Another gorgeous sunset

The crew enjoying the dusk at Whitehaven beach

Aga jumping for joy on her birthday: Whitehaven Beach

Radek testing out his kite surf board at Whitehaven

Jo and the incredibly white sand of Whitehaven Beach

Rowing into shore

Chris

Aga tying up the sails

Jo in the galley

Chris and Radek tacking

Aga modelling our lifejackets

Bara enjoying the beach at Masthead Island

Jo, Bara and Radek tying up the mizzen

Chris in his favourite spot at the helm

Radek tying up the mizzen

Jo relaxing on deck

Chris taking care of the sails

Funky little mini-submarines at Fitzroy Island

Aga enjoying the view

Bara, Aga and Jo ready for a dive

Chris on watch

Aga off for a swim

There were hundreds of birds nesting on the beach at Masthead Island

All the trees were full of birds as well: Masthead Island

The beach at Masthead Island was thick with turtle tracks leading up to their nests, we saw lots of turtles in the water...

The beautiful beach at Masthead Island

Our home: Cat Knapp

Aga's giant stride entry: Masthead Island

Bara taking Radek for his first dive

Chris enjoying the incredibly clear water at Masthead Island

Aga with Cat Knapp in the background

Greetings to our supporters and friends around the world from the final 2011 crew of Cat Knapp

This was a couple of weeks of reward time for us after all our hard work on the islands…stopping off at various islands and reefs for diving and snorkeling; enjoying the great scenery of the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef as we head towards Brisbane…We eventually moored at Tin Can Bay as there was some pretty extreme weather forecast, and we wrapped up the trip with a great Oceanswatch training day in Mooloolaba before saying our fond farewells.

During a 2am watch changeover Aga and I are treated to the amazing sight of dolphins riding the bow at night. The ocean is thick with phosphorescence which glows when the water is moved, so we can see the sparkling shapes of the dolphins as they swim through the dark water only meters away. So beautiful!

There are many highlights of the trip including Whitehaven beach for Aga’s birthday, and Masthead island (which is simply stunning). However I think Aga and Radek’s amazing photos are worth a thousand words so I will let them tell the rest of the story (as you can see, I had real trouble picking only a few for the blog!)

To all our supporters and friends around the world, farewell from the crew of 2011

Stay tuned for next year’s expeditions…

The front page of the Gympie Times no less!

http://m.gympietimes.com.au/story/2011/12/03/skipper-saved-from-strong-wind-brian-sweeney/#.Tt4G5uNcu_4.email

Towing the rescued Catamaran into Tin Can Bay

The crew of Cat Knapp with Father Christmas, safe and sound

Cold and wet we are finally getting into Tin Can Bay when we spot another Catamaran which seems to be in trouble. By the time we reach the other Cat it has run aground, their rudder is broken, their motor is having trouble and their entire main sail has ripped off. They don’t have a radio, and seem to be dressed for a hot day at the beach. The rescue goes smoothly despite the cold windy weather, and we tow them into the bay, noticing along the way that the vessel appears to be skippered by Father Christmas!

The next morning our good deed is repaid rapidly as Father Christmas convinces the marina manager to not kick us out of the marina, and arranges for several free nights mooring

Radek

Aga

We have scouted around for a replacement crew and are happy to welcome a great Polish couple to our team on Cat Knapp! Aga (our resident IT consultant) and Radek (a former Telekom engineer/rigger) have been traveling together for nine months and are a pleasure to sail with

Our feast night is also sadly our farewell to Ester and Xavier who are continuing their journeys in New Zealand before heading home to Spain for Christmas. It has been an absolute pleasure having them on board, they were fun to be around, we shared some great experiences together, and all their hard work and long hours are so appreciated. Bye bye Ester and Xavier! We will miss you

Moored at Cairns marina

Food shopping!

Our amazing evening in Cairns

It’s so exciting to be back in Australia, but I am immediately reminded of all the beaurocracy when the first thing we hear from an Australian is ‘Sorry, I can’t catch your mooring rope, our insurance doesn’t cover it’. We are then subjected to hours of questions and the boat being searched (the sniffer dogs have the cutest little boots on) before we are allowed ashore by the customs and quarantine officers who greeted us as we sailed into the marina.

It’s an interesting experience reentering my culture… It’s certainly more comfortable and clean here, and I feel at home, not having to navigate foreign language or etiquette. It seems you can get whatever you want here. It feels good to talk to other Australians again.

