Preparing for Season 3

After four months of hanging out at Rottnest, it was time to get the preparations underway to travel north for season 3. With a plan to go through to Darwin, including an extended stay in the Kimberley, we needed to tick a few boxes before we departed Fremantle. We had a casual pen booked at Port Coogee marina - a place we have come to really enjoy. This time we were greeted with three new second-hand catamarans as neighbours that had arrived in WA ex the east coast over last season - all of them being sailed by relatively new and inexperienced people back to Fremantle from Darwin, Newcastle and Launceston. Some new cruisers who are spending the next year or so getting to know their boats before doing what we are doing! Our other neighbours were Paul and Rose on Arabella, whom we had sailed with in different areas of the WA coast over the past two seasons.

One of the downsides of staying south of the river was the travel to and from Port Coogee and our home bases in Duncraig and Wembley Downs. There were, however, still plenty of positives. The main one being the opportunity to explore in and around Fremantle. We had brought our bikes back with us from Rottnest, so we spent a fair bit of time cruising along the bike paths between Port Coogee and the centre of Fremantle. Ample to do and see with plenty of rich history to explore. And, in between boat jobs, explore we did!

One of the medium-term projects we had been working on was replacing our tender, Bob. Bob has been great, but we have found him a tad small and underpowered once we get loaded up – particularly if we add a third person, or if we’ve packed for a day explore with all the diving gear + surfboards in tow. We have loved the Highfield for its versatility and ride, as well as the fact that it is kind to Singularity with it being a rib.

After much back and forth over many months with Steve and the team at Ribworx, we settled on the Highfield 310 Classic. Slightly bigger than Bob 1 lengthwise, with bigger pontoons and an under floor bilge – which means no more wet feet and gear! The fuel tank is now nicely tucked away under a seat at the bow. Luxury! We went with a new Tohatsu 20hp 4 stroke engine which will give us plenty of power, but still be economical. We also had overall weight as a consideration as we would be hauling it up under the davits on the rear of Singularity, which, along with the size of this space, were the main restricting factors.

It was quite the logistical exercise organising it all, loads of emails and quotes, attending Parker Marine to do the outboard handover in order to satisfy warranty, a couple of visits to Ribworx in O’Connor and then working a plan about doing a handover. Tricky when you don’t have a car and the usual accesses. We had originally planned to try and do it whilst the boat was on the hardstand, but it turned out the boat was so high on the blocks we couldn’t get the old one off and the new one on!

So, once back in Port Coogee, we went with Plan B which involved driving Bob 1 to Woodman Point boat ramp, a distance of about 4 miles. Luckily, it was a pretty windless day and with a rv set for 1300 hours, we set off and made it around to the ramp. Bob 2 was launched off the trailer and replaced with Bob 1, who we had traded in. Sad to watch Bob 1 disappear off into the distance; a great little dingy who had enabled us to explore and enjoy our first two seasons on Singularity. We set about refuelling and then driving back to Port Coogee. The new engine needed to be broken it in, so we only travelled at half throttle all the way home – but if was comfortable and we were happy.

The next task was setting it up on our davits which took a few hours of back and forth adjustment, as well as putting new hauling ropes on. Eventually, we had it all sorted and Bob 2 was looking the goods and ready to go!

The time had now come for Singularity to go out of the water and onto the hardstand. We were booked in to Blue HQ in Fishing Boat Harbour, a small distance from our pen at Port Coogee. Always daunting getting pulled out – invariably you end up with a new scratch or a bent something or other, so it was with some nervousness that we fronted up on the Monday morning. Because of our width, we were on the big lifter. The Blue HQ team were waiting for us and got us safely out of the water. Phew!

One of our main jobs was to replace our rudder bearings. We had been given a heads up back when we did the original survey that they would be due in the next few seasons and the time had come before we embarked north. Josh, at Pro Marine had been recommended by a few different sources and he helped us drop the rudders, remove the old bearings and then have new bearings machined and refitted. The process took a little over a week, as was indicated to us, and went without any trouble. You never quite know what to expect with these things, so we were happy it all went smoothly.

Jason Kelly @ Indigo Boating looked after us with anti-fouling, prop speed and a couple of small fibreglass repairs. Trying to do these jobs yourself is achievable, but time consuming and we would have struggled to get it done in the time frame and in the same professional manner as Jason and his team achieved for us. You pay for it, but the end result was definitely worthwhile.

