A J MacKinnon The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow

   What a fantastic joy it was to discover this morning a  interview with A J 'Sandy' MacKinnon, author of "The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow" at the following address:-
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/10/20/4110627.htm

The author.

The book.

Sydney to Hobart yacht race

   At 0830 hrs today always skippers gathered for the pre-race briefing and a weather report of 10 knot ESE for the race start.
   As usual the media are predicting the fastest time record will be broken ... their favourite is "Comanchie".
   For the frugal Mirror dinghy cruiser this race represents greed and the gaudiness of extreme wealth which should never be counternanced. My hope is that next year my TINK with pirate flag aloft will be among the spectator craft firing whitty barbs at all the Fat Cats and striking a blow for modesty and class.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all friends of the Mirror dinghy!

Photo: "Jack de Crow" book cover. :)

Tiny Boat, Tiny Refit.

A few weeks into a cosmetic refit of my Mirror dinghy 'Tink'. I have fitted screw hatches to the buoyancy tanks, but mostly, I've just painted the hull (black) and deck (grey). Apart from grinding out any cracks and fissures in the paintwork and filling them with epoxy, it's been pretty straightforward, and rewarding.
   Having spent recent decades owning and maintaining larger sailing craft, I find that work on a dinghy is actually very enjoyable, by the time you get started the job's done. Today, without much effort I managed to paint the hull, centralised and tiller assembly. The latter needing to be dismantled and put back together afterwards. Owning a cruising dinghy is s totally enjoyable experience.

Want a Cheap Cruiser? Look Into the Mirror.

   Well, it's been a few weeks since I bought my first ever Mirror dinghy and I've had a chance to check her out more closely and complete a few small jobs.
   Fortunately no major faults have been discovered, in fact no significant repairs have been required at all. That's pretty good for a two hundred dollar sailboat. So, if you're contemplating getting g into dinghy cruising, or are an experienced sailor on tough financial Times, or without energy to maintain a yacht, you may do well to look into the Mirror.
   What strikes me is how simple and manageable the Mirror is; you need to move it about then just do it, no need to hook up a tow vehicle or winch. Rigging  up is an easy one-person operation, and the Gunter rig looks really traditional, while being functional. A note to the newbie, is that all three spars (mast, boom and yard), all stow neatly within the confines of the boat for trailer in and storage. The only future modification will be to add reef points to the mainsail. 
   Before Christmas I have been going around checking for little cracks in the paintwork, then gouging these out, sealing with epoxy resin ( better adhesion than polyester resin), filling with gelcoat repair, sanding and priming with International primer. My Mirror had been making freshwater in the stern buoyancy and after repairing two very small cracks in the paintwork the problem has been solved.
   One modification I have made is fitting inspection ports to the bow and stern buoyancy tanks. Not required, mind but I think functional as they provide access for maintenance and repairs, room for storage and allow those compartments to breath.
   Heavier bow fittings, new trailer lights and paint are really the only other jobs done or underway and the most pleasant aspects of Mirror ownership is that all work is cheap to undertake, quite easy and very quick. As soon as this soggy weather eases, I will paint the decks and then look at getting wet.

I Buy a Mirror Dinghy

I had been chasing the previous owner by text and had just about given up when I got another text providing his address and a promise of all-weekend availability.  Great, I thought, that just leaves the unregistered trailer issue and being the weekend no inspection stations would be open so that would mean going to a "Service NSW" office and buying an unregistered vehicle permit.

Arriving at the property, I noticed two things; an uncovered Mirror dinghy sitting markedly in the front garden and, the house had no garage. This raised the chances of said dinghy having rot from pooling water. Then I discovered that Tim was not home and my visit was unexpected; hence the task of flogging the dinghy fell upon the wife. A pleasant person, she felt most comfortable talking up the pressure they'd had sailing as a family before they went away and asked me about my obvious sailing experiences. All very upbeat, but as a poor buyer of this neglected craft, S was intent on drawing out a more pessimistic line in order to talk the price down. I pointed out its sore general condition from various angles (mostly the unregistered trailer),while she kept asserting "well it's a good dry boat. It never leaks". Just about then I innocently removed the rubber bung from the stern buoyancy and out gushed 6 litres of tea coloured water. She muttered "Oh Tim" through gritted teeth and said "what now?" Good question, I may wish I walked away, but it felt solid and it needed someone to resurrect it from this dinghy hellhole. Silence. She says "how about a couple of hundred?" so we did the deal. At least I could afford a sheet of 6mm marine ply if I needed it. I did want to stay and listen to her greeting of Tim when she saw him next, but I had a trailer to register, and then the fun began!

Mirror Dinghy

I am the proud owner of a new Mirror dinghy. No previous sail boat has ever felt do right, the scale is just right for the sailing I want to do.

There are many obvious repairs and adjustments to be made to boat and trailer. Apparently the boat was imported from South Australia many years ago (?) and the trailer has never been registered in NSW. She is unmanned so that's good, I'm thinking of the Norse, "Laguz", something about flowing water energy.

Going Sailing

I have realised that dinghy cruising is more than the classic middle-aged man's folly, it's a grasping for wildness that beats on the heart of us all.

