Wednesday (4 November) the wind continued to howl through the Boatworks. So we got busy giving Morphie some love….so washed and waxed the topsides and finished off the stainless steel cleaning. Pretty tired after that so we had a quiet night onboard.

Thursday we worked hard again, this time washing and waxing the hull (including by dinghy on the port side). Phew….but she is certainly looking lovely!

In the afternoon I took myself off to the shopping mall for some beauty salon pampering which was a real treat. We also checked out where Calagorm had been relocated to so we could send David and Hella a picture of her in storage. We then had a nice afternoon and evening sitting in the cockpit before being chased below by the wind chill.

Friday morning and it was another cloudy and windy day. But we remained focussed and this time it was the cockpit that got some washing and waxing love. Felt great to have got Morphie all clean and tidy again. This was followed up by another quiet night on board.

Saturday morning after a leisurely start we drove up the M1 towards Brisbane. First stop of the day was the Yatala Pie Shop. This famous place is pretty historic and has been absolutely rammed whenever we have driven past. So we decided it really was time to try it out. It was so busy with both in-house diners and drive-through cars that although we managed to get parked up we had to eat our goodies in the car. Never mind, it was pretty nice, and definitely a big treat for Richard who has been actively avoiding pies now for over six months! Guess one a year won’t hurt….

Then we continued north to the Daisy Hill nature reserve and park. We enjoyed checking out the beautiful area which, as is common with most public spaces in Australia, had cloakrooms and BBQ areas dotted around the vast acreage. We particularly loved seeing the kookaburra up close foraging for food, was not so keen on the ant nests or the over-sized spiders hanging between ferns.

After our walk we headed to the koala sanctuary and enjoyed watching these little critters sleeping safe and sound in their enclosures. These are all rescue animals and many of them are infertile due to complications with chlamydia (which is a common problem amongst the wild population) so will not be released back into the wild. But they have a gorgeous spot with huge windows looking out over a wild eucalyptus forest so I’m sure they are pretty happy with their lot! No cuddling this time sadly….

Leaving Daisy Hill behind we headed back down the motorway towards Oxenford and to Richard’s favourite shop, Bunnings. A weekend with a car would not be complete without at least one visit LOL.

Anyway, this time we were on a mission. We wanted some cheap beach chairs and a new insulated soft cooler for taking ashore to the beach with us. Mission accomplished we turned around to return to the Boatworks and popped into the Gold Coast City Marina for a drink at their over-the-water bar.

But there was no-one around, it remained cloudy and chilly, so we quickly moved on and returned to Morpheus for another quiet night on board.

Sunday morning we put our clothes into the washers and then headed back to the Galley. It was pretty busy – Sunday is always their busiest day of the week it would appear – and so we were pleased that we’d reserved a table.

We had a really nice breakfast before returning to the cruisers’ lounge so that we could multi-task with downloading more Netflix productions to watch off line once we leave the marina again. Plus I was on the search for more insurance products – this time it was house insurance under the spotlight…

All done we returned to Morpheus and Richard stayed behind to clean down below whilst I headed out to the shops for some last minute shopping. I returned to a lovely clean boat and, when everything was stowed away, we had a quiet evening down below.

Monday morning we were up early, returned the courtesy car to the office, and headed down the river away from the Boatworks again.

First stop was Tipplers and, by the time we arrived, the cloudy day had turned into a rainy one and I got pretty wet deploying the anchor from the bow. Luckily we got a good set pretty quickly and we spent the rest of the afternoon in the cockpit. It was pretty chilly so we had to dig out those fleeces again… Thankfully we had a very peaceful night on anchor.

This morning, Tuesday, and I’m blogging whilst Richard is relaxing and checking out the anchorage. What a difference a day makes eh?!? The plan is to stay here another night and providing the sun stays out and it warms up later we’ll be heading to the beach. Really looking forward to it…..

Tomorrow is the 11th November so we’ll be taking a few minutes to commemorate all those that gave their lives so that we can live ours in freedom.

As the wind is turning north tomorrow we will probably make the 25 mile or so run up to Peel Island for a few days. The weekend forecast, however, is for more thunderstorms so we’ll have to watch that closely and run for cover again if necessary. But that’s a decision for another day.

Blanket lockdown restrictions have been imposed at home in the UK again, so we really hope everyone is coping. We do worry about you all. Bye for now.

Jan

Tuesday (27 October) we were having a lazy day on board when, in the afternoon, the heavens opened and there was thunder and lightning all around us (again). And it rained, rained and then rained some more. But we were secure in our anchor spot at Tipplers whilst we watched this military plane circle around us numerous times. All very curious. Was a stormy sort of sky as the sun started to sink.

Wednesday morning the forecast continued to predict more storms. But it was lovely and bright out so we hoped they had got it wrong (which wouldn’t be the first time). During the morning the physio cancelled my Thursday afternoon appointment and offered one the following week. Well, this just drives me nuts as we are returning to the Boatworks specifically for this appointment. So I fixed a doctor’s appointment instead as I wanted to talk to him about the outcome from the hospital referral to see if this would inform our decision about our future plans.

In the afternoon having enjoyed a brief dolphin visit we spent a few hours at the cafe enjoying a couple of drinks and, of course, saying hello to the resident wallabies. But the skies darkened ominously so we returned swiftly to Morphie and got ourselves ready for more storms. They rolled in and around us again for most of the evening until about 9pm when we thought they were done so headed to bed.

Come midnight the anchor alarm went off and we realised we were rapidly heading backwards towards the beach which had become a lee shore in the storm that was raging around us. We dressed as quickly as possible, Richard started the engine, I turned on the instruments and whilst he was motoring away from the beach (with the lowest depth sound being 0.1 of a foot) I rushed forward and picked up the anchor whilst getting a good soaking from the torrential rain and the assault on my senses from the thunder and lightning. We manoeuvred out from the beach and dropped the hook again. We got a good set and put out loads of scope just to make sure. We sat in the cockpit (soaked through) and realised that we had just missed the jetski anchored off the beach and had certainly woken up the campers as they were out there with torches – they probably heard our engine really close to them. Phew, what a nightmare. We think the severe and sudden wind gust from the other direction had broken our anchor out of the mud which then didn’t get a chance to reset. That was really close!!! We got dried off and huddled up in warm clothes in the cockpit as we sat anchor watch the rest of the night.

Thursday morning we were up early and returned with the tide through the river system to the Boatworks in Coomera. We were quite relieved to be tied to a dock yet again. We got ourselves secure and settled and then took to our beds for a few hours to recover from the previous night’s ordeal. At 4pm I picked up the courtesy car and headed to see the GP. Well, it was an interesting chat. He said the hospital outpatient staff are “parrots” unable to deviate from the worst-case scenario script. He had never, in his experience, had anyone wait as long as they suggested I might have to. He thought there was a chance I could see a consultant early next year. He also expressed concerns that Richard should not be exposed to Covid by going home due to his current ‘vulnerable’ status. I still believe he is being a tad optimistic on the hip but another curve ball or what?!? On my return to Morpheus we both sat in the cockpit and discussed all our options whilst reviewing the information from home. We decided to wait until the latest announcement about lockdown in the UK before making our final decision.

Friday morning we spent a few hours in the laundry which took longer than expected as a couple of machines decided to misbehave. We downloaded some more Netflix programmes to watch off line and then I delved into the annual insurance renewals. By this time the imminent lockdown at home had been leaked to the press so this just confirmed our decision to stay put. No point going home if we are just going to end up locked down and unable to visit family and friends. Of course, this decision, makes a difference to the insurance policies as they are generated around our time abroad. So I emailed the insurers and awaited their response.

