Show Time . . . And a Much Anticipated Picture

Day one of the Sydney International Boat Show, and Pink Lady has been revealed! Everyone’s been so complimentary to Pink Lady and the number of ‘good luck’ and ‘best wishes’ we’ve received could just about bridge my way around the world!

I’ve been having lots of fun hearing people’s opinions of the lovely pink paint. It seems to be a love it or hate it thing, with most people completely loving it.

I’ve also been lucky enough to get to spend some time with James and Justin, the guys who kayaked across the Tasman, and also with Pete Goss and his team, who’s latest boat Spirit of Mystery is moored right next to us. Pete has been involved with endless adventures and is an amazing sailor. They all have a lot of great advice but are consistently reminding me to have fun and take a moment to enjoy it all as I’ll only be doing this once.

Another thing that comes up over and over again is the importance of preparation. James and Justin describe over ¾ of the achievement taking place before setting off, and Pete likes to say that 80% of the race is won before the start. It makes me think again about what a great team I have and how much anything I achieve is thanks to all of their efforts.

Listening to the guys speak and seeing pictures and video from all those adventures is so inspiring. I’m itching to get going even more so!

If you get the chance, definitely pop down to the show. I’m speaking at the Better Boating Lounge at 2pm every day, and at 4pm James, Justin, Pete, Don McIntyre and I all stand up to have a chat.

After my first day at SIBS, Thursday night was good fun. I did a live weather cross with Tim Bailey then headed to Network Ten for ‘Thursday Night Live’ on One HD. Having my hair and makeup all done up was quite an experience. When I was all ready, I made the mistake of standing up and, without thinking, declaring that that I looked totally ridiculous. I regretted my comment immediately after seeing the makeup ladies’ horrified expressions. Oops! Curly hair and makeup just isn't my usual thing.

Better be off for now,
Jessica

P.S. Lots of people have been asking when I’m leaving. It will be sometime in September!

Some bad news, but we’re floating in Sydney with a rig!

Where do I start? What a lot has happened in the last few days! We’re down in Sydney now with Pink Lady sitting proudly in the water ready for the show . . . mostly. But I better start from the beginning. It’s a long story.

The last few days in the shed were both exhausting and pretty exciting. We may as well have been living out at the shed, basically arriving with the sun and leaving long after it had set. A particularly unforgettable moment was finally starting the engine. It was Friday afternoon with only hours before the truck arrived to take the boat away. So, when the Yanmar fired up first go a cheer went up around the shed.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, the crane and the truck arrived and carefully settled Pink Lady on to the truck for the trip down to Sydney. What a sight she made heading off down the highway, and what a strange feeling - relief and . . . Well I’m not sure how to describe it. Not that we exactly had time to sit down and think about it! After cleaning the shed and running around for the last odds and ends, it was time to scrub off the last remains of resin and paint for the ‘Bon Voyage’ dinner.

What a night it was! Recognizing everyone in all those fancy outfits made for a challenge. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen everyone without a layer of paint, resin and dust. Bill Woods set the scene. Then, between courses, Don McIntyre, James Castrission and Jesse Martin gave us all wonderful insights to adventure. I think everyone agreed that we could have listened to them for quite a lot longer! Announcing my boat's name and auctioning the memorabilia was exciting, and the night passed quickly in a daze of pictures and handshakes.

Thankfully, on Sunday morning we were able to sleep in before setting off to follow the truck down to Sydney. All went well until Monday morning when we arrived to find that the truck hadn’t made it without a bit of drama. The targa frame that we’d poured time and effort into had been damaged badly by a low cable, and on further examination was basically declared a write off. Seeing the targa in such a sorry state was hard for us all, but it was particularly hard for Phil who’d put most of the hard work in. It’s a bit of a setback, but on the upside it was a relief that the hull and mounting points weren’t damaged.

Luckily, Monday improved when Pink Lady was launched smoothly at Sydney City Marina. The Yanmar engine fired up smoothly again, and David Lambourne arrived to put the mast in. Now she is looking like a proper boat! There is still plenty to do, but having a rig is pretty cool.

