How to avoid sleepless nights rolling at anchor.

September 12 - 2015

Our second anchorage on our current trip north to the Great Barrier Reef was at Double Island Point, a spot renowned for providing sleepless nights due to swell induced roll. While the point is reasonable high, the terrain behind it is much less so with the prevailing South Easterly winds flowing over it relatively unimpeded. Meanwhile the normal South East or Easterly swell swings around the point and enters the north west facing anchorage.

The prevailing South Easterly winds and swell twisting around Double Island Point made the anchorage the perfect place to test a different anchoring technique we had read of. Advice provided in pilot guides is to anchor close to the point itself which we did, but when we first dropped our 30kg (65lb) Sarca Ex-Cel we experienced the usual persistent roll from the swell rolling around the point. (Boat image not to scale)

In his highly respected pilot guide, "Cruising the Coral Coast", Alan Lucas describes the anchorage at Double Island Point as '…one of the most uncomfortable on the coast'. Despite this reputation, many, many cruisers to use it to await the right tide and suitable conditions to cross the nearby Wide Bay Bar for their passage through the Great Sandy Straight on the inside of Fraser Island. That was the situation we found ourselves in.

In our case conditions were relatively mild when arrived mid afternoon with under ten knots of South Easterly blowing. However there was still a persistent half metre or so swell rolling beam on into the anchorage. It was more than enough to guarantee an uncomfortable night. It was the perfect situation for us to try a different anchoring technique involving running an extended snubber line  that we had heard about. 

Even in near perfect weather, the swell at Double Island Point can roll your boat all day and night.

First we anchored normally in about 4 metres of water and set the anchor putting down our usual five times scope and reversed up to make sure the anchor was well set.  As soon as the boat hung to the wind we instantly began to roll. We had unlimited room around us so we dropped an extra ten metres of chain just to be sure.

Next, instead of running our snubber line over the anchor roller as per normal, we hooked a longer line into the anchor chain and ran it outside the safety lines and back to our genoa sheet winch at the cockpit. We then slowly let out additional anchor chain to effectively create a bridle. As we did this, the wind progressively blew the bow around towards the incoming swell. We stopped when we were facing directly into the swell and then rode gently over each wave with no roll. The snubber line and 30 metres of chain we'd originally put down ended up in a straight line to our well dug in anchor sitting almost ninety degrees to the boat. Through the afternoon we were easily able to fine tune the angle by easing or winching in the snubber line at the cockpit.

(Boat image not to scale)

Here Our Dreamtime faces directly into the incoming swell while the similar full keeled ketch in front hangs to the wind and rolls with every wave.

We ran our extended snubber around the staysail winch to clear the stanchion and toe rail then adjusted our angle to the swell by easing or bringing the line in on the genoa winch.

While the conditions were quite mild, we were very happy with the results we were able to achieve using this technique. In stark contrast to our comfortable ride, a very similar ketch to ours was anchored conventionally in front of us and continually rolled in the small swells. Its skipper had been below when we dropped anchor and didn't see our set up. It was amusing to watch him repeatedly come on deck, stare up at his swaying masts then look across to our boat rising and falling bow first gently over the waves. We could almost read his mind thinking, "I should have anchored over where they are."

A couple of times through the night the wind dropped out which did allow the bow to swing about a little giving us an occasional bit of roll but we never came around far enough to lay beam on. It was very nice to rise early the next morning well rested for our bar crossing on the last of the incoming tide.

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UPDATE

Since that first test, we have used the technique many times with great success in a range of locations. One trap is if the current reverses or the wind changes taking the bow through the wind. Then the bridle ends up under the boat with the stern to the swell instead of the bow. You still don’t roll but the bridle could rub some anti-foul off. With a fin keel boat, we would recommend taking your snubber line to a midships cleat rather than a cockpit winch. This keeps the whole lot in front of keel and all but eliminates any chance of your line reaching the prop should the wind or current change.

Increased windage laying beam to the wind obviously adds to the load on your anchor and deck hardware so we only do this when the wind isn’t expected to top 15 knots. We also use plenty of chain and make sure the anchor is well set. We have unexpectedly experienced gusts up around 20 knots without a problem but if the wind persists at that strength we release the snubber and let the boat swing instantly bows to. We’re then no worse off than if we anchored conventionally in the first place.

Despite these limitations, we have enjoyed many blissful hours of sleep we would not have got without this a very simple  anchoring method. Give it a try and snooze on.