The boat insurance was done quickly and easily including full cyclone coverage (as the season here is defined as 1 December to 31 March) so that was good. Thank you Admiral. The travel insurance, however, was a different kettle of fish. They were excluding Richard for anything heart related, as expected, but I wanted some clarification on some other important elements. They confirmed this exclusion covered air / sea / land ambulatory services, repatriation, and even death benefit. So basically Richard would be uninsured unless he had another injury / illness which would be treated here in Australia free of charge anyway under the Medicare system. They also excluded me for arthritis generally (not just my hip which was expected) so that leaves me exposed too. Damn, that’s just not worth having, especially for the premium they want us to pay. So I started the hunt for an alternative provider and, in the meantime, joined the Southport VMR (Volunteer Marine Rescue) which, for an annual membership fee, provides free local sea rescue / towing services.

In the late afternoon we joined Hella and David on Calagorm for sundowners and we had a lovely social evening. You don’t realise how big their boat is until you see it up there on blocks!

Saturday morning the forecast was for more storms and high winds so we doubled up on our dock lines before heading out to Garage 25 for their Caffeine Gasoline monthly event. We sat on the deck and watched all the comings and goings and had some breakfast being joined by Hella and David. Was such fun to see all the cars (and bikes) plus to explore the private car museum again too. So for all you petrol heads out there enjoy the pictures!

We then went out shopping including to Richard’s favourite wet fish shop in Labrador. We also had to visit three butchers for me to be able to purchase some liver and gammon steaks. Neither of these are readily available here so it must be a British thing LOL. Anyway, as we were driving around the storm clouds were bubbling up and we received a text message on our phone which said:

Emergency. VERY DANGEROUS STORMS. Likely impact Woodbridge, Beenleigh, Southport, Coomera. Giant Hail. Destructive Winds. Seek Shelter.

What?!? Definitely time to head back. Richard drove us quickly up the motorway as the skies just got darker and darker and the rain started falling. By the time we got back to the Boatworks it was pouring down so we quickly unloaded our goodies and got back onboard Morpheus. Thankfully we made it just in time before the full force of the storm was felt. Whilst we were unpacking the rain picked up and started blowing horizontally across the cockpit and into the saloon. We saw gusts of 50 knots. Then the hailstones started – luckily they were only pea sized and not the giant ones forecast – but the noise as they hit the boat was horrendous. We were really worried we were going to sustain some damage. The water was boiling around us and it was just so intense. Have never ever experienced anything like that before and not sure I want to do it again! Just thankful that we were in the marina and not having to cope with this on anchor too.

Check out the damage to roofs, solar panels and cars from giant hail only a couple of miles away from us inland. OMG! When the worst had passed we did a quick inspection and were relieved that we had no damage. Phew! Dodged a bullet that’s for sure.

Sunday morning and it was bright and sunny so we had breakfast in the cockpit before we headed back out to the shops for the things that we didn’t get the day before when our trip had been curtailed. We then tidied and rested up before we entertained Hella and David on board Morpheus for the evening. Another fun night was had by all and we enjoyed watching the rising of the full moon (with no howling)…..

Monday morning and the wind was stronger than forecast at 30 knots although it was bright and sunny. The forecast was now pretty grim for the rest of the week so we extended our stay here in the Boatworks which means that we now have time to give Morphie some love. Richard cleaned out the engine compartment and then picked up the new in-water pump and waterproof switch from the chandlery to create and install a new anchor wash down system. I started cleaning the stainless. After a busy day we had a quiet night on board feeling quite shattered from the physical exertion in the heat of the day.

This morning, Tuesday, and I blogged while Richard relaxed. At noon we went and picked up a courtesy UTE and drove around to Calagorm on the hard. We then drove Hella and David to the train station for them to catch their flight to Sydney and onwards to the UK. Was sad to see them go as we had enjoyed their company and who knows how long it will be before the borders reopen and they can return to their boat.

Our family and friends are about to endure another lengthy lockdown at home, so please take care everybody and stay safe. Sending lots of love and virtual hugs to you all. Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday afternoon (20 October) we walked into Manly Harbour Village to check out the facilities and did a bit of shopping. We encountered these very skittish birds along the promenade strutting their stuff and then went and checked out the local pool. It’s certainly very pretty around the streets with all the trees in flower right now.

Back on board we applied online for a renewal of our Australian Control Permit (due to expire end October) and within a couple of hours the new one was issued so Morpheus is legal here now until end October 2021. So that was great news.

Then we got the disappointing news. I was told by my doctor and physio to keep phoning the hospital to find out the status of the referral regularly. I was informed that I had been put on the non-urgent list meaning they could offer me a consultant’s appointment in two year’s time (at the earliest) which would then be followed by around another year of waiting time on the elective surgery list. I was really upset and definitely did not expect that. The GP had indicated that the scan results necessitated urgent attention and he was going to try to escalate me up the list. His view was that it would definitely be less than 12 months. So I guess my ‘visitor’ status must have been the final decider rather than the severity of the problem. I have to say, we do feel like we’ve been led astray a little bit. So the bottom line is that I’ll have to get this fixed at home. The dilemma is when?!? Lots of variables we need to get our heads around. Should we abandon Morphie without a known return date as international borders are closed until around the end of 2021 (although gives lots of time to organise surgery and recuperation)? Return home to a Covid lockdown which means we can’t even see friends and family? How long will it be before my mobility is restricted to the extent that living on the boat becomes difficult? We need to get our heads around all this and will let you know what we decide, so watch this space!

Anyway, moving on, the weather was very windy and cold, so we were happy to be tucked up securely in the marina and enjoyed a quiet night on board.

Wednesday morning it was a nice day but severe thunderstorms were now being forecast for Friday onwards. So we decided to stay in the marina where we would be protected / surrounded by lots of tall masts LOL. Thunderstorms here in Australia are powerful often with large damaging hail and very strong winds so definitely shouldn’t be underestimated. Anyway, decision made we decided to start trouble shooting the Balmar charging system which appears to have developed gremlins in recent months. We first attached the Gateway to the system so we could download updated firmware to the battery monitor. That’s worked perfectly in the past but, this time, the iPad couldn’t connect via bluetooth to the Gateway. So we thought maybe it was an Apple bug so we downloaded the app to an android phone and tried again. Again wouldn’t connect. So we just had to reset all the values and alarms on the monitor and see what would happen with that and, thankfully, it worked. But the loss of ability to download updates is annoying and these pieces of kit are not inexpensive, so we have sent an email to Balmar to see if they can advise what to do next. We purchased these pieces of equipment quite soon after their release onto the market so we do wonder whether the early units have bugs that have since been ironed out by further developments. Never mind, it works for now, fingers crossed it will continue to do so.

In the afternoon we went for a walk and watched some of the boats out racing in the bay before returning back for a quiet night on board. It rained really heavily overnight.

Thursday the rain started to clear but then clouded over and rained again. The batteries were struggling with very little solar gain and we kept tripping the breaker on the dock (which took out all the posts) so we didn’t want to plug into shore power and upset our neighbours. In the end, we just decided to run the engine to top up the batteries later in the afternoon. Then the heavens opened and we had a thunderstorm all around us although it never really threatened to come too close. So we just relaxed down below for the day.

Friday was another miserable cloudy day with a fickle wind and a bit chilly so we lazed around most of the day. But we did manage to fix the wind generator monitor – woo hoo! Annoying though that it had taken this long to get the information for a factory reset from the manufacturer’s helpline and, having gone through the manual cover to cover, I can assure you the required sequence of pushing buttons doesn’t appear anywhere! Later on it warmed up – was such a nice evening so we had both sundowners and dinner in the cockpit.

Saturday morning we were a bit more industrious filling up with water; flushing the watermaker; scrubbing the walls in the heads; defrosted the freezer; and then took ourselves off to the marina cafe for coffee enjoying their over-the-water dock. Whilst there we used the marina wifi to download some more things to watch offline later. Quite like the lighthouse type lights here in the marina too – guess they might be original sea markers or something.

