Closed in on Pelorus Island about late morning, It's the northern most Island in the Palm Island group which is about 10 nautical miles off the mainland coast. The weather was hot (33 C) and humid - The 90% cloud cover and the shade from the bimini helped. Extreme UV also occurs from about 10 am to 3 pm most days in the tropics so good clothing helps too. I wear long trousers and shirts bought from Anaconda - they're made of a special lightweight, cool and tough fabric designed for bush walking, it can get wet and dries out quickly. Also put the croc boating shoes and the kayaking cap on. Without covering up a tropical sail could end up in 3 rd degree sunburn. The bimini blocked direct sunlight but there is always a fair bit of UV reflected off the water too. The light - moderate winds made for an easy and comfortable sail across the straight.
NW beach on Perlorus Island to windward
Pelorus Island's surrounding sea and reef is Marine National Park, environmentally protected. It's a good dive site/camp. Sailed in at the centre of the Island. Upwind on the NW side was what appeared to be the public beach, two speed boats were beached there. (After the trip -I couldn't find it in the Qld Nat Parks website but there is a boat based camp ground there , see Pelorus - explore Australia) Also a bit of private lease land on the lee side closed to the public.
Sailed on to the south on a beam reach - broad reach. Parts of the hills had greener rainforest patches and the rest was covered in dense dry bushland.
The channel between Pelorus (L) and Orpheus (R) - Curacao and Greater Palm Islands in distance.
The Lee side of the Palm Islands have smooth protected waters, nice boating conditions. Though sometimes little wind as it's sometimes blocked by hills so motor-sailed through these areas.
Next morning as the sun rose i looked about the anchorage - it was calm, the tide was slowly streaming in and the wind light. Mangrove forests lined nearly every shore, except for the small ramps and docks area.
Dungeness sunrise
The kayak was lashed down in its secure position on the bow, ready for the trip.
River Harbour looking North towards moorings and boat ramp
Looking south up estuary - mangrove forests
The solar panel had found a place on the aft rail, out of the way yet in a full sun part of the boat, tied on with 4mm marine rope.
Motored out past the facilities into the Hinchinbrook channel then turned eastwards. Lucindas inner commercial port and the sugar sheds passed by. The Lucinda sugar wharf, at 6 km length, is one of the longest in the southern hemisphere. it extends from the sheds , across shoals, out to a deep water ship-loading terminal. In the cane harvest season, a long conveyor belt transports the bulk sugar out to the ship.
Lucinda Sugar sheds
The long sugar wharf extends toward the horizon..
Six kilometres out is the ship loading terminal
Hinchinbrook Island with rainforest clad mountains and clouds on the their peaks loomed magnificent to windward. (But didn't get a pic as focussed on navigating clear of the sugar wharf etc)
Once clear of the terminal and shoals, sail was hoisted, the engine cut and a port tack in 5-10 kn NNE allowed a course for Perlorus Island at about 4 -5 knots.
Pelorus ahead - close hauled port tack
Hinchinbrook Island and Lucinda sugar terminal astern
Got some time off after the new year so prepared for a 3-4 day solo trip away from home base, and explore some waterways up north. Plan was to head for Lucinda's ramp - Dungeness, a gateway to both the Palm Islands group and spectacular Hinchinbrook Island (southern end).
Set off for Ingham mid afternoon, it's 110 km north along the Bruce Highway. Once clear of Townsville's road construction works just north of Deeragun, the comfortable/safe tow speed was about 70-85 km/hr (45-50 knots similar to that of L'Hydroptere, the fastest hyrofoiled sailing trimaran in the world!) But did use a a half tank of petrol hauling a one tonne plus payload, so refuelled the ute at Ingham BP, cruised through Ingham town centre, then headed for Lucinda another 30 km along windy cane farm back roads at 50-70 km/hr tow speed. Ingham gets allot more rain than Townsville so had a lush green appearance with occasional patches of rainforest trees. The pace of life seemed as if in a past century compared to the city rush i'd just left. Small sugar towns dotted the way, and it was not far from the mighty Herbert river. Here is the map of Townsville to Lucinda (showing Palm Islands)
It took about 1.5 hours in all the reach Lucinda town, turn left at the fisherman's pub on the corner and headed a few more km through mangrove country to the small craft port of Dungeness, about 140 km from home base, it's the longest road trip I've done with Teria so far, about two hours or so, but it also meant reaching a new cruising grounds.
