Surf at Edwards Beach with Grotto Point Light and North Head in the background

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G’day Cruisers

The presentation by Elizabeth Tucker (Za Za) at our April meeting was really well received with a room full of people and lots of questions asked, thanks very much to Elizabeth for her time and effort.

Over the Easter long weekend we had a group of 4 boats cruise north to Pittwater for the 4 days and Jeremy Clarke from Kai Rani has written an article and included some photos of the trip.

Jenni and I on Serenite, joined Dallas and Selina on Salty Lady in Bantry Bay and I've included some photos later also.

The Annual Keelboat Prizegiving night was on 5th May and Cruisers were well represented. We awarded 4 of our trophies this year, all to worthy recipients.

At our Committee meeting at the end of April we were joined via Zoom by Niclas and Sanna on RaRa who were anchored, I think, somewhere inside K'gari (Fraser Island), a great example of staying in touch but keeping up the cruising lifestyle.

At our Cruising meeting Next Wednesday, 21st May, we'll have a presentation from Gavin Randall and Dallas O'brien on their cruise out to Lord Howe on Gavin's Hallberg-Rassy Viking III. Everyone is welcome and looking forward to hearing about their trip.

And, finally a save the date, for those eligible, of the 20+ year members - Platinum Luncheon which will be on July 20th. Full details to follow closer to the event.

Cheers

Gerald, SV Serenite

Easter Weekend Cruise

The suggestion was made for the Easter weekend cruise to be either north or south depending on the wind, as it turned out there was none (to start with).

The boats that went; Nawi (Nick & Sue), Sanctum (Evan & Kelly), Kai Rani (Jeremy and Kristen) and Viking III (Gavin) and we decided to go to Pittwater.

The weather was perfect but the east coast low off NZ was creating a big swell and destruction of our east coast. There was surf in Balmoral and waves breaking across the heads every now and then. We left MHYC and had half to a metre of swell to deal with coming into middle harbour. Life jackets were a must with the swell. There were also some strong swells coming through the heads but we knew that once we were outside in deeper water it wouldn’t be as dramatic.

The wind was East and then ENE backing around to the NE eventually, Evan and Kelly wasted no time in putting up their assy but the lack of wind really didn’t fill the sail. We motor sailed for a while until the wind built a little but Sanctum persisted with sailing. We didn’t have our assy available at that stage.

Later in the day the wind picked up and we could sail (9-10knts) it was such a lovely day outside.  Just as we were off Whale beach I thought I saw a whale but on closer inspection it was a huge log that was a major marine hazard to boats. I quickly took a photo of the lat n long on my chart plotter and called it into Marine Resuce to warn boaters of the danger. The trunk was about 4 metres long and 400mm in diameter. At speed this would have sunk a boat or done major damage.

By the time we got to Barrenjoey Heads the swell was in play again as it’s a shallow entrance. I think CYC was running the Sydney Pittwater race at the same time and most of them were struggling with lack of wind. As we came to Barrenjoey we kept a distance off to be away from the breaking swell on the headland and surfed all the way to Coasters Retreat. Dropped the main and headed into The Basin, just in front of Gavin’s, Viking III.

The next day we all took it pretty easy and I did a few jobs on Kai Rani, as you do. Sanctum hosted sundowners the first eve and Kai Rani the second and then Viking III the last night before we left. Gavin is setting up Viking III beautifully for his epic adventure.

On Easter Sunday we headed off to Morning Bay and anchored just near the mouth of the creek, enjoying the warm waters and sun. We had a putter up the creek with the dinghy, and the water was clean and clear. Gavin thought the brown muck we saw going up the coast was pollution or effluent from the out fall being washed back to the coast by the strong swells.

Easter Monday we were to head home so at first light we headed off south to Port Jackson. I was able to sort my assy out and was able to deploy her on the way home. The wind was a lot stronger ,10 to 18 from the NE, so we had a blast going home.

So, the Easter Weekend was a cracker with wind and weather and it was the last of the real warmth before the prevailing southerlies become more consistent

Jeremy Clarke
SV Kai Rani

Annual Keelboat Prizegiving Night 3rd May

Cruising division were well represented at the prizegiving night with 4 Cruising Trophies presented this year

Yaffe Trophy - Jeremy Clarke and Kristin Kool-Clarke for their extensive 4 months cruising north to the Whitsundays and back in late 2024. Some of that trip was with others on board and some in company with other MHYC yachts. They left a name plate at Middle Percy, a burgee at RQYS and became Vice Commodores of Shag Islet Yacht Club.

