june 2019 no. 355 · east coast from sydney to orpheus island just south of hinchinbrook island in...

MERRY

CHRISTMAS

N E X T G E N E R A L M E E T I N G M O N D A Y 1 0 T H J U N E 2 0 1 9

L A K E M A C Q U A R I E Y A C H T C L U B

C R U I S I N G D I V I S I O N

June 2019 No. 355

LAKE MACQUARIE YACHT CLUB CRUISING DIVISION

Please address all letters for the Cruising Division to:

LMYC CRUISING DIVISION

Ada Street

Belmont NSW 2280

Alternatively, letters for the Cruising Division may be left

in the ‘pigeon hole’ at the LMYC office.

Cruising Division Editor:

Any articles for the Cruiseletter can be sent to

Cruiseletter Editor John Cotterill

[email protected]

by 25th July 2019

Skippers Report 3

Super Soup Day 4

Calendar of Events 6

Meet our new Secretary 7

Mullet a much maligned fish 8

CD Autumn Pittwater Cruise 1995 10

What Drowning Looks Like 11

Cruising Division Executive

Skipper: Committee

Tony Austin 0416266947 Trevor Smith 0413719329 Michael Norwood 0401622954

Secretary: Ken Archer 4946 7751 Maureen Seysener 4975 2561

Greg Harding 0409193718 Cath Austin 4946 9928 Rob & Karen Black 0417215300

Treasurer:

Ross Shirtley 4945 0641

LAKE MACQUARIE YACHT CLUB CRUISING DIVISION PAGE 3

Greeting fellow cruisers, May has been a rather eventful month for the CD. We have had some amazing weather with beautiful, warm days (albeit with not a lot of wind) so many CD boats have been making the most of the lake. We also have quite a large contingent heading north this month, many as a part of the SICYC Season of Sail cruise to explore the Clarence River. It certainly sounds like an outstanding program and previous participants are glowing in their praise of their experience. The May general meeting was well attended and members had the opportunity to hear from Mark Norden ((General Manager LMYC) and Geoff Edman (Rear Commodore and Commodore elect). Both gentlemen delivered very open presentations on the way ahead for LMYC and were happy to answer questions from the floor. I think everyone was appreciative of their open and candid comments. Two motions were considered at this meeting and both were passed. The first was to change the start time of the general meetings to 7pm rather than the previous 7.30pm. Members resolved that we should trial the new time for 6 months to see how it works. The Committee, in response to several suggestions made in the CD Activities Survey, is also exploring a new format for the meetings that might give members more opportunity for mingling and catching up with friends. More details will be provided once we have agreed the way ahead. Please note that the new start time will apply from our next meeting in June. The second motion was that the minutes of the general meetings no longer be published in the Cruiseletter but now be sent directly to members by email. I am pleased to report that the Newcastle Cruise is back on the CD calendar and I suspect that we might get a few boats continuing on to Port Stephens to explore some of the great sailing and cruising opportunities that are on offer up there. I must also thank Neil and Gail McBurnie for organising what promises to be an outstanding practical activity - visits to the Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie Radio Base at Swansea Heads and the Boat Base at Pelican. MRLM has undergone some pretty amazing upgrades to their technology and procedures over the past year or so. I am sure that you will be most impressed with the resources that they now have to ensure our safety whilst at sea. Finally, I reaffirm that your committee is always interested in getting your feedback and suggestions for new activities. I suspect that we are one of the largest (if not the largest) cruising division for sailors in NSW. Our challenge is to keep our programs exciting and relevant so do not be afraid to speak up - it is appreciated! I wish you fair winds, following seas and safe sailing

by Tony Austin

Maureen & Fred Seysener – Stoked

PAGE 4 LAKE MACQUARIE YACHT CLUB CRUISING DIVISION

Our May outing was the ever popular Soup Day held this year at Styles Point.

Whilst the turn out for Friday Happy Hour was smaller than usual (perhaps some had to hang

around to cast their vote?) Saturday morning saw a steady trickle of cooks roll up all bearing pots

of steaming hot soup!

As always the quality and variety of soup on offer was superb - our deepest thanks to you all for

going to so much trouble - enhancing our gathering with your wonderful home cooking.

