Prowling The Pittwater
December 25th 2006 19:06
The Hawkesbury
Prowling the Pittwater
I had the use of a Cavalier 39.9 for two days and two nights on The Pittwater. Along with three sailing students who were doing their Yachting Australia Inshore Skipper course. We took over the boat on a Friday night from Club Sail, a yacht charter company situated at Newport and headed off for a weekend of fun.
I sat the students down for a familiarisation of the vessel (which was new to me too,) and a safety check, then a briefing on night navigation and pilotage. We were to do about four hours of night exercises the first night and a further eight the following night. Night sailing these days is actually part of the course. More and more skippers are introduced to this side of sailing early on in their careers. It is a completely different way of looking at the sea. The shapes and marks you see during the day are mainly identified as lights at night. It is big trust you put in your own ability to be able to navigate across a body of water using nothing but some coloured lights put up for your benefit by the authorities.
The first night we put in to Coaster’s Retreat and hung off a convenient mooring. A supper of pumpkin soup with garlic bread was followed by a few convivial wines and a quiet nights sleep on the mooring.
We were guaranteed pretty good winds around twenty five knots and the Cavalier handled this with a full main and headsail without any bad habits. A nice sized wheel to steer her by which gives the helmsman also the opportunity to help the crew with sheeting home the sails, makes her an easy shorthanded sailing boat.
We sailed around the major parts of The Pittwater in the morning and then took to the Hawkesbury river in the after noon to avoid the racing yachts. The Hawkesbury is a big expanse of navigable water and has very interesting fauna and dramatic sandstone bluffs and cliff faces. We sailed a course that we would copy at night just to be able to make out the difference. Mooring in Refuge Bay for dinner and a well earned break and nap.
That evening we took her out under motor alone, the wind having died off to a zephyr. Chugging along at about three knots the students took on the task of blind pilotage. This is where the navigator sits down below with the chart and calls up directions of where to go to the crew. Also the navigator asks for compass bearings of objects the crew should be able to identify. To sail like this for about two hours at a time is quite a unique and trying experience. We made it back to our mooring and few nightcaps without incidence.
Except for a “man overboard” drill the students had the boat to themselves on Sunday, making their own decisions on where to go and where to stop for lunch. What sail combinations to use and setting the watches. The yacht handled perfectly and everyone agreed that it was a great boat in every respect. Cavaliers are built in Australia and based on a modern shape and design that is often hard to discern one make from another. The finish is first class and the price is quite reasonable compared to her sisters from overseas.
All in all a great yacht and a great weekend with all three students applying themselves to attain their goal of becoming inshore skippers.
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