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We slept like logs but I'm sure the bed was moving. Spent the day emptying out the rest of the boat, washing and putting things away. The boats waterline slowly increased as more stuff came off the boat - so much stuff not used :) It wasn't all mine either. We are really glad to be home. Thank you for following our holiday - we loved sharing the experience with you all. Last day in Yamba so we went for a walk to check the bar again (we seen a large motor boat going out), up to the lighthouse, down into town and then to the Yamba Museum. I found school photos with my dad (Colin Hardy) and Aunty Pauline (Pauline Hardy) and Uncle Booch (Raymond Hardy). That made the museum not so ho hum. I do love seeing old photos of men in their suits at the beach or fishing, it fascinates me. We went out for lunch which was nice and on the way back ran into Ian & Apples (Liisa) - it was their boat that Trev helped with connecting the furler. Apples works as a physio in Yamba. Organised a massage for later in the afternoon. We went back to the boat and remembered that we still had to get fuel so walked down to the local BP service station. It was 49 cents per litre cheaper than the marina ($2 per litre) - well worth the walk. At this stage we plan to go through to Coffs Harbour Thursday and then the Macleay on Friday. We took another look at the weather forecasts for the next few days and it was predicting Gale force winds for Friday. So we did our homework and decided to leave Yamba on the high tide at 12 midnight and go straight through to the Macleay. We didn't want to be out in any gale force winds or stuck in Coffs Harbour for who know how many days. I went to let Apples know what we decided and put off the massage but decided to do it anyway. Steel Fingers has nothing on this lady. She found all the nasty spots - I don't go in for the feel good massage it has to be one that loosens up the tight achy muscles. I learnt a few techniques for relieving headaches and back ache. So grateful for her expertise. We had a light dinner and then into bed at around 8:30pm hoping to get at least 3 hours sleep. I know I had an hour or so of good sleep. Trev actually woke me. He hadn't gone to sleep at all - it was 10:30pm - I was all set to roll over and go back to sleep until he spoke. Turns out he had been laying there playing out the bar crossing in his mind over and over. We decided to get up and get going then. It was slow going out of the marina because it was so dark due to being overcast. The one thing that I had prayed for was moonlight but it wasn't to be. Once in the main river we headed out over the bar. We decided not to short cut around the southern wall because we couldn't see if there were and breakers - We headed north and then once passed the breakers, we could sort of see, we then turned and headed south. The sea was quite calm, the swell was a metre or so but far enough apart to be pleasant enough. The problem was navigating. Our compass doesn't have a backlight and so everytime you shone the torch on it you lost your night vision and every time Trev checked the ipad the same thing would happen. We could see a glow on the ocean ahead that we knew wasn't land and it was in the general direction we were to head so that became our point to aim for. Once we got close to the glow it turned out to be 8 trawlers working along the coast beside each other. When we were passed the trawlers there was a break in the clouds and I had 3 stars to navigate by for a fare while and just before the clouds covered those we picked up the light from the lighthouse on North Solitary Island. So no moon was provided but everything we needed was and I was super grateful. Night sailing is not my favourite thing to do. I had a bit of a nap because Trev couldn't sleep - too stressed - and I was getting a bit noddy. By daybreak we were not quite off Coffs Harbour and the seas were still calmish and the swell was the same. We reached to the Macleay entrance around 11:15am and watched the bar for a while. Every now and then there was white water right across the bar and then nothing for ages. So we were hoping to time it right but as things go when we were nearly there was 3 or 4 waves in front of us that all broke plus the one we rode in. I never look behind me because I reckon I'd freak out too much - most of my sailing is done on the feel of the boat, not by looking at the swell or whatever is coming. The one we rode in on though, I had a quick glance over my right shoulder and nearly shit myself, it was breaking too. I just wished we had someone on board to take a picture. But with both of us fully concentrating, sitting on the edge of our seats, me hanging off the tiller and Trev with his hand on the throttle we were totally concentrating on staying the course and getting across the bar, there was no time for pictures. No major dramas and super glad to be back in the Macleay River. The next thing was to lower the mast. I hate this bit. This bit stresses both of us. First we have to remove the boom and place it down on the side on the beams, then rig up the ropes to lower the mast. Lowering the mast is so stressful because if something snaps or gives way she would make a pretty good mess of the boat. So once it's down in its cradle some of the stress goes but with so much of the mast hanging out the back the last thing you