OK long overdue Blog update – we are still alive and have not been lost on a deserted island!!

So we set off from Vanuatu on 14^th of Aug (I think), leaving Kady on the dockside as her flight back to Oz wasn’t till the following day and we had booked into Mackay Marina for a lift out for antifouling on Monday 22^nd 7:30am and we’re like already 2 days behind schedule!!

Winds were strong and sea up so was full-on sailing, unconformable to start with but boy whizzing along with 3 days of over 200nm (one at 218nm) so making up lost time. A bit technical, squeezing between 2 reefs in the middle of the night / ocean and then around the top of another, but no worries with my spot-on navigational skills!

As we approached the great barrier reef we had scores of dolphins streaming alongside and in front of us, tapping the bow as we cut through the sea. I’ve never seen so many and one lot seemed determined to stay with us which they did for about an hour. You’d prob think we’ve seen enough of dolphins but there always a welcome sight and so we reward then with a bit of Placebo which, like any normal person/animal/fish, they appear to love!

To get to Mackay we need to transit through the Great Barrier Reef, for which we had 2 options: a) The defined shipping route known as the Hydrographs’ pass b) a short cut advised by local yachties through unchartered waters, uummm – quite fancied the short cut (saving 60 miles), but didn’t get to the start until near dusk and tide would have also been tight so eventually chickened out and did the Hydro pass. Probably as well as was well lit and fairly straightforward.

OK and then into Mackay onto the quarantine dock which, despite thinking they’d strip us of all our meat and other produce (including my wooden banjo from Marquises and Nelius’s broken paddle) and confiscate all our drink they actually only took our fresh stuff and our eggs – we even managed to keep all the booze without it being sealed, although I did have to exert a little persuasive charm to the lovely customs girls!!

Anyhow we were first to arrive on the Saturday (1/8), mainly cuz we were being lifted on the Monday for a week for antifouling and a keel bolt tension check – or so we thought!!!!!! As it happens we had an issue with the Skeg which required further investigation….

So we were followed in by Lush the big 885 yacht of the rally and being the first day in a new place ended up being a messy evening – drinks on Babe, then a Thai at the marina with loads more drink and then in our alcohol induced ‘conquer the world’ state decided to go into town for an explore, only to find that non of the bars / clubs would let us in, partially cuz we hadn’t got ID (yea yea I clearly still look like a teenager) and possibly (er likely) that we didn’t appear to be in control! Still a great night!!

Tish caught a flight and I hung around till the Tuesday and popped down to the Gold Coast to see the family for a week, leaving Nelius to Baby sit well er Babe! Great week and great to see Lela, Ed, Jude and Ratty (as Jude calls Rafferty) and Kady again.

Mackay is known for being a mining town apparently with lots of ‘real men’ to be satisfied – so at the airport was flicking through the local paper and there at the back I found a full page of women advertising their ‘services’, complete with full length body shots, OK wearing bikini’s but you get the picture – good place for survey me thinks!

I returned on the Thursday to check progress (with Babe that is not the survey) whilst Trish stayed for a few extra days, which is when I discovered that there was a significant amount of work to be undertaken to sort the Skeg so 1 week was now looking like 4 weeks!!!! Fortunately all warranty work, but irrespective threw a spanner in the works re our plans for sailing to and around the Whitsundays with the family.

Oh and is flipping expensive, even with the slightly improved exchange rate!

OK will continue the process of catching up on Blogs over the next few days and have added a few photo’s, mainly of the trip to Vanuatu when Kady was on board.

BFN

Paul & Trish (and Nelius, Lela, Ed, Jude, Rafferty and Kady)

Photo’s:

a)      Chilled day sailing

b)      Fish and Chips anyone – well certainly not Kady

c)       Good Morning

d)      Kady’s treats

e)      Corn-dog in his kennel

f)       Yum Yum – typical Babe fare

g)      Dolphins on way to Mackay

h)      Babe out of the water