Sailing

Family Sailing to be precise.  Me, my good wife (as opposed to my bad wife) and eldest daughter have signed up for a 7 week sailing course.  Unfortunately, as the senior member of the family (yes I am the oldest - not just a patriachal position of authority) and a male, the good wife expects me to instantly aquire the skills to sail around the world in a smooth and competant manner whilst she sips champagne and looks glamorous with the wind in her hair pouting on the bow as the sea spray miraculously sprays all around but not on her.

Reality check.  Last weekend was our third week and we covered abandoning ship.  Whilst tacking into the wind, said seafaring captain lost control of the rudder, boat span out of control and tipped precariously catching the captain off guard and unceremoniously being dumped in the drink whilst the sail boat careered away up the river with the crew (No. 1 daughter) still in boat.  Luckily (for me) the boat capsized shortly thereafter and I was able to swim across and rescue No. 1 and right the boat.  However, since then the good wife (GW) has described the incident as Captain abandoning ship and added a few years of training to our timeline for a classic sailing round the world trip.

This week the training module covered advanced topics such as steering without a tiller and towing.  The club does a lot of sail training and said boats are not the highly maintained scarcely used sailing sloops they once were.  They are certainly well loved, but the fixtures and fittings are well worn with numerous bodge jobs from gaffa tape and a piece of old fencing wire to make them servicable.  This week, once again with Dear Old Dad at the helm we tacked again only to find the boat spinning wildly in circles.  Now in the seafaring world it is not the done thing for crew to question the captain.  However, being new to sailing and unfamiliar with etiquette, crew asks what the bloody hell r u doing, before I even work it out myself.

Now when you are tacking, it requires the helsman(or woman) to change sides and steer the boat whilst passing the tiller from hand to hand behind his or her back.  During this time you are waiting for the sail to swing wildly from side to side so all eyes are at the front of the boat to avoid a collision between a fast moving piece of metal that holds the bottom of the sail (known by seafarers as the boom) and the head of helmsman (or woman).

After 3 weeks of practicing this tricky manoevre I thought I had the hang of it and everything was going smoothly.  Thus I couldn't understand why boat was moving in a direction different to the way I was steering with tiller.  As I turned head to look at what was going on it became apparent that bodge job of connecting tiller to rudder had failed, and now I was holding what was no longer a tiller, but a particularly useless piece of wood. The rudder was delighting in its new found freedom and whooping it up performing donuts in the sail boat that I am sure if it was being performed on dry land in a vehicle with smoking tyres would make Jeremy Clarkson proud.

Thank god for the rescue boat.  Another quick bodge job and we where away again.

Luckily for me, my pride was restored later in the day when GW and No. 1 went sailing in same boat later in the day without self.  With a good tidal rain and a stiff easterly breeze, the boat decided it would be funny to perform the same manoeuvre again.  Only this time the girls were whisked away upriver at a rapid rate of knots disappearing behind the she-oaks before the stiffening breeze blew the boat over and deposited girls in the drink.  The rescue boat appeared on the scene and the girls got a speed lesson on towing back up river.

Wonder what techniques we will be learning next week?

Hmmm here is a writing project I started in 2007 - never actually finished it but I will have another crack at it.  Its all about our family trip around OZ - the greta adventure as we like to call it

 

"Our journey around Oz was an amazing experience. It was something we had been planning for a couple of years.

It started with considering when and where. We knew we wanted to go to the top end so we had to avoid the wet season. More important than the weather was considering the kids. Sarah is 11 (Year 5), Evan is 9 (year 3) and Harry is (5) - pre-school. As we were planning to take 6 months off we didn't want to interupt Harry's first year at school, and Sarah is nearly at High School which is a big transition. With this in mind, 2007 was the time to go.

Having that sorted we started with keeping an eye out for a 4WD. We wanted one with plenty of room for the kids and luggage, but not too big. Emma had never driven one before and was a bit freaked out by the idea. She's come round now though.

Well we broke the first rule of car buying - never buy from a mate. We had decided on a Pajero or Prado, and it so happened that a mate was buying a new one and had a trade in. It seemed to good to be true - and it was. It had a bit of an engine noise that I was worried about and so we had an NRMA pre-purchase vehicle inspection. The NRMA told us it had a bit of an engine noise - fullstop. When i asked them what that might mean the mechanic could not elaborate any further. Great service for $250.

Decided to take the gamble anyway and bought a 1993 Mitsubishi Pajero. The most modern and expensive vehicle we had ever owned ($6000). Power steering, power windows, central locking. It was a big step up from our little Corolla.

They say poverty is owning a horse. Well we reckon the 4WD must be a bloody donkey. First things we had to do was re-register the beast. New tyres, new windscreen adn a couple of other bits and pieces and the purchase price went up to $8000. About 3 months down the track coming back from a Sunday outing, the old engine noise - the one I was worried about, gets a whole heap worse. Heads were turning in the street as we rattled home. We were just glad we made it and weren't stranded on the highway.

We made it home and rattled down to the servo the next day. I says to my regular mechanic, "We have an engine noise".

He Says "What sort of noise"

I say "An expensive noise"

He laughs.

I do not.

