Solo to Cape Cleveland (trip 8, day2)

The Red Baron biplane was a good alarm clock, they take off at the Western breakwall and it's amazing how they can land in a short space.

At anchor

Once the sun was well up and the wind was right, Teria was sailed off the anchor and out into a 15-20 knot Easterly on Cleveland Bay. Barely a cloud in the sky and thousands of scintilla shinning ahead. The new Bimini top worked as hoped and the cockpit is now a cool shady place to be.

The wind strengthened further offshore and the boat felt over-pressed, the lee rail was a few inches above water level,, it's a hard thing to push an investigators lee decks underwater. There's just enough space to get out from under the bimini over the hatch to reach the mast and reduce sail with a single reef in the main. There was allot of force and the small reefing line pully on the boom let go at one end, a 30 year old pop-rivet had finally died, so simply wrapped the reefing line around the boom at the gooseneck to take the load and sailed on about 4-5 knots.

Self steering to windward was good, a long starboard tack with a lashed helm gave us allowed for about about 10 nautical miles hands free sail to windward of Magnetic Island. Slowly clawed upwind of the Platypus shipping channel. Hardly any other craft out there except the regular ferries and a port survey vessell. Set the mackerel lure but didn't get any strikes.

Helm lashed, self steer to windward

Trolling

Coffee break

Orchid rocks point

Tacked to port and close hauled past a lone shipping navigation beacon painted bright yellow and black, not on my old chart but the harzard probably deep below.

Chart of Cleveland Bay

A few hours and 8-10 nm later open waters and stronger wind came up, still a few miles to leeward of the Cape and it's light house. Wasn't going to make it there today so held course for the lee side of the Capes mountain. Bullets of wind began to hit a few miles off, so dropped the number one jib and raised to smaller number 2 jib for the first time. Discovered that the shackles that fitted the number 1 jib cringles were too small for the heavier cloth and thicker cringled No2 jib, not the best spot to remedy that with a few trips aft to the spare bits box to find larger shackles. The bimini was till up and my bulky conventional life jacket was just a tad too big to allow easy movement under the bimini on a 20-30 degree heeled deck.

With the reduced sail Teria could still claw to windward for the remaining few miles and close on the coastline of Cape Cleveland. The bimini was dropped as it's windage was getting too much.

Sailed over shoal waters extending well off shore, the centerboard kicked up and i spun the boat around and sailed clear before becoming stuck there in that remote place. The tide was on the rise which was good.  The waves were small in the lee but the wind channeled through the hills and seemed to increase as bullets of wind came hurtling down almost knocking Teria way over at times. So furled the jib and dropped the mainsail a lay a hull for a rest, the boat still heeled about 10-20 degrees under bare poles in the strong conditions.  Hauled the kayak out onto the foredeck and lashed it down for the downwind leg. Plenty of excitement for an old fella for one day. A large Army Chinook helicopter flew by at low altitude on their way out to the lighthouse area on the tip of the exposed Cape.

It was time to run for it, and head for port. Tried Jib only at first which was comfortable in the 30 kn gusts near land.



As Teria got further away from the hills influence the wind setled down again so rounded up and raised the reefed mainsail for the 4-5 knot broad reach 8 nm back to Ross River.  Here's a  U-tube video  Sailing downwind

The bimini went back up under these more comfortable conditions, but was dropped again approaching the river. The quick stowing abiilty of the bimini is a must, usually the boom needs to be let way out to allow the biminis bow to rise up and over on dropping it..other way is to release the boom vang and lift the boom during the bimini drop.

The Sun was setting on arrival and the danger of the entrance breakwall was cleared before it got too dark. I did overshoot the de-rigging anchorage and grounded on a mud bank but turned ok and got away to anchor and phone call in with the Volunteer Coast guard to let them know the trip went well and sign off the trip sheet. (The radio base closes about 5 pm on Mondays, they hand over the radio listening watch to port authorities at night) It was a moonless time of night so slowly motored up river with spot light. Tried my first night haul out and it went ok under big floodlights at the ramp.

twilight sail 2 and Bimini test (Trip #8, Day1)

Around 2pm the Teria was launched at the old Barnicle street boat ramp ("national Park" ramp - it is the second ramp described in Fishing Townsville's post,  newer ramp has a steeper gradient.  The old gentler gradient ramp is the first ramp as you drive in,) It went well, thanks to the new sliding plastic on timber aft bilge crutches (aka "bunks"). A few shoves on the bow dislodged the hull from it's grip and she slid away smoothly after that, with a big long haul/hang on the painter line to stop 1 ton of boat and gear which generated a fair bit of inertia. Pulled Teria back in to hop aboard and start the engine ok, but the throttle was stuck at idle speed!! This was enough to reach the pontoon to tie up so the trailer could be parked. Then idled away along the estuary towards the river mouth. Once clear of things like moored boats, took the outboard cowl off to try and free the throttle,,quickest best i could do was to push the throttle linkage and gain a few revs which allowed a respectable 3 knots hull speed. Tho this was tiring and had to rest and idle away frequently. The thought of cancelling the entire trip crossed my mind, but Teria is primarily a sailboat and there was wind so kept going.