needs is a tinny to zoom by. The wind had also picked up which added to the stress levels. We motored up the river and as we went to dock things didn't quite go to plan and I can laugh about it now (not sure Trev would) but somehow he ended up taking a swim off the pontoon - he got out the end where there was no non-skid and slipped, sat and rolled off the side. It was kind of slow motion. Once docked we had to raise the mast again and put the boom back on. Once that was done we could relax and decide what we were going to take out of the boat and what could stay until tomorrow. We showered and went to go to town in the landcruised but the batteries were totally dead. We had to borrow Cecily's car (Trev's Mum) to town and to Lou's café for roast beef dinner and then grabbed some groceries. Home, unpacked and into bed. Been a very looong couple of days with few hours of sleep. (11pm through to 7pm - 20 hours - that's just the sailing and unpacking). Monday 10th November Up at 8am - NSW time now - had brekky and did the laundry - Hopefully this will be the last time I use a Marina laundry for this trip. I sat an relaxed and read while the washer and dryer did their thing. Trevor went back to the boat and remade the bed and dinner (lamb stew in the shuttle chef). There's not a great deal to do, so once we put the washing away and downloaded Hell on Wheels which we watched while we had lunch, we then went for a walk out to the break wall and checked out the entrance, walked up to the lighthouse, down into town and back to the marina. We saw something amazing from the break wall. There were what looked like hundreds of stingray all together - Trev figured they were mating :) - they were working up and down the break wall. We spoke to a couple of fishermen and they were having trouble finding a spot to fish without catching the stingray. We had a reasonably early night. Still feeling a bit wiped out from the long day. We initially intended to go onto the Macleay today but the Southerly change would have met up with us before we got there and the tide would have been wrong too. So we have decided to sit the southerly out at Yamba till Thursday. We will then go through to Coffs Harbour and then Friday head for the Macleay and catch the incoming tide. Tuesday 11th Trev was up and disappeared - found him helping a young fellow attach his new furler - took a while to get it to fit - adjusting this and that - eventually got it in place and a part went plop - guarantee that when you are working on a boat there will always be something that goes overboard. Not much else happening today - catch up here on the blog - having trouble with downloading the photos off out cameras so not sure what the go is there, will sort that out later and put them up. We will probably go for another walk later, do a bit of reading and enjoy the last couple of days of relaxation because once we get home there will be plenty to do with emptying the boat and giving it a clean. Then it will be the houses turn with everything dumped inside and having been away it will need a bit of attention too. Bit sad that our holiday is nearly over. Up at 1:30am and going out over the bar at 2am. We had SW breeze - that was very slight and at some stages non existent. It was a reasonable flat sea which I was thankful for - sailing in the dark isn't one of my favourite things to do. We had 3 hours of moonlight sailing - fail to see the romantic in it - don't waste your money. The bait fish were busy feeding and chopping the water everywhere - no birds or larger fish eating them, they were just feeding. So many of them. The breeze picked up later in the morning and swung around to the E/NE and that helped get us to Yamba earlier than we thought. Took 13 hours - It was a long day. I felt a bit oozy today with the smooth up and down. Give me the rough stuff. The trip took the sass out of both of us. After we walked into town for $10 1/2 chicken and vegetables - which we shared - It was shower time, one TV show and off to bed. Slept like babies. So nice and peaceful in this marina. Had a good sleep & a lovely relaxed morning (NOT) with boats and jet skis roaring past the boat - realised we were anchored just out from a boat ramp. Oh well. We went ashore and met up with Nick, Emma & Hunter. Hunter is a busy little boy - just wants to go exploring everything. He reminds me of Nick - he sits for a while and observes everything and then off he goes. There's something about little boys and putting their fingers in holes. Hunter found holes in the framework of the picnic tables and put his finger straight in the hole. He kept me entertained with his many faces - bit of a character. We had lunch and Nick took Trev to get some fuel - saved us a little boat trip and lugging the fuel from a service station on the main road. Had hugs and they were off home and we were back to the boat. Checked out the weather for Sunday and had a nap. The thunderstorm in the night was a good one - had a bit of rain and plenty of wind. We left Peel Island about 8am - had a bit of a lay in. With the wind dying off allowed for a reasonably good sleep. A few extra boats had joined us at some point in the night. We motored down the inside channel to the Gold Coast and check all the canals and houses. A lot of money tied up in both houses and boats out the back. So many boats, they are everywhere. All sorts and in all sorts of