When we got back we had a charging fest as the wind generator was keeping our batteries topped up nicely. We had planned a trip into the village but check out this storm coming! So we got overtaken by events when the heavens opened and we had thunderstorms around us yet again. Thankfully no hailstones again. So we ended up with another quiet evening on board.

Sunday it looked like it was going to be a nice day. Sadly, the freezer problem had not gone away – sometimes it gets too iced up and the restricted airflow around the plates causes problems with it staying at temperature, so defrosting is often all that is needed to be done. Sadly that hadn’t worked! So Richard put some more gas into the system to give it a boost. We then had a nice breakfast in the cockpit and, as it remained dry, we decided to head off to the village’s Irish Pub for a late lunch.

So we were sitting on an outside table on the pavement when the sky went black, so we moved to another table with a bit more cover and the heavens opened. OMG the rain was biblical so we quickly moved inside for cover.

The thunderstorm was very close and the noise from the thunder was teeth chattering with the powerful lightning strikes something to be in awe of. Richard thought it was exciting I thought it was just simply terrifying! Anyway, we sat and had a couple more drinks waiting for the rain to ease, before we quickly headed back to Morphie with our fingers crossed that she had fared OK. Thankfully she was, phew! Lightning strikes on a yacht is something to be feared, that’s for sure.

Monday morning and it was time to leave. We had breakfast in the cafe then slipped away around 10am dodging this strange tug / barge combination en route.

We arrived at the Huts anchorage at noon and it was peaceful and calm with nobody else there. So we had a lovely afternoon and early evening in the cockpit before the bugs drove us below.

This morning, Tuesday, and we picked up anchor early so by 6.45 am we were underway to head to Tipplers, our final destination before heading back to The Boatworks on Thursday. The wind was howling and it certainly wasn’t a nice day to be out on the water although the pelicans didn’t seem to mind too much. Even the sand dunes looked a bit miserable in the gloomy morning light.

We had our anchor down by 9.30 am and, unusually, there was nobody here. So we picked our spot and had breakfast in the cockpit listening to the weather forecast. Again there is a thunderstorm warning but not as severe as being shared yesterday. We have just had a dolphin visit, which was nice, although sadly they didn’t stay around to play. Not sure we’ll go ashore today as it is so miserable so fingers crossed for a nice day tomorrow!

So not a lot happening really just more curveballs to contend with not least the weather here in Queensland. Thought this was supposed to be the Sunshine Coast LOL. Anyway, bye for now folks, please take care and stay safe. Thinking of you all.

Jan

Tuesday morning (13 October) it was a bit chilly as the wind was picking up so we just had a lazy day on board watching the comings and goings in the Tipplers anchorage. Overnight there was really heavy rain.

Wednesday it was cold, cloudy and raining hard most of the day so we just kept ourselves warm down below reading and relaxing.

Thursday morning – Richard’s 63rd birthday – we woke to a brilliant bright and sunny day. Yay! So incredibly grateful that he survived his heart attack in April and that he has recovered so well. So lots of things to be thankful for on this special day. We had a lazy morning and then went into Tipplers’ Cafe for a late lunch.

We enjoying watching the birds stealing leftovers and more wallaby encounters. One of them was very keen to chat to me – thought he was going to kiss me at some point – obviously made a friend here LOL.

And, of course, there is always a naughty one amongst them…. The staff certainly have their work cut out trying to clear tables before the critters move in LOL.

Afterwards Richard dinghied back to Morpheus for supplies while I found a nice spot on the beach. We enjoyed a couple of beers on the beach for a few hours before returning to sit on the coachroof and enjoy watching the sunset. It was so warm we even spent the whole evening in the cockpit which was lovely. Had been a great day.

Friday morning we were up very early and weighed anchor to head to the Huts anchorage up the Canaipa passage. As before it was serene and even the bugs weren’t biting this time. We had a quiet and peaceful night.

Saturday morning we weighed anchor but as we moved towards the channel the autopilot decided to get stuck in ‘auto’. After some manic pressing of buttons to disengage it we turned around and dropped the anchor again. A complete reboot of the whole navigation system and it was working fine – not sure why it threw a wobbly – but thankful that it appeared to just be a glitch. So off we headed again towards Peel Island which was very busy so we anchored at the back of the fleet and got a good set. Calagorm were already there and heading out to the beach in their dinghy so they came by and we made arrangements for sundowners later. At 5pm Hella and David came on board and we had great fun, was so lovely to catch up with them again.

Sunday morning the forecast continued to threaten strong northerly winds and there was a strong wind warning in place. We were experiencing a bit of fetch in our position so, as the boats thinned out, we decided to move closer in. But not before we had watched this catamaran drag swiftly through the anchorage thankfully not hitting anyone else while the person left on board just stood there. Then suddenly a dinghy came zooming out from the beach and the captain climbed back on board, started the engine, picked up the anchor and reset elsewhere. Was surprised that the skipper would leave someone on board that didn’t even know how to start the engine or respond to the VHF.

After all this excitement we picked up and moved closer to the beach. We couldn’t get set initially and it took a couple of attempts before we were happy. But at 3pm, without any warning, the anchor let go and we dragged so we had to start all over again. At this point we decided not to go ashore or to join Calagorm for sundowners – very sad about that – but it didn’t feel prudent to leave Morphie especially as there was a strong wind warning again although at this point it wasn’t too bad. So we just waved and messaged David and Hella on Calagorm sitting alongside us while we waited for the wind to arrive.

We sat in the cockpit waiting for the wind and, of course, it didn’t materialise when forecast. By 9pm it was blowing strongly and we were holding steady but still felt unsettled by what had happened early. So we decided to stay up and anchor watch… The winds did get quite gusty during the night and there was a huge thunder and lightning storm south of us. Of course these storms meant that the wind direction changed so a few times we turned around and nodded into the fetch….but, thankfully, we held firm and there was enough swinging room for everyone to stay apart. We snoozed in the cockpit and watched the show….including lots of people illuminating their decks and checking anchors….so guess not that many people slept well either.

Monday morning we checked the weather and, again, another strong wind warning but this time from the SE which would mean running back into the river system for shelter. We really wanted to avoid that as we will be doing that on our return to the Boatworks later in the month. So we waved Calagorm off as they picked up and we debated what to do. As I mentioned earlier, we are checking out marinas here in the Moreton Bay area to see whether they would be suitable for cyclone season so Richard decided we’d try out East Coast Marina in Manly for a couple of days. The biggest advantage is, of course, that it is not prone to flooding which the river-based marinas are. They were happy to accommodate us, we found the marina map online so we could identify where we were heading, and then worked our way towards Manly….we even got the sails out at one point! There were nice cloud formations over the mainland along the way.

We found the entrance to the marinas (there are three of them here behind the breakwater) and worked our way to our slip where there was a guy waiting to assist us. We made it in, despite the 18 knot breeze pushing us off, and got tied up. The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron marina is across the way which is full of more expensive boats – we are definitely in the cheap seats here LOL. But for a few nights who cares?!?

Once we were happy we got ourselves cleaned up and went to the office to check in. All sorted and, at this point, we realised that the dock hand had actually been the manager. Wow, that was generous of him to help us! We paid up for a couple of days and gathered the information about monthly stays. Although the monthly fee looks reasonable (just a tad more expensive than back down the river) they wack on a $62 a week liveaboard fee so it quickly becomes a much more expensive option and, of course, quite a distance from our medical appointments. So perhaps not for us for longer stays but certainly a nice place for a few days here and there when we feel the need for a break from being chased from anchorage to anchorage by the constantly changing weather. Speaking of weather the storm chasers here in Queensland are predicting the next couple of weeks of significant thunderstorms and heavy rain so looks like it could be fun!!

We left the office and walked through the most stunning canopy of flowers that cover the walkway to the main road. The smell was absolutely beautiful.

