CLIENT: General Public Voyage
VOYAGE NUMBER: 20230816
FROM: Rosslyn Bay to Hervey Bay
DATE: 17 August 2023
POSITION: Bustard Head
REPORT: Red Watch
For the Man Overboard Drill we had a willing volunteer, who also happened to look like one of our crew members, found his way into the water. Naturally we were prepared to retrieve this wayward sailor having just setup a purpose-built sling for such occasions. This was helpful for all crew to familiarize themselves with retrieval techniques.
A most unlikely event for recent sails allowed us to sail downwind to practice a one watch gybe. It was enjoyable to see so many whales and some dolphins along our journey today.
A little known feature, even among the crew, is that our chart plotter can display a radar overlay of ships and other obstacles on the ocean’s surface. Our well-travelled Skipper, Callum, offered a condensed overview of radar theory followed by a practical demonstration. We were able to match the radar to the AIS (Automatic Identification System), which is another automatic ship detection capability. This complemented the seamanship skills of all crew onboard.