conditions. We got down to the Gold Coast around 1pm, anchored across from the food places and park at the top end of Marine Parade (I think that's what it is called). It was an very entertaining place to anchor - plenty of water craft zipping about. We had dolphins come visit. They were chasing little fish around and under our boat. We had a relaxed afternoon. Looking forward to catching up with Nick, Emma & Hunter tomorrow. Photos to come We had a reasonable night sleep to start with. Water slapping under the boat as tide went out - wasn't too bad. BUT at 3:10 the first boat went past to go fishing and there were others and then at 5 there was a couple of outriggers or scull boats loaded with women and the one on the back doing her little yell thing to keep them in time. Mooloolaba has water canals and it's like everyone has a boat of some sort and instead of jumping in the car and going for a drive they jump in their boat. Too funny. We had a smaller trimaran motor past with his main up and only minutes later he comes motoring back. We were out of Mooloolaba at 6:30am with the light wind from the NW. (Predicted wind was to be E/NE but we didn't see that. We motor sailed - the ocean was as calm as, even in the shipping lane into Brisbane we wallowed along. Jelly fish came and went. You felt them before you realised they were there. The rudder bumps around with them hitting into it and the motor sounds different when it has a chomp on them. Beautiful day - I don't want to go home yet. The weather has been quite pleasant - until lunch there wasn't much wind but it picked up and we got to go a little faster. Towards the end it was pretty rough *** Right in that area Nick where you, Dad & Phil had your mishap with the furler. Not AS rough but nearly. As far a nature goes we saw one loan dolphin, jelly fish and No whales. (Haven't seen a whale since Lady Musgrave) Peel Island's anchorage is a little jiggly but nothing compared to some of our nights. Supposed to come in quite windy tonight - we are already getting what they predict for later on. Coming to the conclusion that you add around 8 knots to Willy Weather and it will be more like what you are going to get. Trev did dinner earlier today and popped it in the Shuttle Chef - looking forward to Chicken wings in soy with vegies and rice. Got up at 4:30am to find that the wind was blowing from the SE but it was light and expected to go to the E/NE so we prepared to leave Inskip. There were a number of other boats anchored at Inskip but none seemed to be going until we went past them all and started heading out. We seen that a small yacht with an older guy on it had headed out earlier. The first bit of the trip (Inskip to Double Island Point) was sloppy & rough. At one point the swell was like riding a roller coaster - cross between a woohoo and a scream as we went down one side and up the other. There was plenty of spray - something Phil must surely be missing if nothing else. :) We seen plenty of dead cuttle fish ( those things you pick up off the beach for the budgie) Got to Mooloolaba at around 1 pm. Had already booked our Marina berth and it was so easy to dock - Just like home - plenty of room. We checked the place out, got our key to the gate and facilities. Found where we were to get fuel, Trevor went and got that sorted while I did the laundry. We then walked and walked a bit more to find Coles and bought groceries and taking a different track back found a taxi who was very kind and dropped us right at the gate to the marina. Too easy. We had showers which were like any shower on this trip - fantastic. Great to be able to just stand there and waste water and the shampoo gets totally rinsed out. We went to the Mooloolaba Yacht Club for dinner. Totally recommend the food it was delicious, good price and plenty of it. Friday 31st Up and pumping yabbies to go fishing. Sand flies were atrocious but good old Avon Bath Oil & Water to keep them at bay. We caught 192 whiting. Took over an hour for the 3 of us to scale, fillet, bone & bag them. These Phil & Gail took home with them - so if you want a feed of fish just give Phil a call. :) Emma phoned when she arrived at Inskip and we packed Phil & Gail's bags in the inflatable and putted over to the beach and met up with Emma & Hunter. Back at the boat and things were a bit quiet. Miss them already. Saturday 1st November Had a relaxed day today. Slept, ate, read, looked at other boats. Sunday 2nd November Trev & I pumped yabbies and went fishing again - we got our bag limit each of 50. Bagged most of those to bring home. The weather is turning bad with a southerly coming through so we loaded up the inflatable and battened down the hatches. We put up a cover over the cockpit to give us dry access to the main cabin which worked well. The storm came through just on dark. Monday 3rd November Not as bad a night as we thought it could have been - boat did all the right things even with tide changes. The weather here is overcast and a great day to lay about watch a bit of telly and catch up on the blog. Hopefully get a bit more fishing in tomorrow. We are looking at the weather for the week and think that we will leave Inskip maybe Wednesday or Thursday and head to Mooloolaba. Thursday 30th October-I still have to do the photos. I will work on them now..... What a glorious night. I don’t think I have slept so good in years. It was so still and quiet. Poor