This week we have a tale of havoc and recovery to share with you. Strap yourselves in, it’s a rough ride!
We had it all last Friday in the space of a few minutes: the good, the bad and the ugly. Things could only improve from there!
The good was a beautiful sail with the wind on our beam from Moon Point on K’gari to Burnett Heads, under mainsail and screecher, averaging a cruisy 8 knots speed. We had parcels to pick up at the Post Office, a telehealth appointment early in the week for Wade, so we thought we’d go and anchor in the Burnett River and welcome our buddies Graham & Helene on Roo Bin Esque when they arrived. It was all going swimmingly. That is until the wind went from a leisurely 14 knots apparent to 36 knots apparent (over 50 true wind) in a few seconds with a short and sharp squall. We did not see it coming and things turned to bad: blowing like crazy, raining, way too much sail up… It was all hands on deck to get the screecher down! Of course nothing works when you desperately need it to. We had the screecher partly furled when suddenly it got ugly: the aluminium prodder pole on which the screecher furler attaches failed under the extreme pressure. It jumped up vertically, its end just crumpled and bent and the endless loop furling line snapped at the splice point, letting the screecher all out again!
So now the boat is swooshing downwind, wanting to round up, the screecher is out of control and needs to come down before it ends up in the water and gets destroyed. At that point Chris let Anui round into wind. At least this way the boat was stalled and not going anywhere, although it felt like we were riding a bronco, the wind was taken out of the screecher and we could get organized. Wade managed to drop the sail, gather it on deck, we got some ropes to tie it down as best we could, neither of us nor the sail ended up in the drink and then it all calmed down as if nothing had ever happened. We were back to sunny, gentle conditions!
With the mess on deck, the adrenalin still pumping, we turned the engines on, dropped the mainsail into its boom bag, and limped back the rest of the way, wondering what the f%$k had just happened! The violence and speed of it all was astounding.
We were both subdued during the hour of motoring to port, thinking: “how are we going to get that repaired?”, “how did we not see it coming?”, “bad things seem to happen at Burnett Heads”, “so much for the Coral Sea Expedition!”, “what about Roobi struggling to come south to meet us”, “how many catastrophes can we cope with this year?”, “how much is that going to cost us?”…and the like!
But somebody was looking out for us because despite the calamity, we got lucky. We got a spot at the marina that afternoon for as long as we needed, got into our nice big pen without drama, talked to our rigger Scott Keogh and sent him some photos of our new look prodder. He drove from Brisbane to Burnett Heads the next day (a four-hour Saturday drive each way for him and his wife Lisa), picked up the prodder, worked out what needed to be done to fix it and he is delivering and reinstalling his good work this coming Saturday! Fantastic service by any standard. We are so grateful SK Yacht Rigging have come to the rescue. Instant response, immediate action and a repair we can trust. Scott has done quite a lot on Anui: a new A frame and new tangs up the mast five years ago, regular rigging reports, entirely new rigging last year and now the prodder! He knows his stuff and we trust him implicitly.
During the next few days we took care of other minor damage we did. We bundled the screecher into a trolley and spread it out on a huge patch of grass at the marina, found a small tear where it caught under a sharp bit of the bow seat, patched it then rolled the sail neatly and got it back on deck. We have reseated the bow seat which had been partly pulled off the deck under pressure, replaced a broken navigation light that got smashed when the prodder jumped up against the A frame, and Scott rejoined the endless loop furling line. We are under control again!
Here is what the marina looks like from the air. Can you spot the blue boat?
The rest of the week went well thankfully. We picked up our parcels: a portable drive full of movies courtesy of our friend Trevor, two new batteries for the drone as the old ones were looking swollen, Wade’s medical results were excellent, and our friends on Roo Bin Esque made it to Burnett Heads on Tuesday. Both catamarans are refueled and re-provisioned. Roobi is anchored in the river. Anui is staying at the Bundaberg Port Marina till the weekend when Scott is bringing the prodder back and reinstalling it.
We thank our lucky stars that the mayhem happened when and where it did and that we were able to get it all sorted quickly. All is well that ends well. Now we hope for the weather for our big Coral Sea adventure – we might be able to leave on Sunday!
Sv-Anui 
Wow, that wind was like a miniature windstorm! I’m sorry this happened to you guys but you recovered so well. The welding on the prodder looks perfect. Happier days ahead, guys! 👍🏻😎🇦🇺
Hi John, yes a bit like a tornado! But all sorted now!
You wouldn’t want to be under sail in the windstorms we have in the Mojave Desert, the wind can gust to 60-70 miles per hour! That might do a lot more damage.
Situation normal again with life on board Anui. Ups and downs but always recovering with good things to come. Enjoy the next adventure.
Yes, it was a bit scary but all sorted and leaving for the Coral Sea Sunday!
Oh My! And we thought we had issues getting caught in 36 knots the other day (when we also dropped sails and motored to our destination). ‘Very glad that you are all ok! I hope Bengie isn’t too shaken. xx Trish
Ah Bengie was totally oblivious, hidden under the quilt on our bed!
