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Dont try to unfurl the headsail with the halyard slack

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Dont try to unfurl the headsail with the halyard slack When we got our shiny new furler installed the rigger used a halyard that was way too long.  Not a big issue but it looked a bit messy at the bottom of the mast even coiled up.  All our halyard are at the mast not in the cockpit so it was coiled up at the mast pulpit. To shorten the halyard one must know how much to shorten by and the only way to do that is to lower the genoa to work out how much we need as too short and the tail would go up the mast and out of reach too easily.  So as instructed by the rigger (or was it a random Internet post) we release the tension on the halyard when not sailing.  Forgetting I had done that I start to unfurl the genoa in order to lower it when it became hard to unfurl.  Looking up through the binoculars I see the halyard is wrapped around the top of the foil......bugger. Out with the ATN Mast Climbing equipment all shiny and new in it's bag.  This will be fun said I with a grimace.  I had ne
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The weather looks terrible, lets go sailing anyway

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Alright alright, we should have known better but it's been so long since we've been sailing and had a few days on the boat. Sure the forecast was saying 20-25knots (and gusts a little higher) which in itself I have no problem with.  In fact it's 'spirited sailing'  The issue was, we wanted to go to Fitzroy Island.  It's our little escape location.  But sadly it lies directly upwind of us once we get out of the harbour. Our little Westsail 32 is a heavy full keeled boat that does go to windward 'OK' but she has a bluff bow.  A bluff bow is great because she's a pretty dry boat as any waves we hit are pushed to the side and dont come raining down over the top and onto us in the cockpit.  One the other hand, the energy used to push the water to the sides is taken from the forward motion....meaning we go slow down and in some sever cases if the waves are steep and tall enough she will nearly stop.   So to try and counter this we would bear away (point a
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Our Starlink has a new rail mount

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When we first got our Starlink system we just sat it on the foredeck on it's standard mount.  Not very secure and if the boat rolled a bit too much it might topple over.  Also it took up space that we would normally use for lounging around and we cant have that. Much better use of this space The new mount arrived so it was time to give it a go. Much better.  We obviously dont use it whilst underway but it worked a treat.  Now was have our relaxing area back.
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The Speedy Sticher is our friend

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Out to the boat for more jobs getting ready for our first long weekend away after the wet season here in Cairns.    Got out to the boat and found our awning had a rip in it.  So after a cuppa it was out with the Speedy Stitcher. It does such an amazing job of canvas/sail repairs on the boat with the need of a big sewing machine.  At this point Fiona was worried I was going to stab myself :) Naturally the work doesnt look quite as good as a machine but it was fixed in about 30 minutes.
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When you gotta go but it doesnt go

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A necessary part of living on a boat (or anywhere really) is the need to go to the toilet.  No one likes to talk about it and certainly no one likes to deal with the systems that allow us to when they fail. We have an electaric toilet on board that has dealt with everything that has entered it, apart from the screw I dropped in once but that's another story.  So I was disappointed the other day when I went to the toilet, flushed, and the bowl didnt want to empty too well.  Lucky it was only a 'number 1'.  As I was busy doing other jobs I thought I'd look at it later.  5 mintues after I was at the nav sation when I heard a dripping noise.  Went forward to the head and the bowl was full and overflowing into the boat.....not good.   So shut off the inlet value and pump out the bowl.   Ah well, next job is to service the toilet and make sure the outlet hose is clear. The fun begins Of course no one in town has a service kit in stock so ordered one online.  It turned up and
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Location: Trinity Inlet, Australia
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Soft Shackle,where have you been all our lives

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They are soooo simple yet so useful. Watched a few YouTube videos ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNRsDz2KTsE ) on how to tie them and we are now converts.  Yes I know, late to the game. I'm probably over excited because it was only a couple of weeks ago I was attaching a halyard to our staysail (yes it's a hank on) and dropped the pin into the water.
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It's not all beer and skittles

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Sometimes we have to work it's not a bad office though Just to let you know it's not all 'fun and frolicing' on the water,  we also do some work while on board.  Since we got our Starlink it's a bit of a game changer for us as we can extend our weekends away and work onboard.   It's lucky we are both able to do some of work whilst away.  I actually think I'm more productive on the boat? Still running the Starlink on 240v via our inverter which is not very efficient so I have bought the components to convert it to 12v....will keep you posted on that project
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