Cruising Division back in the lake! You got to stay focused and in the middle while passing under Swansea bridge!

Next Meeting:

Monday 19th February 7.30 p.m

Come listen to Mike McEvoy's sailing experiences (in interview with Dallas) 

BYO BBQ from 6:30 p.m. 

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Happy New Year fellow Cruisers!

Even if all of January has passed by the time I finish this, I wish you all the best for this upcoming year with many great days out on the water.

The cruisers started this year with a cruise to Pittwater and Lake Macquarie which you can read more about in this Compass Rose.

Friday night twilights, organised by MHYC, is a great event if you would like some sailing after the week followed by a get together at the club. These will continue as long as the twilight season is on. Keep an eye out in e-news or on our cruising website. Even if you do not sail, it is a great opportunity to meet fellow sailors from the club.

The calendar is being planned for the rest of the summer and the autumn season, starting with a safety raft-up early March and an Easter cruise is being planned.

The club is also hosting the Barefoot Ball on the 24th of February, this year with the original dress code of formal top and board shorts for men and formal for women, all barefoot.

Book your tickets as soon as possible not to miss out on this fun event. Dancing on the beach, with friends, at twilight is always fun.

The next Compass Rose will be issued early March – do keep an eye on the events page on our website and I look forward to seeing you at our monthly meeting or any of the other events if not around the club. Stay safe on and off the Water.

Sanna

Captain Cruising, SV RaRa

The Cruising Division hosts a yearly Christmas Dinner for all members, family and friends to attend. This past Christmas was no exception and was a great night!! The night had everyone BYO BBQ, as well as an entree or dessert to share. There were so many great food choices to share that eating too much was way to easy to do.

We had a wonderful Secret Santa who managed to put a smile on everyone’s face.

Including Jeremy who won the Photo competition of the year!!   

And, Alex Comino, our resident artist and cartoon contributor raffled off calendars as a fund raiser for the night. 

Next Year please come and join us!Now to have a wonderful 2024!!

At last, after nearly 6 years, the MHYC Cruising Division has been able to return to Lake Macquarie. Dredging has finally been undertaken and although not completely finished before Xmas, it is again navigable. The yachts participating were Sanctum, Shearwater, RaRa, Viking III, Kai Rani.

Boxing Day forecast was for light winds, and we expected a slow sail to Pittwater, but we had 15-18 knots behind us which was absolutely glorious. We pulled in to Coasters Retreat where we met up with the other yachts for the night and after a brief and intense thunderstorm the evening cleared and we had sundowners on Sanctum.

We all turned in early as it was an early start to make the tide and bridge at Swansea booked for 11am. Leaving Coasters at 4am once again the forecast was for light variable winds but once we were out of Broken Bay we again had 12-15 knots  from the ENE.

Negotiating the Swansea Channel to enter Lake Macquarie requires a high enough tide to allow for the 2.1m draft of Sanctum & Kai Rani, we needed the high tide to navigate the channel. We needed a tide > 1.6m at Newcastle to ensure we had plenty of water over the coal seam (read rocks) at the bar and shifting sands in the channel.There is a 2 hour overrun in the channel so high tide was just after 9 so I had booked the bridge and a Marine Rescue escort for 11am.  

Marine Rescue guiding us through the channel.

Shearwater, Kai Rani, RaRa and Viking III following Sanctum and Marine Rescue up the Swansea Channel

After a full day of sailing it was great to drop anchor in Belmont to have a rest and then meet up with the rest of the gang for dinner at the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club.

The following day we sailed from the north end of the lake to lunch off Sandy Beach just south of Summerland point. Not much breeze but being on the lake again feels great. After lunch at Sandy, we had an invitation to visit friends of Shearwater for sundowners on shore at Eraring.

On returning to our yachts this was the sunset that welcomed us.

After a quiet night at Eraring we split up. Shearwater returned to Sydney, Sanctum went to visit friends at Summerland Point, Viking III also ventured off to visit friends, while Kai Rani and Ra Ra went to visit fellow MHYC CD members Chris and Jo at Gwandalan and had a lesson in pasta making.

The following day was New Years Eve and we regrouped at Pulbar Island to watch the fireworks. We placed ourselves so we could see the Wangi Wangi, Trinity Point and some of the Swansea fireworks. What a great spot it was and we all gathered on Sanctum to watch the spectacle.

With the tides becoming lower it was decided to depart the lake on New Years Day and as the winds were from the north, the sail to Port Stephens was abandoned by all except Viking III, while Kai Rani, RaRa and Sanctum returned to Pittwater for a couple of nights in Morning Bay. To traverse the Swansea Channel, we just followed our track on the chart plotter we had recorded on the entry.

There was a lot of seagrass weeds floating in Lake Macquarie, so I checked Sanctum’s strainer and there was a lot of sea grass to clean out. Read more on this in Calamity Corner.

A good sail was had by Ra Ra, Kai Rani and Sanctum back to MHYC.

All in all, a great trip to one of our favourite locations.

Kelly & Evan

Sanctum

January winner is Niclas Westling, with "Refuge Beach from behind the waterfall"

This photo epitomises a cruising destination during a Sydney summer.

