2Abreast in 2012: November and December 2012

Thursday, 1st November 2012 - Bums Bay, Gold Coast … Day 2497 as cruisers

Awoken at 5.30 am with someone blaring their air horn - noisy B’s … and I looked but couldn’t see where it was coming from.

A nice day so far and Geoff is already working on my new laptop. And, apart from going to fill up the water containers, he worked on it most of the day. Ah yes, he did go to visit Tony and I was able to get on my laptop for a little while.

Tony came over in the afternoon and stayed for a while. As I said, a ‘nothing’ kinda day!

Friday, 2nd November 2012 - Bums Bay, Gold Coast

I think today is going to be one of those ‘nothing to report’ days again. We have another strong wind warning and it is really, really blowing with the ‘cry of the banshee’ echoing across the anchorage, so we have decided NO bike riding today. We have lots of power so we are both on the laptops today. I’m slowly sorting mine out although I keep losing it to Geoff when he thinks of something he has to do to it. Then I lost it all together and he worked on it all day again. I did manage to get on it long enough to finish off my October journal.

At 3 pm Geoff went off to take Tony to shore as he was off to attend his son’s Bucks night. He will pick him up again in Sunday.

So, as I said before, another ‘nothing to report’ day!

Saturday, 3rd November 2012 - Bums Bay, Gold Coast

The wind has died a bit today so that’s good. It was still a leisurely start to the day and I managed to get on my laptop and send off my emails. I have also had a look at the new Office 2010 and the publisher program is rather snazzy with lots of effects you can use IF you can find them. As usual the menu icons and shortcuts are not where they usually are.

Time to head ashore to Woollies so we loaded the bikes into the dinghy and went over to the public jetty to unload. It was a 5 minute ride to the SeaWorld Theme Park whereas it took us 18 minutes when we walked it. It is a nice ride to the Aust Fair shopping centre and flat with only one teeny weeny hill up to the bridge on the return journey where I have to get off and push up the last bit. It is mostly by bike and walk track so I don’t have to worry about traffic too much and it takes about 30 minutes one way. That’s not to say I’m not stuffed when I get there and doubly stuffed when we get back. bought a ‘ready boost’ SD card for my laptop and a network cable, we had a coffee (a treat for me). We read the newspaper whilst we sipped our coffees, as usual, and read all about the planned cruise ship Terminal, 7 star resort and casino. One developer has withdrawn his application as he says he doesn’t think a large cruise ship would be able to access the Seaway entrance in safety. The Seaway isn’t deep or wide enough and would cost an ongoing fortune for the local government. We doubt if it will every get off the ground. They were talking about it and shelved it when we were last here in 2006. If it does go ahead it will be goodbye to anchoring in the Marine Stadium and Wave Break Island Not that it would affect us as we are not from around here.

Then it was time to get the supplies. I could have bought more but we had enough to fill 2 backpacks and 2 panniers as the fresh veggies take up a lot of room. Another 30 minutes ride back and on the boat by 4 pm. I was still in a mess with tings to put away when Pauline from ‘Kaitoro’ popped by to say hi and Geoff invited them over for sundowners. She went off to get Ross and we did a frantic clean up. Geoff got the back deck acceptable and I got the supplies away and washed up. It wasn’t dirty just stuff everywhere. They arrived at 5 pm and left at 8 pm and we had a great chat and got to know them better.

Once they left we had a light tea. I had stuffed my diet by drinking three glasses of wine so I only had scrambled eggs for tea. I hope I haven’t stuffed it too badly as I missed out on lunch and had cycled for 60 minutes, so fingers crossed.

Sunday, 4th November 2012 - Bums Bay … Day 2,500 of living on 2AB

I had to get up at 4 am to take a nurofen tablet as my back was aching so much (as it always does after a bug bike ride) and it soon eased it. Geoff also got up during the night to get the bikes in when it started to rain but it was a ‘short lived’ shower only. An overcast and weak sun day.

I tried to weigh in to see what damage I had done from the day before but I couldn’t get the scales to set so will try again tomorrow. Maryanne rang and we had a nice long natter.

By this time it was nearly 10 am and we left to go to attend the ‘Save our Spit’ rally as the government was trying to sell of all the public land, which belongs to the people of Qld, to ask for developers to submit to build the cruise ship terminal etc that I was writing about yesterday. It was interesting listening to all the different speakers who all spoke well and spoke sense. It was a funny sort of day. One minute it was overcast and spitting with rain and the next moment it was brilliant sunshine and really hot. We stayed for a good hour and a half, signing the petition and listening to the speakers before heading back.

Geoff worked on the computers and I faced all the washing up from brekkie … ho hum.

Arggghhhh … the jet skis are driving us mad this afternoon. Last time we were here they cruised by really slowly for a ‘sticky beak’. This time, and of course it is Sunday, they are going flat out up and down Bums Bay as close to all of the boats as they can go. The rules are that they must keep under 6 knots when within 60 metres of an anchored vessel. Nowhere in here are they outside that 60 metre limit so where are the authorities when you need them?

Late afternoon Geoff got a call from Tony so he went over and collected him and took him back to his boat. It wasn’t long before Tony was back for a visit. Because we were chatting we missed the local news but they showed the highlights at the end and I quickly saw myself on TV in the crowd. Geoff went onto facebook and found the ‘SOS’ website and found us in a photo on their page which I have grabbed for the journal.

Monday, 5th November 2012 - Bums Bay

Awake at 7 am to a couple arguing as they went by in their dinghy. A lovely day with hardly any wind.

At 9.30 am we travelled by dinghy over to the jetty near Australia Fair shopping centre which took 15 minutes all up. We wandered through Australia Fair to benefit from their air conditioning and then followed the GPS to Centrelink where I wanted to change my three monthly appointment. The queue was quite long but we didn’t seem to take us long to get to the front. They were unable to actually change the appointment but said I could come in to their branch on Friday instead of Fortitude Valley and they could sign me off from there. So, on Friday, we think we will go in early so that we are there when they open at 7.45 am so we don’t have to wait too long. Today There was a 90 minute wait and it seemed so much busier than Fortitude Valley.

After Centrelink we went into Sams Warehouse, Kmart and Woollies to pick up a few things and have Mazzies treat of a coffee and newspapers. It was back in the dinghy and back across to the boat for lunch.

About 5 pm Tony arrived as he wanted Geoff to download and print some banking stuff for him. And then after tea, dad rang and we had a really long and good natter. He’s 90 years old in 9 days time and he is still laying pavers, albeit very slowly—he says!

Tuesday, 6th November 2012 - Bums Bay, Gold Coast

We were up reasonably early. Geoff was thinking of sailing up the Coomera River to the Gold Coast City Matrina but it was 12 nm. He wanted to buy some genuine Volvo diesel oil as it doesn’t smoke so much and make our fibreglass dirty. He rang around and found he could only get it there as nobody stocked it in Southport, where wee are. Eventually we decided to go by bus after finding which buses to take on the web (what did we do before internet)?

Just after 11am we headed up to the little beach that is just near the SeaWorld car park and found it a good spot to leave the dinghy when you want to catch the bus, and to anchor 2AB as well. It took 15 minutes to get there by dinghy which was more than we anticipated but we had given ourselves enough time this time round and got to the bus stop with 5 minutes to spare. The bus driver suggested a different bus route to what we were going to do which meant we only had to swap buses twice. It was an interesting ride from SeaWorld to Helensvale where we had to change buses. There was a large shopping centre here with both and Aldi and Woollies so we said we would stop on the way back. The second leg was less interesting as it was mostly through suburbia. By the time we got off at the Gold Coast City Marina we had been on the buses for 2 hours. The marina complex had the normal marina facilities but was less of a touristy type marina but more of an industrial marina park with heaps of boat outlets selling/offering anything the nautical type would need. There were huge hanger type warehouses and large boats either being refurbished or overhauled and the travel lift was HUGE!

It really was too large to be able to take it all in but, luckily, the Volvo dealer was easy to find and we were able to buy what we wanted. Of course, we did have a quick look around and looked in a lot of the showroom windows. It was whilst we were ‘window shopping’ that we noticed one of the showrooms had a selection of boating magazines on their table with the top one being the current Nov/Dec issue of the Australian Multihull World. Geoff, being Geoff, went in and asked the guy if he could have a look at the magazine to see if our article was in it. Yep, but towards the back on page 114, never mind, at least it is in there and I can now send in an invoice.

When we got to the bus stop we found that we had a 35 minute wait so we decided to go to the café and have a coffee while we waited. One of the walls had an interesting mural on it which Geoff decided was worth a photo. As I was merrily sipping my coffee I realised that I didn’t have my bandana cap with me so retraced my steps but couldn’t find it. Bumma … I must have left it on the bus. When the bus came it was the same bus we had arrived on and there was my cap down the side of the seat where I had sat. It would have been sitting there for over an hour without anyone seeing it. How lucky was that?

We got off at Helensvale and found the Aldi and bought a few bits that you can only get there, had some very late and very cheap lunch (the Chinese café was selling three containers for $10 as they were starting to close) and then we caught the bus back to SeaWorld. When we got back to the dinghy there was a guy ashore with his dinghy and we got chatting. It turned out it was a guy off the cat ‘Lyra’ who we had met in the Louisiades in 2010 and who was anchored close by. What a small world.

We got back to 2AB just before dark and then John from ‘Bionicle Boy’ popped over for a chat for a while. And that was that day over!

Wednesday, 7th November 2012 - Bums Bay

Up reasonably early and doing things but still in my PJ’s till late. We emailed the charter companies and some charterers the info on our article in Multihull World. Geoff then went off to fill up the water containers and, would you believe it, it was now 12.30. Where on earth did the morning go?

This time I ensured we ate some lunch before we went ashore as I miss out as I can’t often find anything I can eat. Eventually Geoff got off the computers and we took the dinghy right up the spit, via Tony’s boat, and then walked to the café to buy some expensive milk and bread.

When we got back we played Carcassonne and I won. We were almost though the game when Tony turned up and stayed till past 5.30 pm. A nothing day again. Just bumming around!

Thursday, 8th November 2012 - Bums Bay to Australia Fair anchorage

I rained quite a lot last night and I heard Geoff get up and close down the clears. It is an ove3rcast mrning but with a little sun peaking through now and again. The forecast is for heavier rain tomorrow.

