Jamie Dunross and Spirit of Rockingham - Update

by www.wa.yachting.org.au on 8 Jul 2010 Courageous quadriplegic yachtsman Jamie Dunros from Rockingham is about to commence his home run from Darwin, down the West Australian coastline in his quest to circumnavigate Australia.

Brief Update:

15th May 2010 - the day before departing Sydney, Jamie joined the VIPs to welcome home Jessica Watson observing 'I get off the boat after two weeks completely rattled and incoherent, she gets off after seven months and presents as potential Prime Minister material.'

In Sydney Jamie did his bit for Jessica’s welcome taking Channel 10 out on the harbour on Spirit for a dress rehearsal to practise getting on and off the boat and getting all the timing and technical details prepared. 'It was a great day; I had Jesse Martin and the English teenage solo sailor Mike Perham onboard which made for some great conversation. And I got to tie up at the Opera House, right where Jessica pulled up today. Great experience, I will never forget it.'

En route north conditions went from intermittent rain and a wind shift from 12-35 knots in the space of minutes which saw Spirit knocked onto her side, to consistent winds of 20-25 knots from the south east enabling Spirit to cruise along on the same sail setting for at least 12 hours.

26th May 2010 - Airlie Beach is almost in sight as I round Hayman Island. The night before last I had no sleep at all as I had to hand sail around a couple of islands, dodging shipping in light breezes with tidal currents. Fatigue certainly has a way of altering your mindset.

Yesterday – hand stuck down the loo. What the?? I hear you ask... well what happened was, when the boat was bobbing around a lot - my toilet in the bow is a bit like a bucking bronco and in grabbing hold of a rope to steady myself on the way in, the screw came loose and dropped into the bowl. Uh oh, didn't want that flushing into the emulsifier below so reached in to get it, boat moved suddenly as it does, and my hand got firmly wedged in there. Thoughts of being found in this way a few days later were not good

31st May 2010 - Airlie Beach - Yachtie Heaven – sailors from Rockingham have come over to Airlie Beach over the years and never returned - Now I know why.

5th June 2010 - Great to see some people from home. Am psyching myself into leaving for the next leg around Cape York to Darwin. Reefs, endless boats and tidal currents to contemplate - none of which I'm familiar with - it will be by far the most challenging.

8th June 2010 - Arrived safely at Breakwater Marina in Townsville followed by a pod of dolphins just to top off the experience. Decided to do another short hop up to Cairns on my way to Darwin, before heading outside the reef and going around Cape York.

12th June 2010 - Made it in to Marlin Marina in Cairns. Going in to Townsville I had a lot of trouble getting the main down on the furler. Another ex-Rockingham couple, Mal and Kay Wilson met me at the jetty. Mal and Les (on the boat next door to me) between them knocked off a lot of jobs for me. Michael and John sorted out the furling system.

19th June 2010 – Cairns to Darwin. Rough weather akin to the Southern Ocean - 35 knot south easterlies along with six metre swells, grey overcast skies, the only difference was the air temperature which was decidedly warmer. Wasn't exactly what I had been anticipating, but Spirit is built to handle those conditions and handle them she did.

23rd June 2010 - Playing Footsie With the Reef. Just as I thought I was through the worst of it, the reef decided not to let me pass without a close and personal encounter to remember her by.

Last night I was almost through the channel around Cape York, open ocean literally within view, when I noticed that the boat had stopped dead! My worst nightmare really, (or one of them). In keeping to the edge of the channel to get out of the way of the many ships passing through, the bottom of the keel ended up scraping on a small piece of reef, bringing Spirit to a standstill.

I was probably stuck for about an hour before the incoming tide lifted her clear. Apart from the very bottom of the keel, the rest of the boat is fine and I managed to sail off and continue. I guess the whole incident was the result of a couple of really intense days sailing with very little sleep. I have noticed how much fatigue will cloud my thinking, and I feel really fortunate to have escaped the incident so lightly.

25th June 2010 - The autohelm isn't working, went out on me when I was going through the reef so the windpilot has saved the day. I was buzzed by a customs plane the other day, scared the life out of me. Heard it coming before I saw it fly what seemed to be just above the mast. They then made contact on the radio 'Spirit of Rockhampton. Spirit of Rockhampton' - set them straight on that one, then answered a million questions before they happily went on their way.

29th June 2010 – Arrived in Darwin with the high tide - Tony Sommerville (ex-Rockingham) and David Omness (Darwin Sailing Club) ventured out in a boat at 6.30 this morning to get me through the lock into Bayview Marina. I've never seen a lock before and it was an interesting experience.

Three nights ago I had a ship on the radar about three in the morning, their usual time to visit. This was a bit different in that it was coming from the north heading towards me. Every time I altered course it followed me and I was starting to think that maybe it was pirates.

Armed with my mate Mal's Leatherman which he’d left on the boat in Townsville, I was ready to take them on! Picture me with a Leatherman in my good right hand ready for the fight.

I radioed to see what their intentions were. Silence! Still, they drew closer.

I then turned the deck light on so I was completely visible and a minute later I had a call on the radio - it was just a Customs boat trying to sneak up on me. I had quite a few encounters with Customs or marine patrol boats all the way across.

2nd July 2010 - Met up with Perth sailors Peter Robinson and Mark Loder when I entered the Marina the other day. Mark kindly dived on the boat to inspect the keel and cleaned the hull while he was at it. He reported some gel-coat and anti-foul scraped off the bottom, but the lead keel was perfectly intact which was what I expected as I know how strongly Spirit has been built. I'm very grateful to Mark for doing this task considering the genuine crocodile risk in the Marina (I kid you not) and for putting my mind at rest.

6th July 2010 – After the last leg I have a much better understanding of what the sea state is like with wind against current, which is very taxing on me trying to move around the boat. I might have to stop at Exmouth to have a break which means I won't be able to break my current world record of some 1500 nautical miles but I do want to get myself and Spirit back in one piece

7th July 2010 - By about 1400 today I should be heading out of Darwin Harbour.

For more information, please go to: www.wa.yachting.org.au or view Jamie's blog at: www.solo1.com.au