Departure from and return to Australia
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sat 20 Jun 2015 00:00
We departed from Mackay at 14.00 on Saturday on the first leg of our 15,000 mile trip to Southampton. We had decided to call into Darwin as our first port of call as it is a 1,700 mile sail, which would give time for the crew to find their sea legs and a,so give the boat a good shake down.
Two hours and 15 miles into the trip, Paul went to inspect the rudder in the steering quadrant, as we have had new rudder bearings fitted and wanted to check everything was OK. We were taking on a small amount of water as one of the hose clamps was not fully tightened but, of more concern, there was too much movement at the top of the rudder and the movement was too stiff. After an hour of hour of investigation, and after a conversation with Tim, who had fitted the new rudder bearings, we decided that to try to continue made no sense and made the decision to return to Mackay and tied up in the marina at 20.00.
Tim came to check things out on Sunday morning but to check everything fully whilst in the water could have been a very wet experience. We spent the day doing routine maintenance jobs on the boat and went to the pub. It is now Monday morning and we are waiting to haul out so the rudder can be inspected and the problem resolved.
If things go to plan, we hope to be back in the water this afternoon, and will go for a test sail to check that everything is working as it should be and then set off in the morning. If things can't be resolved today, then it is back to the pub this afternoon - there is something of a theme starting to emerge!!
The boys in departure mode - Sam, Ant, Paul & John