Bunbury Cruise 2018

The following is my report to the FSC Cruising Committee.

Report on the 2018 Bunbury  Cruise

I am pleased to report to the Committee that the 2018 Bunbury Cruise which ran from 17 February to 16 March was an unqualified success, with all boats and crews returning safely.

Eight boats participated in the cruise:

·        de la mer out of HYC skippered by Rob James with a rotating crew

·        Diva out of FSC with Ron & Marlene Viney

·        Georgia out of HYC with Hugh & Robyn Nankivell

·        Libertus out of RFBYC with Rick & Kerry Blair

·        Manta Ray out of FSC with Frank & Lucinda Daly and Graham & Sue Suttle

·        Pachuca out of FSC with Robert Morales and Brenda Newbey

·        Stealaway with Roger Bishop & Trish Fox and Bernie & Sue Siddall

·        Volare out of RFBYC with Zac & Anne Armanasco

Frank & Lucinda Daly were in the unusual position participating aboard their newly acquired motor cruiser Manta Ray while enjoying the company of their sail boat Stealaway on loan to friends Roger and Bernie.

The start of the cruise was somewhat challenging because of the unusual prevalence of S and SE winds. The official departure date was Saturday 17 Feb but at the crew briefing on 8 Feb we gave wide discretion to the skippers to depart at anytime they deemed best, with the request that all boats be at Koombana Bay by Wed 21 Feb.  By employing a variety of tactics all boats achieved this goal, the last boat arriving on 21 Feb.

Georgia was already in Geographe Bay, as is her custom.  The bulk of the fleet departed during the period 17-20 Feb.  Most boats spent a night or MOFSC with one of the boats spending the night on one of the moorings off Doddie’s Beach near the entrance to the estuary.  There was then a much motor sailing to Bunbury, with one sail boat motoring the entire way.

Pachuca set off at 0730 on Tues/20 from FSC bound for Bunbury, blessed with a crew of two experienced sailors and an eager university-age blue water novice.  After studying the wind predictions we had fallen into the old Pachuca trap of deciding to sail all night in order to avoid the prospect of adverse winds the following day.  Unfortunately the SE winds turned out to be much stronger than predicted and we had a rough and wet night.  The seas built up and the young lad took to a bunk with severe sea sickness in the company of a bucket.  At 2100 in pitch black darkness we put in the first reef when the apparent wind reached 22 knots.  The electric bilge pump that had faithfully served me around the globe failed and we resorted to the less efficient manual pump.  

When two of the floor boards began to float Stuart commented on the amount of water coming in.  I replied that there was nothing to worry about because Pachuca has a small bilge, which he did not find reassuring.  “Where is the water coming from?” he asked.  “I don’t know” I truthfully replied, and was confronted with a look of horror mixed with terror.  I explained that Pachuca always ships water when going hard to weather with the deck awash, and neither I nor anyone I had consulted had been able to explain why.  (After all of these years I am beginning to suspect that the water is coming down the mast, given the huge amount of encrusted salt that I regularly find at the base.  I plan to soon do some testing with a hose.)

When the apparent wind started nudging 28 knots we put in the second reef at about 2 AM, much too late but because the boat is an IOR ocean racer with a heavy 9.2 oz cruising headsail she could carry the canvas.

We survived the night and motored the last 5 nm into Koombana Bay and dropped anchor at 11.30 AM.  By then the boat was dry, the young crewman had revived and recovered, the wind had eased, the sea was calmer, and all was well with the world. 

We then spent two enjoyable days of visits to Bunbury, some swimming off the boat, drinks at the club, and plenty of good food and drink around Pachuca’s dining table.  I did comment to my friends that they had wanted a sail and had been blessed with a tough overnighter just like the old days.  

On Friday 23 Feb Brenda arrived and my three crew returned home. Hopefully two of them will return next year.  It was good to have Brenda on board for the pleasant and genteel phase of the cruise.  She had learned from hard experience to avoid the passage from FSC to Bunbury at all costs.

And it was good to be back at Koombana Bay, where we found KBYC as hospitable as ever, and we enjoyed the club bar and restaurant whenever they were open and 5 PM sundowners in front of the club when the it was closed.

 

Two of the boats, Stealaway and Volare  proceeded to Dunsborough Bay Yacht Club at Quindalup on Fri/23 as planned but the bulk of the group made the crossing a day later on Sat/24.  All of the boats tied up to free moorings as usual, but this year we found that most of the moorings had no ropes and incoming boats were helped by those already safely moored.

 

DBYC is at the stage that all large clubs passed through in their early years.  When you see the Vice Commodore tending bar and a division captain washing dishes you know that you are in the presence of a real everybody-pitch-in club, and that helps to provide an intimate family feel.  The club opened the bar every evening during our stay where we were able to mingle with each other and many club members on the veranda with its spectacular view of the bay and beyond.  And on the evening of Mon 26 Feb we all enjoyed in the company of club members and other guests at the sumptuous pre-paid “Weber of Beef” dinner that had been arranged by Lauraine, the club’s social events manager and past Commodore of the club.