Dungeness ramp carpark - rigging up area
The boat ramp and car park is a very good facility. Plenty of space to rig up well clear of the ramps activity zone. Motels, Pubs, tackle shop and charter boat facilities were all there too. Dungeness is a nearly all tide ramp for shallow draft boats. I had also launched my Hartley 16 here decades ago and didn't recall any problems.
Rigged up under the ample floodlights during dusk, one of the ramps busy periods for recreational fishing boats. By 7 pm all was quiet so it was a good time to launch. The floating pontoon was very handy to tie up at while the trailer was parked. Just a note about launching at very low tides - there is a sharp drop off at the deep end of the ramp, this limit is well marked by a bright yellow sign on the pontoons post. It is also salt water crocodile habitat, so kept an eye open and stayed on or near the trailer frame when unhitching the boat.
Dungeness pontoon dock and boat ramps
Rigged and ready to go
Launching
At the dock - Good flood lighting
Motored out into the darkness of the harbour on a new moon. Used a strong torch to spot motor boats moored in there and motored upriver past them all. Dropped anchor about 500m from the ramp about 40m from the eastern bank mangrove forest. Nice feeling hanging off the new short-link chain knowing that it can never chafe through and break like a rope warp could. Rigged the LED anchor light which shone brightly. A few powerboats idled past with anglers aboard as they made way to fish not far up the estuary.
The tide ran out against wind so lay stern to and side on the the breeze, but the enclosed anchorage is small with smooth water, Dungeness harbour is a very secure and comfortable place to anchor overnight.
Lucinda and Dungeness harbour - ramp and anchorage location
Dungeness is on a small side branch in the Herbert River The ramp gives access either to the Northern end of the Palm Island group or Hinchinbrook Island / channel. Predicted winds were light to moderate N - NNE which favoured sailing to the Palm Islands. Having only 22 Litres of outboard fuel meant sailing as much as possible to make it last for several days.
Finally set up a solar panel to re-charge the 12v battery. Also get Teria "off-grid" and gain a new level of freedom.
The 35 watt solar panel once powered-up my Endeavor 24 sloop for about 6 months in the late 1980s. Since then it has lived in various sheds etc for 27 years, so fingers crossed that it still can pump-out enough power. It was made by BP solar in 1987. I can't remember the exact power specs but a modern 35W panel has a maximum output of just under 18 volts @ 2 amps
35W solar panel on deck during set-up testing
Connected some heavy duty 12v wires to the battery terminals and the other ends went to the regulator box.
Solar power wires (in white casing) connected (yellow) to battery terminals
Installed a 20 amp 12v solar regulator in the fuse/storage box. They need to be in a fairly dry spot less than 1m from the battery. It also needs to be easily visible.
End connectors were crimped onto the ends of the panel wires and ends of the battery wires, keeping with black negative and red positive.
It should control power input into the battery, shut down the power if the battery charge is full so it won't overcharge. This should stop battery damage and let the battery live a long healthy life.
The red LED fired up immediately - like a small sun in the middle of the word "solar",,it indicates that the battery is charging from the panel but is not at full charge yet.
Tidied up the system. Siliconed the regulator onto the bulkhead inside the locker. Cable-tied the battery wire out of the way.
On the panel cable tied the power cable to the panel frame to stop it pulling on the black box underneath (could be a diode to stop back flow current).
Added 4 lengths of 4mm braided cord line to the corners of the panel - for attaching it it various things around the boat. Idea is to keep the panel mobile. So it can be best positioned to catch the maximum amount of sunlight, or be stowed below when rough sailing. For now i put it on top of the lowered mast tied to the spreaders.
Solar panel position with mast lowered.
The red LED light turned off at dusk. indicates the regulator has switched off the solar input wires.
12V electrical tools, materials on the "workbench"
Next morning around 10am found the LED was green indicating a full battery charge (14.4v) . I put the panel inside then the LED went red again (charges up from about 13v). So put the panel out -tied onto the aft rail quarter. The LED went orange then yellow to indicate charge was nearly at peak.
LED going orange..
LED going yellow..nearly full charge
LED Green - full charge
The regulator has an intermittent charging cycle - every 20 minutes it disconnects from the solar array for a few minutes. This is good for deep cycle battery lifespan (hopefully this 60 Amp Hour heavy duty battery too).
The solar regulator is doing this
Dry location in the fuse/stowage locker
Louvred door
So far it looks like the system can keep the battery topped up when no electrics are turned on in the boat. Hope it can stay on top of it when sailing.
With luck the system is good enough and it's the end of the "grid-connected" era. Teria's potential range has been further extended.
