Bundaberg

Bundaberg

With bountiful supplies, enough to feed an army and final preparations completed, the next adventure is sailing to Bundaberg.  First stop is Point Vernon until better weather conditions, although the southerly should make for an easy sail north. 

The major hazard on the way is crab pots with white floats.  Trying to spot them in 15 knot winds with small white caps is like trying to spot an echidna in a broom factory!  Skipper Pete did well to dodge them all.  Along the way lots of big fish were jumping, but none onto our lines.

First shake-down trip with the new power systems was up to North Fraser Island as the wind was mainly SE. Forecast wind 10 knots with gusts to 15 knots.  Actual wind up to 22 knots!  With all sails up we were flying at almost 9 knots!  All good and the boat sailed well, but looking forward to our new electric winch handle, when it is available.

Stayed over at Lagoon Anchorage which was nice and calm all night and we all slept well.

Next stop south to Kingfisher Resort, to avoid the coming rain and to check out their facilities.  Nice cafe by the pool, breakfast buffet looked good and the “Seafood Tower for Two” might be worth a try for a mere $140.00  

Keeping an eye on the radar for Cyclone Debbie and the after-effects as it disperses down the coast.  Moved down to Garry’s Anchorage to avoid the northerlies and just as well.  It soon became a social event as other boats arrived with the same idea.  We all gathered at Casablanca, a spacious Lagoon cat, for morning tea and shared stories.

Living aboard a catamaran is a very different prospect from just sailing away for a few days.  It’s a bit like a long camping trip but with more preparation and a need to stow all our waste.  The preparation always involves weather and tides, wherever we are.  Food and drinks come next.  Storage involves thinking about ease of access and weight distribution and whether things need to be kept dry.  We have heaps of storage – it’s just remembering where we put things, that’s the challenge!

Like any house or home, what you see is what you get.  Until you look deeper... there is always stuff to fix.  Keeping busy aboard is most of the fun!  Then there’s the cleaning......zzzzzzz

Our initial boat preparation has included new batteries, 10 in all, additional solar panels, redesigning the fridge and freezer systems, adding external window shades, new hatches and hatch covers, updating the electronic navigation systems, adding aerials (you can’t have too many aerials, of course), rebuilding the dinghy lift, changing the old pump-out to a composting toilet, working out all the other plumbing and drainage (very important!!), servicing the water-maker, making space for sewing paraphernalia and fitting in our new folding bikes – our essential transport to shops.  

Sewing projects include curtains for the guests’ cabin and bow storage (aka cellar), repairs to dinghy cover, bags for bikes and other gadgets.  Big project will be to make new shades to go on the sail tracks.