Monday afternoon after the sun had evaporated the heavy dew on the decks Richard taped up the rails (again) and started the final sanding down (again). I rested up for a while as my old bones were complaining about the dampness of the weather. Later on we moved all the lines away from the rail in preparation for varnishing. By mid afternoon rain had stopped play so we just both lazed around and read books.

Tuesday morning it was very damp with a very heavy overnight dew again. But the sun came up and by 9am was hot enough to dry everything off. So Richard continued sanding. I started doing a spring clean down below. We then had to stop to get ourselves cleaned up and headed into town for a doctor’s appointment as the specialist heart nurse (Imogen) wanted the GP to check Richard’s blood pressure and, if OK, to increase the dosage on one drug as blood test results showed no adverse effect from medication thus far. The GP didn’t agree so, on our return, Richard emailed Imogen to bring her up to date. She wasn’t happy with this outcome so contacted the GP directly and, as a result of this collaboration, Richard was told to start taking the higher dose that evening. Glad that this was resolved easily. Later on rain stopped play and it rained really hard throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Wednesday morning it rained on and off all day so Richard was constantly popping outside to do more sanding of the rail between showers. He did actually manage to complete it. Woo hoo! I managed to finish scrubbing floors, cleaning ceilings and polishing the wood too. Later on we headed over to the laundry and as there was about 20 minutes left on the dryer timer I popped into the ensuite next door to have a quick shower. Suddenly I heard one of the dryers making a horrendous row and I heard running feet coming to investigate. So I quickly finished up and hurried out to find them taking the dryer off the wall as it had managed to wobble its way lose from one of its fixings. So that the guys could take it away to investigate I emptied it of our clothes and, when folding up, I realised that one of my bras had lost an underwire wire. So I informed the guys (somewhat embarrassed) and, yes that was it, somehow it had managed to get loose, find its way through a tiny hole in the back of the drum, and was stretching and shrieking every time it went round. Oops! Luckily they were able to get it out without too much problem.

We braved the rain to get back onboard and it felt really cold. So we turned the heater on and had another quiet toasty evening down below listening to the heavy rain landing on the coachroof above us.

Thursday morning and the threat of rain was 60% so again not a good day to varnish. So we had breakfast out at the Galley. Getting back the clouds didn’t look too threatening so Richard took the chance and varnished under the rail on the port side and stern. After that we re-checked the weather and it still threatened rain all day. And, of course, the clouds cleared later and it didn’t actually rain at all….grrrr….we could have varnished after all. Never mind, there is always another day.

Friday morning and we were up early to a bright and sunny day. So we quickly worked our way around the boat varnishing the rail. Hopefully this time for the final time! She looks pretty nice…..

Task completed, after some breakfast, Richard headed off to the store to get some black marine-grade high-density polyethylene sheet (starboard). We have both been frustrated over the years by the strange layout of the pieces of board on the bowsprit. Not quite big enough to protect the wood from the chain when the anchor is being deployed or when we are sailing in a big sea (despite the anchors being tied down). Purchase made, Richard took the measurements and found a guy who could cut it to size for us and chamfer the edges. They came back within hours – we just need to fit them now – much happier than with the original configuration. Here is the old (top photo) and the new (second photo) placed in position.

Afterwards Richard decided it was time to give the outboard some love as it had been locked onto the rail since November 2019. It was seized in place and despite best efforts the motor refused to turn. So Richard found an outboard mechanic on site, removed the outboard into a dock cart, and delivered it to the shop for some specialist care and attention. We’ve agreed to get it serviced while it is there too. That should come back next week – most of the the tradies don’t work here over the weekend.

Later on we had more conversations with heart clinics and pharmacists etc – some more blood tests were organised and another heart clinic visit was also scheduled. So I sorted out the car bookings for those. Luckily we had a car again for the weekend so at 4pm we picked it up and parked it near our dock for the night.

Saturday was going to be the better of the weekend days, weather wise, so we headed out and about. First destination was Mt Coot-Tha which is a lookout over the city of Brisbane all the way out to Moreton Bay. Sadly it was a bit cloudy and gloomy so the views weren’t as good as they could be. It was pretty busy up there but, thankfully, we managed to get parked up OK and enjoyed the views while the kookaburra kept an eye on us…..

Moving on we headed north to Scarborough Marina and popped in to see John and Stella on Exocet Strike. Was a nice marina and, unlike the Boatworks, wasn’t subject to swell from tinnies and jetskies although they do have a fishing fleet so they get some swell from them when they headed out to work. We had a cup of tea and enjoyed catching up, was really nice to see them again.

