1st to 31st December 2005

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Thursday 1st December 2005  -  Day 282 - Mooloolaba

Well, it rained and rained today. Saw on theTV that Noosa had really bad floods and part of Hastings Street had been washed away by a landslide and a lady was hit by lightning  inside the Tewantin Golf Club. Well, well, well. Seems we left there just in time.  We couldn’t do much on the boat because of the rain so we mainly just vegged out. Geoff did replace the water hose.  Fish (Mahi Mahi) and chips for tea from the local shop. Scrabble and bed.

Friday 2nd December 2005  -  Day 283 - Mooloolaba

Still raining and Geoff has had a frustrating day so far. He took the tender to Kawana to get the battery cable for the anchor winch.  When he got there they only had 10 metres of the black and he needed 13 metres. They had it yesterday but sold a reel to an auto electrician. We have decided to fix it in Brisbane but haven’t managed to get in anywhere yet, Newport looks like our best bet at the moment if not we will anchor in the Brisbane River with its strong currents.  I sometimes worry about putting all the down side of cruising in my journal as it may make some people think it is all doom and gloom which couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is that the good times have become the norm and the mending etc have become the things that go in my journal.  So rest assured that we are having a ball but we have come to the conclusion that we couldn’t do it forever so another season may see us looking at 4 wheeled yacht type thingies. Well, managed to get into Newport Marina for at least a day so will decide what to do when we get there.  Geoff did, at least, manage to get a bearing for the winch. I basically kept him company whilst he put it all back together, helping where I could. The rain stopped for a while just giving us enough time to fit it back in at the bow.  Now it’s bucketing down again.  We hope to leave on Sunday as the winds should die down a bit and give us enough time to scoot down the coast to Newport.  Whoops - I have just dropped a Tiny Teddy into my coffee and he hasn’t resurfaced.  Drowned! I will robably have biscuit sludge in the bottom of my mug now.

Saturday 3rd December 2005  -  Day 284 - Mooloolaba

Its stopped raining! ! ! Geoff is still working on the engine. Lots of little things that keep needing replacing. Nothing major just time consuming and very annoying but eventually done he hopes.  Brad from ‘Carmalita’ popped over for a chat. He is house sitting at the moment but is negotiating with one of the fisheries to  reopen the Sushi Bar as Brad is a chef.  Carmalita is up for sale if anyone is interested but you would need a big pocket full of cash.   Rang Sally and Martin is on his way to Brisbane on public transport to pick his car up from Willy’s place. He wasn’t too well yesterday—maybe he has just over done it.  Got the peddlies out and cycled into town.  Had a look at the Wharf redevelopment, went up the tower, went to Coles and then took the tourist route back. Bought over a kilo of prawns for dinner tonight.  We started noticing a few strange things going on around the marina and river towards dusk. There were boats going past decorated with lights in a Christmas theme.  Then we noticed more and more in the distance.  There were a whole heap of people settled down on the end of our finger so we wandered up and found out they were the judges for the Boat Christmas Lights Festival (not sure what the actual event was called). The festival was in its 4th year and had 46 entries this year, up 16 on last year, and it was growing each year. AND what a wonderful spectacular it was. Some boats had really put an effort in to it. The bigger ones were very colourful but the tiny boats were great too. The judges said that there were several catagories. One for overall, new boat this year, music, comedy etc. The best boat by far was a small sloop that had a brilliantly lit display consisting of a brightly lit mast and fore and back with a crescent moon hanging from the fore stay and a star hanging from the back stay. Between the fore stay and the mast was the outline of a palm tree which must have been at least 6 metres high. Blue lights ran along the gunnels and four large jumping fish festooned the safety lines. What made this boat stand apart was the brilliance of its lighting and the symmetrical nature of its display. There was a large motor cruiser that was using some serious amps with rainbow style lights running along its rails. Some of the small dinghies were also festooned with thousands of twinkling lights (I guess it is cheaper to dress up the smaller boats than the larger ones). Many boats had large snowmen and Santa’s etc and Jingle Bells seemed to be the main song sung by everybody.  They went up and down the canals and then up and down the river so we got to see it twice. We reckon Lakes Entrance, Metung and Paynesville could do something along these lines. It went on for two to three hours. Once it was kinda over we ate our large prawn salads on the back deck. They were very lucky with the weather as the last two days had been torrential downpours.

Sunday 4th December 2005  -  Day 285 - Mooloolaba to Newport

Up at 0600 to get ready to leave and head off at 0700. Forecast is for SW winds, wouldn’t you know it! NE this afternoon with luck.  The passage was pleasant even though we had to motor sail for a while as the wind was in the wrong direction but very light. Once again we are passing the unique Glass HouseMountains. Got in around 1630 and just paid for a day at the moment. The marina is ok but has no character! Very muggy!  There are a lot of very large jelly fish in the water here. The marina is in a canal system and there are a lot of very large waterfront homes and a lot have very nice outdoor Christmas decorations, as do a few boats.  We have our little fibre optic Christmas Tree up which runs on mains or 12 volt. Geoff is currently getting the Qosmio laptop backed up ready to take it into Toshiba to get the keyboard fixed up. Scrabble and bed.     S27° 12.691 E153° 05.666

Monday 5th December 2005  -  Day 286 - Newport to Dockside, Brisbane

Once up we rang the Dockside Marina up the Brisbane River and they can fit us in for a while. Leave the marina at 0900 and motor sail all the way as we have limited time due to the tides. Uneventful trip and got into the marina at 1415 hours. Paid for a week as it works out at $17.30 a day. The cheapest yet and we are right in the heart of Brisbane.   e are on an outside berth so we do, unfortunately, get the wake from the City ferries but, being a cat, doesn’t cause us too much of a problem. We’ve had worse in anchorages.  The ferry stop is right next door so we can hop on and go into the city at our leisure.  There is also a good bike trail all along the river bank so we can utilise this too. Depends on how hot it is. Today is hot and humid, around 35°. A wet heat, not dry like Bright.  Geoff rang Toshiba and organised for the laptop to be looked at and left a message for the rep at GME about the Garmin fish finder and spoke to the guy repairing the gas solenoid, so we are getting there.  Arete, the Easy cat we nearly bought has just sailed past. We met up with him at Hinchinbrook on the way north.  Went for a stroll and bought some salad items for tea. Put the Christmas tree back up and cooked lamb chops on the BBQ. Ate on the back deck watching the river life go by.  One of the ferry skippers (small inner city ferry) said the chops smelt good. We have decided to do an evening round trip on the ferry whilst we are here as we think the city would look pretty from the river at night.      S27° 28.319 E153° 02.349

