Attitude « Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Back to the Marina

by steve, on December 13th, 2012 (A Cappella, Anthem, Attitude, Australia, Bristol Rose, Freezing Rain, Jackster)

We had another lazy morning in before readying to depart the anchorage just before midday. The Jacksters did stop by as we had a bit more dive gear for them so another round of goodbyes were had.

The wind was in the high teens to low 20s and ahead of us so we were on a close haul all the way back. We put two reefs in the main and headsail as we knew we would be close to and indeed the apparent wind was occasionally as high as 30 knots though mainly in the low 20s. Again we were against the current as we left earlier than before and low tide was now nearly 3 hours later than before. Despite this we easily averaged over 7 knots over ground (over 8 through the water) and later were doing 8-9 knots over ground around low tide.

We passed west of Mud Island and then had to tack 12 times to sail into port. I loved it. Helen did too, sort of. After a while she wanted to motor in rather than keep tacking so she could clean the boat. I did not give in to this as this could well be our last sail and I was where I wanted to be.

In the end we made it back with time to spare. At the dock we were met by Niel from Attitude, Jan from Anthem, Cornelia from A Cappella and Don from Freezing rain who all stood by to help with lines. With 20 knot winds squeezing into the dock next to Attitude was a little challenging. I aborted early the first attempt and nailed it the second time. Piece of cake.

View 2012-12-12 Moreton Bay in a larger map

In the evening Sam came over. We went out for a buffet curry in Manly and were later joined by Rob from Bristol Rose who happened by by chance. We ended the evening walking with Sam to the railway station then returning to the boat when his train arrived.

Now we’re back in the marina and back connected is back to our admin. We have one or two viewings coming up this weekend so want to be ready for those.

For your entertainment here is a video taken by one of the brokers and some pics of our time in the bay.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp_y1BAmEt0&feature=g-crec-u[/youtube]

We’re Going Sailing

by steve, on December 10th, 2012 (Attitude, Australia)

While we both felt we needed a rest on Sunday, after a long lie in, we did get up and get on with some work. Helen did some cosmetic sealing here and there while I ran the mainsheet and tidied up all the lines on the new rigging. All the lines had been left long by the riggers and I decided to leave them that way for the new owner to decide what to do with them. That made it a bit more of a challenge tucking them away neatly but I managed. Neil from Attitude helped out putting the dinghy motor onto the dinghy as my returning strength is not yet up to handling the motor on my own. The motor started and ran fine after just a few pulls.

Sam decided to do something else rather than visit us. This left us and me in particular pretty upset. He is young and going through all this in his own way but I also handled things wrong. This resulted in our feeling very low through the afternoon. In the end, I hope, this episode will result in us all having a greater understanding of how we are each coping with this phase of our lives. Plans have now been made to get together later in the week.

Today we’re going sailing. There’s a nice weather window to go out into the bay for 2-3 days. We’re thinking of heading over to the wrecks at Tangalooma and maybe the Sand Hills. We’ll see. The good news is the wind doesn’t pick up until later in the morning so we still get a lie in.

This will be our first sail since May in Fiji. How much has happened since!!! We’re looking forward to testing everything out and having what is likely to be our final fling on the boat. The course is set into the plotter, VHF channel use in the area understood, weather websites researched and bookmarked. We’re ready to go.

Back (again) to Brisbane

by steve, on December 9th, 2012 (Attitude, Australia)

Friday evening we had a nice BBQ with the family. The weather ended up perfect for an evening outside. Special moments.

On Saturday we embarked upon our 6^th trip to Brisbane. We made it to the airport in very good time checking in just a few minutes after our flight opened. This meant we managed to get emergency exit seats allocated which come with some responsibility and, more importantly, lot’s of leg room. We found a power socket in the corner of the lounge and sat down to wait for the plane. For the first time in our lives we found our names being called over the tannoy. Turned out we completely lost track of time and everyone else was already on the plane. Oops.

Upon landing in Brisbane we had another oops moment. Helen needed a pit stop so I took one too. Upon exiting Helen found me ‘missing’ and figured I’d gone off in a brain haze. I ended up waiting a long time outside wondering if a horse was being passed before sending in a lady to scout for Helen. We did manage to find each other eventually and fortunately our ride was ok with the delay. We learned a lesson. It’s not about what telling each other what we’re doing, it’s all about agreeing where we’ll meet.

Back at the marina we first greeted Niel and Kathy from Attitude who are now tied up alongside us. We had a chat and agreed to meet later as Helen and I needed a rest. In the evening we all went out for a Thai meal in town and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I’m still having taste anomalies but in the scheme of things, this barely affected the evening.

Today will be mostly restful. Niel has offered to help out putting the dinghy motor on so we can test it. I can’t do that on my own so that’s a big help. I’m also going to check out the rigging as we plan to go sailing Monday / Tuesday to test out the new rig and sails. Sam is planning to visit this afternoon. That’ll be nice.

Briefly …

by steve, on August 22nd, 2011 (Attitude, Fiji)

Moved the boat to a mooring ball that became free.

Went for a walk.

Invited Neil from Attitude over for pizza in the evening.

That was our day.

Port Denaru

by steve, on August 12th, 2011 (Attitude, Endless, Fiji)

Finally, after 2-3 weeks of mediocre weather the skies cleared and we had a beautiful sunny day. We stayed the morning moored off Treasure Island using the time to go snorkeling a couple of the nearby dive spots. Using the Subsurface Fiji dive map it’s reasonably easy to locate the red buoys that mark the dive sites. We first visited #3 – Jimmyies Reef hoping to find some of the advertised giant clams. Our next stop was #4 – Fannies Fan hoping to get some clearer water. Unfortunately, both sites had less than clear water but both were interesting. The latter had a couple of swim throughs at about 20-30 feet down which I enjoyed.

After lunch and a rest we cast off the mooring ball and had a very pleasant blue sky sail to Port Denaru where we found a mooring ball close to both Endless and Attitude.

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We agreed to all meet up ashore for a meal out. Cathy and Neil were off to the airport with their grandson so they just stopped for a drink while Petr joined us for dinner. We went to Cardo’s which promised both Chinese food and meaty dishes. The boys all went for steak ribs and the girls went for Chinese. Unfortunately, being handled by different kitchens the Chinese arrived long after we’d finished our steaks.

Today is Anne and John’s last day aboard. We’re planning a shopping trip into Nadi this morning and no doubt a certain amount of time will be spent packing.

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Back to the Marina

We’re Going Sailing

Back (again) to Brisbane

Briefly …

Port Denaru