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| Thursday, 24th February 2005 - Day 1 - East Coast Marina, Brisbane Halyard broke yesterday just as Baza and Helen were about to leave the boat. Baza said that every time he sells something, something goes wrong with the item on the day. Yesterday was no exception. Geoff said I had to winch him up the mast – gulp, shudder, worry – Can I do it? Well the answer was yes. Geoff used his climbing harness and was able to help me winch him up so – goodbye boson’s chair. But, after all that, he couldn’t fix it so I knew I would have to put in another effort another day once he had sought advice. Note; the marina facilities are nearly 500 metres from our berth and a four minute walk. A kilometre round trip. Should get fit. Friday, 25th February 2005 - Day 2 - Brisbane Geoff got some good advice from Muir Marine here in Manly. They were very helpful. Winched Geoff up the mast again with what they call a “mouse” to guide down the mast. Eureka – he achieved it this time. Thank goodness – let’s hope I don’t have to do it again in the too near future. Learning all the time – this time it was not to fill the front water bladders to full as it pushes the mattresses up in the middle. Saturday, 26th February 2005 - Day 3 - Brisbane All gear is on board now and what a serious cull we are about to embark on. Sunday 27th February 2005 - Day 4 - Brisbane Thought the fridge had given up the ghost but it was because we had been reading the wrong battery readout and the house battery had dropped below 12 volts. As I said – learning all the time. Went to cook brunch on our little portable gas cooker and I mustn’t have snibbed the gas container in properly and it burst into flames. Panic stations and over the side it went. Will we ever get out of the marina in one piece!!! Will have to buy another one – they are not too expensive. Sunday, 6th March 2005 - Day 11 - Brisbane Well, a whole week has gone by since I wrote anything so I will have to get my brain into gear to try to remember everything. We have bought ourselves 2 folding bikes. The brand is Giatex and they are pretty nifty. Not sure what I look like from the rear end but at least I have transport. Mind you, I have ridden to the marina facilities twice but have found it too hairy riding on the pontoons with water both sides so have resorted back to walking. It’s probably better for me. Friday was a very adventurous morning for us. We went out of our safe little marina berth haven and motored all of 500 metres to the fuel dock. We filled up with diesel and then motored the whole 500 metres back. Unfortunately, we are really in a monohull berth and the space to manoeuvre is very tight. So in a nutshell we ballsed it up! Luckily there were a lot of people there to help us but much too much advice coming from all quarters. When we thanked everyone and told them it was our first time they said not to worry and it all comes with practice. |
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| All we seem to be doing at the moment is spending money but this was to be expected. Geoff has been very busy working on the boat getting it more to our liking. There is nothing wrong with the boat but we just want to put our touch to it. This morning I have been trying out my new Cobb Cooker which works on heat beads. I have cooked bread pudding (looks good), Banana Nut Loaf (burnt bum), Quiche (came out good) and Chilli Beef which it half cooked before the 8 heat beads died. Not bad and very economical. Think/hope it was a good buy. The engines are being serviced tomorrow and that should be fun trying to dock because the wind is blowing a Hooley at the moment. The winds are at least 20 knots in the marina. Hopefully the service engineer will help us to dock in and out. The car also goes to auction tomorrow as we are supposed to be leaving the marina on Tuesday but not if it is still blowing like this. We have to hang around Moreton Bay or similar as we have to get our Marine Radio Accreditation. It’s normally conducted one day a week over 6 weeks unless we can find a weekend course. Managed to ring my family in the UK last night after two other failed tries. First night I waited 40 minutes for an American to get off the phone but he didn’t and the 2nd night the phone gobbled up my money and, with a 1 km round trip to get more money, I couldn’t be bothered. BUT third time lucky. Baza, Helen, Daniel and Adam (2 ABeast previous owners) fly out today. Sue sent a text saying I had received a caution for my speeding fine. Pauline and Sally will be crook at me, no doubt!  |
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| Wednesday 9th March 2005 People are talking about that cyclone that is forming up north and its intensity. Trying to listen out for a weather forecast on the marine radio. May mean strong winds down here. Thursday 10th March 2005 My thoughts for today are measured as Adrenalin Plus. I don’t think so much adrenalin coursing through the body within a time span of 90 minutes is good for you. For a person who has shied away from scary things all her life this is a big ask but something I have to come to grips with. The reason for all this anxiety – Well – we decided to go into the marina next door where they have had new marina berths built that are not filled yet to practice docking. Geoff was trying to get used to the boats manoeuvrability and I was trying to get a feel for how close we could get to the berth before I needed to have a panic attack and yell and yell. One thing to always try to remember is that the wind whips your words away and neither person can hear