After a few hours sleep at 11:30pm, it was time to motor across the harbor to join the stream of boats entering the show. And no, we weren’t up that late just to enjoy the city lights. We were up late because to enter the basin where the show is held the city monorail had to be dismantled, at night. The new tiller, prop and more powerful engine gave me something to think about while manoeuvring into our berth, but all went smoothly, and finally being on the water at the helm was pretty exciting.

Make sure you come along to the Sydney International Boat Show to say hi. I’m really looking forward to the show, and the atmosphere down on the water is already so exciting! You’ll be able to catch me in the Better Boating Lounge at 2pm every day.

See you there!

Jessica

And here they are again

And the name is...

We are proud to announce that the boat is now called

'Pink Lady'

Sorry we didn't let know know sooner, we have been on the road to Sydney.

Jessica

Dinner with Jesse, James and Don

From the left, Bill Woods, James Castrission, Jessica, Don McIntyre and Jesse Martin.

What a night, thank you to all the people who came and were a part of Jessica's dinner.

Julie (Mum)

Bon-Voyage dinner, not to miss!

The Bon-voyage dinner at Twin Waters this Saturday night isn’t one to miss. James Castrission, Don McIntyre and Jesse Martin will all be along, Ten Networks Bill Woods is MC and the food sounds promising! Tonnes of exciting stuff happening, some interesting bits and pieces up for auction and I’ll be announcing the winning name from the Sunshine Coast Daily’s boat name competition.

Jump onto the home page for more details and grab your seats before times out.

Last busy days

What a busy and exciting week so far! And things only get faster from here… We’ve still got a few long hard day’s work between us and heading off to Sydney but I can’t help feeling so proud of the boat, how sturdy and cute she looks! Even with so much still to do what all the team have achieved over the last 7 weeks is amazing, what a lot of hard work. I can’t help being glad that the boat’s only 34foot. After being all striped down for so long its such a nice feeling to know that the boat is ready to be put back in the water. Not long now till we get to do some sailing!

Every day lately has been a good one but Wednesday was particularly exciting, the boat was pulled out of the shed! I missed the big event because I was off in Brisbane visiting David Lambourne to see the progress on the rig.

Also while we were in Brisbane Bruce and I had the chance to stop into P&W Marine Engineering and were given a very warm welcome. After a tour around their amazing work shop we left with a beautiful new shaft.

A stop at BIA’s boating saw us leave with a box full of essential goodies, all those last minute things. Thanks to Peter and Greg for tracking down all those tricky little bits and pieces!

Dan and I with the new shaft but a big thanks to all the guys who’ve put so much work into everything we’ve needed.

With my new mast, can’t believe how lucky I am to have David Lambourne and a sturdy, shiny complete new rig!

In the pink

It may have been a good idea to read the warning!...

What can I say, da da!

Coming together and my incredible team!

Wednesday saw us welcome Damien who’s come up from Tasmania to join the team and today we were rejoined by Rod who was pretty much a force of nature in the early days of the refit. We were all very pleased to see Rod who brought with him a singing, dancing toy chicken as my trusty new mascot then got straight to work.

I have to say again a big thanks to all the team not only for all that hard work but for all the fun we’ve been having! I’m so lucky to have so many amazing, supportive people around me. Being able to draw on so many years of experience is completely invaluable as we make decisions on every little detail. Storm tactics, power management, fuel storage….. I’d also like to put in a special word for Ed who’s been a so persistent and an incredible all-rounder!

The days out at the shed have become longer and everyone’s been working harder as departure date grows nearer but not a moment goes by with out a laugh. We’ve certainly reached the exciting part of the refit with so much HVP (High Visual Progress!) It’s amazing to see all the different parts of the boat come together and in most cases fit just right. Of course there are the exceptions, some things just wont give in with out a fight!

The bright pink paint still takes us all by surprise but the smart looking black antifoul and new portholes help bring the look together.

Thursday was an exciting day out at the shed with the news of Zac Sunderland’s triumphant return reaching us over all the local radio stations. It was great to hear of Zac completing his voyage and claiming the ‘youngest circumnavigator’ title. It’s been amazing to follow his progress, from myself and all the team here I’d like to say a huge congratulations!! We’re all only just beginning to understand many of the challenges involved so can really appreciate Zac’s incredible effort. Go Zac, you’re an inspiration!

