The following stories were written by guests who
have visited us aboard Shear Madness
John - March 2004
I recently
had the pleasure and
privilege of joining Shear Madness for a
two week cruise from Tasmania to Queensland. Although I have had previous
sailing experience, the 'cruising thing' was new to me and I was keen to
experience it first hand. Bradley promised that
there would be No tense race starts, no
instant meals, no deadlines and, best of all, no washing machine experiences
on the bow, no flying lessons up the mast, and no extended periods freezing
'the balls of a brass monkey' on the rail (and no that’s not a rude
expression - see Bradley for a historically accurate explanation if
you don’t believe me!).
So if none of
the above sailing experiences were on the agenda, then what did we get up to for
two weeks? We'll, in short, if
you don't like great
fair weather sailing,
sun, swimming,
diving, fishing, exploring, walking,
excellent scenery, fine company and great culinary experiences then don't sail
with Bradley and Kathy on Shear Madness as you will be forced to undergo a
gruelling regime of all the above. A snapshot example - a day at Lady Baron Bay
Flinders Island: Up early for a breakfast of fresh coffee and fruit, move the
yacht to a new location, go for a walk/explore, go diving with a local and get
presented with excessive quantities of Crayfish and Abalone, have a fine dinner
aboard with your local host who, in addition to providing the seafood for
dinner, provides excellent renditions of Aussy bush poetry for impromptu
entertainment! All unplanned, unexpected, and truly entertaining. Can it
really get any better?
Cruising
onboard Shear Madness is a truly exceptional
experience! While I must confess to taking some time to settle into the
luxuries and hassle free lifestyle onboard, I did finally succumb to the
cruising lifestyle - even if it was only for a too short holiday. From the
light air cruising to the reaching blasts, Shear Madness is a fantastic sailing
experience. And of course, the excellent adventures at all our stopovers meant
that there was always plenty of adventure whilst ashore.
Thanks
to Kathy, Bradley and Ron for a truly excellent holiday and cruising experience.
I sincerely hope it will not be my last.
You have redefined for me the
‘sailing’ experience.
Mike - January 2004
I met up with Kathy, Bradley, and Ron in Hobart on
January 6, 2004 to spend some time with the Shear Madness Tasmania 2004
tour. We had a great time exploring parts of Hobart, South Bruny Island,
and the Huon River valley.
Kathy and I were able to play a few rounds of golf and
learned that it is possible to hitch a ride with a full set of golf clubs.
The Tasmania Golf Club was my favorite - even if we did walk 18 holes
starting less than an hour after I arrived from Colorado. To anyone who is
worried about being able to sleep after a long flight and a huge time
change, I recommend walking 18 holes of golf starting within an hour or two
of landing at your destination – you will be guaranteed a sound nights
sleep!
We were able to take several hikes on the trip. The
Mt. Wellington hike was tough to beat. When we made it to the top of the
Mt. Wellington, we were greeted by an impressive snow squall. The wind and
the snow made it seem like the middle of winter – we were all happy there
was a shelter at the top so we could warm up a little. Kathy and I spent
some time at the Pontoon table in Hobart. It took us a few hours to figure
out there are no 10s in the deck during a game of Pontoon, but we had fun
and didn’t lose our money.
Tasmania was a great place to visit. The people we met
were all extremely friendly, except that one lady who gave us the finger
while we were hitchhiking – haha. The scenery was awesome.
This was my second trip aboard Shear Madness
and once again Kathy, Bradley, and Ron made it a horrible experience to have
to endure - haha! Hopefully, I will be able to go through another painful
Shear Madness adventure in the future.
Salvadore - December 2003
I had a very short and uneventful trip in Shear Madness, on the passage
from Mooloolaba to Sydney , nevertheless it was a very pleasant and
enjoyable time. The sailing was easy , too easy for me! I sail
an old timber classic yacht and on her everything is done the hard way, not
like on Shear Madness! The enjoyable part for me is to get to know
people in a very closed and unusual environment. You get to know people real
fast at sea , we are free of our usual props and defensive walls and there
is nowhere to go. Also at sea you get to see people doing what they love ,
no one will go sailing who does not like it , it is too hard and unforgiving
, so you see people at their best - , well , most of the time .
Neil & Shelley - January 2004
From Shelley.....
Going to Australia was a
big treat for me, the day I boarded my flight from my home in Edmonton, Canada,
I left behind temperatures of –40F. But significant improvement in the weather
was only a small part of what made the vacation great.Never in my life have I
slept on board a yacht before, nor have I ever really spent more than an hour or
two on a sailing boat in my entire life. Those days I spent aboard Shear
Madness were full of relaxation, new experiences, a few good laughs, great
weather (although Neil was always cold!), wonderful food and hospitality, and
great conversation. After only a few days aboard, I couldn’t even begin to
pretend to understand the intricacies of sailing, what I took away was an
appreciation for the complexity, science and art of sailing.
I have many memorable
moments and will share my favorites. The first would be the night we went out
to go and see the little penguins. Bradley, Neil and I went out in the dinghy
Insanity towards the island where the little penguins were to be found.
