All the growth on the prop caused the engine to overheat and blow LOTS of black smoke, luckly with a good scrape followed by a few coats of paint while on the slip and we were back in business over 1000nm later and the paint is still good, also the play in the stern bearing does not seem to have worsened at all(great success!!!)
Sailing on Leap Frog
We have been out of range for a while and have saftly landed in Airlie Beach!!! The photos are of all parts of the journy!
That black stuff explains why the engine would not run...
Sailing on Leap Frog
Inside the Sandy Straits
We are currently laying at anchor in a pleasant and relatively sheltered cove known as Coonoongwa Creek. We are restricted in our movements along this stretch by the tidal flow, which can reach such magnitudes as to produce rapid like conditions in some parts. Since our experience in the Broadwater, extra precautions have been taken to try and reduce the risk of another grounding. This including the banning of Captain Ahab’s recommendations of early morning bar crossings being decided on the basis of his own internal calendar.
Yesterday Cloudbreaker and Ahab ventured on an expedition ashore, which turned from an interesting exploration of some new and different terrain on the wilderness of a sand mass we have named Fraser Island, to a somewhat frightening ordeal as our worries were confirmed that the strange giant man eating lizards, which the rubber tramps warned us about, really do exist. As fearful as these creatures appear to be they have captured the curiosity of this author. I have decided to invest my efforts into gaining as much knowledge as I am able about these antediluvian creatures, perhaps even domesticate one as a live aboard pet for the Frog. Rest assured the capture of Moby Dick for our captain remains top priority; however this is definitely a secondary objective of great interest and one which may be even more beneficial to the progression of our more civilized Southern provinces.
One even more concerning aspect is the fact that our good captain has misplaced his stockings and trousers. He takes no shame in parading around in the cockpit and on the poopdeck (taking the names of these in a far to literal context) in nerry more than his birthday suit and perhaps a rain jacket if we are lucky enough to be in the midst of some precipitation. There has been much protest from the crew on this matter, with no success thus far. Evidence of this behaviour has been attached to this entry in the pre-emptive idea that if steps have to be taken to stop this conduct there will be some official record of events. I hope I gain your support regarding this issue.
Gratuitous nudity aside, we are about to prepare ourselves and the Frog for a night of instrument aided celestial navigation. This next leg to the northern end of Fraser Island could be the most dangerous to date: Will The Frog and Her crew be able to see in the night? Or will all aboard be blinded by Captain Ahab’s’ full moon? Check here soon to find out.
Cloudbreaker signing out.
Sailing on Leap Frog
We have just arrived in the Sandy Straits (the inside of fraser island) after departing Peel Island on Morton bay at about 11am yesterday. We had head winds most of the way however looking at the weather it was definatly the best option. The Wide bay bar was an easy crossing however in a blow would be really nasty (there were breakers over 2 miles out to sea) this part of the coast is really senic with lots of sand... Skippy our auto pilot did a good job of much of the steering on this 110nm leg of the journy as there were only two of us onboard.
Chris
Sailing on Leap Frog
Correspondence has been recently received about concern for the lack of updates from the courageous crew of the S. V. Leapfrog. I shall firstly allay all fears for the safety of the ship and her crew and secondly apologise for the delay in regularly scheduled updates to those avidly following these adventures.
The last entry had our crew safely anchored at Jacobs well after successfully battling the horrendous conditions throughout the Broadwater. Much has happened since that entry, however as I am sure you can all imagine the high paced life of cruising the Eastern Coastline has left the crew of The Frog little spare time, however since we have just departed Manly under way to our next segment of travel to The Great Sandy Straits and the inside of Frasier Island a somewhat welcome break in the weather has allowed time for such essential tasks as these.
From Jacobs Well, The Frog was safely and uneventfully navigated to a fabled safe anchorage known as Coochiemudlo Island. After the tumultuous Broadwater passage The S. V. was contented to sit peacefully at anchor allowing her ragged crew some time for shore leave. Also welcomed was a visit by two old friends, travellers themselves, their lifestyle of being rubber tramps (named so because they choose to hoof around the country on rubber wheels instead of by the breath of the wind, not any other reason) meant that Caroline and Chriso were able to fix our position and locate us with the use of modern technology, our radio telephones, and a wonderful afternoon and evening was enjoyed by all, made even more remarkable still by the crab and mushroom soup made from the capture of The Frogs first mud crab. It is the belief of this crew member that nobody present will ever forget the visit that the Moon Goddess bestowed upon us that evening in the form of a magical rising display. Or the sight of the beach bonfire being swallowed by a wave as we departed the shore in Topsy & Turvey.
