29 Nov 10 Mon - Stow the oars....we now have outboard action. I continued to rebuild the 2HP Yamaha and rewired with a new make-do engine stop switch. Took it for a test run and a quick tune and she will do the job......not real powerful on a 3.1 m inflatable but certainly better than rowing!! I had not yet insulated the stop switch connections that hung loosely from the front of the engine and as I was returning to the boat about to tie up, I reached around to push the stop switch and my fingers accidently bridged the switch contacts....as my feet sat in about 2'' water in the boat. Based on the shock I got, I can safely say the coil is putting out around 20000 volts!!!
Work should has started on my head and injectors today. I will call up first thing tomorrow to see if there are any major dramas or setbacks. I will need to develop my contingency plan as I have serious doubts I will make Newcastle by the end of Dec, unless of course I get a month of very favourable NE winds, which is highly unlikely!
30 Nov 10 Tues - Beautiful morning today as I sit in the cockpit with a nice brew. There has been a lot of piscatorial action under the hull of late, so I dropped a rubber over the side and it was whacked straight away by a beaut little mackerel. Fillets off and into the fridge for dinner. Problem is the toothy critters destroy the tails on the rubbers. Next drop down and I hooked another mackerel, but this one was much larger at around a metre. Fortunately the hook pulled on the surface.....but he was too big anyway; I don't need to fill the fridge with fillets when I can just drop the line over the side and catch fresh fish. Each night hundreds of fish (and squid) gather under the loom of my anchor light feeding along the shadow wedge. 'Rogue Wave' is my own mid-water reef eco-system.
Now the outboard is up and running I ventured to shore to fill my water jerry. I added 60 litres from the shore rainwater tank to my main tank and will go back for two more runs tomorrow. The water was refreshingly cold so made for a great tank-side shower! I also had a wander around the foreshore and found out that Portland Roads was a major re-supply port for the heavy bomber groups based at the Iron Range airfield (now Lockhart River, 40km south) during WWII. Remnants of the old steel service jetty are still evident and the same location is now used by the trawler fleet to offload their catch. I imagine my old squadron (No75SQN) would have stopped at Iron Range in their Kittyhawks on their ill-fated flight north to defend Milne Bay in PNG.
Spoke with Ihor at HM Gem Engines and the head and valves are ok. He can also loan me a Tension Wrench which is a relief. Ihor could not open the workshop manual CDROM I provided so Relle emailed another copy as I have no internet. They need the manual to replace the injector sleeves.
Two more yachts anchored last night. I met Dale and Jan from 'Russell Dean III', a very comfortable Salar 40 built of Huon Pine and designed by Englishman Laurent Giles; and Erica and Andy from 'Ovedie' sailing a Swedish designed and built EOL yacht, one of only six in the world. I was again invited for the traditional 1700 h sundowners on 'Russell Dean III' and had some lively conversation on a wide range of topics. The yachts had been in company for the past 8 months as they explored the Kimberly region of WA. I baked some 'Rogue Scones'.......basically red peppers, rosemary, garlic and cheese sandwiched between two layers of scone mix. They certainly tasted as good they looked and was a hit with the crowd. Once again 2 hours of chatting quickly became six and I left at 2300 h (at least I wasn't the one leaving early in the morning!)