The Joys of Owning a Yatch!

Yesterday we went sailing, it was a great day, flat seas and a steady breeze, testing out the repaired sail and after tacking up the harbour for an hour, did a quick 'ready about' executed to perfection but the Genoa sheet caught the forward stay that I had safely tied back to the handrail and pow (sfx), it succeed in ripping part of the deck handrail out of the deck, Bum!
Examining the remains, the fixing holding the rail had snapped and by the look of the bits the ss fitting was rusted through, this could have been done when the boat was being built over 20 years ago...

Oh well, another repair but it's a relatively easy fix.


sfx - Sound effect.

Sailing!

At last we were able to set sail and try out the new winches, finally after a lot of heaving and lifting we were able to get Oscar on board, which was a bit of a mission, he wasn't a happy dog.
We got the sails up, much easier with the new winches, very little discussion was required and we were away in a good breeze.
We had just reached Soames Island in Wellington harbour, and we were trying to decide if a reef in the sail would be a good idea, and rip! the stitching in one panel parted company and so ended sailing for 2 weeks - the local sail-maker was away on holiday!
The only one that was happy was the Oscar the dog.
We shall be back but I'm afraid Oscar is going to go to dog prison (kennels), when we go sailing again.

A Dog With Great Taste

How did she open it without an opposing thumb?

Wellington Summer Sailing!!!

Issued by MetService at: 4:22am Wednesday 9 Jan 2013
Valid to: Midnight Wednesday 9 Jan 2013

Forecast

*** STORM WARNING IN FORCE ***Northwest rising to 35 knots early morning, to 50 knots late morning and to 60 knots this evening. Sea becoming very high. Northerly swell rising to 2 metres.

Outlook

Outlook following 3 days: Northerly 60 knots with very high sea, easing Thursday morning 45 knots, Thursday night northwest 35 knots and early Friday 20 knots, rising early Saturday northerly 30 knots. Moderate northerly swell easing Friday.
Note: 35knots = 64.82Klm/hr!

Coastal Situation

Issued at: 04:32am Wednesday 9-Jan-2013

Northwest gales will affect much of central and southern New Zealand today ahead of an approaching front from the Tasman Sea, but winds ease over the lower South Island following the passage of the front. On Thursday, the front moves onto the North Island and weakens as a ridge builds over the country. On Saturday,the ridge remains over the North Island but northwesterlies strengthen further south as another front approaches.

Gallery Web Site

The gallery project is still moving on, with the launching of the new web site, still under construction but the bones are there.
Lucky to have a son who is in the design graphic business
the address is: http://kerrybyersartist.wordpress.com

The Perfect Christmas Present

I solved this years annual challenge of getting Mrs DIY the perfect Christmas gift, I have purchased her a really beautiful winch.
Every year I have this quandary as her birthday is only 10 days before Christmas and it stretches my creativity to find some gift that would really be appreciated but this year I had a moment of  shear genius.

Its a Harken Radial 46 2STA Winch, I'm sure she will be absolutely delighted...
A self tailing model, that means Mrs DIY willl not have to ask me to leave my steering duties and heave on the Genoa sheet...as well as keep the boat on course.
It's the ultimate in multi-tasking solutions.
It's the gift that will go on giving.

The Stern Step

The stern step has now been installed, a very tricky operation, sitting in a moving dinghy, drilling small holes very close to the waterline!
I might have overdone the sealant but better to be safe than sorry, it was a very messy clean-up.
Now we will be able to get on and off the boat with a little dignity, without having to hang off the stern ladder, plus we maybe able to load the dog on and off the boat when we are cruising around the Marlborough Sounds.
The design was a combination of information supplied by two Members of the Westerly Owners Association (ZEBEK & Camomile) who have similar yachts, luckily, I was able to see the Camomile model in action in Wellington, while it was on its world cruise.
It makes a very good place to store the dinghy, fits perfectly, more good luck than good management, I can even lift it on end by myself but I will need to install some extra pulleys to make it work efficiently.
Note: I was going to tidy-up the rope-work today but a very large weather front came through so I have to leave for another day.

12 Ton of Lime Chip

After many years of waiting, 4 years actually, we have at last had delivered and spread 12 Tons of 15mm lime chip for the driveway, all spread and delivered in half an hour! Two truck loads.
The question I must ask myself is, "why didn't I do this sooner/" maybe it was the thought of raking the whole thing to make it smooth, then getting a roller to compact it.

Facebook

I have spent the last hour trying to delete my facebook account, a total waste of time you can't!.
Even made a new facebook  page including a new email account, accidently clicked on some little icon and hello, I have sent friend request to someone called Chrissy Hines and some German fellow called Karl Zukkerman, sorry guys.

Perth Holiday - Western Australia

At last we have been able to visit My sister an brother-in law in Perth, what a great visit, wonderful hosts, lots of wine tasting and even some wine drinking.
Went visit to Margaret River area which is about a 3 hour drive from Perth where some very kind friends of my sister had lent us their holiday house for a few days, we were able to use this as a base to visit the wineries of the area, lots of good food and Aust wines were consumed.

Busselton Jetty - Margaret River

Although we had a couple of grey days, the visit was just perfect, a very nice place to live.
The visit coincided with the US elections, which, as my sister who was a AFS student and spent a year at school in the US, now is a confirmed Democrat - her American sister was/is working for the Democrat party, so there was slightly more than a academic interest in the results.

Happily Obama was re-elected president, I hate to think what would have happened if the Republicans had won, considering their past performance with Bush and the Wof MD and the current situations in Gaza and the Middle East.

We had an American themed dinner to celebrate. "Cheers Patty - well done"

Back to real life in NZ and the body clock almost adjusted, I have been working on fitting the boarding platform on the stern of the boat, so we can get the dog on and off, if this doesn't work he's off to dog prison when we go away sailing.

Finally, getting our garden back in order, it's amazing how quickly plants grow at this time of year.
Had to mow our lawns 3 times to get them back under control!