Gail has more bites that kept her awake and itching. We all had brekky and then Trev, Phil & I went and pumped yabbies. Back to the boat to fix up a few reels and then off fishing. We literally caught a bucket full. 139 whiting. They were either taking our bait or jumping on the hook as soon as it hit bottom. Back at the boat – I scaled them, Trev filleted them and Phil took out the bones. Gail always seems to have a rest day the days they are biting like crazy. After lunch everyone went into relax mode on Facebook or napping (or blogging) and listening to music. So relaxing. We are losing Phil & Gail tomorrow. It will be sad to see them go - we have had a great time and lots of laughs. Bit sad about the fishing but that's how things go sometimes. Emma is coming up to Gympie to do a Norwex party and then coming out to Inskip to pick Gail & Phil up. Phil is wanting to head home and get things happening with flooring and the likes so that it all happens before Christmas. Their new kitchen will be going in on Tuesday which will be exciting. Not sure yet if Gail is going home to do a bit of cleaning up or staying with Nick, Emma & Hunter, given that she has no kitchen to go home too. We still have 5 weeks left of the time we planned to have away. Just not sure how long we will stay here in Inskip but that is the plan for the next week. Looking forward to just winding down again, fishing, reading & eating. Wednesday 29th October Another horrendous night on the marina at Bundy. A storm came through that lasted for hours, so with that and all the other noises that go with this marina berth plus rain we got an early morning instead of an early night. With no boom cover or covering over hatches we were shut in with no ventilation. Us in the aft cabin and Phil & Gail in the V Berth we all damn near suffocated. Every time the rain eased we had to open up to get some air. It was early morning when the storm finally passed and the wind died down and we all go a little bit of good sleep. We were up at 4:30 – to go to the marina loo and could hear voices and with a little investigation found it to be Gail & Joseph off monohull ‘Leibling’. They had backed out of their marina berth and got stuck in the silt (mud). Joseph is a German and all you could hear him say was ‘shyster’ and yelling to Gail to give it full throttle. Every time Gail went forward the back of the boat would move sideways towards another yacht parked in the marina. Trev had to jump on that yacht and fend them off as they went forward to get them out of the mud. They were extremely grateful. With them off and on their way to Fraser Island we went back to our boat to see how we were going to get out of the spot we were in before any breeze came up. With a few ropes and Trev using them to turn the boat a little at a time we motored out without any dramas except I thought Trev was cutting it a bit fine to jump on. It was 5:20am by the time we were going out of the Bundaberg entrance. It was as flat as a tack. Just how I like it. WooHoo we were out of that hole of a marina. It was a long uneventful day with sightings of a couple of turtles and that was it. We were going to stop at White Cliffs in behind Fraser but with the tide taking us we decided to keep going to Inskip. Bit of wind against tide and it got a little rough towards the end but nothing we haven’t already experienced. We got into Inskip around 4:30pm – up into our anchorage, showered after having salt water splashes – Phil always seems to end up the wettest. Trev had made Lamb stew earlier in the day and put it in the Shuttle Chef, so we had a lovely hot meal for dinner. In our anchorage are people on a catamaran that we met in Gladstone marina. He was a High School teacher. Can’t remember their names. You meet so many people. It’s been really nice to make friends with some of them. The laundry at marinas is the best place to meet people. You’re there for what seems like hours doing the laundry. I met another lady Anne – off a catamaran ‘Chances’ – her and her husband were big into fishing. They had caught a GT and coral trout and Mackerel. Gail & I got her to show Phil the pic of the GT – That’s one of the fish that Phil really wanted to catch this trip. Then there was the ‘old’ Fabio look-a-like (bit creepy) You definitely get to meet all sorts. :) Monday 27th October & Tuesday 28th We set off fairly early out of 1770. A tinny was fishing right in the middle of the narrow inlet and had to move out of our way. It was a rough as guts – all I can think is that it was a hot fishing spot. Once we turned to go with the wind everything settled down a bit. We had a pretty boring first half of the trip and then we had dolphins come and play at the front of the boat. Got a bit of footage of them. Then the wind started to pick up and we had to half furl the jib but still hootin’ along. The sea was a bit rough and when we got to Burnett Heads the tide was running out and it was quite a bit joggly/rough. Finally in and then we find out that the place they wanted us to park was between 4 posts and then turn along the wharf. Wellll!!! My love for marina’s just took a further dive into the negatives. They were hopeless when it came to fending the front of the boat off the marina and the 4 posts we had to go through gave us clearance of ? not much. With the wind up our date (dairy air just doesn’t cut it this time) going in between the posts