Alas, my 12 volt power adaptor/inverter has ‘given up the ghost’ so Geoff pulled it apart and found it was corroded. Here we go again … we are trying to save money and we keep having to fork it out! So, just after midday, we up-anchored and 25 minutes later we were anchored just off Australia Fair shopping centre. It was a bit more swelly there as it is less protected but not so bad. We had some lunch and then headed over to the public jetty which was a very wet ride as the wind was blowing onto us at around 20 knots. I had a large Bunnings poncho that I wrapped around me so I didn't get too wet. But, next time, I will put it on properly then I can hold my arms out and protect Geoff a little as well!

We caught the bus to Mermaid Beach which was just past Surfers Paradise and found the Jaycar shop where I parted with $75 to get a new and more powerful 12 volt laptop inverter.
Not far from Jaycar was the Pacific Fair shopping centre so we wandered up to have a look. Geoff says we spend most of our life visiting shopping centres along the east coast of Oz! Anyway, it was a lot different from your normal chopping centres in as much as, not only did it have the normal air conditioned indoors section but also had open air sections divided into little lanes with shops on both sides. It gave it a market type feel and was quite pleasing to the eyes. The locals say it is getting tired and in need of a face lift but we found it an interesting place to visit. As we had come down just to go to Jaycar we hadn’t brought the camera so I stole a photo of the web.

While we were wandering around we went into a St George bank to see if we could get a credit card with no fees and she said it was possible. Alas, she couldn’t do it as it has something to do with the limit we have on our ANZ credit card with is too high so she suggested we reduce our limit on the ANZ one and try again. Why it would be linked to this is beyond me but, anyway, we went to the ANZ bank and reduced the limit as we haedly use it and pay it off before the end of the month anyway. By this time it was too late to return to St George so will look into it another time. We need a credit card before we cancel the ANZ one as the fees are much too high for our simple tastes these days. We manage to pick up a Multihull World which was good so now we can send the invoice off.

Back on the bus and back to Southport and the dinghy. The trip back to 2AB was much nicer as we now had the wind with us. Relax with a cuppa, prepare tea.

I went onto facebook and saw my sister, Kay, had posted and thisis, basically, what she said … Our dad, who is only a few days away from his 90th birthday, decided to catch the bus into Hailsham (he has just moved there from Eastbourne). He got on the wrong bus and did a lovely tour back into Eastbourne, eventually found the right bus and got to Hailsham. When he got back he realised he had don the whole shopping trip in his slippers! You’ve got to love him!

Friday, 9th November 2012 - Australia Fair back to Marine Stadium

Up at 6.30 and we got to the public jetty at 9.30 and walked via the supermarket as always, and back to the boat for some brekkie. By 9.50 we were back on our way to Marine Stadium and, this time, we anchored behind (or in front depending on which way the wind is blowing) Tony’s ‘Incantation’. It was on overcast day with rain expected in the afternoon. So, it was a laptop day apart from Geoff taking Tony ashore midday as he is off to his son’s for the weekend as his son is getting married (he is complaining as he has been told he has to wear a suit).

But really a ‘nothing to report day’ again, as is often the case.

Saturday, 10th November 2012 - Marine Stadium (Bums Bay)

It rained a little overnight but not as much as expected but it forecast to get worse today and clear again tomorrow afternoon, let’s hope in time for Tony’s son’s wedding. Luckily I had put th3e clears down before we went to bed so there was no midnight rush around this time.

We were still in bed at 8 am when Tony rang asking if Geoff could pick him up as he had forgotten to switch his batteries over when he left his boat yesterday. Geoff brought him back to the boat as he wanted to show us how to play ’Farkle’ (a play on the two words ‘F**k All’, apparently). It was an easy, interesting and cheap game consisting of 6 dice only and I think it will be a good game for us on the boat. After Geoff took Tony ashore he went on the web, as you do, to see if he could find anything on it. He found it was a folk game, and, because it was a folk game, it had been handed around by word of mouth and, therefore, had many different scoring scenarios. So we choose the rules that suit us and off we go. If you are interested I suggest you follow this link.

But really a ‘nothing to report day’ again, as is often the case.

Saturday, 10th November 2012 - Marine Stadium (Bums Bay)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farkle We had a couple of games and we won one each and the game takes about 25 minutes. After that we had a game of Citadels. There’s not much else to do when it is raining. Boring!!!!!

Sunday, 11th November 2012 - Bums Bay

It was very, very windy and rainy overnight and we have a strong wind warning in place. t is still a nice anchorage but a little less calm so I was not able to weigh in today as there was no way I was going to get the scales to set. So, I think it is going to be another one of those boring days today.

Geoff spent most of the day getting the new laptop and his old one to share the internet connections. We have a Telstra USB wireless modem that Telstra says can only supply an internet connection to one computer at a time. Sometime ago, Geoff downloaded and purchased a program called Connectivity which allows you to set up any computer up as a wireless access point. So now he has loaded this program onto both computers, configured the firewalls and we can now use either computer on the internet with the modem and share the modem with the other computer. This has solved the problem of having to keep swapping over the modem if the other person wants to go on line. Geoff says he is very happy with my new laptop and feels we got a good deal.

We did think about going ashore just to stretch out legs but decided against it as we knew we would get very wet just going that short distance so we decided to have some games of Farkle. We played 4 games and we won 2 each then had a game of Citadels. After tea I rang dad to wish him a wonderful 90th birthday and also spoke to both my sisters, Glynn & Kay.

They had a surprise planned for him but couldn’t tell me what it was over the phone as he was still in earshot. I will find out later. It was good to chat and catch up with them all. I don’t do it enough!!!!!

Monday, 12th November 2012 - Bums Bay

A nicer day today with some sun and much less wind so the anchorage is calmish again.

I went onto Facebook and saw that my sister had uploaded a grainy photo of my dad with his birthday cake so I have shared it in this journal. Love my dad to bits!!!!!

Geoff went of to get two loads of water which was 170 litres in total of which I used 15 litres straight away putting all of the washing to pre soak overnight. I also hand sewed (no machine on this boat) a bag for my laptop from the last piece of curtain fabric I had left then did a few chores around the boat and that was it! Oh no

… I fed the seagulls, tch tch. I saw one lonely seagull paddling towards the boat so threw it some bread and within seconds I had about 2 dozen of them appear. A few of them would hover in the strong wind almost stationery beside the boat and catch the bread in mid flight and I even had one take the bread out of my hand. How tame they must be! And that was definitely it for the day. Boring!!!!

Tuesday, 13th November 2012 - To Crab Island, Runaway Bay

A lovely sunny day with not a cloud in the sky and a light breeze. Groan … my back aches now … I’ve just washed, rinsed and hung out all the washing I had in soak. A good washing machine load but Geoff had to wring out the last two articles which were his bulky shorts as my thumbs were not up to the job. I always wish for an old fashioned mangle when I do the washing by hand. But a job well done. By this time the wind was blowing quite hard so Geoff rehung the washing on the headsail ropes on the front deck to get them to dry quicker. Mid morning Geoff had a call from Tony so he went to shore to pick him up and then Tony took his own dinghy to shore to pick up his son and his bags. We up-anchored just after and the last we saw of Tony was his son winching him up the mast. It was surprisingly very windy past Wave Break Island and we were pushing the motors hard and only doing 2 knots as the wind and the tide were against us. That will teach us not to check the tide tables before we go! Anyway, Geoff decided to anchor at Wave Break Island and have some lunch and wait for the tide to turn. It was quite bouncy as it wasn’t sheltered but okay for a lunch stop. We were off again at 2.30 and anchored in the lee of Crab Island opposite Runaway Bay where we wanted to re-provision. It was quite rough out in the passage so we decided to see what it was like tomorrow and leave it for today as it was getting a bit late.

Wednesday, 14th November 2012 - Runaway Bay and back to Bums Bay

It was quite a good night but it got windy when we got up and quite choppy so we waited until tide turn to see if it made any difference as it was currently wind against tide. We are in for a couple of really strong northerlies so we may yet go back to Bums Bay as it is not that far. Tony rang this morning and said he had up-anchored and started to leave and come up our way. When he put one of his engines in reverse he found it would not give any propulsion. He has sail drives and thought a part between the engine and the sail drive had stripped. And he thought he would have to take the engine out to remove the sail drive. Geoff said that he should check that he hadn’t lost a propeller before he resorted to that drastic action as they had been known to come off. Tony rang back and, sure enough, the prop was gone. He knows roughly where he must of lost it and is hoping he will be able to find it. Good luck as it won’t be too easy.

Geoff said he would go over closer to Runaway Bay to see what the anchorage was like so we up-anchored at 9.30 and re-anchored 15 minutes later and it was fine. We had brekkie whilst we waited to make sure the boat was staying put and then loaded the wheelie shopper, the cooler bag and the two backpacks into the dinghy and headed the short distance ashore. Up the canal we went with its million dollar houses lining the bank plus a beautiful old steam paddle steamer. The shopping centre had its own public jetty so how good

was that. So it was tie up, walk straight into the centre. We had a look around first and bought a pack of 10 dice for the huge sum of $1.95 … you can’t find a cheaper game than that. We then went to Aldi to get the bulk of the shopping and then finishing up off at Woollies and a cheap greengrocer. It was nice to be able to wheel the trolley almost to the dock and load up. Back to 2AB without getting too wet and the next hour was spent cutting and packing the meat/poultry into meal sized portions and getting them into the freezer. Now we are set, meat wise, for the next 16 days. After a cuppa we had to decide where to go from here as there was a 24 hour limit where we were and we needed a secure anchorage to ride out these strong northerlies that are predicted. Thompsons Lagoon, where we would be stuck with nothing to do until, at least, Sat or go back to Bums Bay where we can go ashore and also be with Tony. Geoff decided it was back to Bums Bay with the wind and tide with us which we got a nice little sail in. We got back at 2 pm and saw that ‘Incantation’ was already beached. Geoff went over but Tony wasn’t there but Geoff saw that both propellers were off. Tony came back 5 minutes later and came over for a couple of games of Farkle (and he won both) and we found out what was happening. He said the propeller that was still on was corroded so he thought it wasn’t worth looking for the other as it was too difficult ad the water wasn’t clear. He has ordered two new ones at $460 each, which will arrive on Monday, hopefully.