Did some maintenance/ additions to Teria during our "Summer" (tropical wet-season) holidays to get seaworthy again (not much sailing as it's too hot-humid with chance of thunderstorms/lightning strikes offshore at times)
1) Re-sealing and re-riveting the portholes The original aluminium rivets were breaking off and the port hole frames were springing out causing leaks. The last sail in heavy weather and some heavy rains recently provided the motivation (chart soaked twice!). The starboard cabin porthole had lost over 50% of its rivets and was nearly ready to pop out for good. The port sides 2 portholes had about a 30% rivet failure rate.
So drilled the bad old rivets out, and enlarged the holes a little, scraped old silicone etc out, applied new silicone and put the new slightly larger diameter aluminium rivets in. I left the original white rubber sealant tape under the window flanges. The black inner rubber strip of the forward port porthole was a bit aged, some shrinkage etc causing pull away from corners, so pulled it out and rebedded it..the 1" ends gap (due to shortening) was filled with silicone sealant. All rivet heads-holes were also silicone sealed too.
starboard
port side
black inner rubber strip
rivet tool
2) The sloppy tiller to rudder join - Glued a wooded block onto the tiller side. Next day planned the block down to fit the rudder stock head socket. No more tiller slop.
clamped block
tiller fitting
3) Engine department
The outboard had some running problems last trip - probably the most critical item on the boat.
Replaced 2 spark plugs and oiled greased all external moving bits around the top of outboard.
Engine test went well. Really don't want to get stranded out there in a calm (or storm).
Engine test stand - trampoline frame and paver
Checked the u/s fuel tank gauge mechanism, Pulled it out, the indicator pointer part missing and sight glass clouded over and leaking a bit. (the float and control wire still ok). The petrol intake still good so still using it as is.
4) Mast crutch (shear legs). Made from 2nd hand 12x50mm (1.2x2") hardwood planks about 6 ft long with a pivot bolt allowing scissor-action for stowage. This frame holds the lowered mast up giving standing headroom in the cockpit. Good for river with low bridge motoring (rudder remains in operation). The shade/rain awning can also be added to create a cool/dry cockpit area. Rounded off some sharp corners with the surform plane and sanded it down. It's a prototype in progress.
The design problems with it at this stage -
It can't be used as a mast-raising aid (would fall over)
The cockpit locker hatches can't fully open, they hit on the wood frame..
It's too heavy - lighter material better.
5) Short-link anchor chain - Bought 18m of 6mm short-link galvanized chain at Bullivants, Townsville, they are a construction-rigging supply company. ($5/m) It is rated to 400kg safe working load (but can take at least twice that). Plus two 6mm bow shackles rated to 500kg SWL . Fit the new chain between the 7m of 6mm long link chain and the 12mm rope warp to give Teria a total of 25m of chain. With 100% chain between anchor and sampson post there's almost no chance of it chafing through during the night. Plan is to use it in shallow anchorages, especially the nearby islands. Peace of mind when leaving the boat alone or sleeping aboard. Just hope it's not too much weight up high in the bow, or weight to haul up by hand.
Short-link seems to handle and stow easier too.
short link chain and rope warp
long link chain and 10 lb anchor on deck (all fits in locker)
Kept the rope warp so there is deep anchoring capability (20-25m depths such as between coast and barrier reef). It could be handy if the boat is disabled offshore, stop it drifting away.
6)Stern light - The old white stern navigation light was cracking, leaking, gaffer-taped up and very unreliable, it often went off when needed at night. Thought about buying a new LED one but ended up replacing the old stern light with an unused stern light that i had laying around. It was a 10amp old bulb style but this one is still in top condition and is reliable.
Dec 26 th 2015, "boxing day" in Australia which is better known for the start of
the Sydney - Hobart yacht race. The super yachts headed south
Far to the north, a Fatty Knees 8' dinghy quietly took to the sea again. It was sail #30 , to test the restored rudder and try sailing JaiDee from Ross Creek in Townsville city centre for the first time.
It was the last day of a good weather window for Townsville so everything was prepared by 4pm and the ute headed for the ramp with dinghy in tow. Ross Creek boat ramp (photos, map,etc - Fishing Townsville . It's also known as "Coast guard ramp") (Forecast over next days for monsoonal rains associated with a cyclonic low in the NT, so last chance to sail for awhile)
Townsville city was initially built on the banks of Ross creek in the 1870s-1880s. The narrow inner harbour has a yacht club and marina, Passenger ferries, Car ferries and some marine maintenance facilities. Most moored vessels are in 24 - 120 foot range. The modern outer commercial shipping harbour is a large basin. Oil tankers and bulk-carriers can berth here. There is also a cruise ship terminal.