At the same time I am struck by how much we consume in western society. The villagers in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are doing essentially the same things we are doing. They raise their families, have their social events with friends, work, find and cook their food, do their laundry and build their houses. But they manage to do it with no electricity and by carrying their water from springs. Meanwhile we are using up vast amounts of resources without seeming to even think about it. Turning on lights, leaving taps running, driving cars, allowing air conditioning to flow out open doors, throwing away non-biodegradable rubbish after having used the item for five minutes: these are all everyday things in the city. Of course we are all aware of these things, but my sense of the imbalance is strong right now, having just arrived from the islands. I will have to think some more about what I will do with this…

Despite all this, I can’t say I’m not looking forward to those western comforts. They’re so comfortable! After months in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, we have all started fantasising about food and NOW it’s time to satisfy that list of humble cravings, like cheese and ice-cream for example… mmm… Only one problem, OceansWatch is extremely short on funds this year and our shopping list needs to be a lot more basic than we had hoped

In some super fortuitous case of serendipity, on our first night in port we meet the food and beverage manager for a major hotel chain. He takes pity on the starving crew and the next night we are treated to an amazing culinary experience. We have the entire four star restaurant to ourselves, and the chef himself is bringing out each dish and describing the cooking process for us. The wine to complement each course is served. The exquisite cocktails are on the house. Wow, what an evening, thanks so much Ryan!

As we continue preparing for our trip down the coast we are in a bit of a fix… We discover that the paper charts for our trip down the coast have not arrived as promised, and we have had the sd card with the electronic charts stolen in Papua New Guinea… With Aga’s expertise, we have managed to put together a replacement electronic chart, but it’s important to have paper charts…

In another case of sweet serendipity we meet a skipper who is on his way to Papua New Guinea. One minute after meeting this unsuspecting man, Chris puts the hard word on him for his paper charts. Thankfully he has a big heart and lends us his Australian charts for our trip down the coast. Thanks Andrew of Tectonic! We will get them back to you safely

So, well fed, stocked up, and well prepared for our trip, we farewell Cairns and set sail for Brisbane…

 Jo

We had many beautiful days sailing

So the trade winds are blowing in one direction and we are trying to travel in the other direction… We will be tacking into the wind (for you landlubbers tacking is sailing in a zig-zag pattern across the wind, as you can’t sail directly into the wind. Slowly you make your way towards your destination.)

‘Isn’t this lovely sailing?’ asks Chris one morning. We all agree. ‘Pity it’s not in the right direction’ he adds.

We are sailing at up to 9 knots, but on average are getting only one nautical mile closer to our destination each hour. We calculate that at this rate it will take us 32 days to reach Australia. We start discussing who we are going to eat first when the food runs out….

A few days into the voyage I notice something called the south sub-tropical current marked on our plotter. ‘What’s that?’ I ask innocently. ‘That’s a really strong current that’s pushing us backwards’ replies Chris. That’s right folks, against the wind AND against the current. This could be a long voyage…

We decide to tack across Vitiaz Strait in the early hours one morning… On watch shortly afterwards I discover that Vitiaz Strait is also a shipping lane…and it’s peak hour! We beat a hasty retreat towards shallower waters as massive ships steam down on us from all directions.

A highlight of the trip is one afternoon when we enjoy a delicious meal on deck as the sun is setting over mountainous Good Enough Island (Yes this is it’s real name). We all laze around as dusk falls. Dolphins arrive and we can hear their high pitched squeaking and clicking. The dark glassy waters are lit by sparkling curves of phosphorescence in the dolphins’ wakes, as they weave and dive at the bow. A profound sense of peace and wellbeing settles on the ship and we feel we may be the only people in the world.

In the first week of voyage it’s not unusual to go to sleep with no wind, the ship wallowing around in the water, the vast and glorious stars spread out above… Only to wake to a howling storm, sheets of water obscuring lighthouses, items being swept overboard… Definite ‘one-hand-for-the-boat, one-hand-for-you’ weather: the type where you sail with one hand, always holding onto the boat with the other for fear of falling overboard yourself.

Then there are the daily storms which arrive and depart suddenly, sweeping across the open ocean. Otherwise entitled ‘from 0-25knots in 25 seconds’ or ‘Niagra falls relocates to ‘Cat Knapp’ wheelhouse’. Sailing in strong winds to techno music lends a daredevil taste to the experience, rocking out in our south pacific disco club!

One of these storms brings about a fortuitous change of wind direction. And then, we are finally sailing at 6 knots and ON COURSE!

It is the most glorious 30 seconds of the voyage.

