Hit the Ground Running - Mandurah

We began chores as soon as we were tied up at the end of the T-dock in Mandurah. I had a load of laundry in the club washing machine and an order placed with Cole's Supermarket for next day delivery while David gave Nine of Cups a good wash-down and fresh water rinse within hours of arrival … all AFTER a hot shower for the crew and a quick tour of the facilities. We were in touch with the sailmaker for the yankee clew repair and they picked up the sail immediately. We walked over to the chandlery late in the afternoon to see what was available. We reviewed our long to-do list before settling down for dinner, a glass of wine (or two) and a movie.The night was calm and quiet and it felt good to relax with Cups all secure.

Since a very wet and windy nor'wester was forecast for the area mid-week, we wanted to make hay while the sun was shining. We hit the ground running the next morning. I had laundry hanging on the line early to dry and began polishing stainless … my very favorite chore.

We launched the dinghy so David could start waxing the topsides and shear stripe. Cups was beginning to perk up and look beautiful again once the three month layer of salt and dirt were washed away.

Between projects, the groceries were delivered and I got everything down below and stowed. David repaired the leaking deck prism and prepped it for rebedding. A club member, Cliff, stopped by to say hello and kindly offered any help we might need. He provided the name of his local dentist (Chris is also a club member … how lucky is that). I called and made appointments immediately for our 6-month cleaning. Another item to check off the list.

David installed the replacement Raymarine GPS AND it worked right out of the box. The new Navionics Gold chartplotter card for Africa works, too. Things aren't always quite that easy. We thank our lucky stars when they are.

We quit working when the sun went down, exhausted, but pleased with our day's efforts. After dark and before dinner (or wine), I did a stores inventory to begin working up our provisioning order. David has improved our provisioning worksheet and made it iPad compatible … more on that later. David started making a list of supplies and parts we need here that he hadn't yet ordered. The horseshoe life buoy needs replacing as does an anode. The main halyard is worn and a jib sheet needs replacing, as well as the downhaul, uphaul, foreguy and topping lift for the whisker pole … and a third reef pennant. Cha-ching! What was the definition of cruising again?

All Tied Up in Mandurah

We gave the folks at Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club a call to let them know we were on our way in. Our night on the courtesy mooring at Doddies Beach was a bit bumpy when the wind and swell piped up and we were awake early. We had to wait for the rising tide to make sure we had enough water to get through the skinny parts of the channel and into the marina. As it turned out, we had nothing to worry about. We saw nothing less than 3.3m/11' beneath the keel on the way in. Greg came out to meet us in the club tender and directed us to our berth. Tim, the GM of the club facility, was on the dock waiting to catch our lines and invited us to the office whenever we were ready for a tour. Our first impression was “Wow, what an hospitable club.”  

We'd been in touch with Tim since Albany. He'd asked us to stop by and give a talk to the club members and, quite honestly, we're pretty chuffed that he did. We love being able to share cruising stories, bits of information and answer questions, especially with folks who are so enthusiastic and interested. We'll report back how it goes.

It didn't take us long to get tied up and settled in.

Even a welcome swallow, balanced on a dock line, gave us a tweet “hello”.

The club is pretty posh. The clubhouse facilities are very large, beautiful and well-kept with a classy, spacious bar, restaurant/cafe, meeting rooms, showers (HOT and clean), a washer and dryer. Tim showed us around and pointed out the chandlery and haul-out facility just across the way. We have electric and water on the dock immediately beside the boat … that translates to using computers to our heart's content and being able to wash all the built-up salt off Cups. We left Crown Marina about three months ago, so this is a real treat for us.

Tim had been kind enough to let us use the club address to have some parts ordered and sent in advance. Little did he know he'd be getting 7-8 packages, but he had them all stacked up and ready for us. It's always a little like Christmas when we get packages in the mail … albeit, they're all boat parts. An aluminum daytank replacement, a Navionics chart card for Africa, a replacement Raymarine GPS and various other bits and pieces.

We need to hit the ground running with chores and repairs. We're only here a couple of weeks and then we need to be on the move again to keep with our early July departure schedule.

Heading North to Mandurah

We're heading north today to Mandurah, Western Australia's second largest city, and home of the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club. When we met our cruising buddies in Streaky Bay, oh so long ago, they highly recommended Mandurah as a great place to stop. Before heading off across the Indian Ocean, we thought we'd treat ourselves to some time in a marina. Shore power, hot showers, no beaching the dinghy to get ashore, groceries delivered … it's quite the luxurious vacation we have planned.

We were up at 0530 in anticipation of getting an early start. Light winds were predicted and we figured we were going to have to motor-sail most of the way. We were correct. We sailed for a total of 2-3 hours and when the wind dipped to less than 6 knots, we gave up and turned on the iron jenny. So what if diesel is nearly $7/gallon. What? Where are the oars?

The day was another of the uneventful sort we described earlier this week. I guess I shouldn't be complaining. Eventful many times equates to adrenaline-rush which means something broke or went wrong. We did hear the alternator belt squeal once which means it's on the checklist for Mandurah. This is more like a typical day on Nine of Cups when we're in dayhopping mode. We're up early, the day is pretty uneventful, we anchor or pick up a mooring at the end of the day's passage and that's it. Dinner, maybe a movie and then move-on. We're always tired despite the fact we have an auto-pilot and today we didn't even have to manhandle the sails very much. Days like this are spent in the cockpit together, chatting, making lists, discussing possible alternatives (like alternate days of work and fun). The to-do list is long, however, since this is our big prep for our Indian Ocean crossing in July.

We were able pick up a courtesy mooring off Doddies Beach, only a few hundred meters/yards from the channel entrance to the marina. Because no one was watching, we did an excellent job picking up the mooring on the first pass and we were swinging in the breeze within about 5 minutes of arrival. Once we get into the marina, we'll be in high-energy mode. It seems we have so much to do in a short period of time … isn't that always the way?

It was pretty gray and overcast when we arrived and the day was so uneventful. No birds, no dolphins, no great sunrises or sunsets … no photos. Well, how boring is that? Here's some stuff we might have seen along the way …. but didn't.

The entrance to the marina has silted a bit and needs constant dredging, we're told, requiring Nine of Cups to enter on a rising, nearly high tide. We'll head in mid-morning tomorrow. The local club has asked us to speak to their members. We hope they're not disappointed when they find out we're not famous or anything … just crusty old sailors with lots of photos (but not many today).