The weather was fantastic - a perfect day to be out on the water - and 7 boats grabbed the

opportunity – Jodi, Migaloo, Reverie, Reggae Beat, Stoked, Catatonic and our newest CD

members David and Tia Baker all the way from Canberra!

Thanks too to all the ‘landcruisers’ who made the journey by car and joined us for the day. All in

all a wonderful afternoon of great food and wonderful company!

Sunday dawned bright and clear and the fleet wandered around the point to drop anchor and

enjoy the spectacle of the Rathmines Catalina Festival. Lots of action all day kept crews

entertained with flyovers by historic aircraft, stunning acrobatics and half hourly departures and

landings by the mighty Mallard!

Again – our greatest thanks to all who participated and made this outing such an enjoyable

experience.


NB: All Committee and General Meetings are held in the Bridgedeck Room at LMYC. Start times

are 4 pm for Committee and 7.00 pm for General meetings. On water activities will generally

start on the Friday and finish on the Sunday. Coffee mornings start at 10.30 am - usually at

LMYC but venue may change – check FB for details.

Date Event Comment 10 June General Meeting Guest Speakers: Derek & Leanne Tracey

14-16 June Practical Skills Day Ashore Visits to Marine Rescue Lake Mac: Radio Base – Swansea Heads & Boat Base – Pelican. Lunch at Swansea RSL.

24 June Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: Western Lake

24 June Committee Meeting

28 & 29 June Float Your Boat Dress up your boat on Lake Mac.

8 July General Meeting Guest Speaker: TBC

12-14 July Monthly Activity Location: Lake Cruise, Co-ordinator: Blue Pointer

29 July Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: LMYC

29 July Committee Meeting

12 August General Meeting Guest Speaker: Captain Malcolm Goodfellow (TBC)

16-18 August Monthly Activity Location: ‘Cooks on Strike’ Lake Cruise, Co-ordinator: Stoked

26 August Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: Western Lake

26 August Committee Meeting

7 September LMYC Opening Day & Sail Past

BBQ @ LMYC

9 September General Meeting Guest Speaker: Marinas – Which way is the wind blowing?

13-15 Sept Newcastle Cruise - NCYC Co-ordinator: Seeking a Volunteer

15 - ? Sept Port Stephens Mini Cruise

30 September Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: LMYC

30 September Committee Meeting

14 October General Meeting Guest Speaker: Tony Mowbray (TBC)

19-26 October Annual Ivan Irwin Cruise Location & Co-ordinator: Seeking a Volunteer

28 October Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: TBC

28 October Committee Meeting

11 November General Meeting Guest Speaker: TBC

15-17 November Monthly Activity Location & Co-ordinator: Seeking a Volunteer

25 November Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: TBC

25 November Committee Meeting

9 December Christmas Party LMYC Marquee – Starts at 1800 hrs.

31 December New Year’s Eve Cruise Location: TBC


2020

13 January General Meeting

26 January Australia Day & Family Outing

Co-ordinator: TBC Location: Black Jack Point

27 January Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: TBC

27 January Committee Meeting

10 February General Meeting Guest Speaker: TBC

14-16 February Monthly Activity Location & Co-ordinator: Seeking a Volunteer

24 February Coffee Morning Co-ordinator: Krackt. Location: TBC

24 February Committee Meeting

23 Feb – 6 March

Annual Pittwater Cruise Sun 23 Feb: HW 09.18 am; Fri: 6 Mar: HW 08.02 am

9 March General Meeting & AGM Guest Speaker: Nil due to AGM

Date Event Comment

Hello fellow CD members, many of you know me but for those that don't I thought I would introduce myself having taken the position of Secretary for the LMYC Crusing Division for this year.

I was a late comer to sailing only learning to sail when I was 32. Since then Sue and I have owned several boats starting off in trailable yachts (Careel 18, Boomerang 20, Sabre 22, Sabre 25) then moving onto a 38 foot centre Centre

Cockpit keeled boat being a Cheiftain 38. From there we moved into multi hulls owning a Lagoon 410 with our current boat being a Lagoon 440.

