All at Sea

We have been away from the Village and computers for a trip south to Sydney, the mountains and the South West Slopes.  A day of sailing on Sydney Harbour and out through the Heads was our excuse for visiting the big smoke. 
The James Craig is the only restored 19th century barque in the world that takes passengers to sea, and it promised to be an experience not to be missed.

This beautiful ship is a three masted barque built originally in Sunderland, England in 1874. She has an iron hull, and is fitted out with  a variety of timbers making up all but the lower masts and main yards, which are also of rivetted iron - (50,000 rivets).  Re-launched after restoration in 1997, she is fully operational, and with all 21 of her sails set she is a splendid sight.   She has over 5km of standing rigging and around 1000 metres of planking.  For a ship that has done 23 Cape Horn roundings, she looks truly beautiful.

This wasn't just a trip to sea for me, but also an opportunity to see and admire the woodwork and craftsmanship of others. As well, it was a chance for my wife and I to spend some quality time together.

So much of the James Craig is made of timber.



Pulley blocks made of American Ash












 The ship's binnacle under construction on the main deck.  This sits in front of the helmsman and carries
the ship's compass.

Sailor's socks

Walking the yards to adjust the sails is not for the faint-hearted. Some of the crew have devised ways to remember which is port and which is starboard




Winds were light but the day's weather was fantastic.  Strolling the deck was wonderfully relaxing while the crew kept us all on track .

The highlight of the trip was totally unexpected, and that was an encounter with a pod of humpback whales.  One spectacular breaching showed one of them near vertical and totally out of the water - took us all by surprise so no photo I'm sorry. Best I could do was a pic of a swim-past by a mother and calf.

As far as ship's carpenters tools are concerned there were few to see.  I want to introduce you to the largest ship's carpenter's rebate plane I have ever seen - but that's another story.

Mum's Potting Shed

There is always plenty to do around our little acreage. We have been finishing and renovating our old house ever since we came here.
This has been a project on the to do list for quite a while.
It is finally finished.
The love of my life had a little potting table out in the middle of the backyard under a tree, and yearned for her own potting shed.
Here were the requirements:

• Somewhere dry
• Light and airy
• Faces the north
• Has a big workbench area
• Must have storage shelving

I made use of an old zincalume garden shed that was blown to pieces in a storm a couple of years back.
The front plate holding up the rafters is an old hardwood window ledge from a very long window - ex-demolition.
The trellis came from my son's house when he replaced his pergola with a Queensland room.

The bench has an old plastic shallow sink for mixing potting mixes, and plant potting and the like, where spillage can be re-claimed.
The sink came out of an old photographic darkroom.
The left side of the bench has a re-cycled panel from a renovated kitchen. It has a stainless steel surface.
The shelf underneath has a suspended support in the middle, and uses a couple of over 100 year old hardwood boards from a demolition of a friend's shed.
The weather in these parts comes from the south and west, so it stays remarkably dry.
The customer was happy, and so am I.

First Post

Welcome to my Blog, a continuing work in progress.
In and around the village of Telegraph Point on the beautiful mid-north coast of New South Wales, there is so much that is a part of my life, and I will be happy to share it here.
We will explore those things that I am passionate about, and perhaps meet some of the people that help to complete my life.  As we embrace that which we find to be true and discard that which is other, our lives are enriched and become authentic.
I hope to meet a lot of authentic people via my blog.
Thanks for stopping by.