Roll Cage aka Targa Frame

With a huge thanks to Phil George (on the left) and Dad my targa frame, notoriously known as the 'roll cage' couldn’t get any stronger. Whatever we call it, the frame is vital because it will support most of my sat communication equipment, solar panels, wind generator and various aerials.

Christmas and Complications

Much to everyone’s relief the new gearbox arrived bright and early Monday morning. Other arrivals included boxes full of goodies from RFD, the radar reflector, heater and the last of the Navco equipment. Christmas! So along with the cheerful new paint job and successfully tackling a few tricky jobs, things were looking particularly positive…It didn’t last.

More complications set the mechanical team thinking hard. Jack, John and Richard certainly eared their sandwiches! Outside the boat sanding and preparation for the final coat of paint on the deck continued while the inside is starting to look a lot more finished. Pat and Ed have been doing an amazing job of mounting equipment, filling in all those holes and empty spaces. I’m hoping they remember to leave room for me!

Outside the shed I’ve still be hard at work testing out all sorts of weird and wonderful long life foods. My least favorites have been energy bars and tined seafood while my favorites include frieze died mince and tined cream. So after all this taste testing I’m starting to feel a lot more confident with the food side of things, I’m actually looking forward to digging into some of my meals.

Pink!

Just a teaser for now…

It wasn’t a dream

Well it wasn’t a dream, we arrived at the shed this morning to find that, no I hadn’t been dreaming and that yes we had painted the boat pink! After opening up the shed we had to spend a while just taking it in, what a color!


After the initial shock I have to say it really looks something! Can’t wait to see her finished off and on the water. And not long now, after the deck gets a final coat everything goes back on, then it’s off to do some sailing.


To give the paint a good chance to dry Pat, Ed, Bruce, Mum, Dad and I spent the day doing various jobs off the boat in the sunshine. We ran wiring through the targa frame, prepared the stanchions for refitting, painted odds and ends, serviced a pump etc



Tomorrow its try two installing the engine, fingers crossed!


I’m off to take one last look at the boat before heading home.


Jess


P.S. Thanks everyone for the comments and remember to book your tickets for the ‘Bon Voyage’ dinner.

Ups and Downs

Friday wasn’t the best of days starting with my epoxy poisoning creeping up on me again. For awhile I had quite a nice panda eye look happening, not something I’d recommend when you’ve got a photographer scheduled to take your picture for the paper! I’m sure it went ok in the end… till I got back to the shed to find some very sorry looking expressions.

Up till this point the whole team was on standby to finally install the beautiful new Yanmar engine. Mechanic ready to go, forklift in position, gearbox we were waiting for due to arrive 10am sharp etc only… you guessed it, the gearbox didn’t arrive. It’s amazing how far off track the gearbox managed to find itself on a simple overnight delivery! Definitely not one of the better days.

So to take my mind off it all I did something 16 years olds often do on a Friday night and headed off to the movies. Three hours of painful action scenes later, my frustration was directed at the fact that the heroines hair and makeup managed to remain perfect throughout.

Saturday was a lot more fun, after a hard mornings work scrubbing the shed completely spotless we finished up with a shiny coat of pink paint on the hull. Too late to change my mind so it’s lucky I love it!!

Jessica

Bon Voyage Dinner

Check out the youngestround.com home page for all the details of our ‘Bon Voyage Dinner’ on the 25th July at Novotel Twin Waters. I’m looking forward to having the chance to say goodbye to everyone before heading off to Sydney, see you there!

Count Down

Thanks everyone for your help sanding this weekend particularly the Fredric’s and poor old Mum! Not the most glamorous pastime, we all looked a sight by the end of the day. I learnt the hard way that a trip to the gym after a day sanding wasn’t the best idea! Ouch!

