Easter Cruise - Pathfinder sails again!

It was with enormous excitement and not without some trepidation that we set off on Good Friday to sail Pathfinder out into the beautiful waters of the D'entrecasteaux Channel, south East of our home base at Cygnet. This was our first opportunity to go cruising on her since her purchase in mid 2007. Teamed up with two other yachts manned by friends, we headed South East and across the Channel to an anchorage called the The Quarries. A sheltered bay protected from the Southerly winds we were able to settle down for two relaxing and totally enjoyable days reading fishing and socialising with friends. Pathfinder went well although the very light winds meant we had to motor and sail. We found the boat comfortable to live in and the modifications made when we were fixing the mast worked well. We have some issues with the electrical systems which will need to be addressed fairly urgently. The fuses kept blowing which controlled the navigation lights which was an issue. Fortunately we were at anchor deep in the bays at night surrounded by other yachts, all with anchor lights gleaming. We had torches to read by as the cabin lighting was also defective. This was all checked out two weeks previously and found to be fine so what the issue is will need to be explored. After two nights at the quarries we sailed further south to a very picturesque bay called Mickey's. This was like something out of a magazine. Tree lines shores, white sandy beaches, great fishing - everything one could wish for. The company was great and the yacht performed well. Easter Monday saw us all go our different ways. My 'significant other' needed to be back home to start the apple harvest by Tuesday so mid-morning we set off sailing home with a steady 4 knot wind from the south behind us. It was a long days sail with Pathfinder reaching almost 5.5 knots on the last leg but mostly sitting on around 3-4 knots. This was the longest sail we had taken the yacht on together and without additional company so it was a really good test for us. We had to navigate ourselves home without guidance from others. For novice sailors this was a challenge but one which we achieved with few hassles. It was such a great confidence booster to know that we were able to navigate ourselves back to the mooring with ease. The sail took all day but it was full of pleasures. Two seals, basking in the sun on the surface had quite a surprise when Pathfinder snuck up on them! The winds were also favourable, if a little light.

Packing up the boat, loading all the gear into the car was quickly achieved and we sadly had to return home. Plans are being made to put some work into finishing off the paint work, fixing the lights and installing the new aerial for the VHF radio over the next weekend with the possibility of another trip away before the winter sets in and makes conditions unpleasant. I plan to also have some fishing lessons with a friend. Although I caught more fish than I ever had before, I was reluctant to kill and clean them - what would we do if that is all we had to live on I do not know! The lucky finned friends were thrown back much to the disgust of the people who came with us. Still ... next time maybe! 'Til the next time - good sailing to you all.