Moving on we headed into the nearest town of Redcliffe and found the Bee Gees Way. This is a commemorative 70m walkway that honour’s Redcliffe’s most famous young residents. Was fun to listen to the tunes and read some of the lesser known facts as well as posing with them LOL.

Afterwards we headed to the prom and enjoyed the views out across the bay. Was a nice day to be out on the water. The sea gulls were waiting to be fed and soon lost interest when it was clear that we didn’t have anything for them.

We headed back south to Morphie and the heavens opened. It had been pretty dry all day so we were glad to return and get ourselves warmed up down below for a quiet night on board.

Sunday was always going to be a rainy day and boy did it rain! Very glad we had been out and about the previous day. So we just headed out to BCF (stands for Boating Camping Fishing) and got a propane refill. We then headed to the Westfield Mall in Helensvale and I got another pair of yoga pants which I have found to be incredibly comfortable wear for lazing around on the boat in the evening. The mall was absolutely rammed so we decided to leave there and return to the Westfield Mall in Coomera for our food shopping as at least we know the layout of the store in Coles. So we headed there, spent another fortune on fresh fruit and vegetables, and then headed back to Morphie. When we arrived in the marina it was raining cats and dogs so, before we unpacked the car, we headed into the Galley (on the takeout side) for a coffee to sit it out. Was horrible! Eventually it let up a little bit so we able to unpack the car and quickly get on board.

Was certainly a nasty wet day – we even had to dodge the rain again to go and get showered before we locked down for the night.

This morning, Monday (15 June) and Richard is putting the stainless steel rub rails back on top of the new varnish while I’m down below blogging. The forecast is better for the first half of this week so we should be able to get all the tape off and get Morphie cleaned and polished (again) now that we actually have finished varnishing.

Anyway, that’s all for now folks. Hope you are all staying safe and well.

Bye for now

Jan

Tuesday (2 June) we got up early and started work. We removed the masking tape off the inside of the rail around the whole boat (which wasn’t easy as it had been on for longer than the recommended two weeks) and cleaned off the adhesive residue. Then I removed everything else on the starboard side. Richard installed the new stainless rub rails which involved a lot of drilling and filling of original fixing holes. I then worked on the starboard side under the capping rail (which I could reach from the dock) and cleaned all the stainless stanchions followed by cleaning and waxing the hull between the capping rail and the lower rub rail. We were then able to secure our dock lines properly through the cleats rather than using our winches to keep the ropes above the varnish. Richard also assembled the new boards / footman loops / webbing straps in readiness for the spare fuel cans to be re-installed on the rail when we have finished everything else. Was a long day for both of us and we were pretty shattered by the end of it but were pleased with how Morphie was looking.

Wednesday and Richard had to have more blood tests done so we had a lazy start then picked up our courtesy car and drove to the hospital in Southport.

We parked up easily and went to the pathology department to find it absolutely rammed with a ticketed numbering system. This was the first time we had seen lots of people in the hospital so clearly they are returning to some sort of ‘normal’ service. Well we ended up waiting for over an hour until eventually Richard’s bloods were taken. We then headed back towards Coomera and did a quick shop for fresh fruit and vegetables. This was pretty rushed but we managed to make it back just in time to return the car (which had been booked for a three hour slot). By the time we unpacked and stowed everything away we were pretty tired so rested up the rest of the day.

Thursday morning and we got assistance on the dock to help with catching lines so that we could turn the boat around. It is pretty shallow here so we timed it for just after high tide and Richard reversed out, spun us around, and reversed in. Good job! We got dink off the arch and pulled ourselves close to the dock so that the guys could work on the solar panels on the arch. Here’s Morphie waiting patiently for the next instalment of her upgrades….

Safely tied up I then headed to the laundry while Richard informed the solar guys we were in place and ready. Chris came down in the afternoon and started the new panel installation.

This wasn’t without its challenges as some of the fixings had to be modified but it all went very well. The old panels were clearly failing as you can see from the close up. Here’s Richard modelling the old and new side by side.

Overall, we were very happy with the new panels and the installation – we just need to wait for some sun to see what a difference they make.

Friday morning, Richard sanded and varnished under the rail on the port side and the stern now that he had access to this side from the dock. Although it wasn’t a particularly sunny day the solar gain was significantly higher than what we had got used to. I took some time out to colour my wild lockdown hair in one of the cruiser ensuites and then returned later to clean the stainless on the arch (now that dink had been reinstated giving me something to lean on when I’m up there). The riggers came by again to look at our main (which refuses to furl properly within the mast despite numerous attempts) so are going to return next week to help us out. Now that we have turned around in our berth the wind is on our stern so we need to wait until the wind blows from the north again. Fingers crossed we’ll get that resolved sooner rather than later.