Our adventures have seen us sail many of the Lakes on the Eastern seaboard and much of the

east Coast from Sydney to Orpheus Island just south of Hinchinbrook Island in far north

Queensland. We have also been fortunate to sail and race in the waters around Phuket in

Thailand. While having no formal education in sailing I have had the pleasure of having been

trained by Sydney and Broken Bay water police for two years which has greatly enhanced my

boat handling, knowledge and experience. I gained my coxsains certificate at this time ( since

lapsed) and general boat licence.

We have been cruising the areas of the Whitsundays, up to Townsville and Magnetic Island and

the islands north for the past fïve years in our catamaran but this year see's us comitted to home

renovations here on the Lake.

Sue and I are massive fans of our Cruising divison having been members for approximately the

last ten years. It is a great club full of wonderful, friendly people who go out of their way to assit

club members. We have taken so much out of the club in knowledge and experience I always

promised to give back when possible. Well this year was the perfect oppurtunity not cruising this

year. Accordingly, I raised my hand for a position on the comittee and was honoured to be

elected as secretary and to able to work with the fine team that was also elected.

I was asked to become one of the admitrators on the Facebook page and have now taken on that

role as well and will be monitoring this site with Ross Shirtley the other administrator.

Sue and I look forward to catching up with everyone out on the water.


Like many sailors, we are rather partial to a fish feed but often struggle to catch anything that is:

A – Legal; B – Edible and C: Resilient enough to survive my attempts at cooking. Wandering

around the LMYC marina a few weeks ago I noticed an enormous number of large fish happily

swimming amongst the boats. Now, I know that you cannot fish in the marina so they could have

been taking refuge as the rest of the lake was covered in tinnies with a veritable forest of rods

sprouting from every one. Alas, I was soon informed that these fish were mullet (Family:

Mugilidae) and thus of no interest at all.

This got me thinking. Mullet do not have a very good reputation here in NSW. You cannot catch

them with a rod and reel, they are said to taste terrible and it is really hard to push from your mind

the link to ‘Blind Mullet (Family: Turdasaurus flotatii)’ and the quintessential Newie haircut – The

Mullet (Family: Coiffurus boganii). No wonder recreational fishermen leave them alone! My

interest in mullet was further stimulated when we found the annual crowd of commercial

fisherman gathered around the northern breakwater wall of Swansea channel. It appears that the

beach netting the annual Easter mullet run is a tradition that has spanned many generations. The

fish grow in the lake and then, when the water becomes colder, swarm out of the channel onto

the beaches were they congregate by the thousands. Several ton of fish can be landed during the

very short season without any adverse impact on breeding stocks.

Never having eaten mullet I decided that we should give it a go. So one fine morning Cath and I

headed down to Blacksmiths Beach to see if the fishermen had been successful. They certainly

had and were selling freshly caught mullet for $1.50 a fish (about 750gm to one kilo in size).

Chatting to the fisherman was extremely informative and helped answer all of our questions. This

is what we found out:

1. Mullet in the lake are bottom feeders and have a muddy flavor. The flesh has quite a high oil

content which also gives them a strong fish flavor.

Tony Austin – Double Fun


2. When the fish migrate out into the ocean the muddy flavor soon disappears and the flesh is

much more palatable.

3. The high oil content makes them very good for you (lots of Omega unsaturated fats) and

ideal for smoking.

Armed with our new knowledge we purchased three fish and headed home to experiment. After

scaling and gutting, the first challenge was to fillet them. My knives are never sharp enough so it

was not a pretty sight! Following the

recommendation of the fisherrmen we left

the skin in place. Next, we soaked them in a salt/brown sugar brine for several hours before air

drying them to get a nice coating. Finally I smoked them for 40 minutes in our Nipper Kipper hot

smoker using hickory chips.

I have to say that we were both very pleasantly surprised with the final product. The flesh was

firm without a strong ‘fishy’ flavor and the smoking had infused a great aroma and flavor. We had

the first few fillets as a hot meal with veg and the remainder cold with a salad. Would we do it

again? Absolutely! Give it a go and let us know what you think.


