APRIL, 2001
Latitude 27 degrees 11 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 06 minutes 03 seconds East
Scarborough Harbor Marina
With the beginning of April we finally are getting some cooler temperatures here in tropical Queensland. They are now entering the fall in Australia; all I can say is that I’m looking forward to winter when the temperature will be more pleasant. There is a very frantic pace in the marina as those heading to Indonesia prepare to leave. Charts are being copied; guidebooks put together and permits being obtained. April 2nd saw the departure of the first to go, Arimia, the boat that our little friend Hamish travels on. They celebrated their departure the night before with a big party on the boat. I was surprised when I awoke to find them gone! April 3rd David and I were asked to help George and Sara on Kemo Sabay with the reinstallation of their mast. This was quite a procedure. A crane came and lifted the mast from the ground and lifted it up over the boat. This all seemed like a very scary operation to the others and me who there to help. Once the mast was positioned over the mast step all the rigging was untied and we all took the different shrouds to their respective positions. David and George quickly worked at hooking up all the electronics at the bottom of the mast before it was given the final set down. Once the mast was in the hole, the forestay, backstay and shrouds were connected. Once the mast seemed sturdy, someone had to go up the mast to release the hold the crane had on it. Success! The mast is in and standing fairly straight. Now George and Sara can rest easier knowing that big job is over.
David and I were considering a trip to southern Australia, when one morning we awoke to a horrible smell in the boat. Much to our dismay we had a house battery go bad on us. It was foaming at the mouth and was extremely hot. So it was a race to get it disconnected and off the boat before any damage was caused. This battery weighs around 140 pounds, so they are not an easy thing to get out of the boat. It looks like we will have another project to do and the trip was canceled. David began the research for a new battery system. David and Tom ended up going down to Southport to purchase batteries and solar panels. When they arrived back the poor car was sitting pretty low with 3 – 150 pound batteries and 4 solar panels in the back. The next week was spent working on batteries. First we had to get all the old ones out! Which was not an easy task getting them out of the engine room, up the companion way stairs and off the boat. Then we had to get the new ones in. The next few days we were walking pretty crooked from the sore muscles the batteries gave us. David spent the better part of the next week installing the batteries and redoing our electrical system. While all this was going on inside, I decided it was safest to work on something outside. I sanded and reteaked all the woodwork on the exterior of the boat. I also made a template for a new cushion to be cut out of foam for the navigation seat. I made a cover for it out of Sunbrella, since this is the seat in the boat that gets the most wear and tear.
Customs has made a visit to the marina to issue cruising permits to those ready to go. Now there is a flood of people who are ready to go and are stuck here due to the weather. Just to let us know that Mother Nature still dictates our lives, she sent cyclone Sose across the northern top of Australia and through New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Although we didn’t feel the effects here in the marina, it did send monster waves to the Australian sunshine coast. Record high waves were recorded, surfers were out in full force and few yachts that were caught off guard capsized and had to be rescued. Not the kind of weather one wants to take off in for the first sail of the season. So the Voyagers planned departure for the 10th will be delayed for a few days. We were secretly happy not to have most of our friends leave us. This gave Kate the opportunity to organize daily baseball games in park at around 4:30 until dark. I think this ended up being a good stress reliever for those anxiously awaiting to go and finishing up projects. David and I continue to widdle away at the projects. I’m currently working the dodger repairs and extension. Thursday April 12th saw the lowest temperature we have seen since we landed here in the land of OZ. It actually got down to 66 degrees Fahrenheit.
April 13th is Good Friday here and all the schools are on holiday again for a few weeks as well as most of the locals. On Saturday, Lee, Kate and I rode our bikes down the trail to Red Cliffe to watch the annual yacht race from Brisbane to Gladstone. Everyone thought the race would be canceled because of the big seas and bad weather, but the cannon went off and spinnakers went up and soon the yachts were out of sight. There was one casualty when the mast on one of the catamarans snapped off and fell into the water. This poor boat had to be towed back in. The park was full of Easter activity and arts and crafts. Kate, Lee and I spent the afternoon hand painting Easter eggs with watercolors, since they apparently do not have Easter egg dye in this country. We had major fun trying to create aboriginal Easter eggs. Easter Sunday Tom and David went for their last big run together, so I prepared a brunch to celebrate the day. Thanks to Kate the Easter the bunny left us little basket full of goodies as well. Later in the afternoon we had a big Easter potluck in the park with everyone who was left in the marina. Kate also had the opportunity to organize one last baseball game. The Monday after Easter in Australia is still a national holiday know as Easter Monday and everything is still closed. So we took advantage of the day to spend time working on projects and spending some quality time with our friends. Tuesday the weather is looking good and the Voyager’s decide to cut the lines to the dock and head north. We will miss them, but glad we had good friends while we were here.
Wednesday we had a local welder come down to the boat to add stainless steel lifelines on the stern of the boat along with a support for the dinghy davits. This will now make us feel a little safer when sailing, plus give David something to hook up the new solar panels on. Wednesday the sailing vessel Yandina and Skimmer left, Thursday Ferric Star left and Friday Hannah left, leaving a big empty hole in our social life. To take our minds off it David and I decided to have Francis hauled out of the water to have a fresh coat of bottom paint. We also had a boat surveyor come to make his report on Francis so we can get less expensive Australian boat insurance. After the surveyor left David and I scrubbed the bottom sides and water line of Francis and prepared for the painting. I touched up the graphics on the hull as well as sanded all the way around the waterline. It had become fairly rough with barnacles and other growing things. David attacked the propeller for it was covered with barnacles as well. Saturday was spent painting the bottom and painting the waterline back on. Sunday we waxed the topsides and were pretty much ready to be back in the water. First thing Monday morning we were lowered back into the water, looking all shiny and new. David spent the rest of the week installing the new solar panels, while I worked on the dodger extension.
Wednesday April 25th is Anzac day in Australia. This brought the country to stand still to honor those who served their country in war. There was a huge parade in Brisbane where every person who had ever served in the military was paraded through town. If they couldn’t walk they were driven in taxis and busses. It was the equivalent to the American Memorial Day, but on a much grander scale. Thursday I was outside working on the dodger extension when I heard someone call my name. When I looked up I saw our friends Madeline and Gary from Shearwater. We hadn’t seen them since New Caledonia for the engine in their boat needed repair stranding them in northern Australia. They have finally made their way south just as everyone is heading north. We had a great reunion with them and will look forward to spending the next few weeks tramping around with them. We are very happy to have some friends around again. One of the toilets (known as the head) in the bathroom has gone totally bad and needs to be replaced so David and I have been doing research on the internet for a replacement. We finally found a suitable replacement and the order has been placed. The end of the month is soon approaching and we have to leave the country. So we made plans to fly to New Zealand on the first of May for 10 days. We arranged for 5 different Dewey sitters and then we were ready to go. The last day of the month we were invited to dinner at a local Australian home. They invited George and Sara from Kemo Sabay and Dennis from Inti as well. We had a traditional Australian barbie and good night was had by all. What a busy month we have all had. We are both ready for a break for all this activity!