It was difficult to make the sailing decision this morning. The forecast for the last few days was for torrential showers all day Monday, and strong winds, but we woke to a very mild day with light North Westerley breezes, and 1 ml of rain in the forecast to fall before 9.00 am.
So of course we went ahead, as we do, and the day developed into a perfect day for Sailability Sailing. A little cloudy, not too much breeze, but just enough for a calming sail with our friends.
Ken was our hard-working Sailing Coordinator, doubling as the radio operator.
Warwick, Denis, Brian, Peter, John were our intrepid sailors.
John W was the Support Boat Driver with Eli as photographer/observer, Nola and Malcolm on the pontoon, and last of all, but certainly not least, Helen as the registrar.
Our surprise guest for today was, hopefully a new volunteer in the production line, Rex. Stay tuned for this one.
First group of participants down were from Aruma, with helpers Annie, Ryan, Jim and David.
Jasper, Paul, Kyle, James had a great time in the sailing boats, staying out there for over an hour while we waited for our next group.
Kel from Royal Rehab brought Leon, who absolutely loved his sailing experience and will be back for more.
Amanda brought her group: Alan, Stephen, Rosalyn, Graham, Stuart, Carlo, Sandra and Brad. They did not all sail, but enjoyed the perfect weather, and the seaside environment.
Last group to arrive, Avenue, travelled all the way from Parramatta by train, ferry and foot, and will be returning the same way. What a great day out for them, with a little sailing thrown in as a bonus. Tom, William, Jesica, Robert, Alex loved every minute, even though there were a few drops of rain as we finished the day.
In 2006, Sailability Manly won a grant application for a brand new Support Boat which we called Charlie’s Chariot. This is 14 years ago, and the boat has given us wonderful service in this time. After lovingly looking after it, we have decided that this is a good time to pension off the old engine to someone else, who will look after it faithfully, but not demand quite so much work, and we are replacing it with a brand new engine which we hopw will give us just as much service.
Here is a photo of the old engine, still running smoothly, and giving thousands of peole each year lots of pleasure.
Eli
