Heading south

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Wow - nearly two months since I wrote the last blog. We are currently in Mooloolaba - arrived at the Marina yesterday and are having a few “lay” days. Its hot and sunny and half of Queensland seems to be on the beachfront having breakfast , surfing, swimming or just relaxing. We came over the Wide Bay Bar yesterday - and yes - having decided someone had moved it when we went across in June as it was so flat - now they’ve put it back.......lots of green frothing water, big churning waves - and what seems like hours with only a spare metre under the keel. There was the usual convoy of boats attempting it - we were behind a very smart new Beneteau yacht called “YES DEAR” (!)
A very nice guy helped us with our lines on the wharf when we arrived. Turns out he is a keen skydiver and works for the company packing the parachutes. I commented that that must be a great responsibility and a job you would want to get right - he just said “well it’s good when it works......and we haven’t lost too many lately....”
We left the Whitsundays on 28th August - exactly 10 weeks after we arrived. A great ten week holiday in such a magnificent area, and that length of time gave us the chance to get so much more out of it than when we were there five years ago. We were lucky with the weather -the sea temperature always 23 or 24 degrees (25 on our last day there) and just about every day was sunny.
This trip could easily be done in a motor boat - in fact there a huge number of motor boats doing just that - we can count on one hand the number of times we’ve had a good sail, most of the time there has hardly been any wind. One of the few times it really kicked up of course was when our only guests were with us for four days - my son Paul and his lovely girlfriend Clara - it blew 30 knots. This did give us a few complications in organising their stay. We were picking them up from Hamilton Island - we were too early to get into the marina so they asked us to pick up one of their complementary moorings in the Dent Passage - a waterway between Hamilton and the next island. Sounds reasonable enough but in a howling 30 knot wind and two metre waves this was a real test. The moorings were HUGE great metal things with a line attached strong enough to take a 30 metre boat - ie VERY heavy and about four inches thick. In those conditions communication from the bow to the helm is not done with subtle hand signals and a smile but with the sort of whole arm gesticulations that would make any Italian proud - plus a great deal of screaming. Standing on the bow with the boat hook ready to grab the line was like standing up on a rollercoaster in a gale. Peter didn’t want to get too close to the moorings as they would have knocked the hull about dreadfully. On our first attempt we pounded through the wind and waves, hearts in mout. I managed to grab the line but we were just not close enough for me to get it over the cleat. After much screaming and waving I had to let it go - so we went round again back through the rollers - this time I picked it up but being so thick the line jammed in the boathook. I couldn’t hold on or release the boat hook so I had to let them both drop back into the water. At this stage I was hysterical with frustration at the waves and the weather and a boathook now rolling out to sea. I was RANTING, SCREAMING, ARMS FLAILING WILDLY etc etc - not a good look. Peter went round again, we pounded back through the waves, managed to pick up the boathook and third time lucky - picked up the line and got it over the cleat. Later that afternoon on Hamilton two women came up to us and said “did you get your boat hook back?” I didn’t know who they were. They said “We were in the Dent Passage this morning too - on the catamaran on the other side - we watched you trying to pick up the mooring - it was VERY entertaining!” I felt rather embarrassed remembering my performance and said “Oh dear , did you hear me screaming?” They just smiled and said “No we couldn’t hear you but we watched all the body language and thought “hmmmmm...wonder what she’s saying to him now......”
Still - we regrouped, picked up Paul and Clara who were very good about braving the weather , Peter managed to get us to all the “must see”places, plus great snorkelling so we had a ball with them .
Around the islands we were much more aware of tides than we are in Sydney. They rise and fall by up to four metres and this results in strong currents. Theoretically the tides flood south and ebb north so one is supposed to “work” the tides. But in ten weeks it didn’t matter whether we went north, south, east or west - or what the tide was supposed to be doing we never did figure it out -it was just always against us.
