Time for sailing. Sailing a yacht for the first time. Young Wild Free

It's time for sailing with Mae and Zac. Mae is sailing a yacht for the first time, and Zac is there to show her how it is done.
Mae’s baptism into sailing took place out of Mooloolaba. Zac was ken to show off his newly acquired sailing skills after his boot camp sail to Fraser Island from Hervey Bay.
Easy access Menu
00:00 Leaving Mooloolaba
02:28 Exiting the heads
03:00 Raising the sails and poling out the Jib
04:00 Mae takes the helm sailing a yacht for the first time
05:00 powered up sailing
05:40 Spray of the Coral Coast
07:37 Mae tidies up the headsail and ties a classic knot!
08:35 Zac goes snorkelling at Mudjimba Island
10:50 Learning to throw a few tacks in succession

#timeforsailing #firstsail #sailingmooloolaba

Casting off into the Mooloolah River, Zac goes about making things ship-shape, as we cruise past the commercial fishing fleet on the Northern side and luxury waterfront mansions to the south of us.

Mooloolaba is a city on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland. October is the perfect time for sailing, with low humidity and temperatures in the mid-twenties. Many cruising yachts overnight in the security of the Mooloolah basin, known as the “duck pond” some heading North, others making their way South again after over-wintering in the tropical paradise of the Whitsundays and exploring the Great Barrier Reef.

Zac and Mae are staff at the School of Biblical studies based in Buderim, During the school, students work, study, and live in a close-knit community of fellow students who are on the journey through the Bible together. A number of the students and staff have shown an interest in learning to sail, and I have been having a great time showing them the ropes.

We are encouraging more young people from all different walks to learn to sail because it is a great way to develop character and build relationships while having a lot of fun out on the water. Our fleet includes Mozart, a lovingly restored 40-year-old classic plastic trailer sailer, Moonlight, a 12-foot classic timber cruising dinghy, and we are soon welcoming another experienced sailor with a trailer sailer to the team. I guess that means we will be racing each other, which is inevitable once you get two sailboats on the water together.

We cleared Point Cartwright at around 8 am, and the plan is to sail over to Mudjimba Island in the fresh breeze that has been promised, where we will anchor in the lee of the island and have a snorkel on the reef to the North. Zac’s newfound skills are coming in handy, and it is nice to be able to relax at the helm while the sails are raised.

The headsail is flopping around from side to side in the slop, so we decide to pole it out to the port side so that we can run “goosewing” downwind to the Island. Once set, we are making a healthy five to six knots on the run.

It’s time for Mae’s first lesson in how to trim the sails. She is keen to learn, and it is not long before her head is swimming with nautical terms.

I remember the first time I took hold of a twitchy helm in a little Manly Junior I learned to sail in. It is not long before Mae gets her first experience of being in control of a sailboat, and she gets the idea of how to maintain the heading quicker than most new sailors. It helps to have Zac as her patient instructor.

We are given the privilege of sailing alongside “Spray of the Coral Coast” for a short while. At 100 years since her keel was laid, “Spray of the coral coast” is the oldest surviving replica of Joshua Slocum's original spray. She is available for private charter and river cruises in Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast. You can find her at https://www.saltwaterecotours.com.au/

The original “Spray”, was the boat used by Joshua Slocum to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe, covering more than 46,000 miles between April 1895, and June 1898. The only instruments Slocum had were a cheap clock, and a sextant - a far cry from the technological complexity used by today’s ocean sailers.

Old Woman Island, also known as Mudjimba Island, is a popular place for snorkelling and spearfishing.

Legend has it, the battle of two men Ninderry and Coolum over a woman (Maroochy) with Ninderry knocking off Coolum's head to form the island.

Another story, about an Indigenous woman who lived on the island, is believed to be behind the name Old Woman Island.

www.facebook.com/groups/sailingbeat/

#trailersailer #cruisingdinghy #sailing
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