Cherry 16

Drifting Around in Port Phillip

Have been cruising around Port Phillip out from Black Rock the last couple of weekends with the kids. The sailing wasn't thrilling but we got some fishing done (The snapper are biting at dawn and dusk...apparently!). We tried a number of different spots with the dropped main roughly tied and boom on topping lift then tied to shroud for quick no fuss clear cockpit for fishing (Also jib furled and anchor dropped). Not bad to have a method to go from sailing to fishing and vice versa in just a couple of minutes. hmm I might add some rod holders on the transom.

We also got to see the whales up pretty close. The height they can get out of the water and the huge noise they make when blasting water out of their blowholes was truly amazing!

Cherry voyage 2011 By David Bannerman

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Blairgowrie - Portsea

10 day holiday down in Blairgowrie. Got the Cherry out 4 of the days from Tyrone St boat ramp and sailed between Rye & Portsea. Beautiful family sailing with plenty to see; Dolphins, Seals, Couta boats, etc. Photo taken whilst sitting down for a bite to eat on the beach at Point King Portsea.

Lake Eppalock

Lake Eppalock was less than 10% full a month ago. Now is more than 64%! Sailed from Kimbolton ramp across Lake Eppalock with the wife and kids during school holidays for multiple days of picnics and exploring on the Cherry 16. Good times.

A mate came down and I took him out for a bit and my wife took a few photos:

Whoops, forgot to pull the rudder up! Lucky it's held in the case by shock cord.

Lysterfield Lake

On a weekend with the kids. No wind but they are having a ball taking over all responsibilities.

After work with colleagues. Started out at 5 knts but then picked up to a fun 10-15 knts. Cherry 16 is just legal being just under 5m.

Melbourne Trailable Yacht Club: Yarrawonga Easter 2009

Hi Jaxsen,
Yarrawonga was a great experience.... First time of having my Cherry 16 in the water and the start of my brilliant sailing career! The event was held at the Yarrawonga Yacht Club and I went as a prospective member with the Melbourne Trailable Yacht Club. I have a friend who is a member of the club and he sails his Hartley 16 with them.
The fact that there was very little wind and an incredible amount of weed in the lake and river system, made hard work of any sailing that was to be had. The constant need to free the rudder and keel from the entangled weed was soooo boring. We did however have a large thunder storm late Saturday afternoon which provided us with some much needed wind and lashings of thunder and lightning!
I'm sorry that I don't have any photos of the storm, but I do have some other photos and I will forward them to you after I have downloaded them to my computer. My boat took on a bucket or two of water over the course of the weekend so I'll have to try and track down just where It's coming from and fix it asap. Overall, the weekend was a great success and a very steep learning curve for me. With so many things to learn and consider apart from the"just sailing" to master ! Docking, tying various knots and using an outboard motor for the very first time comes to mind.
Sorry to hear that you didn't get a chance to sail over the long weekend, however, having a good time with the kids is a good thing to do as well. Thanks for your blog, and I will be in contact again soon.
Cheers Will