Hi folks, raysey here and glad to join the forum.A couple of pages back a guy was outlining his dream of cruising north from Brisbane, he was getting a few ideas about a suitable boat but I think some were wild and wide of the mark. I live at Tin Can Bay and have seen a few come through here, Some years ago one chap did the coast from,I think, Port Macquarie to Townsville in a "mirror" dinghy. He was very experienced, had added a pointy bow and a bouyancy collar right around at deck level, it took him two seasons and made him thoroughly sick of dinghy sailing. Two young gung-ho brothers from Sydney,also started from Port Mac. in a "Hobie-Cat" got the tripe beaten out of them but made it in a few weeks.Another old retired surf boat rower from the Gold Coast had a beautiful 17' "White-hall dinghy made in which he was going to row around to Darwin to raise funds for his old club.His row up through the inside passages, across Moreton Bay was O.K. but Caloundra-Mooloolaba finished him off, and thats about 12-14 miles of open water.After getting out of hospital he auctioned the boat and gave the proceeds to the club.Another bloke, formerly a school teacher at the Gold Coast, bought a little planked boat, all hardwood, sailed like a half-tide rock,made it to here and laid up.He went home for a while but his wife and family encouraged him to just "go a little further" his story is a parallel to that "My Little Epsilon" Ron just kept going further and further and getting more and more confidant. He ended up in Darwin and intended to truck little "Misty" home but the freight rates being in excess of 5K he said bugger that and sailed back home again.Any one who has been up there knows the wind is always in your eye, coming this way. I myself have just bought a little "Red Witch" 19ft fin keel, not really what I wanted but it's ready to go, so I will say to Andalusie if he reads this, get something a bit more substantial than a hobie, and forget the beach crawling bit. (give some thought to the "Noah's arks and serious lizards up there) Just remembered, I met a father and two sons here, he was going to take the boys on a hobie cat up to Bundaberg, the run up Great sandy Straits was good fun but hard work, they got to Burrum Heads and the lads,(about 11 and 13) were so traumatised by the sight of open water they freaked out. Regards Ray.
Not certain what your main point is, Ray. (And it would be easier to read and/or catch your audience if you broke that up into a couple of paragraphs).
Have heard from NSW Central Coast lifesavers of 2 young Melbourne men that were tired of unemployment and 'sleeping in to all hours' that they were sailing 'as far as they could'. Guess they were 'beach crawling' to land at McMasters Beach rather than sheltered waters of Broken Bay, then Newcastle harbour, hey?
While the Sydney olympics were on, I kayaked alone from Tweed Heads to Townsville - airfreight from FNQ to Sydney for the sea kayak was $175 IIRC.
Jesse Martin and his father sailed a small cat along some of the Cape York coast, as documented in his book, long before circumnavigating the planet. As did one of the 5 blokes who was in the first successful Australian assault on Everest (in 1984) Either Henderson or Bartram, as mentioned in Australian Geographic.
Hi raysey,
First of all good luck with your voyage round the top
I've got a redwitch myself and am keen to to a bit of cruising sometime soon around WA.
I was wondering what modifications you've made to the boat and if possible i'd love to see some pictures of the boat
ozza
Hi ozza, still cleaning the boat up between r/s weather. She was in the club at Gladstone and has been rigged with a 28ft mast so will be cutting that down a bit. I shall make a new pivoting rudder too. Can you give me some idea of the sail area, just main and fore triangle. Her name is "ERIC" (the red) and must be an early one, has the long narrow cabin window and molded toe-rail, solid cast iron bulb and tailor made road trailer. She's a bit squishy inside but who needs 6ft headroom when sleeping? When I lived over there I had a "Diamond" at Mangles bay Y.C. Nice boat but hard to sail single handed. I did like the side loading jinker for them, made launch and retrieve so easy. cheers raysey
Hi Raysey,
Cruising the Queensland coast is magic regardless of what you decide to go in. Remember a little common sense and a bit of planning goes a long way.
A friend of mine sailed a 19 foot open cat from Newcastle to Thursday Island in the early 90's, he mostly camped out at night on the trampoline or on a handy beach. He had a great time and it was the adventure of a life time. No problem at all with sharks and kept a respectful distance from any crocs.
I sailed from Cairns to the Whitsunday's, back in the early 90's on a 19 foot trailer sailer with a swing keel and pop top. Lived aboard for about 7 months and had a fantastic time.
Last year I sailed a Jarcat6 extended model from Tweed Heads to near Townsville and also had a ball on that trip, met some great people, had loads of memorable times and think there is no better cruising grounds than the Qld Coast.
These days I like a few more creature comforts so I now have a 42 foot cutter rigged sloop. Nothing like refrigeration, TV and fans ... must be getting old ... still I love living on the water and wouldn't change that for anything.
I am sailing to Cooktown and Lizzard Island in a few weeks time, just for a change of pace and I sail my yacht at least weekly, mind you thats pretty easy to do seeing its also my home..
With regard to your sail size ... its a matter of geometry ... you are kinda bound by your mast height, boom length, forestay length etc for sail sizes. Depends on the set up as to how large you can go with your headsails.