We have had the usual need for ongoing repairs - the joys of the second loo pump failing - so now both have been taken apart, rebuilt and reinstalled. Its always the things in the most awkward, difficult to get to places that seem to fail. To get at this one all the sails had to be taken out of the sail locker in the bow and we took it in turns to crouch in the locker trying to get to the screws at the back of the pump. Still it keeps Peter’s handyman skills up to scratch. The next one was the fridge compressor mounting breaking. That required a diesel mechanic - charming guy who came very promptly and smiled alot - we found out why when we got the bill.....
Talking of things mucking up - someone got into my hotmail account and sent an email apparently from me to everyone on my contact list (this was while we were in the islands so hadn’t checked my emails or been on the internet for over a week). When I realised and got back to a reception area I logged on and saw that lots of the spoof emails had fortunately failed to send. I sent everyone an explanation note just in case, but when I went back into my account the next day my contact list had been completely wiped as had the previous three months of inbox, outbox and sent emails. As I hadn’t had a chance to read the emails in the inbox - think there were about 15 - I lost them all. I changed my passwords for everything but was a somewhat disconcerting experience.
The time in the Whitsundays and the first part of the journey south involve many periods of time away from any evidence of habitation and out of mobile range, internet reception, tv reception or even radio. Its quite soothing living - it takes away all choices about what one should or could be doing. No questions of “I should have read the paper today/watched the news/gone for a long walk/answered my emails/phoned someone - when those things are not possible then the time is spent wonderfully free of guilt, reading, swimming etc etc. A very superficial existence - but VERY enjoyable!
I was desperately keen to go to Lady Musgrave Island and reef before we left the islands - it and Lady Elliot are the most southern parts of the Great Barrier Reef. It was too rough and windy (for once!) for us to feel comfortable taking the boat to Lady Musgrave so Peter gave me a daytrip on a charter boat to get there. I just LOVED it. (Once I saw the entrance to the Lagoon I was SOOOO glad we hadn’t tried to get the boat there) - but it was such a great experience. I was quite surprised that even the big cats which take over 150 passengers to the Reef will cancel if the weather is not right - in fact the day before I went the tour had been cancelled due to big seas. I was also surprised that the Captain of the boat steered the whole way (about two hours). I had expected the boat to be on autopilot as soon as we were out of the bay at 1770 - but he said the waves bash around even a boat that size - and it makes it too uncomfortable for the passengers if he doesn’t continually manoeuvre the boat through the sea.
Since leaving the Whitsundays we have seen heaps of whales - one suddenly surfaced about 15 feet from the boat yesterday. We have seen a couple breaching in the distance but normally as we are at sea level as oppose to being up high on a motor boat, we don’t so much see the whale as bits of the whale. The “blow” is usually the first sign one is around, then a large black curved back magestically surfacing, finally the forked tail right up out of the water. We’ve also seen them slapping their huge flippers on the surface of the water for ages at a time. Don’t know what that’s about but they seem to be having a great time doing it.
We farewelled Robara just south of Rosslyn Bay as they are in a hurry to get back to Sydney. (We did think after all our “sundowners” together we should have renamed the boats “Cirrhosis 1” and 2!)
We’ve had some great stops en route - Kingfisher Eco Resort on Fraser Island was a recent one - very interesting - and as a contrast we are hiring a car and driving to Noosa tomorrow...
So we’re on the way back - we will be back in our apartment in Sydney on 1st November. I am going over to the UK on 13th November for two weeks for my Mother’s 80th birthday party - as she looks and acts like a vibrant 60 year old think I’d better get into training!
Lots of love to you all - and again thank you for all the emails and blog comments - we’ve just loved getting them even if we haven’t replied personally
Jane and Peter x

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Photos

Lady Musgrave
The island and Lagoon

Comments

[Philippa Peterson]

Hello
I've not replied this way in the past. Perhaps you have not recieved any of my emails. Oh well. It is so good to hear you are both still having a wonderful time. I have always kept them short however as am aware of problems with long emails. Love your anecdotes and look forward to catching up again. We've been busy in entirely different ways and enjoying life hugely. My God Jane your mama is only turning 80, just fourteen years older than I am and nine more than Ross. Puts things a little bit more into perspective. Let us know when you are back in Moruben Road and ready for a get together. We're about to have another grandchild, due on the 19th. Simon and Helen's second. Really looking forward to catching up with you both. Philippa and Ross T