forward with the motor in reverse and Trev singing out to slow it down I was a little anxious to say the least. We scraped a bit on the posts on the starboard side. Phil reckons it will buff out. Finally tied and I sure could have had a drink – not water either. BIG question is “how the hell do we get out of here now”? After everything settled all we could do was laugh. We are here to stay a couple of days and the wind in the halyards and the creaking of the marina ramps and the slapping of the water because we are sitting side on to the wind and its blowing right down the marine alley way between the wings onto the side of our boat means we are not going to get restful sleep here. The only comfort is that the boat isn’t going anywhere and we got the washing done, had showers and went to IGA and stocked up with groceries. We went out for dinner last night. Had stir-fry for lunch today and we are all thinking that we won’t be overly hungry for dinner tonight and we haven’t eaten the Mackerel yet. So can’t let you know if it was worth the wait. Sunday 26th October Left Pancake Creek around 8ish and went out to catch a fish on the trawling lines. We went out between rocks that were offshore. We picked up a spotted mackerel – good size. Phil pulled it in, Trev bled it & filleted it, Phil skinned it. Trev went to rinse the blood off the boat and got a couple of buckets of water before he lost the bucket. Then in the water we saw a sea snake swimming towards the boat. Not my favourite creature on land or at sea. After we anchored in 1770 we watched the boats around us for a while doing all kinds of antics on their anchor chains. One in the middle was doing big donuts around. Once we figured out that we weren’t going to run into anyone we went for a boat ride to shore and had lunch at a café. Hamburgers – they were huge and extremely filling. We were so full. We went for a walk up to see the Captain Cook Monument and then out to the headland about 5 km all together. We were here 26 years ago and there were only a couple of homes and a caravan park and a corner store. Now it has homes everywhere and is quite touristy. There used to be a huge monument out on the headland but that wasn’t there this time and there was an old tree that had had years of being wind-blown and grew leaning over but it was gone too. We came back quite weery. The wind hasn’t died off at dark so we think we are in for a blowy night. Saturday 25th October – Hunter’s 1st Birthday Great sleep – no sand flies last night with the coils and also we sprayed the fly screens. We phoned Hunter for his birthday and he was busy eating his breakfast. He’s a little lover of food. We all went for a walk up to the lighthouse and to Jenny Lind Creek lookout, which was really pretty – all up we walked about 6 ½ km – we were exhausted by the time we got back. Our (Gails and mine) calf muscles really felt it. The path way was mostly soft sand and up-hill so the leg muscles got a good workout. We visited the cemetery on the way up and they now have volunteers giving tours of the lighthouse and a museum in one of the houses for $10 per person. We were allowed to check out a little shed that had information in it which was really interesting. We had lunch and a bit of a rest and then Tony and Claire came over for drinks and brought snacks as well – which was really lovely. We had a great chat with them. Gail’s bites have finally stopped itching but still quite evident. Friday 24th October Up at 4:30am and left by 5:10am. Into Pancake Creek around 10ish and we had a late breakfast. On the way here we saw 17 or 18 ships again and a tug towing a barge with something huge on it – something to do with the Gas plants. They are apparently built in the Thailand or somewhere like that. That was kind of the highlight of the trip. Trev & Phil have gone to try their hands at fishing – whiting hopefully. Gail & I are reading. Tonight’s dinner in the Shuttle Chef – Mince & Vegie stew in one pot and self-saucing pudding in another. Hopefully we will have fish for tomorrow’s lunch. No Luck with the fishing but we did meet Tony & Claire – 27ft Farrier Trimaran – Intriigue. They gave us some mozzie coils for the sand flies which we were super grateful for. Wednesday 22nd October We had a bit of a sleep in this morning. Gail is covered in sand fly bites and spent her night scratching. We tried the hot spoon and it worked for a while, then we tried anti-histamine and some itchy bite cream we had in the first aid kit so we will see how they work. After we had our showers and breakfast we went for a walk to find a grocery store. We encountered sprinklers that were spraying the footpath and it was a little challenge to not get wet. We had to walk about 10 blocks the first bit was flat, and then up a steep hill and down the other side and back again. If nothing else we are getting our exercise here. The tides are huge – the picture shows low tide – high banks, how I remember Gladstone 26 years ago when we sailed up the coast with my sister and brother-in-law (Brian & Linda). We were in trailer sailers and sailed from home to Gladstone. Brian & Linda lost their mast the day we sailed out of Gladstone which meant we had to come back to this marina and we stayed for about a week. They managed to get their rig fixed and went on to Airlie Beach and we bought a trailer for the boat – had Trev’s mum bring up our 4WD and towed