Antipodean Boats Connection

[Phil Y]

Do not want. Bloody apostrophe ban got me again.


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[RFNK]

Very, very sorry to hear your news of Simon's wife Duncan! Please pass on our condolences to Simon and family.

Rick

[brucemoffatt]

I don’t suppose anyone here has a copy of the Bill Belcher wind-vane self-steering book I could buy or borrow???


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[brucemoffatt]

Hey there JB! I'm okay! Still not here on the forum much, as I've really been concentrating on my business, as well as a bit of a last ditch effort to prevent some dissembling and idiotic vandals knocking down a rather nice mid-century modernist building in Armidale; Robb College. The NSW Heritage Council recommended it be listed on the State Heritage Register (I note that a similar era and design, St Catherine's in Oxford has grade 1 listing) but various politicians have sat on their arses and not done their job. It seems a lost cause, but it ain't over until we win, or the buildings are gone.

Anyway... Busy! Very busy. Leg, back and ribs healing but the pain, swelling and bruising still hanging around, but not as bad. Better every day I yam!

On another very sad note some of you will know Simon Hill from various interactions over the years. Tom and I, and Peter in particular are good friends of Simon. He rang me just before with the news that his wife and mother to his two beautiful smart daughters passed away on Wednesday after a two year battle with breast cancer. She was younger than I.

It's fecking awful news, and I'm quite upset, as Becky was such a live wire. If I didn't get Simon on the phone she and I would easily yack on for an hour before she'd hand the phone over. Such an unfair loss! I'm attending a wake on the 25th.

Wish I could drop in here with happier news.

Very sorry to hear about Becky.


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[PeterSibley]

Gawd ! That's bad new Dunc !

[Duncan Gibbs]

It's pretty sh!tty ain't it. Simon still has a strong sense of humour, but I think it's a shield for him right now so he can get through the next few weeks.

I intend to make sure he isn't alone.

[PeterSibley]

Good on you Dunc .

[skuthorp]

It's raining. For the first time in around 15 or so years I'm sitting in the family room not waiting for the rain to start dripping in on me. We are somewhere in the middle of this:

Attachment 12667

Send a bit of that our way Bruce, over 50 days and the garden is struggling. We'll lose some more of our big trees because of this.

Sorry to hear the news about Simon's wife Duncan.

[brucemoffatt]

Send a bit of that our way Bruce, over 50 days and the garden is struggling. We'll lose some more of our big trees because of this.

Sorry to hear the news about Simon's wife Duncan.

No, not the big trees. The whole countryside looked so much greener than here. Fingers crossed you get a change mate. It's coming through here so I'm hoping you get some of it.


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[WX]

It's pretty sh!tty ain't it. Simon still has a strong sense of humour, but I think it's a shield for him right now so he can get through the next few weeks.

I intend to make sure he isn't alone.

Tom told me yesterday. Very sad.

[Snow Pea]

I don’t suppose anyone here has a copy of the Bill Belcher wind-vane self-steering book I could buy or borrow???


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I've got a copy. A mate built his servo pendulum vane from it and it worked like a charm. I have a PDF of the important parts somewhere...

[brucemoffatt]

I've got a copy. A mate built his servo pendulum vane from it and it worked like a charm. I have a PDF of the important parts somewhere...

I'd really like to borrow the important parts if you can find them


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[maxwaterline]

Sorry about your news Duncan

[Chris.]

If you get over the southern side of the viaduct , Chris , you can see all the Tino rawa trust boats plus Arcturus. Then over in the Silo park are the Classic yacht trust boats plus privateers. Big Thelma and Prize , Moana. Maritime museum , Waitangi and Breeze. plus the balance of the Classic trust boats . Gloriana and Frances.

I had a long look at the Trust boats on wednesday afternoon, and theyre a credit to the organisation. Even looking around the other side of the viaduct there are some glorious examples of older boats.
I'm not sure if it was the rosy glow of an afternoon skiving off work to play boats, but Auckland marinas seem to have a lot more classic boats than any marinas in Sydney.
I'd was told about Silo park by one of the people at the Trust boats and planned a visit early on FRiday but a customer breakfast got in the way... all work and no play.....
I was invited by the client to stay for the weekend and watch the VOR start from the water but unfortunately i have to be few thousand km away on Monday evening and i had to decline.

[Snow Pea]

I'd really like to borrow the important parts if you can find them


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PM me a email address and I'll forward it to you. I seem to be getting your PM's but not sure my replies are getting through.

By the way on the auckland viaduct visit , make sure you check out 'Ngataki' if you can, by far my favorite of the traditional boats they have restored.

[skuthorp]

Big blow through here this morning. Gusts to 38kts. No sailing. Only a shower though.
Back Terang way a bushfire has raced through several properties and cause a couple of small towns to be evacuated.

[PeterSibley]

Your bushfires look BAD on TV Jeff.... terrifying .

[Phil Y]

My number 3 son and 2 mates have gone off driving and camping. Across the bottom then up the East Coast and back down the centre is the plan. Saturday night we had a call around midnight to tell us they'd had to pack up camp tout suite and make a run for it. They were camped in a National Park, south East of the Garmpians, storm came through, trees down everywhere and then some fires started by lightning. One quite close to them. The video they posted on Instagram is quite horrifying, tearing along a bush track, thick scrub either side, trees across the track blocking their way. No fire right there, they got away from it, but in those conditions fire can move fast. I think they were very lucky. They made it through to Port Fairy.

[skuthorp]

Friends son lost house,car, boat at Tathra. I doubt he was insured.

[RFNK]

Sorry to hear that Jeff! Apparently there were about 70 homes lost down there.

