Category Archives: Boats and boating

Winter sailing

Posted on December 27, 2009 by

I could not post them earlier, but here are a few pictures of my friend Rob and myself, sailing on his Weta two weeks ago on Dianshan lake. At times we reached a speed of 13 knots! And look at … Continue reading →

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Another Dix43

Posted on November 10, 2009 by

Heads-up for another Dix43 project underway. Brian Russell is building an aluminium Dix43 in the pilothouse version. Here is his site and blog.

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Sailing CV

Posted on November 4, 2009 by

I found this interesting article on harbourexchange.com today: If you’re working towards an RYA or equivalent qualification, then you need to keep a log of all your miles, voyages, night hours, wind speeds , ports visited, boats sailed, trips as … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Sailing and Cruising | 1 Comment

Update on ‘Waratah’

Posted on November 3, 2009 by

Well, what’s the news? Not much really. Waratah is still high and dry in Durban. The boat builder never answered my emails anymore, so the chances he will honour his contractual obligations are close to zero. I did not expect … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Dix 43 project | 5 Comments

Shanshui Marina in Wuxi

Posted on October 30, 2009 by

Since end of 2007 there is a beautiful new marina on Tai Hu lake near Wuxi, China. It’s the TaiHu Shanshui International Club & Marina. Two weeks ago we were the guests of Sales and Marketing Director Francke Choo. We … Continue reading →

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Doing the Tsunami Tango in American Samoa

Posted on October 26, 2009 by

On September 29, 2009 American Samoa was hit by a tsunami. Find below the story of a cruiser in Pago Pago who was right in the middle of it. Unfortunately I could not retrieve the pictures which are mentioned in … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Maritime & Navy, Remarkable, Sailing and Cruising | 1 Comment

Dianshan Lake 2.

Posted on October 10, 2009 by

And a few more impressions of our beautiful location.

Posted in Boats and boating, China, Sailing and Cruising | 2 Comments

Dianshan Lake.

Posted on October 9, 2009 by

I was lucky to be able to spend quite a few days at Dianshan Lake during the long National Day holidays. The lake is near Qingpu, an hour’s drive West of Shanghai, and home to the Shanghai Boat and Yacht … Continue reading →

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Bad luck for Jessica Watson.

Posted on September 12, 2009 by

I reported earlier about Australian Jessica Watson. She is aiming to break the record to be the youngest person sailing around the world alone, non-stop, and unassisted. On her first night disaster struck, and her vessel Pink Lady collided with … Continue reading →

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A Dix 57 in Durban.

Posted on September 10, 2009 by

At the same facility, Marina Yacht Lift in Durban, where Waratah is on the hard now, I met a nice couple building a Dix 57. This is a bigger version of my Dix 43, and also in steel, which has … Continue reading →

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Speed launch of a hobie.

Posted on September 7, 2009 by

How’s this for launching your hobie cat? This was taken during the Hobie European Championships 2009 on Lake Como in Italy.

Posted in Boats and boating, Remarkable, Sailing and Cruising | 1 Comment

Waratah in Durban.

Posted on September 2, 2009 by

August 5 was the big day. ‘Waratah’ was skidded out of the shed, and loaded onto the big special truck from Murray Transport in Durban. Unfortunately we suffered a bit of damage to the hull during the process, which had … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Dix 43 project | 2 Comments

‘Waratah’, the next chapter.

Posted on August 2, 2009 by

From now on I will only post in the main blog section, and not on the dedicated pages about the building of ‘Waratah’ anymore. I arrived in South Africa last Monday, July 27. ‘Waratah’ is mostly completed now, and we … Continue reading →

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The final stages (2)

Posted on July 21, 2009 by

And some more pics of ‘Waratah’. One of the stainless steel support for the bow rollers, the others of the interior which show some of the lighting system. We used as much as possible 24V LED units, for their low … Continue reading →

Posted in Boats and boating, Dix 43 project | 2 Comments

The final stages (1)

Posted on July 21, 2009 by

The interior and systems of ‘Waratah’ finally start to take real shape now. Here a few impressions of how calorifier and fuel filters are arranged around the engine. Shots from the galley, with refrigerating system, ice box, and water manifolds, … Continue reading →

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