We then wandered down to Manly Harbour Village enjoying the sights from the foreshore along the way. We had a coffee and then went to the small IGA supermarket for some fresh provisions…. We wandered back and stowed our goodies then took the opportunity to flush the watermaker and fill up our water tank and then wash all the salt off Morphie. She looked so much better afterwards…..

We then had a quiet evening and an early night to catch up on our sleep. Of course, the strong winds forecast disappeared during the evening leaving a flat calm night.

This morning, Tuesday, and I’ve been up early to avail myselves of the facilities. The small shower and toilet block is exceptionally clean and well maintained – was quite impressed – particularly as this marina seems to house a lot of liveaboards and was busy with people getting ready for work. Back on board and Richard is still in bed while I’m blogging. Not sure what we are going to do later but I think another walk back into the village might be on the cards.

So bye for now and take care everybody. The news from home is awful we know that we are very lucky to be out here but do worry for you all. Please take care and stay safe.

Jan

Monday (5 October) and we decided not to move on as it was a Bank Holiday and this anchorage was serene and beautiful away from all the madness. Only downside was the amount of sand fleas that managed to bite us LOL.

Tuesday morning we weighed anchor and headed back through the myriad of channels and islands past the (not navigable) Jumpinpin Bar which separates North and South Stradbroke islands. And on the beach was this couple from one of the anchored boats – guess they just want to be alone?!?

Got a great spot in the Tipplers anchorage well away from the narrow channel. We went ashore and had a couple of drinks in the licensed cafe and, of course, said hello to our Wallaby friends once again. And then the day was rounded off by another lovely sunset.

Wednesday we stayed put at Tipplers. First thing in the morning, however, we spotted something odd with our charging system. The Balmar controller said 0% State of Charge! What the hell??? So we checked the DC panel and it said that the house bank was sitting at 12.4 volts and the engine battery was at 13 volts. Didn’t make any sense and we definitely had concerns as our batteries are AGMs which have a memory – if they get depleted too far they never fully charge again. So we needed to get on top of this. Before doing anything, however, we decided to test the actual batteries themselves directly. Thankfully they were both in the 13 volt range (which is fine) but both monitors were going crazy. We decided to link all batteries together just in case there was some problem somewhere we couldn’t identify. We then went through the schematic and found fuses associated with the DC volt meter so we pulled it, cleaned it, and reinstated it. Low and behold the problem was fixed. Yay….

Leaving that behind we had a lovely afternoon on the beach watching over Morphie in the anchorage. And we both had a beer – yes Richard decided he fancied one – over six months after his heart attack – and he enjoyed a couple with no adverse effects although he is obviously limiting his intake.

Was fun to watch all the comings and goings although, thankfully, it was pretty quiet. Some great boats moving around though, check this one out, do you reckon he wants to be a tug boat when he grows up!?!

Had been an emotional day for me as it would have been Mum’s 90th birthday but we raised a glass in her honour so I know she would have smiled down on us that day. We made friends with the solitary duck in the anchorage and then finished the day by sitting on the coachroof as the sun went down.

Thursday morning, very early, we were up and started to weigh anchor. We have rigged a submersible pump in the anchor locker that I throw over the side to give me wash down facilities….but this morning, I turned on the power, and nothing! Damn….never mind….back to the old fashioned method of bucket and chuck it until we manage to purchase a new one.

As the chain started to come up there was something strange about the way it behaved and when I got the anchor to the bow I found out why! Was very surprised to find an old water heater firmly attached and wrapped around the anchor. What drongo (Australian for idiot) would dump something like this in such a beautiful anchorage?!? Anyway, I took the helm and left Richard battling to untangle it as we worked our way very slowly out into the channel. Eventually, covered in nasty black mud, he got it off and dropped it back in the drink in the channel so at least nobody else was going to get their anchor caught up in it. Yuck!

We then meandered up the river system to return to the Boatworks. You can see our little trips around the area by checking out our tracker (which shows our current position at Tipplers).

By 10am we were back in our normal slip and quickly got Morphie hosed down and cleaned up, even emptying the anchor locker again to clean up all that nasty mud we had managed to pick up in the morning. We then got ourselves cleaned up and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon in the cockpit enjoying the sight of Boatie McBoatFace (not it’s real name of course) coming up the river. What a fun vessel, it even has a hot tub on its top deck, but don’t reckon it would fare too well in a strong wind!

At 4pm I picked up the courtesy car and headed off to the physio. This time he was much more personable than before (guess he must have had a bad day last time LOL) and gave me some different exercises when I explained the difficulties I had had after our last session. Fingers crossed….. He also was OK with a three week break before the next session so, hurrah, we can head off back out sailing on Monday once we have done the rest of our chores.

Friday we were going to be busy but made time for a leisurely breakfast in The Galley first…that’s always a treat when we return to the marina. Richard filled the water tank, topped up the diesel tank, and some general cleaning (including the bilge) whilst I did computer stuff (largely finishing off and submitting our travel insurance claim in relation to out-of-pocket expenses when Richard had his heart attack with fingers crossed for a speedy and painless resolution). We had lots of laundry to do so (making the most of the numerous machines) so spent some time doing that and taking refuge in the cruisers lounge utilising the Boatworks high speed internet. Managed to download some things to watch off line and also updated all our apps etc. In the evening, it was lovely and warm, so we enjoyed a couple of cold beers in the cockpit before retiring down below for dinner.

Saturday morning we were up pretty early. We had compiled a shopping list and set off on a mission to Oxenford. First stop was BCF where we stocked up on some strong Bushman bug spray to deal with the pesky biting midges! We also got a propane fill and some petrol for dink. Then it was off to the main village centre and we picked up some items in the pharmacy; some meat from the butcher and I got my hair cut whilst Richard started the Woolworths shop in my absence. I caught up with him in the aisles, we completed the shopping, and then came back to Morphie and spend a while stowing it all away again. We then had a leisurely and quiet evening on board.

Sunday morning and again we headed out to the shops – this time to Coles in Coomera – to finish off the shopping list for fresh fruit and vegetables. Heading back to the marina we popped into The Galley for a coffee then back onboard and stashed all our goodies. Then it was just a range of normal boat jobs to be done prior to heading out again the following day like engine checks, water top up etc. We are also checking the weather closely and deciding where to go. Strong winds and the risk of thunderstorms later in the week are forecast right now but that will probably change on a daily basis… We had a quiet night onboard.

This morning, Monday, we were up early and returned the car keys to the marina office. We then got ourselves cleaned up and ready and, by 8.15 am, we were slipping away from the marina and was underway down the river. At 11.05 we had our anchor down at Tipplers and here we stay. At 11.40 I finally had a telephone appointment with the dietician so that was another thing ticked off my list. So Richard is now relaxing in the cockpit while I’m down below blogging. Both of us are glad to be back out on anchor once again.

News from home is pretty grim and we hope you don’t all get locked down again. Please stay safe everyone and take care. Sending virtual hugs your way. Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday morning (29 September) it was still pretty chilly and blowing quite hard in Jacobs Well (on the Pimpana River) but we had a good anchor set and weren’t being bothered too much by local traffic buzzing to and from the public boat ramp – so we decided to stay put.

Early afternoon we headed ashore (surprised by how hot is was when we got out of the wind) and used our new dinghy wheels for the first time by pulling him up the beach – much much easier. Very happy!

We wandered around the little town for a while and headed into the Jacobs Well Tavern for some snacks….well, we ordered two sharing snacks, and they were huge! But very tasty so of course we managed to finish them. We then headed back to Morphie for a quiet afternoon evening on board and didn’t need to bother with dinner….

For those of you unfamiliar with the area here in Queensland, Moreton Bay is about 80km from north to south and 25km at its widest point. It lies between the mouth of the Brisbane River and the barrier islands comprising Moreton, North Stradbroke and South Stradbroke. The bay narrows at South Stradbroke, where there is a cluster of islands that turn the bay into channels and passages.