At 4pm we headed over to the office to collect the keys for our courtesy car as we were lucky enough to have one for the weekend again. Car picked up and parked near our berth we headed down below for another chilly night wrapped in blankets. We were pretty disappointed with the response from Sanctuary Cove who said that we were welcome to go to their marina but they would only sanction one month living aboard maximum. So we have decided that we’ll stay here until end of July (and will probably do some land travel within Queensland now that we are allowed to stay overnight away from ‘home’) and move to their marina for the whole of August after which, fingers crossed for good news from the medics, we’ll be able to go sailing.

We have never really been long-term marina dwellers so this life is a bit different to what we are used to but, having said that, the courtesy cars here do give us freedom to get out and about. We are thinking we might do a road trip in July and are really hoping that we can cross into New South Wales and join my nephew and his family for a week of their school holidays. At the minute they are saying the border may open around 10 July but the Queensland premier has also said it might not be until September so we just have to be wait and be patient. But considering what our friends and families are going through back in the UK we feel very fortunate to be here in Australia.

Saturday morning and I headed out to the mall to get a hair cut while Richard sanded and varnished under the port rail and stern. On my return, thankfully now without the mop of lockdown hair, we had a look at the completed varnish job as it had rained a few times and left some marks. We have decided that, actually, we are not completely satisfied with the final coat and are going to do it again. More work (especially with all that taping up) but it seems a shame not to finish it to our own exacting standard LOL.

After brunch in the Galley, we headed out towards Helensvale and the large Westfield mall there.

We were on a mission to get some ‘leisure wear’ as, of course, we took most of our warm weather gear home in December and left it there. Task accomplished. Next stop was Good Guys for a fan heater and an extension lead so that we can plug it directly into the shore power on the dock. Found a small one and hurried back to eagerly try it out.

That’s when it all started to go wrong! Richard plugged in the heater and it didn’t work, although the extension lead (which is an exterior rated one) had a red light showing so there was definitely power. So I got out the instructions and despite there being nothing on the outside of the box this heater will not work on an extension lead. To check it out we plugged it in directly and yes it was fine! Damn……so Richard headed off in the car to swap it out. While he was out I tried on my new stuff only to find that my hoody had a security tag still attached as we had gone through a self-service till and hadn’t spotted it. So Richard came back with the new heater and, woo hoo, we now had heat down below. We then drove back down the motorway to the mall to get my hoody un-tagged and, of course, this left a hole in it. So over to customer service to swap it out for a new one making sure that the tag was removed this time before I left the store!

Finally we got back and everything was as it should be. We were very warm and toasty and, you’ve guessed it, we didn’t actually need the heater that night.

Sunday morning we headed south towards Danger Point which is the furthest southerly point in Queensland.

Spectacular views across the ocean and down to the beach to admire the waves where lots of surfers were enjoying the water. Funny to think that they were actually in New South Wales as the border cuts straight through the top of this hill, so these images are looking south.

Was great to watch for a while and we kept an eye out to the blue for humpback whales (who are now on their annual migration north) but sadly didn’t spot any.

Later on we found out that a surfer had been killed that morning by a great white shark just a little bit further down the NSW coast. Here’s a lifeguard trying to get others to safety. If sharks threaten humans they can be killed but they failed yesterday. And today it’s been spotted again – see the breaking news below. Scary stuff.

Here are the views looking north towards Southport and the Gold Coast.

Heading back up the coast we stopped in Coolangatta and walked the fabulous white sandy beach.

We then walked along the promenade admiring the cars (and a few bikes) which belonged to the Scarab club. We chatted to one of the members and Scarab isn’t named after an Egyptian beetle at all but for Still Cruising and Rocking and Boozing LOL. Fantastic watching them all cruising around. They weren’t officially allowed to congregate in large numbers so they were in groups of 10 so that they could enjoy their day whilst still socially distancing.

Leaving this behind we drove to Burleigh Heads looking for a place for some lunch. But although we wandered around for a while we really didn’t find anything we fancied so continued on up to Southport. We thought we’d try out the Yacht Club as it gets great reviews. But as we drove into the car park we came across unfriendly signs saying that you had to be a member or have prior permission to park, or the car would be towed. Hmmm….perhaps if we had a reservation we could get a parking permit….but without one we didn’t want to risk the car, especially as it doesn’t belong to us!

