Freddie 'n stuff

Guess what, we now have a lovely Quicksilver inflatable tender with 4hp Mercury engine! We got a great deal from Challenge Marine who gave us the special Boat Show price without us even having to go to the boat show!
As Quicksilver are made by Mercury, and the motor, there really was only one name we could give it: Freddie. As in Freddie Mercury. Late of Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody? Oh come on, you know.
Having realised that at 2.75m it's too big to inflate on deck, we are now getting quotes for davits (or deviates as Mike insists on calling them).
We spent last Sunday zooming up and down the channels in the marina in Freddie, great fun!

That sinking feeling

Ever thought something was a really good idea until you tried it? I am studying for the VHF radio ops exam: in my creative but not technical mind, I imagined it would be all about phonetics (at which I'm really good), correct and courteous radio proceedure (at which I'm really good) and channel selection (of which I have a good working knowledge).
How wrong can you be!?! Now I have to remember things like the specific gravity of battery acid, on-load terminal voltage and all sorts of stuff that I have no clue about....
At least I can define the word Megahertz: it's a description of the headache you get when you realise you're probably too thick to even attempt the exam!

HY37

Here's a photo of Sirocco showing off her new sail number...doesn't it suit her? :)

Safety First

Latest EBay win - a Raymarine LifeTag system, complete and unused - thanks to EBay-er Ashley from Tasmania :) Yay, now I can fall off the boat safely......!

Stand by

OK, stand by for the latest:
Sirocco is moving pens!
You'll find us on P Jetty! :-)
*Jan is busy splicing ropes in readiness*

Progressive dinner

In July, Cruising in Company held a progressive dinner - which, for some reason, I volunteered to organise....in a nutshell, 12 yachts participated, divided into three groups: entree, main and dessert....so, each boat hosted two other couples for a course. The theme was 'Heroes and Villains'.....I have to say, despite losing a shoe and spilling half a glass of a rather nice red because I was barefoot by the end of the night, it was GREAT fun!
Here are some photos that Phil and Tina (our esteemed Cruise Captains) took.......hmmmmm.....Just to explain - Mike was Mr Incredible - I was Cruella DeVille.....

Why winter is wonderful (sometimes)

Just love winter days like today. Blue sky, bit of a breeze, not too cold, perfect.
One of the things about sailing is that it's ok not to have a destination - just head on out and have a sail, which is exactly what we did today! Was shown that it is in fact perfectly ok to head North inside the reef - not only is it ok, but it's also deeper and therefore WAY less frought. Always a good thing, not being frought....
And, guess what - nothing broke or leaked - again, always a good thing!