The next morning it was decided that the most effective way to gain information from the local inhabitancies regarding any knowledge they may be able to share with us, in helping achieve Captain Ahab’s search, would be to slit up in to two separate parties. The good captain led his expedition inland, utilising the rubber tramps mode of transport. Cloudbreaker and Chong ventured on foot and Iron horse into the concrete jungle known to the locals as Brisbane, and more specifically to the region known as The Wild West end. The indigenous creatures here were covered in all sorts of tribal piercings and inked skin. The initial intimidation was soon abated by the locating of a welcoming tavern which provided refreshing ales and surprisingly intelligent conversation; given the fact that there is a direct correlation in increasing latitudes and decreasing cranial capacity, as proved in the 1994 Study conducted by Dr. David Boon of the Pairhead University, Tasmania. A night of free boarding was also found at the home of one of the kind souls we met at the establishment known as ‘The JOYnt’. Although enjoyable and bountiful in many respects, the two explorers were not able to gain any information on the whereabouts of Moby Dick or in fact how to catch her. The locals here being more adept at river based endeavours than those experienced out in the might of the Great Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile, Captain Ahab was venturing inland and had stumbled upon a great tribal ritual where tens of thousands of people flocked to pay homage to the skill and brilliance of individuals’ ability to create noise out of timber, string and metallic tools. He returned with tales of how hundreds, possibly dozens of revellers made strange movements to the sounds being generated by the individuals on the stages. He told us that they called this ritual The Splendour of the Grass. It sounds to this observer that the people at this ritual had had a little too much of this ‘splendid grass’.
Once The Ship and Her crew were once again reunited and no new information about Moby Dick could be established, The Frog was taken slightly farther North under the guise of Cloudbreaker and Chong. Captain Ahab had somehow commandeered the rubber tramps transportation device, mastered its trickery and gained the ability to control it (sometimes a harrowing experience for any poor fool who may end up as a passenger). Although terrifying this was useful to the voyage by providing a means of rapid inland transport and for provisioning the vessel with plenty of bully beef and hard tack for the crew on this current leg.
In fact we were most fortuitous for this transport at this stage of our journey. At this time our valued crewman Chong was in need of being airlifted back to civilization, less he suffer incredibly until dead. The poor fellow has had a terrible affliction placed upon him from birth; his illness is unnoticeable to the casual observer, but if left un-medicated can result in massive haemorrhaging to the eyeballs, foul odour to be exuded from glands and eventually the inversion and expulsion through the mouth of the poor sufferers’ lungs. It is known in medical fields as Terrible Haemorrhaging Condition & Withdrawal. We were able to reach this med-evac in time, and I am pleased to let you all know that Crewman Chong was able to reach medication and is recovering comfortably back in the lands of the civilised South.
Around 48 hours before departure the Rubber Tramps reappeared to reclaim their transportation. At first he was reluctant to give away his prize, but Captain Ahab eventually succumbed to the retuned travellers’ requests. They then regaled all with stories from the land to the North into which we now venture. Apparently they observed, killed and devoured giant lizards with huge teeth, just one new concern brought to light by these travellers’ tales.
So now Captain Ahab and Cloudbreaker venture farther still, we have recruited a new counterpart for our current leg. He may have but one working arm, but that arm is strong and true. Even as I write this our new Master Helmsman, Skippy, guides the powerful beauty of The S. V. Leapfrog seamlessly through the waters, which appear to be clearing as the sky above, Soon we shall be able to penetrate the ocean with our eyes and underwater apparatus, then it won’t be long before we will find and claim our goal and Achieve the dream of our dear Captain Ahab!
Until next time
Cloudbreaker signing out
Sailing on Leap Frog
When we last left you one of our favoured crew members had been lost, and we were preparing ourselves for one of the most deceptively treacherous and savage regions we shall most likely encounter on our expedition.