Once rigged up, motor-sailing was used to clear Ross river. Tacking in a confined channel about 50-60m wide as the wind was coming almost straight down the channel. The bimini top was also raised and quickly proved itself in the confined waters, no hindrance to working the boat while providing excellent shade. Once clear a 10 knot Easterly was enough to starboard tack to windward and clear the sugar loading terminals wharf which just out to seaward of the main breakwalls of the port.

Dropped the bimini then main-sail in the ship swing basin and made it to the  pontoon to pick up the family  on time. Rex, our terrier, needed a bit of a carry to get past the expanded mesh walkway and aboard, 9 kg's is a good size for a sea dog, easy to get them on or off a boat. For the next upwind motor the boat hook was employed to push the throttle linkage which was far easier to maintain, it probably didn't look too good to the casual observer but minutes later we were away,  minutes later we were reaching clear of the entrance under full sail.

The western break-wall was rounded ,  a few tacks on the smooth "Duckpond" (haven't seen any ducks yet!) were made before anchoring in the SE corner. Dusk was falling and a cool breeze swept the cockpit area, so half raised the bimini so it acted as a windshield (or dodger), so the cockpit became a fair bit more comfy for dinner with almost no windchill factor.

Townsville western break-wall harbor

Twilight western break-wall harbor

Sunday ended all too soon and time to get ashore. Instead of the pontoon landing we tried our first night-time beach landing as it wasn't far from where we were plus the outboard throttle problem remained. The nearest beach is "tiny beach" in the SE and windward corner of the duckpond.

A bright torch - spot light was very handy, also the tide had risen and covered tiny beach up so only rocks remained. With lookout on the bow and we navigated to the right spot, i swung under the bow rail and stood on the sand of tiny beach which was about 1 foot below the seas surface and held the bow. The wind was from the E-SE which blew the hull downwind away from the rocks. Everyone got ashore ok.

Port lights

Trailer work 2

Did a bit more trailer modification. The main aim of this was to lower the boat, secure it forward, increase stability and not get stuck on the trailer when launching. In the wylo shed  Teria was blocked up and the trailer pulled out using the same method as when the centerboard was restored. It didn't take long this time around with all the support gear on hand.

The 2nd front cross beam was cut off as the roller for this held the bow too high. Trailer brake wire Guide eyelets were cut off for this and then rewelded back on.

2nd front cross beam removed, new rear crutches

The aft bilge crutches were re-built using 3x2 pine wood with a 2" wide strips of red sliding plastic (from motor marine) fastened with counter sunk stainless screws. The aft bunk had to be lowered so cut off the adjustable support posts, lowered 2" and rewelded to the trailer frame. As they were now quite short the lateral bracing wasn't needed so this was all cut off and removed.

Rear crutch

The trailer was winched back under the keel and now the boat could be pulled further forward by about 4" and the bow now docked onto the winch roller.

winch and roller

The rear 2" web tie down strap needed anchor points. So weld two 8mm chain links onto the rear corners of the trailer, the tie down strap anchor hooks fit nicely.

The lowered keel roller support posts were projecting below the axle level, so cut these off for maximum ground clearance under the axle.

Finally adjusted the 4 bilge crutches to hold the hull bilges firmly and sprayed cold galvanizing on the new metal work.

Trailer road handling was improved. The boat sits about 2" lower and 4" further forward, more tow ball down force and lower center of gravity. Also the bow in the winch roller stopped any hobby horsing of the hull. There was no side sway.  For now my comfortable and safe tow speed is 80-90 km/hr on the highway, 85 being the best. My tow car is a 2.7 litre 4 cylinder Toyota workmate trayback utility with a 1.8 ton towing capacity. I could sit in top (5th) gear on the flats and sometimes went to 4th for small hills.

Cruising guide book - "Cruising the Coral coast"

A great cruising guide book is "Cruising the coral coast" by Alan Lucas. This is an authoritative cruisers' guide to the Queensland coast which first came out in 1968 has been reprinted many time since and can be found on the book shelves of many boating supply stores in Queensland.  Second hand copies still work ok for budget minded but best to get the latest edition.