what the other is saying (yelling) and what commands are being given. After 1.5 hours I said enough was enough and I couldn’t take much more adrenalin and Geoff relented (his nerves were shot too) and we headed out to Green Island for a shakedown cruise. No sailing – just motoring –to see if all the instruments worked etc. Looks like the wind speed indicator is not working but it was before so Geoff may have knocked a wire when he was working on other things. Another thing to look at. The compass is also very cloudy and hard to read so we will probably replace that as well. We went round Green Island and were able to pick out all the cardinal marks and the Lateral Marks (Port and Starboard markers) fine. We bought a really good pair of binoculars off Baza, the previous owner, and they look like they are worth what we paid for them. Made our way back to our berth and docked okayish with the help of Dave 2 boats up. COFFEE TIME! ! ! Something to soothe the frayed nerves. Noticed later we have marks on our starboard hull from the occasional error in docking practice. We think they are just rubber marks that should come of easily. We drove to Willy’s for a visit and she had cooked a yummy Roast Pork tea. Poor Willy has been through some traumatic times of late and we hope it will all be over very shortly. Note: The Pot Luck BBQ on Wednesday night was a very “cliché” and boring affair. We spoke to one nice couple that, like us, were new to the marina but everyone else had their own group and all the newbie’s seem to be excluded. I think there were about 6 of us who were not introduced to anyone else. Geoff tried to introduce himself a couple of times but without much luck. I think there are too many Liveaboards here who really only live in the marina and go to work each day. Not cruising Liveaboards. We noticed the “down to earth” Liveaboards we had noticed and waved to each day did not attend. Perhaps they had been to them before and knew what to expect. Hope it is better when we are cruising with, perhaps, a smaller group who are anchored in a bay somewhere. Sally says they are good so I am trusting her judgement! Looks like cyclone Ingrid has been downgraded to a category one which is great. Must send Carol a text message to see how Tony fared at Skarden. |
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| Friday 11th March 2005 Winched Geoff up the mast yet again. Rippa – looks like he has fixed the TV – not that I have missed it much as we’ve been too busy – but it will be good to get it back on. He also fixed one of the deck lights that had filled with water whilst he was up there. At present he is busy fixing the TV cable down the inside of the mast post, which is in the saloon. For the hell of it I did a load of washing by hand using Napisan to see if it worked as I have been told it is supposed to – Looks ok – will see what it’s like when it is dry. Well – trouble is it dries with wrinkles whereas when you use the marina washing machine and dryer you can just fold them wrinkle free. Hmm! I think we will be “wrinklies” when we are cruising! Geoff rushed out to Bunnings to get a 12 volt splitter for the TV and radio. Fixed it up but what is this smoke??? It wasn’t up to it and didn’t like it and the wiring started to melt so that was disconnected and out before you could blink an eye. Saturday 12th March 2005 Off early today to spend yet more money. So far we have spent over $6,000 on the boat. We took the splitter back to Bunnings and the unwanted Bilge pump back to Glascraft. We have put in the specs for a holding tank for the unwanted personal stuff that we need to get rid of each day and will get a quote in a few days. We bought many more small things today but the major thing was a new compass and a decent splitter for the radio/TV. We stopped at Gloria Jeans for a coffee and I decided to get some more cash out. The ATM gobbled up one of my Dragon Direct cards and wouldn’t spit it back out. It’s not one I really need so I have contacted Dragon Direct to get it back and asked them to send it to Bright. We are now back at the boat and Geoff has put the new compass in and is now trying to finish fixing the TV/Radio in the cramped space available. It’s true what Martin says; each job on a boat seems to easily take a day if not more. We have rung up about getting VHF marine radio accreditation. Looks like the next course is mid April, on Sunday and Tuesday and then the exam on the following Sunday. Apparently we can just sit the exam if we have studied the book enough but it would be better if we could attend the course so we may have to tailor our cruising around this date. By the way – TV’s fixed – maybe the table can get cleared for a while.  Monday 14th March 2005 We didn’t leave the boat yesterday, which meant we didn’t spend any money! Today we did the top up shop ready for the big “OFF” tomorrow. Did a final Internet session for a while. This afternoon we washed the car and took it to the Car Auction place. Sad – as we both love that little car. Who knows – maybe it won’t sell and we will have to pick it up in a week’s time. If it doesn’t sell for the money we want Geoff will take it back to Bright, as we are not going to sell it for peanuts. Monday, dusk and I’ve just been informed that we need to spend yet more money. Will it ever end! Apparently the floor to our Zodiac (tender) has come unstuck. Geoff had the “sinking feeling”. Pulled it out and found it had been repaired before. Quite a bit of the seam has come away. Probably fixable but may take 2 –3 weeks if we want if done professionally and cost between $300 - $400. It has a soft bottom with thin wooden slats and it’s not very stable and I’m thinking, “Hey, this thing has got to hold my weight”. Threw caution to the wind and decided to be safe and buy a new one with a rigid bottom.  |
