Howling Westerly
Tuesday, 26th July, 2005.
Depart Greenwich 12 noon.
The reason for being back on the boat despite being a little the worst for wear lately (see Shopping Day) is because I need to finish those repairs to the starboard nav light and also because I did not stow the outboard below deck on Sunday. It is blowing from the west and is predicted to get up to 20 knots in the afternoon. So I better get back on the boat and secure everything, and while I am at it, why not spend some time mucking about rather than working. So, I’ve come packed to spend the night aboard.
Cast off and head straight down the harbour. I’ve made an appointment to see a client so I might as well motor there. Boy this wind is picking up. I make it to Clontarf, Middle Harbour at 2:30pm, but the wind and current are too strong to anchor in the narrow, wind tunnel of Middle Harbour. I decide to head over to Clontarf marina and find an empty berth to pull into. I head into the office to speak with Steve, the manager. He isn’t too keen to let me stay at first – they don’t offer casual berths or moorings. I assure him I will only be two hours and he tells me I will have to because they lock the gate at 5pm sharp. I give Vigy a call to come and pick me up. His office is just up the hill. Meeting ensues – lots of talk about his CMS, email, domains and web geek stuff. Meeting over, back down to the boat.
Oh my goodness, it is blowing a gale now. This wind is gusting over 30 knots to be sure. I have a disaster of a time getting out of the marina berth. It is low tide and I have no water to manoeuvre in. The boat is facing nose into the marina so I have to back it out, but when I do the wind pushes her around to face into shore. I fend her off the other boats and slowly manoeuvre her back into the berth but this time facing the right way. Ready, steady, go… and I push her off at full throttle hoping to get enough speed up to turn her into the wind before being blown onto the shallows. Great, all is going well, I’m going to make it. Hang on! What’s that, oh my – the dingy line has wrapped itself around the bollard on the floating marina. Quickly put the engine into neutral – pull on the dingy painter and unwrap the dingy from the marina pontoon. All the time the boat starts drifting toward the shore. Back on the throttle – too late, the keel has hit bottom. Full throttle in reverse, bouncing up and down at the stern. We are away again – but I can make no progress reversing straight into this gale. So I’m back to fending the boat off the other boats on that side of the marina wondering how long I am going to have to stand there waiting for the wind to drop. Finally, Steve from the marina turns up on his launch to give me a tow out to the channel. Thanks Steve – what a champ! I apologise profusely for being such a nuisance.
I motor down Middle Harbour and am relieved when I’m able to swing southwards upon entering the main harbour and am able to hug the windward shore to stay out of the wind. As Vogelsang chugs past Obelisk Bay the orange embers of twilight extinguish on the western horizon. I hug the shore all the way down to Bradley’s head. Can you believe there are fishermen out in this wind? I round Bradley’s head and head past Taronga Zoo towards Little Sirius Cove. Shining a torch searching for unused moorings, I find a mooring bouy which has obviously been bobbing around in the water for some time – I don’t think its boat will be back tonight.
Cups of tea and 2 minute noodles for dinner and it is time to boot up the laptop and crank up the iBurst wireless internet and settle into doing some work for the evening.
