Oi Aussie shipmates! Stand too yer mugs!

[Wild Dingo]

Anyone of yous eastern states blighters sighted Greg yet? Just wonderin where hes got to an if anyones drunk him under the yardarm yet! :D

Would be good to get a bit of an update on the fellas wanderins

[seayou77]

While you wait for your Mates to show up, I'd like to send a GoodDay Your way.
I had a great time visiting your Western Australia, back in 1989. I sailed on a Swarbrick design; Christine outa Freo. I met the boat in Sydney and had a go at the Syd. Hobart Race. Delivered the boat back to Freo. Racing the Esperance Albany enroute.
The friends I made along the way were unforgettable, but it is hard to keep up when there are so many miles between. Wonder if you know a shipwright out of Perth; Mike Foster.
He helped Jon Sanders provision for his epic voyage, and may have been a part of a later, for fun, lap round the globe.
My private Email is on the blink. Just a chance you might know this guy. Thanks David

[Greg H]

Coooooeeeee
Just made it to Canberra. Took a little trip from Sydney along the SE coast to Tathra. smile.gif
Roo's on the beach, Meat pies...Fish n Chips and Boag's beer :D
Strewth mate
You commin east Shane? ;)

[ 02-22-2005, 04:42 AM: Message edited by: Greg H ]

[Wild Dingo]

Bloody stone the crows Greg!!! Your the flamin tourist mate YOU get yer backside over this side!! :cool: Tell yer what mate I'll help you make your escape from the East coast mob...

Goin by car bus train?

1) Head west till you get to South Aussie then keep goin till you get to Port Augusta... okay?? Rightio!

2) HEAD WEST YOUNG MAN HEAD WEST... thats it just keep goin west... hope yer on the Nallabour mate caus if not your in the ****e!... Oh the highways called the EYRE highway yes indeed that was Aussies way of sayin how utterly flamin brilliant I am namin the longest straightest road in the country after yours truely... Keep goin mate!! When yer get to Norseman head north to Coolgardie then West again keep goin mate past Ghoolie Southern Cross past Northam Merriden Mundaring keep goin!!!... more... Can yer see that blue wet stuff mate? Thats the INDIAN OCEAN!! Whooee once you see that give me a hoi an I will come pick you up!! First round or twos on me! ;)

If yer goin by plane... just ask for a ticket to the sunshine place in the west... PERTH!!!... when yer land give me a hoi an I'll come get yer first round or twos on me! :cool:

Strewth I bedda watch it here thats 4 flamin rounds!!! ;)

mmm bedda give me a hoi BEFORE yer leave could save half yer trip if Im back in Kal... mmm good pubs in Kal I'll shout the first round or two! ;) :D ****e HURRY UP YER MONGREL thats 6 flamin rounds an yer aint even bought 1 yet!! :rolleyes: at this rate Im gonna be clissed as a picket before yer get here! Cheers!! :D

[skuthorp]

Greg, welcome aboard, Goolwa boat shows on in a fortnight, (10 to 12 March) will you be here still? Do you need a lift? Dont worry about a bed, we can fix that.
It's about a third of the way to Shanes country, down the bottom in the middle, of Aus that is. :D

[Mike Field]

.
G'day Greg. Welcome to Sunny Oz. Tathra's a good spot (now they've made the roiad in.) But Melbourne's better. Are you still heading south? It'd be a pity not to see the world's most livable city while you're here.

(South Oz is okay, but forget WA, they're all nut-cases over there. smile.gif )
.

[Wild Dingo]

tongue.gif yeah right Mike! The "worlds most livable city"? yep thats Perth aright an theres plenty of reasons why all you east coasters are movin over here!! like SUN, sand, sheilas, best beer in the country wide open spaces great people best barbies... oh an Im over here! :D

All yer gets over that way are people people and more bloody people!! oh an yous fellas are over there even though you KNOW deep down inside that you should be here... I think yous blokes stay over there just so you can pretend that that side of the country is better than this side... we did well sendin yous buggars over there!! Its worked well actually since all the tourists stay over there means this place is simply paradise! Sooo thanks Mike Shamus et al cheers mates! ;) :cool:

[Mike Field]

Originally posted by Wild Dingo:
. . .all the tourists stay over there . . .You see Greg? Even Shane thinks you should come to Melbourne....
.

[Greg H]

I planned as far a Canberra and left it open..
I'm goning to check on the plane fares arond (I've been driving, so far) and see how far I can get. Our Pres. has messed up the exchange rate at just the wrong time.
6 rounds...jeez :D I forgot your beer is twice as strong...
Melbourne is only 6hrs. or so from here though
Adalaide is a fair drive and a nice city.... Haven't been to Perth..yet!

I have to be in Sydney on the 13 march, I'm working on a plan :D
Mike are you going to Goolwa?

[ 02-22-2005, 05:35 PM: Message edited by: Greg H ]

[Wild Wassa]

The Boags was swapped for Crown.

Greg said, "Australia was totally different. There are no people around here ... and the sun is strong."

The Kangaroos had us sussed out when we went for a walk. A strong looking Eastern Grey stuck his chest out at us. Wild animals are bold around here.

If the wind is good tomorrow, we might Corsair Lake Burley Griffin. If it is really up, we might Hobbie it. A Hobbie hull climbs well into the wind and Canberra needs to be viewed from a good altitude. If we get on the water tomorrow we could drink James Squires beer. Today is almost windless.

