Night Cap delivery cruise from Hawkesbury to Crookhaven

[Gerard]

Small cruise for a Top Hat 25 yacht, but giant leap for Gerard who has mainly sailed dinghies previously!

Day 1 - 22/6/2018
John and I set off early from Parsley Bay on the Hawkesbury and headed south once we got offshore. Although a previous weather forecast had predicted westerlies, the wind was actually from due south so we decided to motor rather than spend all day tacking. The swell was around 2 metres, so the boat rolled quite a bit, but after a while we put up the main and sheeted the traveler all the way to starboard (wind was slightly west of due south). This made the boat much more stable, and then we raised the number 2 genoa. I made all the typical rookie mistakes like trying to raise the mainsail with the mainsheet still on tight, forgetting to tighten the topping lift, etc. John, in his infinite wisdom decided not to point out my errors and let me work them out myself (cursing and swearing) as I would be sailing solo the next few days. John had been suffering from a crook back with the boat rocking and rolling and I was feeling quite sea-sick from going forward to wrestle with the sails - two old men in a boat! The wind turned a bit more westerly later in the morning and we even switched off the motor for a couple of hours which was glorious compared to the song of the 2 stroke amplified by its surroundings in the cockpit well.

We made it through the heads into Sydney Harbour and dodged the ferries and the fast ferries and arrived at Manly where I was planning to spend the night on a courtesy mooring. We were running low on petrol and the map suggested there would be petrol at nearby Davis Marina. No such luck. We were given the usual conflicting advice from several different locals as to where to find the nearest petrol, but John rang the CYC and confirmed that self serve credit card petrol was available at Rushcutters Bay. This is where John abandoned ship and headed back to his warm comfortable home, leaving me to my cup of soup dinner. I found a courtesy mooring at Watson’s Bay, and after settling in I understood the significance of the boat’s name - I definitely needed a nightcap at the end of this day.

Day 2 - 23/6/2018
Still a big swell, but at least the wind was much more from the west, so I lashed the tiller and put up both sails (racing back to the cockpit at regular intervals to curse and adjust the tiller, forgetting that I was tethered to jack-points and cursing the “positive” locking clips). She sailed beautifully and was making over 4 knots, so no noisy, smokey, petrol-gobbling gremlin required. The wind steadily increased and Night Cap steadily heeled more and more so I decided to reef the main. I thought I would also practice heaving to at the same time as I had read all the theory, but never actually tried it. Heaving to was a total failure. I tacked and did not loosen the jib sheet on the new leeward side (like the book says), however the boat just kept heading away from the wind on the new tack, propelled by the genoa which had billowed out onto the windward side, blanketing the main which was doing nothing to try to balance the boat back towards the wind. I gave up and let out the jib sheet and started the motor and did the “lashed tiller / hooking and unhooking tether” dance once again while reefing. In hindsight, I think I failed to tighten the jib sheet enough when moving from beam reach to close reach before tacking, and I also panicked and backed out early before waiting for the boat to move far enough off the wind on the new side for the main to start balancing the genoa.

There is only one reefing line, so John and I configured it for the second reefing points. The only problem is that the sail slides on the mast track don’t allow the reef cringle to be pulled anywhere near the boom, so it ended up being about a one and a half reef instead. I need to look into getting a mast gate to allow the slides to move much further down. Night Cap was much easier to handle reefed and we were making good progress, up to 5 knots on occasion. Saw a whale off Botany Bay and got to Port Hacking by mid afternoon. My nightcap on Night Cap was well earned at the end of that day.

I’ll continue the trip report tomorrow as there are 3 more days to cover.

[Shaun]

Nice one

[Troppo]

I'm enjoying the story, Gerard.

troppo

[PittwaterPirate]

Thanks for sharing

[Gerard]

Day 3 - 24/6/2018
Decided to have a rest day. Wind had changed to due south again, and the next leg to Wollongong would have used more fuel than I was carrying, so it was off to the shops to buy some fuel containers. Spent the rest of the day relaxing, cooking and eating. Found a couple of other Top Hat 25's moored nearby.

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Day 4 - 25/6/2018
Eventful start. Missed a channel marker maneuvering in shallow water, and couldn't work out why my speed had suddenly changed from 4.0 knots to 0.0 knots. I looked over the side and sure enough the keel was sitting on sand (I could even see the skid mark in the sand trailing out behind the boat). Tried reverse, full throttle - no go. I was trying to remember what I had read about using an anchor to help winch out of trouble, but luckily remembered reading about a trick of leaning the boat to one side to lift the keel slightly. I put her in reverse again and 'trapezed' off the side holding desperately onto the mainsheet and sure enough she slowly started to come free. Another lesson learned the hard way (my normal learning mode). At least it provided some entertainment for the locals!

Motored all day into the wind. A group of dolphins came and played with me on and off for over an hour. Arrived in Wollongong Harbour and rafted up to another yacht which was docked (semi-permanently). I had afternoon tea with my daughter and two of my grandkids and showed them the boat, and they drove me to a petrol station in town to refuel.

Day 5 - 26/6/2018
Motored again most of the day, but got to Greenwell Point (Crookhaven River) in time to pack up and catch the bus home to Nowra. Came back the next morning to move Night Cap from the public pontoon to her mooring, but it could not be found, despite the adamant assurances of the mooring contractor! The buoy popped up into sight as the tide turned as it was 90% full of water and spent the rest of its time playing submarines. It took me a few days to recover from the adventures. Loving the boat and when I did get to sail her, it was a joy-filled experience.

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[Phillip]

Well done Gerard,

Most of learn the hard way, so welcome to cruising!

[Miker]

Good on you Gerard, the first solo coastal is always a true learning experience! I remember mine very well. Similar conditions, but North to Lake Macquarie instead.

Enjoy your new adventures.