Thursday, 15th November 2012 - Bums Bay

I knelt on my ebook reader last night as I got into bed and have well and truly cracked the screen so I’m a little p’d off this morning. This is the third one I have cracked. I am using number two now as the crack doesn’t hinder my reading. The sort I like are only $50 on ebay so its not as if it is the end of the world just annoying.

A quiet and calm night. It’s funny but the northerlies seem to die down a lot at night whereas the southerlies continue to blow. I wonder why? Once the sun comes out the northerlies start to blow again and it is supposed to get to 30 knots later.

Geoff went onto Facebook and found that David Chalwell had shared a home made clip that Dean Belle had put on of Mt Buffalo which was shot from a home made quadcopter. It brought a lump to our throats as it is such a majestic and mythical place and I, believe it or not, still think of it as home. Thanks Dean and David for sharing it. You can go to Geoff’s Facebook page, if you have access, as Geoff has also shared it.

I spent the morning doing chores and Geoff went off to fill up all the water containers. When he came back Tony

had arrived to learn how to play Mexican Train. We only showed him one game as he needed to get back to install some sacrificial anodes as it was low tide.

Geoff then received a phone call from the hospital to confirm he was coming in at 8am on the 22nd to have an echocardiogram done before he did his lung function test and saw the specialist. This was the first we had heard of this so it is a good job they rang. There is probably a letter waiting us at Bundy informing us of the appointment. It is a bit of a bugga as we had worked the bus and train out for getting there from here at 9.30 if we can’t get to Brizzy in time. Never mind, it just means we will have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there in time.

Friday, 16th November 2012 - Bums Bay, Gold Coast

Hoons woke me up just after 4.30 am this morning. They use the deserted roads of The Spit to drag race or do wheelies and all you hear is the squeal of their tyres as they burn rubber. This is the third morning in a row … how moronic! They do it at night as well and they must be forever buying new tyres. Must have more money than sense.
Geoff decided to go in the water to try to clean the boat log again and found it had seaweedy things growing on it. He cleaned the props of a few barnacles whilst he was there. I cleaned the head and shower and then we hear an “ahoy” and it was Ross and Pauline from ‘Kaitoro’ who had popped by to get the details of our insurance broker as they knew we were very happy with their service. They are getting their cat lifted on the 26th to store at Gold Coast City Marina as they are back to New Zealand for another 6 months of work. Sounds good to me, the winters here in sunny Qld and the summers there.
I finished off my journal and Geoff started to check it over for me and we had lunch. Tony arrived and has his son’s car and was going to pick his new props up so we thought we would accompany him. First stop was the propeller place where he came out $920 poorer, then fuel, then Whitworth’s where we picked up another set of fender tenders, some soot remover and a copy of the new edition of The Coastal Passage. Back to the boat where Geoff tried out the soot remover and I put the kettle on. Geoff said it was good but a couple of spots needed cutting and polishing as the soot has got ingrained, then he will give it another go. Once he had done this he copied some of Tony’s movies over and Tony popped over at 6 pm to pick his hard drive up.
Alas, we have noisy neighbours, in a small motor cruiser who have their music blaring. As the evening wore on there got the worse for wear and then started trying to sing to the music, more like yelling. Even with our genny on, the doors and hatches closed and a movie on we could still hear them. They seemed to shut up before midnight, thank goodness, but then the hoons came out to play so we had more tyre squealing as they burn rubber doing more donuts. Aaarrrgggghhhh!

Saturday, 17th November 2012 - Coochiemudlo Island
Up at 5.30 am to get the weather. It is mostly southerlies during the next few days with light northerlies overnight. Afternoon thunderstorms are forecast for the next three days as well but we decided to go anyway. We up-anchored at 6.15 and, hopefully, we will be anchored somewhere secure when/if the thunderstorms arrive.
Once we got past the Seaway entrance we had the tide with us and we were motoring, no wind to speak of, at a
once good (for us) 6.5 knots. By 9.15 we were anchored at Steigletz and Geoff went off to the Rudy Maas Marian to fill up the containers of diesel, ULP, get the gas refilled and buy some free range eggs. We were on our way just over an hour later to drizzle and thunderstorms rumbling away in the distance. By 11 am we had torrential rain and the thunder was closer and the laptops were in the oven as the lightning seemed to be all around us. It got quite dark , enough for the lights on the marker buoys to come on. Due to the wind and the thunderstorm we anchored off McLeay Island to have lunch and check the BOM site to make a decision as to whether we should stay or go on. The BOM site said the severe thunderstorm warning had been cancelled and I checked the radar to be sure. The NE winds had arrived so we thought we would check out the anchorage at Coochiemudlo Island or, possible, continue on to Peel Island. We were on our way again at 1.30 to nice sunshine (shush … Murphy might be listening). We anchored at Coochiemudlo at 2.45 and settled in. When we watched the news we saw that Brisbane had been hit with a storm packing 90 kmh winds and there was quite a bit of damage. Now we can see lightning in the distance. We don’t know how far away it is and can only hope it doesn’t come this way.

Sunday, 18th November 2012 - Brisbane River, Gateway Bridge
Well, that storm did come our way. We were hit by a big storm during the early hours. Luckily the winds blew from the NE so we were reasonably sheltered. I got up and put the sliding saloon hatch in as the rain was, once again, torrential. When I got up this morning there was water over the saloon table which is leaking from an old leak that we had previously fixed from the electrical box. My phone was in its cradle and also got wet and doesn’t want to work this morning plus one of the USB sockets seems to have shorted out as well. Bugga!
I’ve taken the battery out of my phone to let it all dry out and keeping my fingers crossed.
Time to check the forecast and the forecast is SE until the late morning and thunderstorms are still predicted. I checked the radar and we have some cells coming our way but we would rather try to get to the Brisbane River and have some shelter than stay out here so we up-anchored at 7.30 and headed off. We were hit by a couple of squally thunderstorms on passage and Geoff toyed with the idea of heading for Raby Bay but it cleared and we carried on for the Brisbane River. We then had sunshine and enjoyed it while it lasted. It was like that for the rest of the day with patches of brilliant sunshine, then rain, thunder and lightning and then repeating itself. We anchored near the Gateway Bridge in the Brisbane River at 2 pm and just before a downpour.
Once we were settled we had our bacon and eggs brekkie for lunch and we ate it with the roar of the planes directly overhead as we are right under their flight path. I timed it and there was a plane coming in every three to four minutes.
Geoff stuck his rod in, ever hopeful, and then said “Boy, are we ever going to get waked, come and have a look” and it was the cruise ship the ‘Sun Princess’ leaving in their next leg of their holiday adventure. She was huge and was slowly making her way down river, escorted by a tug, with her many guests lining the decks or at their windows watching the scenery glide by. Geoff, of course, blew the air horn many times and it was deafening but got them all waving. We watched it slowly make its way towards the Gateway Bridge. Would it fit under, yes, but it made us wonder. It also made us visualise a ship of that size trying to navigate through the Seaway entrance at the Gold Coast. Oh … by the way … it made no wake!

A bit of surfing on the web gave us the following facts. She is bound for Aukland, New Zealand. She is 57.4 metres tall, 32 metres wide, has a draft of 8.2 metres and is 261 metres long and was built in “Italy in 1993. What would we do without the web?
Geoff then loaded up a couple of photos he had taken to a website called Marine Traffic which is just a database of photos of ships around the world. A bit like train spotting, I guess!
Just when we thought the storms were over a really big one came through at 6pm. The rain was so heavy that you couldn’t see the Gateway Bridge. Flash, bang so it was directly overhead. Geoff said he had never seen rain like it, even in the Louisiades.
Whilst the storm was raging we didn’t realise that thee were no incoming flights but after the storm had moved on … in they came ,,, one after the other. I guess they were all in a holding pattern away from the storm.

Monday, 19th November 2012 - Brisbane River
A hot and sunny day this morning. You would never believe the weather yesterday although I won’t count my chickens yet as there is a possibility of showers and a storm later.
Geoff wanted to get a new USB socket for the saloon mast area that blew up yesterday with the leak from the storm. We looked for a stockist in Brisbane and the closest one it showed was at Rocklea, too far, but then I noticed that the Bainbridge head office (the manufacturer) was located in Hemmat which was up Aquarium Passage and not far from where we were anchored. We rang to confirm they would sell to the public and then up-anchored and went back down river and past the Rivergate Marina and right into Aquarium Passage and up a way to anchor. We took the dinghy to a dock that was close by, asked directions and permission to leave the dinghy at the dock, which they said was fine. Bainbridge was three factories up and sold lots of lovely electronic gadgets. The USB sockets were $20.99 each so we bought two as the last ones we bought on the web were $35 each. Back to the boat and off again at 11.30 to continue up the Brisbane River. When we got to Garden Point near the Botanic Gardens we found all the piles taken so continued a little up river and anchored just past the piles with a few other boats. We had lunch and Geoff went off for a nap and didn’t surface until 5 pm. The temperate was 34º today and the first really hot day for the season so it knocked us around a bit, as it does until you get used to it all over again.
Time to launch the dingy and go ashore for a nice, long, hot shower. Ahhhh … we feel human again. Back to the boat to relax.

Tuesday, 20th November 2012 - Brisbane River
The city cats started up around 5.30 sp that was the end of the real sleep although we did doze, on and off. They don’t finish running until midnight so the calm part of the night is short and sharp.
After brekkie Geoff put his bike in the dinghy and I collected all of the dirty washing together and we went ashore. Geoff left me to it and went off in search of a barber (his first haircut since leaving Bundy on 9th July).
I had just put the washing in the dryer when he returned. His haircut had cost him $27 as he couldn’t find anything cheaper. We got chatting to three other boaties that were ashore and found out there was a barber who charges $12 but, such is life. We had a really good chat about lots of things including how people fared with the floods down here, how we handled it on the Burnett River and boating disasters in general. Once the washing was folded and packed away we locked Geoff’s bike up and took it back to the boat. Time for some lunch and then we loaded my bike up and were off again at 2pm. We cycled down to the Eagle Street Pier where we caught the ferry across the river to Holman Street. Our first trip was down to the Dockside Marina to see if we could spot Rob’s boat ‘Dream On’. Yep, it was in the older canal section but was all locked up. From here we retraced our route and climbed up some steps and then rode up to the Cliff Café where we stopped for drinks and read their newspaper, as always. I checked out the Spiral Structure as I had not seen it up close before. Photo session!