It has many illustrations - maps of good anchorages, photos and practical descriptions about many things along the way. Alan sure knows his stuff from practical experience. There is priceless information that can save allot of money, avoid trouble or prepare for what's ahead.

My editions 1988, pretty old, but i will still use it awhile as Island geography etc doesn't change much over time, perhaps the then developed sailing centers have expanded further, the original facilities are often still there. I bought the guide to sail Pablo, an Endeavor 24 sloop, up the coast but only used pages 233- 292 on the Townsville to Port Douglas stretch in 1989, we sailed outside Hinchinbrook Island on that cruise.

Currently reading up on Hinchinbrook Channel, as thinking about sailing Teria there soon. An excerpt  .."the most scenic, calm waterway on the east coast of Australia having the spectacular peaks of Hinchinbrook Island to the east and the rugged Cardwell range to the west".."there are vast areas of wetlands which create a maze of secondary channels and creeks as well as dry land where shore access is possible". It's an almost uninhabited 26 nautical mile stretch of water between Cardwell and Port Lucinda.

Bimini top

With the prospect of being able to do longer trips thanks to the extra range allowed by the EPIRB, a Bimini shade would be a useful addition to keep the suns rays off the crew while sailing. Some Investigators have fitted 2 or 3 bow biminis, the 3 bow needed some shortening of the canvas though. A Bimini is almost essential for enjoyable boating in Queensland.

Economical mass produced off-the-shelf biminis are designed to fit small open power boats of 3-6 m LOA, nearly every small fishing boat i saw on the water in Townsville has one fitted, and the boaties looked very cool in the shade too.!  Not many small trailer-sailers have biminis maybe because of the difficulty to get them to fit among all the complex ropes, rigging, sails, hatches and deck hardware. A bimini must also have a snug and out-of-the-way lowered position for rigging up and trailering.

At home the mast and mainsail were raised and measurements taken of the available free space for the Bimini.  There was 1.2 m available space from deck to boom and 1.7m available between the boom vang and the mainsheet. The coaming width was 1.7m.

Had a look at the Bias boating catalogue and it looked like a 2 bow bimini (size C) by "Ocean South" would fit the space without modifications. Soon had one back at the boat for fitting. They are premium quality - nice yacht blue canvas, anodized 22 mm diameter aluminium tube bows and all-stainless fittings. This one cost $210.

Put it together (spring loaded push pins) and tried different base positions. It  had to go outside the coamings on deck, not on the coaming top. The deck mounts can spread out to the needed 1.83 m from their 1.7 m width to achieve this. Checked it in the raised and dropped forward positions with the bases outside the cockpit coaming. The boom was about 10 cm above the bimini top.

Shade for the forward end of cockpit and main hatch area.

The boom vang sits just ahead of the bimini. Crew can exit cockpit through the V formed by the 2 bows.

Narrow bimini allows for side deck walking access

Room for the main sheets and boom to run freely (may move the aft strap from the pulpit to the cockpit coaming)

In the lowered forward position the folded bimini frame sits in the notch between the pop-top and the mast tabernacle. This allows the mast to be dropped to horizontal in the tabernacle. It also allows the pop-top to be raised when the bimini is stowed.  This size bimini can't safely fold back without risk of breaking the base pivots. (could be possible with a wider base 3 bow bimini?)

Bimini lowered

Bimini lowered - frames lay alongside cabin, side decks clear.

Mast lowered, bimini sits in notch between hatch and mast step.

The 2 bow bimini's top canvas is only 1.4 m (4'7") wide, but the narrow top makes it easy to walk along the side decks to enter the cockpit from forward (at the expense of losing a little shade area). It also looks ok, the frames slope inwards the same as the cabin sides. There is 1.6 m (5'3") standing headroom under it. The Bimini is only 1.57 m (5'2") long so the skipper can stand up behind it and lookout over it's top.

Selleys epoxy putty was used to fill the gap between the mounts and the sloping decks. It's in tube form with epoxy and hardener as layers. Just cut a bit off and knead it awhile, then it goes on like Plasticine and sets hard in 10 minutes. (It's staying aboard incase a hole or crack appears, it can make a quick acting patch job too)

Pivot base with epoxy putty to level it securely

Deck fitting for bimini strap

The guy strap eyelets and pivot bases are screwed down to the deck.

It was cool under there already! The bimini will definitely make the decision to set sail an easy one, especially on a scorching sunny day.  It's ready to test out on the next trip..(There is one thing i may have to modify yet - the aft straps hold down position from the pulpit to the cockpit coaming,,this may increase crew access to the side deck)

Mast and bimini stowed ready for the road.

