L'Eau Commotion Westabout

The hoped for easy reach into Albany Harbour just did not eventuate. Instead of a solid South Westerly the wind game in at gale force from the North West with gusts reported that Saturday morning around 60 knots accompanied by fierce sleet and hail. On top of this the lower bracket of the Windpilot Pacific Plus let go disabling and bending the auxiliary rudder. This took some time to crudely and partially lift out of the water but still made tacking into the wind unsatisfactory so the motor was engaged and headed for the lee of Cape Grenville and thence into the perfect shelter of Two People Bay - Albany Harbour was out of the question in these conditions. Once anchored securely the next order of business was to hit the bunk for a long afternoon nap, a feed and a long uninterrupted nights sleep.
Sunday morning the wind had eased quite a bit though still on the nose so slow trip of 6 or 7 hours had me at the Albany Town Marina around 3 pm. There I met Gerry Kelly who kindly proffered the advice that the best place to carry out repairs was at the Emu Point Slipway, and to this end ran me round in his Toyota, pointing out the channel markers and beacons. A stop off at IGA for steak veges and fruit and then an easy motor had me at Emu Point harbour well before sundown. Much appreciated!
Met Darryn Russel of Emu Point Slipways on Monday morning who is organising the fixing of the self steering as I continue with other less important jobs. A pleasant week passed and this Monday morning got a hoy from Dave Neden whose sister Vanessa knows my daughter at Toowong Rowing Club. After a short chat and a coffee Dave offered to show me round Albany, an offer I could not refuse! There followed a long and pleasant day in his company. Through the port area with its many fine old buildings and then to the truly remarkable whaling station museum. The centrepiece would have to be the well preserved chaser, the Cheynes 4 which you can explore at your leisure but all the other facilities that make up a functioning factory are explained in an informal but informative guided tour. You are then free to fossick around at your leisure and view the well presented audio visuals. A not to be missed attraction. As part of a great day Dave also took me to the replica barque Amity, the popular but dangerous fishing spots on the steep sloping granite shore and then out to his rural property for some essential chores. Add to this a visit to Boys Toys Store Bunnings and Supa IGA for steak and three veges made a really great day. Thank you!