I was lucky even though it was a moderate wind day (13kn ENE) the ramp car park was almost empty, only a hand-full of large boat trailers there and a couple of runabouts were being hauled out.
Parked in the "rigging up lane" next to the south (inner) ramp. Set up the rig with mast down and sail furled before launching. This was my first time to use the new floating pontoon beside the ramp. It makes solo launching much easier, safer and faster - a great improvement done by the city council.
Rowed at first as the wind was coming directly down the narrow channel. Not much space to tack back and forth with 100 ft? passenger ferry cats also using the inner channel. Rowed past rock fishermen on the long break wall and waved g'day. It was about a 300-500m haul before the shipping basin which had plenty more room to sail in.
Rigged up on the water as there was nothing to shelter behind or tie on to (hanging off a nav bouy wouldn't be very good form!). The centreboard down first to reduce drift rate, rudder shipped next - bit difficult to get the lower pintle aligned and in as it was underwater and choppy (so note to do it earlier in a calm place), the mast-sail was easy to step and the downhaul quickly belayed on the anchor cleat. A bit hard to steer while all this going on (so note to set up tiller lashings earlier too)
Tacked upwind just clear of the ferry channel, but not too far into the ship basin (wind shadows in there from ship and docks etc). It was long outbound starboard tacks and short across port tacks. Set up the tiller lashing rope - clove hitch on tiller , the loose ends through the quarter ring eyes and tied with sliding knots. Fatty knees can sail hands free upwind with tiller lashed. The slide knots are slid loose to steer by hand again.
Once clear of port and channel a port close haul was held to gain sea room , away from the duckponds rock wall which has some wave rebound and resultant confused sea. This hardly affects a Fatty knees it bobs over "rogue waves" or ships wakes like a cork. Heeling about 20 degrees gives a much higher windward free-board and only occasional bow spray blew aboard. The bilge sponge soon cleared it.
Sailed out a few km on a NW course, West point of magnetic Island on the bow. The tiller lashed allowed for thermos coffee break and dinner , at about 2-3 knots.
Hand steering gets the dinghy faster at 3-4 knots.
Checked the navigation system - a samsung Galaxy ace smartphone with Polaris navigation app. Inside a clear plastic waterproof neck pouch. The phones GPS gave the postion as lat/long, speed and compass heading on one page, the map page gives a position on a google earth map. Jai Dee was half way to magnetic Island with the middle reef navigation pylon in sight when it was time to turn back.
Nav & phone
The rudder was going very well. It felt much more reassuringly solid than the old kick-up rudder. Just the thing for bay sailing.
Fixed blade wooden rudder
The summer solstice was just a few days earlier so sunset was late for here at 6.45pm. Long grey clouds to the NW cut off most of the sunset, they were the outer extent of the large monsoonal system covering northern Australia. Set up the navigation lights on dusk.
Grey skies advancing from the NW
The harbour entrance is easier to sail into than Ross River. The main thing to watch out for is fast ferry cats and stay clear of the channel until time to enter. No tugs or ships were operating. Ran downwind on the calm port waters about 20-30m out from the break wall. The port of Townsville is a good sea-break and shelter to windward. The lead lights were bright white like laser beams when further out , then turned to all round blue when close to them. Green and red navigation channel buoys and poles lights flashed.
Ross creek dusk
Sailed on to the outer ramp. Hove-to there to wait and let the ferry cat pass out, (they sounded 3 horn blasts as they reversed out of berth). Then continued into the inner harbour. Yacht club marina to port. To Starboard was the ferry cat, reef cat berths, then aquarium, museum with old ship berth alongside.
The "sugar shaker" with its green "headband" light comes into view ahead on the final leg of the sail-able creek. Starboard in the Flinders st night club area, unusual to see it from this perspective. The low bridge stops further sailing up creek. So tied up at an all-tidal jetty with concrete stairs, stowed the sailing rig and converted to row-boat again. The artificial sounds of amplified music from Palmer st cut the air like a knife and it was good to get going again.
The tidal current was still coming in as was the breeze, so rowing back was the only option. Sailing would've gone nowhere fast. Having and engineless craft make you aware of every nuance in the tide and wind. I stuck to the sides of creek with the least current first it was near the yacht marina berths on the east (south bank) side, then crossed to follow the north bank (Flinders st side) back to the ramp.
Tied up to the articulated pontoon. It was not far to the car and trailer from there so a quick solo retrieval onto the trailer.
