Good progress is being made by the ladies on their rowing skiff.

Imagine yourself on a windy late afternoon sailing or motoring down
wind up the coast. Looking for that next headland which should have
a light on it. The crew are below cooking. With the southerly and dark
coming in, you think you had better go forward and secure a sail or gear.

Autopilot is on and you don’t want to worry the crew so you do it
yourself. In the rush of the moment you don’t clip on to the boat. Two
minutes later whilst, wrestling with the sail, boat rolls and you are in the
water > overboard!

The boat charges on past you as you recover from the shock of going
overboard.

There is no help from the crew because they are down below with the
music on!

You wonder how far to shore: 2 miles? 6 miles? and the 3 knot current
won’ t help. It’s getting cold, you’re treading water and the waves keep
landing on your head. It looks like a long night. Where’s the boat?
Surely they must be looking for me by now? Guess they will back track.
Forty minutes have passed and you’re getting tired. You don’t think you
can beat this current to get ashore. You will have to tread water to save
energy

Three possible scenarios come up as the boat charges past and the
lighthouse in the distance start to flash.

Scenario 1:

You are wearing a jacket, pants and boots or less (standard attire for
most cruisers). It’s time to kick the boots off (that’s why you always have
them one size too big!) and start to swim to a least keep position.

Scenario 2:

Along with your jacket you have a standard manual inflate Personal
Floatation Device (PFD) .So if you didn’t crack your head on the boat
on your way over the side, you will be able to pull the string and start
inflating your jacket. You can see the lighthouse flash. Is that a stern
light you can see? Bugger, no torch!

You’re floating well but there are lots of waves around and the wind is
getting up.

Scenario 3:

Imagine the surprise when the cylinder goes off and the auto PFD
inflates around you as your starting to swim and yell to the boat. You
had better grab the whistle and give that a go. The auto strobe light
attached starts to blink – handy that! Now I know why MAST required
them for commercial fishing boat PFDs

Better set off the PLB (personal locator beacon). This compact wearable
EPIRB with built in GPS gives ultimate safety. You can be sure the
signal will go straight to a satellite then to sea safety HQ. As the
registration included your name, boat and family contact a detail the
authorities will know, who is in that 5 square metre search zone as given
by the GPS unit.

Things are looking better. Twenty minutes they reckon. Bit o’ luck they
will call the boat and give them your position. They must be worried and
back tracking the plotted course by now. You can feel the current taking
you out. The lighthouse blinks are fading you’re getting cold, but still
optimistic. An hour later the keen lookout aboard your boat spotted the
strobe light and heard my whistles.

As they ran past to get down wind a call was heard and a life ring flew
out with an attached flashing light going off.

Swim, swim, and let’s go! With the boat coming up into the wind and
the swell crew with the spotlight on you, they drive past dragging the

 A course for women who want to learn about the engine in their boat .
 A one day hands on course.

Having the right rope or lines aboard is an essential part of boating. For all the fancy gear you can have aboard a boat, without a simple rope to tie something down you can be in real trouble. Lines are used for docking, lashing down gear, anchoring, hauling cray pots, pulling up and controlling sails, hanging up big fish, making and setting nets and holding clothing together. There is no end to the useful jobs you can do with the right type and size of rope.

Navy and fishing boats drove the original need for rope with manila, sisal and hemp the plants that gave the fibre to make them from. Rope works twisted and bound these hardy stalks of fibre into the lines used for hauling all matter of gear around he ocean. Manila is grown in the Philippines and was considered the premium rope. It was much favoured by the British navy during the age of sail. WW2 and the huge demand for supplying rope to the U.S. navy drove the DuPont company to develop nylon for manufacturing dock lines. Australian rope however was still made from hemp grown on the NSW north coast. These crops were abandoned after the war but were later rediscovered by some happy hippies in the seventies!

