Showing posts with label waiting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label waiting. Show all posts
Monday, 28 March 2016
Mackay Marina – On the dock waiting for a weather window
16-23 November 2016
Normally we try to avoid set schedules but sometimes it can’t be avoided. We had to be in Mackay on Friday for a crew change with John flying home and our eight year old grandson, Kristian, flying in from Canberra for the rest of the trip down the coast with us to Brisbane. We would have preferred to make the twenty nautical mile run south from Brampton Island on the Thursday but the forecast indicated 20 knot south-easterlies returning after a day of 15 knot nor-easterly turning easterly on Wednesday so Wednesday it was.
We raised the anchor soon after first light hoping to take advantage of the more favourable morning nor-easterly but found ourselves sailing to windward from the time we rounded the western point of the island. What followed was a bumpy and uncomfortable beat for the next four hours with genoa, main and mizzen all sheeted in tight.
In a typical example of Murphey’s Law, we caught a good sized queenfish about an hour into the trip after failing to hook anything while sailing over smooth seas for the past couple of weeks . Being a fisherman’s daughter, Karen is the super-proficient one on board with a filleting knife and had the unenviable task of cleaning and filleting our catch on the heeling and heaving aft deck. As always she did and outstanding job of hanging on and hacking at the same time but with blood and guts going everywhere, John did suggest it all looked a scene from a Hollywood slasher movie.
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| Not the best conditions for Karen to be slicing and dicing a big Queenfish. |
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| The boat was not only heeling pretty well but really bouncing over the swells. |
Our Dreamtime sails quite well to windward at wind angles better than 45 degrees or so and we managed to make quite reasonable time against a contrary tidal current. Surfing through the breakwaters of Mackay Harbour into its flat water was a relief for all of us however. It was enough for John to say he really wouldn’t be keen to face days of similar conditions on a bluewater passage if he could ever avoid it. We pointed out that under normal circumstances we the wimpy type of cruisers who sit and wait for favourable winds rather than choose to sail to windward unless absolutely necessary.
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| Brampton Island to Mackay Marina - 20.4 Nautical Miles - 4 Hours 06 Minutes Average Speed 5.0 Knots - Max Speed 8.4 Knots |
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| The gardens and surrounds at Mackay Marina were our home for a week |
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| John doing it tough on his final day on board Our Dreamtime. |
After getting most of our boat jobs ticked off in the marina that afternoon, we spent a fairly quiet Thursday relaxing before enjoying a farewell with John at the very good Thai restaurant in the marina. His 11 days on board were a ton of fun but had wizzed by as they often do when we have guest crew.
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| Rob and Karen about to enjoy some great Thai food at a restaurant in the marina. |
Next morning we hired a car from the marina office and headed for the airport. As luck would have it, John was flying out on the very plane that Kristian was arriving on. Very convenient in deed. There was much excitement as young Master Kristian was escorted through the arrivals gate by a flight attendant to begin his month or so with Nanny and Poppy.
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| Eight year old grandson, Kristian, was very excited to be our new crew member. |
We would have loved to have been able to sail away southwards the next morning but unfortunately we had to wait a full five days for the 25 knot south easterly wind to abate. In the meantime we hired the car again for a trip into the hinterland to visit the national park rain forests at Eungella. We also kept our small man occupied with walks out the long breakwater to see ships entering the harbour and a trip into the great swimming lagoon in Mackay to cool off.
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| Brilliant views down the Pioneer Valley from Eungella. |
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| The rain forest walks at Eungella are fantastic. |
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| Kristian with Poppy at Eungella. |
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| And clowning around with Nanny. |
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| Kristian on the breakwater with Our Dreamtime in her berth over his left shoulder. |
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| Watching tugs assist the latest visitor into Mackay Harbour to take on a load of sugar. |
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| Mackay's swimming lagoon was a hit with Kristian. |
We also achieved a bit of a mile stone while we were in Mackay when our blog passed 150,000 page reads on the all time counter and topped 11,000 in a month for the first time. We're really pleased people are enjoying our scribblings and photos.
Finally with the winds abating and favourable weather forecast, Our Dreamtime all fuelled up, water tanks full and loaded with fresh provisions we were ready to cast off the lines to begin our month or so passage south to Brisbane. Next stop Middle Percy Island.
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| Good night from Mackay Marina. |
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Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Waiting waiting waiting in Gibraltar
6 March 2013
Yep! We’re still in Gibraltar. Circumstances continue to conspire to keep us here in Queensway Quay Marina. We’re still waiting for two parcels that are on their way from our Daughter back home in Australia. They’re now two weeks over due so we are a bit worried that they may have fallen into a big postal system black hole but without tracking numbers all we can do is wait and hope.