Its definitely count down time now with less than three weeks before the boat heads down to Sydney, if it were possible for the whole team to work any harder the overheat alarms would be screaming! It’s not easy when one small delay can affect the entire refit. Having so many jobs on the go at once is a lot like juggling and like juggling, everything has to be done just right, nothing slips under Dad and Bruce’s radars. We're getting there bit by bit…

So amid the total chaos that’s somehow become normal it’s really sinking in, three weeks till I say good bye to the Sunshine Coast! Three weeks till we’re off to Sydney and after that crossing the start line isn’t far off, wow! It’s a little scary and mostly very exciting thought. One thing I’m really looking forward to is seeing the boat in the water on Sydney Harbour, it’s going to be so nice to finally do some sailing and more importantly, start testing all the systems.

Before we’re off to Sydney I’m going to have one last chance to say a goodbye to the Sunshine Coast, on the 25th of July we’re having a ‘Bon Voyage Dinner’ at Novotel Twin Waters Resort. See the home page of http://www.youngestround.com/ for more details, everyone’s invited!

If you’re local keep an eye out for the Sunshine Coast Daily tomorrow for something exciting to be part of…

Drawing on the waterline

H.V.P. (High Visual Progress)!

Today the wiring, bogging, sanding, mechanical, glassing, engineering and plumping departments all pulled together to give the boat a final sand down, mask up and clean off before knocking off early for the painting department to spray on the first coat of paint. I’ll be glad when the final coat of pink goes on next week as the primer isn’t very pretty, mustard yellow. Oh and for anyone new to this, yes we are painting the boat pink!!

Maybe it’s just that Friday afternoon feeling but I think we were all very happy to have some paint on the hull and deck, it actually looks like we’ve achieved something, H.V.P.!

We’ve really stated the countdown now, only three weeks till the boat goes down to Sydney, three weeks working full time fitting equipment and getting her looking like a boat again. Three weeks to fit hatches, vents, deck gear, chain plates, electronics, satcoms equipment, the windgenny and the rudder. No time to relax yet but it certainly feels like a big milestone!
Tomorrow we’ll do some more HVP, interior decorating this time!

Jessica

Latest from the shed…

A big thanks to Aunty Cath and Swarbrick and Swarbrick for my beautiful new tiller!

The Rutland Wind generator, an important part of the power system.

Thanks to Barry Barker at Arrow Caravans for supplying the stove and Richard the installer I now have the ability to cook all latitudes, longitudes and upside-down. The only question left is how many for dinner…

A suspect looking crowd, from the left Phil, Mick and Dad

Buzzzz! Neil and Pat the electrical team, report that progress has been positive.

Mum received a hero’s welcome when she arrived with the new keel bolt made by P & W Marine Engineers and box full of goodies from BIAS Boating.

Jim, chief plumber working hard at work installing the shiny new Johnston bilge pumps

Ed was too busy working hard to give us a smile

Life as normal… crazy! Up in the morning off to the shed with Mums box packed full of yummy sandwiches, treats, fruit and bickys to keep all the crew going, only this week I was in for a shock. My portion of lunch consisted of freeze dried and long life meals for me to sample, sympathy please!

Actually after I got over being a drama queen the food wasn’t too bad, I gave roast chicken 8/10 and chicken and peas 7/10. Looks like entertainment for the voyage is also covered, picking out the peas will keep me more than busy.

Lately the shed seems a like highway or maybe a huge big muilt-lane intersection with so many people and so much equipment coming and going. Some of the latest equipment arrivals have been the Rutland wind generator, windows and port holes, a million bits and pieces from BIA’s boating, though hull fittings… just to name a few.

On Tuesday we all made an effort to smarten up for the visiting film team and Don McIntyre stopped in to see all the action, actually I believe the poor guy was handed a sanding board the moment he stepped though the door! Luckily, he was smart enough not to bring working clothes and it was great to catch up.

Wednesday saw Mike join the team for a week of work and Phil from Fleming Windvanes arrive to put together the targa frame with Dad, sorry did I say targa, make that roll cage!
Thursday, Bruce and I caught up the team at Ullman Sails Sunshine Coast to go over details of my sail wardrobe. All up and with the support of Bainbridge International I’ll have set of 11 brand new ‘built proof’ sails.

No rest for the wicked, hope you enjoy the pictures!

Jessica