Silver Fern looked forlorn and more like a motor boat (Sea Breeze IIII?) when I arrived at Southport to prepare for the passage to Lord Howe then Hobart via Elizabeth Reef after inspecting the mast lying in the shed under maintenance.

*Silver Ferns mast under maintenance at Southport.*

A rigging inspection had uncovered cracks in the mast and as safety comes first at OSE the mast was removed for further inspection uncovering more damage than first thought.

Cracks were found at the lower spreader bolt in a 2 year old mast.

As the situation unfolded Dave from Brisbane offered to arrive a day early and help prep the yacht. A task list was ready and waiting and it turned out Dave’s background in structural engineering would be a come in very handy.

Next arrival was Gerrit who brought a sense of humour first experienced as we filled the yacht up with fuel. Gerrit, standing holding the pump handle said “I think I can smell petrol”. He had me for second, I could see where this trip was going.

The rest of the crew arrived with Tony from New Zealand who found some common ground with Katarina from Victoria both with backgrounds in Chemistry however Katarina had stretched her legs as a teacher amongst many other roles and Tony had worked for the CSIRO.

Malcolm arrived who now resides in Tasmania and we get to drop him off at the end of the trip! I’m expecting a dinner invite….just saying.

Rod was our last arrival and as an architect rightly asked, “Where’s the mast?”. Once again I told the tail of Silver Ferns cracked mast.

Tuesday midday was the planned mast install date and every effort was being made to hit this mark. Lots of work was required inside and outside Silver Fern and the entire crew were busy with many tasks including preparing the sails to be attached once the mast was returned and sure enough it was returned as planned.

*Silver Ferns strengthened mast being installed.*

It is no small feat putting a boat back together but we did it and departed on Tuesday night to lay anchor at the seaway having polished off briefings on Monday and putting the boat back together on Tuesday.

Wednesday saw Silver Fern finally get under way with one small issue, no wind instruments. But we here at OSE are sailors ready to manage situations that deliver the best outcome. Skipper Jason and First Mate Iain discussed it and were ready to continue with a plan in place to manage it.

*Upper woolies courtesy of Katarina, lower tell tales courtesy of a garbage bag and Dave.*

*Tony on helm, Balls Pyramid in the background.*

The reef was a spectacular but first we needed some rigging repairs having seen the intermediate shroud loose on the way to the reef.

*Jason finishing off some rig tensioning.*

As soon as we arrived at Elizabeth reef some visitors came along to say hello. I’ve never seen so many sharks in one place. We also had a local turtle keep us company and numerous Blue Bottle Jelly fish to finish off the reef experience.

And so that night we took up anchor and got on our way for Lord Howe Island.

Iain - Chief Mate

We need a mast!

“Why I did what I did” - By David Donnan

Sun, sun, glorious sun