So we parked near the Marina Mirage which has some fancy waterside eateries but they were all closed. We didn’t fancy the pub that sat over the water either – the menu basically was pizza or burgers or fish and chips – so headed instead across the car park to the Hog’s Breath Cafe which also gets good reviews. We took a seat and ordered steaks and jacket potatoes to be told no spuds – so I ended up with chips anyway!! So much for trying to be good…..sigh….. Was a treat but, sadly, the whole experience didn’t live up to the hype.

On the drive back to Morphie it started to threaten rain as the clouds continued to build and we just got ourselves tucked up down below before the heavens opened. Was lovely to be warm again!

This morning, Monday (8 June) I was up very early to return the car keys to the office. It is really cold and damp and the forecast is for rain for most of the week (see, that’s what comes of wanting to do more varnishing). There is certainly a very heavy dew on the topsides. I’m blogging and once it gets warmer and a bit drier we will probably tape up and hope to sand the rails down again….but will have to see how the day pans out….. Richard has heard from his heart specialist nurse Imogen this morning that his blood results are good so they may increase one of his medications again as he is tolerating them so well. But up to the doctor in a couple of week’s time.

Anyway, that’s about it folks, stay safe and take care. Bye for now

Jan

Monday morning (25 May) we had a leisurely start and picked up our courtesy car at 10. We then went to the Westfield shopping centre in Coomera and purchased some fresh provisions. After that we headed to the doctors for another check up. The GP was pleased with progress especially as Richard is not having any of the ‘usual’ side effects from his medication. So onwards and upwards. We then drove back to the boat, stashed our shopping, and returned the car. We were relaxing down below when the rigging guys came back with the new bearings and worm drive. They fixed and fiddled with it – they thought it was like a tetris puzzle deliberately created to frustrate LOL. Eventually they had it installed but, by now, the wind had picked up in strength so we decided to reinstall the mainsail another day. But at least we could now sleep without the continuous banging of the foil inside the mast when the fisherman go out around 6am in their tinnies….

Tuesday morning we were up early and sanded down the whole rail and underneath the rail on the starboard side and then Richard sanded the new boards in preparation for more varnish. He also drilled all the holes into the boards so that they could be filled with varnish to ensure that the sealing of the wood is complete prior to constructing the whole thing. Steve and Jo on SV Tamanu arrived back into the river during the day so we had a chat with them by phone although they were too busy to come ashore.

I also did battle on the phone (again) with Medicare which, on average, takes over an hour to get through to a real person. This time I was told they still couldn’t find our application / email. Then they asked “what did you call your e-mail in the subject line?” I told them what I had written only to be told that it would be rejected (without any type of acknowledgement) unless I used their exact format which, of course, doesn’t appear anywhere on their website so how the hell are people supposed to know?!? OK, continuing to be pleasant through gritted teeth on the phone, I emailed it again (this was actually the fourth time) and was told to call back in a week.

In the afternoon one of the riggers returned to help us reinstall the main – with Richard putting the vertical battens in while I fed the sail into the slot and the guy manned the halyard winch. Once hoisted we then tried to furl the sail but, for some obscure reason, it wouldn’t furl properly although did actually go away.

The wind was picking up again by now so we left it at that to be revisited another day. We had a quiet night onboard wrapped up in blankets as it was pretty damn chilly.

Wednesday morning we varnished the whole rail (penultimate coat) underneath the rail and the final coat for the boards. Thankfully it was a lovely sunny day again.

Steve and Jo had lifted out of the water onto the hard during the morning and David and Hella had also returned to the marina onboard SV Calagorm. So I popped round to see everybody and made arrangements for sundowners later in the BBQ area. We rested up for the afternoon and then joined them all there later – it was lovely to catch up again and we had such a good time that we stayed out a bit later than planned.

Thursday we rubbed down the rail for the last time (phew!). We then hosed the whole boat down to get rid of the majority of the dust before then going round wiping the rails down. After that we chilled out on board before meeting the gang again for sundowners.

Friday morning early there was little wind so we unfurled and furled the main a couple of times. Hmmmm. Something is definitely not quite right despite it being relatively easy to pull in and out so we left it alone. The riggers already know that they have to return to resolve this issue but we wanted to try it for ourselves anyway so we’ll call them back when we have finished varnishing.

The weather forecast was for 50% rain on Friday and we definitely didn’t like the look of the heavy clouds so we decided not to risk varnishing as we wanted to take our time over the last coat. Instead we treated ourselves to breakfast in the Galley restaurant and then did the laundry. During the morning the solar guys had come to see if we were ready to turn the boat around and get the new panels installed. Not quite yet so we promised to be in touch when we were ready next week.

