Ahoy Carbineer 46 Owners

[gavron]

Hi Mike/Carolyn,
Looks like you both having good time. I did wakeup this morning to -4 deg C. From short video I did notice that you have bit different cockpit arrangement. Can you shoot few more pictures of your yacht.

Greg

[Moody Mike]

Hi Gavron,
Here is a few pics of our cockpit & saloon.

[Moody Mike]

Very light conditions yesterday so left the cruising sails furled & dragged out the Spinaker & mizzen staysail. Both are 27 years old & look like they have never been used before. They still have M.Lasky written on the sail bag tag. We got 5 knots sog with 9 knots of wind . Now at Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island heading to Zoe Bay on Hinchenbrook tomorrow.

[Moody Mike]

Now in Cairns, heading to Lizard soon. We hit our maximum ever speed sailing into Cairns 9.7 knots SOG . Spent a few days at Hinchenbrook Island. Zoe Bay has to be one of the most beautiful places on the East Coast. It looks & feels like Tahiti. Its hard to believe how good these boats are we sailed in 25 knots all day & didnt even get a wet deck. So comfortable & still fast. Enjoy the pics.

[gavron]

Mike,

This is “crude” to show us beautiful beaches, lovely temperature when at the same time I have +9deg C(if I lucky) in Canberra. Yacht under spinnakers looking fantastic.
Few years ago I was sailing from Cairns to Thursday Island with friend of my. With SSE 20-25 knots winds and calm water spinnaker was almost every day in use. We have spent few days on Lizard Island, too. Beautiful place. Must visit LI Yacht Club on Watson Beach .

[Moody Mike]

Hi Gav,
Were anchored up on Irene reef tonight. A quick snorkel showed lots of crays so hoping to get a few for dinner tomorrow. We ran into a mate on a prawn trawler & have heaps of prawns on board. Stopped in at Port Douglas & fluked the wine & food festival. Last 2 nights at Hope Island did some maintenance polished all the bright work & did a big clean up inside. Been running the headsail & the asymmetric together downwind. Works very well puling 8 knots square on in 15 knots of breeze. For some unknown reason some photos aere posting inverted of sideways. Been emailing Mike Lasky aparently my Spinaker & mizzen staysail are the ones originaly on Voyager. Not sure how they got on Katrina. Hows your refit going.

[Moody Mike]

I found out the previous name of Katrina III this week. I sent an email to Mike Lasky after finding all the sail bags had his name on them. I sent him some pics of the boat inside including the rear cabin. Mike is positive that Katrina III was his old boat Voyager-Melbourne. Now that would make the Australian registration much easier for me as Voyager- Melbourne is still on the register. Now I have heard there is another Carbineer called Voyager so that may be why Melbourne was added to the name. I now know who originaly owned her & the 2 owners before me . Im now trying to find the third owner who bought it off Mike.
AMSA will contact them for me & I have started the ball rolling. We are mow in Thursday Island anchored over at Horn Island . After we sort out the Aus Reg we may head off to PNG.
Mike

[DGH]

Hi Mike,
Not sure about Voyager MELBOURNE but Michael Lasky owned Voyager. She had all black spars and some very fancy work in the engine room. Michael was the builder of the Carbineers. I saw Voyager on the marina at Bermagui earlier this year - or perhaps I am wrong there, it might have been the old Spotlight.

[Moody Mike]

Hi DGH,
We have been in contact with Mike Lasky since we found his name on all our sail bags. We sent Mike photos & he is sure that our boat is his Voyager . It even has the gun storage under the main bunk. The main engine has been changed & she has been repainted. We have AMSA contacting the previous owner who holds the Australian Registration so we can have it transfered to our name.

[DGH]

Hi Mike,
That is great news. You certainly have a wonderful boat there. Enjoy FNQ.

[keithw88]

Dear (Aus-based) Carbineers,
I would like some advice and comments.
I have a Carbineer (now called Equilibre) which is currently in the Med. I am considering have it shipped to Newcastle NSW later this year in order to see new horizons other than the Med. As a Brit I can spend chunks of 3 months at a time in Australia, which can be repeated, and the boat can stay for 12 months (which, according to the Aus Govt. website, can also be extended).
My first thoughts have been to spend up to three months in sailing up to Coffs Harbour or somewhat further north, and then to sail across to New Caledonia. However, I also enjoyed a holiday in Tasmania some time back, so I have toyed with the problem of how to get over there.
SO:
1. Is there a lot to see and enjoy sailing north from Newcastle towards Brisbane for three months from November? I am sure I would be able to find a good place to leave the boat with someone to check on it once a week (nominations welcomed!). Is it true that the earliest reasonable time to sail over to NC is May?
2. If I were to sail to Tasmania, would it be best to coast-hop down to somewhere just before Cape Howe and then sail down and across to Hobart - or get round to close to Melbourne and then sail across to say Devonport? or stand out and do it in one big leg? What is the coast like going down south and west from Sydney - is it a good cruising area?
Advice and comments welcome!