Tuesday 6th December 2005 - Day 287 - Dockside Marina, Brisbane

Good night but warm. We have the sun shade up now so she may not get so hot inside today. We are going to buy a couple of mains (small) fans for the bedrooms for when we are in a marina. Use their power not ours!  The courier that was coming to pick up the laptop hadn’t come by the designated time of 0915 so Geoff took a taxi to GME to have the Fish Finder looked at whilst I stayed and waited for the courier. GME gave Geoff a new transducer.  When Geoff arrived back I was still waiting for the courier. We rang Toshiba ( system as all calls go through the Sydney office and you can’t ring Brisbane direct) and said we were still waiting and they said they would ring back. 1215 and still waiting.  1400 and two phone calls later and still waiting AND getting a little peed off! 1740 and still no courier. Tempers got frayed and we had our first blue of the trip! AND we’ve wasted the day.

Wednesday 7th December 2005  -  Day 288 - Brisbane

Looks like another hot day. We both said sorry for last night!  At present we are motoring down river to Murrarie to take the laptop into Toshiba ourselves.  Which we did and they were able to put a new keyboard in straight away. Good! On the way back to the marina the courier rang, only 26 hours late.  Motored past the marina and went under the Storey Bridge to have a look at the piles and the anchorage. ‘Arete’ is anchored here as is ‘Smiley’ and Cajona Cruisin’ who we met at Middle Percy Island.  Sally rang and they are coming here about 3pm and Willy is coming too!  Docked again and put all the sun shades back up. Connected the power and fan is on.  It’s very hot! Drip, drip!  Did some cleaning and Geoff washed parts of the boat. Cooked pikelets and then Sally, Martin and Willy turned up. Gave Sally and Martin a big hug and was so excited to see them that I forgot to give Willy a hug. Felt so bad about it as I didn’t mean not to as I really like Willy. Gave Willy the guided tour and then showed Sally and Martin the improvements we had made. After a while Willy went and sat on a bench on the River Walk and did some embroidery as she said she was getting seasick! We are so used to the motion now that we think nothing of it.  Geoff and Martin  went off to Glascraft to get the battery cables and then we all went off to the local Thai Restaurant here at Dockside for tea. We had the banquet and it was really yummy.

Thursday 8th December 2005  -  Day 289 - Brisbane

Slept well. A little overcast today, so hopefully, not so muggy. Willy said the weather had been perfect until the last few days.  That would be right!  Got on the peddlies and cycled to Wooloongabba where Jaycar and Whitworths are. Bought new clock innards (it didn't fit when we got back) and a battery operated mini food mixer, mini dust buster and mini cream frother for $15. It’s probably not strong enough but we thought we would give it a go for $15. Got out of Whitworths for only $67. For those of you who know what chandleries are like this was a feat unto itself. A miracle! We bought a Mozi deterrent that plugs into the 12volt so we are hoping it works. The metal Mozi coil holders go so rusty and look awful.  Back to 2AB to dump our purchases and the bikes and then buy a daily translink ticket.  Caught the little inner city ferry to North Quay (CBD) and wandered up to the mall.  A quick show was about to start so we found seats to watch. It was called ‘CIRCA' and was a band and acrobat act. It went for 30 minutes and was very good. I think it was to tempt you to buy tickets for the big show.  When it finished and we got up to go I saw a purse left behind on one of the seats. I picked it up and called  “Hello, Anybodies”.  No takers so we looked inside, visa card and quite a bit of money but no name or phone number. Geoff took it to the sound operator of the act we had just seen and he knew where the police booth was so asked us for our business card and went off to hand it in.  Hope he did! I wonder if we will ever hear if it gets claimed? If it doesn’t, then it is ours, but what’s the chances of that happening!  Carried on shopping and bought some new bras - now didn’t you all need to know that? Plus one Christmas present. Not saying who for, it will keep you guessing.  Wade rang and Geoff had a very long natter with him and caught up on all his news.  Went into the casino which is housed in the old Treasury building. The main hall has been decorated in a very striking fashion.  The ceiling is done like a moonlit sky and is very effective. As casinos go it seems a bit unique as instead of one huge hall it is a combination of room as they have kept the Treasury Building intact. No gambling for us but we did partake of their free iced water, which we needed as it had turned out hot and muggy again. We then caught the city cat and went to its last stop up river to the University of Qld.  Geoff starting talking to an American lady who was standing next to us on the bow and it turned out she was also living on a boat with her husband and a tribe of kids. The boats name was ‘Leprechaun’ and they had cleared customs in Bundy three weeks prior.  We had actually heard them call customs on the radio. What’s the chances of two yachties meeting up on the bow of the Brisbane City Cat? We chatted so much that we missed most of the scenery so took more notice on the return trip. The City Cat is a very smooth ride and they travel at 24 knots per hour. It’s very exhilarating standing on the bow with the wind in you face.  Got back to 2AB and there looks like a storm on the way. Yep! I didn’t have time to get the side clears up before the torrential downpour so they are semi up. Hope they will be ok. They were and, once the main storm had passed, we finished putting them up properly.  Once we had cooked and eaten tea the weather had cleared up so we headed off for the inner city ferry. It was a double decker so we sat upstairs in the open and did the round trip looking at the city by night. Most of the time we had the ferry to ourselves so it felt like our own personal tour. It was great and we have certainly had our $5’s worth today. The ferry master was really chatty and I am sure he must have been late for his next stop by the time we had finished talking. By this time it was after 10pm so off to bed.