406Mhz EPIRB fitted

It is time to prepare for more extended coastal cruising, so fitted a 406 Mhz digital EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) to "Teria".

In Australia it is maritime law to carry an EPIRB if you go outside semi-protected waters or more than 2 nautical miles off the coast in open waters. The Qld recreational boating guide has maps of these areas. With the EPRIB aboard Teria can now legally sail between Island Groups along the GBR and travel well offshore if that's the shortest course, perhaps even visit a reef on the great barrier reef one day, the options are there.

The 406 Mhz EPIRB is a sealed unit which is only used in dire emergency situations as a last resort, after other methods like good seamanship, jury rigging, auxiliary motors, waiting out bad weather, calling on the VHF radio, mobile phone or signaling another boat have failed.

406 Mhz EPIRB on Teria - easy to find but also out of the way

Activating an EPIRB is a serious business as it instigates an air-sea search and rescue effort and most times the crew is located and rescued.  Being near the coast and coast guard/water police bases increases chances of boat retrieval too, if it's still afloat that is.

An activated 406 MHz EPIRB sends signals to satellites in geostationary and polar orbits (COSPAS-SARSAT system) which can store and  relay the vessels data (position) to shore based receiving stations. It has global coverage. Hope this one is never used and remains in the corner, touch wood.

406 Mhz EPIRBs here need to be registered with AMSA - The Australian Maritime safety Authority. I registered on their web site. Details of the boat and owners names, registration number, call-sign, description of vessel, it's size and capabilities, 4 contact names and numbers are sent and are kept on AMSA's computer database. When an emergency EPIRB signal is received they will know where the boat is and information about it to pass on to rescue authorities.

My EPIRB is a GME MT400 model, designed and made in Australia. It's the entry level unit which cost me A$260, fortunately the price of 406 Mhz has come down recently. The MT400 has a position accuracy of 5 nautical miles and is manually activated.  It also emits a 127 Mhz homing signal. Rescue vessels here are equipped with EPIRB direction-finders,  so they can locate the direction of an activated epirb, then steam towards the homing signal source. The rescue vessels often have radar and FLIR (infra red night vision) and a strobe-light on the EPIRB further aids the search at closer quarters.

If i had a bigger budget or was foreign going then the GPS enabled EPIRB would be a better choice, it emits a position accurate to 100 m. High-tech rescue boats could be scarce is some places but they probably have a GPS with a go-to function. 

The most expensive EPIRBs (~2x the $) have water pressure-activated switches and external housing mounts that auto-release when the water reaches it as the ship sinks. Suits serious offshore or commercial vessels.

I mounted my EPIRB inside the cabin on the mid-ship bulkhead, a dry place out of the sun. The signal can pass through fiberglass, so left room for the antenna to pop up under the side deck. It could be activated in it's holder below deck. There is a chance that you could loose the EPIRB when deployed overboard if the thin tether line broke off in rough conditions. (NB Steel boats EPIRB antennae must be outside the hull and cabin, with clear sky view).

The switch design is improved over the old ones, it has a protective flap, which covers a sliding switch. Also it takes one minute for the signal to begin to emit after the switch is slid across. There is a switch seal, which is never to be broken as this ensures that the 6 year life of the Lithium ion batteries is maintained. There is a test button to test it before going on a big trip. GME offer a free battery replacement in 6 years time (2020) to get another 6 years of life.

The EPIRBs ID sticker arrived on a letter from AMSA a week or so after online registration. It has boat name, rego number etc on it so stuck it on the EPIRB so it wouldn't hide any serial numbers etc.

In the 1990's i owned a 127 Mhz analogue EPIRB. It cost $150 then, so after inflation the current price is comparable if not cheaper. The old units could be transferred between boats as they were not registered then so some boats could even share a unit. If one was activated the authorities had no idea who or what vessel it was. Sometimes accidental activation resulted in a big search only to find the boat safely at anchor somewhere, occasionally 127 Mhz EPIRB's activated in a landfill long after being thrown out.  Now they have your mobile phone number and VHF call sign to check with you first. The satellite system stopped monitoring 127Mhz in 2009.

The 7th cruise - Day 2, solo to Radical Bay. Day 3 Ross river

The morning bought Clear sky and a light cool southerly offshore breeze. So prepared for a solo sail - my first solo sail to Magnetic Island in Teria. Around 0900 the light weather gennaker was raised and Teria broad reached clear of the Duck pond at 5 knots, passing a sunken fishing boat with it's cabin just above sea level, it's only 2-3 meters deep. Something to watch out for if entering the harbor at night.