Wednesday morning we were up very early as we wanted to head towards Russell Island with the high tide. But first, along the route, we had to navigate underneath some power cables….lots of headroom really but it always feels so close.

We were almost there and suddenly faced with lots of ferry and freight traffic, particularly between Russell Island and Karragarra Island. Anchoring space was at a premium because of the large private mooring fields and the few spaces left were very exposed to the strengthening winds. So we decided to continue on to Canaipa Passage instead which is between Willes Island and North Stradbroke Island. OMG such a difference. A beautiful and serene anchorage. We enjoyed sitting in the cockpit as the sun went down and we really thought we might stay there for a few days.

Thursday morning, however, when checking the weather forecast we realised that the wind direction will be swinging north which is the one direction Canaipa is not well protected from. So we decided to head over to Horseshoe Bay on Peel Island which has good shelter. There was no wind and the sea was like glass as we motored the nine miles there.

By 10 am we had the anchor down and were just looking around at the other boats when we spotted Calagorm in the bay. So later on we dropped dink and popped over to have a cup of tea with Hella and David – was so nice to catch up with them.

By the time we left them the tide was going out so we headed over to the beach and just left dink in the shallows while we enjoyed taking in the sights. Was very relaxing…. This island is uninhabited apart from the custodians and is national trust land. A very popular day trip spot so lots of people watching going on…..

Back on board we watched more boats come and go and also checked out the clouds forming around us. There was some CAPE activity forecast so there was the chance of thunderstorms but we hoped they would skirt us. Thankfully they didn’t develop any further.

Later on we checked the weather again for the following day. The wind was swinging south to south east which is not good for this bay. So at 8.10 on Friday morning we picked up anchor and headed over to Raby Bay (which is on the mainland near Cleveland). Again we had another glass-like day on the water dodging ferries and the like. Frustratingly though the wind doesn’t kick in until mid morning by which time we are usually already settled somewhere else – so lots of motoring going on right now. Although on the chart this area is supposed to be full of mooring balls it isn’t (thanks for the heads up David) so we anchored, and then once happy we were set, we got dink down to go ashore.

We meandered through the nice houses and docks lining the river until we reached the marina and found the public dock.

We wandered around the boardwalk area and thought it looked pretty nice, another possible spot for us to consider during cyclone season?? We then went to The Anchor and had some lunch which was very nice.

Heading back out to the anchorage we realised that Morphie had dragged so we quickly got on board, weighed anchor and reset her. On bringing up the anchor it was covered in lots of grass and ferns so obviously we had found the underwater garden – to avoid dragging again we put down a 7:1 scope of chain which held us very well. At this point Richard realised he had left his phone behind in the pub! And, of course, we had already lifted dink for the night. So we had to put dink back in the water and Richard rushed off to get his phone…..luckily the waitress had found it and had kept it safe for us. He came back just as the sun was going down and we could put dink back up on the arch. Phew….what a palaver….

Saturday morning the wind had strengthened and the direction was swinging again so we headed back towards Canaipa. What we forgot was that this was a Bank Holiday weekend and the world and his boat were out there – it was total madness!!! Calagorm were in this anchorage too when we arrived and they had to move because a motorboat anchored so close they could have touched them – Hella said that if they had sneezed she could have caught Covid! We decided not to stay….so weighed anchor and headed down the river (under more power cables) another five miles to The Huts anchorage (along the shore of North Stradbroke Island). We found a spot and anchored under the shelter of the hill next to us. Lovely firm sand underneath us and we got a good set straight away.

Although still busy with boat traffic we weren’t affected that much so we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon in the cockpit. Around 5pm the day tripper boat traffic was largely gone and it was lovely and quiet especially as the wind died down. Was a bit buggy as the sun went down so we ended up burning our citronella candle to tell the little biting beasties they weren’t welcome – not sure all of them got the message though LOL.

This morning, Sunday, and we haven’t moved (or needed to). Hurrah! This anchorage is lovely and we have decided to stay another day…..so Richard is reading while I’m blogging. We are absolutely loving being back afloat again despite being chased around by the weather. Looking forward this week we’ll continue to enjoy being out and about until Thursday when we return to The Boatworks for my next physio session.

Take care everybody, stay safe. Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday (22 September) Richard finished the anchor locker project – so we now have a lovely clean anchor locker plus a new waterproof panel to protect the teak access panel. I spent most of the day on the computer putting together our travel insurance claim for out-of-pocket expenses relating to Richard’s heart attack in April as he had now been signed off to resume sailing. So I was making the most of having shore power and there was lots of printing, scanning and collating going on. And that was about it for the day.

Wednesday morning Richard stayed on board and did a spring clean while I took myself off to the laundry and the cruisers’ lounge. This time to make the most of the Boatworks internet so I could download some replacement apps for those that we had been informed were being discontinued (particularly Navionics). So downloaded the new app, logged into our Navionics account, and double-checked all our charts were up-to-date and downloaded for off-line use. I also updated all the apps on the phones, the iPad and the computer as we don’t tend to do this via our mobile hotspot as it is so data intensive. I returned with everything up-to-date laden down with clean laundry and of course admired Richard’s handiwork….Morphie was sparkling!

Thursday morning, Richard managed to get a UTE (Australian word for pick-up truck) so left me still working on the computer and headed out to his favourite hardware store Bunnings. He came back with some fridge seal material and a new toilet seat. He then installed the toilet seat in the heads and let some gas out of the freezer as it was working too hard to get down to temperature (as the unit was full) and frosting up the lines inside the fridge. This took a couple of attempts but, finally, the freezer was working again as it should. He then removed the old seals around the fridge and freezer lids and replaced them.

Later on we headed out to the Westfield Mall in Coomera for my physio appointment – wasn’t keen on the guy – but he did give me some useful exercises to do to keep my hip moving and to help my thigh (where I have torn a muscle). After that we had a doctor’s appointment so that the GP could complete the medical section of the insurance claim form as we had failed to get hold of our UK doctor – thankfully the claims team were happy to deal with the Australian GP instead who had treated Richard for the last five months. Oh yes and the surgery confirmed the dietician telephone appointment for 9.45 am now on Friday morning. The physio doesn’t want to see me again until 8 October so we can head out of the marina again for another couple of weeks – yay!

Job done it was getting late so we headed into the fantastic Nahm Thai Restaurant for an early dinner. Suitably full we then went to Coles supermarket for a fresh fruit and vegetable run and a quick trip to the bottle shop for me to get some wine supplies (Richard remains teetotal). Back on board we stowed our goodies and had a movie night.

Friday morning early Richard cleaned the cockpit while I continued with the insurance claim paperwork. Finally everything is ready to go except we are just waiting on one document from the Heart Clinic signing him off. There are so many receipts and evidence of expenditure I’ve had to do two spreadsheets to bring the whole story together. Phew – had been a long time since I sat in front of a computer for days on end LOL. Richard returned the car to the office and confirmed that, because of bad weather forecast for Friday night (strong winds and threat of thunderstorms) we would not now be leaving the marina until Saturday.

At 9.50 I realised that the dietician hadn’t called. So I called the surgery and they said that as I hadn’t responded positively to a text message the appointment had been cancelled. What a stupid system – they arranged it, I confirmed it, and yet because I missed a text she didn’t call. The practice manager was sympathetic to my position and said she would get her to call later in the day. So I kept the phone glued to my side but, of course, she didn’t phone…..so frustrating…..

Later on Richard and I headed to the Galley for coffee and a naughty cake and started checking out anchorages for our departure on Saturday. And, for once, the weather forecast was accurate and we experienced strong winds and saw lightning in the sky south of us. So was happy to have a movie night tucked up securely in the marina especially as I was now feeling the results of the physio session the day before and the subsequent exercises I had done that morning.