Friday 9th December 2005  -  Day 290 - Brisbane

Hot again! Oh so hot! Makes you feel like a limp wet rag. Geoff did some of the wiring for  the starter cable for the winch and I did a load of washing.  Rob Jamieson rang and will visit after lunch.  What a good excuse to collapse in front of the fan and not move. Apparently there is supposed to be a southerly coming in tomorrow.  If so, well that should cool it down a bit. Rob turned up around 1.30 pm and stayed till 7.30 pm even though he kept saying “I must go” from 5.30 pm onwards. We had a good natter and caught up on all of his news.  Mich also rang and we had a good natter.  Tried to get her interested in Rob but all she did was laugh. He’s got the same boat as us so ladies, any takers out there? Mich has also got a chook. It was found in the park and she is currently looking after it. I think she really wants to keep it.  After Rob eventually left we got on our peddlies and headed off to look for a place to eat.  After doing a round trip and finding places that were much too expensive we ended back at the Thai place we had eaten with Sally, Martin and Willy and it was, once again, very yum!  It’s party time down on the river tonight as all the Christmas Party Boats are on the water.  They are all festooned with party lights, Christmas decorations etc. Their guests also seem to be in high spirits so it is a loud and colourful scene. They all finish around 11pm so it’s no problem. Nice and cool now!

Saturday 10th December 2005  -  Day 291 - Brisbane

Geoff worked on the anchor cabling trying to get it finished before it got too hot. We will be glad to head south again hoping to get out of this muggy weather. Inside the boat in the saloon is ok with the big mains fan going but working down in the hulls (galley, bedrooms, shower and head) is something entirely different. Hot!  Well, Geoff finished the new wiring to the anchor and Wow! It is working the best it has ever done and this is without the motors running.  Just shows you that the wiring was just not good enough for the job.  I spent the morning updating my journal (in front of the fan) and putting extra photos in shared albums in Yahoo Photos so anyone can see them. Please see the link at the top of this page if you feel like having a browse. I will try to update them on a regular basis. In the  afternoon we decided to head off on our trusty steeds to ride along the cycle path to the Maritime Museum which was, like all new museums, very interesting. They had a special display on lighthouses and we saw our friend, Bob Adams, talking about the Loch Ard shipwreck on one of the video clips. Small world, isn’t it?  We then cycled to Southbank where the Expo was held those many years ago. We stopped at the Nepalese Temple which is the only remaining structure left after the Expo. I think they thought it was too intricately made to pull down.  We were also next to the swimming pools and watched the masses enjoying the hot Brisbane weekend. We were going to go for a swim here but it was much too crowded for us so we opted for an ice cream. We then crossed the river on the pedestrian/bike bridge and rode through the Botanical Gardens and stopped for coffee below the massive waterfront skyscrapers. The day before two window cleaners had been stuck when their cradle broke down and had to be rescued.  We were also there when they were filming it for the news. Off again and we cycled along the 3 km of floating boardwalk and caught the inner city ferry across the river to the Dockside stop which is right next to our marina. Dinner, scrabble and bed.

Sunday 11th December 2005  -  Day 292 - Brisbane

Hot again! Did all the linen and towel washing plus a few more clothes. After I had done allthat we caught the ferry to the city and wandered up to Woolies to do a small reprovision. It had to be small due to the fact that Geoff was carrying most of it in his hiking backpack and I had some in my trolley bag.  Grabbed the ferry back and put it all away. Finished off my yahoo photos and emailed everyone. Did some internet banking and Geoff burnt a CD for Corrine.  Apart from that an uneventful day. Except for the gas cylinder running out just on the middle of cooking the lasagne. Of course, it was dark when it happened. Eventually it got cooked and eaten.

Monday 12th December 2005, Day 293  -  Brisbane to Slipping Sands, Moreton Island

Up at 0700 and make the coffee. We then prepared the boat for departure. Showered, handed keys in, last minute emails and departed at 0845 at high tide. It took 2.25 hours to motor down the Brisbane River to Moreton Bay. The tide was with us giving us a good run.  Bernie from Eaglehearts rang and we had a really good natter. Nice of her to ring and we must have talked for a good 30 minutes. This spurred us into ringing Christine and Peter on Pure Magic and we caught up on all their news.  Then received a text from Lois saying she was in Brisbane to visit Cam, Leanne and little Eva. I wish she had let me know as we could have arrange to meet somewhere. Now she’s in Brisbane and I’ve left Brisbane. Got into the anchorage of Slipping Sands at 1810 hours. It’s very calm here but a lot of Mozi’s. Relaxed, cooked tea and watched the news. Riots in Sydney, bigblaze in the UK. Scrabble and bed.    S27° 43.247 E153° 24.228

Tuesday 13th December 2005, Day 294  -  Slipping Sands to Tweed Heads

Very still night and very warm. There was a strong wind warning forecast for this evening but I think it may now be cancelled. The anchor winch worked a treat this morning. Well done Geoff.  Lisa rang this morning and I caught up on a lot of Parks Victoria news.  It’s overcast and cooler today. We did some sailing and some motor sailing. We noticed it was getting much busier as we neared the Gold Coast. Filled up with 110 litres of diesel at Mariners Cove Marina, Southport and we were on our way again. Geoff decided that, as the strong wind warning had been cancelled and that the stronger winds weren’t due until later that evening, we had good winds to make it to Tweed Heads with plenty of time to cross the bar. Checked with the VMR at Seaway Tower on the state of the tide and the bar. Checked with VMR Point Danger to do the same at the bar at Tweed Heads and we were off. Batten down the hatches, secure everything, log on and over the bar at the Seaway we go. Bit swelly going over and I hadn’t shut the toilet window properly so we got water in the boat. Cleaned it up, no problems. The wind was a constant NE at 13—15 knots and we sailed the whole way,  averaging around 5 knots. We forgot about daylight saving as we crossed the border, as you would and where was the border anyway, which meant we crossed the bar an hour earlier than anticipated but with no problems. It was quite shallow inside the Tweed River so we picked up a mooring. According to Alan Lucas in his book ‘Cruising the NSW Coast’ there are public moorings where we were but there was nothing on the mooring to state either way. We hoped nobody would come in late, after dark, and claim it!  Musetta rang as we were coming into the anchorage to see if we would be in Sydney for Christmas. How long is a piece of string? As usual, we had no idea, we go with the winds.  It looked like a thunderstorm was brewing so we put the clears up. They are great for stopping the rain coming in but they also stop the cooling breeze so you get a bit warm.  Oh: Forgot to say that Geoff’s day was made at the Gold Coast when a motor cruiser cruised by with two topless girls on it. Funny thing though, there were also four blokes on it and they all had T shirts on.

