A Little Setback
Ripple2
Fri 8 Dec 2006 01:22
|
Just when we thought we were home and hosed we have
been thrown another of life's little challenges. Our engine has bitten the dust.
At least it happened out to sea and not anywhere near nasty rocks or reefs. Mind
you we had just motored through Sandy Straits near Fraser Island which I have
been told is one of the most treacherous passes on the east coast so we can be
thankful for small mercies.
We are now in Southport and the engine has been
pronounced dead, we've decided to sail to Sydney as it is getting close to
Christmas and we can't get a replacement engine before then anyway. It is only
375 nautical miles from here which is not so far when you consider the 9,873
miles we have already travelled to get to this point. We are trying to be
philosophical but are just a bit gutted by the whole thing which is why we
haven't been answering emails or updating the blog.
Southport is on the Gold Coast of Queensland which
is a very nice part of the world and we are in a lovely marina surrounded by
million dollar boats and homes so it could be worse. Also my brother Craig and
his family live nearby, 2 hours away so we've been able to go and
visit them and they came to meet us at the dock and see Ripple II in
all her glory - it was a lovely welcome home. At that point we still had hope
that the engine could be fixed.
Well, all going well we should be leaving in the
next couple of days provided that the weather Gods are kind to us - then it
should just be 3 or 4 days to get to Sydney and finally get off the boat and
finish our journey. We'll write more then. Meanwhile thankyou to everyone for
following our trip and writing us words of encouragement, it has meant a lot to
us to know you're out there.
|