At 2.30 pm we headed over to the launching area and, along with David and Hella, we watched Tamanu get splashed. We then said our sad farewells to Steve and Jo again and waved them off as they headed north. Having picked up our car for the weekend we met with David and Hella for our final sundowner with them as they were leaving with the tide early in the morning. Another nice evening. Oh yes, and you’ve guessed it, it didn’t rain during the day at all – very frustrating!

Saturday morning and it was supposed to be rainy and cloudy but the skies were blue and cloud free. So we decided to varnish the rail and by around 11 we were finished. Had been quite a job so very pleased that we had finally got this done.

After getting ourselves cleaned up we drove down to Sanctuary Cove. They had recently built 300 new marina slips and were offering great deals on them so we thought we’d check it out. We had hoped to talk to someone in the office but they told us to email our questions in. The great deal here in the Boatworks (50% discount) is coming to an end and so it may be worthwhile moving on for July / August while we wait for the all clear to go cruising from the medics. This is a very upmarket marina village which is also attached to golf courses, country clubs and a 5-star hotel so would definitely make a nice change. But although the slip price appears very reasonable to attract people in there are probably lots of add-ons which could make it too pricey. There is also the possibility that they might not allow people to liveaboard either – so sent the email and will just have to wait and see.

After leaving Sanctuary Cove we headed south to Burleigh Heads. This is a very popular surfing type of place with lots of quirky stores and eateries. As we approached the main town it was rammed with people and cars – no chance of getting parked up there to explore. So we continued up the hill and found another car park on top of the cliff. I drove in and, surprisingly, someone pulled out of a space so I got parked up straight away. We then admired the views back down the coast and decided to follow the headland walk through the rainforest. Was a lovely walk although pretty busy and we had to dodge lots of large groups out for a stroll.

Coming around the headland we came across a small swimming area which was protected by some pretty big waves surfing into the gap. We crossed the road bridge and then walked out to the other headland and enjoyed the views….with some crazy kids virtually flying over the surf in their boats…. The beach to the other side of the headland was long, pure white sand and absolutely stunning.

We sat and people watched for a little while before returning to the car via the same path having done a round trip of three miles. Richard managed this with ease and only had to slow down because of me and my dodgy hip.

We returned to Morphie via the coast road and took it slowly. We had enjoyed being out and about again and definitely want to return to Burleigh Heads another day. Perhaps a weekday might be preferable to a weekend?!? Back on board we watched the movie Contagion which perhaps wasn’t the best choice in the current climate LOL.

Sunday morning we woke up to heavy rain and it took a while for it to clear. Thankfully the varnish was fully hardened so we just had lovely rain bubbles sitting atop the shiny new finish. Really pleased with how it had all ended up.

We then headed off in the car to Jacobs Wells as we thought we would check out this popular anchorage. Well, it was rammed, with cars, bikes, jetskis, tinnies, fishermen and all sorts plus, of course, a couple of pelicans. We enjoyed just sitting down with ice cream watching the world go by.

Continuing north we headed to Cleveland through the huge fields of sugar cane. First stop was the ferry terminal as this is where we could take a car across to North Stradbroke Island which looks like a good trip when restrictions are eased. We also had a glimpse at another anchorage we fancied near Peel Island. By the time we got to the main town it was pretty much closed up with few people around which was a shame but not surprising for a Sunday afternoon. It was chilly and rain kept threatening so in the end we returned via the shopping centre to pick up some more fresh fruit and vegetables. Had been another full and tiring day.

This morning, Monday (1 June) and Richard did the final varnish coat under the rail while I did battle with Medicare again. This time I’m told that the email address (which I had double checked via their ‘contact us’ link on their website) meant that you had to have capital MES at the start with the rest all lower case…..hmmmm……really?!?!? The guy wasn’t interested in talking to me at all and said he couldn’t search the system for my email either, despite other operatives being helpful and trying to do that last week. Well, you know, I’m fed up with all this. So I decided to do what I probably should have done back in April and I’m trusting Australia Post instead. Luckily there was a car available this afternoon so that I was able to get to the post office to send it by registered mail so that I can track its arrival. Fingers crossed this finally gets it sorted.

So in between all that I was blogging while Richard purchased some stainless steel screws so that he could start installing our new rubrails. So we are definitely keeping ourselves busy.

The last bit of news from here is that Covid restrictions have been significantly lifted today with overnight stays now allowed anywhere in Queensland so people can holiday / travel as they like within the state. We certainly expect a mass exodus of cruising boats to start heading north imminently. But the state border remains closed so Queensland is only open to Queenslanders (and those of us who just ended up here).

