Here - Polynesian Catamaran Association

Finalv this laconic reportof a
tough PAHI31 trip along the
Australian coastby M ark Parrat.
Plh i
P u b -evaw t
ADELAIDE SYDNEY
by M ark Parrat
Ifinaily Iaunched 'W HETIKURA'or
'EV EN IN G STA R 'ou rPAH I31 in
January ofthls year(1985)in a lttle
backwaterin PortAdeiaide,South
Australia.
Before Igo any furthefIshould
m ention a good friend ofm ine Robert
Ayliffe,w ho also builtand launched a
PAH I31 'PA PE R M O O N 'a Im ost
exactly a yearbefore.(Sea People
No.5 p.24)Unlike m ine,Robert's was
a com plete W .E.S.T.boat,W e had an
exhilarating sailearlierfrom W angaroa
1s.to Port Adelaide,a distance of 80
orso m iIes in less th an 10 hou rs w ith
speeds up to 15 knots w ith a 20.25
knotS-SW - a beam reach.Robert
was im m ensely supportive and helpful
w ith my boatbuilding and Iaunching.
Aftera couple oftrips on
'W HETIKURA'around 1he GulfW aters
w pth friends and helpers IIeft
Adelalde ratherunprepared forSydney
in M arch as w e w anted to pass
through the Bass Straits before
w inter.The Journey Iasted about2 )i
m onths w ith 14 days sailing lim e.
Because ofouraversion to strong
w inds forw ard ofthe beam and
anything strongerthan that from
forward,behind above orbelow w e
consequently supported a few bars in
pubs offrlendly Aussie tow ns w ith
friendly Aussle folk . m ostare Iike
thataftera few ales.M ysesfand
sturdy crew ofthree Iatertw o one
left afterseven w etdays in cold
Victorian ports.W e aIhad som e
sailing experience ofvarying degfees
and vintages,so togetherw e
som etim es confusedly sailed South
Eastand North atroughly the right
tim es and the right places,happily
notbum ping pnto any Iand at
inopportune m om ents.
There w ere tlm es w hen the
adrenaline system s in ourco lective
bodies received a burstortw o 20.2 5
knot Northerlies on !he beam across
Southern Victoria,w ith the w ind
setting up a shortsteep sea w ith 6.10
footw aves.Forsom e hours we
crashed through alm ostburylng the
bow s and w ith greatIashings ofspray
untilfina ly we had the good sense to
puta reefin the m ain and change the
genoa fora yankee,butitw as good
to press 'W HETIKURA'a little - 8-10
knots butthe golng becam e a bit
rough and w etand was a Iotm ore of5-10 racing yachts sw ishing by,
com fortable and not m uch slower intensively active crew s sw arm lng
w ith a sailchange,although that overdecks jet-engined hydrofoilsto
experience and som e Iater m ake m e M anly like big skim m ers on the w ater
feelthe necesslty of a spray dodger (sklm mers - beetles thatskim over
and weatherc10th protection around puddles).Ratherthan continue up to
the cockpit(any ideasand
the HarbourBridge we took a
suggestions gratefulfor).W e had a starboard tack up to M iddle Harbou r
slow,uneventfulsailacross the Bass and Castlecrag w here Iam alpresent
Straits,m etsom e dolpbins on a stillm oored.''
m oonlitspree offNinety-m ile beach' Thi
m any phosphorescentantlcs,gota
s trip to m e reads Iike a glorified
Iittle Ioslthatnight pub crawl.Bob Evans '
.
a form erPCA
Chairm an,once said,thathe bu lth1s
Laterw e had an exciting sailfrom NARAIto sailcom fortablv to everv
Eden to Sydney w ith a brisk buta bit pub ofcharacteron the South coast
flukey SW w hich gave som e great ofBritain.Ourm ap of'W HETIKURA 'S '
surfing runs but necessltated a couple trip seem s to show an equaldream .l
of cold 3 and 4 am sailchanges,and like the phrase ''so togetherkve
lo and behold Sydney at 8 o'clock som etim es confusedlv sailed South,
Satuzday m orning,busy w ith the Eastand North''.Ibetthev d1d Ed
w eekend recreationalfleetand racers
bursts of brightspinnakers and rushes
IM A G IN E C H A RT ERS
FOSS OUAY M ILLBROOK,TORPOINT
COFiNWALLP1O 1EN
TIKI21'
SKIPPERED AND SELF SAIL
TIK I2 6, CHA RTER
O RO 46 '
* # * * *
ALUM INIM UM TIKIM ASTS & RIGG INING
NEW TIKI21'FO R SALE
* * * * *
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è r'yrN
l. .
, N P
.< .'
k .x .,
CATAM ARANS BUILT,REPAIRED AND DELIVERED
phone Steve Turner
PLYM OUTH 822846 PLYM OUTH 823200 (Answ erphone)
.
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M ark Sarrat's PAHI31 'W HETIKURA'
.)
The Sea People/sailorm an No.8 July 1987 13