This is a record of my various forays into boating such as:
- 2004-07: 'Galadriel' a Northerner 28. This boat was a stout seaworthy boat which we sailed up from Sydney harbour and moored on Lake Macquarire. I paid too much for it and consequently I became more and more frustrated that I wasn't getting value for money out it. I would have had to spend every weekend on her, and then some, just to become convinced it was worth the initial outlay and the maintenance. I sold Galadriel for a significant loss in 2008.
- 2008-2011: 'Maria-Jean' build. The experience of Galadriel had put E off sailing, possibly for good (too much haste and panic resulting in yelling - a recipe for a wife reluctant to pursue sailing again), therefore I needed a smaller, lighter boat. I couldn't find one in the Classifieds and it slowly dawned on me that I should build my own. See the journey and the result here. This boat however was a little too flighty for my ageing plump body, and I yearned for a cabin with a stove, so I started looking around for a cheap, small, cabin sailer. I still have Maria-Jean and she makes me happy that I could build something to float. I will hold onto her for the foreseeable future, sailing her every once in a while.
- 2015-now: 'Whispering Wind' is an Investigator 563, a trailer-sailer from the 1980s when it won an Australian Design Award for its innovative design. It has no keel protrusion into the Cabin and is still very stable. The successful design incorporated 300+ kg of lead into a Skeg running on the bottom of the Hull forming a solid keel. To aid in pointing ability the longitudinal skeg also houses a center board that swings down to provide counter-force to Leeway.
This Blog will serve as a record of my sailing adventures, the maintenance of my boat(s), the odyssey of procuring bits n pieces (always a drawn-out affair because I'm strapped for cash), planning for possible trips, the trip reports themselves and anything else boat related in my life.
