Red Herring trip 2

Trip 2, Red Herring, trip 1 being with the seller, Alex (main skipper). (Trip 1: the Basin, careel harbor wharf, salt pan wharf.)

Crew, myself, main skipper John, Alex and Scarlet (my eldest two kids, almost 9 & 7). Alex controlled tiller somewhat, pretty enthusiastically.

Additional inventory brought on board:

6 life jackets bought for $10 each from nice young Arab guy, one for three kids and they [sic] parents plus one for Alex when he's ten or eleven.

1 x my sleeping bag, ok for winter if I get beanie pullover hat

2x blankets just washed

1x lunker box with basic fishing gear plus pencils & crayons for kids

1x paper notebook for sketching/writing. I might try painting on board. My last drawing, in Newcastle still looking ok, drew an old brick building there.

Turns out John studied at some christian private school in Manly (suburb name) and is very active in the sailing/ on the water world. Says he worked on a boat at a new years or Xmas party for the Murdoch family (that Murdoch family). He was paid pretty well for it from what I gather.

I practiced hooking up buoy with hook stick (when approaching a mooring) and motoring off and unhooking, doing everything myself. Main thing is head into the wind with that stuff as it slows you down. I'll master that in coming trips. Not sure where the fenders are, will have to ask Alex.

Trip destination, the Basin on other side of Pittwater. Spoke to marine services and looks like I'll get my permanent mooring nearby the present one and not far out from shore, so great.

Things to remember: always turn motor seacock and motor battery off when finishing for the day. Slow engine revs down a few minutes after motoring full speed ahead. It's on again this Saturday at middle harbor yacht club, crewing on some guy, Peter's racing yacht. My classes there are all done and I won't be taking any more classes til I do the day skipper course which is a pretty sophisticated, advanced level, I'm not ready for yet.

Refilled tank with almost a gallon of diesel. Probably could have emptied jerry can but didn't bother. Left it on board. Brought lock for my kayak and found a spare chain on the beach, locked it up.

Spent like almost two hours on board before departure, kids were board [sic] out of they [sic] minds. All good.

By 9News Staff|7:42pm Jan 25, 2022

January 25

American tourists Tom and Eileen Lonergan were unintentionally left behind by a scuba diving boat off the coast of North Queensland on January 25, 1998.

It took two days for the boat crew to realise they had left the pair behind in the Coral Sea.

In June that year, a diver's slate washed ashore reading: "Monday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone who can help us: We have been abandoned on A[gin]court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 1998 3pm. Please help to rescue us before we die. Help!!!"

Their bodies were never found though much of their gear was recovered.

It is believed they removed their buoyant diving outfits out of delirium from dehydration, and drowned.

Hmmm, this story from January 25, 1998 reminds me of the one time I went scuba diving in the sea, the Mediterranean. Off the coast of Murcia, Spain, in 1996. 

With my buddy Aurora from the freemasons or whatever. She was a debt collection lawyer and avid scuba diver. I ran out of air like twenty metres under as breathing and swimming erratically prior to. Fortunately she had given me a good crash course on the way to the beach. Unfortunately I became panicked and did not succeed in inflating my vest very well, so in fact, I didn't, after being notified to swim to the surface urgently. It was incredibly difficult swimming those twenty yards with no oxygen (as I had to breath out not to get the bends). The last five to seven metres was really hard going as I was really struggling for oxygen and swimming as hard as I could with a slightly inflated jacket. Finally I hit the surface and gasped for air, my buddy was laughing at me there when I arrived, she dolphin like. She wasn't worried if I blacked out as she was very confident of removing me and resucitating me anyway. Confidence is good.