Slaughter wrote:
Really good to have you back on deck Mickey. Missed ya mate. Wish I'd have known you were in Tassy for the boat show. I was there the following week for a 2 week stint. Did you get in any AI sailing down that way ?
Didn't have the AI with me on that trip and was pretty much fully occupied correcting or avoiding the skipper's (read boat owner) disasters
At 82 and being a bushy who had mucked around on boats all his life, I think he thought he knew it all. Trouble is he was incapable of steering to a compass bearing in the dark, making decisions when under pressure, didn't have any idea how his Para Anchor should be prepared and deployed, had never taken his boat out into the ocean for a shake down ( or two or three!! & despite my suggesting he do so over the previous six months), reckoned most of the equipment on his boat didn't work - basically because he didn't know/understand how to make it work correctly including the very important auto pilot!!the list goes on!!
When I got home (we ended up having to fly home after leaving the boat at Lady Barron, Flinder Isld), I had a GREAT 4 day AI camping trip out on the Gippsland lakes with my Hobie mates
Nothing but pure pleasure
Tassie would be a great place to explore with the AI. However I would much prefer to transport it there and use it rather than sail across Bass Strait.
To do so would require impeccable preparation and planning with lots of plan B's, C,D etc just in case good ol Murphy decided to come along too!!
It wasn't all bad by a long shot - just had its moments! Really enjoyed the experience and the wooden boat show was a fantastic event, well worth attending whether you travel by boat, plane, car or bike. As it's only held every two years the next one will be Feb 2015.
I really have a desire now to do more ocean boating - but not sure on what boat.
The boat i went on was an old deisel motor cruiser. I think I would have preferred a sailing boat.