Voyage to Petchey's Bay....NOT

Sometimes the best laid plans don't come to fruition and this weekend's voyage was definitely one of those times!

On Thursday we hatched a plan to sail to Petchey's Bay and go to Brian's Birthday Party. We were going to leave on Friday after work, moor at Woodbridge and spend most of Saturday sailing to Petchey's bay. John managed to get Friday off work and spent the day running around buying bits for the boat and getting ready for the voyage.

I now need to digress for a moment and tell you all about the great new gear we got for Barquero. The bits John bought for the boat were: A GPS chart plotter, wind instrument, a new VHF radio, rod holders and a new boat (car) stereo. Bye bye bonus - but hello 21rst century for Barquero! Awesome toys really great gear. Anyhow - John spent most of his Friday buying and installing the gear while I was at work.

I got home around 4:45 and by 5:15ish we were headed to the Marina with a stop for some hot chips at George's takeaway in Margate (we were both so busy we failed to have lunch). We got all our gear on board and I had to work up he courage to get on board. We've moved to a new berth at the marina where we have to climb into the pointy end of the boat (the bow) - I'm not very good with my balance and my phobias of falling in the drink but I got there eventually! We were out of the Marina by 6PM.

The wind was doing crazy things out there so in the end we pulled in our sails and motored. It took us about an hour to get out of NW Bay and there was quite a bit of water between us and Woodbridge so we made the decision to pull into Barnes Bay and spend the night there.

We cruised into Sykes Cove and we were very well protected from the Southerly that was blowing. After some initial anchor troubles (read Jelly the spastic still can't work the damn thing properly) we anchored. We had some lovely Beef Stroganoff for dinner and decided to turn in early. At this point I must say I'm quite impressed with our little metho stove - I think we could cook just about anything on it.

It was so calm and sheltered the boat hardly moved at all during the night. We tried to settle into the V-Berth for the night but I found it a bit too clausterphobic and ended up moving to the main cabin in the middle of the night.

We woke up at around 7 and got underway heading towards Petcheys. As soon as we got out of the cove the weather started.... It got quite windy from the south which is great if your are going North but crap if you are heading south. Then as we started getting to Woodbridge the swell picked up. This is about the time John started cooking breakfast - we had scrambled eggs on croissants (yes we eat VERY well at sea) and poor John was tossed about the galley and was nearly sick. Poor Rexy got sick along the way - so far he is the only crew of the Barquero to succumb to seasickness.

After breakfast the rain came in and made everything quite miserable. We then made the call to abandon our voyage turn around and head home. Once we turned the boat around and had our backs to the wind that made everything much nicer - we were actually going in the direction of the waves and not against them and it made a huge difference. John hoisted the foresail up and we were doing 6 knots at one point. This made for a speedy journey home.

Once we got into NW Bay the wind just about died so we had to motor the rest of the way. At the Marina the wind seemed to pick up and we had to make 3 attempts to get the boat berthed. We were all happy to get out of a rocky boat - especially Rex! and would you believe I got off the boat in one go with no hesitation...nothing like a bit of motivation!

Looking forward to the next adventure.

PS: I've started a Google myMap of our favourite haunts. check it out!


View Barquero's favourite haunts in a larger map

Sitting back at my desk now, cold beer in hand, Underworld - Born Slippy playing in the background.

Only took 2 photos this time out. but as I am constantly reminded its quality not quantity and this one has J in it so its a good one. :)

Its just amazing to get out there. the weather forecast was DULL. some expected rain etc but as usual the bureau of meteeorology were WRONG! it was an awesome time out there. cloudy to reduce the suns rays, hardly any wind providing a smooth ride and very beautiful scenary. and best of all..... Hardly anyone else out there. Look at the photo. there wasn't anyone else about. we felt like ultra rich dudes. and sitting there drinking a bevvy (or 2) reminded us what life should be all about.

Rex (the sea dog) is getting his legs and we hear his little paws clattering as he walks around the deck.

Anyway what did we do? N O T H I N G. We paddled around in the kayaks which is fun but you get a wet backside. I dived in first thing this morning! that woke me up! I was umming and ahhing about how I would get in and avoid the pain of it when Jelly told me my cup of tea was ready. I didn't hesitate to jump in then. I couldn't let my cuppa get cold!

As per the previous blog we did head round to the duckpond (Barnes Bay) but there is no internet coverage and I was really hanging out to read the latest tech news so we came back to Quarantine. I'm glad we did. only one other vessel when we got back. Water dead flat, no wind.

We read books, we lazed about, I had an afternoon nanny nap <- J reckons I snored, I reckon she fibs sometimes. and at the end of it all we are back here again. comfortable in our home.

Thought we might catch up with the Gilbatron (Peter Gilbertson) Sunday afternoon ish but he stayed in bed instead. I think I like what we did better.

Can't wait for the next 3 day weekend, we really have to try going further afield.

Ciao. (JA).

Valentine's Day Weekend

Well the lure of the sea strikes again and despite the cloudy weather this morning we decided to head out. After quickly doing the weekly grocery shop and ensuring the house was clean for the 2 open homes we have this weekend we were off. Got the the Marina shortly before 10 and spent some time re-tying the boat because apparently we stuffed it up last time...ooops! Anyhow I'm pleased to report that the tide was high and I had no issues getting aboard!

Heading out of NW Bay we actually pulled the mainsail up - there was hardly any wind so it was the perfect time to try it. It took a little bit of stuffing around but we did it.