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Tuesday 15/3/2005Well, we were supposed to be heading out today but as we’ve got to purchase a new tender we have booked the marina for one more day. Weather looks good for the next few days anyway. Did some research and let our fingers do the walking and decided to go to the Inflatable Boat Centre in Springwood BUT no car! Rang Yellow Cabs and were duly driven to Springwood by a really nice, cheerful lady taxi driver. When we got there she turned off the meter and waited for us. She then actually allowed us to tie our new tender on the taxi (station wagon) roof racks for the trip back! How many cabbies do you know that would let you do that? Taxi fare for the round trip was $92 and we gave her an $18 tip for being so nice and helpful. SO – we are now the proud owners of a 2.6 mtr (the other one was 2.4), rigid fibreglass floored, Puffin brand (NZ) inflatable boat (tender) for the cheap price $2400. This one can take 4 people with a total weight capacity of 360 kgs. My arms are getting very brown and my legs slowly so. Just had a call saying the car has been sold – Sad – not as much as we would have got if we had sold it privately but a big weight off our minds. Goodbye little car - X X X. We have taken the child safety netting off today and it makes the boat look much better/cleaner. Geoff rode to the chandlery on his folding bike to get a few bits to finish it up and it only took him 40 minutes. He said people kept stopping him and admiring the bike. Geoff has now made two gates for each side of the front of 2AB so I can jump off and tie up more easily. In the evening we rode our stretching (that’s what they are called – not folding) bikes to the Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club for a farewell dinner. I mastered it ok this time but riding on the pontoons still gives me the willies. Coming back to the marina after dinner a flying fox decided to drop a poo right on the sleeve of my favourite shirt. B#@^&*D! Perhaps it is a good omen but I had to soak it in Napisan overnight to get it out. Note: Bought some “No more ironing spray” and it works quite well. Wednesday 17th March 2005 Well what an eventful day it was today! After winching Geoff up the mast yet again to install a wind vane until we can get the electronic wind instrument fixed we were ready for the off! The weather was favourable at winds SE to NE, seas to 1 metre, with 10 – 15 knots, isolated showers (which didn’t eventuate). We had poured over the book “Beacon to Beacon” and decided to head for Blakesley Anchorage on North Stradbroke Island which was a good anchorage in SE – NE winds. Geoff neatly left our berth (it’s the coming in that’s the scary part) and we were off. After negotiating the channel we hoisted the headsail first and then the mainsail. We averaged between 2.5 – 3.5 knots for about 4 hours. Not fast but we knew it wouldn’t be as we are still a bit on the heavy side. Once we have drunk all the alcohol that we brought from home we will be a lot lighter as bottles weigh a tonne (just a slight exaggeration). After about 4 hours the wind died so we motored the rest of the way. Found the lateral markers for the channel and followed them in. No margin for error here as there are a lot of sand banks. Geoff held 2AB steady while I dropped the anchor for the first time. 9 metres water at high tide, 4 metres at low tide. There is a lovely sandy beach ashore but we decided to save the exploring to tomorrow. Had our first swim. I tied a rope fore and aft as the current was quite strong and Geoff cleaned off all the accumulated marina grime off the hulls (he over did it and got cramp later on). Used the instant gas hot water heater for the first time and had a quick, hot deck shower to wash off the salt. Cooked dinner then rang, Wyn, Sue and Moo Moo. Moo Moo sounded quite chirpy and I suspect it was the whole bottle of Chardonnay she had just consumed. Mentally exhausting so off to bed at 10pm. Note: we are still waking up at daybreak! When are the 9am lay ins going to start? Thursday 18th March 2005 The voltage has dropped to 12.4 overnight which we are quite happy about as we left the fridge on. Baza used to turn it off overnight but we’d rather leave it on if we can, as there is a small amount of frozen vegies in the freezer and quite a bit of vacuum packed meat. Apparently we mustn’t let it get below 12 volts. The 3 hours of motoring would have helped yesterday. We will see what happens today with just the 2 solar panels and the wind generator. We went in the tender to the beach to do a little bit of exploring. Had a chat to 2 yachtie guys and watched them get yabbies with a special bait vacuum pump. Must get one of these. I tried some fishing with bacon rind as bait and Geoff said it wouldn’t work but it did and I caught a big “sweet lips”, well nearly, it got off but my appetite was whetted so I tried again. The next fish, well I never saw it, but it felt big and made off with my hook. After that – not a nibble. Tranquillity died this afternoon as about 50, 14 year old school kids arrived on the beach to camp overnight. It is now 9.30 pm and the noise is unbelievable – It’s the girls who are noisy – why do they have to squeal all the time. Ran the engines for an hour to top up the batteries. Friday 18th March 2005 Volts down to 12.1 this morning. The girls were very quiet but it rained heavily