Modern rope comes in a wide range of types, some with long names, utilising many forms of manufacture. Some suit particular jobs better than others, and it is best to use the right rope for the job at hand. Many brand names are around, but a general run down follows:

• Silver rope is made from polyethylene and has a hairy appearance, with a three-strand lay with floating ability. It has good U.V. and abrasion resistance, is popular for docking, anchoring and lashing, and is easy to splice. This economical rope is the most popular rope found on boats.
• Nylon rope has high strength. Its ability to stretch up to 30% means it is popular for anchoring, docking and towing. It comes in three, eight and twelve strand lays with good U.V resistance, but does not float and goes hard over time when stowed. Its high cost means that it is not so popular.
• Polypropylene rope is usually green and has twice the strength of silver rope. It is mostly used for fishing, and is good for cray pot lines. Its three strand in soft, medium and hard lay types have poor U.V. resistance, so it can't be left in sun full time. It floats, is economical, and easy to splice.
• Double braid polyester rope is the most popular rope for yachting. It has a sixteen-plait jacket over an eight-plait core, high UV resistance and low stretch. It is available in many colours.  This easy to tie rope is economical and a pleasure to use. It is good for sailing sheets and halyards, dock lines and truck tie down lines, but is tougher to splice unless you’re a pro.
• Pre-stretched polyester rope is thirty-two braid over eight core and is mostly used for running rigging on yachts and dinghies. It is good for lashing when no stretch is required.
•  V.B. cord is available in 2, 3, 4, 5 and six mm and is popular for small lashing jobs. It has high strength and good U.V. resistance. It is available in variety of colours, originally being designed for pulling up Venetian blinds. It is also used for decorative plating and macramé type applications.
• Kevlar rope is a super high strength braided rope used on racing yachts for its ability to provide thin lines for use aloft, doing the job that formerly required much larger ropes. It comes at a high cost, so is not for all.
• Manila rope does not float, has average U.V. resistance, but will absorb water. It looks great with its traditional colour, is easy to splice and is great for rope work. It is mostly used on traditional wooden boats.

Keep your ropes coiled and out of the weather and sun if not in use. Make sure your anchor line is long enough and coiled ready to deploy in a hurry if you need it. Use the right rope for the job intended as a rope breaking under strain can cause injury. A fresh supple rope is a pleasure to use and will be easy to tie and hold its knot.

 

 

 

Just 22 nautical miles south of Bruny Island is the most southern group of islets in Tasmania, part of the southwest national park and thus included in the Tasmanian Wilderness World heritage site.

Pedra Branca, the largest, was named by Abel Tasman in 1642 on his discovery voyage around the world. He named it after a similar white coloured rocky outcrop in the South China Sea. Eddystone rock stands like a tower and is about 1 nautical mile east of Pedra Branca and was named by Captain Cook in 1777 for its resemblance to Eddystone lighthouse in Devon England.  Sidmouth Rock is a low wave washed rock a further one mile further east again.

None of these large rocks have navigation lights so the area is not a great place for night passages without a radar or GPS.  Indeed, you should be well on your way home by dark.

There are many reasons to visit this remote area on he edge of the southern ocean. Some go to see the shy albatross and Australian gannet breeding colonies, and some go to see the seal colonies that laze on the rocks. Intrepid biologists visit the rare skink colonies that have survived on the rock for 15,000 years, although several unfortunate wildlife officers have been swept to their deaths after being caught by large swells that washed them off whilst sheltering at the top of the rock in the lee of a storm where they thought they were safe!

Aboriginal locals used to hunt seals at Pedra Branca, using bark canoes to make the passage down from Recherche Bay. Surely a tough days outing!

Most people passage to Pedra Branca to fish for the mighty southern blue fin tuna. This prized game fish is in abundance at certain times in summer to autumn when the east Australian current brings warm water down the east coat of Tasmania, sweeping around Tasman island to mix with the Zeehan current which sweeps down the west coast of Tasmania. These two currents mix with cold water from the Antarctic circumpolar current sweeping west to east below them, creating bands of different water temperature and providing the temperature breaks or lines at the edge of which tuna congregate. The temperature breaks around Pedra Branca are so close, it is enough to make a commercial tuna fisherman weak at the knees! Rarely do you see such good conditions for tuna.

