Disaster Looms for the Reef

I wake to Saturday morning's papers and tea - bliss!

However, as I page through the SMH Good Weekend (Oct 13) I come to the article by John van Tiggelen "The Tropical Time Bomb". Having recently visited the Whitsunday's and been disappointed with our snorkeling experience and lack of colourful coral, I decided this would be a particularly interesting article to read.

It is clear from the article that disaster looms large as the Great Barrier Reef dies. The scientific research indicates that global warming, rising sea temperatures, the occurrence of extreme weather events and increased ocean acidity are all symptoms of the world's reluctance to cut greenhouse emissions.

Although I am a fan of hot weather, it appears that we are having extreme weather events and hotter summers which is causing the coral to bleach.... and die. Further, rising acidity from the oceans absorbing carbon is resulting in coral reefs around the world to die and disintegrate.

It appears that in my lifetime the once Great Barrier Reef is in danger of being wiped out and this is a disaster.

I think back to my 12th birthday (some 19 year ago) when Mum packed me up to fly to Queensland (all by myself!) to spend a few weeks with my cousins. On that trip we did many amazing things, including camping at Mission Beach and taking a trip out to the Reef.

My memory is of vivid colours and it being far, far more beautiful and colourful than any photograph could ever capture. The fish, giant electric blue clams, sharks and many different types of coral. Incredible is the only way to describe it.

However, perhaps I am one of the lucky ones to have this memory. Perhaps it will never be like this ever again? I pity anyone who have not witnessed the beauty.

I would deeply love to visit the reef again to 1) and see how it has changed, and 2) hopefully experience the vivid colours and ocean life I remember so fondly. I hope I don't have to wait too much longer.

But more importantly, I hope the reef will be there for future generations to experience as I have.

We must all do our part to cut greenhouse emissions now - please.

Hamilton Island (and the Harris')

Well, a fabulous holiday.

On Friday we arrived on the island to perfect weather, a welcoming committee of Clare & John and buggies to sweep us away to our apartment... and stunning views!

Days walking, beaching, reading and cocktails. Evenings of champas, dinners and cards (OK, Pete & Matt won 500, but wait till the next Harris holiday!).

The day on the boat to Whitehaven beach was a highlight - white sand and delicious water. The boys took up with a game of cricket (Matt flogged them), then cooled off with a beer in the water courtesy of Andrew our Captain for the day - what service!

We were then spoilt with a BBQ lunch on the boat followed by snorkeling. Unfortunately we didn't see those electric colours for which the reef is so famous - a lesson for next time. If you want to see the Great Barrier Reef you must go to the outer reef. But we had fun all the same.

Monday afternoon was cloudy so we took up the putt-putt golf challenge which was frustrating but amusing! Well done my boy John, but the real champion of the afternoon was Tiger - the 8 year old who by-passed us all with his hole-in-ones!

Tuesday it was time to venture back to Sydney, but not before sneaking in a few cocktails by the pool...

I look forward to my next trip to the Whitsunday's (perhaps cruising for a week with friends? I'm working on it).

The view from our apartment!

Hamilton by pictures

The stunning view from the top (on our walk).


Swimming...


Beachtime for Beanie.


Visitors for lunch.


John the birthday boy in full Japanese birthday attire.


Soph with Japanese birthday hat and Matt!


Matt & Soph.


Beanie & Pete.


John & Clare.


Beanie, Matt, Soph & Clare - on the boat.


Waiting for lunch to cook.


After a hard morning swimming on Whitehaven.


Stunning!


The beautiful Whitsundays.


Sleepy Soph & Matt.


Mmmm.... Peter.


On the way home after a long day of swimming and snorkelling.

Zooming in the buggies!


Finishing off a great holiday with some cocktails by the pool...

More Farm Pics

Boof!

John and I.

Joey and I when we went for a walk up the back valley...

Farm things...

The garden gate.

The smell of rain in the country...


Dad.

Mum.

The boy.

We went to Janine & Peter's place to see the dog.

