Nearly there

Hi all just a quick update sorry i have been absent for awhile. It's all happening less than 2 weeks till we depart for sydney. since the last blog there has been some media attention with the mercury, abc news, tasmania style magazine (due out before christmas) and www.think-tasmania.com also featuring an article about what we are doing and the big one 'the project' on channel 10 will be arriving this week for 2 days of filming with me and natelle. in regards to the boat we are pretty much ready just a few small things left to do and some finishing touches to make her look really pretty. the dodger is back on after hmmmmm 10-15 years of absence. the crew shirts have arrived, not quite what i was planning but not too bad all the same. I bought a new phone so hopefully I will be able to keep you update mainly via facebook  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natelle-Two-Sydney-to-Hobart/277482825618275 so jump on and follow us and i will see you at the finish line!
Happy Sailing
Laura

Making Progress

Hi everyone so we are on the way to being ready. The last week has been a flurry of events that will all become evident in good time. I gave my first telephone interview for ABC radio last week and I am sure I sounded very vague, there were lots of long pauses. The A21 logo has finally gone on the main and photos have begun.  If you haven’t checked it out yet head to the rolex Sydney to Hobart web site and read the latest article. I featured a little! Went for a sail today for the first time in many months was fantastic to get out there. A big thank you to Alisha for braving the chilly weather and taking some fantastic shots of the boat and main for me.  So we are on to doing the little jobs now and getting ready for Maria Island race in mid November. Only 70 days left until the start. Cant believe how fast it has crept up on us.

See you about!

Laura

Dad Ambi and I out for a sail today!

all in a weekend's work

This weeked Dad and I have applied the cutting compound ready to start waxing. It's times like these you wish she was only 30 foot instead of 41. I also managed to fall off the cradle and give my back one hell of a bruise and am now quite sore, but the work goes on.  I have discovered my terror for standing on a thin plank 3 or 4 meters in the air while using power tools that kick back. I have therefore spent the entire weekend tightly clinging to the ladder at either end of the plank while nervously watching dad. But surprisingly I did manage to help out quite a bit from the seated tightly clung position. The photos that accompany this post are the post cutting compound application.

Laura

my bruise after i fell off the cradle

photos of the work we have been doing.

Its getting close

Hi everyone,

So it has been quite some time since I last wrote but a lot has happened.

There is now only 94 days until the start gun and things are finally starting to happen.

There is yet to be any news on the sponsor front but I have become affiliated with a not for profit organisation called ‘The A21 Campaign’ they are all about abolishing human injustice in the 21^st century and focus particularly on the issue of human trafficking of young girls for the sex trade. 

Currently Murray Wilkes is trying to organise for as many boats as possible to carry the logo either on their sail or a sticker on the hull to help raise awareness. Printing will begin on our main sail in the next few weeks and we hope to start raising awareness of this huge issue through our great sport of sailing. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.  So find out more and head to www.thea21campaign.org

Renovations are complete and it’s time to start tweaking the broken bits and installing the new gear. I have some photos of our progress. Currently Natelle is on the slip having a bit of TLC, she is due back in the water early next week.

The new number 3 heady is on the way to help us do our best.

Crew shirts will be ordered soon so any one that wants one better get their order in.

Hopefully the publicity will start soon and you will hopefully be seeing me here and there.

Entries are in and I claimed the title of the first Tasmanian boat to enter.

THINGS left TO DO: they are numerous but we will get there the important things are fixing the fridge, getting the boat measured and obtaining safety certificates.

I plan on updating a lot more often these days as time quickly ticks away. So get behind A 21, myself and the red boat and follows us on the blog and the S2H website.

See you all at the finish line.

Sponsors

Hi everyone,
Well I have finally got myself organised and sent off sponsorship letters today. Hopefully I will hear something back really soon. We have a new GPS which I have been playing with it's all very fancy and came with a new hand held radio. Dad and I have started getting things fixed and working out how and where things are going to go, and the list continues to grow of what needs doing. That's all the updates I have for now. But Thursday 31st of march is the final DSS twilight race where we have a bit of fun, go in fancy dress and get the girls sailing. so get down to the club and join in the fun.
Cheers
Laura.

And it begins...

Hi all and welcome to the page. I have never done anything like this on the internet before so please bear with me as I  find my way around.

So as you may have already heard or worked out I have my Dad's permission to take Natelle Two to Sydney this year. I am starting early as there is a lot to get organised. Dad has already organised a few little things and I'm beginning to try to get some companies to sponsor the boat to help me pay all the expenses. So there isn't really much to report at this stage so instead I will fill you in on how all of this came about. 

Well being a female in the yacht racing world isn't the easiest task. You're often left to do nothing and contribute nothing as you are not seen to be as physically able as your male counterparts. As is often the case, as I know some women have experienced, you are left to get the beer for the boys while they do the "sailing". Luckily I have the support of my dad, Glenn and my eldest brother Ashley on board our family yacht which Mum and Dad have owned since I was 2. I am very lucky to have the opportunity to have pretty much grown up on Natelle and therefore show the crew that I am fully capable and in some cases more capable than the boys. This has allowed me to continue my competitive sailing career on yachts.  I started out in sabots (once I could swim 50 meters on my own) at the age of 7.  I continued in sabots until I was 14. From there, I sailed with Dad on Natelle whenever I could make it. I also started sailing J24s with Kaye Roberts, the owner of Kaos as the foredeckie for a number of years.  When I moved to Launceston for uni sailing took a bit of a back seat. But at the end of my first year (2007) Ashley entered Natelle in the inaugural Launceston to Hobart race. We began preparing by doing as much racing as we could including the Maria Island race (this is where I learned my tendancy towards sea sickness had returned). As well as sailing in the race I also did the delivery trip to Launceston. The following year I did a delivery trip aboard Helsal 3 to Sydney for Boxing Day and also accomplished my first bass strait crossing.

Due to the difficulty getting aboard boats doing the Sydney to Hobart (partly because of the lack of Tasmanian boats entered) and due to the age restriction applied after the 1998 race I haven't had a chance to get a ride. So this year with my first year of nursing behind me and earning some money I have decided to take myself and pretty much whoever will come with me (experience pending). That's another thing - experience, you really need it to do the race but it's difficult to get it, and to get it, you really already need to have it.  So in this complex world of rules and regulations I'm starting out to get my experience so perhaps next time it won't be so hard (and expensive).

So that's the story of me and a little bit about how I came to get my self in this situation.

I will post more information about what we are doing to the boat, hopefully sponsors that have come on board, crew developments and any other interesting information.

Over and out
Laura