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DULCINEA
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Just 10 minutes to move the mast and find and
mount the wheel |
| Dulcinea
was built in Kaoshung, Taiwan in 1977. She is a Formosa
46, in effect an extended Peterson 44. The design was
obtained by the Formosa Boat Co and the first few yachts
were built under the able eye of an Australian boatbuilder.
We saw the first of many arrive in PNG and they were cheap....
real cheap so we had to have one and put down a deposit
in mid 1977. Later in the year, Lyndall travelled to the
boatyard to supervise construction where it was built
in 6 weeks. We found out then why it was so cheap and
repairs over the 9 years we owned her were to form the
basis of our knowledge and provided the experience to
build illywhacker |
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| Slings are only just attached to the cradle |
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We were advised to ship Dulcinea to Hong Kong and
prepare her for the passage home to Lae in PNG and spent
6 weeks in the RHKYC doing all we could. We were joined
by our crew, Dave Gosden, Jenny and Gary Eiszele and
our eldest son James. Sails were delivered from LeeSails
in Hong Kong, who were very helpful, basic instrumentation
installed and safety gear mounted. There was so much
to do and we had to get back to work so we called it
quits and departed early in December, straight into
a typhoon!
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| Headsail as hanked on in those days |
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Our route was Hong Kong, Manila, Palau, Lae. From the moment
of meeting the crew were incompatable, the skipper was
green (experience and seasickness), the weather formidable
and time was running out. In short all the ingredients
were there for a disastrous crossing on the first leg
from Hong Kong to Manila. We were inexperienced
sailors on an untried yacht in Asia for the first time.
While we were struggling to come to grips with what
seemed like overwhelming and insurmountable problems
abroad, events at home where our 3 younger children
were being minded, proved to have far-reaching consequences
for our family.
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| A spanking NE en route to Palau, Lyndall steering -
note the lack of protection! |
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The
story of the delivery trip and the subsequent passages
we made in Dulcinea will be told in this website.
The
delivery journey was truly a learning experience and
these pictures touch upon the moments of anxiety, joy
and pride we felt. |
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| James helmed for hours while his exhausted parents slept |
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