We’ve also needed to stay near reliable internet service as we are selling a house at home to top up our very sadly depleted cruising fund. It’s such a pain dealing with bureaucracy from half a world away. One transfer form needed our signatures witnessed. At home we could go to any Justice of the Peace and get this done free. Here we needed the signatures to be witnessed by a public notary. The charge for three minutes work to witness to signatures on a piece of paper – ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS ($220 Australian). Not a bad hourly rate we reckon.
And to further keep us firmly tied to the dock, after four months of sunshine on the Rock, the weather continues to be rubbish now that we’d like to leave. It has been almost continually wet with strong and very cold winds blowing. It’s not too strong to sail – BUT – why sail in crappy weather if you don’t have to? We’re cruisers not racers so we’ll wait until it’s a little less unpleasant anyway.
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| One of the favourite quotes we've combined with images from our travels and have been posting on our facebook page. It sums up our attitude while we wait to leave Gibraltar. |
Our time hasn’t been wasted though. Karen’s still painting, Rob’s still working on his book and Marc’s still working on The Times crossword every day. We’ve also discovered new fun entertainment when trapped below decks on cold, wet days., Youtube. There are literally thousands of sailing videos on the Youtube site. Some are incredibly well produced, instructional videos covering everything from boat handling techniques to maintenance methods. Others are cruisers’ videos chronicling passages across oceans and visits to amazing places all over the world. However the most entertaining are the numerous ‘Oops’ videos. We’ve all made mistakes but some of the stuff ups on Youtube border on unbelievable.
For example, have a look at this very short video of how not to approach a dock. Any mooring procedure that involves a collision with a VW cannot be good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2dE5p1cx-o
We’ve also been getting out enjoying the place and have discovered some fantastic live music. The ‘Lord Nelson’ is a bar built in one of the chambers within the original defensive stone walls of Gibraltar in Casemates Square. It’s incredibly atmospheric. Each Thursday night the venue hosts a jam session with a procession of local old rockers putting on a great show. They play purely for the pleasure of playing. There may be plenty of grey hair involved but there’s no lack of talent or energy in the performances.
Joining us last week were new friends, a Scott’s couple, Graeme and Jenny. Graeme is a clearance diver with the Royal Navy based here on the Rock that we met through yachty friends. It was a great night with plenty of laughs and a drink or two. It may have actually been more than two drinks because we quite rashly accepted an invitation from Graeme to go wakeboarding the following afternoon.
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| Graeme, Marc and Jenny whooping it up at the Lord Nelson's jam session |
It wasn’t until we dragged ourselves out of bed for a late breakfast, only just a little before it was the afternoon, that we started to think about how foolhardy we’d been. We must have been mad. It may have been March 1 and officially the first day of Spring, but the wind was quite cool and the water temperature showed up on our instruments as a chilly 12C. Obviously, being a Navy diver, Graeme has an excellent wetsuit and is used to immersion in the cold Gibraltarian waters. We certainly didn’t want to offend our friends, but the very thought of getting into the water caused physiological changes in our bodies that we won’t discuss here.
Thankfully the cold wind blew strong enough through the day that Graeme reluctantly cancelled the invitation as conditions were too choppy. He had delayed calling it off until the last moment because he didn’t want to disappoint us. Relieved yes, disappointed? No chance.
We did however get the opportunity to visit Graeme at the dive unit located out on the south mole (breakwater) and enjoy an extremely interesting tour of the section and learn a bit about the equipment they use to dive far deeper than our underwater experiences. From there we were also treated to fantastic views back to Gibraltar.
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| Graeme was good enough to show us around after work, a much better idea than wakeboarding off Gibraltar in 12C temperature water |
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| On one of the only sunny afternoons in the last week or so we enjoyed great views back over Gibraltar from the South Mole. |
To make up for the ‘disappointment’ of not wakeboarding, Graeme and Jenny have invited us to their home for a traditional Scottish dinner of Haggis. It will definitely be another new experience for us. One we expect to be much more fun than wakeboarding in 12C.
So, while we’re mad keen to get back underway, hanging out at the Rock really isn’t too bad. We’ll get there. What’s the rush?
To stay right up to date with what we’re up to and see lots more photos check out and 'like' our Dreamtime Sail Facebook page at Dreamtime Sail
If you have only recently discovered our blog and would like to read how it all started, or work through our previous adventures, click the link to go back to our first blog entry. Stuff it. Let's just go sailing anyway.
We hope you enjoy reading the previous posts to catch up on our story.
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