Expedition to Kurnell

[khiemtran]

Sunday morning and we're off on an adventure. We're going on a day sail to Kurnell with the Sydney Sailing School...




After a tricky launch "from a lee shore" (i.e. into the wind), our little flotilla is soon heading out into Botany Bay...



Following the rescue boat, we form up into something approaching single file...



I'm helming on the way out. You might notice that the tiller extension (the black stick I'm holding) is shorter than usual. It actually broke before we launched and it's only half the normal length now. This means I'm hunched forward a bit more than I'd like, and later, when I was "hiking out" (sitting out over the side) I was only just able to hold the end of it.



Here's a Tasar coming up behind us. It's a much faster boat, with bigger sails and a lighter crew (we've got three adults and Liem). In light winds, they can skip past us.



But, out in the bay, the winds are stronger. Heading into the wind, the odds are suddenly levelled. Even though they can get more force from their bigger sails, because the sails are in tight, the more power the sails generate the more the boat wants to "heel" (tip). You can see the Tasar now heeling (leaning) at twenty degrees while our boat was still flat. We could get more force out of our sails than they could, because, with our heavier crew, we could use our smaller sails to their limit, while the Tasar crew had to let theirs out a bit.



Land ho! It's the Kurnell Catamaran Club...



Don't you just hate the hustle and bustle of a big city like Sydney?



Time to pull our boats up onto the beach...



Enjoy a well-earned BBQ...



And do a bit of exploring. Over in the distance, behind that long jetty, is the place where Captain Cook first landed on the Australian mainland. That thin white vertical line is actually the obelisk marking the spot.



Heading home now, and Sydney's a city of sails. Those white triangles are kids out in their little Optimist dinghies...



Running downwind against the tide, our extra weight counts against us this time. This Pacer cruises past us...



Liem takes a rest on the way back.



To the left you can see the Towra Point nature reserve. Another adventure for another day.



Back in the Georges River now. A great end to a wonderful day...

Comments

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

Fantastic photos. Sounds like a great day out on the water and nice to have company for the trip and the BBQing. I recall beach bonfires/BBQs on remote beaches from childhood holidays in Cornwall, but now it all seems to require permission. The days of Swallows and Amazons are long gone - at least in the UK. :(

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

In fairness, we do have quite strict rules on where you can light fires due to the risk of bush fires, and we often have Total Fire Ban days, especially in summer. And I'm sure Maritime would have something to say about the If Duffers Best Drowned approach to the wearing of buoyancy aids...

[(Anonymous)]

Lovely!

[soon_lee]

That was me, the anonymous person who said, "lovely!"

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It was indeed. It feels ridiculous that all this is still well within the limits of the big city. It's stepping into another world.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Fabulous photos. I especially love the boats lined up on the shore...

That looks like so much fun. I'm sort of regretting now that I never learnt to sail - but then our weather is usually a little less inviting!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

If you've never sailed, I can certainly recommend giving it a try!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Aww, sleepy Liem!

I like the thought of a lot of little sailboats called optimists.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

There seems to be something about being in boats that sends kids to sleep. I'm not sure if it's the sensory overload or just the rocking motion after a long day.

Optimist are very cool little boats and they are very popular around the world. They're quite obsolete now, but you can still find big fleets of them all full of kids. They're also simple enough to build that a father can make one for his kids in the back shed, or at least that was the idea.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

*goes to look for pictures of optimist boats*

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Here's a close-up of an Optimist (or "Opti") on the Georges River. As you can see, they're small enough to be sailed by a small child and quite blunt in the front (which made them easier to build out of plywood).

(https://www.flickr.com/photos/28298008@N07/11262138804/)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yes! A charming boat!

I liked this image of a bunch of them all lined up, like boats made out of newspaper.