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Thanks for catching our latest Blog, cheers R&K 

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A nice visit by the classic schooner South Passage and an awful job done.

September 1, 2015

It’s been a quiet time on Our Dreamtime over the last few days as we waited to get our leaking transmission out and away for repair.  After doing our research we opted not to attempt the job ourselves. The transmission is located in an extremely awkward position under the deck and removing it involves disconnecting the drive shaft, unbolting the engine and moving it forward, unbolting the trans from the engine and then trying to wrangle about 65 kilos of cast iron gearbox over the top of the motor, out of the engine room, up into the cockpit then off the boat and away.

The classic gaff rigged schooner South Passage was an impressive sight heading down river

Skills needed include extreme flexibility of limb, great strength and a methodical approach executed with calm and patience. In other words it was probably more than our otherwise rock solid 30 year marriage was likely to survive. The other risk was that if we tried to do it ourselves, there was every chance Rob would be arrested for excessive swearing and cursing long before the task was completed. As a result we arranged for Gary from Marine Torque here in the marina to perform the extraction at his earliest availability which was September 1.

Karen hard at work doing not much. Great book by the way.

In the meantime, books were read, blogs written and odd jobs completed around the boat. We also had a pleasant visit on the dock beside us by the training vessel South Passage making an overnight stop to exchange one crew of high school students for the next bunch of adventure seekers. South Passage is a 30 metre gaff rigged schooner that has provided an old school sailing experience to over 40,000 teenagers during her career. The only winch on board is the windlass.

On voyages, the students run the ship under the guidance of watch leaders and qualified crew. They are organised in three watches named Red, White and Blue usually with between 6 and 8 students in a watch. They will be rostered for periods of two to four hours and will be in charge of the ship. Each watch works as a team. They bunk together, eat together and run the ship together when they are on duty. Of course, there are times when it is all hands on deck with all watches involved.

South Passage provided a very picturesque foreground for our sundowner pics.

You put the kids on an old school boat but their technology comes with them

We really enjoyed chatting with her crew about the boat and their experiences with the kids. It was also great to witness the excitement of the twenty or so young guys and girls coming aboard for their four day passage via Fraser and Moreton Island down to Brisbane. It was a pleasure handling their lines and seeing them on their way the following morning. She provided an impressive sight making her way down river towards the sea.

Then it was onto the lovely job of removing the transmission from the boat. With Rob hovering as a trades assistant, Gary got to work unbolting engine mounts and other ancillary items to create an escape route for the trans. It was clearly quite a while since it had last been separated from the engine and fought back all the way but with the judicious use of a power impact wrench Gary had the upper hand in the slow and painstaking  battle.  With the engine slid forward to create  room,  the last of the bolts were ready to remove  after three hours work.

We normally consider Our Dreamtime's engine room as spacious but it was far from it when we had to remove the trans.

Hidden away under the deck it's not an easy thing to get at

That's it down there and it has to fit out between the bulkhead and back of the engine. Just a bit tight.

Now the fun began. Supporting the 65kg weight of the transmission, while turning it sideways in a space ill suited to the task was interesting enough, but getting it up and over the engine was the real challenge. After much wriggling, twisting, heaving, huffing and grunting in a number of unsuccessful attempts, Gary’s incredible calm was fractured for a moment as he suggested that “Those #@^&*s who build these boats should have to come and pull these *^%#&@ing things out themselves to see how hard it is. *^%#&@ing bastards.”

Fortunately his stoicism quickly returned and we found we could get the engine an inch or so further forward which made all the difference. A few minutes later the heavy lump was out of the engine room and resting on a thick rag on the salon floor. We were then presented with the next challenge. On a Whitby, it’s over 1.6 metres or almost 5 ½ feet from the deck straight up and out into the cockpit. When you’re talking about 65kg (140lb) that’s a serious lift.

It's a serious lift up and out to the cockpit

We stood staring at the task ahead in silence for a moment before Rob came up with a solution. We were able to hang a block off the boom, secure a line down onto the transmission which we ran back to the sheet winch. It was then just a matter of Gary guiding it up and through the companion way while Rob winched it up. The last challenge was passing it off the boat to the dock without dropping the damned thing in the water.

Out of the boat and ready to go away for reconditioning.

The offending front seal that leaked away all our trans fluid.