Joey & I brushing Beauty and Jack!


Mum in the kitchen

Joey relaxing by the fire... ready to play 500


Dad on the tractor!


Joey meeting Beauty


The Horses

A Change of Pace

With APEC turning our city upside-down, we took advantage of the long weekend and escaped to the oldies property - Velyama. A very early Friday morning saw us pick up Mum then Joey for the long drive west.

First stop was Katoomba in the Mountains for coffee and to pick up fresh bread for the weekend - oh, and some pastries and cakes for the trip - yum! Hominy Bakery is definitely worth a visit.

Next stop vineyards!

Yes, after some in-depth research by Joey, we stopped off at our first vineyard for a 10.30am wine tasting.

1) Logan Wines - we had some very nice wines and came away with loot! Worth a visit.

2) Andrew Harris Wines - I am not a fan. Although their top wine the Vision would be good with a hearty roast.

3) Huntington Wines - now this place always gets written up as one of the best Mudgee wineries, but in my view it was terrible! And I am not alone in that assessment. Don't wast your time with these wines - move right over to the next one (Lowes).

4) Lowes Wines - what can I say - FANTASTIC! Great wines and we were served by the lovely winemaker. A number of their wines are also grown organically, but the tip of the iceberg is that they are one of only a handful of vineyards in Australia to produce wine with the legendary Zinfandel variety (famous in the US). All the wines I tasted were great and we walked away with a lovely mixed dozen! We will all be back.

After a tipsy morning wine tasting we continued onto the farm to see Dad and have a late lunch, play with the horses, then some slept while Dad and I moved fallen trees (it's bee a while since I rode on the tractor). We finished the day with a lovely dinner, some wine and a few games of 500. Joey was new to this card game but came through with the goods! (We make a good team).

Saturday morning we were up early for a trip to Gulgong to get the paper, more supplies and horse drench. Then on the way home went via Peter & Janine's place to check on the Marama dog (anyone want one? I do!).

Joey made her famous Tex Mex 7 layer dip for lunch - yum! We all proceeded to eat too much. The afternoon was spent relaxing because it started to rain! Later in the afternoon the rain stopped and we went for a walk up the paddock to the Iris patch and kangaroo spotting. Another beautiful dinner and wine followed by a few more games of 500 - did I mention John had a shocker?

Sunday morning was beautiful and we spent it walking around the garden with Mum, then with the horses - but unfortunately we did not get to go riding this time. Jack was not himself. He had a large scratch on his back and was a very unhappy boy. Next time. Although we did manage to go for a beautiful walk up one of the valleys - peaceful.

After lunch it was time to make our way home to the big smoke. Just not long enough! But here are some pics...

Velyama



The Garden

Fanatical Facebook

Well, would you know it. The world is Facebook (FB) mad! I have to say that almost everyone I know (apart from a few rebels who will come around I think eg Sophie?), lots and lots of people are on FB. And although the newspaper reports that it is a 5bn waste of time. I disagree. What's 5 min a day to stay in contact with your friends and family? Harmless.

However, needless to say the Blog has been left untouched.... Although it is not all FB fault. The main culprit is WORK. Yes, that time-sucking pass time which drains you of any and all brainpower and energy! OK, it's not that bad, but it is very busy (as usual!).

Apart from work we have been doing other things - last weekend we went to Orange to visit the Bracey's - I will put up some pics when Tiffany sends them to me.

Also, there is SailingBits.... More to come on that topic!!

Italy by pictures #4 - Sailing

Long time no blog! Yes, its a long time since I have had anything useful to say apart from being ridiculously busy at work! Shame it must interrupt a life of travels and sailing...

Enough of my whinging. Some more pics. Check out the UK Moth web site - yep, my photography is famous...

http://www.int-moth.org.uk/PhotosWorlds07Alex.htm

Oh, and there will be more photos to come (Scott had them and is back from Italy) so stay tuned!