Stay safe and well everybody. Hope lockdown isn’t driving you all crazy. Take care of each other. Lots of love and bye for now.

Jan

Monday morning (18 May) we removed the stainless steel rub rails and picked up the new ones from the workshop. Annoyingly all the lengths did not exactly match the old ones (in terms of where the holes were located) as the stainless steel lengths apparently come with pre-drilled holes which meant that they had to improvise somewhat. Not a problem except that we now have to do more work to install them than we had planned.

In preparation for the first sanding of the whole rail we moved all the mooring lines away from the deck cleats and utilised our winches and anchor windlass instead. I then removed the tape from around the eyebrows as these were now finished and there is some residue left on the gel coat but as we will need to clean (and perhaps re-polish) the topsides once all this work has been finished we’ll worry about this later.

Preparation done we then sanded the whole rail down, cleaned off all the dust, and called it a day. We had a lazy evening down below with everything closed up as it had turned really chilly. And of course it rained overnight.

Tuesday we were up very early to get on with the varnishing as rain was forecast later in the day. We managed to get the whole rail finished by 10 am. Phew! Just cleaning ourselves up when Bevan from the canvas shop came by. We had asked him to give us a quote for hatch covers (x4), sunshades for the spray hood ‘clears’ (x3) and a cover for our outboard engine. As UV here in Australia is so strong and we are not moving for a while, we have decided that we would cover up the hatches and the clears to protect them from sun damage. His quote was acceptable so we took the spray hood off and prayed that it wouldn’t rain while he had it in the shop to install some fastenings. Within an hour he returned it and we got it back on straight away. At 5.30 pm, as forecast, the heavens opened. It was torrential but, thankfully, the varnish was dry enough to withstand it.

Wednesday morning and we had a lazy start as we were heading off to the heart clinic at lunchtime. Bevan came by to make up the templates and, once we were clean and tidy we headed over to collect our car and then drive down to Helensvale for the clinic. We had a good chat with the cardiac nurse and the pharmacist who gave Richard an ECG and took his blood pressure. The doctor has organised for further blood tests in two weeks and an echocardiogram for late August. We asked about moving on (when the restrictions have been eased to allow us to cruise the coast) but was told that they would prefer us not to go out on anchor until after that. Richard was disappointed at this news but was also pleased the medics were happy with his progress to date.

On the way back we did some food shopping and, when we were returning the car keys to the marina office, we heard some shouting and a loud crash – a boat had hit another boat. Chatting later we found out that the boat involved has since been moved to dry dock as it sustained damage to both its stern and bow as the gears got stuck in forward. Not a nice thing to happen, that’s for sure!

When we got back to Morphie we found that Bevan had been by and had installed all the covers – doesn’t she look smart with her new canvas?!?

We were very happy. We then walked to visit the solar panel guy to discuss his latest email. Currently we have three solar panels which give out a total of 210W. The smallest footprint we can get of the newer more efficient type of panel would give us 345W which is the equivalent of having virtually two additional panels. By going for these we can also use the existing mounts, wiring and the current Blue Sky controller is able to cope with the increased load. So we went ahead and ordered them.

Thursday morning we were up early again and sanded down the rail. Bevan also came by with the outboard cover which completed the job so we paid him. Then it rained really hard and we lazed down below for a while before tackling the laundry. This was followed by another quiet evening watching a movie. Oh yes we were wrapped in blankets at this point too as the temperature has plummeted to about 17 degrees during the day and single figures at night. It’s freezing and of course Morphie doesn’t have a heater. Certainly didn’t expect it to be this cold in Australia!!!

Friday morning we got up early and varnished again despite the forecast for rain – just fingers crossed that it would have enough time to dry. Oh yes and we also scrubbed the dock where the tannin from the new Merbau wood had leached into the concrete and pleased that it came off with a bit of elbow grease and bleach. It certainly looked much better – we don’t want to get thrown out for making a mess! To stop this happening again we have now sanded and varnished these wood planks to seal them. We then got ourselves cleaned up and changed the bed, did some more domestic stuff down below, and headed to the laundry again. Thankfully the heavens didn’t open again until much later in the afternoon so we survived another coat! Woo hoo.

Saturday morning and, sadly, no car available for us this weekend. So, yes you’ve guessed it, we rubbed the rail and the new boards down again and then hosed it all off. And that was it for the day. We just relaxed and read books locked in down below trying to keep warm.