overnight. It has started again now. We are watching them pack up and going aboard a charter yacht that has come to pick them up. Boy – they will be soaked by the time they get where they are going, as it is not a very big yacht and most will have to stay outside. We are now underway and on route to Dunwich for a quick stopover for hardware items. Then on to an anchorage, which is sheltered from NW – NE winds. WHOOPS – we are slightly aground at Dunwich. Thank goodness the boat will take it and it’s a muddy bottom. One second we were in 4 metres of water and the next 1 metre. Our draft is .9 normally but we are heavy. It’s low tide so we just have to wait a bit. Looking at the situation it looks like we didn’t keep over to port enough. It is very tricky as the closest keelboat is only about 30 metres away. It is now 23 minutes later and we are off and anchored. Went to shore and had lunch at the Little Ship Club then wandered into town (got a lift from a local) and bought a few things, the main thing being a gas part for the gas solenoid valve and the bait sucker thingy. Got back to the beach and Geoff tried it out and got quite a few, albeit smaller ones. As I am writing this a pod of dolphins has swum by. They are hanging around as they are feeding. NICE! Saturday 19th March 2005 Decided to head back up to Blakesley Anchorage, as it is better scenery and better fishing. The trip was uneventful. After lunch we decided that the anchorage was a little too rocky if the wind is coming from the south so up anchored and headed for Canaipa Anchorage, which is between North Stradbroke and Russell Islands. Another uneventful trip except for passing a starboard marker on the wrong side. It’s too shallow around these parts to make too many errors like that. Have got into crossword puzzles again, they are very relaxing. It’s a nice day today but no sailing as the wind is from the wrong direction. Geoff has got some more yabbies but I can’t put them on the hook alive so I have been boiling mine. At least it’s a quicker death – I hope. Sunday 20th March 2005 Bacon and eggs, of course. Then I cleaned all the rails and stanchions with stainless steel cleaner and then polished them all. I will try to do a bit each day. Today we are going to climb to the top of the big sand dune ashore. Apparently there is a track going up but it looks a little steep to me. Ah well – it’s good for me! We’re back and it was just as hard as I thought it looked. There was a track but it was mainly loose sand and you know how tiring that can be. The view from the top was great and we took lots of pictures of 2AB in her anchorage. She looked lovely! Tried some fishing using the leftover butter chicken as bait. Plenty of bites but nothing jumping on the hook. Good job we don’t have to rely on fish for dinner. Monday 21st March 2005 - Day 26 0830 Rise and shine. This is the latest we’ve stayed in bed – Yippee! Caught (foul hooked) a small bream but he went back in. Up anchor and now on route to the Gold Coast. SMS received from Lois – Nelson (dog)died today. Note: just had a severe thunderstorm warning on the radio for SE QLD – large hailstorms and damaging winds – hmm! Another marker passed on the wrong side – It’s very confusing sometimes. We are now anchored at Steiglitz, which is an all weather anchorage, but it is very blowy and rolls a lot but I expect we will experience a lot worse in the future. We were going to go into Horizons Shore Marina but we were getting blown sideways so we may (maybe) go in tomorrow if the wind lessens. Great – the severe thunderstorm warning has been cancelled.  Wednesday 23rd March 2005 - Day28 Off to the Gold Coast today. May buy a small generator depending on its weight and size. Nope – not today, will have to wait till we get to a more suitable shopping area. We set off in the tender at 1030 and, of course, I was sitting in the front and it was a little choppy. Half an hour later, when we arrived at the Australia Fair Shopping Centre, I was like a drowned rat and Geoff was quite dry because, not being a little person, I had sheltered him. Anyway, sodden, I headed off and hoped people wouldn’t look at me strangely. Of course, we spent heaps of money. I had my eyes tested, as my long vision seems to be giving out on me as well as my short vision. The optician said he thought it was probably my peripheral vision but I forgot to ask afterwards. Even though I had my own frames and asked for basic lenses it still cost me $329. We sent emails but forgot to transfer money over. Coming back wasn’t so bad but I have learnt to take a spray jacket next time. When we got back to the anchorage we reread the sign and it said boats had to be out by 6pm the night prior to the event. So we moved a few hundred metres past the sign. It’s not so sheltered here but is okay. Well it was until the wash from some lunatic in a motor boat (or was it a rogue wave) came crashing on to 2AB knocking things over and making a mess. It seems that motor boats and jet skis really don’t think of other people, they are not supposed to go past any anchored boat at more than 6 knots – I wish! Still it is the Gold Coast. Note: A weeks cruising today and we are sitting here watching a beautiful sunset over a million dollar view. |
Thursday 24th March 2005 - Day 29
Bit rocky here but ok. It would be fine if the motor boats showed some consideration. Luckily for us we have found there is water on shore and we have been able to fill our water tanks. The front bladders were fitted without much thought and it is hard to get the second half out. Still, if you were desperate, you could always siphon it out.