S28° 11.230 E153° 32.570

Wednesday 14th December 2005  -  Day 295 - Tweed Heads

The heat woke both of us up although we did have a bit longer in bed due to daylight savings.  The winds are wrong today to continue south so we shall go ashore to explore the twin towns of Tweed Heads and Coolangatta. Geoff has checked that there is no water in the outboard and we were off. It’s weird, the state border goes right down the centre of a residential street.  So one side is in NSW and the other in Qld.  Cross the road and there is an hour’s difference!  But first, Geoff cooked brekkie of tomatoes on toast. As we went ashore we had a look at the public jetty and spoke to a local yachtie there.  We asked him if he knew if we were on a private mooring but he didn’t know and said we would probably be ok there. Whilst we were there another guy came up in his tinny and asked if we were the cat on his mooring. We said yes and that we had just been asking about it and did he want us to move.  He said he didn’t need it but asked us to change our bridle attachment a little, which we did.  We then went up to the marina and they allowed us to leave our tender there whilst we went shopping to do reprovisioning.  Geoff treated himself to a Melbourne newspaper as he says they have more world news then Qld papers. As we motored back to 2AB we got caught in a quick shower but we soon dried out. Pigged out on mince pies so didn’t need much dinner.  Watched the movie ‘Troy’ on DVD. When we went to bed there were some drunken youths on the local jetty shouting and swearing until late.

Thursday 15th December 2005  -  Day 296 - Tweed Heads

Up at 0800 - We like this daylight savings!  Geoff took our damaged Canon digital camera to pieces to see if he could fix it. Later he said there was no way he could have put it all back together again as it was so intricate. I did some more painting and then we headed in the other direction to a different shopping centre. We looked at buying a Soda Stream to save on the weight of drinks on the boat but it works out quite expensive. $92 for the Soda Stream unit, $6 each for the flavours, $38 to replace the gas cartridge which works out at $1.50 per litre and you can get drinks on special for 69 cents a litre.  So we’re still umming and erring over this purchase.  Does any have one that they actually use that can tell us if they are worth it, or one they have that they don’t use and would like a good home for?  We then looked at buying a Vodafone email/internet attachment for the phone. It costs $399, one off charge, and then $29.95 per month for 100mb. It’s the G3 system and is only in capital cities and most other places it is dial up speed but it is not CDMA which we really need for offshore. Telstra has one which is CDMA and is $299 for the unit but then it is $69.95 per month for 100mb. Much too dear for us. So the jury is out on this purchase as well. So we didn’t spend much, which was good. Caught the bus back to our tender just before the normal afternoon shower.  Did some more painting and Geoff is cooking dinner.  PJ rang to say hello and ask if I was interested in any work - am I what? It’s very tentative at the moment so I won’t get my hopes up.  Dinner was superb although a little on the hot chilli side but that’s the way Geoff cooks. It was Mackerel cooked in a Thai coconut cream chilli sauce. Yummmmmmmmmmmm!

Friday 16th December 2005  -  Day 297 - Tweed Heads

We were going to go today but there is a strong wind warning for later which would be just as we reached the Ballina Bar. Rang the coast guard at Ballina and he said the weather was already deteriorating. We nearly went at midnight last night but we didn’t and now regret it.  We may go tomorrow and do an overnight run to Coffs Harbour.  PJ rang to say Chris had approved the job I spoke about yesterday but it still needs a further approval but it is starting to look promising.  Start date would probably be the 16th January for at least six weeks for at least 4 days a week.  It’s my old job.  It is an overcast day so we decided to work on Issue Two of our Newsletter which is a general summary of the last six months. Halfway through the newsletter Geoff jumped up because he had remembered that he had put the tender in this morning. He had taken the bung out to drain the water from the rain yesterday and so now it was full of river water. Inflatables don’t sink, luckily, but now he is sitting in the tender with a portable bilge pump pumping it all out.  Alli rang and we had a good natter and her house is nearly ready. PJ rang for some info and I went to my wardrobe to see if I could find it and noticed water in the bottom of it. So PJ did me a favour as I was able to clean it up before things went mildew. I think I had knocked over a damp rid container at some time. I use damp rid as

one of my tops went mildew. It’s the humidity!  It is now 1750 hrs and I am watching two Pelicans catching the rain with the beaks open which makes me think we should be catching it too!  So now I am wet through because we have put the rain catcher up and I had to go up the front deck to get the water containers. Geoff did give me an umbrella - how thoughtful! Now we have put the rain catcher up it will probably stop raining. Nope, in the last 30 minutes we have collected 35 litres of water so not so bad. It has eased off now so I doubt if we will get much more.

Sat/Sun 17/18th December 2005, Day 298/99  -  Tweed Heads to Coffs but back to Yamba