Smart Girl!
[image: image.png] June 6, 2024
Wade and Chris – may we publish your blog on our web resource to the boating public along the east coast of the USA ? Your cruising experiences have so much value to others and we are seeing a rash of new boaters who know little to nothing about real boating; the enjoyment for sure, but the details and non-romantic parts are missing. Due credit will be given and links to your blog which hopefully will result in more subscribers.
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Cruisers Net – “Cruisers Helping Cruisers”Cell: 336-263-3016
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Screechers, they are bliss until they are not!
We so feel your pain! Big sail issues are so scary, and you really need a cool head to sort them out. At least it didn’t happen at night! I quite often thought about continuous furling line failure and what I would do. Very hard with only two onboard.
Dee is sitting here with tingles just thinking about it. Brings back bad memories of dropping an out of control wineglassing screecher in Indonesia. Very similar super windy chaos then nothing… Motoring back to port counting our blessings everyone was ok.
love to both of you!
The Littles
Hi Tam and Dee, so good to get your message. We still wonder how we did not see it coming. It was so quick and violent! But we got off relatively lightly. We have always been careful with the screecher, furling it as soon as the apparent wind reaches 17. But failed this time! We will be gun shy when we fly it next!
And now we are doing the last bits of preparation to head off to Wreck, Kenn and Saumarez for the real adventure! Hugs to all!
Crikey! What a situation to find yourselves in! Glad that all ended safely and that service you are receiving to fix the prodder is so amazing. Best wishes for your ventures out to the Coral Sea!
Hi Jan, we have done ok in a situation that could have been so much worse. Looking forward to finally getting away.
What a drama! I think you must have had your share of bad luck for now. All the best for your Coral Sea adventure, stay safe. ⛵💖
Thanks Maree, let’s hope we are through with the calamities!
Sounds like one of those nightmare experiences, but you recovered the situation as you always do! So good to see you out there and adventuring again. We are having a few months break attending to home based activities after our 4 month cruise to SA. Planning to head north later in July. Best wishes,Chris & SuzanneDiscovery II
Thanks guys, hope to see you somewhere north. Will have to chat to you about SA… on the target list after our summer lap of Tassie!
Stay well.
Now there’s a bit of excitement you didn’t need! Got my adrenalin pumping just reading your story! Have you worked out what it was? A little storm cell out of nowhere? Good recovery guys and great neither of you went overboard. Do you ever wear a tether in heavy weather?
Hi Elgar, not sure what it was, and it was so sudden neither of us had a life jacket and tether on! In heavy weather we would not go out on deck without and have jack lines to clip on to, although it’s pretty awkward to work with. It was all incredibly quick and furious! Lesson learnt: life jackets in the cockpit at least for the coming big passage!
Probably a micro downburst or gust front from a convective storm which can happen up to 10km from the storm in clear air. I encountered these in Singapore multiple times. The response Is counterintuitive. You bear away down wind and pull the sails in. The screecher/spinnaker is sheltered by the mainsail.
Phil
Ah, thank you Phil. Your meteorologist’s knowledge comes to the fore! We started going further downwind and furling till the furling rope broke then would have lost the screecher if we kept going. Nice to get your explanation and hope you and Jo are well.
I noted in your description that you have an endless loop furler. We found these worked well most of the time except when you need it most under heavy strain. Just an opinion but worth considering.
Reasonably new $6k furler that works only with an endless loop, says Wade… not replacing it! We will be watching the wind speed like hawks and bring that sail in at the first hint of strengthening apparent wind.
A pretty intense GABO moment for you both. Well done on your sail recovery. I would have envisaged serious sail repairs but lucky you. The noise and motion would have been horrendous untiI under control.
When I hear tales like this I am glad we have a small boat where when things go bang they do so with less force. Hope you are back on track shortly. Lots of reading of your blog to catch up with. We are on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
Hi James, yes when the proverbial hits the fan it is hard with just the two of us! New prodder getting installed today and we leave tomorrow at dawn for the Coral Sea. We got off relatively lightly.
Hi Chris, could you let Wade know he reminded me of his dad in the picture of him tightening up the bow seat. Same facial expression, and more.
Will do!
Hi Chris
Wow!!! Glad you both ok & damage was fixable. All the very best for kind weather for next leg.
Love from us both from sunny Noosa
Sent from my iPhone
Lovely to get your message Lindy, it worked for once! Life on a boat with outrageous expenses goes on, but we are happy to be able to continue doing what we enjoy. Love to you both.
Great you could get the repairs undertaken relatively quickly.
Hi Mick. We were really impressed with our rigger. Done and dusted in a week, immediate response… unheard of!
I’m just glad that things fell into place for you and you are off sailing the ocean blue
Yes, after the last few months and the mishap with the prodder, it feels like it is high time for a lucky break, which we are getting!
Hi Chris & Wade yes you surely have been looked after! I’m so glad you’re OK. What unexpected challenges do the ocean throw at one! I enjoy your photography, writing and understated presentation.
Thanks for the kind feedback.