Snug Cove
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Thu 28 Aug 2025 06:53
Moored Snug Cove, Twofold Bay
Wind: W F3 gusting F5
Sea: rippled Swell: neglible
Weather: sunny, mild
Day's run: 56 nm
Getting to Brisbane in time for my brother's wedding is proving to something of a saga.
We rounded Gabo Island at 1400 but prior to doing so, in expectation of having to come more onto the wind, I attempted to put a second reef in the main. Once again a batten car jammed and the sail was stuck halfway in between the first and second reef and would not budge. I naturally expected it to be the number three batten car again but it proved to be the headboard cars right at the top of the mast. There was no way I was going to be able to go all the way to the masthead to free it so I flattened out the sail as best I could with a handy-billy (a general purpose block and tackle I keep handy at the base of the mast) onto the second reef tack and the reef line. We continued on but the bag in the bottom two feet of the sail was not going to help Sylph's less than impressive windward performance. It was at this point that I decided we really were going to have to try to pull into Twofold Bay to sort some problems out.
We worked our way up the coast beyond Gabo Island, hugging the shore as close as we could, the real challenge coming as we rounded Green Cape where we would have to come much closer to the near gale force winds. Despite the baggy bottom section of the main we did okay, not straying too far off the coast. By 2000 we were about five miles to the ENE of Twofold Bay where we tacked in the hope of being able to lay the entrance. However, with the baggy main and easing wind, Sylph's tacking angle was worse than ever, and after two hours of sailing we had only made a mile and a half in the desired direction. I was clearly going to have to resort to the motor if we were going to get into harbour before I fell over from exhaustion.
On the plus side, the seas had flattened considerably making the idea of climbing the mast to try and free the miscreant headboard cars feasible. I gathered some tools (a hammer and a screwdriver), donned climbing harness, beanie and headlamp and climbed the mast. There I found the headboard jammed such that no prying with screwdriver or bashing with a hammer would budge it – even saw a couple of sparks fly in the dark. My next option was to disconnect the headboard from the cars. Back down the mast, I collected a small shifter and vice grips. Back up the mast, after a bit of struggle dangling from my harness and clinging on as best I could while undoing the headboard bolt, I at last freed the mainsail. I returned to the deck having lost only one screwdriver and the small shifter over the side in my aerial acrobatics aloft, where I could now flatten the main down to the second reef and we could continue trying to sail into harbour.
But by 2200, it was clear we were not going to be able to get in under sail alone, the wind was by then just too light. Nonetheless, we had closed the harbour to within a couple of miles to get in, so hopefully we would not tax the recycled injection pump springs too much. At 2213 I flashed up the BRM, rolled up the jib and motored in at a conservative 1400 rpm. Forty minutes later we had picked up the emergency mooring in Snug Cove. It would do for the night.
This morning, after a nice long uninterrupted sleep, my first order was to have a good wash (I was too tired last night), then breakfast, then back up the mast to inspect the recalcitrant headboard cars in the bright light of day, well rested, and without Sylph attempting to buck me off my perch. I took a small screwdriver up with me and managed to undo the upper end cap of the top car, only losing a couple of ball bearings in the process, and could then see how the car had twisted and jammed on the track. Back down the mast, I collected some masking tape, a hammer and a large screwdriver. Then back up the mast, I taped everything in place so as to minimise the risk of losing more valuable irreplaceable Torlon ball bearings. I placed the tip of the screwdriver surgically in just the right place and gave it a tap with the hammer. The car sprang free. Hooray! I lowered the cars to the deck with the main halyard and returned to the lower atmosphere myself.
Next job, I thought, move the boat from the emergency mooring to a public mooring that I could see was free. Then lunch and write up the blog to let everyone know all is well. I moved the boat okay, had lunch, but then encountered my next problem – the laptop screen goes black for no apparent reason. I break out the tablet and wireless keyboard, but during the night a few drips of water had gotten onto the keyboard via a leak in the skylight (I have not gotten around to running a bead of silicone around the edge of the skylight after removing it to get the engine in and out – another job on the to do list) and the contaminated keyboard now types in an unbreakable cryptographic code, so writing the blog up with the tablet wasn't going to be practical. Next step, break out the spare old Windows 8 laptop. It worked okay but I had not used it for so long that I had to do several updates before I could get it talking to the internet properly. Consequently my post is later than usual and I have not made any progress on on the headboard cars. That will now have to wait until tomorrow as it is quite a big job.
I reckon now I will try and get the heater going, heat up some veggie curry on the stove top, and hopefully just have a quiet relaxing evening.
All is well.