Up at 0630 and leave anchorage at 0700. We ended up collecting 45 litres of rain yesterday, which I think was a good effort.  We are going to poke our nose out to sea today and see what it is like and then make a decision.  It’s a lovely day at the moment and the forecast is good.   It is now 1300 hours and we are still going south and motor sailing, as usual, as the wind is so light. The weather forecasts never seem to be quite right. We will make a decision on crossing the Ballina Bar when we get closer to it.  I have just had a little snooze and I woke up just in time. Geoff was just about to take a photo of me sleeping with my mouth open.  We also received a phone call from the Capalaba Police, Brisbane enquiring about the whereabouts of Geoff’s guns. Apparently, when we registered the boat in our names, our place of residence was listed as East Coast Marina, Manly, Brisbane. The girl at the Qld Transport did this as we needed a Qld address (why?) and we didn’t have one. So this got flagged with the police as they had received no record of us moving the guns to Qld. All’s well, we hope, as they are legally stored in Porepunkah, Vic with a registered gun dealer.  When we got to Ballina it was an hour before low tide and not a good time to go over the bar even thought the coast guard said it was fine. It looked a little rough and, as the weather forecast was reasonable, we decided to sail overnight to Coffs Harbour. This turned out to be an error of judgement on our part but one we couldn’t really foresee. The wind was from the Nth right up our bum at a constant 9—10 knots. Good Spinnaker weather. So we set the Spinnaker and cut the engines and was averaging over 5 knots. We were keeping an eagle eye on the weather as we had been through a quick squall earlier in the day and there was to be a southerly change 15/20 the next morning. Geoff had to steer manually as the autohelm just does not like the Spinnaker most times. I hate taking the helm when the Spinnaker is up as it is so twitchy and gets my adrenalin going. Once it got a little strong for the Spinnaker we took it down, which was fine and this was when things started to go wrong.  Unbeknown to us, the  Spinnakers port rope went into the water and wrapped itself around the starboard prop causing that engine to stop. It was too swelly to attempt to do anything about it and we were running well with the Genoa and Main so we were still making good time. You learn from these things and if you don’t then there’s something wrong with you. Geoff took the first four hour watch and I did the second watch of three hours which took us up to 0300 hours. We were still sailing great with winds from the NE around 15 knots. At 0400 hours Geoff called me back up on deck as the southerly change was coming through earlier than expected. We got the Genoa in and put two reefs in the Main but then it hit with a vengeance with winds reaching 37 knots from the south and right on our nose and we only had one engine.  Also the reefed main blew out tearing badly.  We knew it was on its last legs but this made the decision for us to purchase a new one in the near future. It was useless trying to continue to Coffs Harbour, 36 nm south so we decided to turn to the north and make the run with the wind to Yamba 21 nm away. We had heard the Coffs Harbour Coastal Patrol on the radio so logged on with them and notified them of the wind and sea conditions. The southerly change was for 15/20 knots which we might have been able to handle with two engines but not this weather. The seas and swell were very large and Geoff was having to manually steer and it was still 4 hours to Yamba. He was getting exhausted. I took over for 45 minutes and it was quite a hairy ride. We had a following sea and some of the waves were really lifting us up and we were surfing quite a bit. As we got towards Yamba the weather eased off a tad and we were surprised and relieved to find the bar at Yamba reasonably calm and the wind around 10 knots. We needed something to go in our favour and the tide was right for crossing the bar as were the conditions.  We logged on with VMR Yamba, put on our life jackets and proceeded to cross the bar without a hitch. We slowly motored up the Clarence River which was quite confusing in itself. We had arranged with the marina for a berth for a couple of days (albeit on the fuel dock as they were full).  We anchored outside the marina first for Geoff to work on freeing the rope from the starboard  propeller, which he did. We then went into the marina and docked. The lady at the marina was friendly and helpful. They also have a washing line at the marina. I thought it was the first marina I had come across with a washing line but Geoff said no, they had one at Scarborough.  Most marinas make you use their dryers as they do not allow wet washing to dry on boats.  Geoff later stated that when the VMR’s give out the weather forecasts they always preface it with “Be aware that wind gusts can be 40% stronger than stated here and waves can be twice the height”. Ok, so a forecast of 15/20 (and they are always lower when you need them for sailing) should mean wind gusts of no more than 28 knots not the 37 knots we experienced. As for the waves and swell—well they were about twice the height so we will give them that one.  After docking Geoff took the main down but we have found the sailmaker has gone to Sydney for the Sydney to Hobart race. His assistant is still here so we will see if he can help us in the morning. I cleaned up around the boat and then we both had a little snooze.  Had lunch, did a little more and Geoff has gone back for another little snooze. Don’t blame him - it knocks you about.  To sum up our day:- lessons learnt, adversity overcome, bad decisions overcome by good decisions.  Was it frightening/scary—kind of, but more of concern and discomfiture over ruled by being busy. We certainly didn’t need anything else to go wrong. Was it our fault? Yes and no!  The forecast was very wrong but then again it is only a forecast and we knew that but, once again it’s the only thing you can go on. The Mainsail - It was reefed to its 2nd position, which was correct but it was past its prime, a factor we already knew. The rope around the prop – lesson learnt here. Tie spare ropes off when they’re not in use. Were we in danger - Don’t think so but the sea is the sea and very unpredictable.  The final Outcome - We arrived safely back in port, we are not put off. We knew this type of scenario would occur some time or later, it was just a matter of time. Overall - Apart from the sail being blown out, 2ABreast rode out the rough weather admirably. A fine little cat!  Geoff finished off the December 2005,6 monthly newsletter and emailed those that we could and printed off a few that we have to mail. We also wrote a letter about Geoff’s Seapathfinder Casio

watch that has, once again, got moisture in it after being repaired in June at a cost of $170. They had better repair it or replace it for free this time! After all this excitement it was dinner and

bed       S27° 25.484 E153° 20.798

Monday19th December 2005  -  Day 300 - Yamba

Nice long lay in this morning as neither of us woke up until 0830. We both needed it.  Geoff took the Mainsail up to the Sailmaker to see what could be done and I put a load of washing in. Back to the mundane things. When Geoff came back he said he had been talking to some people on the hard stand who told him the stories of things that had happened to them over the years. So, it happens to everyone. It’s a bit of a reassurance as you think it is the fact that you are dumb when these things go wrong. It boils down to the fact that we are still reasonably inexperienced and systems get put into place as these things happen. And I expect, even with very experienced sailors, things still go wrong.  Geoff spent the day changing the oil and oil filters on the engines. We’ve also had our diesel polished. There is a thing called a ‘diesel bug’ and it’s a kind of algae that can grown in your diesel tanks and eventually clog up the fuel injector pump which, in turn, stops the engines.  Quite a few boats get this problem. You can add a ‘de-bugger’ to the fuel each time you top up, which we do, but it only retards the growth. We had the starboard engine stop on us a few days ago for no apparent reason so we decided it might be prudent to get the diesel ‘polished’.  Don’t ask me why they call it polishing as I have no idea. Well, we got over 5 litres of water out of the diesel tank which also had dirt and bug floating in it. It’s when the water and bug reaches the level of the fuel intake you get the problems. It cost just over $300 to get it done so it is not cheap but, as preventative maintenance goes, well worth it. We know how daunting it can be running on only one of our engines so what would it be like if we lost both?  Anyway, today is another beautiful day but we hadn’t had the chance to have a look at Yamba itself so we decided we would cycle in and have some dinner. We then realised that it was 8.40 pm  (still not in daylight saving mode) but we decided to go anyway. We actually found a place still open and Geoff had Salt and Pepper squid and I had Lamb Shanks which were really yummy but went straight through me (I know you just needed to know that). Back to 2AB and bed

Tuesday 20th December 2005  -  Day 301 - Yamba to Coffs (hopefully)

