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The above pictures are buttons, which if clicked on will open various sections of this website.
A row boats sat idly on the shore of Mallacoota's Bottom Lake. Although it was a perfect sailing day; warm with a seabreeze, the Lake only carried fishing boats, Pelicans and Swans. It had been a long time since I last sailed. I wondered who owned these boats and how to get onto one.
Above The line up of boats at Mallacoota's Bottom Lake
A week later Bruce brought the rig to Paper Tiger 1464 "Why Worry?" down to the Lake, offering me free use of it. He'd bought it to sail on with his two boys, but found they were still a few years too young for it. The first sail was delightful, fast and fun, although the boat seemed a bit unresponsive to gusts of wind. Back at the beach I opened a hatch cover to discover the hulls were half full of gravel. Apparently the boat had been left tied to a tree with the bungs out when the lake flooded, and the stern had sat on the bottom as the bows floated, and the sand and gravel had washed in.
Right My first Tiger was 1582, a blue fiberglass boat with rotted timber decks and a lot of pieces missing. Whatever; it was a bargain at $50, and I just wanted to go sailing. A boating catalogue made me realize it would be hundreds of dollars to fit it out, and while considering the options, Bruce rang, offering to sell me "Why Worry?" The two boats became one, with the 1970's Lidguard sail and other bits a substantial upgrade to the original 1972 components Why Worry came with.
Wondering what was this "Paper Tiger" I had bought, I browsed the internet. In just two weeks time, and after my work contract ended, there would be a State Titles at Rye on Port Phillip Bay! Wow, it'd be great to see what proper Tigers looked like. The boat was disassembled and loaded onto the roof of my old 4WD for the 500km trip, and then proudly set up in the line of boats on the beach at Rye. The comparison between the old relic and the new boats was astonishing; I could see that every component had been re-designed and upgraded over the years.
Above
Why Worry lines up with the fleet at Rye, at the 2006 Victorian State Titles
The first race was great; I sailed up towards the finish line, and looked back to see the whole fleet behind me. Then I rounded the windward mark and began my last lap while they all finished the race. Back at the beach I was amazed to see guys pick up their boats by the front cross-beam; it took four of us to lift Why Worry! It was also great to meet the other Paper Tiger sailors, for some of whom the classic 1970's style of Why Worry brought back nostalgic memories.
A couple of years later I thought it would be great if could race against my Dad. We hadn't done that since we both had Sailfish back in to 1980's. While measuring a roof for a drafting job, I spotted an old Tiger rotting away in a backyard, and thought "there's Dad's boat!" Closer inspection revealed it had been idle for so long that the steel trailer under it had rusted away, and the boat had fallen onto the mudguards, holing both hulls, which were full of water. The whole thing was covered in slime, moss and lichens. Number 2128, called "Tega Too".
It wasn't too hard to scrape off the slime, bleach the mould and patch in the holes. The repairs were just finished when I heard a Whistling Kite call overhead. That could only mean one thing; a seabreeze had sprung up and it was soaring on the updrafts along the ridge. Sailing weather! As I pulled the sail up I saw a Sea Eagle soaring high overhead, then a Pelican floated over, staring at me. Out on the water, a gust hit and the hull immediately lifted; it was so responsive! Keeping the sheet in, I just used the rudder to keep the hull flying; rounding up in gusts and bearing away in lulls, as I looked up, I saw the Pelican had followed, and was rising and falling; sharing the wind with me. I decided to name the boat after that experience; "Pelikinetic".
I borrowed an old box trailer and built a rig out of recycled hardwood to carry two boats, then towed them to Melbourne for the State Titles at McCrae. Dad flew down, and we had a great time sharing a caravan and sailing together. Just before the last race we swapped boats, which meant we both started last. It was a new experience for me; I was fast and actually over took people, gaining 9 places before the race's end. Wow!
Above 1464 Why Worry and 2128 Tega Too at McCrae, at the 2008 Victorian State Titles
At any opportunity I took people out for rides on the Paper Tigers. Max Dogger showed the most interest and soon became a regular skipper on Why Worry. We've since sailed in races at the Wallagoot Lake Boat Club, and several regattas. I've upgraded the boat, one component at a time, and was delighted to get up with the front-runners a coupe of times at the 2009 International Titles. Not bad for a $200 old wreck!
Above Why Worry and Pelikinetic ready to race at the Twofold Bay Regatta, Eden 2009
After racing Paper Tigers for a few years now, I'm keen to upgrade to a newer boat. Max has also become a Paper Tiger aficionado, and would be delighted to upgrade from Why Worry to Pelikinetic. While we considered this, the town's new Doctor rang, and said something like "it was a perfect sailing day and I saw this row of boats sitting idly by the lake..."