Onwards and down some steps and then a short but very steep section where I made full use of my brakes. It was then along the river and past all the rock climbers and back to the ferry for the short hop across river. We were soon back at Garden Point Harbour and had covered 8 km on the bikes. Back onboard by 4pm for a cold drink and relax.

Wednesday, 21st November 2012 - Brisbane River
Awake early as the first city cat ferry thundered past. It is definitely less dramatic here than on the piles as we are anchored off mangroves which dissipates the wake whereas, on the piles it rebounds of the rock wall and back onto the boats on the piles
Geoff spent the morning editing photos on the laptop and finding out what buses we have to catch in the morning and I just fiddled around with other little things and didn’t do much at all as I relaxed, read etc. That is, until my guilty conscience kicked in and got me doing something useful.
After lunch the anchor chain did a bit of clunking and Geoff went to investigate. We couldn’t make up our mind whether we had dragged a tad so we decided to re-anchor anyway as the boat in front of us had left giving us a lot more room to play with. We made sure the anchor was really dug in and then headed ashore for a shower. We timed the dinghy trip and it took 10 minutes to the dock so we now know how much time to give ourselves tomorrow to ensure we catch the bus in time.

Anchored between two bridges

Thursday, 22nd November 2012 - Brisbane River
Up nice and early and we were heading ashore at 6.30 and then walking the next 10 minutes to the bus stop to catch the ‘City Loop’ bus to St George Station where we transferred to another bus and got to the Royal Brisbane Hospital at 7.35 am. Geoff’s first appointment was at 8am for an ECG and he was first off the rank and was done by 8.45 so we headed off for a coffee. At 9am he had his lung function test. 1 waited in the waiting room this time as I have seen all of this before. Then we went in to see the specialist. His ECG was normal but his lung function was a little down from last time but nothing to worry about, they said, as the machine has a built in fluctuation anyway and Geoff might also be having one of his off days. They said the test was fine for his age and seemed at ease with the results. They have left him on the low dose of steroids and, because the lung function test has not improved, have booked him in again in three months time. I think if it had improved we may have been on a 6 monthly check up.
We stopped in the city on the way back and bought some new bigger dice and headed towards the supermarket. On the way we passed the McArthur Building which housed the McArthur WW2 Museum. We had been past this building many times but had never noticed it but this time it had a sign outside advertising it. It was $3 entry for seniors so I told Geoff to go inside for a look as he is very interested in those sort of things and I would meet him in the supermarket. When he met up with me he said it was well worth the $3 to look around and see the office where General McArthur conducted the Pacific War from. It brought a lump to Geoff’s throat and changed his opinion of McArthur when he found out he was ordered to retreat from the Phillipines by the US president.
Back to the boat to have some lunch. Rob J rang at 3pm and is coming to visit by dinghy. Hope he has a powerful outboard. Well, bigger than ours anyway! So it was a quick tidy up, not that it was too bad. Rob dutifully turned up and had a beer and some nibbles and it was really good to catch up and, hopefully, we will catch up again before we leave or, maybe, Maroochydore, where he has bought a house.

Friday, 23rd November 2012 - Brisbane River
It was a lovely sunny day when we eventually surfaced. Just after 10 am we loaded the bikes up and headed ashore. We rode through the Botanical Gardens and carried on along the bike path that goes underneath the overhead expressway. Although it was not a scenic part of the bike track it was, nonetheless, quite interesting.

We were trying to get to the bridge which loomed high above us. Eventually we found a steep path up which we took, by instinct, hoping it would lead us to it. A short detour around the block which took us near the main Roma Street Station and back down to the pedestrian bridge over to the cultural precinct on Southbank. We stopped for a coffee, of course, and read the paper, also of course. There were heaps of people around, mainly Asians, and the swimming lagoons were adorned with many beautiful bodies. Southbank is quite unique as it has a beach type feel about the series of swimming lagoons with sand as their base. If you didn’t look up and see the city skyline you would think you were on a tropical island.
We continued on and crossed the Goodwill Bridge back to the other side of the river and headed back to Garden Point Harbour and a shower before heading back to the boat. The GPS said we had cycled 7.3 kms (a total of 131.8 kms for me since we left Bundy). We are anchored 740 metres upstream of the public jetty and when I got back I realised I had left my backpack in the ladies shower area. Bumms … so back in the dinghy to pick it up. Time to relax with a cuppa and play ‘Farkle’ and he beat me again.
Tony rang and said he had installed the new props but they have to come off again to be adjusted as the pitch is not right so that is another $80 each to get them fixed. He is now hoping to get away on Thursday. Poor B!
After tea we sat out on the back deck looking at all that was going on. This area is a very vibrant part of the river as the opposite bank is a fitness area. There are The Cliffs which are lit up by powerful spotlights at night and is a big area for rock climbing and abseiling.

There are also kayakers who paddle up the river in large groups and each person has a headlight on their helmet so this activity looks very pretty. On our side of the river you have groups of people riding, either their own bikes or the city ‘rentabikes’ and these bike headlights flash so, once again, is a pretty sight. Add to this mix the party boats which are festooned with their flashing party lights and the two large paddle steamers that are lit up like a Christmas tree and there is a lot to see. We sat out and watched for quite a while as it was a calm and balmy night and very enjoyable. Then it was a quick game of Farkle, which I won, and it was time for bed.

Saturday, 24th November 2012 - Brisbane River
I was woken by a noise nearby and it was a small boat anchoring but getting very close to us. They re-anchored further out and went over the river in their dinghy and then they were off again.
A bit overcast today. We couldn’t make up our mind what we wanted to do today and the weather looked a little iffy so we spent the morning revamping our charter article to submit to a British sailing magazine as one of the
Oz charter companies suggested this.
After lunch Geoff decided we would go ashore and catch the bus to the Milton Centro shopping centre which he had seen on Google Earth and which looked quite large. We waited at the ‘City Loop’ bus stop until Geoff noticed it said it didn’t run on weekends or public holidays so we walked up to Adelaide Street and caught the 471 bus. I got off when Geoff got off, of course, only to find it was a strip of shops and not a shopping mall and what Geoff saw as a roof on Google Earth must have been a car park. So we caught the bus back to the CBD. All we were after was one of those Chinese laundry bags which we use to cover the genny when we leave it out in the weather. Crazy Clarks didn’t have one, which was unusual, and all the other shops in the CBD were too up market to sell such a minor item. But, we did see a Nespresso store so went in to see what all the hype was about. It was filled with posh coffee machines and posh coffee and there was nothing we could afford and there were no 12 volt models anyway. Each tiny cup of coffee makes 40 to 110 ml and cost 68¢ a capsule which doesn’t sound expensive until you add up how many cups of coffee we/me drink in a day. I think it would suit Salpal down to the ground as she likes a good cup of coffee but I don’t think it would be in her budget either as plunger coffee would not cost anywhere near that price.
Quickly into Woollies for milk and cheese and then back to the boat by 4pm. By 6.30 music started up in the Botanic Gardens. I think there is a Harvest Festival, or something like that, on there. It was extremely loud but the bands were good . We closed all the hatches and put the genny on and watched a movie for the evening but you could still hear the music. But we can’t complain as it finished at 10 pm which quite surprised me.

Sunday, 25th November 2012 - Brisbane River
Another nice day and after brekky we headed ashore to catch the City Cat from Eagle Point to Newfarm. We topped up our ‘go card’ and boarded the ferry. This time it was my turn to stuff up as I thought the Newfarm markets were held every 4th Sunday of the month. When we got there - no market! When I checked in my journal later I found it was every 4th Saturday … duh! So now we are even.
We caught the City Cat back to Eagle Point and wandered around the weekend markets that are held there. But these markets are definitely arts and crafts which is not what I was after. So it was on to Woollies to get the fresh produce and meat etc in the hope we can leave here soon although there seems to be no southerlies in sight. It seems all the southerlies are at the top end of Fraser and the northerlies below this. We may have to take off in light NE winds to, at least, get to Bongaree on Bribie Island

Monday, 26th November 2012 - Brisbane River
A warmish night. After brekky we went ashore, had a shower and then caught the bus to the city and then another to Fortitude Valley and the Chinatown area. We were still after the Chinese laundry bag and knew if we couldn’t get one here then we wouldn't get one anywhere. We bought two different types at a huge cost of $1.50 each and then wandered in to a Chinese produce store and managed to get the Pansit Bihon Filipino meal mix we had been also looking for. We caught the City Glider back and bought some prawns to have with the Pansit Bihon and the December issue of the Cruising Helmsman as Geoff had a letter published in it.
Geoff spent the rest of the afternoon editing the charter article and getting the photos ready to send it all off and it is almost ready. Rob J was hoping to finish work early but his work load was bigger than he thought so he was unable to make it.

Tuesday, 27th November 2012 - Brisbane River
A warm but overcast day today. W have to decide what we are going to do as there are no southerlies in sight. We’ve been in the Brisbane River for nine days now. Geoff decided we would stay here today and leave tomorrow just to go somewhere different. So it was laptop time to finish off the article to submit to the UK sailing magazine and get it sent off. By the time this this was done half of the day had gone and Geoff said he needed to give his brain a rest. I then settled down the book ‘The price of life’ which is the story of Nigel Brennan, a freelance journo from Bundy who was kidnapped and led for ransom in Somalia for over a year.
We had lunch, played Carcassonne and I WON so he is now only one ahead of me!
It turned out to be another warm and sunny day in the end. We definitely need to leave here as the Cliff Café on the opposite bank of the river to us plays the same jazz music day in and day out and it’s getting repetitive and we jazz is not a favourite of ours anyway. So a ‘nothing to report day’.

Wednesday, 28th November 2012 - to the Gateway Bridge, Brisbane River downstream
A hot day already and very humid. We went ashore for a last long and hot shower and to dump the rubbish and then came back and had a cuppa whilst we waited for the tide to ebb. Just after 10 am we were up-anchored and on our way downstream. As we passed under the Storey Bridge a group of climbers on their way to the top waved so Geoff blew the air horn and I snapped them.

