TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

The engine room has been overhauled, with new main and secondary fuel filters, new fuel lift pump, ventilation in the engine room re engineered, all oil and diesel leaks all rectified.

Have just finished fitting the furler for the steady sail and awaiting for the life raft to return after servicing.

Cmaps have been uploaded to the AIS class B system and is working well and inconjunction with the auto pilot GPS chartplotter, hand held GPS and with all the paper charts from Brisbane to New Guinea, we should find our way to TI. Departure date is now Sunday the 9th of August. Further sea trials are scheduled for the 18th of July

MV Waiben is now up on the slip at Deagon Slipways, water blasting the barnacles and application of anti fouling, fitting a new transducer and thorough check of all undewater fittings and flange seals

we have circumnavigated Moreton Island testing out the new systems and crew awareness. We left Scarborough and organised the pontoon at the Little Ship Club and had the crew tie up to an unfamiliar dock with fresh docking lines, they did well. great facilities here, with several 4 burner BBQ’s, fridges, showers, well stocked bar and a gaming area, nice to watch the sunset on the lawns. We headed off next morning through the South Passage Bar in less than ideal conditions and the vessel did not disapoint us. We attempted to fish off the well known reefs on a drift, but at 3 knots it was extremely difficult to hold bottom.

We rounded North Point with 3 metre swell in close and about 4 metres apart, the vessel was pooped twice and we changed course to the 45o for a more pleasant trip. The new auto pilot had agood work out as did the stabilisers

The weather report told us we had NE @ 15 to 20 knots we decided to anchor between Bulwer and Tangalooma, rather than our first desicion being Yellow Patch,  the winds blew S/SE all night so we rocked and rolled all night. After a hardy breakfast we headed to the shoals off the wrecks at Tangalooma, for a fish, we had oviously found the nursery and threw a heap of fish back.

The trip back to Scarborough was hindered by vision as we could only see abot 1/2 nm at best in front due to squally rain, it was a good opportunity to familurise the rest of the crew with the Lowrance radar, with a man overboard suprise drill thrown in and a novice docking at the Moreton Bay Boat Club it was a successful few days.

A bit of fine tuning on the instruments and refrigeration and up on the slip at the end of Feruary for antifouling, anodes and a new transducer will prepare us for the trip ahead.

I purchased the Historic "Waiben" in February 2007 in Mackay.

The vessel is a 1949 Norman Wright built pilot vessel which serviced the Torres Straits from 1949 until 1976, it was then transfereed to Hay Point to service the new coal loading facility that had been built.

It laid on its side in mud in a shipyard for a couple of years until it was refurbished some 12 years later as the charter vessel attached to Brampton Island until 200, when the contract had ceased.

I cruised the vessel down from Mackay to Brisbane over Easter  and she now calls the Moreton Bay Boat Club home.

The hull has been wet blasted, re caulked and topsides repainted and antifouled.

New head installed with holding tank, decks repainted, new 12 Volt fridge and freezers, 80 amp battery charger, shore power, new instruments, new electronics,

Wheelhouse re varnished, rewired and galley structually altered.

We should be just about ready to go!

The plan is to leave Brisbane about mid July 2009 and cruise up to Thursday Island to celebrate the Waiben’s 60th birthday.

Preparations are almost complete, we have our VHF licence and have booked in for the Essential Safety at Sea courses in February.