Log Entry 5th May 2008 (Labour Day Sail)

Arrived at the harbour around 10:30am this morning to find Lara bobbing alongside the landing as arranged. Yolande's Mum and Dad were with us as they had expressed a desire to see the boat. Whilst they did not wish to actually sail, we persuaded them to at least go for slow spin around Manly boat harbour which was a lot of fun in itself. The myriad of moored watercraft are very interesting and much more visibly accessible from the water.

Dropping them off back at the landing, we waved good-bye, and motored out into a a gentle 5-10 knot north-easterly beating towards St Helena Island for a shell collecting expedition that we had previously promised the girls, (but weren't able to undertake), on our trip to Peel Island.

We anchored on the southern side of the island near the jetty, as this area offered the least shallow water. Despite this we still had to moor Lara about 25 metres offshore to maintain half a metre of water under her, and due to a dropping tide, I constantly readjusted the anchor, pushing Lara out another couple of metres every quarter of an hour or so so that she wouldn't ground. The ladder proved to be a very worthwhile investment and there were no problems boarding or climbing down from Lara's transom.

Re-boarding and moving Lara into deeper water off the island, we consumed a late lunch consisting of sausages and onions on fresh bread rolls, coffee, and a very nice caramel swirl pull-apart bun, which I had bought from the bakery earlier in the morning.

Whilst eating, a Hobie Cat with brightly coloured sails breezed past our stern. Hoisting our own sails, we ran slowly back to Manly in a very gentle sea. The oldest and youngest girls snoozed on the vee-berth while daughter number two sat on the bow and wrote about the day's adventure in her journal. Johanna really enjoys writing as I do and loves to conjure up short stories.

Yolande did a very good job at the tiller to bring us up to the channel beacons where we turned to join the long queue of boats returning home. Tied up at the landing around 5:30pm after which we put on the sail covers, tidied up Lara and headed home.

Log Entry 8th March 2008

Lara is the sixth and newest member of our family (yet another girl!) whom we officially “adopted” on the 21st of February 2008. Although twenty-four years old she presents extremely well having undergone an extensive refinish in 2006. Having sailed a Sabot well into my teens I have always enjoyed sailing and reading sailing adventures, particularly small boat global circumnavigations of which there have been many over the years. More recently but still some years ago, Yolande and I had the pleasure of overnighting at Moreton Island on a friend’s Star 22, a comfortable aluminium trailer sailer, as well, I was lucky enough to crew in a two-day social trailer sailer race on another friend’s Red Jacket. Yolande has always dreamed of owning a boat and since we are not getting any younger, we decided this would be an opportune time to take the plunge, particularly as our other girls are growing up fast and this would enable us to enjoy a pastime as a family.

At just over twenty-three feet (or seven metres) and 1.8 tonnes, I’m not sure Lara qualifies as a trailer sailer, although she is certainly trailerable. She sleeps four (or two adults and three kids) and with all the conveniences of home (sink, stove, icebox, dinette etc) she will be a comfortable and cosy overnighter. We are fortunate that she is also a Hood 23SD (shoal draft), which I think is more convenient for the shallows of Moreton Bay than the keel version. Lara is currently dry berthed at the Wynnum-Manly boat harbour, which means she sits fully rigged and can be launched and retrieved by the marina’s boatlift at very short notice.