We caught up with Rob on the phone as we passed Dockside Marina and he said he was hoping to come down this afternoon, if he can.
We were soon anchored before the Gateway Bridge and watched the jets go overhead. Atmospheric conditions were such as they were showing a distinct vapour trail as they flew by. By 4.30 it was really humid and it looked like we could get a storm. I checked the radar and saw a cell coming our way but all we got was a couple of light showers and a phone call from Rob saying it was bucketing down and stormy up at Dockside so he wouldn’t be coming. Bumma but never mind, we will see him in Bundy when he takes a well earned break.
By the time we were ready for bed the rain was gone and the river was very calm.

Thursday, 29th November 2012 - To Bongaree, Bribie Island
Get up at 5.15 am to a lovely calm anchorage with no city cats thundering by and the airport curfew still in place.
We checked the weather forecast and it is still light N/NE winds and the observations were showing as very light so we up-anchored and headed out. It stayed light until about 11.30 and by this time we were only 30 minutes out from Bongaree. We even got a little (and I mean little) sail in on the way but it was mostly motors on all the way. The seas were flat and the day warm and it was an uneventful and comfortable trip. At least we don’t have to worry about whales this time of the year although there is always a lone straggler at times.
We passed the Bongaree jetty and think they may have added another arm since we were last here so will have to check our previous photos. Hey … the jelly blubber is still here, 5 months later! As we found a spot to anchor we noticed the Seawind cat “Katmando’ anchored. This was the cat that got taken out by a whale as they came up to Yamba. We yelled across and all seems to be well with the boat now. Cuppa time!
Just after 2.30 we took the dingy to the beach nearby and wandered into IGA to get a few supplies … where do all these supplies go? We seem to be forever shopping! Back to the boat where we eyed all the nasty dark scum along the hulls from the Brisbane River. Geoff couldn’t stand the sight of it so he stayed in the dinghy and scrubbed it all off whilst I found a home for the new supplies. Later we popped over to ‘Katmando’ and introduced ourselves. They were Mark and Pam from Mackay and we found out they had only just bought the boat, ex charter boat, from Pittwater in Sydney. They were just heading north when they had the altercation with the whale. They are happy with the repair job done in Yamba but still have to organise to have the hulls repainted as the Yamba yard didn’t have the same white tint and they said it shows. Mark said they had changed the boat’s name so, perhaps, that is why they had the bad luck to hit the whale. They are heading out early tomorrow heading for Mooloolaba whilst it is still light and we think we may do the same.
When we got back to the boat Geoff plotted a course and the GPS had a funny five minutes and wouldn’t import the route which got Geoff very frustrated (I had visions of the GPS going overboard) but he eventually got it working in the correct mode and it was off to bed.

Friday, 30th November 2012 - To Mooloolaba
Not a restful night as there were drunks onshore yelling and swearing right up to 2.30 when my alarm went off. YAWN! Get up and on our way by 2.40 am followed shortly by ‘Katmando’. It was a spring tide and there was a lovely full moon out and not a cloud in the sky and you could see the constellations of the Southern Cross, Orion, Canus Major and the False Cross shining above us. Lovely. We were soon passed by ‘Katmando’ who is, like most boats, faster than us. Suddenly we were passing large buoys on either side and then we saw more vaguely in the distance by the light of the moon. We kept and eagle eye on them as we presumed they were holding up fishing nets but we had no trouble. One the dawn had broken we saw that we were motoring through large patches of red algae bloom. Apparently it is everywhere and we have never seen it this far south as it is mainly in the Whitsundays where we have noticed it.
The wind was right on our nose but very light. This is why we left early to try to get to Mooloolaba before it gets stronger. Phone to have a chat to Martin and he and Salpal are at Bonny Doon in their caravan having a break. By 8.45 (and earlier than usual) the wind had picked up dropping our speed even slower, still we will get there eventually. We heard that ‘Katmando’ had arrived at Mooloolaba and we still have 90 minutes to go. We heard a ‘notice to Mariners’ about the entrance so went on the web to check co-ordinates etc about the sand spit shoaling and the dredge working. When we got to the entrance there was a police launch coming out so we just copied his course in and there was no dramas. We anchored next to ‘Katmando’ who have a marina berth booked from Sunday on.

Saturday, 1st December 2012 - Mooloolba

Up to a nice sunny day with the wind kicking in earlier than usual so we are glad we took the opportunity to make the trip up yesterday. Geoff said “what have you got planned for the day?. I bet he wished he had never asked as I said I really needed to give the boat a thorough clean. By 12.30 my cabin, the galley, the saloon and the head/shower area were spotless, even polished. I stillo had to polish the galley cupboard wooden surrounds. But it was time for a cold drink. Geoff tidied up his work area and then scrunched himself up into the coffin bunks to grease the steering ball joint mechanisms which was really hot work. Both of us were dripping by this time.

After lunch and the cold drink Geoff looked at the rudder connecting link which he says is showing some cracks and in need of replacing. He said it should be okay until we get back to Bundy but he has been keeping his eye on it for a while. He then took the rubbish ashore and then we had a game of Scrabble which I won and a game of Carcassonne that he won. What’s new?

Sunday, 2nd December 2012 - Mooloolaba

Another nice day with the wind kicking in early today. Bacon and eggs, of course. Dion rang this morning and we are meeting up for lunch. Maritime Saftey Qld also popped by stating the rules … 10 days stay max form transient only yachts (no live a boards) and no discharge into the water … all stuff we knew anyway. Looks like we have a southerly kicking in on Wednesday and Thursday but the annoying thing is that the winds are turning to E/NE in the afternoon so anchoring at Double Island Point will not be too comfortable unless they are light.

Mark, from ‘Katmando’ came over to say goodbye as they were off to the Mooloolaba Yacht Club marina for a month.

At 10.30 we headed over to the beach to meet up with Dion, Yui and the two kids, Luana and Ryan. We sat in the shelter in the park chatting whilst keeping an eagle eye on the kids (gee you lose them quickly). We then wandered into town and the boys went off to buy some cider and us girls went to order fish and chips, but shopping on the way. The boys turned up just as we were receiving our order so we wandered back over to the park to eat them. We sat and chatted some more before heading back to the boat at 2.30.

Monday, 3rd December 2012 - Mooloolaba

A nice day and still northerlies. We fiddled around in the morning doing a little bit of this and a little of that.

In the early afternoon we loaded the bikes into the dinghy and motored quite a way to the public dock on the southern headland. We rode the bikes out to the southern breakwater and spent some time watching the dredge working then continued UP the hill to Point Cartwright (pushing, I might add) and up to the lighthouse. We saw some big yellow buoys down below on the water which were the same as the ones we sailed through just out of Bongaree. Geoff asked a local what they were and found out they were shark nets. They must only be a deterrent as the nets do not go all the way to the surface otherwise we would have got caught up in them. Why wouldn’t the sharks just swim up the net and swim over them?

We also watched the pilot boat go out to pick up the pilot from a large tanker which had just left Brisbane, which was in the distance. All very interesting. Then it was ZOOM and down again to sea level where we stopped to chat to a group getting ready to go para-surfing.

Onwards to the Sunshine Yacht Sales at Lawries Boat Yard to chat about selling 2AB. There was a lady looking after the shop but she wasn’t really staff as the guys we off elsewhere. She said they sell a lot of boats that are situated elsewhere other than Mooloolaba. So we will have a think about it. A quick stop at the Kawana Waters Shopping Centre where we picked up a car shade for Geoff’s cabin, a new frypan for me and, of course, a few supplies. We also popped into the chandlery where Geoff bought a pressure can of expandable foam.

Back the way we had come to the public dock, 7.4 kms later and back to 2AB. Geoff then started squirting the expandable foam into the dinghy wheels. The idea behind it was that he could fill them with foam and he wouldn’t have to keep emptying the water. Good idea in theory but he overdid it and the foam kept expanding and oozing out. It was a mad rush to get an ice cream container to scoop the oozing mess off the wheels and into the container before it fell into the water. Geoff was annoyed with himself but he had never used the stuff before so wasn’t to know how much pressure to exert. Eventually it went off and stopped making a mess but them he didn’t have enough left to fill the remaining wheel which he will finish off later. Time to relax and play a couple of games.

Tuesday, 4th December 2012 - Mooloolaba

A morning for chores. After brekkie I got all the dirty washing together and we headed ashore to the laundrette. Whilst it was washing we popped up to Coles to pick up some frozen veggies etc to stock up in the hope we may be able to leave soon. I also bought some drops for my eyes as they have been playing up a bit lately. Back to the boat for some lunch and then Geoff went off to get some more water and I put the washing away.

During the afternoon a mob/herd/gaggle/flock … or whatever they are called… of butterflies fluttered by. I wondered if they had all just hatched from their pupa. Alas, not all of them were making it across the expanse of water as I also saw a few floating by.

At 4.30 pm the southerly change came through, lightish with a few little gusts. We had an early tea as we were debating whether to leave tonight and do an overnight passage to Double Island Point and over the Wide Bay Bar at high tide whilst we have the southerlies. At 10 pm we were still procrastinating as whether to go or not but just after that we bit the bullet and headed out with fingers crossed that the southerlies would stay with us. Three hours into the pasdsage the wind was from the west and very light, around 6/7 knots. There was an orange moon which led us to believe there may have been bush fires around. By daybreak it was still very light, then it died completely, but came back but still around the 6 knot mark.

Nothing to help us much but at least it is not on the nose. I sent Geoff of for a nap so he could be fresh when we cross the Wide Bay Bar which is never a task we look forward to as it goes on for such a long time and is called the ‘mad mile’.

Wednesday, 5th December 2012 - Great Sandy Straits

As I said, Geoff went to bed for a nap but only got about an hour before I had to call him to get the headsail in as it was luffing as the wind was very light and right up our bum. I find it hard to get it in on my own as I am not too strong in the arem department but I’m sure I would be able to do it in an emergency. Geoff also needed to pump out the holding tank before we got into smooth waters again.

