There is more to life than boatbuidling and so we enjoyed our time in Queensland with our family including a Christmas in July where all the families pitched in for a traditional Christmas feast. We had a surprise with the price of local prawns plummeting just in time for our contribution to the festivities. We are blessed that all the family are well and could get together for the event.
By coincidence the South Pacific Laser Masters were being held at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron starting on the day we had planned to drive home so we trailed the Laser all the way to Queensland for the event. It was a great event with a good attendance of New South Welshmen. The highlight for me was a 6th place in the final race we sailed and the first over 75 year old for that race. So strong is the competition in our age group it was only good enough for a 4th but it was good to get some time on the water ahead of the Worlds in Adelaide this coming February.
We arrived back home in time for the Winter Wednesday race at RANSA aboard Passion X. The race was sailed into a 8 knot sea breeze which was a pleasant surprise for this early in the season. Our start was impeded by a competitor crossing our bow to get back behind the line and causing us to take avoiding action. This put us behind the eight ball right off the line. Our closest rival in the handicap series, Allegro had trouble of their own costing them time with an unscheduled tack so we maintained contact in the fleet.
Up the windward work there were wins and losses where we made up some ground on the last two tacks into the top mark but on rounding the wind died and let the likes of Meridian, Allegro, Crosshaven and Amante float away while the fleet caught us from behind. Eventually the wind came down the course and we recovered our position in time for the reach from Steele Point into Rose Bay. Around the point we went wide keeping a close tail on Allegro and to our surprise we ran up to Meridian. Foreign Affairs was having nothing to do with the fleet having disappeared into another dimension but the rest of us were having a great tussle.
Allegro was not going to let us get away and tailed us to Point Piper. On the work around Shark Island they pinched up so that we could not tack. Eventually I created some distance so we could tack behind them and as We tacked so did they. We had let the main right out to get behid them and so their tack was most difficult for us but we recovered and in our turn gained bit or width going in the mark. As the breeze tightened at the mark they pinched and slowed so that we rounded ahead again and held that lead all the way home.
Now we reached up to Meridian again and followed her home never more than two boat lenghts apart.
In the concentration on Allegro and Meridian we missed what happened to Amante and Crosshaven but we presume they went in too close to Steele Point again.
Our fifth place on handicap increased our lead by two points but it is still very tight and a lot of races still to go.
Now that we are home I can insert some photos of the progress since the hull was turned.
So after a good break from boatbuilding we returned to finish the deck structure at the bow and two solid days or planing the gunwales. The Makita power planer is not the quietest tool in the shed and it created a lot of sawdust in the process so by Saturday it was back to hand planing.
Fortunately Elaine put in many hours vacuuming the sawdust over the last two days and that let me get on with the task of cutting and fitting deck panels. Don came around on Saturday and helped to shift the larger 6 mm sheet into position for marking and cutting and Elaine helped today with the full size 12 mm sheets so that for the last four days the progress looks impressive.
The trial fit of the panels has identified the need for some temporary support in the anchor locker to get the two sides to match as the hatch side is missing a stringer by design. Thinking thinking! Also it is an opportunity to check all the stringer angles for some last minute planing.
Tomorrow all the large panels will be fitted but before gluing them in place I will mark and cut all the doubles as it is easier to mark and fit them from above.
In the meantime what plywood is temporarily screwed to the deck is providing good support for the tarpaulins as the rain has returned.