Thread: The Grey Seal Huon Seal

I've been reluctant to take the camera out on HS Rufus , fearing it would get wet in the tender , or perhaps sailing.
But my wife has bought me a new container , to put suchlike in , and it works.
There should be plenty more photo opportunities , it was a bit wet at times today , as can be seen by the cabin .
We had 2 reefs in , but she still sailed beautifully.
Caught lots of seaweed , and 3 good size 'couta.
Regards Rob J.

A pretty good day for sailing today , although the swell was pretty high.
We went out with a group of traditional boats , and found ourself in a pretty good position heading to the last turn.
So good in fact , when everyone started getting a bit serious , they couldn't make up any real ground on us.
On the last turn , with the wind and the swell coming in behind us , we expected to just get run down by the bigger boats.
But it didn't happen !.
The others were reefed , we weren't , and we tried a goosewing , and it worked !.
The others tried the same , but didn't have the success we did !.
Can you see my grin from there ?.
And , while we were doing that , we were running a paravane , this time catching mackerel .
Like I said , a good days sailing !.
Now , how would I make up a pole for better goosewinging ?.
Regards Rob J.

Hi Rob, sounds like a great sail. You don't need anything substantial for a whisker pole, I made up a bamboo one while up in Malaysia and I'd seen guys with them made out of bits of PVC, boat hooks, oars and so on. You can also buy aluminium telescopic ones, which I've not used. But with wooden spars I'd suspect that aluminium might look a bit wrong.

If you want to make up a wooden one it wouldn't need to be laminated or all that big, maybe even a length of meranti round from Bunnings? You can buy fittings for the ends and the mast easily enough.

cheers
Greg

Thanks for your reply Greg.
I've got a nice wooden boat , so a pole is going to have to be wood , but its not a big sail , so something light that is less likely to split would be the go.
Oh , I forgot to mention.
After the sail , we all got together on the beach for a drink or too , and all of the other skippers , all very very experienced sailors , praised the way HS handled the seas , and sailed .
From these men , its high praise indeed , and very much appreciated by little newbie me.
But , when that shed goes up , a whisker pole will be "first cab off the rank".
Regards and thanks.
Rob J.

When these others were "getting serious", did they see you pulling in the mackerel?
Bonus points if they did.

They probably did see us hauling in fish , but we were well in front.
A couple of weeks ago , we sailed past one of the boats , the experienced skipper was certainly trying then.
But just as we got level with him we got a hit on the paravane , and left HS to her own devices as we pulled in a big salmon , if I recall right.
Little HS has earned some respect from the traditional sailing community though , and tomorrow that same man is going out sailing with me , and I'm very confident that HS will only enhance her reputation.
I've been thinking about the goosewinging though , wondering why HS did it easily enough , while it was more difficult for the other boats.
All I can think of is that it may be that their headsails are much bigger than HS , and if they aren't using a whisker pole , hard to keep out and filled .
I'm looking forward to tomorrows sail though , he is a very wily old sailor , and a good bloke.
Regards Rob J.

Yes , it was a good day sailing , not much breeze , but enough for HS .
Four hours sailing , the perfect way to start the day.
Tomorrow I'll go down to her for a spot of fishing , and tidy her up a bit , ready for the Friday traditional boats sail.
Regards Rob J.

I'm trying to figure the best way to set up a whisker pole for HS.
I need to contact Whitworths www.whitworths.com.au soon about another article , but I'm wondering about the Forestar pole ends Cat no 80507 or 80515 and the related mast fitting 80505 .
Or the Ronston 80366 or 80374 .
Would I perhaps need to put a ring in the eye where the halyards go in the staysail ?.
I'm not sure how to do this , help would be appreciated.
Regards Rob J.

The arthritis has had a small victory.
I'm going to replace or suppliment the use of belaying pins for the mainsail with clam cleats.
That should make the raising and lowering of the gaff a lot easier.
I already use clam cleats on the headsails , so its no big deal.
Rob J.

Well , I've had a yarn with my sailing buddy , who is a rigger , and we have agreed on Forespar pole ends and mast fittings for a whisker pole , and Ronstan clam cleats for the mainsail halyards.
Rob J.

We got 3 hours sailing in today .
Although there was little wind , HS still did very well.
My wife took the photo from the lee breakwater , as we were heading out to sea.
Regards Rob J.

Just more of the same again I guess , but also a shot of our "very scientific" fishing method.
It got ah , very interesting , after these photos were taken , when we were in "survival mode".
We got battered by some very big gusts , but managed to reef in , and keep going.
Regards Rob J.

I was waiting for someone to say something about the throat and peak halyards.
I guess I'm just wasting my time.
Rob J.

Originally Posted by dopeydriver

I was waiting for someone to say something about the throat and peak halyards.
I guess I'm just wasting my time.
Rob J.

I was thinking that method of rigging is specfically designed to give the crew an extra bit of a workout for life aboat HS.

BTW I can't see any plastic through deck rod holders, what sort of fisherman are you.

It is a pleasure to read about your exploits in HS and to see a boat getting as much use as yours.

Cheers
Mike