Shell Harbour to Hobart December 2025...

 

James has a month off work and decided to cruise Tasmania. Being a bit cautious, He invited me to join him particularly for the Bass Strait crossing but also to be able to call on my knowledge of the east coast of Tassie. We arrived at Shell Harbour on 27th Dec and with the last of a southerly still blowing thought the next day would be a good departure. However.... on going through the boat I discovered some resistance in the steering which on investigation turned out to be the cable and the conduit in this Edson steering system had degraded to such an extent that the cable was about 50% original diameter and the inner sheaf of the conduit had warn out completely. With a huge effort on James's part including training it back to Sydney to purchase a new cable and myself contorting my body to get into the steering section of the engine room dismantling and reassembling the whole system eventually at 2330 "job complete". The weather was perfect for the run down to Bermagui so at midnight, off we set. In amongst all that, I had a xmas call from Crewman Clarke and soon he was on a bus to join us. It was lovely to see him and sail together again and the three of us made a great crew. After two nights in Bermi (including NYE with my daughter and family) the weather started to go east and again we set sail. A perfect crossing with enough breeze to mostly sail assist the motor. down to Mariah Is then an early start to catch the 0830 tide through the Marian Narrows. Started to notice less push from the motor and went through all normal checks but nothing stood out. With James using AI, one suggestion was a failing Turbo and sure enough that was the culprit. Unfortunately this breakdown caused a change to the family part of the Tassie adventure but Astros is up and running beautifully once more and Murray and I will head to Hobart to pick her up early February. Ps special mention about the fender / barge board although not used, was shaped and constructed by James.

Bundaberg to Sydney October 2025...

After spending time during the last couple of months around the beautiful waters, islands and reefs of the Whitsundays and GBR, it was time for the delivery crew to return Astros to home base Sydney. Murray and I arrived in Bundaberg to near perfect conditions so checked over the boat, provisioned and set off for the overnight passage to Great Sandy Straits. A great run meant we arrived at the midway point just before full tide so had about 1.5kts of current assisting us the whole way. We arrived at Wide Bay Bar just after full tide but the benign conditions meant it was quite safe to continue on. Once out, again more tide assist meant we had 2-3 kts assisting us continually. All in all a great run south with favourable winds and current and again I thank Murray for his co skippering.

Sydney to Rosslyn Bay Marina August 2025...

      

James booked us to deliver Astros to Yeppoon then back to Sydney from Airlie about a year ago, making sure he got in early. Great planning, well done. A couple of small upgrades and new sails meant Astros was in top condition and again James gave a great hand over explaining the nuances of his pride and joy.

We had perfect weather all but a couple of hours of light rain and 0% upwind sailing. Great conditions to sail a fair bit of the way with often the motor ticking over to add a knot or two particularly against the constant current. overall consumption worked out at 2.6lt per hour, very frugal.

Thanks to Murray for a wonderful easy delivery together.

Coffs to Sydney December 2022...

Again with work constraints, James was unable to complete the final leg of the return voyage of Astros back to Sydney and again I was fortunate that Phil was available and keen to join me for the trip. A quick 36 hours with favourable wind and current although a little lumpy for the first 12 hours as the sea sorted itself out from the southerly which had blown for the previous few days.

Thank you to James for inviting us onboard again and to Phil for his expert assistance.

Coffs to Bundaberg July 2022...

James had a plan to take 3 months off work and go cruising with his young family, then ......Covid put an abrupt end to that dream. Two years later he with the help of some mates, sailed Astros from Sydney to Coffs but the weather got the better of them and he had to return to work. Contacting me at short notice but available, I prepared and asked local crewman Phil  (thank you)to join me on the trip north.

A truely wonderful yacht with great systems all working well... except for the gas regulator which intermittently shut down the gas. However that was a small issue in the scheme of things and we had alternate 240 from the genes to cook if necessary.

Having not heard from James for a while, I gather he and family are soaking up the beauty of the Whitsundays and fulfilling their dream of family cruising even if for a shorter timeframe.