When we got 5 nautical miles away from the first waypoint to start the crossing of the Wide Bay Bar I radioed into Caost Guard Tin Can Bay to log on and to confirm that the waypoints were the same as when we headed out in July/Aug. She said the report on the bar that it was flat and no breaking waves. Rippa … sounds much better than the washing amchine we had on our way south. Geoff had been trolling since dawn but, once again, no fish!

On with the life jackets and across the bar and it was as flat as a tack … nothing, wish it was always like that. We passed the first waypoint at 10.20 am and passed the last on at 11.05 am so, as you can see, it is a long crossing of 45 minutes and can often really live up to its name ‘The Mad Mile’.

Once we were safely inside it was open with the saloon hatch as the day had turned out to be a scorcher. We were soon safely anchored at Inskip Point before Tin Can Bay after a long, slowish passage of thirteen and a half hour passage covering 62 nautical miles. Time for a snack and a sleep, if it’s not too hot.

It wasn’t too hot as there was a nice breeze coming in the cabin hatch and we surfaced about three hours later. We relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, 6th December 2012 - To Kingfisher Bay area, Hervey Bay

I was up at 7am as I couldn’t sleep in anymore as we had gone to bed at 8pm the night before.

We were up-anchored at 9.45. “What’s that noise?” No noise, is what it is, in fact. The engines are off as we actually have enough wind and, because we are in the Wide Bay Harbour and heading towards the Great Sandy Straits, we have smooth water and a straight course for a while. The wind is on the starboard quarter and we’re doing 5.5 knots. The weather has turned decidedly summer-ish and Geoff has his T shirt off. Today is one of those days that register in your memory as the perfect sailing conditions. Bright blue sky, sparkling waters, warm day with a cooling breeze and not a jet ski in sight! What more could you ask for???????

As we got closer to Hervey Bay it looked like there was a bush fire on Fraser Island but it was on an adjoining small island. By 2pm we were approaching Boonlye Point dead on high tide and it is where the two tides meet. This meant that the tide would stay with us as it started to ebb northward.

Eventually we had to put the engines on as we had to turn into wind to enter the anchorage at Yankee Jack Creek and we were safely anchored at 2.40 pm. We had a great 6 hour sail which made a lovely change.

Late afternoon I though it would be nice to have a dip. Geoff was sent out to circumnavigate the deck ensuring there were no jelly blubber. We’ve seen so many this year, they seem to be everywhere. They do sting but not like the Box Jellyfish. Apart from their sting, I don’t really fancy swimming with them. Geoff reported there were none to be seen so in we went. The water was very clear and lovely and warm but the ebbing tide was quite strong so I hung onto the dingy or the swim steps to stop being swept away. Geoff managed to clean the inside of the boat log somehow and it was nice to cool off.

And then, after a perfect day, the sun slipped below the horizon as a large orange disc (made redder due to the nearby bush fire) and we both said “what a beautiful day”. It then got dark so on went the lights and we found we were in ‘bug heaven’. Such is life!

Friday, 7th December 2012 - to Moon (Moann) Point, Fraser Island

Up at 6.30 am as I was getting warm in bed. You can tell it is good weather as the sound of the Cicadas echo across the anchorage.

Geoff was still having trouble importing routes from the laptop to the GPS. He has tried everything and is now looking at a Garmin forum about troubleshooting. It is not a problem as we can run with the navigation software on the laptop but Geoff likes to follow the route on the Garmin GPS so he doesn’t have to keep straining his neck to look into the saloon. Also, what’s the point of having a marine GPS if it doesn’t do the job it was intended for? Mind you, it is getting old as it is now at least five years old and been in constant use.

We debated whether to stay at Yankee Jacks for the day or head off to Moon Point which would mean the wind and tide against us. It was forecast to turn easterly during the day so we decided we would head off and just be slow and motoring.

What a contrast it turned out be compared to yesterday’s perfect sailing weather. The wind and tide was definitely against us and then it started to drizzle. Did I say drizzle? Make that heavy rain, but just a passing shower.

We got to Moon Point just after 3 pm and the wind had not turned and had picked up making the anchorage a bit swelly. We just hoped it would calm down as the wind died, if it died. By the time we went to bed there ws no wind and a clam anchorage. Fingers were crossed it would stay that way.

Saturday, 8th December 2012 - to Wathumba Creek, Fraser Island

It was a reasonably calm night with just a tiny bit of rocking as the tide turned, and that was it. We were up at 7am and on our way by 7.45 so that we could take advantage of the tide which would be with us for about three hours. At first, the wind was on the nose but later changed a bit. The troll lines were in … ha … why?

It was bash, bash, bash for two and a half hours before the wind turned enough for Geoff to put the headsail up. The main was already up to help steady the boat a bit. The headsail was soon in again as the wind was fickle and couldn’t make up its mind which way it wanted to blow.

Wow and rippa … a Spotted Mackerel has just committed suicide by taking our troll line so we know what we will be having for tea tonight. The first fish we have caught on the trolling line in over 1000 nautical miles.

We anchored off Wathumba Creek at 12.45 to wait for the tide to rise some more. We anchored near a monohull and Geoff was just getting ready to go out in the dinghy to reconnoitre the entrance in (we had lost our previous track on the laptop, plus it it was a couple of years prior and these thing change) when the guy in the monohull came over to tell us he thought we were too close to him. Being as we were a good 50 to 75 metres away from he this was hardly the case. It turns out it was in relation to the amount of coast we could have anchored in along this stretch as he wanted his little patch of ocean to himself. One of these ‘loner’ types. Once he realised we had only anchored in this vicinity for the ease of entering Wathumba Creek, he was happy and we managed to get some information out of him on the way in to the creek. He was okay in the end, just likes his space, I guess. Maybe he likes to walk around naked, not that we’d be able to see anything from here. Before Geoff left, he started to make a bread which is rising as ‘I write this. He has now gone off in the dinghy to look at the entrance and I think he must have forgotten about it. He’s don all tha hard work so it will be easy for me to finish it off. He came back with a new GPS track and also said he had seen a humungous Giant Shovel Nose Ray of about 3 metres. He thought it was a shark at first.

We seem to have a colony of those teeny weeny ants that have taken up residence on the boat. I bet we got them from Evans Head as it is the last place we tied up anywhere. They are tiny - I seem to think they may be called Sugar Ants but I’m not sure. I have sprayed and sprayed but cannot find where they are nesting. The most annoying thing about them is that I occasionally get one walking in my ear, eyebrow or hair. They don’t seem to do it to Geoff so I keep looking everywhere at my head height and where my hair touches. Still can’t find the little B’s!!! They are not in plague proportions but they are annoying.

We up-anchored at 2.30 and followed Geoff’s new GPS track into the lagoon with just a metre to spare under us. We anchored in 1 metre of water with an hour to go before high tide with the tide dropping another 1.5 metres. We should have heaps of time to do what we want to do as she beaches. From today the tides are rising a little every days as we are past the neap tide and will be3 heading for a spring tide. This means it will be easy for us to leave at anytime during the next week or so. We got the dinghy down and tied off to the side so we could descend the swim ladder to get off the boat and Geoff put out a stern anchor so we didn’t swing around into the more shallower water.

There are two other cats in here with us. One nearby and one further down.

Sunday, 9th December 2012 - Wathumba Creek

The cat ‘Ozz Magic’was gone when we got up this morning. They must have left on the high tide and we didn’t hear a thing! No chain rattle, no engine noise, nothing!

I weighed myself this morning and there is another .3 kg gone. The loss is quite slow but I’m not complaining if it is down. That’s 12.5 kgs gone and I certainly can feel the difference in my fitness level (even if I don’t think it shows much). At this rate it will take another year before I am happy with my weight and then there is the task of keeping it off which I seem to be abysmal at!

Geoff has been a little busy bee. He has cleaned the Brisbane River mud off the antifoul. After five months he says it is still in very good nick., as it should be. He also gave the props a coat of hard antifoul paint as the prop speed, whilst still reasonable, just needed a bit of protection until the antifoul wears off. He then had a cuppa before it was time to go down and start polishing the hulls. It was slip, slop, slap and down we went. Geoff applied the cutting compound and cut it with the power polisher and I followed removing the excess compound as he went. I then put on the polish and he polished with the polisher and I went around after with a buffing cloth. It was very hot work and tiring for Geoff having to hold the heavy polisher up all of the time. It was done by 12.30 and “I went back on board to make up some lunch and Geoff had another go at cleaning the boat log as it has been showing some anomalies lately and he though there might be a little thingy growing on it.

By this time the tide was coming in so Geoff pulled the main anchor up as he wanted the boat to hold on the stern anchor so he could winch the boat into deeper water at high tide. We have decided to leave tomorrow morning at 5.30 on high tide as there are some really strong winds forecast. It is either leave here tomorrow and make for Bundy or get stuck here for another week as the strong winds are here for a while. As we want to get back for Christmas it is leave tomorrow.

At high tide we moved the boat into deeper water (we will still be aground at low tide).

We then went ashore to stretch our legs and chatted to some campers fishing on the beach. We walked over to the Hervey Bay side to the beach with the intention for going in for a dip. There was a fair amount of weed on this side so we wandered back to the dinghy and back to the boat, Geoff decided to go off in the dinghy for a fish and I went in for a dip off the back of the boat. Once again, the water was a clear aqua colour and lovely and warm and there was no hesitating when I got in. I had just got out when a jelly blubber floated by. Yuk … I was glad I got out when I did. Geoff came back empty handed and also went in for a cool off. It was then time to harvest his first ripe tomato from the seedling he had bought in Maclean on the Clarence River.

Monday, 10th December 2012 - To the Burnett River

We were up-anchored and off at 5.10 am following the other cat out of the creek entrance. We thought he must be a purist sailor as he had his spinnaker up in 4 knots of wind so we were soon passing him as we had our iron spinnakers working. As we passed him we saw it was ‘Charley’s Yarn’ who we had met once before at Burnett Heads when we all walked to the supermarket together. If we had known it was him we would have made the effort to go down and chat with him.

By 7.15 the Finnaker, sorry—Spinnaker was up and one engine was on. By 8.30 the other engine was off too. I rang the marina and there is a spot for us, which was great. Alas, by 10.30 the spinnaker was down as the wind became non existent but we had the consolation prize of a pod of dolphins coming by to say hello. By 11.30 the genoa was up as the wind had shifted to our port quarter and it looked distinctly like it was going to rain. Plus it is really hot and humid today.