Saturday morning and I was struggling badly with my back. So I stayed in bed and Richard took himself off to find the caretaker (the marina office is closed on a weekend) to let him know we were staying an extra day to give me time to recover. Then he took himself off to Garage 25 to see the cars and bikes while I rested up. He returned with some blog photos for me and then went off and did some final bits of laundry making the most of the access to the machines.

Finally late afternoon, after a lazy day just relaxing and using ice / heat and my Tens machine the pain started to ease….so we were definitely going to leave in the morning.

Sunday morning we stowed everything away and left the dock heading towards the top of South Stradbroke Island going with the tide as it went out. Oh yes and going down the river we found what we think is the biggest ugliest house ever!

Crazy busy out with tinnies, jet skis, motorboats you name it….the Broadwater was foaming at times from all the fast traffic. Boats in this area have a 40 knot speed limit and it seems like most of them go as fast as possible!

We saw one jetski rescuing a motor boat and one guy in the water cleaning his hull as he had run the boat aground on the mud flats. We had also heard of one old chap being rescued from his sunken houseboat so wondered if this was it…. Always enjoy seeing the birdlife preening itself on the shallow sand banks as we sail through too. Plenty to keep us on our toes that’s for sure!

Although it was bright and sunny with beautiful blue skies we were actually wind chilled by the time we arrived at Millionaire’s anchorage which is near the top of South Stradbroke Island. Beautiful place and we were looking forward to spending a day exploring there on Monday. So we enjoyed the peace and quiet, had a nice day onboard, and loved seeing another sunset at anchor.

Overnight the wind picked up and we were constantly woken by the noise of the anchor chain as it strained against the hull and we were experiencing wind over tide conditions so lots of slapping and nodding going on. Overall definitely not a relaxing or refreshing night’s sleep…..

At 6am this morning (Monday) we decided to make a quick exit as the forecast had deteriorated and there was not going to be any respite for a few days to come. So we headed back on ourselves and up another river towards the small community of Jacobs Well which would give us more shelter. The route into this anchorage has some shallow spots so we left straight away as it was virtually high tide. We moved through these areas very slowly and cautiously but managed with no problems and anchored out of the channel on the housing side of the public boat ramp (also avoiding the public mooring area behind us). This is a very busy ramp so lots of boat traffic but at least we have some respite from the wind which continues to blow pretty hard.

We’ll stay on board today and catch up on some sleep….and, hopefully, we’ll get better conditions tomorrow so we can go ashore and check this sleepy little place out a bit more. And it’s still pretty chilly….are you sure we’re in Australia LOL?!?

Take care everybody and stay safe. Bye for now.

Jan

Monday (14 September) we were up early: topped up the water tanks; swapped out the tatty Ensign for a brand new one; did a route to our chosen anchorage Tipplers on South Stradbroke Island; stowed everything down below; did engine checks; ensured the Iridium Go! was tracking us; unhooked the power and we were ready to go. We had to wait for the tide so we went and had a coffee in the Galley and did some last minute internet stuff.

Then finally we were off. We motored slowly down the Coomera River admiring the houses and tucked away marinas until we came to the Broadwater which was very busy with speedboats, houseboats, jetskis and tinnies. They were everywhere and they didn’t adhere to any navigation rules (like passing port to port in a channel) so it was a matter of just keeping our eyes open and avoiding them all.

Three hours later and we arrived at Tipplers Passage and made our way through the narrow channel into the anchorage near Tipplers Cafe (which is only accessible from the water). We found a great spot in only 3m of mud and settled down for the afternoon / evening. Was a pretty spot and we had a very quiet night. In fact it was less rocky than in the marina LOL.

Tuesday morning we had a lazy start and had breakfast in the cockpit – it had been a long time since we had done that and it was lovely. The sun was out and the weather had definitely warmed up. Fantastic!

Later on we went ashore and walked the path across the island to the surf beach on the seaward side of the island. The beach was pure white silica and was beautiful and deserted. But it was very windy so we only sat there for a little while before heading back to the riverside anchorage.

We then spent a couple of hours on the beach admiring our girl who was happy to be back on anchor.

We then had afternoon drinks at Tipplers cafe and were fascinated by the birds and wallabies that turned up once the majority of the tourists had left for the day. Guess that’s why they have the logo in the cafe then?!?

We then returned for dinner on board. Followed by a gorgeous sunset. Felt so good to be back out there.

Wednesday morning Richard spent some time looking at the shower sump pump that decided to play up again….and fixed that. He also fixed the inverter but that meant removing power from some other instruments. Everything went smoothly but the AIS wouldn’t restart. Without it’s wifi capabilities we couldn’t do any resetting of the system either as you need to be connected to play around with it. So we were not transmitting or receiving and our anchor alarm was also now useless. All very strange. We did a bit of troubleshooting and then sent off an email to the technical support team for some inspiration. Not a biggie right now as we are not going to sea and have another anchor app so all good for the night.

Later on we went for a bit of a dinghy exploration up to the Dux anchorage where the Southport Yacht Club have some premises. Well the anchorage was pretty tight with lots of long-term boaters there and the SYC area was private to members only, no guests. So we turned around and returned to the beach for a couple of hours before returning for sundowners and dinner onboard followed by a movie night.

Thursday morning and we got a reply from Vesper which was not that helpful in that they suggested checking quite a lot of things but we really couldn’t believe that simply disconnecting the power could have caused the type of problems they were envisaging. Their only other alternative was to return the unit to New Zealand. Hmm….don’t think so unless we get really stuck. Richard then had a brainwave and isolated and disconnected the whole network from the batteries and then reconnected it. Well, the Vesper light (which had been solid red for over 24 hours by now) went orange, then green, and lo and behold the wifi signal started up again so the iPad could connect to it. I quickly turned on the chartplotter and checked that the AIS was working on the network as it should and yes, sorted. Not sure why this worked but so pleased that it did! We told Vesper and they were pretty surprised too LOL.

Mid-afternoon we headed to the beach and set up camp. Around 4pm Richard returned to Morphie to collect our cool bag and I cooked on the (free) gas supplied BBQs. At this point three wallabies came by and we had spare carrots so we treated them to a little munch. One was even brave enough to take the carrot from Richard’s hand….definitely friends for life LOL. We enjoyed our dinner overlooking the anchorage but the bugs descended as the sun went down and we were being bitten so we quickly packed up and headed back to Morphie for the night.

Friday morning it was colder and cloudy with rain that kept threatening – it had poured hard overnight. So we stayed on board for most of the day watching the anchoring shenanigans around us as people descended for the weekend. We went ashore for sundowners and stayed there longer than planned because the heavens opened. But it didn’t seem to deter the day trippers who were turning up in droves. Later on, under heavy cloud cover but thankful that we found a gap in the rain showers, we headed back to Morphie for a quiet night on board.

Saturday morning and it was madness!!! Lots of boats, jetskis, houseboats, ferries you name it they were there. We watched lots of people having fun and the comment of the week had to be from Richard when some stupid blonde woman hung onto the front of the speedboat and was dragged into the water as it reversed off the beach “Don’t drink on an empty head”. Hysterical…. We went ashore and had to queue just for coffees – it was mayhem. It was definitely a people-watching bonanza.

Back on board and we spotted a number of speedboats that had beached themselves and were now stranded as the tide went out. They tried to push the boats back in but couldn’t and, eventually, the rescue boat turned up. We just sat on the coachroof in the sun enjoying the craziness all around us until they had left for the day and we had a quiet and lazy night onboard.

Sunday morning we were up reasonably early and, by 10, we had weighed anchor and I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the thick gloopy mud off Morphie’s anchor / chain / topsides and me. Really gross! We were in slack water so there was no adverse current and we just enjoyed meandering back. By the time we turned into the Coomera River we were on a rising tide so had a bit of a lift from the current back to our destination. Check out a couple of the huge riverside properties in this area. Not sure about the second one…..

