Away again

Those that follow my movements will know that recently I was away in Southern Queensland. Every thing was planned and going well, I filled up with fuel just off the Gateway Motorway in Brisbane on the Sunday afternoon following a nice drive up from Sydney. As I waited to turn right back on to the motorway, no gears. Bugger! 1400 on a Sunday afternoon too. So I called for a tow truck and also let Robyn know what had happened. I was able to get the van to a VW dealer and lock it up in order to return first thing Monday morning. Next call was to an old mate who has helped out now and again with DeckHardware – Mark Grey. Mark’s moved up from Surfers to Brisbane in order to be closer to his business building campers and trailers. I was able to stay with Mark whilst the van was off the road for two days. As it turned out, the drive shaft had worn and needed replacement, so two days were lost doing the rounds. I did however spend some time helping out at Aussie Campers & Trailers, always something new to learn, in this case servicing wheel bearings. Thanks again to Mark and Jules for the hospitality. To add to the bad day, I also found out that Ben Nossiter had just passed away. Ben has been an Adams10 sailor for many decades and no one at Middle Harbour Yacht Club has come near his record of 18 club championships. I had visited him the previous Thursday in Hospital and we agreed to have a rum at the club upon my return. Unfortunately this was not to be and Ben will be missed greatly. Following discussions with Robyn, it was decided that I return for the funeral, therefore cutting the trip short. With all of these issues, another trip is planned back in a few weeks time to see those I missed out on. I did however get to see a few customers and whilst at Scarborough, I came across a yacht I thought I’d never see again. This particular yacht was owned by Robyn’s father John Dibble when we first started dating and was sold after our wedding to step up to a Farr 1104. Defiance is the original IOR MK3 S&S Half Tonner, built by Doug Brooker and was the plug for the mould that Savages in Williamstown ended up making how many versions of. Many adventures were had aboard Defiance, MHYC Club racing, Offshore’s, Two Handers, RSYS cruises to Lake Macquarie. Broke the boom on one cruise and as the ladies race was the following day, a replacement had to be made ASAP, Done. Plenty of memories. I hope that the current owner will look after her and have as much fun as we did.

For something different, last Saturday I took the DeckHardware van up to Wangi. At this time of year they have a regatta for a variety of classes and once again I was able to help keep the sailors out on the water. Wangi is the home of many top sailors and with the expanses of Lake Macquarie, it’s pretty easy to see why many overseas teams like Oracle come to train there. And it’s close enough for a day trip. It was a great Winters day, however the conditions weren’t too nice on the Race Committee and the sailors, as most got a tow home due to lack of any breeze. One of the rare occasions, I’m glad not to be out there, frustrating to say the least.