I often wonder each dawn as I sit here on my back deck, two teens still asleep, 80 acres spread before me part noose around d my neck part buffer from the insanities of suburbia, about whether I will ever again live a seasteading life. But this morning in the wake of listening to a Jim Brown podcast in which old guys muse on whether the Constant Camber 37' is as good as the Searunner 34', I realise that I will never go a seasteading again. The reality is that trading in all my chips for a swapping vessel is hard enough, but having the bucks to shell out for annual slipping, mooring fees, engine overhauls and so on is both unlikely and undesirable.

So, I ask myself, what is it about dinghy cruising that feeds my appetite? The answer is complex, but one aspect I'm tuning into this fine morning is that it offers man a link or outlet for his wild drives. Buried deep inside many of graying, girth-expanding fellows lays a wildness that manicured couch lawns, flat screen tv's, fast internet or a new car, cannot touch. It's that drive that has us yearning for the beautys, fears, discomforts and freedoms that only dinghy cruising can offer. That little box under the tarp at the bottom of the garden can launch us into situations beyond our making, all in one day we can be thrilled, contented, soaked, scared and slightly mad without the (ex)missus, kids, neighbours, employers or government departments knowing a scrap about. It's that little bit of f you world that burns within getting some air time.

At Peace on My Local River

  I am often envious when reading about happy couples cruising happily together. Too many years ago, while anchored off Whitehaven Beach, my girlfriend turned the air red with a raging argument. Her rage was so extreme and incomprehensible that it totally marred my memory of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world as well as my love of sailing.

For reasons unclear to me now, we went on to  get married. Increasingly sailing was a love I was made to feel ashamed about and any time spent sailing or preparing the boat became a major hassle. Eventually I got the point where my boat became a haven of peace, a place for me to de-stress and spend a few hours of quiet solitude, being on the water, dreaming.

Finally my wife and I separated and she served up a cauldron of cold bile as she parted; all aimed at belittling anything I love, sailing included. My changed life circumstances left me no prospect of bluewater sailing so my dear Folkboat 'Bohemian' had to go. 

But there is good in a simplifying one's life and my attentions turned to 'Misty' my little 19 foot trailerable sailboat. Over the winter I lavished my love on her and made her ready. The hope of one day soon launching her on the local river kept a flicker of flame burning in my heart.  Today this happened and as we ambled downriver the old feelings of peace and freedom returned, my senses tingled with excitement, new dreams began to conceal in my dancing mind.

Many a sailor is dashed onto a lee shore by storms while others have their hopes slowly crushed by sharks on the shore. But I urge you to hold onto your dreams and never give up on yourself!

The dog's smile reflects my own.

Ready tor Lift-Off

After beetling about with paintbrush in hand through our winter, multiple Hunter 19 'Misty' is ready for the water.

School holidays begin in two days' time, so I may have a for'ard hand, my son Joe. He can't go too ling without broadband access so that will be our largest obstacle. I hope to launch just a few miles from home and cruise about 50 nm's to the Pacific Ocean.unfortunately, due to the number of low bridges the first half with rely on engine power or drifting; shanty boat style.

Ramping it up

Over winter I've been escorting my Hunter 19 trailer sailed, Misty. Mostly this has involved just cosmetic work, sanding and painting, repairing cracks in the rudder assembly, trailer lights and varnishing any timber exposed to the elements.

Last Sunday week ago, as the weather was heating up I thought it might be time to check out the revamped boat ramp on the Paterson River.  Due to Misty's exposed centreboard casing I was mainly interested in the water depth and I could tell right away that it was fine. Feeling light hearted, that I now had a perfectly good boatramp just minutes from home, I went for a quick rockhop along the shore. As my weight bore down on a particularly large boulder it rotated rapidly sending me downwards onto my ribs. A painful week later I was referred for a liver scan to check for possible haemorrhaging. It will pass, I will get on the water.

Jack de Crow

There is such a paucity of dinghy cruising literature available to the enthusiast. One is compelled to return to the meagre offerings available through blogs, ebooks or real books, for inspiration.

This is often a frustrating past-time due to the content or the author's lack of engagement with the reader. Rarely does the reader find themselves transported in mind and body to drift along a peaceful river smelling blossom to the chorus of finches in the brush, but yesterday I resumed my third read of Jack de Crow and am living the good life I  between all  the drudgery and effort of being a single dad. Though yesterday my 'baby' daughter took to the roads behind the wheel of my car for the first time which  was ah, exciting. Perhaps in time I will be able to relax enough to read Jack de Crow and be transported off while being transported to?

For an unbiased review go here: http://www.smh.com.au/news/book-reviews/the-unlikely-voyage-of-jack-de-crow/2008/09/05/1220121506663.html?page=1

Phoenix?

Around the time of my last post the Paradox build got the better of me and I put her into storage. But .... well a 25 year relationship with my partner ran aground and after tidying up my "maritime assets", resuming my Paradox build is exciting me like never before. The prospect of cruising off alone akin to the blog "Jim's Times",
; launching, cruising, towing her home, is just the ticket. So drop by another time, the flame is still  burning brighter by the minute!