The good news is there was no splash and the transmission is now on its way to Brisbane for complete overhaul. It should return in a week to ten days for re-installation then we can resume our odyssey north to the Great Barrier Reef.

In the meantime we’ll just have to kick back and enjoy ourselves here. Sundowners anyone?

 

Good night from the Port of Bundaberg Marina!

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A bit of biking around while we’re land locked.

August 27, 2015

The last few days have been spent trying to organise what needs to be done to get Our Dreamtime back underway again so we can resume our passage north to the tropics. Gary, the local marine engineer, was on board again today and we have now confirmed the front seal inside the transmission is totally kaput. The transmission will need to be removed from the boat to be fixed. We could have gone with just replacing the seal but, as it’s such a mammoth task to get the trans out of the boat, we’ve elected to have it shipped to Brisbane for complete reconditioning and returned for re-fitting. (See our previous blog for the full story) It looks like we will be residents here in the Port of Bundaberg Marina for another three or four weeks. Such is life.

We're glad we didn't meet this guy in the narrow channel

 We are both determined not to get down about this unexpected hurdle so we will be making the most of our time here. Today we broke out our folding bikes for the first time to do a little exploring of the local area which is very picturesque.

Now it has to be said that, other than very short road tests on each of our bikes when we acquired them not long before departing, neither of us have ridden a bicycle since a day pedalling around the Dubbo Zoo with our kids back in 1989. To describe us as being rusty would be a very large understatement. Regardless, we pedalled off to the nearby small township of Burnett Heads and discovered a very nice bike path that lead down to the beach and along the coastline.

This historic lighthouse in Burnett Heads was our first stop

Within twenty minutes of wobbling away from the marina we were enjoying the very beautiful scenery and gaining confidence on our bikes by the second. We were having such a good time we just kept going with regular brief stops to admire a particular vista and or take a photo.

The bikeway runs right along the waters edge in most places

 

Photo stops were frequent.

Looking back towards Burnett Heads - Did we really ride that far already?

 

We eventually came to the world renowned sea turtle nursery of Mon Repos Beach.  When you stand down on the sand all signs of civilisation are obscured by the low, shrub covered dunes.

Standing on the Mon Repos Beach you could easily believe you were miles from civilisation

Rob getting his feet wet on Mon Repos

We really enjoyed the National Parks and Wildlife Service information centre at the beach. Mon Repos hosts the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland and supports the most significant nesting population of the endangered loggerhead turtle in the South Pacific Ocean. Successful breeding here is critical if the loggerhead species is to survive. In far smaller numbers the Flatback and Green turtles and, intermittently, the Leatherback turtle also nest along the Bundaberg coast. From November to March each year, two to three hundred adult turtles come ashore to lay eggs on Mon Repos beach. About eight weeks later young turtles emerge from the eggs and begin their journey to the sea. Loggerhead turtles generally don’t breed until the age of 30 but management practices since 1968 are helping these endangered species live a longer life so they can keep laying until they are around 60 years.

We really enjoyed our time in the Mon Repos Turtle Information Centre

 

The only problem with spending half an hour or so in the information centre was our non-bicycle accustomed limbs and butts were starting to complain and we still had to saddle up and ride the near ten kilometres back to the marina. The old saying that once you learn to ride a bicycle you never forget may be true, but your bum and thighs seem to forget how to handle it. Just to add insult to injury, the northerly wind had picked up and we had to pedal straight into it without the option of bearing off for a better angle and tacking back.

The near 10ks back against the wind had us questioning the wisdom of such a long first ride.

After numerous rest stops along the way, we finally reached Burnett Heads and stopped at a small café to refuel with excellent beef and bacon sandwiches and healthy smoothies. We were the only patrons who chose to sit at an inside table despite the glorious weather simply because it was the only one with cushions on the seats. Our butts would not have survived otherwise.

Much needed human fuel

Renourished but not necessarily refreshed, we remounted and struggled back to the marina.  We may be a little less ambitious on our next two wheeled outing. Near enough to 20 kilometres on our first foray may have been overdoing it.

.

The marina at top left and Mon Repos Beach lower right almost 10ks away

Sundowner drinks have never tasted so good, with plenty of cushions in the cockpit for our weary legs and bruised butts of course.

Good night from the Port of Bundaberg Marina!
!

 

To stay right up to date with what we’re up to  and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail on Facebook

 

If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.  We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.