Ok so I wrote that last bit on day seven, on day eight things improved. We enjoyed some really great sailing conditions as we continued along the coast of Papua New Guinea. Besides which, the first week wasn’t really that bad. When you’re on a nice stable catamaran with good company, regular dolphin sightings, and generally fine weather it’s no real hardship to take your time getting places.

With all the time we made up in the next few days, we decided to stop in amongst idyllic tropical islands on the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea to clean the hull. It was a gorgeous sunset with the last of the olives and a delicious meal by moonlight. We brace ourselves for the open sea between Papua New Guinea and Australia…

However, we are pleasantly surprised by smooth, swift sailing for the entire crossing. This is made even swifter by the fact that we have all lost track of what day it is! It’s actually Sunday, not Monday! We are fairly certain it’s November 2011 though… right? It’s moments like these when you know you have absorbed some of the islanders’ relaxed sense of time…

One lucky Spanish couple are in charge of major toilet refurbishment after it blocks for the thousandth time. What is it with boats and dodgy toilets? There are some further adjustments to be made the following day after swimsuits are reportedly required to enter the toilet overnight.

The humidity gradually drops and we start wearing long sleeves at night… (I never would have thought that I would feel refreshed by the humidity levels of Northern Queensland!) The coastline of my homeland rises in the distance…

 Jo

Xavier’s status as head fisherman is confirmed when a bait-sized flying fish lands in his lap during dinner one night.

With no refrigeration onboard, we are all getting a bit hungry for some fishy protein. However, after our previous failed attempts at luring the extremely intelligent tuna of the south pacific onto our lines, we are not THAT hopeful when we spot a tell-tale flock of birds circling and diving (which signals fish below the surface).

But the tuna have gotten a little too daring for their own good, with several of them jumping out of the water, showing off their tantalizing fillets.

The men’s pupils dilate, and their faces take on a blood-thirsty expressions as they are thrown into a fishing-frenzy:

‘We’re changing course!’ yells Chris and heads straight for the fish. Xavier is running around the boat screeching ‘fish, fish, fish, fish’ saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.

And one of those tuna isnt so intelligent after all. After a punishing fight, in which Chris sacrifices his hat and sunglasses, he hauls in a huge Yellow Fin tuna (sustainably harvested of course). He has cut his hand with the fishing line, impressively pulling it in with his bare hands…

What follows is an initially enthusiastic tuna eating festival which lasts days. Mmmm… Fresh fish

While catching the fish was hard, eating it is possibly harder, as for days there was only one answer to the question: ‘So, what is there to eat?’

We tie the skeleton to the back of the boat just to see what happens… Late one night half the skeleton disappears in a dramatic swirl of water and flash of shark. Cooool, huh?

From then on our fishing luck changes…we even throw one back!

mmm… fish and chips….

We love Wharrams, especially this one

Let me explain a little about Wharram design catamarans… (our favourite ship ‘Cat Knapp’ is a Wharram design catamaran). This is a design inspired by Polynesian sailing canoes. As such, the two hulls and the deck are separate pieces bound together by rope.

Yes, that’s right, the whole boat is held together with rope!

This may sound a little worrying, but the rope actually allows the boat to move and flex slightly in response to the forces of the ocean as you sail. Standard catamarans are subject to the same forces, however have a nasty risk of cracks developing.

The other great thing about catamarans is that they have several water-tight sections in each hull, which means you would need several holes before there was any real risk of sinking. Some catamaran owners don’t even bother to carry a liferaft!

The downside to this rope business is that it is completely normal for the cat to sound as if it is falling apart. At night, trying to sleep down below you can hear the water sloshing against the sides of the boat, and you can actually feel the side of the hull bending in response to the larger waves. The ropes creak and crack.

Our first ever night on voyage, Noelle and I both woke to a deafening ‘bang!’. We looked at each other wide eyed and terrified ‘Chris told us this is normal… Right?’. Sleep seemed so far away… Ester and I had a similar moment when she joined crew a couple of months later, but this time I could provide some comfort, ‘Yes, this is completely normal…’

I found sailing on Cat Knapp to be really enjoyable, there are so many benefits to outweigh a few weird noises. Sailing is especially good in good weather as there is so much deck space to enjoy the scenery, and hone your professional lounging skills (this is an invaluable asset in a boat). Besides which, cats are more stable than monohulls, so you can put down your cup of coffee and not worry about it falling over I would choose to crew on a Wharram Catamaran anyday!

The ship’s auto-pilot has a personality all of it’s own and deserves a name; ‘George’ joins our crew.

He also needs a name so we can swear at him.

George isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, slow to react, loud, an annoying habit of interrupting conversations constantly, and not even that good at keeping us going in the right direction!

