Port River sailing

Taken in October last year, during the Port Festival; these boats were two of several adding colour to the weekend's events. Alas, I was just a spectator this time.

Dolphin off Henley Beach

It is always a delight when dolphins swim alongside my yacht. Unfortuantely not always, but last Tuesday they cooperated for my guest on board; Fabian, a German exchange student who plays in my concert band.

A new start

Today I went out for a sail; nearly the start of Summer and a new start to my blog after an extended three month break.

Today's sail was in idyllic conditions; a great way to show off one aspect of life in Adelaide to Julia and Hayley, a couple of bonnie lasses from Scotland.

Stormy seas

No sailing today! This is the entrance to the marina at Glenelg, taken today on one of our wildest days for a while.

Fellow boat owners be warned: to enter the harbour now you need to sail parallel to the shore with a side swell; not very comfortable on days like today.

Back in the Marina

I took this shot yesterday when I returned to the Holdfast Shores Marina after yet another great day of winter sailing; a steady 10-15 knot off-shore breeze on an 18C day.

Winter sailing

Cloudy but fine; this is the way I spent the first day of winter - sailing in very mild and pleasant conditions off Glenelg.

Sailing kayak

So what shall I do today? Go peddling, rowing or sailing? In this vessel you can do it all!

Spotted off Brighton yesterday this is a Hobie Adventure Island; a 4.88 metre kayak with a difference. See the manufacturer's site for details.

The owner spent quite some time travelling along side us as we were sailing back to Glenelg. He explained the versatility of his craft; especially the unique paddles.

Shags on a rock

This morning I went out for a sail expecting a decent breeze; instead it was almost dead flat so what else to do but take photos. These shags (cormorants) are perched, not on a rock, but on one of a series of concrete blocks a few hundred metres offshore from Glenelg.

These concrete caissons were built in 1914 as part of a breakwater for Glenelg. In 1915 the project was abandoned after a severe storm. These "Glenelg Blocks" are often frequented by local fishermen and divers.

Approaching Glenelg

Today was another glorious mild summer's day and I made the most of it; a 32 degree Celsius maximum and winds around 10 knots. I took this shot as we headed back towards the Holdfast Shores Marina at Glenelg.

Holdfast Trainers

This afternoon on my way home after an enjoyable few hours sailing my yacht, I noticed these small boats sailing on the Patawalonga.

They are Holdfast Trainers, designed in South Australia in 1948 as a small boat in which children can learn to sail. The boat is 2.42m in length and has a crew of two.

Although I did not own one as a child, I spent many hours learning to sail as a crew member on a friend's boat.

ABC Wednesdays - E for Etchells

The Etchells is an international class racing yacht; designed in USA in 1966 by Skip Etchells. The 22 foot (6.7m) now has fleets in 11 countries around the world. Last year's world championship was held at Cowes (the Isle of Wight) and this year it was in Chicago.

I took these photos at Glenelg in the Holdfast Shores Marina during the 2004 Australian Championships. Australia has 16 Etchells fleets; you can read more about them here.

I only thought of writing about Etchells for this week's ABC Wednesdays after seeing an Etchells on Alice's site (Arrandon, France)

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions go to the ABC Wednesdays' site or to see direct links to their own sites go here.

A Motley Crew

Another day sailing off Glenelg. During the week I generally find retirees to crew for me; on the weekend - bikini babes? These fine "young" gentlemen are also members of a group that I cycle with. The chap on the right is in his eighties and still enjoying life to the full.

Playful dolphins

Another beautiful day on the water. No sooner had we left the harbour, we spotted them just inside the old breakwater; a large school of dolphins (about 20). We motored over towards them and they happily swam alongside and underneath the boat. I got my camera out and started clicking. Bonanza!

After about 20 minutes of circling in the area, we set off for what we went to sea for - sailing. Glorious!

Orontes Beacon

This beacon marks the northern end of the Orontes Bank. When sailing from Adelaide to Port Vincent one needs to pass this beacon to port.

When we sailed across the gulf we navigated using a GPS, but found out that the coordinates we had for this beacon were inaccurate; about half a nautical mile out. When we passed the beacon we marked it on the GPS, so now I have an accurate reading for the next voyage.

Sheltered haven

I have previously mentioned one of my pastimes - sailing. Adelaide is located about halfway up the Gulf of Saint Vincent. The gulf affords great sailing conditions, but unfortunately there are no natural inlets or bays that offer all round protection for anchoring.

Apart from the facilities in Adelaide there are now two marinas in the gulf; one south of Adelaide and the other across the gulf at Port Vincent. Yesterday a friend and I sailed 35 nautical miles across the gulf and docked for the night in this lovely marina; a nice onshore amenities block and about a kilometre walk into the town.

To my ABC Wednesday visitors - as I was away on Wednesday and have only just returned after a tiring day, I will endeavour to catch up with visits to your sites tomorrow.

Twilight sailing

This photo was taken in late autumn. At that time of year we have many days with light winds in the afternoon, unlike now in the summer when we nearly always get strong afternoon sea breezes.

More of the One and All

The One and All is a sail training vessel and even on public cruises passengers are given the opportunity to participate; helping hoist the sails and going aloft like the fellow in this photo.

On day trips like these the ship can carry 50 passengers, but on the week-long sail training trips, only 25 passengers are permitted.

When going out on the nets on the bow or going aloft, people are expected to wear safety harnesses as can be seen in this photo.

Here are views of the ship from the front and the back.

As I said yesterday sailing was particularly enjoyable on that day; here's a shot of me at the helm of my boat with a view of the One and All behind me.

One and All

Click on the photo to enlarge

The 42 metre long One and All is South Australia's youth development sail training vessel. It is moored at dock 2 at Port Adelaide.

Port Adelaide is under redevelopment at present, with lots of waterside housing being built. In the background you can see a new bridge being constructed. Port Adelaide is several kilometres inland and was once a busy port. Now most cargo ships dock at Outer Harbour, which is at the entrance to the Port River.

I am posting this photo in response to a request from Sailor Girl. Yesterday I went to Port Adelaide to photograph this vessel, and was fortunate to be able to have tour of it as I have a friend who is the ship's engineer.

In addition to the sail training voyages, they regularly run evening and daytime cruises. I now intend going on one of these, so I am sure you will see more of the One and All sometime in the future.

Click here and here to see more photos of the One and All.

Temptation - The Dolphin Boat

Click on the photo to enlarge

This catamaran, Temptation, offers cruises along the foreshore from Glenelg; the main objective being to give passengers a chance to look at or even swim with dolphins. I took this photo several weeks ago between Glenelg and Brighton.

When I sail in this area I also see dolphins from time to time. Click here to see a photo of a dolphin swimming alongside my boat.

Port Stanvac

Today I sailed along the coast to Port Stanvac. The oil refinery here closed in 2003 after operating for 40 years. The state government is now proposing to build a desalination plant on the site. The plant would supply Adelaide with about 20 percent of its water.