This morning, Sunday and we have varnished the rail and the boards again. At least the sun was out this morning although still chilly. In addition this time we got the wood on the starboard side below the rub rail sanded and varnished too. We will have to turn the boat around and reverse her back into the slip over the next week or so when the new solar panels are installed so the trades can work from the dock rather than hanging over the water, so we can do the port side at that point. She is certainly looking shiny.

So that’s going to be it for the day – fingers crossed the rain stays away for at least another few hours – and another quiet night on board beckons. Next week we hope to completely finish the rail varnishing by Friday as we have a car booked for the weekend so can go exploring again…. Really looking forward to that. Hope everyone at home enjoys the long Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend (it is not a holiday here in Australia) and stays safe and well.

Bye for now

Jan

Saturday afternoon (9 May) we managed to get the eyebrows and the edges of the capping rail rubbed down and varnished. We then had sundowners with Steve and Jo in the marina’s BBQ area before returning on board for an early night. We were lucky to get back just in time before heavy rain set in for the night.

Sunday morning and we sanded again, or tried to. The eyebrows were dry so I quickly varnished them again too. But the capping rail itself was much too damp and wouldn’t sand properly. So we called it a day and had a really lazy day and then stayed home alone.

Monday morning we sanded and varnished both the eyebrows and the capping rail. Woo hoo! At last we can see some progress…. In the afternoon we had sun downers and we cooked our dinner in the BBQ area of the Boatworks with Steve and Jo. And nobody came to join us the whole time we were there so that was a perfect end to a good day.

Tuesday morning we sanded and varnished both the eyebrows and the capping rail again. After that bit of exertion we rested up for a while. During the afternoon we were informed that Richard’s heart clinic appointment was deferred for a week – which was a disappointment. Oh well, never mind.

It was a difficult day for me emotionally as it was the second anniversary of losing Mum. Really can’t believe how quickly time has passed. I miss her so very much…..RIP Mum, love you.

Later on we headed over to SV Tamanu for dinner with Steve and Jo – definitely our last night together this time – and had a lovely meal. This was followed by a new dice game to us – and, of course, I lost again! So much for beginner’s luck LOL. We hope to see them again later this season once the restrictions are eased and we have the all clear from the medics to leave the dock and head north.

Wednesday morning, as rain was forecast, we got up really early and started sanding again. At around 8 am we waved goodbye to Steve and Jo as they headed out up the river. We will really miss them! The sky was very black and foreboding so we decided not to risk varnishing so called it a day and chilled out after finishing the sanding. Richard chased the trades up in the afternoon as we have a few outstanding jobs still to be completed – the Boatworks are still offering 50% off the hard stand / slips and this has generated a lot of work – so most of them are under significant work pressures at the minute. In the afternoon we had booked a car for the medical appointment so made the most of it and headed out to the shops for some further fresh provisions. And, of course, the promised rain failed to materialise….sigh…..

Thursday we were up at 7 am and varnished the rail and the eyebrows. At 10 am we had a courtesy UTE booked (Australian for an utility vehicle ie a truck) so we headed over to Richard’s favourite hardware store Bunnings to pick up some hard wood. We wanted to replace the wood we had been using to hold the cans to the rail (which were installed in 2015 and hadn’t worn well).

On top of that we some new stainless steel footman loops (or webbing straps as they are called here in Australia) from the chandlery. At 1pm, actually as forecast for a change, it poured with rain. Thankfully the varnish was dry and hard enough by then to withstand this onslaught – phew! We also received a bill from the Southport hospital for Richard’s blood tests….which we thought were free…but hey ho, it was only £30…so we paid immediately.

Later on we realised that the wood we had purchased was leaching colour onto the dock – so did a bit more research – to realise that this hard wood (Merbau) has a lot of tannin in, so we need to scrub down a few times. We really don’t want to risk staining the gelcoat so have decided to varnish these planks too before we install it all. Never mind, it’s not like we are going anywhere….

The rain continued heavily throughout the afternoon and we even heard thunder for a while but, thankfully, there was no lightning around. I also managed, finally after over an hour on hold, to get through to a real person on the Medicare telephone helpline – to only find out that we have not be processed yet and to call back in another week’s time. So damn frustrating…..but guess these are not usual times…..

Friday morning we sanded the eyewbrows and the outside rails. Then we varnished it all. This was the final (eighth) coat for the eyebrows and the last (third) for the edge of the rails….from here on we’ll be sanding and varnishing the whole capping rail. We still didn’t hear from the main sail worm drive guys – other than to confirm that the bearings were back from the machine shop – and will chase them down on Monday for a confirmed date of installation. We are really getting fed up with the banging from the foil inside the mast every time someone goes up or down the river and sets us rocking and rolling in our slip! But at least we have no live aboard neighbours right now.