it home. Why don’t we have a trailer??????? Just kidding. We are looking forward to fishing in the creeks on the way home and sharing a few of the places that we have previously been and experienced with Phil & Gail and then probably spend a week back at inskip to fill up the fridge/freezer with whiting before heading home. It will most likely take a week or more to get back to inskip especially if we stop off at Scarborough to see Nick, Emma & Hunter. Hunter is one year old on Saturday 25th. 3 days away. He is such a cute little character. Some to the videos Emma has sent us has had us in stitches. (Gail & I) Tomorrow will be uneventful with the usual fuel up and fill the water tanks and do the laundry so won’t bore you with all that. My next report will be when we get to Pancake Creek if we have reception there. Love to our families. xx Tuesday 21st October What a night. One of the calmest, stillest nights you could get and we got EATEN ALIVE BY SAND FLIES. Checked the weather because we definitely weren’t staying another night in Barker’s Creek. Weather not favourable to go north and so it was unanimously decided to head back to Gladstone and wait the southerlies out. The northerlies hit around Friday arve and we are going to start and head back south. It was a bit of an eventful morning. The rudder hit down and we did a sheer pin which is what is meant to happen but you then have no steerage. Trev stood on it to weigh it back down while Phil got the new sheer pins and spanners out and we were right again. Coming closer to the marina it got extremely rough with wind against tide and the joggle of the water coming back off a couple of ships that were loading up it was very rough and the boat did a bit of slamming and we got a little wet from the spray that that caused. Phil wise words were “we just have 2 boat lengths to go” - ship boat lengths that was and then some. It was really nice to hit the calm protected waters of the marina entrance. So for the next few days we will be in Gladstone and there won’t be much to share with everyone except what we have for dinner. :) We will let you know when we are moving on – At this stage Friday morning if the northerly comes in and we will be heading to Pancake Creek. Hopefully we can catch a fish or two up that creek. I was half tempted to put yesterday’s pictures in reverse. (giggle) We found out that there are 3 separate gas plants on the island - owned by different companies. I popped a few extra pics for you to check out. One month since we left home – ‘Yes’, we are all still good friends. :) We left Gladstone early and arrived at our new location at around 9:30am – Barker’s Creek. The first pictures below show the ships as we left Gladstone marina and then the others are the Gas processing plant that is still under construction on Curtis Island. The Cattle Crossing is the yards. There apparently were 3 cattle properties on the island and these yards and the crossing has been part of Gladstone’s history. There will only be one more crossing with cattle and that is early next month. The land is now either national park or the Gas plant. There’s not much to see except mangroves and mud but this is our new location for today. If there is no fish then we will be moving along. The fishing lines were in the water as soon as the tarp went up. Nothing much biting though. Seen something that created big swirls but it was a while before Phil caught a shark – it took his hook before he could lift it and get a photo. That was all too much and we all had a nap then lunch and then Trev & Phil put the inflatable in and went further up the creek to see what they could do about catching dinner. I will let you know if it was a successful trip or if we will be having chicken stir fry for dinner instead. It wasn’t to be, to have fish dinner. There were plenty of tiddlers taking their bait (1/2 a packet of prawns) – Trev did catch a Spotted Javlin Fish/Grunter Bream but it was undersize and a Mangrove Rock Cod. Phil caught a toad and another fish as well, all undersize. We watched a few TV shows in the afternoon and had a nice relax - gave me a chance to update as well. Stir-Fry Chicken for dinner. :( Saturday 18th October We walked up to the lookout at Gladstone this morning and checked out all the industries and ship loading areas in the port. There is so much activity happening here. After lunch we walked around to Spinnaker Park to the café and watched little sailing boats race for a while. We met with Gail and her husband Joseph – such a dry sense of humour – funny fellow (German) and caught up on their activities. They have been on the boat for neatly 12 months and experienced all kinds of conditions. They are currently heading back to the Gold Coast to sell the boat and buy an apartment. Gail is looking forward to having a bigger kitchen too. Sunday 19th October This is the first marina that we have stopped in where there are no gates to the marina area and today a little boy and his mum were walking past and he is saying to her “ I want to go on a boat” and she is telling him that he can’t. So we asked them if he would like to look on our boat and of course he was a little excited. He came in and checked everything out – literally put the toilet to the test, LOL and left a happy little chap. You see some weird things on a marina - above is a picture of 2 ladies carrying large plant pots over their heads. I have to assume it was easier to carry them that way. The other question is what do they intend on planting in them? Especially if they are living on a boat. I did our BAS today and had to find 2 cents – the cents are always the hardest to find Almost completed Phil’s – just waiting on his last statement details and then I won’t have to think bookkeeping till I get home. Trev disappeared for ages and then I realised he was over in the catamaran not far from us. He was chatting to an ex-high school teacher. Gail cut her finger on Phil’s razor and took a good healthy slice right off “OUCH”. Going to have a sore finger for a while. The rest of the day uneventful – sitting in a marina with up to 24 knots of breeze ( approx. 