Cruising Division Drogue - Jenni Lincoln and Gerald Nicholls for keeping too much sail up on the Boxing Day Cruise to Shellharbour. They left Sydney Harbour last and arrived in Shellharbour Marina first. (I probably should have reefed at least the main as the breeze got up in the afternoon).

Wachman Trophy - Kelly Nunn-Clark who is the alternate skipper of Sanctum particularly after her cruise north with Evan Hodge. They also visited the Whitsundays/Percy Group on their way back to Sydney. 

Cruising Division Member Award to Jeremy Clarke for his work around the club generally and service to the Cruising Division 

Alternative Easter Cruise

For a few reasons, Salty Lady and Serenite couldn't join the cruise to Pittwater. Instead, Dallas and Selina spent Saturday and then we joined on Sunday in Bantry Bay.

We spent a lovely calm Sunday night with virtually no wind or chop and were joined by two very large power boats lit up like Christmas trees.

Salty Lady grabbed one of the public moorings, deploying Dallas' patented hull protector, and Jenni & I anchored nearby. 

Sundowners and then dinner were onboard Salty Lady. A great night had by all.

Cruising to Lord Howe Island

At our May meeting Gavin Randall and Dallas O’brien will give a presentation on their cruise from Sydney to Lord Howe Island and back on Gavin’s Hallberg-Rassy, Viking III

Zap - electric bird deterrent 

Some time ago I designed a 12 volt powered 8000 volt electric "fence" system placed on the deck of Bloodhound to keep the seagulls at bay.

I used the electrical tape used by farmers to keep animals in paddocks and vermin out (the tape has stainless steel threads embedded in it).

The battery to power the system is a small 12v battery with its own solar charger as shown in the photos below.

The idea is that when a seagull lands on the deck and touches both the positive and negative tape with its feet it received an electric shock of about 8000 volts, no amps so it doesn't harm or kill the Seagull, however, it sends a clear message to the seagull not to land there again.

The system worked very well as a deterrent, until the seagulls discovered that they could land on the boom cover and poo on the deck. To stop the seagulls from sitting on the boom cover I had Hoods sew two 12volt tapes in parallel on the top of the boom cover (which is shown in the photo below). In March I re-installed the “electrified“ boom cover back on the yacht and since then there has been no evidence of seagull poo anywhere to be seen (I took these photos on the 21^st of April).

It also keeps the Shags away and I assume a burglar would not want to stay around, once zapped.

Alex Comino - Bloodhound.

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 emailed to Mike this month. Need to submit them to be in the running for the annual prize. 

Battery blues - Alex Comino

Recently I was invited to inspect a friend’s yacht, which was the subject of a bizarre event.

My friend had disconnected his starting battery from the boat’s engine and circuit board to do some work on his electrics (he is a highly qualified electrical and computer engineer).

The starting battery was new (not lithium, but a 12v lead acid) and completely isolated from the boats electrical systems.

After completing his days effort, he left the yacht and ensured that the battery remained isolated and the battery box open.

On returning to the yacht some two weeks later he found the entire area below was covered in black soot.

He immediately searched for the cause inspecting the battery box which he had left open and was astonished to find that the battery had disintegrated,with signs of fire, soot and of an explosion. It was obvious to him that the battery was the cause of the problem so he examined all connections to see what could have caused the battery to fail.

As the battery was completely isolated, he could not fathom the cause of the problem he took a photo of the damaged battery to a marine electrician who specialises in fitting out boat electrical Installations and maintenance to see if he could identify the cause.

The marine electrician said that the same thing had happened to him and that his boat actually burnt to the waterline and couldn’t understand why that didn’t happen to my friend’s yacht also.

The electrician advised that the cause was due to a short in one of the cells in the battery which can happen when a battery is charged and unused …. and he has seen this on other boats.

Apparently a short in a 12v lead acid battery cell can cause an explosion, fire and thus the resulting black soot.

The electrician still can’t believe how lucky my friend was that his boat didn't catch fire.

I personally would not like to be onboard any boat if that happened to me.

Alex Comino

SV Bloodhound