anyone heading north this year?

Check your pm Benn. Left my mobile nu.

Got it thanks mate.
Mine is 0428980610

Peter B,
Did you get away in your boat over the Xmas break.
I eventually got away after boxing day once the weather setteled down.
Headed up to Fraser Island for about 10 days got back last Wed. the 11 th.
Had good weather but came back just before the last SE change came thru.
Still havn't got Mr G completely sorted so went with out an engine driven alternator , 24 V or 240 V.
Ran the diesel gen set most of the time to keep the electronics up and running and the beer an Champagne cold.
It was really good to get away , fishing was not terrific, caught afew spotties but really hammered the mud crabs.
Muddies & Mumm a great lunch combination

Hi Benn, didn't notice you'd posted there for a day or two. Yes, we got away the day after Boxing Day, but those huge swells left over from the dying cyclone out near Fiji, and causing a lot of Gold Coast erosion, added to the strong southerlies the Sydney Hobart fleet copped, made it unwise to try and cross the bar going out the G/C Seaway and up the outside as we had hoped to do. We just wanted to get out of the bay, and do a bit of open ocean sailing - even bought an EPIRB specially - still it's worth having I guess. So, we just pottered up inside the Bay as usual. Quite nice, but the 20 - 25 kn SE winds meant we have to time our traveling in open waters for early, and choose anchorages with good SE cover. However because it stayed constant SE the whole time it was dependable at least. We went up the river, over-nighted at Rivergate Marina one night, then up somewhere near Graceville above the CBD the next, coming down to opposite Southbank for the New Year's Eve fireworks. Stayed there the rest of that night - strange feeling that...waking up and breakfasting in between the Goodwill and Captain Cook bridges, in the nmiddle of a city, but actually not much traffic noise... then next morning down to St Helena, then down to Coochie Mudlo, then Pott's Point, then home. Everything worked well, and we had so much extra generation from the Airbreeze because of the breezy conditions, even at night, we resorted to almost trying to waste power, so the poor we thing didn't keep getting interrupted rudely mid-stride, so to speak, when it sensed full charge and braked. I reckon we could easily run a telly and a freezer....hmmmmm.....

Peter,
Sounds good.
Something I must do is actually take the boat up the Bris River and stay a while.
Went up to Dockside after a slipping many , many years ago but that is all.Wouldn't mind anchoring up at the Gardnes for a while and playing city tourist from the river side.
A mate of mine from up here who has a 49' De Fever RPH has just gone down to Vic Point to slip his boat (it is one of the older timber De Fevers) .
He slipped at Pelican Slipways and has just told me it is a terrific place to work, old world, don't have to wear safety boots, do your own work, allowed to live on board whilst on the slip and a nice little coffee shop on hand , sounds pretty good so may have to give it a go in the future.

Re the EPIRB I thought they were compulsory for all vessels if going more than 3 NM off shore.

Well got another 2 weeks at home and then back to work.

Benn, its legally required if you are going 2 nm offshore actually, but inside the Bay does not count as off-shore.* That is my understanding, and if that's not correct, then there are a helluvalot of boaties going out fishing illegally out there in the Bay.* As to the good old do-it-yourself haul-out sites, Rudi Maas Marina, near where I am at Horizon Shores is another where you can do that.* In fact Lotus was up on their slip being antifouled by the PO when I first viewed her and decided to buy.


Andy, it is the GME MT406G with built in GPS, $399 at Bias Boating... there is one model down from that without GPS, so not as accurate re position, for $299.90


-- Edited by Peter B on Wednesday 25th of January 2012 04:15:46 AM