TOPtoTOP expedition reports

Rudder shock!

In Bass Strait on the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race we had the first time a funny noise coming from the steering system, but didn't think of a big problem. After Sydney we tried to get to New Zealand. Because of constant head winds we decided to go to Queensland to do our project there.
Climbing up from Sydney to Brisbane the rudder came totally loose. It was very difficult and we got quite tired from hand steering and we were so glad that Matteo was still with us. We reported the Australian Coast Guard our position nearly every hour so that they have us on trek. We managed to improvise an upper bearing to support the rudder shaft and made it yesterday over the bar at high tide into the Seaway, where we were able to anchor. I dived and was perplex to see that the rudder is cracked...

For all of us it was a big shock that we have again a problem with the rudder! Thanks to Bill Dobson's advise we sailed up the calm Coomera river to the Gold Coast City Marina. We never have seen such an organized and big place for marine repairs. The Gold Coast City Marina Manager Steve Sammes gave us a warm welcome and is ready to support the TOPtoTOP Expedition in its difficult situation.

Tomorrow Pachamama comes out of the water and then we know more. We think it takes a while till the rudder is fixed. If you know a place we are able to stay in the Brisbane area during the repairs please let us know (0061 4 23 45 02 55)?

Broken rudder!

After lifting here the result:

Expert Douglas Devis in action:

Today Matteo is leaving for Rom. He joined Pachamama on the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and became a great friend of all of us. Thank you so much Matteo for all your help and we are looking forward to see you soon...

good example: GCCM

We are at the Gold Coast City Marina fixing our rudder. Another good example to do it better with the environment.

Thanks to the following companies we make progress:

- Glod Coast City Marina

- Marine Engineering

- Watson Marine Engineering

- Classic Marine

- International

- Express Design

getting there

... 5 minutes from the boat yard!

Yesterday Kerry just finished welding and Perry helps as out to produce the bearings.

Unfortunately we saw that there is material missing on the shaft. SGS offered us to ship the rudder to their facilities in Adelaide to machine it there. Greg Watson came up with the idea to build it up with Alu-Epoxy. It worked fine and so we were able to save the transport to Adelaide, although there was a lot of grinding involved.
It is a big job! We normaly start at 5 a.m. till 8 p.m. and sometimes we work also at night:

Thanks to this super boat yard and a lot of volunteers we hope to be back in the water mid of next week.

At the moment we have to paint 8 coats on each side of the rudder and grind it in between ... so we know what we do on the weekend.
The children like to help everywhere and Sabine is doing a great job keeping them busy, cooking and working on the boat!

Thanks Charley on a sailboat nearby Salina and Andri can still enjoy Crock - and Kangaroo country.