Having been in the marina for so long we had spotted a good anchoring spot with ample swinging room just up the river from the Boatworks so we headed there and thankfully it was clear of other boats. So we set our anchor and settled down to a quiet afternoon and evening on board. Was lovely and calm apart from the occasional wake of a tinnie or jetski just to keep us on our toes LOL.

Monday morning, very early, we weighed anchor and maneouvered back into our slip. We quickly hosed and cleaned down Morphie with fresh water and then emptied the anchor locker of all the chain onto the dock which also got a hose down. We had breakfast and restored shore power before I headed to the showers whilst Richard went into the anchor locker tearing out some marine ply which he is replacing with starboard. This plywood panel covers a panel of teak which is at the head of our bed inside the boat. It had rotted over the years because it had been painted rather than epoxied into position. Not sure that was such a good idea in a wet area! Hence replacing it with starboard.

I checked the phone (not sure why) to find that my dietician had cancelled which was very frustrating! We had come back into the marina specifically for that today and physio on Thursday. Never mind…. Apparently the dietician is going to phone me on Friday evening for a consultation instead – not sure how much good that will be as she has never met me. Sigh…. So I started blogging before picking up the courtesy car and heading out to the shops for some fresh provisions.

I’ve now come back, stowed the goodies, and wow it’s hot out there today! Richard has now got all the rubbish out of the locker and removed the solid teak board inside our cabin and has cleaned all the locker out and is now prepping the area for the new panel that he has cut and sized. Here is the man at work….

We had had a great time away from the dock and look forward to exploring properly again come Friday (fingers crossed). We are hoping for a much longer break next time. But I’ll enjoy being back here in the Boatworks for a short time and make the most of the access to the laundry; the internet; and the unlimited fresh hot water LOL.

So that’s it for now. Take care and please stay safe everyone – we are thinking of you all and sending lots of love. We feel very fortunate and lucky to be in an area with virtually no Covid transmission and so few ‘local’ restrictions although the interstate and international borders remain firmly closed.

Jan

Sunday (6 September) it was very cloudy, chilly and the wind was howling. Pre-empting the long-awaited decision that Richard would finally be allowed to go sailing we made the most of our courtesy car and headed to the Westfield Mall where we stocked up with meat for the freezer. We also got another month’s worth of medication to store on board. Once back and everything was stowed we called it a day and relaxed down below getting used to heeling over again despite being tied to a dock LOL.

Monday we got out all our stores and did an inventory whilst creating a shopping list of dried / canned / frozen foods that we needed to purchase. The aim is to avoid doing large supply runs by dinghy! We also ran the engine to check everything was OK and then spent some time troubleshooting the wind generator. It is working fine (in that it is generating power) but the monitor is refusing to tell us exactly how much. We couldn’t resolve it so will need to do a bit more research. Richard had already checked all the wires / fuses etc to ensure it wasn’t something basic. Never mind, it’s not really a big issue. We then went to the office to book more courtesy cars for the next set of medical appointments and called it a day.

Tuesday morning Richard headed off to get his bloods taken. Then we went and did a big shop and got most of the things we needed. It took us a while once back on board to get all our supplies stowed and, afterwards, we just lazed around reading for the rest of the day.

Wednesday morning, very early, we got the staysail hoisted and furled as this was the first low wind day we had had for a while. This went very smoothly but the wind then picked up so we decided to leave the genoa for another day. Then we treated ourselves to breakfast out at the Galley and then got dink down onto the dock for a good scrub down. We then cleaned the tubes and polished them with a special UV protector. Afterwards we got the outboard off the rail and reinstalled it on the transom of dink and Richard took a little test spin up and down the river to check everything was working as it should after it’s stint in the repair shop.

Very happy we then hoisted dink back onto the davits so our tender is now ready to go. We usually stow the outboard on the rail when going to sea but as we plan to just meander around the river networks here for a while we don’t expect large following seas so it is safe for the outboard to stay fixed to dink.

Then it was time to head back to the doctors and, thankfully, the blood test results were good and the GP was happy for us to go sailing. Wow, our enforced stay in the marina had been quite a lengthy one so we were both a bit giddy and happy to finally be able to use Morpheus as a boat once again rather than a floating hotel room. I then talked to the doctor about my left hip which is giving me significant pain and restricting some mobility. He referred me to get a CT scan to identify the issue and, if the left hip is also impinged (as the right one was back in 2018 which necessitated surgery) he agreed that he would refer me onto the consultant’s waiting list. Finally we did a bit more shopping for the items that we couldn’t get the other day and returned to the boat. We spent the rest of the day looking at charts / guides / tides / weather forecasts and planning our escape!

Thursday morning very early we got the genoa hoisted and furled. It was flat calm with no wind at 6.30 in the morning so was worth getting out of bed to do! We then “unpickled” and flushed the watermaker. This piece of kit had been in storage mode for quite some time so we were delighted that it all worked well and we hadn’t sprung any leaks. Richard then installed new filters so we are able to make water again now once we have left the dock.

Early afternoon I headed out for my CT Scan. I had to go on my own as the facility only wanted patients (wearing masks) with no visitors. Not a problem. I turned up, filled in the paperwork and waited to be called. Right on time I went through and had my scan. It is hard to believe the speed in which these appointments can be booked online here in Australia – they are virtually on demand providing you have the referral paperwork. Just amazing.

By the time I returned to Richard and Morphie the skies were really grey and it was drizzly and miserable. So we just hibernated down below for the rest of the day.

Friday morning we awoke to another grey cloudy day having listened to the pouring rain on the coachroof most of the night. We were also heeling over again in the strong winds. We had planned to wash Morphie’s topsides but decided that this wasn’t a good day for it so we just chilled out onboard and relaxed all day.

Saturday morning and we had breakfast at the Galley before heading back to the doctors for my results.

And then we were thrown another curve ball. No, it wasn’t hip impingement it is severe osteoarthritis and basically I need a complete hip replacement as there is no cartilage left and is now bone on bone. The doctor then referred me to the hospital but wasn’t sure how long the waiting list would be for this surgery which is classified as non-urgent and elective. Our travel medical insurance does not cover private hospitals as we have access to the Australian version of the NHS through Medicare and the reciprocal country arrangements with the UK. Damn! Clearly the doctor was shocked with the terrible scan results and so were we. He then said that I would need to see the dietician as losing weight would help (yep knew that…) and also to see the physiotherapist for pain management. Hmm….not sure that is going to help having been down that road before…but have to go along with the process. The clinic nurse who then organised my care plan was very surprised that I was walking at all let alone moving around so well and still smiling!!! We left the doctor feeling quite deflated again particularly after the excitement of only a few days ago of Richard getting signed off. The follow up medical appointments for me were fixed for the week after next so we are still leaving the dock on Monday even if it is only for a week!

Leaving the doctors we headed straight down to Labrador on the coast to get some fresh fish from the Charis seafood market. Had a very successful shop coming away with some lovely mahi mahi, swordfish, mackerel and salmon fillets.

Later in the afternoon Richard took me to the pub so we had a pleasant few hours sitting on the boardwalk at the Hope Island Tavern. We discussed our options – Australian international borders remain closed so even if we were able to get a flight home (doubtful) we would be abandoning Morphie indefinitely with no return date in sight. So we decided that we’ll see what happens about the timing of the referral and take it from there….

Today, Sunday, we’ve been out shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables. All stowed I left Richard filling up the water tanks, cleaning the boat and reinstalling the fuel cans on the rail. I took up residence in the Cruisers’ Lounge doing the final bits of laundry whilst blogging. Back on board now and doesn’t she look lovely and clean, ready and raring to go. We just need to swap out the tatty Ensign and the boat job list is done!

