The crew will be "just the two of us"- Dave and Penny.
Deal and Erith Islands are fantastic! More on this and yesterday's helicopter rescue of ill yachtie once we are in the Tamar River.
We are heading off for the next 100NM (187Km) leg in a few hours (about 1300) today, Monday. ETA early Monday morning. There is seriously bad weather on the ay and we want to reach the river before it does.
Best Regards, Dave and Penny.
We are off again in 2009. This time, we are heading South to Tasmania, which is a change for us. Every other time (apart from brief sojourns to Jervis Bay) we have headed North or out into the Pacific.
It has been a busy time with Paul and Angela's wedding on January 10th. The whole family was together again with Paul here from Perth, Liz and Bern from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Tess from Canberra, Wendy from Paddington and Will from Kensington.
We had hoped to depart last week, but there have been some delays- such as the accountant failing to finish our tax returns when required and committed. There was also a problem with the engine on the boat over heating. We were intending to dismantle and clean the exhaust manifold and mixing elbow before departure as these things get clogged up with soot. Upon dissassembly, it transpired that the cooling passages were quite blocked and inside the manifold was corroded. It might have lasted to Tassie and back but it might not.
So, $1,500 worth of spare parts later, the engine is running cooler and happier.
There is still provisioning to do, blots to tighten and check, rigging to check and a myriad of other things.
We will be gone for two to three months and this will be somewhat weather dependent as Bass Strait and parts of Tasmania can be a fickle or nasty place.