Weather and location are the guardians of this lonely spot, with very large swells sweeping in from the southern ocean making conditions tough. Strong north westerlies can kick in fast and make getting back to Recherché Bay a long tough run home. Only go in a seaworthy boat large enough for the job with spare motor and preferably in company with an even bigger boat with more gear.

 

 

Saturday night was the annual Port Huon Yacht Club prize giving and presentation night. A large turn out showed how much the club has grown under the enthusiastic leadership of Roger Carter and his wife Susie. Only three years ago there were 40 people at the dinner; last Saturday there were over eighty people present, with over thirty apologies sent in by members who were unable to attend.

The tireless work by committee and other members has given this little club a real boost and made it a focus point for local yachties. David O’Neil and the crew of the ‘pocket rocket’ True Blue took out the overall best yacht with the Sharp clan cleaning up most of the rest of the silver. Stan the Man Pickering picked up the most improved and Bosun of the Year awards.

I am sure I missed some of the awards, but well done to all winners. Ambrose Code won the best-presented yacht in the Huon after his major refit and refurbishment. Ambrose also gave the men at the meeting a strong testament to the necessity of having a regular blood test for prostate cancer, and made us all aware that we really must have that test every two years at the max once you're over 45 years old.  So if you haven't done it, fellas, get along and have a test as soon as possible!!    

 

With the cooler weather upon us it is time to look at clothing and wet weather gear to wear when out on the water. It can get cold on the water at any time of the year in any area but especially so here in Southern Tasmania. If possible wear multiple layers of fibre pile or fleece clothing to build up a barrier to the cold, these fabrics do not hold water when wet like cotton does.

Old fashioned wool is also a good wind breaker, neck warmers stop the cold wind and water getting in, as does a beanie to keep warmth in your head. You can always peel layers off if you get too warm but once you get cold you start to lose attention to important details and navigation skills.The top layer should be a good pair of waterproof Bib and Brace trousers and a good waterproof jacket. Some modern jackets are made of breathable waterproof fabrics –  these allow moisture to get out but not in.

Many people wear Stormy Seas type jackets, these are great in summer but tend to let water in around where the arms zip off.  If you use a waterproof jacket with a PFD yoke over the top you will have a fully waterproof set-up.

Good sea boots will keep your feet dry and warm. Always wear boots a size bigger so you can kick them off if you end up in the water and they start to fill up.

Storing your extra clothes in a waterproof bag will keep them dry for that long cold trip home after a big day out. So layer up and keep on boating!

 

 A "Marine Diesel For Beginners " course will be held at Franklin Marine on Sunday 24th of June for the women of the Cruising Yacht Club, this is to give the ladies the skills and confidence to understand the motors in their boats,the course will include hands on instruction with a marine diesel and includes a teaching manual.

The course runs from 10 am till 4.30 pm, and other interested women can also enrol by contacting Franklin Marine on 03 6266 3768. A further course for men and women will follow shorty after. Download the Information & Enrolment Form by clicking the link below the image.

 

A very well attended film night was held at  the Palais theatre on friday night to showcase the St Ayles rowing skiff being built by the women on the water at the living boat trust in Franklin. Whilst the films sound track was in Gallic with sub tittles it certainly was interesting in showing the building process from flat pack to launch and racing around the bay. When the ladies launch their boat (yet to be named) it will no doubt be followed by another build to get some class racing in preparation for the world tittles being held in Ullapool Scotland next year to which a team has been invited to compete.

There was also much talk about the Evaporator sheds and the proposed conversion to boat building centre, with government funding on offer  to help make this happen it is still looking for interested locals to purchase shares in the co-op to get this important local training facility going. It is also proposed to get some small cruising yacht builds underway to fill the need for new boats suitable for use in the Huon and channel.