So a bit excited about leaving, albeit for initially only a short period, and looking forward to exploring the local waterways by boat for the first time tomorrow. The weather forecast is nice and benign so that’s a good start! But we are not immune to the news from home and the rise in Covid cases again – stay safe folks and look after each other.

Bye for now

Jan

Thursday afternoon (27 August) having done a few bits and pieces around the boat we both confessed to being really bored! There are still some boat jobs needed but we don’t want to do them until we have the nod to go sailing…. Sigh…..

Friday morning we went out for breakfast at The Galley.

Whilst there we decided to do another short road trip especially as our wedding anniversary was coming up. So we rented a car from the local hire company; reserved a self-catering apartment in Hervey Bay; and booked a whale watching tour for the Wednesday morning. So another adventure to look forward to once again! In the late afternoon we picked up the courtesy car and I did a bit of shopping while Richard installed the new cleat that had just arrived from the US (we couldn’t get a matching one anywhere else). This was an additional one for the cockpit (on the starboard side) so we now have somewhere to tie everything off leaving the winches clear for active sheets…. Definitely an improvement.

Saturday morning we headed out to Paradise Point but the wind was up and it was a bit chilly so we decided not to stay there but we did enjoy watching the huge numbers of tiny crabs on the beach.

So we drove down to The Spit at Southport and enjoyed a few hours and a picnic on the beach. Even got some ice creams from the travelling boat man.

On the way back to Morphie we stopped off at Hope Island marina and had a couple of drinks in a waterside wine bar which was quite nice. Back on board we cheated and just heated up pizza for tea.

Sunday morning it was very damp after some heavy rain overnight. It was cloudy and cold so was definitely not picnic or beach weather. So we did the laundry and packed our bags in preparation for our forthcoming trip. Later in the afternoon we drove down to Oxenford to pick up the hire car and was surprised that it was a new MG3. I drove the courtesy car back while Richard drove the hire car. We then had a quiet night on board.

Monday morning, very early, we returned our courtesy car to the marina and then had breakfast in the Galley to set us up for the day. By 8 am we were on our way and I was driving this time for the 400km run north, mostly on motorway. Wasn’t expecting the motorway to be single track though for the last 100km or so though LOL. Oh yes, why do Australians have car washes and dog washes together?!?

We arrived at our apartment block around 1pm and got checked in, found the underground car park and headed up to the third floor to unpack. The apartment was a bit dated but was well equipped and quite spacious with everything we needed.

We then headed out to explore the area a little bit and walked the beach; did some food shopping; went to the nearby pub for a couple of drinks before heading back. I didn’t fancy cooking so had a takeaway Chinese from the nearby restaurant and had a quiet night in. A lot of the bars and restaurants in Hervey Bay were either closed completely due to Covid – presumably the limited numbers allowed within each venue made them untenable?? – or were working limited hours with many of them closing mid afternoon. Very few visitors around either.

Tuesday morning we headed to the beach across the road (Torquay Beach). Wow it was a blisteringly hot day with no wind.

There was little shade so we had had enough after a couple of hours and took ourselves back to the apartment block’s small pool area. This was nice and became our own oasis as no-one else used it.

Later on we headed out again in the car as we wanted to check where we had to board the whale watching boat the following morning. We were fascinated by the old wooden houses that were being renovated or re-sited so many of them were up on stilts. This area was originally settled back in the 1850s so has quite a heritage feel to it in places.

We found the embarkation place where Richard had a few words with the life-sized humpback whale model on the promenade.

We then had a drink at the Hervey Bay Boat Club. This is a huge place with pokies (casino-type slot machines), restaurants, outside deck, bars etc etc. It also had two cinemas within the complex and used to have live music most nights. Would imagine, in a non-Covid age, this would be the place to be of an evening. We stayed inside as the wind made it far too cold to sit outside and with so few people around it all felt a bit sad.

So we moved on and came across a nice looking restaurant called Cafe Baleana which was doing a roaring trade – so we popped in and made a reservation for the following night so at least we could go out to dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We then went to the pub for a final sundowner before returning to the apartment for dinner.

Wednesday morning we headed out very early to the marina complex and had a coffee whilst we waited for the boat to be readied.

Finally we boarded and took up seats at the bow of the boat so had our spot for the morning. It was pretty chilly when the boat finally departed the marina and did over 20 knots into Hervey Bay and towards Fraser Island. We had sailed south from Bundaberg through this area in November 2019 so it was interesting to see it from a different perspective. But we had missed the annual humpback whale migration that comes up from the cold waters of Antarctica to the sub-tropical coastal waters of eastern Australia to give birth and mate during winter and spring. The huge area of Hervey Bay is famous for being a playground for the whales during this period so we were very hopeful of seeing some of these fabulous huge creatures. It started off slowly but, eventually, we were rewarded by lots of surface time where we met a mum and a very energetic baby playing in the warm water. There were also a couple of male ‘escorts’ who were happy to wave (pectoral slaps) for the camera too. So enjoy the photos. What a wonderful experience – we love whales!

Back on terra firma we headed back to our apartment for a spot of lunch (chip butties with the assistance of the local chip shop Madigans) which was very naughty but nice! We then headed to the pool for a couple of hours chilling before we got ourselves cleaned up and headed out in the car back to the Cafe Baleana. We weren’t happy with our original table (which was surrounded by others) but they were happy to move us to the waterfront, so that was good. We were then seated quickly and given the menus. Some strange concoctions but, hey, we were just pleased to have managed to get a table for dinner LOL. We ordered our food and drinks and got initial good attentive service.

But after that they just ignored us so we had to grab someone to get Richard a refill; I had to pour my own wine; and the dirty dinner plates were on the table for at least 25 minutes before anyone noticed to get them cleared. The food, however, was great so despite this we thoroughly enjoyed our 24th wedding anniversary celebration.

Thursday morning and it was our last full day in Hervey Bay. We headed to the beach again and it was very pleasant with cloud cover although it really wasn’t that comfortable. There were no beds available to rent here and the soft sand has been eroded into steep dunes so you end up laying on the hard compacted sand once the tide has gone out.

So after a few hours we returned again to the pool and stayed there until the middle of the afternoon having had enough rays. That evening we just had a lazy time in front of the TV and utilised the dishwasher and laundry machines to get ourselves ready for our departure in the morning.

Friday morning we packed up and headed back towards Coomera. Richard was driving this time and we decided to divert to Maryborough en route which was has roots dating back to the gold rush days of the 1800s. Lots of interesting older buildings here….

But check out the pedestrian crossing signs. Yes that really is a red and green Mary Poppins as P L Travers was born here. There is even a museum and a statue of the fabulous fictional nanny. Was fun…

Walking back to the car we came across a giant Kookaburra and a giant Koala being driven around the city – supposedly bringing light and fun to everyone in difficult times. Certainly made us smile but the Kookaburra was pretty damn noisy LOL.

Leaving Maryborough behind we headed back to the main road to rejoin the motorway and came across the Kookaburra and Koala again – this time they were with Ned Kelly, another famous resident. You just couldn’t make it up!

We stopped off on the way back for a coffee and we changed over so I drove the last hour and a half back to the Boatworks. Back on board, we quickly unpacked and got the bags stowed again and then picked up our marina courtesy car so we could return the hire car. Job done we headed to the Westfield Mall for Richard to have a quick check in with the doctor (just to get a blood test form really) and, after a bit of shopping, we headed back to Morphie for a quiet night in.

Today, Saturday, we had planned to head out somewhere but the wind is strong and we’re both feeling tired. So Richard has taken himself off to do some more laundry (not sure where it all comes from!) and is now residing in the cruiser’s lounge to watch some videos while I’m blogging back on board. Think that will be about it for the day.

Hope this finds you all well and keeping safe. Bye for now

Jan