The Full Monty

[haiqu]

Well the lunch went off after all, and it was great to see Peter again after 40 years. Evidently he had to make an emergency visit to Kawau Island first due to some trees that had blown down. I now have an open invitation to visit and go sailing on his 51' Beneteau.

Doubled my investment on the weekend, life is getting better all the time. The original stake has been back in the bank for weeks.

[haiqu]

Two months, where did the time go?

On the computer most days, wheeling and dealing. I think I've found a way to buy a house in the Philippines that I was looking at some months ago. May go take a look at it before the end of the year. It's near the cheap catamaran I was also interested in so I could check that out at the same time.

[haiqu]

Did a lightning run from Brisbane to Melbourne and back by road in the last two weeks. Stopped into Sydney on the way back to remove anything valuable from Keppelena in preparation to sell her on eBay. Took a heap of photos on my new phone then rowed ashore against a choppy river tide.

While chatting to one of the neighbors she noticed my dinghy getting away and I had to wade after it. Of course, my wallet and new phone got wet and I lost all the photos. Bugger.

[Oldsquizzy]

So what are your plans over christmas...

[haiqu]

Keppelena is now for sale:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/253315842...84.m1558.l2649

Squizzy: I'm having Christmas with my brother is Ipswich. If the yacht doesn't sell I'll be heading to Sydney right after to do some work on her, since NSW Maritime are being whiny bitches again.

[haiqu]

Got a bid today and have had 172 views and 7 watchers. Looks like she's going to sell.

[haiqu]

Forgot to mention that I also did a run to Cairns and back last week. So the old VW van did over 6500 km in less than a month. I only stayed there one day, there was a fire at a junkyard started by a fuel tank explosion and the whole town was immersed in a blanket of black smoke. Took a lot of the fun out of the trip.

I had to see the place again, mainly to evaluate whether I could cope with the steamy climate as a place to live. Decided I prefer cooler weather after all.

[haiqu]

Keppelena has sold on eBay for $1965 which was a bargain for the new owner. I'm just happy that I don't ever have to rush to Sydney again at the behest of NSW Maritime to clean and paint her to suit their whims.

Merry Xmas all.

[Auzzee]

Congratulations. I hope everything else goes well for the new year.
Cheers Mate.

[Oldsquizzy]

So what are your plans from here on in.

[haiqu]

This year I'm planning a trip to Asia. Viet Nam to see Del, then a conference in Hong Kong in May, and a stopover in the Phillipines on the way back to see a house and a catamaran in Puerto Galera. New Zealand will be the final stop, where I'll finish my pilot's licence and catch up with a mate on Kawau Island and sail in his 53' Bendy Toy.

Other than that I don't have any firm plans at all.

[haiqu]

So here it is May and I'm still at Montys Marina. The locals call us "Trawler Trash."

My house in NZ was broken into and everything stolen a few months back, so there's no point planning to live there any longer. Only good news is that I finally reached the age where I could apply for the pension, which kicks in on 10 August.

Trip to Viet Nam and HK didn't happen due to lack of finances, my investment has tanked these past few months. It will come good again but it might take another 6-12 months. My mate from Kawau Island is due here this week for a visit.

I'm keeping myself sane by designing hifi equipment in preparation for that move to a permanent land address.

[Oldsquizzy]

Join the club...Not a lot changes to quickly.. Still working. Been doing a lot of diving lately. Have missed your nattering and daily humour...

[haiqu]

I only wish I had discovered a love for boats 25 years earlier. These guys inspire the hell out of me:

[haiqu]

There's an old guy called Sean who lives on a yacht near me. Last week he gave me a box full of books to read and I almost got the bug again.

Many are from a series called The Mariners Library (Rupert Hart-Davis, London) plus there are a few others. Here are the titles, so far all but one brilliant:

Sailing All Seas in the Idle Hour - Dwight Long
Across Three Oceans - Conor O'Brien
The Sea is for Sailing - Peter Pye
The Falcon on the Baltic - E F Knight
The Cruise of the Kate - E E Middleton
The Misty Islands - Miles Smeeton
Voyager Under Sail - Eric C Hiscock
Cruising Under Sail - Eric C Hiscock
The Crest of the Wave - Uffa Fox
White Cliffs to Coral Reef - William Howell
The Cruise of the Amaryllis - GHP Muhlhauser
Deep Water and Shoal - W A Robinson
Around the World Singlehanded - Harry Pidgeon
Wylo Sails Again - Frank A Wightman

[haiqu]

Yesterday I officially became a pensioner. The application went in on May 28th but since the government is running an 8 month backlog I don't expect to see any payments until January.

[Auzzee]

So you're officially an oldie! Join the club. The pension remains largely out of reach for me for the moment, but I'm working on it.

So, happy birthday mate from Desolation Sound in the gorgeous surrounds of British Columbia.
Many happy returns.

PS. I'm now becoming completely familiar with the whole stern tie thing. Miss (who shall remain nameless for this particular communication, is somewhat less familiar. She took the stern line ashore, tied it to a log....4 hours later the log was afloat and trying to come in through the transom. Sir Galahad here went ashore in the middle of a rainy night, across the bloody oyster beds, and retied the line to a living tree. Job done, got the merit badge, t-shirt and a hug. Yay me!

[haiqu]

Birthday was in February Dave. With the new rules I have to be 65 1/2 to be eligible.


Tying off to a log doesn't seem like a good idea.

[haiqu]

A 10.5 metre Snell catamaran has come up on Gumtree at AU$55,000

Tempting.

Only oddity is that it was designed for a junk rig and currently has only a boom and main fitted, so pretty much a motor-sailer. I believe the owner has the original junk sail though. Unstayed mast may mean that even with a bowsprit she couldn't support a regular sailing configuration, although for solo cruising a junk would be pretty good. The mast is in a tabernacle too, making low bridges a snack.

Damn, just when I thought I was over it all.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/rive...ran/1157711298

[haiqu]

Well that was a washout. Contacted Peter Snell, the designer of the Easy 10.5 cat, to get his opinion on the odd mast. He knew that yacht and warned me off it immediately. It seems the builder omitted the mast partners for the original mast position, which renders the build dangerous structurally.

There are no bargains.