As we went up the Burnett River we saw that Steve on ‘Phencara’ was anchored and had made it back from PNG, via Cairns. We looked but there was no sign of him.

We anchored at Rocky Reach at 3.45 amid a sudden heavy downpour which was very short lived but almost drowned poor Geoff who was up on the bow dropping the anchor. The last time we stopped here was on a borrowed anchor and rope and we were tied up to the mangroves after the Dec 2010 floods and I must admit, it brought back some not so pleasant memories.

Tuesday, 11th December 2012 - Midtown Marina , Bundaberg

Up at 6.30 and off at 7.15. As we were approaching the marina we saw Stan in the work boat and, once he realised who we were, came over to say hi. We asled if it was okay for us to take our old inside berth and he said it was fine. Nobody had told him we were booked in and we had almost rung him to confirm that he knew. We should have! He and Clayton from ‘Shining Light’ grabbed our lines and it was a really easy docking. Deb and the two woofs, Arnie and Barnie, came up to say hi and then Garry wandered up as well. We then finished off tying up properly, turned off the wind gen, connected the power etc. We caught up with Sam and Shirley on ‘Priority 1” and then went up to the office to pay 3 months rent and have a long, hot scrub under the shower. The boat needs a good scrub inside and out but we both need some relax time first. We then wandered up to the ANZ bank to change our credit cards over from a high yearly fee to the lowest yearly fee.
Onto Centrelink to let them know we are back and to get a rent form. Next it was IGA to pick up some fresh produce and then it was back to the boat where Steve turned up to say hi and bye as he was driving to Victoria this evening. We caught up on his trip to PNG and all the dramas that befell them this year. The new autohelm broke, the furler snapped, the sails ripped, their water tank split and the engine wouldn’t go into gear. Wow … I would be thinking twice about attempting the crossing again.

Maryanne also rang and said she had pulled a muscle in her back and was in a bit of pain. I told her we wouldn’t bother her for a couple of days and not to worry. Poor B.

Wednesday, 12th December 2012 - Bundy

Well, that’s the end of the interesting life for a while as it is now back to marina life for the next few months.

We got an email from ‘Clean Up Australia’ so we’ve already registered our site for the 3rd March next year. We will be starting at 8am to catch the low tide and hope to get a few volunteers from the marina this time. We left it too late earlier this year and did it all by ourselves.

After washing down the boat Geoff went off on his pushbike to see the Dental hygienist. I cleaned, sorted out the food stocks, pulled out my winter clothing for storage etc. Geoff came back and then Owen turned up with our mail so we spent a bit of time going through it all. Geoff’s new imate phone was in with the mail so he spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on his laptop getting everything organised onit that he wants.

Maryanne rang and said that her bad back turned out to be gall stones and she now has to go and see the specialist to see what she is going to do about it. Gall stones can be really painful.

I also rang the new office manager, David, at Wide Bay Volunteers and Geoff and I will go there tomorrow morning to meet up with him and see if he cam offer me some volunteer work, if he wants me.

And that was it for the day.

Thursday, 13th December 2012 - Bundy
Quite a busy day today. First up it was winch Geoff up the mast to put the good Saturn TV antenna back up. Whilst we were doing this Matt form ‘Osho’ came by to welcome us back. He came on board afterwards and we caught up on his news and chatted about the ‘’goings on’ in the marina whilst we were away. Lindsay also came to check on ‘Fiddler’ and stopped to say hi.
By this time it was time to head up for a shower and got changed and were off for our interview at Wide Bay Volunteers with David, who we kne3w from before, and Rhonda who was the new boss. We were with them over 90 minutes and Rhonda is eager for Geoff to come in and get some order back into the IT dept and give Ricky some backup. She also wants to install a receptionist/office person down in the IT department to
he take the pressure of Ricky as admin is not his forte. Plus she wants a mature female presence down there to curb the boys language and behaviour. This is where she is thinking of putting me. Hmmmm … it may be a bit of a challenge! She then gave us a tour of the place to show us what had changed and what she was hoping to achieve. When we got to the IT room we saw what she meant be getting it in order. Geoff had never seen it such a mess before. He is a little apprehensive about going back there as he doesn’t want to go there more than one day a week but it really needs someone there full time. We left with the arrangement that I would start back on the 7th January and work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
As we were leaving I got a call from the dentist saying they had a cancellation at 3 pm and did I want to take it. Yes, as I can get it over and done with. Back to the boat for lunch and then Ge0ff got my bike out and I cycled along the river walk and up to the dentist which was opposite the Hinkler Shopping Centre. Owen was in the waiting room as he had an appointment with the dental hygienist. He had mail for me and I read his paper whilst I was waiting to see the dentist. Once I was in with the dentist I found I had a cracked back molar so needed a filling. The dentist, Rene Basin, was one of the gentlest dentist I have been to. The needle didn’t hurt, the drilling didn’t hurt but it is still not an experience I relish. $218 poorer, but still much cheaper with the dental insurance health card - a filling and an x-ray. I left there with only a slightly numb mouth.
Onto the Hinkler Shopping Centre to see if I could find a pair of black, lightweight ¾ length slacks for work as my old ones have worn very thin and they don’t fit anymore. I went into Kmart and tried on a pair of size 18 pants and they were way too tight which was very disappointing after losing 12.5 kgs. I then went into Suzannegrae where there was a 30% sale on and tried on a pair of size 18. This time they were much too big so I ended up buying a size 16. Now I felt much better but which size is correct? I also bought myself some men’s long leg boxer shorts (how glamorous) as I wanted to wear them under a skirt as my legs chafe if I don’t were pantihose … now you all needed to know that, didn’t you? Wearing pantihose up here is out of the question!
Back on the bike and back to the boat the wrong way as I found the only hill in the CBD. When I got back I found I had missed Lindsay and Di who had visited for a while. Bumma … next time!

Friday, 14th December 2012 - Bundy
Up early as I kept getting cramp in my toes. I was soon heading up town to see if I could get myself a haircut. It was so crowded I went off to do a bit of retail therapy, small dollars wise, and then it was back to the marina. Geoff was getting frustrated when I got back as he was trying to sort out his Victorian gun licence. The gunsmith that was holding the guns in Victoria wasn’t answering his phone and had no message bank. When Geoff rang the Victorian Firearms section he had to go through a lot of automated rigmarole and then sat on the phone for 205 minutes before he got fed up with it and hung up. We ended up emailing them and got a reply later saying they had forwarded it on to the section concerned. So we put the email in a keep index, just in case. He then worked on the laptops for the rest of the morning trying to get the computer and the two imate phones to talk to each other. Not sure if he succeeded but he eventually went off to see Don on Dummaglas’ to fix his computer.
Of I went again to try to get that haircut and, once again, they were crowded so I wandered around Target and then went back and managed to get the woolly mop shorn at last.
Back to the boat and clean and polish the saloon … and Geoff never noticed!
I also managed to get a draft nutted out on Evans Head. Not such a large one this time but about three pages with photos. I just have to confirm some stats with the VMR Evans Head.

Saturday, 15th December 2012 - Bundy
Up before 7am as I couldn’t sleep. It gets light at 4.30 am as we don’t have daylight saving (sigh) up here in Qld.
Geoff decided to move the boat back to the end of the arm to see if we got better TV reception. No, but then we realised that the Saturn antenna and the mast USB plugs interfere with each other. Once we had unplugged the USB plugs all was well. Well, as good as it can be down here in the river.
Up for a shower before Owen was to pick us up. When he arrived he had Mia and Meggsy with him and once Mia realised where she was you couldn’t help but hear her as her howl echoed across the marina. Off to Kinghorn St for morning tea. Poor Maryanne is on pain killers at the moment to keep her gall stone pain at bay and she is just moving slow. We loaded up the microwave, crockpot and toaster into the car and they dropped us back to the marina on their way to Owen’s work Christmas do.
We fiddled around on the boat until I got my ‘A into gear’ and cleaned out the galley cupboards as things fall over when you are on passage and they were getting a tad sticky. I then went up the arm and got chatting to Trish and George on ‘Patricia Rose’ as they invited me on for a cuppa. They have a large black ketch which is 57 ft long. On the way back to the boat I got chatting to Lynne and Matt on ‘Osho’ and this is where Geoff found me. We were, once again, invited on and had sundowners. We left at 7pm and I was a tad worse for wear. We had soup for tea as I didn’t think I was capable of cooking. Bed really early as my head was spinning. That’s what happens when you have a drink after abstaining for a while. I’m sure it can’t be good for you!

Well, patience doesn't work as by the time Geoff had finished what he was doing it was too hot and too late to go. So I spent the day finishing of the article about Evans Head and sent it and the photos off for the magazine to peruse. (This day two years ago we had to leave the marina due to the floods … what a contrast).

Monday, 24th December 2012 - Christmas Eve in Bundy

No early morning noise today which was a blessing.

We answered a few emails and then I heard my name called and I went outside and saw it was Karen who I used to work with at Wide Bay Volunteers who had come to visit. I wandered up to let her in and we had a cuppa, or two, and I caught up on all the news. She knew we were back in town as she had seen Geoff on the news and she said he came over well.

After she left we had lunch and then popped up to IGA to get some last minute Christmas supplies.

At 4 pm Geoff got the bikes out and we cycled up to Grunske’s for a coffee. What is normally a 25 minute walk took just over 5 minutes. It wasn’t busy so we sat sipping our coffee overlooking the boats moored down below us in the river. Then it was time to cycle back to the marina. You could hardly call it exercise! We saw Gary and Deb sitting on ‘Femme’ so we went up to say a quick hello and then ended up on the black ketch ‘Patricia Rose, with George and Trish. It was late when we got back so it was a quick meal of Chicken Laksa.