We have probably used 150 – 200 litres of water in 8 days out of a possible 550 litres so were are doing well. We could both do with a long, hot, relaxing shower and shampoo. I’ve only managed to wash my hair twice in the last 8 days. We may, and I say MAY, poke our head out of the Gold Coast Seaway Entrance and do a bit of sailing out in coastal waters. The actual SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN no less, just to see how she behaves and handles in 15 – 20 knot winds with seas to 1.7 metres. SHOCK, HORROR, ADRENALIN! ! ! Very choppy going out the Seaway Entrance. There is a bar but not a bad one. One second down in a trough and next minute up on the crest of a wave. Geoff said it wasn’t bad but it took some getting used to! Once out we motored towards the Gold Coast and then turned into wind and put up the Headsail. Much smoother, she sails quite well but we weren’t game to put the Mainsail up. We will leave it to another day. Geoff was probably game to put the mainsail up but he knows he has to break me in gently. He doesn’t want me spitting the dummy at this early stage. Coming back over the bar was much easier. So, we decided to head up to the Logan River where we had been told it would be quieter for Easter. BUT, before we left, Geoff decided to anchor and go ashore and get some beer for the weekend. When we let the anchor down the anchor chain seemed to be doing strange things. We found out why. Some fishermen had came by and said we had fouled their crab pot. Bloody hell – that’s the last thing we need. We were anchored in a strong current with the wind coming from the other direction. We were too close to the nearest anchored boat and now we had a crab pot to contend with. Geoff eventually cut it off and the fishermen went on their merry way whilst Geoff donned bathers and mask and entered the water to see what the remaining rope was snagged on. It was round the prop but was not hard to get off. Quick hot shower, dress and now he’s in the tender on his way to shore to get the beer. Told him to hurry as I don’t like it here. What an effort for some beer! Note: on reading back it all reads as drama after dram but it’s certainly not. It’s just that the dramas stick in your mind. Also, every time it’s rough my Furbie (Kotai) wakes up and starts chatting. The first time I heard him I thought we had visitors on 2AB.
F-F-F-F-Yes, you all know what that means! Whilst Geoff was ashore we either dragged our anchor or the trawler next to us was aground and was therefore not swinging with us or a bit of both. We were getting really close. I rang Geoff and said “Hurry” and ended up fending 2AB off of the other boat with my feet. Thank goodness Geoff wasn’t long. I put the fenders on; we up anchored and were off. So yes – another drama – I shouldn’t have written that paragraph about it isn’t always dramas as Murphy came along! The Broadwater is not an easy place to navigate, as I have said before. En route, aground again and off again and now anchored opposite the Logan River. Didn’t fancy going into the anchorage in the Logan River even with our short draft. Disastrous day – can only get better – it did – Geoff caught a shark but it went back.
Now I am cooking curry on my Cobb cooker. Earlier I did some mending. I have been waking up each morning with seeds stuck to my body. I kept searching the bed but to no avail. Mystery! BUT – it was the little lavender eye pad that Polly gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I use it to block out the Sun when it rises at 5.30am. It’s a favourite but the seams are starting to fray so I have now stitched it all the way around. Mmm – curry smells good – curry was good. Anchorage is quiet tonight and I’m fishing but still no fish. Also Mozzie metropolis here – must be the mangroves. Wow – my line has gone shooting out – a fish at last - yeah, but only a catfish but a reasonable size. Shall we keep him? Nah – lucky catfish! BUT at least a fish for me. The sunset was beautiful, the moon is shining brightly (full tomorrow) and it is as still as anything – Nice!
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