13th October 2012
With the weather changing into spring conditions, the northerlies come and go and the days become a little more uncertain. We had lapsed into that expectation of blue, cloudless, trade wind days. Tony and Rosemary arrived from Tasmania via Mackay to be greeted by Lindsay and Josh who were on their way home. They had arrived late so we introduced them to Mr Bones, our favourite cafe in Airlie, for a late dinner. We headed back to the boat and set out the next morning on our final trip around the Whitsunday Islands. Tony and Rosemary had only a week so time was precious. We headed to Cid Harbour where we were to meet Roy(who we have introduced you to in a previous post) a long standing family friend who hadn't seen Tony since 1957! Well, they established that they both hadn't changed a great deal and picked up where they had left off! It was a fun night aboard the charter cat that Roy was on with his son and partner and we left them with no doubt that we would see them somewhere again soon.
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| Tony Roy Miff Rosemary and John on board 'Psycho Puss'(charter boat with a terrible name!) |
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| Rosemary providing onboard entertainment |
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| Luncheon Bay |
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| John Miff Rosemary and Tony in Luncheon Bay |
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| Luncheon Bay |
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| Tony about to check out the local marine inhabitants |
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| Friendly fish in Luncheon Bay |
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| Beautiful clam mantle-these came in all sorts of colours |
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| Solway Lass in South Molle Island main Bay-charter boat in the Whitsunday area |
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| Oyster catchers |
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| Evening drinks in Butterfly Bay |
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| Beach detail-Butterfly Bay |
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| Warm evening in Butterfly Bay |
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| Tony and Rosemary en route back to Airlie Beach |
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| An un-identified sea creature-looks can deceive |
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I was busy photographing this beautiful marine centipede-y-type creature from the marina pontoon in Mackay when a fisherman came alongside and told me not to touch it. He said that he had had them in his nets before, they are carnivorous and they have very fine hair-thin needles which can hospitalise you if you touch them at certain times of the year. This one was covered in fantastic intricate patterns of blue, purple, pink and black.
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| My last sunrise(sailing that is!) en route to Bundaberg |
We had a bit of a deadline to get to Bundaberg for the big tides so Sorcerer could make it up into the cradle. We had timed it perfectly we thought. It was not to be. The tide we wanted just wasn't quite high enough(the joys of having a deep draft). With an appointment in Brisbane looming and a lot of driving ahead we had to leave Sorcerer in the Burnett River in the expert hands of the boys at the slipway. A week or so later, out she came and is now hopefully drying out nicely (photos were sent by Lorraine at the slipway). We bought some moisture absorbing crystals to leave in strategic places in the V-berth and saloon and also installed solar extraction fans in the forward and saloon hatches. This we hope will eliminate some if not all mould while Sorcerer is standing.
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| Nestling into the cradle |
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| Our beautiful home of six years comes out of the water for a rest |
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| Her spot for the next six months-we hope the waters of the Burnett River stay lower than her waterline! |
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| The contents of the boat...including one husband... fitted(just) into a twelve year old Rav4-another chapter begins |
We left Bundaberg a bit sad about leaving Sorcerer but at least we will be back in six months. We travelled south and have settled in Narrawallee, next to Ulladulla, three and a bit hours south of Sydney. Here we hope to find some nursing work and see a bit more of Johns family who come down this way regularly and we are within easy distance of travelling up to see them in the big smoke. We also want to fund our next trip further north next year before heading back to Tasmania.
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| Thanks everyone for your support with this blog-we hope you enjoyed it. We are looking forward to continuing on next year. |
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"There are none happy in the world but beings who enjoy freely a vast horizon"
Thoreau
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