1600hrs 08 Jan 2006 EDT 34’30”S 151’18”E Ref 693
A grab bag of final thoughts before demolition day – and a coming home party?
North of Wollongong, duly celebrated in accordance with custom. 08/1600
For the Lazenbys – lightning conductor – I’m not qualified to advise – read Ewen Thompson’s website www.marinelightning.com I think but there’s a link on the Berri site in the preparations document. The short answer is you don’t need one until you get struck but it’s a really good feeling to know it’s there when the lightning is zapping into the water all around you. Ewen also advised us that the safest place for satphones, handheld GPS, mobile etc is in the microwave if you have one, or in a metal box if you haven’t.
John S – I’ve looked at the formulae for storm sails in the Blue Book – I think Berrimilla’s are quite a bit smaller than the formula would allow. And they work very well indeed.
Sunrise at Point Perp – great slabs of grey brown rock tinged delicately pink – Kris, do you remember the pink line as the sunlight went down the cliff – you told me the technical term but I’ve forgotten? It has just happened.
And for Steve Jackson – thanks aren’t enough so you get to run a marathon – lucky lad – but thanks anyway. You took on what looked like a little job minding a family contact website and it turned into a full time operation, along with your other two full time jobs and you didn’t flinch or walk away and there are 105000 hits out there to testify to the amazing job you have done. Gratitude, appreciation, thanks in abundance from Pete and me and our families and I’m sure from the many people out there who have appreciated what you have done. And to Malcolm Robinson too, for minding the shop so well while Steve was away – you can run the marathon too if you want to. Ho Ho Ho! I think we have 5 marathon runners for London 2007 so far – any more out there?
Incidentally, Malcolm has just won his division in Hobart’s Sail South week in his new boat Wildfire – a very clever thing to do in distinguished company – we dips our lids to Mal and Dave and the crew – well done.
And thanks to Fenwick who is here with us on the final leg for huge effort with shirts and stuff, and especially to all y’all who have sent us donations to help with the communication costs – Thank you all.
And – once again – thanks for all your wonderful emails and Gust Book entries. I am going to print them all and read them whenever life gets difficult or lonely.
Then there’s Berrimilla – what a boat! Time for a bit of TLC – she’s looking very much as as you’d expect after being bashed by the world’s oceans but everything works and we didn’t break anything although a couple of swages in the rig were looking pearshaped by Falmouth. We didn’t lose a winch handle. Just the liferaft and some battens. Onya Berri. I hope Peter Joubert has noticed and approved. Thorry, I meant to ask you about that in Hobart…
For everyone within reach of Sydney, we will try to organise a DIY coming home party in the next few weeks – probably a picnic in a park somewhere not very far from Rushcutters Bay and we can put Berri in the pond at CYC to take part – BYO everything and clean up afterwards. We will put the details on the website as soon as we can so watch this space.
I’ll send this one now so that Steve can post it today and I’ll sign off the gig once we’re through the Heads. At this rate, that will be around midnight – so only one day short of the year and a day closer to the joys of Vogon poetry and homelessness for the two old farts. The old but shelter has been a fun home for the year and we’ve got a huge pile of cans for the demolisher.
The logs ramblings can be cryptic, so we have added: