Off to join the Rally!

27 June 2016

We left Bundaberg at 5.30am, determined to make a good start to our efforts to make Cairns before we missed out on too much of the mustering info and camaraderie. 

The sea was still lumpy after the big easterly, and the wind was still 18-20knots. 

We made reasonable time, in what was an uncomfortable first day /night back on the water!  We eventually ducked in behind Great Keppel island for a bit of rest and respite, after doing 150 miles.

Not the most comfortable anchorage….rolly as can be!

Typical pre-departure chaos

Great Keppel rolly anchorage

The next morning we set out for Island Head Creek, 54nm away, which had been our original goal the previous day. This time we knew we had to get there in time, because another low, with northerly winds would be arriving during the night.

Passing Port Clinton on the way to Island Head Creek

We ended up motor sailing most of the way in gentle winds, and a strongish counter current. On arrival, we were thrilled to meet up with Heidi and Wolfgang, from Kanaloa, whom we had last met in Fiji.

Kanaloa

Himba from Kanaloa

Island Head Creak has a tricky little approach, but offers excellent protection in almost all conditions. This was just as well because during the night the winds still reached over 28kts in our protected anchorage. Heidi has encyclopedic cruising knowledge, having done 4 circumnavigations, and many hours were shared discussing routes and plans!

The next morning, just before we left, Wolfie came over in their dinghy bearing hundreds of all their Indonesian, Malaysian, and Indian Ocean charts… having decided they would be of more use to us now!

Leaving Island Head Creek

It was happy /sad farewell, as we once again set off, this time to Middle Percy Island, where after a good  days sailing we anchored in Rocky Shelf Bay. 240 miles done and another 400 to Cairns! Time for another early start and a big push through to the Whitsundays!

Approaching South Percy

Rocky Shelf Bay, South  Percy

We started off with a nice gentle breeze, which then died away, forcing us to resort to Lord Perkins once again. Somewhere off MacKay, Lord Perkins screamed and died. Water pump seized. 4 knots of breeze, 25 miles to go. We managed to do about 13, ghosting under the asymmetric alone, doing between 2 and 3 knots. 

Then the wind died completely, and the tidal currents took over. The ebbing tide sets south, and we were being pushed 33 degrees off course into the bulk carrier anchoring field. Of even more concern was the bulk carrier doing 13.5 knot coming straight for us 5 miles away. 

AIS shows how close the ship was and the ships anchored below us

Only after my 3^rd call, using his MMSI number, speed, course and closing speed, did he eventually respond, and change course! Very scary indeed.

At 11pm, we launched the dinghy and lashed it alongside. We wound up the little Tohatsu 8hp, and managed to make 3knots for an hour or so, until the current slowed us down to 1.3. By 2.30 am we had reached a point 1.3 miles off the breakwater, in about 11m of water, and the wind had picked up to 12 knots on the nose, and our little tug could no longer make headway! We decided to drop the hook and anchor, even though it was in a prohibited anchoring area.

A quick scotch, and to bed for 3 hours sleep before daylight. Daylight saw us anchored in the path of another incoming bulk carrier! The Pilot boat came up to us, and after explaining our predicament, said in true Aussie fashion, “no worries mate, I’ll just tow you half a mile out the way! Lift your pick, and lets go!”

The ship we were obstructing

So 20 minutes later, we were anchored again, now out of the way, and waiting for VMR (Volunteer Maritime Rescue) to come out and tow us into the marina, where we had made a booking. Although kindly and well meaning, the volunteer crew were complete green horns and actually made a complete hash of a very simple tow in. Thankfully, conditions were so calm, that we managed to get into our pen without any damage!

Trying to locate our berth in the marina!

Then it was all about confirming that it was only the water pump, looking up the Perkins part number, and trying to source a diesel mechanic with the skills and tools to fit the new pump, if we could find one!

Then we learnt that the next day was a public holiday, in MacKay. I persuaded the mechanic, Dale, to phone through the part number to the local Industrial supplier, and bingo! We were in luck. Dale agreed to pick it up at 8.00am on the Friday, and start the job when he got back!

Then Mary told me about her heart palpitations that were getting worse! And that made all our mechanical and sailing problems  completely irrelevant.   See next blog “ Mackay- time for big decisions!”

Sunset Links.

27 June 2016

We had never been to Sunset Links, let alone considered it as a lifestyle option! Yet, located 8km from the city centre, it is a high security estate, built within the Milnerton golf course, and sandwiched between the beach, (with its iconic view over Table Bay and Table Mountain), and the bird sanctuary with its vleis and lakes teaming with birdlife , pink flamingoes and pelicans!

The lounge, dining room and bedrooms all overlook the short 7^th hole, which is in effect the front garden! Cape Franklins, Guineafowl walk along the paving outside tormenting the hell out of Kate kitties inside!

The house is huge, and has a layout which really lends itself to our joint living concept. Kate’s upstairs main bedroom suit also has a big ensuite bathroom, dressing room, lounge/sitting room, and private balcony, overlooking the golf course Table Bay, and the mountain. She already has plans to modify and improve this layout!

Downstairs there are 2 other bedrooms, a lounge , dining room, open plan kitchen, scullery, plus a big bar/entertainment  area, which we will use as our lounge area. 

While the main lounge fronts onto the golf course, the back opens up into the patio and swimming pool area, with built in barbeque, giving great protection from the fabled South Easter!

Along the side of the pool area is a separate fully contained flat, with its own kitchenette, bathroom, study and king size bed. It is this flat which will allow us to offer our visitors a comfortable, independent pad, and ultimately, a place for a nurse aid should that need ever arise for one of us!

Late start to 2016 Blogs-apologies!

27 June 2016

Sheer Tenacity being moved to the Sin Bin......for bio-hazards!

Our last blog covered our passage from New Caledonia to Bundaberg, and our rush to sort out breakages, repairs, and preparing  Sheer for her long stay on the hard, before flying home to Cape Town for a good long home visit in time for Christmas…our first back home for 7 years!

Well, time since then has flown, and life has been hectic!

 This first blog is a feeble attempt to justify my blog blockage and fill in the gaps! Cape Town proved to be a social whirlwind of catching up with friends and family. I must have added 1kg per week to my already too large midriff! It really came to my attention when I had to squeeze into my black tie and dress suit for a Bishops 50 year matric reunion!

A second mission was to go through our medical audit and overhaul, before returning for our last cruising session. Mary had her other eye’s cataract done while in Cape Town, and it has proved to have been better, less invasive, and half the price of the NZ one!

A 3^rd mission was to start looking ahead at life in RSA once we had swallowed the hook. Retirement Villages were an obvious solution, but after the independence, freedom and space, of our cruising life, we found looking at this option both expensive , and a bit depressing! Buying a smaller home as a stop gap before going the RV way also did not make financial sense…. 2 transfer costs, commissions, etc, in a short time period.

One other option existed. We had as a family, often talked about the family compound concept, where a larger home would offer both the independence, plus the security, proximity, and there for each other options! Kate had always been keen on this lifestyle, and liked the Sunset Links estate in Milnerton. We had never heard of it, let alone been there, so we arranged a visit to be shown the estate, and the type of homes that were on the market. We were very impressed, and one particular unit had exactly the type of configuration which lent itself to the concept.

Now Kate is not one to let the grass grow under her feet! In less than one week, her offer on the new place was accepted, and she had sold her lovely townhouse in Tamboerskloof!

Mary and I packed up her old house till we dropped (Kate working herself to a standstill earning the bucks), and then we negotiated access to the new house before the move date, so that we could drop off and store all the packed cartons in the flat. Then we moved in together, and unpacked our butts off! Within 3 or 4 days, everything was more or less sorted…. pictures were up, TV’s working and music was playing! (a pictorial blog will follow!)

With our post sailing future sorted with Kate, it was time to fly back to Australia to prepare Sheer for re-launching, and to start considering how and when to quit.

Our first surprise was to see the state of her antifouling. It had all cracked in the dry heat, and looked like crazy paving! This was no wet sand and anti-foul job! After considering all options, we elected to have the hull sand blasted back to the gel coat, and to re do all the epoxy barriers before spraying on the new antifoul.

All wrapped up 

Sandblasted right down to gelshield

See how we have raised the waterline since launching

Resprayed bootstrap

Epoxy subcoats go on

Altex 5 antifoul .......3 coats

Being in Australia, this is a bio-hazard job, and requires a special isolation pen….. with commensurate costs! To give Marine Services credit, they did an absolutely superb job, including re-spraying the red bootstrap, which they knew would get damaged with the sand blasting. The sandblasting itself only took 4 hours, but due to the mess it makes, the boat has to be totally wrapped up beforehand…. which took 2 days!  The new coatings, and anti-fouling  ,prop speed etc meant the whole job took a week in the expensive pen. The bill came to AUS $14 000! ( x 11.5 for Rands!) 

We also  couldn’t stay on the boat during this procedure, so we moved into a teensy chalet in the caravan park and kept the hired car that we drove up from Brisbane to Bundaberg for another week.

Sunset roos

Honeyeater in the bushes outside our hut

Lorakeets in the bottlebrushes

One of our options was sail back to New Cal, and to spend a few months there, during which we could consider the boat market there ito selling, and if it did not look good, we could then sail back down to Newcastle, where we could put it on the market, in the hands of a broker. That way we would be able to pay the import duty and tax out of the sale proceeds.

Walking along the beach, we came across these crab "balls"......
we thought must be the inspiration of the dotty aboriginal art

"Big Foot"......the human dynamo who almost singlehandedly did the job!

Job done and looking good

Ready to splash....such a pity to put her back in dirty water!

Another thing we considered, given the market conditions here, was to join the Arc Rally for the leg from Darwin to Richards Bay. The combination of the entry costs which were insane plus the routing and time of year (October/November), put paid to that idea! We are also smaller than they like to have on the rally!

The one we finally settled on was to enjoy the Whitsundays, rush up to Cairns, and join the Indonesian rally, which would allow us to visit Singapore, and Malaysia, before heading home via Chagos, bottom of Seychelles, Mayotte, through the Moz Channel to Richards Bay , in March April next year…. That’s the gentle time and route!

So, we sent our passports off to the Indonesian Consulate in Sydney, for them then to be posted to Cairns. We joined the rally, paid the fees, online purchased the cruising guide book (in Adelaide!!!), had it sent to Cairns , and ordered our Navionics electronic charts also to be available in Cairns!

All set to go, then the weather goes bananas, and an east coast low makes sailing impossible for a week, and smashes up Coffs habour  en route!  Thankfully Scott Free who were in the marina at the time were unharmed, but their blog describing conditions, and pictures, is terrifying!

Finally, the weather improves and we head for Cairns!