We were very keen to get the boat back in the water – mainly because it just ends up filthy in the boatyard with boat work going on all around you. Basically covered in sanded antifoul and general grime dust! We were also butting up against the Easter break, so the yard was busy and so a bit of sweet talking on Pete’s behalf to get us back in the water on the Thursday prior to Easter break did the trick. With Nicky on teaching duties at Rotto, we called in the big guns – master mariner Greg Trew is always looking for a way to get on the water, so when I needed a deckie I knew he was the man for the job. Never any drama with Greg, so it was great that he could help get Singularity back in the water and then back safely alongside in Port Coogee.

We have been having intermittent Marine VHF and poor AIS signal for some time, so we wanted to investigate the cause. We also wanted to upgrade our Marine VHF radio from a basic vhf to one with DSC (Digital Select Calling), which basically means it has our MMSI number embedded in it, so we can directly call other vhf users by using their MMSI number – such as a ship for example; and vice versa. The unit also has an inbuilt GPS which provides our position if we send a distress call etc. Good safety upgrade for us as we venture further afield. So, after much waiting, it was time for Nicky to finally venture up the mast so that she could take some photos in and around the area of the cables. This also provided an opportunity to check and photograph different sections of the rigging as part of our maintenance plan. Luckily, it was a picture perfect day with minimal wind…

Anyhow, we were working with Tony from Maritime Electrical Services and after some troubleshooting, and time up the mast, we discovered that the coaxial cable had chafed through. Tony gave it a tug and it broke off in his hand – leaving the end of the cable inside the mast 15+ metres up and a bit of an issue as to how we thread a new one in. A quick call to Steve from WA Rigging, who was fortunately not far away doing another job, and he was able to pop over and have a look. We removed the old cable and Steve was able to feed a mousing line – basically a long piece of string cord from the top of the mast down through the conduit pipe using a piece of bike chain as a weight. Always tricky because there is not much space as all of the other mast cables (tv antennae / Cel-fi Go / wind instrument / mast lights) are feeding through there as well, but it worked!! Relief all round and then it was a case of getting Tony back to finish off the job, albeit it was four days before he was available. With his boss, Pete, up the mast, we fed a new coaxial cable in from the top and down through and out the bottom. Lubed up with some dishwashing liquid, it worked a treat and soon we had great radio and AIS signal and we were back in business!

Of course, there were still a few other tasks to be completed (always something to maintain/fix on a boat!) – replacement of the gas struts in the saloon hatches (a process that took 12 months!!); 12 volt fans installed in both bedrooms; new curtains to the single bunks (thanks mum), defrosting of the fridge and freezer which was well overdue, reprovisioning, and of course the obligatory clean out to try and keep the level of ‘stuff’ on the boat to a manageable level. Good old Market Place does it again!

During this time we were also catching up with friends and family. Nicky was spending plenty of time with her Dad, freeing up her Mum to go away with her girlfriends for a few days here and there. Pete was attending to a few jobs at his Mum and Dad’s place, as well as giving Micko a workout on the ping pong table.

Jemma, having recently received news of her successful job application in Port Hedland, was busy getting ready for her move. This included trying to sort out some of her stuff, which is spread all across Australia from Phillip Island, to Cam and Fiona’s, Ian and Sue’s and. of course, Ian and Jen’s. We managed to get some stuff sorted and packed in boxes before her departure - but pretty sure they might still be sitting in the garage! We had a final family dinner, just the four of us before saying our goodbyes to Jemma and wishing her all the best. Having spent four and a half years in Hedland ourselves, we knew Jemma would love it - plenty of sport, great camping, fishing and good people. Surely, not much has changed in 30 years, haha…

Throw in some family time, catch ups with friends and way too much driving, the time just flew past. So fast, in fact, that there were many friends we didn’t get the opportunity to see before we left! All the while, we had one eye on the weather whilst regularly chatting with our mates on Arabella, Chasing Eden and Solitaire who were also planning on heading north for the season.

With everything on the list ticked off, it was time to return to Rottnest and await the arrival of the Chasing Eden crew before we departed for the Pelsaert Group, Abrolhos Islands.