44 km/hr) from the east. Too breezy to sit in the cockpit. Planning to head up the Narrows tomorrow – this is a stretch of water that runs between the mainland and Curtis Island. Everyone had the best sleep in days. This marina doesn’t allow you to use your toilet even though you have a holding tank. So everyone was up early and that meant we got the laundry on early and by 8:30 we were sitting around waiting for 10:30 to rock around to catch the courtesy bus to town. Our plan for today is to stock up on groceries, fuel, water and gas and then relax. We are planning on staying a couple of days so Phil can recoup and we can all relax a little and maybe do a bit of site seeing while we are here. Our plan is to head up the narrows between the mainland and Curtis Island on Sunday. Trev meets everyone on the marina - Mr Havachat. LOL He gets all the good oil and goss. He met a couple Gail is her name not sure about her husbands name. Anyway we met her this morning. We saw her heading up to do her laundry, knowing that we occupied all the washing machines we went up to see if they were finished. Gail had left her swipe card behind so we let her in and then helped with our swipe card to get a machine working for her and in general had a good ol chat and got to know her. This afternoon she brought us around a cake she made for helping her out in the laundry. It was so delicious. There wasn't much left after our afternoon tea. :) Trev & Phil have gone for a walk now to return her plate. NOW WE ARE UP TO DATE AGAIN - Have a great weekend everyone. A much better night last night, it was heaps calmer. Trev has a muscle pulling in his shoulder that goes up into his neck and is feeling it today – Deep Heat and Nurofen. We set off for Gladstone at 6:15 am roughly 67 nautical mile and had 5 – 8 knots of breeze and for the first time we actually got to sail without motor and it was really good. The breeze picked up to 15 to 20 knots and we ended up motoring with just the jib up. The rig was pumping too much with the main up. We were cutting across the swell so it was a bit like the washing machine for a while. We counted 18 ships waiting outside the port in the anchoring ground. We had one come out of the port as we went in and there is so much to industry on the waterfront. We took heaps of pictures going into Gladstone of ships and stuff. On the back of the ships they all had their shuttle life rafts ready to launch. We got into Gladstone around 3ish and got sorted out with facility keys etc., had showers and went out to dinner at the Yacht Club. We all had Reef Fish, Salad & Chips. Phil was feeling a bit under the weather before dinner but after dinner he totally lost it. He had been feeling a bit crook in the guts for a couple of days. The first pic the end house looked like it was slipping down the hill - What they had was like a terraced house with the roof line running down the hill - looked a bit weird. Sunday 12th Lady Musgrave Not the best place to anchor. When it’s high tide you do a lot of rocking and rolling because the ocean is coming over the reef and we seem to get a lot of water slapping on the side of the boat. Not too bad when the tide is lower. Trev & Phil went fishing – NOTHING. Trev & Phil went diving – NOTHING. Not looking good for a feed of fish today. We all went exploring on the island and collected a few keepsakes. Seen a huge turtle quite close to shore and checked out the lighthouse. (like a little tower) The White Capped Noddy are nesting and they are quite a pretty bird but there was bird shit everywhere. Walking through the foresty bit was a bit like dodge the poop. We saw a couple of Bridled Tern. He was doing his best to woo the female and there was also another ground bird that we tried to identify and found out later it was a Banded Rail – introduced to the islands by whalers to consume like chicken meat. NO FISH – so chicken wings in honey soy sauce and rice for dinner. Monday 13th Lady Musgrave Another joggly water slapping night. Our friends on ‘Bahama’ left for Pancake Creek today. Trev & Phil went fishing, Phil took a seasick tablet today so they could hopefully stay out longer and catch something. Gail & I went fossicking again and to have some land time. We saw different birds this time. The white ones which was either a common tern or a black-naped tern (not sure) and black ones with red eyes and red beak were called a sooty oyster catcher plus another one that I couldn’t get close enough to photograph to identify. Nice coral beaches – NOT – bit hard on the feet. Bit disappointing for the fellas when didn’t catch anything. Phil caught a tiddler and a keeper off the boat. Bit of a scream and then a