Wanda Hitchcock (from the log of Norseman)

The vessels that took part were Oasis Yanda, Jabiru, Talio, J.J, Endless Summer, Norseman, Seakeeper and Kai Sea. ( I believe this list is correct .. on checking my log I have other names that popped up but I think they came for the last day or so.) 16

th April 1995

The forecast again seems to be against the trip. Not leaving today. Trying for Monday. Most vessels arranged to meet in Kookaburra Cove the night before. After clearing Moon Island we all set sail for Pittwater. Seas about 1m. Wind SW 10 knots. A Beautiful day, except motor sailing was the go. All off Barrenjoey about 12.45 and headed straight to RPA. After tidy up on yachts, great shower and food we were mostly all in bed by 9ish. 19

th April.

Left RPA and motor sailed around Scotland Island then on to Refuge Bay for the remainder of the day and night. Drinks were on shore. 20

th April.

After brekky we all went in to the waterfall then to the top. Once again the view was spectacular and logs of other boats had come in and were enjoying the fantastic weather. Later we all split up for happy hour and tea. 21

st April.

We dropped our mooring in Refuge and had a

few hours of glorious sailing wherever the wind took us and then off to Akuna Bay where we all anchored and enjoyed each others company having pot luck lunches. Later a large number joined us on Norseman for coffee and Port. The coffee was there but it seemed as though the Port was the drink of choice for most of the men. The ladies more sedate (don't know why!) with coffee and mints. 22

nd April

After brekky at Akuna Bay (which of course was brekky with the works) we all stayed and chatted and changed the course of the world for a few hours. Norseman picked up our daughter and boyfriend for a day on the boat. We had a lovely day getting to know Chris' new friend then we took them back to Akuna for their trip back home. We joined the other yachts back at Halletts Beach where we had a great candlelight and torch feast with drinks on the beach. This cruise appeared go be a one weeker..... we had a lovely presentation on the beach that night with Blue Chip, and My Girl joining us. The winners for the week were J.J., and Talio. We had a great quiz and a fun night. 23

rd April.

Early 4.30 brekky and we headed out. A very slow trip back but peaceful. It was great trip...the second. There was a lot more activity than I have mentioned. I know that Jack Garaty did a great job with quizes and other adventures. I take a little bit of poetic licence here and there but even though I always thought my logs were detailed, I missed this one.

From the Norseman Log.

First Presentation for Cruise 1995


The Instinctive Drowning Response – so named

by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to

avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the

water. And it does not look like most people

expect. There is very little splashing, no waving,

and no yelling or calls for help of any kind.

The instinctive drowning response can be described

like this: 1. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help.

The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.

2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:

• Head low in the water, mouth at water level

• Head tilted back with mouth open

• Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus

• Eyes closed

• Hair over forehead or eyes

• Not using legs – Vertical

• Hyperventilating or gasping

• Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway

• Trying to roll over on the back

• Ladder climb, rarely out of the water. So if a crew member falls overboard and every looks O.K. – don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning.

From an Article by Mario Vittone

Date Event

10th June General Meeting

14th to 16th June Pratical Skills Day Ashore

24th June Coffee Morning

Last Minute Reminders!!

Next General Meeting - 10th June 2019

LMYC Bridgedeck Room at 7.00pm

Guest Speakers Derek & Leanne Tracey

Why we did the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers)

Saturday 15 June 2019 10.00am Join with your friends in a unique opportunity to visit the Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie Radio Base (Swansea Heads) and Boat Base (Pelican). Thanks to Neil and Gail McBurnie we will get an in-depth explanation of how MRLM supports us and get a chance to see their amazing new equipment. Recent upgrades have seen the introduction of a fully computerised communications suite and new boats with some amazing technology. We will also get to see the MRLM jet ski and hear how this has expanded their capability. To ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to visit the facilities and ask questions we would like to split the group into two with one starting at the Radio Base and the other at the Boat Base. Presentations will start at 10.00am and go for approximately 30 minutes before we swap locations. The morning will conclude with lunch at the recently renovated Swansea RSL Club. Please register your interest with Neil and Gail on 02 49751079 and they can allocate you to one of the two groups.

june 2019 no. 355 · east coast from sydney to orpheus island just south of hinchinbrook island in...

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