Not a long post about today's outing, as we didn't even leave the harbour, thanks to some especially sloppy helming on my part. Aware that we needed fuel after Lara's previous trip, I was trying to follow directions through a myriad of pontoons and moored boats to a marine bowser at the other end of the harbour. Unfortunately I went too wide on a turn to starboard which a a 15-20 knot SE wind exacerbated and we "clipped" the rear of a catamaran close to her stern. Although we were traveling slowly, Lara's momentum was sufficient to drive out anchor clean through the side of the catamarans hull fairing.
Not a scratch on Lara, but some significant damage to the cat. It was a big one too, 35-40 foot, very expensive. Got the owners contact details from the marina office, he lives locally and came down to inspect the damage. Obviously he was not impressed, I felt pretty low, clearly it was my fault and I said so. We exchanged details and hopefully our insurance will cover the cost, which I figure is going to be at least a couple of grand. He was quite good about it, not at all rude or angry, which I was thankful for. Again, very sorry Doug.
Naturally while we were waiting quite a few boat owners came for a look and a comment. Apparently the splintering of overstressed ply was like a pistol shot. Everybody was quietly sympathetic with stories about their own bumps and scrapes. After sorting out the mess we took Lara back to East Coast and called it a day. We had an ice-cream from the kiosk next to Wynnum Creek where I photographed this Hood 20, a smaller version of Lara (on the left),
and later a chap using a bosun's chair to climb the 8-10 metres or so to the top of his yacht's mast.
What an absolute crap day this one turned out to be. On the bright side (there is always a bright side I suppose), no one was hurt (except my pride/ego), the damage could have been worse, and Lara came out "scott-free" (where DID that idiom come from?)