We were constantly listing George’s flaws and discussing them at length RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF HIM!

We hated George with a passion.

Noelle helming after 'George' our autopilot broke

That was until George broke.

Sitting at the helm (steering wheel) at 3 o’clock in the morning, trying to stay awake and keep us on course, I remember thinking that George really wasn’t that bad after all.

We all missed George and thought that having to steer the boat by hand 24 hours a day was a terrible and inhuman hardship.

Noelle steering the boat using a steel pole attached to one of the rudders

That was until the steering cable broke.

I was woken around around 1am one stormy morning to help Chris attach a steel poleto the starboard rudder with a couple of bolts. Luckily neither of us were swept overboard. Steering for the remainder of the voyage involved standing in the rain on the aft deck, holding the steel pole and staying on course by the stars and wind (in conjunction with GPS updates from the wheelhouse of course).

Needless to say we were very happy to have George back when we took him to the doctor in Honiara.

From then on we kept our grumbles to a hushed whisper on the aft deck…

Noelle arriving at Tuo community aboard Cat Knapp

Another amazing sunset

Water coming up through the deck

Fruit salad being served on the foredeck

Noelle and Jo chatting near the engine bay

Noelle, Jo and Bara enjoying a sunset accompanied by acoustic guitar

A classic shot of Chris in his usual position at the helm

Ester and Jo relaxing on voyage to Cairns

Aga putting a reef in the main sail

Aga and Radek lowering the mizzen sail

Random tiny squid found in a bed in the wheelhouse

Here’s a trivia question:

Have you ever been woken up by a bucket of cold sea water on your feet?

I have.

(This was not some cruel cremates prank either, this was a wave coming up THROUGH the deck and into my hatch)

And have you ever been airborne in your own bed?

(Sleeping in the port bow cabin was difficult if we were sailing into the waves. Just imagine someone is lifting your mattress about a meter off the ground and then dropping it, over and over. Then imagine trying to get to sleep.)

Of course it’s important to talk about these not-so-glamorous aspects, even if they are usually rare….

For example, this year there is ‘fresh water is strictly for drinking’ policy onboard ‘Cat Knapp’. This means saltwater washes, or taking advantage of a good downpour to wash your hair. It may sound like hardship, but I have to say I kinda like it.

I have experienced ships where you can almost feel the clouds of mould spores settling on your face as you step into the shower cubicle. No matter how well you clean these showers, they always seem to have a certain smell about them…It’s nice to be out in the wind and the rain instead, it’s a refreshing break from the equatorial heat, and the view is amazing!

On another point, bad weather is decidedly unglamorous. Bad weather means sleeping where you can find a place to lie down. With all the hatches closed against the seawater, you usually wake marinating in our own sweat. Your bruises multiply as you try in vain to move gracefully around the boat…Going anywhere on the boat involves going out into the rain… Any attempts to read or even concentrate on cooking in the galley can result in rising feelings of sea sickness…

And while we are talking about cooking in rough weather. Here’s a question; should you: a) brave the heat of a closed galley, or b) take the risk of a wave coming in through the hatch while you are cooking?

It’s always a gamble, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose… One time I was holding the pot of pasta the entire time it was cooking, afraid it might slip off and burn my legs… suddenly someone threw a bucket of cold seawater over my head (or so it felt). I couldn’t help thinking ‘Now that is just RUDE!’.

Ah, the joys of sailing in rough weather…Trying to sleep while not all of your body is in contact with the matress…someone forgot to close the galley hatch and everything is saturated…lightning flashes an average of four seconds apart… meanwhile the crewmate on watch is being sick over the side of the boat…

But then the next time you wake up it will be all calm glassy waters, exquisite fruit salad and literally hundreds of dolphins, jumping out of the water, their graceful swimming visible through the water at the bow…

Good weather means it’s time to enjoy a nice breeze and sailing at a good clip… We settle into the rhythms of the weather and the boat, everything slows down and there is time for doing the type of things you may rarely find time for in the ‘real world’. Like listening to good music, reading, drawing, long discussions, enjoying the weather in silence, perfecting our professional lounging techniques…

All in all, sailing is fun, and we wouldn’t have it any other way 

And at the end of a long voyage, when sail into your next island destination and weigh anchor, when you finally get to clean the boat, clean yourself, and eat a good meal… when you start to contemplate what adventures and friends you will find in this new place… this feeling is one of the joys of making your way across the ocean by the power of the wind, this feeling at the end of a long voyage is amazing!

P.s. Have you ever found a random minature squid in someone’s bed?

Kamikaze flying fish I am used to, but kamikaze squid???