Tuesday, 25the December 2012 - Christmas Day with the Sharwood’s and extended family

Up early to see if Santa had been. Of course he had as we had been very good during the year! So what did he leave me ,,, a new ebook reader (a Nook Glow), four new wine glasses, a $70 Rockman’s clothes voucher and a 12 volt USB connector for my cabin so that I can recharge my ebook reader and read at the same time. What a lucky girl! Geoff wasn’t complaining either. He got a new cordless Dremmel rotary tool, a monocular (which doesn’t focus so it is going back), 3 unusual beers, chocolates and some beef jerky. By 9 am I was making up the Waldorf salad and rolling the smoked salmon to take with us to Kinghorn St. Owen picked us up at 10.30 am. We were soon being introduced to Maryanne’s two sons, Barry and Adam, and Michael, Natalie’s hubby. We had met Natalie before when she had come up on a visit to Maryanne. Pressies for Mia and Meggsy and Mia even managed to open her present herself but little Meggsy hadn’t a clue! Gobble, gobble and soon gone. Lunch was pork, crackling, ham, salmon and salads followed by trifle which, I might add, of which Geoff had THREE helpings. We had a great day and all too soon it was time to go and Owen drove us back. Poor Owen had not touched a drop of alcohol all day because of us. I hope he made up for it when he got back!

My dad rang just as we were getting in the car to go back. It was 9 am in the morning over there and he was the only one awake. How can you sleep in on Christmas morning? Aren’t they still big kids? Dad was chatty … his day was just beginning and ours was about to wind down.

As Owen drove us back we went past the most magnificently decorated house and garden so it was … screech to a halt, jump out, take a photo … then we were on our way again. We were back just after 7 pm and then partook of dessert which was Maryanne’s delicious rum fruit cake. Beware of the scales over the next few days!!!!!!!

Wednesday, 26th December 2012 - Boxing Day on Fiddler 6, Bundy

I fiddled around for a bit and then made a potato salad and got some snags out to thaw. Up for a quick shower then onto ‘Fiddler6’ for a Boxing Day BBQ with Lindsay and Di and Sam and Shirley off ‘Priority 1’. Sam and Shirley are in their 70’s and have bikes and a tandem bike. It is nothing for them to cycle 70 kms in a day, and that’s often an easy day. Oh I wish! We had chicken shashlicks, snags and salad for lunch followed by mince pies, Christmas cake etc. Oh diet … where di you go? The time just flew by as we chatted and chatted and before we knew it the clock said 9pm. Great company and intelligent conversation. We were there from 11 am till 9pm, so therefore it was 10 hours. I bet Lindsay and Di wondered if we would ever leave! A very enjoyable day.

Thursday, 27th December 2012 - off to the ‘After Christamas’ sales

Terry was working on the boat in front of us again really early so Geoff had a quick, polite word with him so I think he will not start so early.

Maryanne picked me up at 9am and we headed off to Sugarland shopping centre. I managed to bet a pair of coloured denim shorts and three tops with my voucher which was great. There were also some other shops that had real bargain so I also got a skirt, a pair of black ¾ length slacks and another top plus a few other bits and pieces (not clothes). I was really pleased as it now means I have a reasonable wardrobe for work and it didn’t cost a fortune. Onto Spotlight where Maryanne was hoping to pick up a cheap Christmas linen tablecloth but they had all been sold.

She dropped me off just before lunch and walked back to the boat where I found that Geoof had been busy installing my 12 volt USB connector. He was only half way through it and left to get some wire to finish it. Hot work down under the mattress … poor Geoff! He also went online and ordered two covers for the ebook reader. One for me and one for himself as he says he is going to buy himself one.

And that’s all folks!

Friday, 28th December 2012 - Bundy

A little rain overnight. m Up just after 7am as Terry hoisted the sail up on the boat in front of us. Sigh! But at least it wasn’t 4am like he usually does and I suppose 7am is a civilised time. Later we noticed he had turned the boat around so that it is facing away from us.

We were having visitors today so it was time for a big clean up. These visitors were people Geoff had met online! They were a couple around about our age, Ashley and Annette, who were in the process of building/moving to Woodgate south of Bundaberg from Bellingen near Coffs harbour in NSW. They like to play board games so went on the website Games Geek to see if they could find anyone in the Bundaberg region. Geoff had recently joined this website so Geoff’s name popped up. m He got in contact but, at the time, we were away cruising, but he rang a few days ago to see if we were back as he only comes up now and again. We arranged for themto come to the boat at 2pm so we got our ‘A’s into Gear’ and got busy, busy, busy getting the boat really clean and tidy (as we do when we have visitors). I had finished about 11.30 so headed up for a shower and then popped up to Rivers to buy some sandals that were on special . These and my boat shoes are the only things I can walk a fair distance with (arthritis) and the sandals I bought when Jo and Mike were over were starting to look chatty (not bad considering that I were them constantly). Back to the boat for lunch.

We got a call on 2pm from Ashley and we went up to let them into the marina. We had a lovely afternoon chatting and learning to play ‘Lost Cities’ and ‘Dominions’. Anette got a call from her daughters and she later told us that her girls were horrified when they heard they were meeting with people they had only met online. They had arrange for Anette to ring them and if there was a problem she would incorporate three code words into the conversation. Good idea and I had never thought about it. So, as we are such wonderful people (sic), the code words were not brought into force. We then showed them Mexican Train, Gloom and Farkle and they already knew how to play Carcassonne and Citadels. We promised to catch up when they were next in town.

Thursday, 27th December 2012 - off to the ‘After Christamas’ sales

Terry was working on the boat in front of us again really early so Geoff had a quick, polite word with him so I think he will not start so early.

Friday, 28th December 2012 - Bundy

A little rain overnight. Up just after 7am as Terry hoisted the sail up on the boat in front of us. Sigh! But at least it wasn’t 4am like he usually does and I suppose 7am is a civilised time. Later we noticed he had turned the boat around so that it is facing away from us.

We were having visitors today so it was time for a big clean up. These visitors were people Geoff had met online! They were a couple around about our age, Ashley and Annette, who were in the process of building/moving to Woodgate south of Bundaberg from Bellingen near Coffs harbour in NSW. They like to play board games so went on the website Games Geek to see if they could find anyone in the Bundaberg region. Geoff had recently joined this website so Geoff’s name popped up. m He got in contact but, at the time, we were away cruising, but he rang a few days ago to see if we were back as he only comes up now and again. We arranged for them to come to the boat at 2pm so we got our ‘A’s into Gear’ and got busy, busy, busy getting the boat really clean and tidy (as we do when we have visitors). I had finished about 11.30 so headed up for a shower and then popped up to Rivers to buy some sandals that were on special . These and my boat shoes are the only things I can walk a fair distance with (arthritis) and the sandals I bought when Jo and Mike were over were starting to look chatty (not bad considering that I were them constantly). Back to the boat for lunch.

We got a call on 2pm from Ashley and we went up to let them into the marina. We had a lovely afternoon chatting and learning to play ‘Lost Cities’ and ‘Dominions’. Annette got a call from her daughters and she later told us that her girls were horrified when they heard they were meeting with people they had only met online. They had arranged for Annette to ring them and if there was a problem she would incorporate three code words into the conversation. Good idea and I had never thought about it. So, as we are such wonderful people (sic), the code words were not brought into force. We then showed them Mexican Train, Gloom and Farkle and they already knew how to play Carcassonne and Citadels. We promised to catch up when they were next in town.

Saturday, 29th December 2012 - Bundy

Hooray, the last day of eating three days of only protein to try to shift the weight I put on over the Festive Season. But, New Years Eve is still to come! Bumma!

A bit of rain overnight but the day dawned sunny so it was up to get the washing done. We both just fiddled around and Geoff went out for a quick bike ride whilst I fixed tea .

Sunday, 30th December 2012 - Bundy

Up just after 7 am and cook bacon and eggs for brekkie.

I weighed in after three days of protein and I am back to what I was before Owen’s birthday meal, Christmas Marina Get-together, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Now I only have New Years Eve to get through!

Just after 10 am Geoff got the bikes out, I was eyeing the weather as it was very windy and I knew we would get a strong headwind at various times on the route. We cycled up to the old traffic bridge to cross the river and then along the back road parallel to the river where we saw the Railway Museum (never knew there was one!) which opens Tuesdays, Friday and Saturdays so we took a note for another day. On to the Botanical Gardens where we stopped at the 1928 Café for a drink and a rest. We then cycled around the top lake and through the Japanese Garden and past Ferrymead House where we checked the entry price. It was $4 per adult so we also left that for another day. Two extra places to visit on the bikes.

On the way back we had a strong head wind so it was a hard slog. At one stage Geoff’s phone, which I didn't hear of course, and he suddenly stopped and I ploughed right into the back of him. Ouch! It was Matt on ’Osho’ who said he was 6 nm out from the leads of the Burnett River and it was gusting 35—40 knts out there. Rather him than me! He would be back in the marina within a couple of hours so we headed back for some lunch. ‘Osho’ arrived around 2 pm and there were heaps of people to grab ropes and keep the hulls away from the dock in the strong winds. Matt did an excellent job in the limited space and was soon docked happily.

Up for a shower and then a game of Carcassonne to see if I could catch up before the end of the year but he won so that is the end for me.

Monday, 31st December 2012 - Bundy, New Years Eve

This morning Geoff pulled the Air conditioner out and had a look at the swaging mechanism. The offset pin on the shaft was broken and he was able to fix it so it is working well again … nice!

We were having visitors for New Years Eve so I went up for a kilo0 of king prawns. Dearer because of the festive season at $29 kilo when we used to pay $12 but never mind. Back to the boat to tidy up a bit. Maryanne, Owen and the two woofs arrived just before 5 pm bringing with them 2 kgs of cooked crumbed chicken wings from a local butcher (Zac’s). Don and Vicky arrived just after 5 pm with cold meat, cheese and biscuits. I put out the prawns and yum cha (yum cha was a bit dry) so we nibbled, drank and chatted the night away. All six of us are ‘bah humbugs’ when it comes to staying up to see the New Year in, getting too old for that, so the evening finished at just after 8pm. Geoff had not been feeling 100% so he was s0on in bed but I stayed up on the laptop till 11pm. Chatted online on Facebook with my sister in the UK, which was nice.

Of course, we were both awoken at midnight by illegal fireworks going off around the area. Geoff got up and let off an ‘out of date’ parachute flare and could hear people across the river calling out for another one. One was all he had so, sorry folks! See you in 2013

2Abreast in 2012

Saturday, 10 November 2012

November and December 2012

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