The forecast (can we trust it?) is for variable winds 5/10 changing to N/NE 10/15 so we have decided to head off and take advantage of thethree days. Geoff went up to see if the Mainsail was ready and it was, at a cost of $70. Sail makers seem to be the only people who don’t charge like a ‘Wounded Buffalo’. Geoff also popped up to the Post Office to mail off the few newsletters and mail off his watch to the repairers. I also remembered to buy a NSW Fishing Licence as we hadn’t needed one for salt water fishing in Qld.  Just as we were getting ready to leave we heard a knock on the hull and it was Mike from Legless Emu who had come to say hi. Mike and Jen had been in Yamba for two weeks and were staying for Christmas with Jen’s parents. It was good to catch up and they said they are about to sell ‘Legless Emu’ so if anyone fancies a small power cat there’s one up here in Yamba. They are going to buy a motor home and do the inland seas now. I really admire their tenacity and determination.  It can’t be easy when you are both in wheelchairs!  We eventually left at 10:45 hours to cross the bar along with about another half dozen boats who were also taking advantage of the weather to go south. Logged on with the VMR to cross the bar and continue to Coffs Harbour with an ETA of 1900 but we may continue (do we dare?) to PortMacquarie or Camden Haven whilst we have the chance. We will make that decision as we near Coffs. At 1400 hours the wind was from the NNE at around 15 knots, seas were mild and the sun was shining. We hoisted the main along with the Genoa and cut the motors. We are currently making 5.5 knots. Beautiful so far (whispered so Murphy can’t hear).  At 1600 we passed our turn point of two days ago and at 1500 hours we contacted the Coastal Patrol to say we were continuing on to Port Macquarie or Camden Haven. We then worked out our shifts.

Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd Dec 2005  -  Day 302 - En route to Port Stephens

Well, it was a long but uneventful night. There were quite a few fishing boats about which meant you had to keep your wits about you but it was a beautiful and calm night. It is now 0830.  Geoff did the shift from 2100—24:0, I did 00:0 to 0400, then Geoff and now I have just taken over again. It was a moonlit night and we motor sailed/motored all of the way as the winds were just not right for sailing. We could probably have put the Spinnaker up but felt it would be too much of a handful at night as you often have to manually steer with it. At the moment the wind is from the SSW (not as the forecast yesterday) and the forecast this morning is for variable winds and turning NE later in the day. Means we have slowed down somewhat but we should pick up some time later in the day. This morning the sun already has a bite to it. 1200 and we have been sailing and motor sailing.  8pm and it has been an uneventful, long and boring trip until up to now. Now we have just heard the Westpac Rescue Helicopter on the radio who gave coordinates for a vessel that was taking on water. It was 60 nm NE of us which is much to far for us to go and assist but we radioed in to the Rescue Helicopter that there was a container ship on the horizon NE of us making good time north that may be able to assist. The Rescue Helicopter tried to raise them on the radio but to no avail even though they are supposed to monitor emergency frequencies. Bit of a worry when you are sailing in the dark. We have heard stories of big ships not having anyone on watch either. So if they are coming at you at a fast rate of knots and you can’t raise them and they haven’t seen you then it becomes a big worry. a fishing boat and it’s It’s criminal really as people in yachts have lost their lives this way. Anyway, the ship in distress was name was ‘Coralesque ’ and the water had just reached the engine. Another fishing boat responded, who was 12 nm miles away. It was very interesting monitoring all this. Another helicopter, Airpac 1, had also arrived and dropped a 70 kg pump into the sea with a long length of rope attached and the crew of the fishing vessel managed to get it from their tender and pull it in. We then heard they had got it running and it was pumping out the water at a fastrate. Last we heard that a sister ship was on its way with a new bank of batteries so they could get the engine started. The Westpac helicopter had to leave but Airpac 1 circled them for another 20 minutes then left to refuel and return.  Heard the Coastal Patrol next morning saying it was a good outcome so presume everything was ok. Anyway, it certainly gave us something to think about whilst we were travelling south.  Geoff did the 2100 to 2400 shift, I did the 2400 to 0300 shift, then Geoff again. I came on at 0600 and at 0730 an early southerly change came through at 18-20 knots. It is slow going and has added another three hours onto our trip.  If it stays like this and doesn’t get any stronger we will manage ok and it is supposed to ease later.  Well, it didn’t get any worse so we eventually got into Port Stephens at 1300 hours and managed to pick up a three day mooring. Poached eggs on toast for lunch as we haven’t eaten properly for the last 50 hours as it is too hard to cook much when under way unless the seas are very mild. Now it is snooze time as we are shattered!  We got up about 16:30 and had a decent meal and shower and decided to head off to Broken Bay, north of Sydney, whilst we had E-NE winds before the SE change Saturday afternoon.  We should get into Broken Bay about 10-1100 hours tomorrow. If the winds are still favourable we may push on to Sydney 16 nm to the south.  An hour out and we heard the Coastal Patrol telling someone that there was a Strong Wind Warning issued for this area at 1550 hours.  Huh! We had checked the Bureau of Meteorology website at 1600 hours and it still said later  tomorrow. We called the Coastal Patrol who confirmed the warning so we are returning. I called the Bureau on my mobile and the forecast is still as when we looked on the website. Called the Coastal Patrol again who said the Bureau had

reissued the strong wind warning at 1600 hours. We were not sure he was reading it correctly but what can you do? We headed back in for safety’s sake. Looks like we will be spending Christmas here. Moored in the same area.

Friday 23rd December 2005  -  Day 304 - Port Stephens

Slept like a log and we didn’t get up till 0900 hours. It’s very still here so I doubt if that change has come through. We would have got to Broken Bay with plenty of time to spare. I don’t know how they get it so wrong when they reckon they have a success rate of 95%. Mind you, this time I think it was the old codger at the Coastal Patrol who had got it all wrong.  It is overcast and a little cooler today. We have to go shopping today for some Christmas goodies. We had the optical fibre Christmas Tree up yesterday. The yacht next door is festooned with lights, don’t know where he gets all his power from. Off we went in the tender to pick up some goodies and then back to 2AB to put it all away.  Now we have to be careful when we open the fridge or it all rolls out! At 13:30 the southerly change was on its way.  We would certainly have made it to Broken Bay with time to spare.  We went ashore again, this time to buy christmas presents for each other. We split up and I walked round and round Nelson Bay looking for something for Geoff. It is not that sort of shopping area. Tourist shops, gift shops, boutiques but nothing much for men. I ended up at a 2nd hand book shop and so far have only got him a couple of books. Met up with Geoff who had got me something. I went to the info centre and got a bus table and we caught the bus to the Salamander shopping centre at Salamander Bay. Ah, this is better, Kmart, Target etc. Got him a PC game and a fishing tackle box. We also picked up a string of LED lights that run off of their own 9v battery. It was the last one as we would have liked to buy another. Back to 2AB.  We got very wet as the wind had picked up. We strung the LED lights along the boom and they look really good. The Christmas tree is also up so we look quite festive. Fish’n chips from the marina for tea.

