She didn't want us to leave! Episode 169
We've have to admit that this was not the best start to our 2,200 nautical mile passage home! Once again we got caught out in that flukey Tasmanian weather and we were grateful Mirrool was up for the challenge even if we felt quite exhausted after smashing into the weather for several hours.
Please enjoy our first instalment of our passage home series. We look forward to bringing you many more over the coming weeks.
Troy and Pascale
PS - If you are new here and you'd like to look at the live tracking link mentioned in the video I've included it below.
https://www.clientsat.com.au/sv-mirrool-free-range-sailing/
She didn't want us to leave! - Free Range Sailing Ep 169 (YouTube)
Comments (28)
Exciting Sail! Sooo looking forward to sharing your voyage, hope the wind is fairer. The refit is splendid :)
Thank you! Welcome to the crew!
Fair Winds and Following Seas!
What an amazing sail. Certainly not just a little leisurely day sail, but looked like quite the pounding. Mirrool was up to the challenge, and her crew as well. Well done.
Wow! Only just free of snow. We hope nothing changes and you can get aboard in May though we may have changed places just for that afternoon going to weather. It involved a few wet cold surprises.
For us stuck here in COVID lockdown, snow's finally gone, but marinas out of bounds until 21 May at the earliest - thanks for a nice bit of sailing. Lucky dogs! :-;
Thank you Troy and Pascale, a bit of a sporty sail for your first time out! I noticed how well balanced the boat was in those conditions, no weather helm. Pretty impressive seamanship and boat performance. Glad to see you back in your natural element but the refit series was valuable to me. Looking forward to lots more adventures. Ben S/V DAWN
We were very happy that we hadn't screwed up the helm at all and Mirrool did stay very well mannered. Crossing the bight, she tracked nicely on the wing and for 24 hours a t a time with little input. Very pleasing in unpleasant weather.
You don't mess around getting your shakedown done! I'm very interested in that MOB device. I often sail/cruise around Puget Sound solo. I have a personal EPIRB and wouldn't have too long a wait, but why lollygag if getting hauled out and a gin could happen much sooner.
We had hoped for a bit more gentle testing of the rig but Tasmania likes to test sailors. The transmitter can be seen here: https://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/
That first day out was quite a fine test of the refit! Wow! Great to see how well Mirrool and her somewhat rusty crew weathered that spirited christening. She looks so fine going to serious weather!! The personal AIS transponders look like a good aid to safety aboard, or I perhaps should say overboard ;)
Yes Mirrool performed very well but the short seas hard on the nose conspired to make for a wet ride and stole a knot off us. We had planned to sail another 17 miles but it looked nasty and was predicted to last through the night. Things were much nicer later when we were rested.
It never fails that after every episode, I find myself sighing as I wish I was in your shoes. There is something about the way you two present your life of sailing to us that is soooo entrancing to me. Some day I hope to be able to sail away and leave the land in my memories. Thank you for providing us with such great story telling as well as the life as an ocean going creature, it means so much! Andy
I might have been content to trade places with you on that day Andy! I was fondly remembering cosy fires and a whisky at hand during that exit sail.
Well finally you are back sailing again! Good for you and me cause I can watch you again and be mesmerized as the wind whisks you away to some new adventures! I mentioned to Sailing Zatara that you were around the Perth area which was their first stop before exploring WA! Cheers, jim
Sailing Z was parked behind us and we got to chat with them a bit. They have a different aim and timeline for their cruise but we hope we see them out on the deep blue.
The two new devices ie., the receiver for weather updates and the nifty safety MOB transmitter, are great additions which i would definitely consider to get for myself. Thanks for raising these. The rough first sail was maybe be a blessing as a reminder that offshore sailing is an extreme sport and one need to be prepared for what may come in the southern ocean. Good report and footage,, crew!
The MOB1 definitely made Pascy a lot happier as her greatest fear is waking up alone on the yacht! You can see more info here: https://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/
Its so great to see you back in your natural habitat ;-)
Semi submerged
Great to see you guys back on the water. Mirrool certainly got a great "baptism of fire" after the refit. No leaks is testamant to your thoroughness during the refit and Mirrool's ocean going capabilities.
The leaks were confined to cold seawater dribbling down the back of my jacket- :《 The poor old weatherman got his name tarnished again that day.
Wow, very nice video folks. I really enjoyed the drama in the beginning. You mixed it up very well with lots of welcomed dialogue, slow IRL moments, and of course, the obligatory TTC...Troy Technical Corner! Troy I really like the pragmatic details you always provide on many things, and could watch a whole episode on that. But that would NOT be fun for all. Nice mix!
Yes we cut a lot out of that tech talk because of the loooong refit session. We understand people will be just as happy as us that Mirrool is out of the yard and back in her element.
Great to see some sailing again! Mirrool looks very good. That dramatic music really suited that early punishing sail, loved it all. And thanks for the heads up on the forward Dorado cover, will add it to my list to redo ours!
It was great to get out on the ocean but we might have preferred a more sedate start! Now we are rested up, I think an afternoon like that would be more fun.(and the water is warmer here!)
Cool video guys! Those little AIS transponders are pretty cool. Do you have a link'y thing for those? I also like the mid vlog update by pascal or sit rep...Its good to know your guys thoughts and how your feeling about things. Looking forward to the next one!
Here's a link to the company literature on that transmitter: https://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/ We didn't have AIS before but since we were getting it on our VHF radio, these made a lot of sense.