Unfortunately, the water was too shallow for the dinghy, and Bradley and Neil
had to get into the freezing cold water and pull the dinghy in to where it could
be anchored. I, who apparently didn’t listen to Bradley’s instructions very
well, didn’t bring any shoes that could go into the water, so I got to stay in
the dingy until I we were close enough that I could be carried ashore (and
carried back to the dinghy -ed). A little embarrassing, but my feet stayed
warm and dry! We waited until dark and sure enough, we saw the cutest little
penguins waddling out of the ocean and walking up the beach to their nests.
The next memorable moment
is one that will leave me feeling privileged forever. We were off hiking
towards a settlement on Bruny Island and spotted something off in the distance.
To my great delight, it was an adult white kangaroo! I was fortunate enough to
have the zoom lens on my camera, and I was able to get a really great look at
the white kangaroo as well as some good photos. I understand very few people
have ever seen an adult white kangaroo in the wild. This sighting will be one
of my top Australian experiences of all time.
From Neil....
Since meeting
Bradley and Kathy during the 2000 America's Cup in Auckland; we had planned to
meet up again in the not too distant future. Time and circumstance prevented
that meeting until February this year although unfortunately, meeting up with
Kathy is going to take a little longer.
Arriving in
Hobart, with my lovely Canadian friend Shelley, we could spot the mast of "Shear
Madness" from some distance away, standing proud in the Marina. On arrival at
the dock, we found Bradley proudly standing around the BBQ.
After the fond greetings and introductions to the legendary Mate Ron, we got
down to the serious business of consuming large quantities of beer and judging
how little we had both aged in the past four years. There was no need to ask
the obvious question; "So, what have you been up too, Mate…", as the wonders of
email had answered that question on an almost weekly basis.
Sailing got
underway late the next morning and we were joined by my long lost cousin Malcom,
for the first leg. It was his first introduction to a large, comfortable yacht
and he was suitably impressed. My boating abilities were tested to the limit on
departure when I was given control of the dinghy and not being able to start the
motor I did the next best thing and paddled out to meet the rest of the Team on
the yacht. Nobody told me that the key in my pocket was needed to start the
outboard motor! I was consequently made to wear an Aussie Bushmans hat with
outboard keys around the brim instead of corks to keep the flies away; not that
there were many flies, it was too cold! (I don’t know where Ron & Bradley got
all the outboard keys from; they must have robbed all the dinghys in the Marina
in anticipation of either loosing a key on a regular basis or the arrival of an
expat Aussie from New Zealand with very little cruising experience.)
Sailing down
the Derwent River in calm conditions I was impressed by the performance of
"Shear Madness" in light breezes. The big stick (mast-ed.) and fully
battened mainsail helps, but the lightness and accuracy of the helm is a mark of
design quality for such a heavy vessel. I can only wonder how the boat would
perform with a 120% genoa instead of the yankee (a sail type, not Bradley-ed)
and staysail currently fitted; but then you would need Team New Zealand
to make it all happen. Why have the hassle when performance is more than
adequate for a cruising yacht; and as we all know, "Gentleman (& Gentleladies)
don’t go to Weather"!
It's not easy
for a racing yachtsman to relax when aboard a yacht. The last thing a race crew
needs is a relaxed crewmember. Conversely, the last thing a crew of a cruising
yacht needs is a hyped up passenger, running around adjusting sail tension and
plotting imaginary laylines and generally disturbing the tranquillity of the
boat. It took me a day or so to realise that if I saw a sail that needed some
adjustment, it didn't really matter if I left it alone or just casually slip the
traveller (sail adjustment-ed) a fraction when I felt like getting up to
get another beer. With Bradley's relaxed and masterful command of the good ship
"Shear Madness", I had no choice but to kick back and enjoy the passing
scenery. Such is the cruising lifestyle.
The days of
sailing and motoring were a sheer delight with not a hint of madness. Ron's
abilities in the galley are only matched by his abilities on deck. Shelley and
I took far too much advantage of his constant attention to our needs. I think I
only washed up the dishes once.My only disappointment for the trip was not
getting the Spinnaker up. No matter what I said to convince Bradley that it
would be alright; that I knew what I was doing and the chance of rolling the
boat where minimal, he would not be moved. However, I have planned my revenge.
The next time Bradley is in Auckland we will get him on the foredeck of a large
race yacht and treat him to the odd Chinese jibe (a terrifying experience-ed)
and a good dose of salt water down his oilskins. He's getting far too soft in
his dotage.
There is a
lot more to add to what was a superb trip, but space limits more verbiage. The
delights of sailing in a warm, dry, quiet and comfortable yacht is too good to
be true. Sailing is supposed to be hard, cold and miserable so you can feel
really good when you step ashore. It would be very easy to get used to life
aboard "Sheer Madness" and never go yacht racing again; and I don’t really care
about the spinnaker!
It was good
to see Bradley; to meet Ron and I look forward to seeing Kathy again, perhaps in
Auckland where I can return some of the hospitality shown to Shelley and I.
Thanks again guys; for the Vegemite; for the care and attention, and a great
yachting experience. And Bradley; I wont give you my Yacht Club Burgee but I
will recommend you for Membership, if you let me put the spinnaker up next time!
Neil Spencer
& Shelley Bablitz
March 2004