Nara Inlet - Niclas Westling

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G’day Cruisers

Well Jenni and I are back from Italy and we had a fabulous break. We walked some of the trails of Cinque Terre and chartered two different yachts with friends on the Amalfi Coast and then on the North coast of Sardinia. I loved sailing in both places and am very keen to have more of a look particularly at Sardinia and Corsica.

The La Maddelena archipelago off the north Western coast of Sardinia is just spectacular and a week is nowhere near long enough to explore it. It seemed to me that with the islands being so close together and the myriad bays around each of them, that it wouldn’t matter where the weather was coming from, there would be somewhere to be sheltered and it wouldn’t take long to move from one to the other. Definitely a place I want to go back to. I’m planning on doing a bit of a write-up of the sailing parts of our trip for a future edition of Compass Rose.

Many of our cruisers are still away, both here in Australia and some overseas. With so many away, we decided to have our last meeting via Zoom so that at least some of those away could join. We had an hour or so catching up with Niclas and Sanna, who were onboard Rara in Cid Harbour, Kelly who was onboard Sanctum, I think in Mackay Harbour and the rest of us sitting at home jealous. Thanks everyone for dialing in, it was great to see you all.

Our next event is Make-a-wish which is on November 23^rd and I’ve included an ad for it in the newsletter below. I know some people have already been in touch with Dot to offer their help but we can always use more.

We had three boats head north to Pittwater/Refuge Bay over the October Long Weekend and Shane Foley from Boudicca has written an article sharing how it all went. Sounds like a great time was had by everyone.

I’ve also added the latest post from Niclas and Sanna on Rara and their adventures in the Whitsundays. The web address is included in the article and I can recommend following along, always a great read.

Finally, apologies for the late edition here and missing the September edition altogether but I was busy in Italy! Two other things to put in your calendar, the Cruising Division Christmas Party, which is open to everyone across the club not just our division, is on 12^th December at the club, more details to come.

Then our Christmas Cruise this year will be to Port Stephens, leaving the club (weather permitting) on Boxing Day, returning whenever you like but I’ll have to be back by 3^rd January. We’ll go out the heads and turn left sometime before the Hobart boats come out and turn right. Again, everyone is welcome and both events can be found under Cruising Events on the Cruising page of the MHYC web site.

Cheers

Gerald (Serenite) 

Long Weekend trip to Pittwater 4th to 6th October.

There were three boats organised to participate being Salty Lady, Viking III and Boudicca. Salty Lady with Dallas and Selena made the VHF call on channel 16 at 10:15, we then went to channel 73 to coordinate our departure from Hunter’s Bay heading north. We had a reasonable 10 to 15 knot breeze from the west to south-west.

We heard that Gavin on Viking III was fixing electrical issues while he was coming down the harbour to meet us, knowing he was motoring we casually departed from Sydney Harbour heads. As there were two boats on their way, there was a race. Dallas took the straight track close to land and we, a party of five, Me, Mike, Richard, Renee and James on Boudicca, went further out looking for more breeze. We kept in view of each other however it became obvious that Dallas chose the quicker route. I understand he crossed the line into Refuge Bay a few minutes before us on Saturday afternoon.

We managed to score the two Middle Harbour moorings and within 20 minutes Gavin arrived and rafted up to Salty Lady. Dallas and Selena on Salty Lady hosted the sundowner drinks which was just lovely, we finished the evening catch up with one of Phil Darling‘s quizzes, not sure who won but we had some fun getting there. We then retired to our boat. Selena, Dallas and Gavin settled in for the evening.

On Sunday we awoke to a glorious morning! As it was my first time having an overnighter at Pittwater, I was eager to do some exploring while Salty Lady and Viking III were happy to casually take their time.

We firstly visited the waterfall in Refuge Bay called in on a friend to have a look at his new boat purchase, then cruised up the river to Cottage Point and Akuna Bay. On our return we had a swim at Halletts Beach and then sailed our way back to The Basin.

We coordinated an afternoon yoga class on the grass at The Basin which was led by Selena and joined by most of us, there was a bit of groaning coming from the participants. We returned to our boat and organised dinner which was to be a barbecue ashore as a group gathering. Delightful to catch up face-to-face and share a feed, we enjoyed Mike's beautiful potato salad. Gavin‘s partner joined us for the evening and it was lovely to meet Megan.

Shortly afterwards we returned to our boats to settle in for the evening.

Monday morning we arose and in due course we headed out round Barrenjoey headland to head south. A light North Westerly enabled us to run the asymmetric, however after travelling 2/3 of the way it was time to kick in with the diesel, again Dallas was the first one through the heads, He’s obviously very competitive.

It was a fabulous weekend. I’m so appreciative of the support of Salty Lady and Viking III including Dallas Selena and Gavin as well as my crew being Mike, Renee, James and Richard. Can’t wait to do it again!

Shane Foley (Boudicca)

Cruising Division off-site meeting

Sundowners on Sanctum in the Whitsundays

Pina Coladas

Bryan Moore in the UK

and then in St Tropez

Jenni and I on the Amalfi Coast and the La Maddelena islands.

Once again, we are planning to host families from the Make-A-Wish organisation. If you have not done this before, the idea is that each boat takes out one family for a few hours (generally 2-3) on the harbour before returning to MHYC for a barbeque and other goodies.

So, for this to be a success, we need as many boats as possible. The date is November 23^rd. If you cannot take anyone out on that day, please consider contributing in some other way such as baking or providing funds to help defray the costs of the BBQ.

I look forward to hearing from you. My email is theeboom1@tpg.com.au or give me a call on 0409030984.

Many thanks,

Dot Theeboom

1. You are sailing south down the NSW coast.  A cold front is expected.  What changes in wind might you expect prior to, and after, the front passes?
2. What lights would you see on a towing vessel if viewed from astern?
3. At sea, can you see lighthouses from further away at high tide or low tide?
4. On which tack is it best to heave to?
5. What is the other name for the Vang (typically in use in the UK)?
6. You see a navigation buoy with horizontal red and black stripes.  What does this mean, and what light would it show at night?
7. What does the abbreviation EPIRB stand for?
8. Why is it dangerous to pass close astern of a vessel showing three white masthead lights in a vertical line?
9. How many mainsail halyards does a gaff-rigged vessel have, and what are they called?
10. What is a Running Fix, and when would you use it?

Send your photos to Mike McEvoy to enter into the 2025 Cruising Division Competition. Each Month the best photo received will be published and, in the running, to win a new Mystery Prize at the end of 2025. 

Send your best photos (as a JPG / JPEG) - Remember … to be in the running to win the prize you must be in it. Hint …. Give your favourite photo a Title and Place taken. Submit your photos to mmcevoy@bigpond.net.au

Good Shooting …!! Mike.

No entries sent to Mike this month.

1. The wind will initially be from the North West, but as the front passes it will swing to the South West and increase.
2. Yellow towing light over a white stern light.
3. At low tide since the lighthouse is effectively higher above the water level.
4. Starboard, since you have right of way over other vessels.
5. Kicking strap, or Kicker (it stops the boom from kicking up).
6. It is an Isolated Danger marker, and at night would show a white light, 2 flashes - Fl(2).
7. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.
8. The vessel is towing with a length of tow over 200 metres.
9. Two – the Throat Halyard and the Peak Halyard. The throat halyard raises the forward (inboard) end of the gaff, while the peak halyard raises the aft (outboard) end.
10. A running fix is used to determine your position when there is only one mark to take a fix off – it utilises two bearings on the same mark some time apart, plotted in conjunction with the vessel’s speed and course.