The mighty broadwater has delivered to us some polar experiences. the mighty SV Leapfrog slipped silently betwix the becalmed banks of the peaceful stretch of water, lulling her crew into a dreamlike consciousness state where under the gaze of the moon and lite drizzle of life nectar the evening was spent. In anticipation of the importance of the next days navigational difficulty the great Captain Ahab once again bunkered earlier than the rest of the crew, this decision proved to be of great importance as if the captain had had less rest then a disaster more unimaginable may have occurred.
As the evening before had done the beauty of the Broadwater had all the crew of The Frog entranced, that was until a stretch was reached where the crew had been warned to be wary, the sky went dark, the surface of the water trembled and the captain quailed, the crew began to cry out in fear of unknown as somehow The Frog inexplicably mounted in pace massive eddies appeared and giant mountains of water sprung randomly from all quarters and in an instant all seemed lost for The Frog and her courageous crew as a deathly crunch was heard and felt throughout the bones of the ship and Leapfrog ground violently to a halt.
Shock, as quickly as it was upon the crew was replaced by dashing action; Captain Ahab handed the helm to Cloudbreaker and dashed for the life raft initially the crew observed this as being a Captain abandoning his post. It was quickly understood that it was not a display of cowardice but instead great courage, as they great power of the 4 hoarse powed Suzuki fired into action and Ahab motored abeam of The Frog he called to crewman Chong; Chongs lightning reactions to swing out on the boom topper and deliver it into Ahabs waiting grip was the only reason the mighty vessel is still afloat today, using all four mighty stallions, Turvey was able to keep a steady lean on its larger counterpart and coupled with the gutsy bowls of The Frogs own yanmah deeper waters were inevidably found.
The excitement of the crew was short lived however as the seductress of the Broad water was not finished with our heroic bunch. Ahab and Turvey surged ahead in an endeavour to mark a safe passage for The Frog with her deeper draught to follow. However in such torrential conditions which had set in the two vessels became separated and with nowhere to go but forward The Frog ventured cautiously on. Just as the two vessels were once again within sight of each other, again a most powerful squall ruptured the crews world. Whirl pools surrounded both boats and The Frog was once again stalled in her path. The crew and captain tried again to repeat their successful endeavours of the last times grounding, however this time the Broadwater sirens had completed their task and the SV Leapfrog was hard aground, sore sorry and soggy crew aboard her.
Full faith in the captain had been placed with the knowledge that he was surpassed by no other in the world when observing the movements of the tidal motions of the water, and once again in this case his interpretation of the tide times had indeed been correct. It was in fact the serendipitous chance that his knowledge of what date it in fact is, does not match his tide charting abilities. Somewhere since the undertaking of this voyage our courageous captain has misplaced exactly one week and had ordered the vessel to be skippered through such waters several hours before the more sensible times of high water! Saying that "had we been a week earlier navigation would have been fine" (Quote- The Captain)
This slight miscalculation was dually realised and although by this stage all on board had broken into the grog supplies in anticipation of an extended wait The Frog, in her own sublime manner swung tenderly on her anchor and was accordingly tended to by the crew and guided further down river, now bobing peacefully and sound in the blue of safe anchorage. Captain Ahab unconscious below, from excess or embarrassment or perhaps both. Either way little consolation for his missed opportunity, for just this afternoon this crew member witnessed the rare event of seeing a manatee or in nautical terms, the sea cow.
Could this be a prelude to the answer to Ahabs prayers? It is folk lore that the sea cow can often precede a sighting of the fabled Moby Dick. Return here to find out.
Until next time this is Cloudbreaker signing out.
Sailing on Leap Frog
As you may be able to guess there is some disjointedness murmuring within the mind of the Great Captain Ahab (Chris Warren), it is true that there are some minor mechanical concerns it is my belief that he is more troubled over the loss of one of our original crew members. James, better known on this vessel as Cheech, has today been lost; swept over the side of the mighty Leapfrog by a surge of unimaginable magnitude and was last seen sliding into a misty haze drifting towards Brisbane. He has left behind the fondest memories for those who survive him and any replacement crew stand very little chance of being able to surpass what such a great seaman brought with him to this vessel. Lest we forget, but forward we must go. And that is what we will be doing, even with an underhanded amount of crew the Mighty SV Leapfrog will surge forth into the uncharted waters of the north, battling beasties and boaties in the continued search for Captain Ahab in his quest to land the fabled Great White Whale! will he be able to conquer his dream? what challenges lay in store for The Leapfrog? check here regularly to find out.
This is Cloudbreaker signing out