Send your photos to Mike McEvoy to enter into the 2023 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 2023.

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

Most of the photos submitted are by Committee members, surely there are other photographers out there on the water?

Good Shooting …!! Mike.

Since this will appear in the February 2024 edition of the Compass Rose, let us not forget some other activities that occupied us this summer such as cruising to Lake Macquarie and those blocks of flats that occupy temporary top spots along the foreshore of Sydney Cove.

Full moon at Gwandalan, Lake Macquarie by Chris Kelleway

Can't see the bridge & opera house ... who parked this here?

1. What is jetsam?
2. Which is longer - a nautical mile or a land mile?
3. You are close reaching up a river on port tack with a flood tide. There is a pontoon on your starboard side. To sail alongside do you:
   • a. full sail starboard side to.
   • b. jib only starboard side to.
   • c. full sail port side to.
   • d. jib only port side to.
4. What term is given to the change of direction and speed of the wind with height?
5. What type of vessel sounds four short blasts in restricted visibility?
6. For what purpose would you use a sheet bend?
7. What is the best knot for tying fenders to your railings – clove hitch or round turn and two half hitches?
8. What causes “prop walk”, what is it’s effect on your own boat, and what can you use it for?
9. In what circumstances would you let off a white flare?
10. What strength of wind is indicated by a strong wind warning? A gale warning? What Beaufort strengths are these?

Although long supporters of MHYC, and normally known for their excellent racing results, Guido and Michelle on Shearwater have now also officially joined the Cruising group.

Aren’t I glad I checked!

Eternity is now 27 years young.  She had her rigging replaced in 2016.

Recently, I thought I should check some of those smaller hidden parts that can cause catastrophic damage if not checked and maintained.

It was not an easy job to dismantle the traveller car and block, but aren’t I glad I did.

The photos below show the state of the pin that was holding everything together.

It serves as a reminder to inspect those critical parts of your yacht.

Dallas

sv Eternity

Flo was chartered for New Year's Eve. The financial reward, which contributes to the running costs, could have been a financial loss.

Andrew, the skipper, anchored overnight in the sheltered waters of Castle Rock after the charter. Leaving the anchorage for MHYC marina a clunk was heard, but not thought about too much, until attempting to manoeuvre on to the T head, which was proving difficult. There was no propulsion from the port engine. The immediate thought was that the prop had  collected some flotsam.

The next day, the owner, me, dons a wetsuit and goggles to inspect the propeller. A three blade folding propeller. The inspection doesn't take long as the propeller was missing.
The thought of the extra income from the  charter disappears as I heard propellers can  cost 2 or 3 thousand dollars. I was wrong. That is just for the blades. The whole lot would be more like 5 thousand dollars and that doesn't include lifting and fitting. The only facility in Sydney Harbour which has a wide enough slip for a 7.5m wide catamaran is Woolwich, gome of Wild Oats. The last time it was lifted, for a survey, cost $600. Then there would be time on the hard standing and paying someone to fit a new propeller.
However, Andrew has a plan. Flo's track was still on his mobile phone's chart plotter. He knows where he anchored and where he heard the clunking sound, therefore there is a possibility that that is where the propeller absconded.
A search and rescue mission is put into place. I am to be towed behind the dinghy as Andrew follows a criss cross search pattern. Anna will swim randomly nearby. The thought of saving thousands of dollars slightly reduces my fear of me being towed behind a boat as shark bait.
The water is around 3 or 4 meters deep and fairly clear. After 15 minutes or so my shark fear elevates and I am thinking it is an impossible mission so we should give up. Then, a shout. Anna, the mermaid, who was 25m distant spotted a shiny propeller on the sea bed.
I swam over to her not believing it could have been found as the visibility for me wasn't too good. However, it was mine! I was so excited I dived down without thinking how we were going to retrieve it from the bottom, meanwhile, disturbing a massive wobbegong shark lying in the sand. He was even more surprised than me, but I know they are harmless unless provoked.
I hadn't factored in the weight of the propeller or where the dinghy was and half way to the surface I realised just how heavy it actually was. I should have put a plan in place. Mark the spot with a fender and use a rope.The adrenalin had kicked in and I wasn't about to lose my treasure. Andrew arrived just in time.
Everything was intact. All except the lock nut and locking washer. How lucky we were.

Back at base Andrew had another cunning plan. Sandy Bay, opposite the club, has a flat bottom and dries completely. We could beach Flo, refit the prop with a new lock nut and locking washer and float off at the next high tide. This would also give us time to clean the hulls and prop speed both propellers. The antifoul is copper coat so we wouldn't be leaving any nasty antifoul to pollute the beach.
The tide didn't go out quite enough so removing the starboard prop for propspeeding and refitting the port prop did require some under water work. My hooker proved it's value yet again.

Why did the prop fall off? The locking washer between the prop body and the lock nut has a series of tabs. Two hold it place on the shaft and three are meant to be bent around the lock nut so it is impossible for it to come lose. The starboard locking washer tabs had not been folded, therefore one can only assume the same was true of the port propeller. We were lucky both propellers weren't lost. This was a factory omission. Another item to add to the defects list.