The clouds seemed to keep most yachties away but its cleared up and the sun is out now. I'm typing this post from the middle of Quarantine Bay at Bruny Island - Telstra works here.....amazing....... Coming into the bay the water was smooth as silk and the only movement on the water were the little schools of fish. We forgot the camera so we took a couple photos on the mobile - we'll upload them soon.

Well John's had a couple of refreshing beers and I a couple of shandies. Rex is enjoying himself and is really getting his sea legs (and scaring me at the same time!)

Anyhow John's just hoisted the sail and we are hoping to use what little wind there is out here to sail into the duckpond. We hope to find a spot there with coverage and continue the post.

It is such a beautiful day - I'm so glad we came out!

Regatta Weekend Sail 7-8 Feb 2010

On Sunday 7 Feb we decided to pack up and go for an overnight sail to the Duckpond at Bruny Island. We had thought this would be our shore weekend but the beautiful weather and the sea beckoned and we couldn't resist!

We arrived at the Margate Marina at before lunch and discovered (to my horror) how low the tide was! There was no way Jelly the chicken would jump the 10ft down to the boat! I'm probably exaggerating here but it was a long way down.... So brave Captain John jumped aboard got all of our gear on board and did a bit of maintenance while I waited in vain for the tide to come up or summon enough courage to make the leap of faith. Once maintenance works were completed a plan was hatched to get me aboard. This involved climbing onto a neighbouring houseboat and pulling Barquero close enough for me to hop on. The houseboat dude (Michael) was very gracious and I thank him from saving me from having to jump!

Once aboard (with rex the seadog) we got underway and out of the Marina into Northwest Bay. About 15 minutes into our journey we lost one of the 2 kayaks we were towing behind us. Captain John quickly turned us around and I snagged the kayak with the grappling hook and we had her tied back up in no time. Great teamwork there!

The weather was amazing and in about 1/2 an hour in we pulled up the foresail (we aren't brave enough to put the mainsail up) put the autohelm on and stood at the front of the deck with the wind in our hair and eyes on the horizon. That was one of those magic moments that I will always treasure. While on deck we decided to call into Killora Beach on Bruny Island for lunch, some kayaking and a swim. Here is a pic of me and Rex the Seadog at Killora.

Killora Beach is a popular spot for yachts and powerboats. The beach is sandy and the water gets quite warm (warm for Tasmania anyway!) in the shallows and its quite safe for kids and seadogs! The colours were so amazing that John commented while we were kayaking that if he didn't know any better he thought he was in Thailand.

Around 3PM we hoisted the anchor, put up the foresail and made our way to Barnes Bay. We made good time travelling at approx 3-4 knots undersail - lucky the wind was with us! We took the sail down as we approached the Duckpond at Bruny Island.

The Duckpond is a very protected anchorage and that night it looked like a caravan park due to the number of yachts anchored there! After some initial anchor troubles, which resulted in me losing my hat, we anchored got into the kayaks rescued my hat and paddled around. There were some great yachts there - my favourite was a timber ketch called the NZ Maid which I've seen berthed at Kettering. There was an Aboriginal Music Festival happening on the hill - we thought they would get rowdy but there were quite ok ...well apart from waking me up at 1AM with some very bad karaoke versions of "Raindrops keep fallin' on my Head"!

John had packed some beautiful red wine which we enjoyed on deck watching the activity on the water and the hill. It was another perfect moment....although one regret - we should have packed more wine! Shortly after I made a beef stirfry for dinner on the good ol' metho stove. We spent the evening learning to tie knots and added another 2 to our arsenal - the clove hitch and the bowline.

We slept in the main saloon which was a different experience to sleeping in the V-Berth. On the plus side you can stretch out on the minus you don't have much room to turn around and no cuddles :( It was certainly a restful night...apart from the karaoke and Rex's scratching wanting to cuddle up next to us. We spoiled him by letting him sleep on the berths while we are underway.

On Monday morning we woke at around 8AM had a coffee and a nice breakfast of eggs on toast and went for a paddle with Rex to shore. We spent the day kayaking and practicing anchoring - I think I'm getting the hang of being anchor wench! By about 11 most of the yachts were gone and we had the duckpond to ourselves - our own little paradise. We seriously contemplated calling in sick the next day to spend another day out on the water but being the responsible people we are we resisted...... We made our way out of the duckpond after a late lunch at about 3PM.

We had varying success with the sails - the wind wasn't in our favour and was fickle but we weren't in a hurry and took our time.

We arrived at the marina at around 5:15 and then the drama began. One of our mooring lines had mysteriously disappeared! It was of course the critical one and as luck would have it the wind picked up and made things more difficult. We got Barquero tied up eventually - it was a harrowing experience but our newly found knot and rope splicing skills came in very handy here! Chicken Jelly actually managed to hop on and off the boat herself which was a huge achievement.

What a great weekend! I'm looking forward to the next adventure...

PS - we were going to update the blog in realtime with our new u-beaut Telstra NextG we've got coverage everywhere mobile broadband card but there was no coverage!!! Oh well....maybe its a good thing we can't have internet on Barquero.

Regatta Weekend

The opportunity has arisen and we are away. its a Sunday morning and we are not expected back at work until Tuesday, so its 'pack our things' and go sail away somewhere. that somewhere is likely to be the 'duck pond' at Barnes Bay, Bruny Island in Tasmania.