Warm Reception at the DBSC Bar

On 28 Feb we set off for a 3-day stay at the Port Geographe Marina, enjoying the 10% discount for boats that stay 3 or more days.  That evening we enjoyed the hospitality of Dennis and Kitty Gee at their splendid canal-side home.  Dennis and Kitty were the consummate hosts as usual, with Dennis managing to mingle with the crowd while single-handedly cooking what appeared to be a mountain of steak, sausages, and fish.  It was a wonderful evening where Dennis regaled us with a short history of the Bunbury Cruise since our visits began.

We relaxed on the second day and on the third day had the bus trip which has become one of the highlights of the Bunbury Cruise.  Bunbury Cruise co-coordinators Frank & Lucinda Daly and Ron & Marlene Viney did an outstanding job of scouting for venues, planning, and execution.

 

We boarded the bus at 8.45 AM and proceeded to The Goose near the Busselton jetty for coffee and muffins.  We then walked over to the jetty for the train ride to the end of the jetty then a visit to the underwater observatory.  Most of the group had never experienced the observatory and found it fascinating and entertaining.  At 12.45 we arrived at the Aravina Estate for an outstanding lunch with plenty of wine provided.  Afterwards many of us enjoyed the interesting vintage car collection on the premises.  At 2.15 PM we arrived for a return visit to The Yallingup Shearing Shed, a surprise hit from last year’s bus trip, which is not surprising given its excellent range of high quality wool clothing, hats, bags, and other items that are difficult to find elsewhere.  At 3 PM we were back in Busselton for a visit to ArtGeo, an arts and crafts precinct.  (I cannot comment on ArtGeo because I did not get past the fascinating visit and history of the old jail, but I was told that the glass-blowing was particularly interesting.)  At 4.15 we were parked near the IGA at Busselton for a quick shopping for groceries and were back at PGM at 5 PM.

Lunch at the Aravina Estate Winery

On Sat 3 March most of the group made the short passage from PGM back to Koombana Bay. At this point two boats departed from the cruise: Georgia remained in Geographe Bay as is her custom, Libertus set off for home due to other commitments.  Volare headed for Busselton to spend 2 days at anchor before returning to Koombana Bay.

 

One of our boats exited PGM then turned north past the second instead of the third red floating marker with the result that he ran hard aground.  In a great exhibition of grace under pressure and seamanship he managed to refloat his vessel on his own by emptying one of his water tanks and another tank of “unmentionable”, listing his boat using the boom, and whatever measure he could think of.  (A lesser person such as myself would have freaked out and called for help.)

 

Rob and Zac helped me set up inflatable dinghy on the Pachuca's davits

Stealaway spent one night at Koombana Bay then set off for FSC due to personal commitments.  The remaining five boats spent 5 relaxing days of visiting Bunbury, swimming off the boat, seeing friends and relatives, sundowners at the club, etc.  During this time we rode our dinghies to the Parade Hotel for lunch and one morning enjoyed cooking breakfast at the public gas barbecue between the channel to the inlet and the Dome Cafe.

 

Pachuca at Mandurah Marina

 

On Thurs 8 March the diminished fleet of 5 boats made the long passage from Bunbury to MOFSC, Mandurah.  The winds were strong at first but sagged in the early afternoon forcing most boats to do some motoring.  I had planned to moor Pachuca at Doddie’s Beach due to her large draft but Frank Daly was thoughtful enough to record many soundings during his passage from Roberts Point into the MOFSC marina and based on his information we decided to give it a try and for the first time in 3 years Brenda and I enjoyed a stay at the marina.  (Thank you Frank!)  That evening we had dinner at the club with Rick and Teresa Oswald, past participants and wonderful friends of the Bunbury Cruise, and on the next night we held our End-of-Cruise dinner at the club restaurant, enjoying their spectacular value $15 specials.  This marked the formal end of the Bunbury Cruise.  The next morning we departed MOFSC to make room for the influx of boats from a FSC-Mandurah race and went our separate ways.

Rob, Zac, Robert having a chat at Koombana Bay

 

Back on our home turf it was up to the BC co-ordinators to calculate the state of the Bunbury Cruise budget with the invaluable help of Hugh Nankivell, the BC Treasurer, and plan the venue and time of the post-cruise Photography Dinner, at which time we will have the privilege of having our photos submitted in the various categories judged by Garth Lynch, a professional photographer.

I am pleased to report that Rob James has facilitated the hosting of the Photography Dinner at Hillarys Yacht Club on Wed 4 April.  The Bunbury Cruise has an estimated surplus of $461 (which includes a float of $136 from BC 2017) which we plan to disburse as a subsidy of the Photography Dinner meals.