The wind increased to 15 knots and headed us to SE so dropped the lightweight Gennaker and unfurled the working jib for a fast reach towards the Island. A rope on the tiller allowed for limited self-steering to windward, enough time to do deck work or have  a tea break.

Sailing eastwards

Magnetic Island inched by to leeward and motor-sailing kept Teria moving well in failing wind. Checked boat speed with a smartphone GPS navigation app. The Johnson 10 Hp drove us at 5.3 knots on full throttle, tried half throttle and the speed dropped by only 0.1 knot to 5.2 knots!  The Johnson will only see 1/2 - 1/3 throttle in future which should double the fuel - range in theory, until a more suitable 4 HP motor is found to replace it.

Hours later NE headland was cleared. wind and seas increased so cut the motor, and Teria broad reached downwind tacking past Orchid Rocks and into Radical Bay around noon.

Orchard rocks - quite a balancing act

Orchard rocks - mark the entrance to the calm waters of Radical Bay

Ghosting into Radical Bay 

Fishing Chart - Radical Bay and Horseshoe Bays, Magnetic Island

It was flat calm in the anchorage, the sun awning was up quickly and lunch was good.

A shaded cockpit with a view

Sustenance - The hatch board doubles as a table - Esky full of food and cold ice water

Making a cuppa - Trangia stove and thermos of coffee for the trip home.

Kayaked around the bay in 9ft "Scamp", steep hills made of pale granite boulders with many Norfolk Island pine trees rose from the ends of the bay and a pale yellow-brown beach stretched between. Barnacles exposed by the tide encrusted the rocks. The waters below looked good for diving, so the plan to buy a mask and snorkel set was hatched.

Teria in Radical Bay from the Kayak

The rocky shores, the clear waters look inviting.

It's always good to step ashore onto solid ground even if only for a while.

There are no dwellings just the end of a 4 wheel drive track ends here. Only few people reached the bay some would have hiked over from nearby bays with hotel accommodation, and only one 4wd was parked among the trees.

The Sun was beginning to fall in the west, so headed back to Townsville. Fist with motor-sailing to clear the NE headland, then with sheets free raised the Gennaker again to sail at 4 - 4.5 knots before a light easterly breeze.

Heading home - The large lightweight Gennaker extracts considerable power from the light breeze

Altered course to see a huge barge being towed out to sea by a tug boat. It had 4 fair sized houses sitting on its deck! A strange sight, like a real life mega-moves show on TV. Later heard that they were destined for Palm Island which is about 20nm NW of Townsville.

Strange sight - Houses cross the sea on a giant barge

Dropped the Genaker about a mile from Ross river, which allowed a trawler closing in on the port side to pull ahead and enter first. It was important to get the big sail in and reduce speed before getting too close to the rockwall, narrow channel and other boats. Being solo without an auto-pilot means the Teria heads-off on its own best most stable course for awhile, plenty of sea room required while on the fore-deck pulling the gennaker down. Once the jib was unrolled, boat-speed was a safer 3 knots, it's easy to control and furl from the cockpit just before anchoring. The sunset was spectacular, at one point the sea went a mauve color.

Night had fallen by the time the rig was lowered, so motored into Ross River in the dark using green/red  channel beacons, to clear the bridge and stay in the channel, and some shore and star-light to located anchored and moored vessels in the river. I was pretty tired and didn't want to meet a crocodile the hard way, so decided to anchor overnight instead of try to haul-out on the trailer at the ramp.  Found a free spot between some anchored motor-launches. Set up the anchor light. It was dead flat with a light cool southerly, so the outgoing tide pointed Teria into the 17C land breeze. A good view of the milky way galaxy - I often forget about our small place in it when city living. The night sky was only slightly dimmed the lights of Townsville, the nearest suburban streets were about 300- 500 m away to the north. Nature to the south. Lifted the kayak onto the fore-deck so it wouldn't bump the hull if the tide turned or worse still came adrift and got lost. No sandflies or mozzies either, but lit the mosquito coil anyway.

Closed the hatches, had a bite to eat, rugged up and lights out.

The morning light reveals Ross River anchorage

In the light of day, it's always good to see the boat was anchored in a good spot. The Kayak was stowed below, it fits nicely through the main hatch, through the oriental arch and up into the fore-peak. This is a great place for it when launching/retrieving and  towing on the road. It wasn't coincidence that the Kayak was chosen as the hard dinghy, it's stowage potential was a major factor.

Kayak stowage for the road trip