$8000 later we have a rebuilt engine, with new cooling system and fuel injection system. Apparently the bearings in the bottom end went, creating free play in the crank, which meant the piston was hitting the top of the cylinder. (technical talk) Basically there was a chunk of metal banging into another piece of metal at high speed 3000 times per minute. Thats gotta hurt (my wallet).

But we now had a car we could rely on.

Next we shopped around got a custom made trailer. No - not a camping trailer, just a trailer. We decided we were tenting it - so we needed lots of room to carry stuff. Our car was full of people, so we needed a trailer.

Emma was amazed when I bought it home. I must say I was also surprised about the reactions to the trailer. Blokes flocked around it. I had developed a relationship with the bloke who made it - consulting back and forth about the design. He was so impressed he came back a couple of weeks later and took some photos.

Anyhow thats todays blog - preparation for the big trip.

Next blog I might recall some of the great places we went."

The end

It had been a hard four day hike.  Quite a bit harder than planned.  Walking over 70 km through some rugged bushland between Sydney and Newcastle.  Some amazing country.  In the heat of the day, walking over sandstone plateaus with no shade.  One wonders how the vegetation can find any water at all.  It felt like the dessert as the sun beat down on you relentlessly.  But then you turned a corner, scrambled down a steep slope into a ravine, and you were in the cool of a rainforest gully with water cascading down through green mossy rocks.  You could forget all about what was going on up there. Recharge the batteries then back up the hill into the dessert.

I love this country.  It just feels like home.  I grew up bushwalking in the sandstone areas of the South Coast.  I just know it so well I feel like I am alive and part of it.

Toward the end of the walk the aching muscles complained more and more – but you could see the end in sight.  We approached the cliffs overlooking the magnificent Hawkesbury gorge.  The sunlight skimmed over the clear blue waters.  The breathtaking beauty was an instant cure for those tired muscles, and gave strength to the mind to continue on.  One more scramble down a steep rocky incline and we ran onto the white sands of the beach and plunged our weary feet into the cool waters to bath the blisters.

Bliss.

Our next adventure was about to begin.

After all the effort and planning and determination to complete the hike we had done it.  We treated ourselves to some real food.  Well chips on the waterfront.  Its not reconstituted.

We jumped in the car and decided to head back to Yarramalong.  The young Venturer Scouts were doing the same walk in reverse and we had left a car there for them to pick up.  We left the key to the scout hall where we would be staying tonight before heading home.  So we thought we could take the key and have first go and a nice long hot shower before they did.

We hopped in the car and headed down the road and then.... came the phone call.  Eli had run down to Yarramalong because Jo had been bitten by a tick and had an allergic reaction.  Within 10 minutes he had a rash all over his body, was getting hot and sweaty and they didn’t think they should move him.  He was on a bush track about 2 and a half km from the end of the walk.

Brain kicks in.  What is worse case scenario.  Anaphalaxis.  Stops breathing.  Dies.  Bugger. What to do.

Tell Eli to stay by phone.  Jo has no medication (anti histamines).  We are on way – will get some medication on way.

Think through problem rationally.  Call Eli back.  Ask him if Jo is still breathing.  Yes.  Any trouble breathing, swelling around face or  mouth.  Some swelling around eyes. OK.  Talk Eli through this.  If he is still breathing and not having trouble – all will be well.  If he starts having swelling around the throat – need to call an ambulance.  If he is still breathing fine – we need to get him out of the bush to medical help.  The only way we can do that is for him to walk.  Tell Eli to get back to Jo and carry his pack out and walk him out slowly.

We drove into Wyong to try and find the medication from a pharmacist.  Stopped by one of these massive shopping centres.  Walking through this massive shopping centre stinking from a 4 day hike, walking in bare blistered feet looking for a pharmacist with a sense of urgency.  I wonder what people thought of me?

Jumped back in car and drove like the billy-o – as safe as can be.  10-20kph over the limit is still safe right? 

The next problem – we don’t have phone contact where Jo is so we have to find the five walkers.  Stay calm.  We stop by Yarramalong to find Bill – the kind resident who lent Eli the phone.  No they hadn’t come back through.  Drive the 1km up the road to where the bush track takes off.  Evan grabs the medication and runs off to find Jo while I put my boots on.

We start walking. 1km goes by and no sign of anyone.  Another km goes by and we meet a woman walking the other way.  No she hasn’t seen anyone.  Hmmm something is not quite right here.  Walking on a bit further we hear some Cooo-eees bounding up the valley.  A red faced red-haired Eli comes panting up behind us.  They had walked Jo from the bush track up a ridge to the main road and all was well.  Great – we had found him.

Ummm Eli – can you go and find Evan up ahead.  I was exhausted – not just physically now – but mentally as well.  Brave Eli raced on ahead to try and catch Evan who was running to give Jo his medication.

Kate and I turned around and headed back to the car.  When we arrived. Jo, Steph, Sarah and Lachlan were waiting.  All was well.  Jo’s rashes had gone down, and he was feeling better.  Just needed his medication.  Ferried some of the walkers back to Yarramalong whilst we waited for Eli and Evan to return.

 

A dramatic end to a classic hike.

An ending I could have done without.