Saturday 24th December 2005 - Day 305  Nelson Bay - Christmas Eve

There is no wind this morning so called Coastal Patrol and there is still a gale warning current at 35 knots. Are they right? But, we heard that Sydney airport had winds from the NW at 25 knots so I would say it is not far away.  We hopped in the tender and headed off to the Salamander Shopping Centre again to get a few more bits and pieces. Geoff went to an irrigation shop to try to match the fitting of the holding tank so we can pump out at pump out facilities when we find them (they are a bit sparse on the ground in QLD). It’s dumb but they make you have a holding tank but no one makes the shore fitting so you have to go to a pump/irrigation place to try to match one up. Otherwise you are limited to pumping out to sea once you are 1 nm off shore.  By the time we got back to Nelson Bay the wind had really picked up and we were really being bounced around. We knew that once the wind turned to the south, as forecast for later, it would be a lot more comfortable. Once it turns to the south we will have shelter from the land. The weather is really bad for bush fires at the moment so I hope none start. Not with this wind. It eased off after a while but at 16:10 the bureau issued an Extreme Weather Warning for 3 hours time with NW winds 60—90 kms an hour which equates to 33—49 knots before a SW change.  So it will probably be uncomfortable for a while before the SW change. It’s hard to know what to do. Move now to an anchorage that is sheltered from the NW winds but be exposed, at night, when the southerly comes in or stay here and ride it out and be sheltered once dark falls. Anyway, I am cooking the turkey now whilst I can.  Whew! The Extreme Weather Warning has been cancelled. Made me uneasy for an hour or so.  It is now 21:45 and the southerly has come through and you would hardly know as it is very sheltered here.  We then decided to go ashore to visit the fun fare we could see in the distance. It had more interesting rides than the one that visits Bright but the only thing Geoff had a go on was the ‘Ring the Bell with the Mallet’ thingy. Mind you at $5 a ride it would soon burn a hole in the kitty. As you can see by the photo below the funfare lent itself to being photographed.

Sunday 25th December 2005  -  Day 306 - Nelson Bay - Christmas Day

Got up and opened out pressies and what a disappointment!  The PC game I had bought for Geoff was just an empty box. I still have the receipt so can probably sort it but it will be at another Kmart as we can’t hang around here and miss the winds. I emailed Kmart about the problem so I have something to mention when I try to get a new one/refund. I was so disappointed so we left for Broken Bay then on to Sydney to watch, hopefully, the Sydney to Hobart yachts leave Sydney Heads.  We ate our Christmas lunch on the back deck whilst on passage and the seas behaved themselves for us so we could eat it in peace.  We had a good sail for most of the day until the wind came right up our bum. So we decided to put the Spinnaker up but, once again, we had trouble with this fluky sail. The shackle that held the clew came undone (don’t know how) and we had to struggle, once again, to get it in.  We have decided to give it the new name of Finnacker instead of Spinnaker as it is so Finnicky!  Apart from that it was an uneventful run and we got in the anchorage at Barren Joey Head, Broken Bay at 0035 hours. We managed to pick up a buoy and, hopefully, didn’t wake up too many people in the moored/anchored boats nearby. I am always edgy when we come into an anchorage at night and try not to do it too often. Bed.    S33°21.414 S151° 35.824

Monday 26th December 2005 - Day 307  -  Broken Bay to Sydney, Boxing Day

Up and on our way at 08:40 along with heaps of other boats of all shapes and sizes that look like out then wait till the congestion dissipates and head on in to find an anchorage. We’ll see if it works. Well it didn’t!  We got outside the Heads at 1230 hours and we hove too with many other yachts quite a distance from the race turn point.  The seas were calm and the weather sunny. The race started and all hell broke loose. It was the spectator power boats that caused all the problems.  These 40 ft power boats powered past all the yachts oh so close at full throttle and within seconds the seas were mountainous and a lot of yachts got swamped including us. One small boat even overturned and we saw small tenders and kayaks in these terrible seas. We had never taken into consideration that the power boats would act so dangerously! I suppose we were a bit naïve but it was certainly exhilarating. It must have been awful for the competing yachts.  How do you stop it? Maybe they should make ll the spectator boats heave too to stop them acting like hoons. After the seas had settled down we entered the Heads and made our way to Balls Head Bay which is set aside for small transiting yachts and found it to be a nice little bay.

Thursday 27th December 2005  -  Day 308 - Balls Head Bay, Sydney

Woke up and thought we could smell gas. Geoff investigated and found we had a small leak where the line that goes to the gas bottle in the bow. So, we are nearly out of gas. We had thought it a bit funny that the last bottle had run out so quickly but we thought we had been using more gas due to the fact that we now had an oven. Not so! We have enough for the time being but we must try to fill it in the next few days.  Geoff has already fixed the pipe. Later we went ashore to do the walking track loop on Berry Island. Berry Island is steeped in Aboriginal Culture and it was very interesting. Turkey in gravy with mashed potato and gravy for tea and the rest has gone in the freezer. Scrabble and bed.