giggle – he nearly lost it when he went to hold it up for the picture. Tuesday 14th Lady Musgrave What a barry crocker (shocker) of a night. Trev & Phil seemed to sleep ok but all the noises of water fair slapping the side of the boat like someone was hitting it with a lump of wood. We were going to head over to Seventeen Seventy but it turned out to be a terrible overcast and windy kind of a day so we decided to sit tight and have a lazy day playing games/cards and watching TV. For those of you who really know Trevor it was a shock of all shocks when he suggested that we all play a board game. We ran out of drinking water and I had just tasted the water that had the tablets and it really need red cordial to help it go down. I know the Lord provides when you are in need and I was thankful when it started to rain. I started with one dish and then Trev got out a few buckets for me and we managed to collect 15 litres for inside and another 10 or so litres in reserve. I felt like a child playing in the rain – got quite wet - but it gave me something to do to fill in the day. Phil took some pics of the rain blanketing out our view. At lunch time Trev & I made a lamb stew for Dinner which we put in the Thermo cooker – best purchase ever. By mid-afternoon the sun came out and everything was quite pleasant. After the movie ‘Godzilla’ we all laid about and read listening to music which ranged from Rod Stewart, Dire Straits, JPY and everything else you can think of. We were all trying to guess who was singing because when we plug the ipod into the GME stereo player it comes up with Do Not Disconnect and we can’t see who is singing. It filled in the afternoon. We got one bar on our phones with the cloud cover and everyone got excited even though we could only send/receive messages. Wednesday 15th Lady Musgrave Well if I thought the night before was a barry crocker then last night was the absolute worst night so far. We had winds 25 to 30 knots and gusts higher. To start with I woke at 11:45pm to a boat coming in to anchor near us then within an hour the wind picked up and then there was the question do we pull the tarp down. By the time we decided to pull it down we had to get Phil up to help it was blowing so hard. Trev & I made our bed on the table because it was so noisy in our berth but I swear we didn’t get a wink of sleep their either. Phil & Gail didn’t fair any better up the front. So not many hours sleep had by all of us. Then to top it off we couldn’t leave because it was so rough out. Not the best day for pleasantries. I told Trev if I didn’t start getting some sleep between Lady Musgrave and the Keppells we are going home. Not coping with continual interrupted sleep and day naps aren’t my thing because as soon as you dose off someone makes a noise so it’s pointless. We are running out of food – down to the last of our meat which we are having tonight. Corned beef & vegies. I tried making some date scones but they were a bit doughy. The wind dropped out in the afternoon and we made plans to leave in the morning for Gladstone so we could stock up with food and do our washing and have loonnngggg showers. I finished book 3 and there has to be a book 4 because it can’t finish there. Gail is reading a series with 6 books and up to her 5th one plus still playing her spider solitaire. We got 1 bar on our phones and got messages through to Nick and Emma. Nick phoned us back. Interesting how we couldn’t phone out but we managed to get the call in which was great. Got caught up on Hunters latest little antics. Hilarious little boy – gives us all a good laugh. What a rotten marina – with water slapping and boats leaving in the morning at 1 & 2am – I hate marinas. We left Burnett River with 14 other yachts – 3 went to Lady Musgrave & the rest headed south except for the trimaran that was parked on the same wing as us. He got out to the entrance leads and was just sitting there. After a while we saw the marine rescue heading out to get him. I realised today that it isn’t Lady Musgrove – after I don’t know how many years. Anyway we seen the odd dolphin and plenty of sea birds. We also saw birds working the surface and what looked like big tuna chasing the bait fish. We met David and Suzy on their catamaran ‘Bahama’ yesterday and we pretty much followed them out to Lady Musgrave. Gail and I bought hats yesterday and so we tried them out today. Phil and Trev call them the old lady hats. It was a long boring trip. The seas were as flat as and there wasn’t hardly a breath of air. A day of motoring with an average of 7.6 knots. It got extremely hot and Trev rigged the little tarp for some shade. When the breeze did come up it was right up our ‘Dairy Air’. We arrived at the island at around 3:30, anchored up and tidied up. Had a chat to Dave & Suzy and then Phil & Trev tried their hand at fishing. Trev caught 2 baby cod. Enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the water. What is it with boats anchoring right on top of you. There is so many places for this boat that just anchored and he basicly anchored as close as he could. Be interesting to see how we all hang if the wind changes. We had steak and vegies for dinner and then watched Serenity – the movie that goes with the series Firefly. Great viewing – thanks Renee, Nikki & Tony – loved the series. | CategoriesAuthorsAnnette Ward Archives |
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