Ramona said..theselkie said..For you Ramona

https://www.boatsales.com.au/boats/details/1970-COLE-43/SSE-AD-3774385?pageSource=details&id=SSE-AD-3774385 Lovely boat.
I skippered a Cole 43, Midnight Magic, on a Lord Howe attempt in 2013. We sailed to Newcastle where the owner had a business and I wanted a few jobs done before we attempted the passage to LHI. The boat went on the hard in Newcastle and fixed the issues except for a rudder problem which the chippie said was fine.
About 60 or so miles out from Newcastle at 1700 in light winds and a 2 metre swell I head down for a kip as I had the 1st watch. Laying there drowsing I hear the owner say 'don't panic, don't panic I can fix it'.
A nano second later I'm in the cockpit to find the rudder top mount broken and the post moving around being held by the fibreglass riser tube through the hull. If the tube broke she was probably going to the bottom.
I stopped the boat and the owner spent many hours in the developing night contorting himself to resecure the top mount. He did do a great job but when finished he indicated it was Ok. I said we had about 1000nm to get to LHI and back and that we are going home.
The boat had a modified spade rudder that had removed the skeg. The only S&S34 to sink at sea, Morning Tide, had a modified rudder and sank because the hinge broke and the flailing rudder post broke the glass tube.
Lesson learnt, don't sail on boats with rudder modifications.