Wednesday 28th December 2005 - Day 309  -  Balls Head Bay to Blackwattle Bay

Nice lay in and a nice day. Tried to get a marina berth at Birkenhead Marina but they were full, Cockle Bay Marina in Darling Harbour had space but we couldn’t fit under the bridge. So we trundled off to Blackwattle Bay, Glebe and found a good spot just opposite the Sydney Fish market.  We then caught a taxi into town and did a bit of shopping and then arranged to meet up with our friend David and Musetta who we had caught up with in Noosa. We went for a drink and a cheap bite to eat. While we walking up to the eating area Geoff found a brown paper bagwith a brand new LED headlight in it at the traffic lights. It had the docket with it ($89) so I rang the shop and said if anyone was looking for it we had it and they could come and get it. After eating it was unfortunate but David had to work so we were unable to spend much time with him.  Poor thing had a black eye and yellow face from a mugging he had received just before Christmas.  Musetta was her same bubbly self. Caught a taxi back to 2AB to the fish market where we had left the dinghy tied up. Earlier, as I had walked through the fish market, my thoughts went back to when I had walked through this same fish market with my sister Glynn. Same thing as I walked through the shops in the city and the Queen Victoria Building. Good memories.

Thursday 29th December 2005  -  Day 310 - Blackwattle Bay

Another nice lay in. The guy who had lost the headlight rang this morning so he is coming to get it. So we are not the proud owners of a new LED headlight. NSW Maritime came by this morning and moved a few boats that were just over the anchoring line limit. They made the boat next to us move which was good as he was a bit close, we thought. He came in whilst we were in the city yesterday. Left the boat at 1115 and got rid of the rubbish, picked up 25 lts of water and then over to the fish market to tie up the boat. Caught a taxi into the city and met up with David again, had some lunch and then walked back to David’s little house. He has a little dog called Tiger. Then it was back to 2AB for drinks. David took Geoff to fill up the gas bottle. When they got back there was a big sailing cat next to us called Zambezi and it dwarfed us. NSW Maritime came along and moved them as, once again, they were too close to the ‘no go’ zone. Later we wandered up to Glebe where Geoff filled a prescription and we ate at an Indian café where the meals were $5.00 for a plate.  Wandered back, filled up more water containers and then back to 2AB. Scrabble and bed.

Friday 30th December 2005  -  Day 311 - Blackwattle Bay

We were going to head south again today but as it was so close to New Years Eve we decided to stay for the fireworks. It means we have to stay another day as the winds are strong and from the wrong direction to leave New Years Day. NSW Maritime popped by and asked if we had a holding tank, which I said we did. Afterwards, Geoff said he had asked if we had holding tanks (plural). Apparently, so we’ve heard, on the grapevine, you can’t even discharge grey water into Port Jackson. A lot of cruisers wash up in minimal water in bowls and put the grey water in their holding tank for the sewerage.  Mind you, we’ve seen nothing official stating this fact. During the day it got quite busy with boats looking for an anchorage so we’ve decided to stay put for the while. Geoff has been very busy servicing the autohelm which has been slipping lately. Let’s hope he has fixed it. I’ve cleaned the brass and cooked tea. Now we are waiting for the fuel barge to arrive who is presently refuelling a 2-3 million dollar power cruiser on the other side of the bay. The fuel barge diesel is $1.43 per litre whereas the fuel from the marinas is $1.72 litre. So the fuel barge is cheaper and they come to you. Maritime NSW have also been their busy selves, moving people on and customs and quarantine have also been around this morning checking on all the foreign boats. Well, the fuel barge came and said they were unable to get in close to us as they didn’t have the draft so we came out to them and rafted up (nerve wracking) and then they took us for a little cruise of the bay whilst they filled us up. It only took 89 litres which was a big surprise as we thought we had used about 120 litres. Ah well! Then it was hurry back to our spot in the anchorage before we lost our spot. ‘Landris’, a 46 ft Hunter yacht was circling around and we thought he would take our spot but he went round again so we nipped in. I think the shallow depth and the length of his boat would not allow him to anchor where we had been as we were as close to the wall as we would want to be and ‘Landris’ has another 13 feet on us. Oh - we found that the expensive motor cruiser that was refuelling before us took 3500 litres of fuel so at $1.43 a litre it just cost them $5005.00. Ours cost $127.27. Hmm! After tea we had an attack of the tireds so went forsnooze but then couldn’t as there were a lot of ambulances etc crossing Anzac Bridge (Madonna’s Bra) with full sirens blaring.

Saturday 31st December 2005  -  New Years Eve - Day 312 - Lavender Bay

Up early as the kids on the next boat were up early so everyone in the bay was then awake.  We headed off to the fish market and bought 2 small lobsters and some green prawns for the New Years Eve Celebrations. We got to 2AB and a motor cruiser had anchored almost on top of us and over our anchor chain so it was quite difficult to up anchor without bumping him but we managed it. There was no one on board. We headed off to try to find a better anchorage to watch the fireworks. We actually found a good spot in Lavender Bay with great views of the bridge. We expect it to get very crowded later in the day. We are next to Luna Park. A guy from Canberra swam over to the boat for a chat. A little after that we moved as we thought we were getting a little close to a moored large cat and we anchored in the mouth of the bay with other anchored yachts. There is a ‘Heart’ Theme this New Year so Geoff is massacre-ing an old umbrella to put up the LED string lights on in the shape of a heart with a back bike light as its pulsating heart. As the day drew on the bay got busier and busier and there were a lot of fun and games going on between boats. Small Cuddy cabin  motor boats kept anchoring right next to larger boats not realising how much anchor chain the bigger boats need to put out and how much they swing. One small boat snagged a bigger boats anchor chain and it took them about an hour to get it undone. Geoff cooked the green tiger prawns for lunch on skewers with a yummy sauce. He’s a very good cook! We had lettuce and tomato sprinkled with Texas chilli and the prawns were cooked in ginger, chilli and a coriander baste. It was very nice and we ate it on the back deck in front of everybody. At 09:00 pm the first set of fireworks started (for the kiddies) and they were good but short. Then they had the parade of lighted boats that did two circuits. We spent the next couple of hours fending off boats.  The small boats nearby have, of course, anchored in our swinging circle, and as we swing they have to fend us off. It is happening everywhere.  The small boats think the bigger boats are dragging their anchors but they are not, of course. Luckily the smaller boats will all head off after the fireworks at midnight so we can reassess our situation then. Then, dead on midnight, the firework show started. They were absolutely magnificent but only lasted for about 20 minutes, which surprised us. We got it all on movie, of course. The good thing about taking it on movie is that you can use a photo/movie program and go through the clips frame by frame and capture the best still shots that way. This means you can normally get some really good photos. We then waited till around 1:30 am until enough boats had left for us to move to a more open area and re-anchor. Then bed, although Luna Park didn’t stop until around 3 am but I still slept well.