Log Entry 13th April 2008

Various commitments prevented us from sailing over the last fortnight, so the Sunday forecast of fine weather with 10-15 knot south-easterlies was the clincher that determined we would definitely be out on the bay this weekend. Unfortunately Yolande and the two younger girls had other engagements and so the crew consisted of Helena and me, and because we had loads of space, my brother and his partner also came along for the experience.

As usual, wind direction and strength determined our course and after thinking about it, I decided a straight beat out through the channel between Green Island and King Island might be best. Lots of boats on the water although the wind was quite light and many were running under power as well as sail. Passing the Thorpe Memorial Beacon off King Island, couldn’t help smiling when I heard a distinct thump as another yacht further inshore grounded, the skipper issuing a startled expletive.

The wind being quite light, I had decided to experiment with Lara wanting to see how well she sails without the centreboard dropped. The casing which holds it forms a long, shallow keel and I thought it would still provide enough resistance to reach and beat to windward. Sailing into the wind was certainly successful however there may have been some lateral drift in excess of that which normally occurs with the board down, was a bit hard to tell with tidal currents mucking up the wake behind the boat.

In hindsight, this may well have been the case, as a tinny, originally anchored off our starboard bow, seemed to slowly “drift” in front of us as we approached it. As we came to within about ten metres or so I decided to bear way to starboard, passing to the leeward side of it. All would have been well except the bloke’s fishing lines were all on that side as well, and I watched with fascination as our keel picked up first one line then another and dragged them along with us. Suffice to say the two fishermen in the tinny were not amused despite my apologies as we sailed past!

Turning on to a starboard tack we rounded the Hybers beacon, and headed north, along the windward side of Green Island, passing over an expansive shelf of coral and rock which in most places, despite the nearly high tide, was only a metre or two below the surface. The girls amused themselves looking at the bottom while dangling their feet in the water to cool off. At about this time a lovely old ketch converged on us from windward and I took several photographs of her as she overtook us. I am really curious as to the manner in which she is rigged as the sail between the masts is some form of jib rather than a mainsail and it certainly gave her an unexpected old worldly charm.

Approaching the southern end of St Helena, we sailed slowly up to a coarse sandy beach adjacent to the rock spit where I thought we would moor and explore the island by foot. We anchored stern first a couple of metres off the beach itself over a gently shelving bottom consisting of sand and rock. Stepping off the boat into crotch deep water isn’t too bad in itself, however having to lift one’s foot up to near chin level to climb back up further reinforced the need for an extendable transom ladder.

The island itself is quite picturesque, very green with lots of cattle grazing in open paddocks. Disappointingly, the remains of the old penal settlement were fenced off; the signage indicating that inspection is only open to officially organised tour parties. Still, the island has large public area, a covered picnic table nicely shaded by mature trees, as well as composting his and hers toilets.

The reach back to Manly took us back along the western side of Green Island, which effectively dampened the wind such that we started the outboard to reach the harbour channel. Helena has become very adept at helming and controlled Lara masterfully as we negotiated the entrance amongst a large number of other vessels, large and small, all returning home. Safely moored against the pontoon saw us quickly tidy up the boat and head off home just in time for Sunday dinner at the in-laws.