As much as we would love to sail into the sunset there is work to do. The boat needs a good clean and there is a bunch of maintenance to attend to. We also have gear to remove and gear to add. The marina is paid until 22nd August but we are also needed back in Sydney for a couple of weeks which doesn’t give us a lot of time.

I am trying not to buy anything that isn’t strictly necessary and the op shop list is pretty long now. We have most things on the boat already but we will swap out stuff as we go.

This is an antique gimballed kerosene lamp that was on the yacht Mango Groove when Rowan was a child. When his dad went to sell the boat 6 year old Rowan told him he had to remove it and keep it. Consequently each boat David has owned he has been told to remove and put on the next boat. So when he put up Acacia Spray for sale he removed it for Rowan. Well now we own it so it has gone right back where it was. It was made by William Kopsen (1847 – 1930). Read below if you’re interested in his vibrant history (copied from Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 9 – by Barbara Dale).

William Kopsen (1847-1930), manufacturer and ship-chandler, was born on 29 December 1847 and baptized Gustaf Wilhelm at Vaxholm, Sweden, only son of Erik Gustav Kopsen, marine customs house porter, and his wife Anna Greta, née Ohrstrom. His early childhood was marred by family discord and straitened circumstances. Orphaned at 15 he lived in 1862-64 on a farm at Osteraker where he was tutored by the rector Dr Samuel Ponten who encouraged Kopsen to study geography and anthropology.

From 1864 Kopsen worked as a shop assistant and book-keeper in Stockholm. He migrated in 1868, reaching Sydney on 10 September. After working as a cook and shepherd on sheep-stations near Bathurst, he went next year to the Clarence River where he bought a small boat and traded. But, ‘seized by a longing to see the Fiji Islands’, he joined the missionary ship John Wesley and reached Levuka in May 1870. For two years he transported cargoes round the islands and early in 1873 became a book-keeper in Levuka, while acting as commission agent for Swedish planters. In 1875 he established W. Kopsen & Co., with J. C. Smith, to import and trade in textiles and general merchandise. By the late 1870s he was a member of the hospital board, secretary of the yacht and rifle clubs, and consul for Sweden and Norway from 1881.

Britain had annexed Fiji in 1874 and in 1877 Kopsen was naturalized. In Levuka on 20 October he married Laura Theresa Turner from Sydney. He had sent articles about native customs, flora and fauna to a Stockholm newspaper, and donated artefacts from the South Pacific to a Swedish museum — in 1882 he was elected to the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography. When the capital was moved to Suva that year, Kopsen moved too and in 1883 became an alderman and mayor. He was a member of the Marine Board and in 1885 formed and was chairman of the Fiji Fire and Marine Insurance Co. Ltd.

In 1889 Kopsen settled in Sydney, carrying on business at 70 Clarence Street as Smith & Kopsen, ship-chandler. After Smith retired the firm of W. Kopsen & Co. Ltd was registered in December 1905. On a cycling tour of the Snowy Mountains he became interested in a timber which locals called ‘mountain ash’. Foreseeing its commercial potential, Kopsen in 1906 built a plant at Auburn, where tests indicated its suitability for oars and implement handles. When transport of the timber proved difficult and costly, a factory was built at Laurel Hill, near Batlow, where ‘Pioneer’ oars and handles were made. By 1927 W. Kopsen & Co. Ltd were contractors to government departments and always had 10,000 oars ready for delivery within Australia and shipment to the Pacific Islands. He did much to revive the Australian timber industry and to reduce domination by American imports.

From 1911 Kopsen served as foundation senior vice-president of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for Australia, New Zealand and South Sea Islands, and in 1923-28 was honorary vice-consul for Sweden. In 1914 he was largely responsible for erecting a monument at Kurnell to Daniel Solander.

Described as ‘a giant, elegant both in appearance and manners’, Kopsen had great personal charm, humanity and optimism, with the ability to organize, act quickly and take command. He had been brought up as a Lutheran, believing in the virtues of thrift, industry and self-discipline; in Australia he was a Congregationalist. He visited Sweden in 1910 and afterwards said that ‘a good wind blew over my head the day I travelled away from the old country’. Kopsen retired in 1928 and died at his home at Strathfield on 15 August 1930; he was cremated. His estate was valued for probate at £34,092. His wife, two sons and three daughters survived him. In 1983 William Kopsen & Co. was carried on by a grandson.

Rowan and David working in the engine room

Metal detectors! Rowan and I used to have a couple years ago and we have purchased two ex demo ones. One can go down to 60m and the other is more for on land but can handle getting wet too. We will be hunting for treasure in no time.

We took a trip up Brandy Creek Road to Uncle Phil’s places. It was great to meet Heather and Phil as I have heard a lot about them. Their place is in a beautiful bush setting and Phil is a bit of a wheeler dealer. Rowan came helped remove a drive shaft from an old ute. It was a bit of a mission. I supervised.

Sunrise and a sunset in the marina

We are off! Let’s take this bad boy for a spin! We are going out for a couple of days to see what else we may need to do.

I did a bit of hull scraping before we left as we have our own reef growing under the boat. It is due to be slipped and new anti foul put on. We will do that within the next 6 months. It is perfect sailing weather.

I am feeling very lucky, I have spotted a bottle nose dolphin and a humpback whale. Not bad for my first trip on the boat.

First night we spent on a mooring at Dumbell Island. Rowan took me into shore on the dinghy and we went snorkelling around to see all the stunning coral and sea life. Even though I have run out of contact lenses it was incredible to see. Did come across some jellyfish but they are not ones that sting, phew.

First sunrise at sea on Acacia Spray

Good morning cruel world. We were aiming to leave early to go to Whitehaven Beach but our engine won’t start. The boys fluff about for an hour and manage to sort it out. Something about bleeding or air to get it going. This happens throughout the day until we finally realise it is one of two things that they tighten to fix the issue. Wh

Whitehaven is exactly like the photos incredible white sand, blue water and blue skies. We take the metal detector for a swing on the beach. We really need to learn the codes for this machine.

Second night we stay on a mooring in Hook Passage at the Cairn. It is between Hook Island and Whitsundays Island.

We set off early to False Nara Inlet, it is exactly what you think it is. A false bay that would make you think you had made it to Nara Inlet. There were two Green turtles there which was awesome to see. Rowan kept seeing them yesterday and I kept missing them. We didn’t a stay long, just had some breakfast and headed back to the marina. David has an appointment on Monday so we needed to be back at lunchtime. The wind was great for sailing and we averaged 7 knots on the way back.

Here is our course expertly mapped.