on the slip.

I begin writing as South East Cape Tasmania looms on the horizon, the sun lights up the morning sky with a fiery red. To the north the ever so beautiful cloud covered mountainous wilderness of Tasmania makes me cherish this moment.

Scorpio II passed between Mewtsone Rock and Maatsuyker Island at around 3am on the 8th of September 2015, the first land I have sighted since Cape Leeuwin on the 29th of August sailing at between 8 and 11kts towards Hobart.

Two years ago I first saw Scorpio II at anchor while Emilie and I were cruising the D’Entrecasteaux channel in our 14ft tinny, equipped with tents, sleeping bags, dive set and bush stove. It was love at first sight. One month later when I was

searching for yachts in the Caribbean I Scorpio came up on the search engine. After some research I found she had a good pedigree. Scorpio II is a Phil Curran 46 hull number 5 built from the same mould as Challenger, the yacht Jon Sanders sailed three times around the world. I found Scorpio had thousands of world cruising miles under her keel and was perfect for world cruising. Six months later the contract was settled and we took ownership of Scorpio II.

When varnish takes two days to dry you know that its time to head north to more tropical climates. Scorpio II departed Hobart in August 2014 after a brief refit of the boat and complete check of all our systems. My Sister Gina decided to join me for the sail up to Eden and we sailed Scorpio through Denison canal and contended with the usual fluky winds sailing up the East coast of Tasmania, providing a good shakedown after the refit. Stormy weather encountered 30nm west of St Helens when the anemometer maxed out at 70kts proved that everything bar the autopilot was in good order.

We diverted our passage plan towards Little Elephant Bay for shelter, a quick rest and to fix some hydraulic issues on the autopilot. Later in the evening, with all the issues solved, some nice dinner and a bit of rest the winds started to veer towards the south and we were ready to set sail across Bass Strait. With a over a dozen bass strait crossings in the past, and a few months working in the Bass Strait oil and gas fields, I was very pleased to have the wind aft of the beam. With three reefs in the mainsail and a storm jib we were not taking any chances with the gusty southerly winds. Despite the reduced sail (being new to cruising such short sails make me nervous) we were still surfing at 14kts.

The following afternoon the wind had abated and we were sailing up the Victorian coast in full flight towards Eden escorted by pods of dolphins, and celebrating with a glass of wine, cheese and biscuits (the joys of cruising). We tied up at fisherman’s wharf before sunset, and awaited the arrival of my father who was driving up from Kyneton Victoria with Scorpio’s new solar panel brackets. The next day was spent working on the boat and getting more diesel, and by the following afternoon I slipped lines to sail Scorpio solo up to the Gold Coast.

The departure from Eden on the South Coast of NSW was a pleasant one, with a beautiful motor up the coast into light head winds. Shortly after sunset the wind backed to the NW, and I was able to hoist the main and unfurl the genoa and staysail. I was enjoying Scorpio’s company, and the sailing was so fantastic that I didn’t feel at all tired so stayed on the helm for most of the evening. I managed to get 40 minutes sleep just after midnight, but was woken to Scorpio veering off course. The wind had backed further to the west as predicted, and increased and the full mainsail and big genoa were too much for the autopilot to maintain course. I furled the genoa to two reefs (the delights of furling sails.. a new concept for me!) and put two reefs in the mainsail. Scorpio settled down and I was able to get another 40 minutes sleep.

I set my alarm to maximize my sleep to 40 minutes for three reasons. The first is the obvious one of keeping a lookout. Scorpio II has AIS transmit and receive to provide warnings of large ships approaching, fishing boats most private vessels often do not have AIS, so you need to check the horizon for boats at least every forty minutes. The second reason is incase Scorpio decides to veer off course. While I sail up the coast over 10nm from land, I would hate to over sleep and run aground. The third reason is my sleep cycle. Any more than 40 minutes sleep and the body go's into its REM cycle, this is very hard to wake up from, and when you do wake up you feel terrible and weak as the body is still asleep. I was rudely awoken from my third rest of the evening to find Scorpio off course. I checked the autopilot and it had returned to standby. Scorpio can usually sail herself when well trimmed to apparent angles of 90 degrees, but that morning she was not co-operating. Unable to find a balanced course that Scorpio was happy on for more than 5 minutes, it was hard to leave the helm to find the source of the problem so I made a very strong cups of coffee, and settled down on my beanbag to helm Scorpio II through the rest of the night.

At sunrise the gusty wind settled and I was able to get Scorpio II steady on course to enable me to find the problem. I went into the calibration settings of the pilot, and found a few settings had been reset. I managed to alter the settings, and calibrate pilot so it is not working as hard.

The following day, Scorpio II was surfing down the waves along the NSW coast, with the wind at her back two reefs in the mainsail and a poled out jib, she rides the waves in typical IOR style and relishes in the sunlight. The occasional squall of 30kts passes over us under a big bank of clouds, and Scorpio accelerates from 7 to 8.5 kts and swings and sways to the rhythm of the waves. The dolphins can see we are having fun, and have been with us almost all the way up the coast since we left Eden and constantly remind us of their sleekness and speed, and zoom down the waves past us, surfing like Kelly Slater 1 inch under the water, then do a sharp cut back at the bottom of the wave, turn around on a dime, and jump

out of the water to say "did you guys see that- you humans think your having fun, but we are awesome!" We are now on the northern NSW coast, having sailed past Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and Port Stephens. It is still quite cold with the southerly wind, but the sun is out in glimpses amongst the big rolling clouds the pass over us bringing gusty winds.

( to be continued)

From the Crows Nest - DJ Motors Twilight Series Pennant Winners

Footloose (S Geeves) Saltair ( M Flynn)

Bahloo (N Grey)

CLUBHOUSE HAPPENINGS

Although Wednesday and Friday night meals are being well

supported we would like to see you and your friends there.

Band Night

Last Saturday two bands played at the club, Stonefish and Terraplane. Although numbers were down on a similar event held last year all had a good time.

Eating Out in Tassie website - Karen’s experience This is a very good site for all the people who dine out in Tassie to see where to go. The other night a lady asked for somewhere to go on the Eastern Shore. I wrote on the site and told her who I was and invited her to come along. She did. I asked her on the site to review it as well knowing we put out a great meal. She did and this is the result. It has got a lot of shares and likes. Had an absolutely beautiful meal at the GBBC tonight. No problem at all honouring the Entertainment Book voucher, staff very friendly and food was awesome. Highly recommend it. Thanks Karen for your lovely hospitality. Will definitely be back.

Clubhouse available for hire Please remind all your friends and relatives that in addition to the usual Wednesday and Friday meal nights that the Club is available to hire for functions. Karen has provided the following photo as an example of how the club can be set up.

ML Egeria Update

In the last newsletter a request was put out for volunteers to assist with the restoration of the ML Egeria. Members may be interested to know that since the vessel was slipped on 1 April all paint has been removed from the hull, splining has commenced and preparation for painting is well underway. GBBC members who have been assisting are Peter Griggs, John Behrens Nigel Grey (pictured opposite) and Brendan Boon.

MAJOR CLUB SPONSORS: Brierley Marine, DJ Motors, Boat Sales Tas and Pieroth Wines

OTHER SPONSORS: Rockcote, Mechanical & Marine, Roof Coatings Tas, CED Williams Glass, Lindisfarne Service Centre, Nibbs Electrical, North Sails, Cranes Combined, Boat Biz, McDonald Builders, Custom Curtains & More, Masters Contracting, Quilt and Pillow Factory.