Martyn Colebrook, Flo

On the way back from Lake Macquarie I thought I had better check the raw water strainer as there was a lot of weed floating in the lake. 

This was RaRa’s strainer but Sanctum’s was similar. 

It was a good call to have us all check the strainers as you can see the inlet is being choked. 

After cleaning the strainer and getting ready to return to MHYC from Pittwater we weighed anchor and went about 100m when I realized I had done a rookies mistake. I had forgotten to turn the raw water seacock back on. 

The engine had been idling while we got the anchor up and by the time I powered up to leave I noticed things did not sound right. No water was coming out of the exhaust.  I ran downstairs and turned the seacock on but still no water was coming out.  Kelly quickly dropped the anchor again and we set about troubleshooting and on checking the raw water pump impeller found all the blades had been torn off.  This is the damaged one (left) and what an impeller should look like (right). 

As you can see every blade was stripped off. I assumed they would all be in the pump outlet or up in the heat exchanger. After replacing the impeller, we were getting enough water to run the engine but it was not its usual flow. 

After getting back to MHYC and over the next few weekends we cleaned out the heat exchanger, replaced the raw water to heat exchanger pipe which improved things but still not quite right.  

As the Raw water inlet and outlet hoses were all original from 2011, I felt it was time to change them as part of preventative maintenance. 

When we did, the hose from the strainer to the raw water pump (inlet) it was actually chock-a-block with impeller blades and they had more or less merged into a lump in the pump inlet. 

Cleaned this out and put everything together and back to normal or better water flow. 

So now I know, don’t just check the outlet because the inlet could also be blocked. Better still do not start the engine until you have checked the sea cock. 

Sanctum’s procedure now is if you do turn the sea water inlet off turn off the engine battery and put a piece of masking tape across it as a reminder to open the sea cock. 

Forever learning. 

Kelly & Evan 

Sanctum 

Safety Warning – Do NOT Be a “Human Fender”

Over the holiday period we had an incident in the marina which reminded me of the hazards between boats and people.

One of our members had a problem bringing a boat into his marina berth and put out an arm to fend off.  Result – several days in hospital.  Not serious but could have been!

It reminded me of two incidents in the past – one of which I witnessed.

The first case was at a Cruising raft up. Two of the boats were rubbing, and one of our members put his hand out to fend off. Result in this case- micro surgery at the hospital, and luckily no long term damage. I was there and we were able to get him off the boat and to the hospital in a short time.

The second case was a (very experienced) couple who got a little out of line coming in to their marina berth. She put her leg out to correct it. Result – 6 months in plaster while her bones healed. Could have been far worse.

eXpresso weights 5 ¼ tonnes, and many of our boats are bigger (and heavier) than us.  If you fight this with flesh and bone you will surely come off the worse for it.

Just remember – we can fix damage to boats easier than damage to people.  It may be painful to let your boat take it, but the end result is much better than being the human fender.

Phil Darling

What is a Tumblehome?

Tumblehome describes the 'inwards' curvature on a ship, narrower at the deck than the waterline.

The origin of the Tumblehome is somewhat uncertain, but its usage can probably be traced as far back in the 1700s, when many European countries were at war in an attempt to conquer as many foreign lands as possible.

Many warships contained much artillery often located on the upper deck for easy accessibility, thus making the ship top-heavy. Creating a broader and heavier bottom slightly shifts the centre of gravity in a lower position, thus making the ship more stable and well-balanced. In the event a ship is hit by cannonballs, the Tumblehome design helps deflect the said cannonballs and prevents the vessel from tipping over by the force of the collision

1. Goods or equipment deliberately thrown overboard.
2. The nautical mile is longer (1,852m vs 1.609m).
3. d. - jib only port side to. Tidal forces will overpower wind forces in almost every case unless the wind is VERY strong (in which case what are you doing out there?) As you approach into the tide (ie facing down river) you have turned so the wind is on your starboard side and the pontoon on your port side.  You are now coming downwind and the mainsail cannot be de-powered so stow it (before turning) and come in under jib only – at the last minute you can let the jib fly, tie up, and then drop or furl the jib.
4. Wind sheer.
5. Pilot Vessel.
6. Joining two ropes of unequal thickness (it is also pretty good at joining ropes of equal thickness).
7. Clove hitches come undone of “jiggled” as a result of wake from passing vessels.  I would use the round turn and two half hitches every time although it is a little slower to tie.
8. Prop walk, also known as paddlewheel effect, is the tendency of a propeller to push a boat’s stern sideways. It’s most noticeable in reverse on single-screw vessels.  Most yachts push the stern to starboard in reverse (check your own boat – not all!) and it can be used to pull the stern in to a dock or alongside another vessel when berthing.
9. To alert another vessel to your location at night and hopefully avoid a collision.
10. Strong wind warnings are issued in Australia when the wind is expected to regularly exceed 25kts (Beaufort force 6), and gale warnings when it is expected to exceed 32 kts (Beaufort force 8).Note these are regular wind strengths – gusts may exceed these dramatically.

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