I got off of the ship at the end of October and for once it was on the scheduled date, amazing. The swing at sea had gone relatively smoothly and I was by all accounts quite relaxed, tired but not stressed as has been the case on some swings. Good crew and good vessel really helps, I just hope that after the vessel has been in dry dock we will pick up another contract here in Australia and I can continue aboard as master.
Just as well I was rested as there was not a moment to lose when I got off. Made it home on the Thursday and stayed in my flat that night. Next morning at 0530 I was on the road south with the car packed full of friends belongings, camping gear and sailing gear. Drove down to Sydney and stayed with my friends Jon and Sandy that night, it was there belongings in the back. It was only to be a one night stay with them as I was off to South Lake Macquarie for a sailing regatta.
After a few wrong turns getting to the South Lake Macquarie Amateur Sailing Club (SLMASC) I arrived in time to set up my tent, pay my entry meet Paul who was kind enough to loan me his Ok dinghy and check out the boat. Paul's boat can be described as 'Bright' he named it 'Jesus built my Hot Rod' and I was not going to be missed out on the water.
The regatta was sponsored by Zhik (pronounced a bit like psych) and it was for single handed dinghys, so we had the full range of small boats a total of 56 of which 15 were Ok dinghys.
The format for the weekend was to be two races each day and the races were to be about 60 minutes long, so nice short fast courses, just right for me as this would be the first dinghy race I had participated in for the last 25 years.
It was strange getting in the boat again but I was able to keep up right and just in the top half of the fleet finishing what I would call a creditable 6th place for the regatta. We sailed the races in light winds around 8 - 12 knots, which allowed for me to get out hiking some times and test the legs out.
Lots of fun and the Ok people are very friendly and helpful I can understand why people who sail the boats do so for many years.
The regatta just gave me more enthusiasm and determination to get my own boat in the water ready for sailing. This was going to take time but it would be worth the effort.
On the Monday I made the long drive back home and basically crashed for the remainder of the day.
it´s a love afair.
Posted by: jonas | 15 September 2009 at 00:25