[DGH]

Dear keithw88,
Interesting post from you. Great plan and I hope we see you down here. Shipping a yacht into Newcastle is pretty hassle free from my one close association.
By way of introduction I should say I am a native of Sydney and I have spent my lifetime sailing up and down east coast Australia, circumnavigating Australia, circumnavigating the world, etc.
To answer your questions, I would say that if you are talking of starting at Newcastle and having 3 months ahead of you, you are starting at a time that most yachts are heading south on east coast Australia, basically because of the approaching cyclone season in Queensland - which can also affect northern NSW.
IMO a suitable program then would be after getting yourself sorted at Newcastle Yacht Club (which you will enjoy), head a couple of hours north to Port Stephens which is lovely and about the only all weather entrance on the NSW coast between Newcastle and Brisbane (except perhaps Coffs Harbour).
After Port Stephens it's time to head South for Sydney and Tasmania. Many great places to stop going south and the best time of year to be in Tasmania when you get there. Go from Eden (port near C.Howe) to Tassie. Shortest crossing is Eden to Babel Island on the NE of Flinders Island. Lots of options, but many people go straight through to Wineglass Bay - about 44 hours in your boat in the right conditions.
You could safely leave your boat in Hobart or Launceston but (IMO) its best to be leaving Tassie and heading north no later than mid-April.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
DGH

[olaf hart]

Agree with DGH.
Plan depends on time of year, if spring and summer head to Tassie, it’s usually nice down here till around April.
Not a bad place to leave the boat for a while either, costs are reasonable and there is usually spare Marina space.
Bass Strait would be fine in a Carbineer, leave Eden after a front has passed through and you should be in the lee on the Tasmanian east coast before the next one hits.
We usually head for Wineglass Bay, but have anchored in Bicheno, Binalong Bay or Eddystone Point in a pinch.
A Carbineer should easily make it to Wineglass in most cases before the next front.
We generally stay well east of Flinders Isalnd, off the continental shelf, but I know people who prefer to go close in, will probably try it myself next trip.
If you are here in autumn and winter, head to Queensland. The Northern NSW Coast isn’t much for cruising, you want to get to Moreton Bay around Brisbane and points north.
Cyclone season is mid to late summer, but most insurers are happy with boats being left in Mooloolaba or or south with cyclone cover.
Enjoy.

[Moody Mike]

Hi Keith,
Nice to hear from another Carabineer owner.
First up sailing from Sydney to Brisvegas.
This is a nice piece of coast in good weather but when it blows there are not many places to hide except in rivers thar have dangerous bars in rough weather. On my way from Hobart to Goldcoast I day hopped & did it in 4 days . NSW Government has recently introduced some draconian legislation that prohibits yachts from anchoring more than 28 days in a water way & 90 days total in the entire state. The real good cruising is in Queensland & Tasmania. If your arriving around Christmas then head South to Tassie & miss the Cyclone season in Queensland.
Heading down to Tassie i jumped across the Strait in one overnight stint when heading North. A friend recently did Wilsons Prom then Melbourne across to Deal Island then Flinders. The photos he put on FB have convinced me to travel this route on my next venture South.
3 months will give you plenty of time to see a lot of Tassie even get you to Port Davey. The members of the Royal Yacht Club Tasmania in Hobart are very friendly & helpful. Although Tassie gets some wild weather at times there are lots of sheltered anchorages with beautiful scenery.
After Tassie & when the cyclone season is gone head North to Qld I wouldn’t miss the Great Barrier Reef if you come this far. Start from The Gold Coast there is a sheltered trip through mangrove lined waterways to Moerton Bay & Brisbane. A short day hop from here to Fraser Island & you are again in sheltered waters. From Fraser a day hop to Bundaberg where you can top up with fuel,food,rum & now the best Gin in the world.
Great marina here with dry storage as well. Then a day hop to Lady Musgrave Island & you are in the Great Barrier reef.
We just took Katrina III all the way to Thursday Island & back . We loved the Whitsundays very social sailing with lots of yachts parties etc beautiful scenery & excellent, fishing , diving & snorkeling . Hinchenbrook Island is Another amazing place you would think your in Tahiti here high rugged mountains ,waterfalls & swimming holes.
North of Cairns the trades blow strong every day we were doing 9 to 10 knots downwind i only used 200 L of fuel in 4 months most of that was in the generator. Lizard Island is another great stopover with amazing reef & the famous Cooks Look.
Around November the Northerlies start & you can sail down wind back to Brisbane .
Like to see some pics of your boat.
Mike

[keithw88]

Thanks for all that great info and advice! I will certainly go south first. I'll digest what you guys have written and plan accordingly.
I'll post pics and more info in a few weeks time once the boat is operational again (it's undergoing the usual rather extensive winter (northern hemisphere, remember!) work a 40 year-old boat needs - or maybe what it's custodian wants!).