Rick

[RFNK]

Did our Kiwis watch the Volvos head out of Auckland?

Rick

[Neil C]

Yes, plenty of boats on the harbor to watch the start , good coverage on the Volvo site , the tracker currently shows them just off East Cape, with 20kts on the nose , VMG's 9-10kts

[WX]

My number 3 son and 2 mates have gone off driving and camping. Across the bottom then up the East Coast and back down the centre is the plan. Saturday night we had a call around midnight to tell us they'd had to pack up camp tout suite and make a run for it. They were camped in a National Park, south East of the Garmpians, storm came through, trees down everywhere and then some fires started by lightning. One quite close to them. The video they posted on Instagram is quite horrifying, tearing along a bush track, thick scrub either side, trees across the track blocking their way. No fire right there, they got away from it, but in those conditions fire can move fast. I think they were very lucky. They made it through to Port Fairy.

Reminds me of this.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4-y6ewOoI

[skuthorp]

In my late teens I set off for Darwin in a VW beetle stripped to just the drivers seat. Pull out canopy and jerry cans on top, bed where the passenger seat was, kitchen in the front, the well behind the driver was luggage space. Floods on the black soil plains saw a rerouting and I ended up in Kalgoorlie, and then Perth. Some detour, still haven't made Darwin though I got to Alice.

[brucemoffatt]

I've been overwhelmed by all the work we have here at home at the moment, but today is a bit of a turning point. We had a skip delivered to recycle old roofing material. It is now filled with steel roofing and waiting to be changed over so it can be refilled with the remaining steel and the first of several loads of aluminium. When that's all done it will look like we are in control of the work, and my broken brain will let me move forward again. It's sometimes hard being me.


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[Phil Y]

In my late teens I set off for Darwin in a VW beetle stripped to just the drivers seat. Pull out canopy and jerry cans on top, bed where the passenger seat was, kitchen in the front, the well behind the driver was luggage space. Floods on the black soil plains saw a rerouting and I ended up in Kalgoorlie, and then Perth. Some detour, still haven't made Darwin though I got to Alice.

Very cool. My parents had beetles when we were young. We must have had friends in Broken Hill as I remember several drives there from Adelaide. One of us would usually curl up in that space behind the back seat for a sleep on the way. Still mostly dirt road back then.

[Phil Y]

I've been overwhelmed by all the work we have here at home at the moment, but today is a bit of a turning point. We had a skip delivered to recycle old roofing material. It is now filled with steel roofing and waiting to be changed over so it can be refilled with the remaining steel and the first of several loads of aluminium. When that's all done it will look like we are in control of the work, and my broken brain will let me move forward again. It's sometimes hard being me.


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And meanwhile, my roofing material arrived today. Now just have to spread it evenly over the frame. To be honest I'm with you on the overwhelmed bit. My plan is to get the roof on and watertight and go chill out for a couple of days on the boat. I find that I don't do well with stress these days. Brain ceases to function and can't make a decision about pretty much anything.

[RFNK]

Very cool. My parents had beetles when we were young. We must have had friends in Broken Hill as I remember several drives there from Adelaide. One of us would usually curl up in that space behind the back seat for a sleep on the way. Still mostly dirt road back then.

We didn't have beetles when we were kids but we did have worms.

Rick

[Phil Y]

There are pills for that.

[skuthorp]

A queenslander and I drove that bug from Perth to Sydney to play RL. Got eliminated in the first game after the round robin and then drove back. One asleep the other driving. I still do not know how we survived that trip, the bug didn't miss a beat, not even a puncture.

[Phil Y]

We got a stone through the petrol tank once. Nothing a bar of soap wouldn't fix as I recall.

[The Bigfella]

A queenslander and I drove that bug from Perth to Sydney to play RL. Got eliminated in the first game after the round robin and then drove back. One asleep the other driving. I still do not know how we survived that trip, the bug didn't miss a beat, not even a puncture.

I guess there wasn't a lot of traffic to overtake in those days. I recall the procedure for overtaking semis in my '58 36hp Beetle. Look for a section of road approaching a kilometre long... and wind it up as hard as you could. Had a few interesting moments. Got it up to what we believe was 88 mph onto the Hawkesbury River bridge. Speedo needle was around to the high beam light. Vertical - and IIRC, supposed top speed (68 mph) was around the 4pm area on the dial. I've got one in the basement... must take a look.

Longest trip I ever did in that one was a 720 mile round trip to Coffs and back... in the bad old Pacific Highway days.

I've owned a Beetle for near on half my life. Two now.

[RFNK]

There are pills for that.

Not then. Just disgusting medicine.

Rick

[skuthorp]

I don't remember a lot of truck traffic except on the then dirt Nullabor road section. Up through Hay and Parkes, diagonally across NSW coming in through Lithgow I think(?). It was a bit of a blur back then - 1966 - too. Trucks were smaller and slower I think.

[WX]

I guess there wasn't a lot of traffic to overtake in those days. I recall the procedure for overtaking semis in my '58 36hp Beetle. Look for a section of road approaching a kilometre long... and wind it up as hard as you could. Had a few interesting moments. Got it up to what we believe was 88 mph onto the Hawkesbury River bridge. Speedo needle was around to the high beam light. Vertical - and IIRC, supposed top speed (68 mph) was around the 4pm area on the dial. I've got one in the basement... must take a look.

Longest trip I ever did in that one was a 720 mile round trip to Coffs and back... in the bad old Pacific Highway days.

I've owned a Beetle for near on half my life. Two now.

I drove a Morris 1000 van across the Nullarbor 4 times back in 75-76.