AH

Rearview Mirror

So, the Moth campaign is done and dusted. Seeing as 98.7% of Moth sailors have blogs I thought I should at least make a post on the whole affair.
In summation, an awesome event in an awesome boat. A superb location and a great bunch of sailors and WAGS!!.
I liked Adam May's top ten write up so I am shamelessly plagerising his format.

Top Ten


1. Rohan Veal - in another class to the rest. Faster, Fitter and better boathandling led to an obvious conclusion - lots of gunsmoke. Had his Bladerider completed sorted, foiling high but stable. An A-grade performance.



2. Scott Babbage - a swag of silver for Scott - 2nd in the Pre-Worlds, 2nd in the Worlds & the 2nd most widely read Moth Blog (although arguably the best..)Best of the rest on a short preparation. Had the benefit of awesome uphill pace but could not keep the mast in the sky for enough of the time downhill to challenge Rohan. With more time next year will be challenging.


3. Simon Payne - had the worst possible start to his title defence when the rumoured to be bulletproof Prowler suffered a Gantry failure resulting in two DNF's. Chipped away from there to gain a great result although he could not match the pace of the top Bladeriders - who knows had it been a touch lighter and a touch flatter...




4 Sam Pascoe - could not be accused of backing off, he was generally going quick, just that he was also often flying through the air in a cartwheel. His balance on his unicycle sometimes outshone his balance through the Torbole chop. A few gantry adujstment issues and control cable failures probably stopped an even tidier scorecard.




5. Graham Vials - Sailed really well but did not get a lot of love from his boat. Another with less than perfect preparation - with more time put in and a sorted boat will be tough to beat next year.




6. Amac - had a full time job keeping team Bladerider going but also managed to squeeze in some sailing. Always looked out of control on the water but more often than not was doing one of the best jobs out there. A couple of gear failures were costly. Must take satisfaction in a job well done on the Bladerider control systems, which when they worked to their capacity were top of the line. Whatever happened to the youtube video showing off his tacking style though? It was there... then it wasn't. Bladerider Censorship Department?? Maybe that finally answers the question of what Simon Nelson actually does...


7. Jason Belben - did not seem to revel in the big conditions downhill, perhaps the setup was not quite perfect, but sailed well and consistently through the ten races.





8. Adam May - took limited preparation to a new level, launching a new boat on regatta eve. The "weapon" was full of good ideas - reducing windage and some neat touches, and the built in wing frames have to be the best way to go, though just a touch awkward to transport! Adam could be off at Weymouth in some flatter water - especially if he gets time to do some training.



9. John Harris - Before the regatta I set the goal of finishing Top Ten - this looked very unlikely when upon arriving at Garda I could not sail more than a few meters downwind without finding myself hurtling through the air... A new vertical foil helped control issues massively and tehnique improved also. Sailed a terrible race in Race 9 but otherwise was happy.






10. Les Thorpe - squeezed the best out of his Hungry Tiger. Had it going OK in a straight line but tacks and gybes were sloooow - foils not quite up to the current generation. Made up for this with minimal swimming and minimal gear failure.






When I ordered my Moth I did so with the intention of sailing the Worlds, selling the boat and then thinking about any future Mothing. Well, having been bitten by the foiling bug it would be hard to walk away...Super challenging sailing and super rewarding - I had more capsizes in 6 weeks of Moth sailing than I have had in 14 years of 18' skiff sailing. I am not sure what next year will bring but I am certainly keen to have a crack at Weymouth.
In a perfect world I will get a boat around December and after the JJ Giltinan start doing some training - hopefully I can get to a level where I can be of use as a training partner to Scott!
Anyway a couple of months now of work, thumb twiddling, socialising and cycling and then into the 18....

Italy by pictures #3 - The Sailing

Some of my sailing pics...


Scott doing a mark rounding...


Rohan port-tacking the fleet... impressive stuff!




Race Start.



















P.S. check out the professional photographer Oskar Kihlborg's photos (click log in then type Moth and search).

This is John having a crash!










The whole Moth Regatta!