Coming alongside this fountain can be interesting, when the wind is variable. The top of the 'Captain Cook Memorial'.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/p357ed84567b1aa8f9524bc70c321147f/f5075213.jpg

Warren.

[ 02-23-2005, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[PaulC]

Yes sir, it looks like Australia sprung a leak and now all of the water is falling off.

[John B]

Are you coming to Enzed while yer cruising around the Tasman /South pacific Greg?

[Mike Field]

.
'Sfunny. I'd posted a reply to Greg here, then Warren edited his post to add his photo of our leaking country, and then -- poof! Post vanished.

It's good you two guys have caught up, anyway.

Warren, if you want to show Greg Canberra from the heights, why not just take him up that flagpole? He's quite right about the lack of people in Canberra of course. There aren't any -- only bureaucrats. (Oh, apart from the firefighters, of course.) smile.gif

Greg, I'm no longer sure if I'll be going to Goolwa now or not -- the best-laid plans gang aft a'gley, regrettably. Jeff's definitely going across from here though; maybe Mic too (if Lyn'll give him leave again so soon after Hobart smile.gif ) and I know Chris'll be there as well.

It's on the 12th and 13th though (well, they roll out the first kegs on the Friday arvo, really,) so if you were thinking of going across and then getting back in Sinny by Sunday, you'll be moving.

I've started a new Goolwa thread (http://www.woodenboat-ubb.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001968) by the way, to which anyone who's thinking of going might like to add his name. Maybe those of us who get there can arrange our own private beanfest at some stage?
.

[Wild Wassa]

Cheers Mike, no people? :D . We could have the lake to ourselves tomorrow then ... nothing ever changes around here. We are sailing before the heat sends us troppo. Greg is finding the temperature a bit hot ... so am I. It is so hot I put six coats of poly on some WRC today in about an hour. I also mixed a bit of CPES but it evaporated before I had finished stirring part A into part B.

The Governor General has an officious looking jetty.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid159/p1618ab981d4562b82ff5a347cb009134/f5075210.jpg

Warren.

[ 02-24-2005, 03:50 AM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Wild Dingo]

aaahh that looks like the ideal place to take a US visitor tourist fella for a barbie and a few beers... after sailin of course! :cool:

yeah you can invite hisnibs the GG can if he shows up but he brings his own tucka and phiss!! tongue.gif

[Wild Wassa]

Each time Greg stood still today, unknown people would start a conversation with him.

We checked out the Southern Cross Yacht Club. Hired a plastic boat and made good way in a 1/2 knot torment. The wind was blowing vertically at times because of the heat. Then descending and radiating to all points when it hit the water, (when it eventually got up? ... or got down that is). We were sailing to all points within metres. We were free running when close and full and broad reeching while luffed up ... and we did one tack that was a perfect granny gibe. This all happened while we paddled. We made apparent wind when there was no wind. The wind was interesting and tricky.

In the afternoon the wind was awesome. We saw one NS14 de-vanged so we drank James Squires beer, traditional since 1790, in the afternoon. Greg said, "It is like an old American ale." Drink more old ale.

The performance wooden dinghies that we saw today were cool. We saw many Classes of wooden skiffs, as well as other skiffs like the 18 footers and cats, Hobbie 16's, Tornados and Taipans ... all on the beach.

I think Greg saw Lake Barely Sailable being barely sailable today. Thank the gods that we were in a compensating boat, paddling is very relaxing. We were in a boat, :rolleyes: , just. She was a National Champion once, in 2003 or 2002, a Corsair called 'Deliquesce'. But! as the guy who hired us the boat said, "every year these hire boats age 10 years." ... and she was. The boat had flutter, she galloped, shuddered but displayed no buffeting at all, :confused: . Who knows what would have happened if she had reached a heady 3kts. The CB was an unfoiled aluminium sheet. There was a hole in her bow that you could have hidden a Sabot dinghy ... and if it wasn't for gaffer tape keeping the water out, we could still be paddling. Greg took images.

Have a top Wedding tomorrow Mate ... and I hope it all goes spiffingly well.

Warren.

[ 02-27-2005, 08:39 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]

[Wild Wassa]

Greg told me that posting on the internet was difficult for him.

East Gippsland through Cann River will be Greg's route to Melbourne at this stage. Cape Conran and Lakes Entrance are nice diversions on the way, after the 'Bemm River Rainforest Site of National Significance'. A warm temperate rainforest, west of the township of Cann River, big trees are us down there. The Bemm is a good way out of town but on the hwy and well signposted.

Greg if you get to read this? I've pre-empted. The Coastal Mahogany has the long horizontal branches. It is the Southern Sassafras that has the very strong smell. It's the Lyrebirds that sound like the chainsaws. It can sound like you are surrounded by loggers down Croajingalong way if you walk in the rainforest scrub. The short bush that has hanging/weeping branches beside the tracks, especially hanging over the small animal trails, is Tick Bush. Toxic ticks wait on the end of each branch and the snakes are Tigers, Blacks, Browns and some Copperheads. It's the Tigers out sunning on the tops of the small bushes that you might see. I once read that 90% of Victoria's birds live on the Croajingalong/East Gippsland wilderness coast. Lyrebirds also imitate all birds. You can hear a flock of Little Terns when there aren't any, that's a Lyrebird, that might only be 10 metres away ... and in the next breath, they are imitating a starter motor on a broken down car.

Greg said, "Aussies drink a lot."

It has been a pleasure.

Warren.

[ 03-06-2005, 06:31 PM: Message edited by: Wild Wassa ]