Later on the solar man came to check out our solar panel installation. We are not getting as much input from these as we used to and thought it was worth getting them checked. Well, obviously, in the years since the original installation (two panels in 2008 and one additional panel in 2012) the technology has moved on considerably. So we have asked him to quote us for three new panels and a new controller and will see what they come up with on the price before we decide whether to go ahead and swap them out.

We then had another quiet night on board having picked up our small courtesy car for the weekend.

Saturday morning, after breakfast, we headed north first to Cleveland Point and had a walk around the area, admiring the lighthouse. The place was rammed because of the easing of the Covid restrictions and it seemed that everyone was out and about enjoying the great outdoors although everyone was keeping their distance.

Moving on we headed to Wellington Point where, at low tide, it is possible to walk across to King Island. We didn’t take the walk but lots of others were….. Was lovely to be off the boat and exploring local landmarks.

Heading back down the M1 motorway we came across a modern art installation which is a bit weird to be honest! Hope they don’t switch them on at night or the planes will be landing LOL.

As we had been a bit ‘naughty’ with our diet (chips and ice cream whilst we were out) we only had prawn salad for dinner back on board followed by another early night.

Sunday morning and we headed down towards Southport and parked in the Doug Jennings Park before walking around The Spit on the beach. Was lovely and we enjoyed watching the boat traffic although it was a bit manic for a while and not sure everyone knew the rules of the road LOL.

We then wandered out to the Gold Coast Seaway and watched a boat coming in. Looks really calm until you see the surf hitting the beach beyond the wall….

Moving on we headed north towards Labrador and made it just in time to see the wild pelicans being fed all the fish scraps from the cafe at Charis Seafood. Lots of people turned up and we struggled to find somewhere to park (which was a definite theme this weekend) but were glad we managed it in the end. Was a lot of fun to see so many pelicans up close.

We got back to Morphie just before the heavens opened again. The forecast for the next week is, of course, rainy as we are planning to varnish. But the forecasts we have found not to be totally accurate so we will take each day as it comes. We have lots of other jobs on the list to get on with anyway…..

Take care everyone, stay safe. Bye for now

Jan

Friday afternoon Richard had his scheduled telephone appointment with the cardiologist which he thought was a waste of time as it just went over the same questions that everyone else had asked him previously. Never mind, despite this, he is being monitored really well by a range of medical professionals.

We picked up our car for the weekend excited that we could actually go out and about now that some of the Covid restrictions had been relaxed. We had sundowners with Steve and Jo in the BBQ area early evening and, for a while, we were the only ones there before a large group of people turned up which made us uncomfortable – so we left as it was clear that social distancing would be difficult to maintain.

Saturday morning we headed off in the car towards the Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland. The road was pretty steep and chicane-like in places but I enjoyed the drive and laughed at the very different road signs that they have here in Australia.

First stop was Gallery Walk which is a small ‘high street’ full of restaurants (closed), breweries and wineries (open for takeaways) and open gift shops selling an eclectic selection of items such as German cuckoo clocks and Egyptian oils and glassware. It was pretty busy and we had to go around the block a couple of times before we found a car parking space. Then we had to dodge all the people to keep our distance. Was a strange touristy sort of place but it felt good to just have a change of scenery.

Moving on we headed to the National Park and into the rainforest. It is possible to hike to waterfalls from here on quite good paths but sadly the terrain was too hilly for us. Right now Richard is really only supposed to be walking on gentle slopes. Was fun for a while although pretty chilly out of the sun.

Leaving the park we headed over to the Sky Walk but, sadly, this elevated (flat) walk through the forest canopy remained closed. We continued driving around through the mountains and found the British pub. Sadly it wasn’t open but we enjoyed nosing around at some familiar sights LOL.

Driving back to the marina we stopped at one of the fresh fish stalls which is selling direct to the public from the trawler so we picked up some supplies including snapper and barramundi fillets for Richard and, of course, lots of prawns.

Back on board Morphie we got ourselves organised and then headed over to the BBQ area where we met Steve and Jo and had a cook up on the provided grills. Guess this could be classed as an Island Packet minivous? This time no-one else came along so we had the place to ourselves which is just how we like it. Was great fun and, yes, Richard is still abstaining from alcohol….

Sunday morning we were up early again and this time we headed down towards Surfers’ Paradise beach in Southport. We easily found somewhere to park on the promenade and walked about a mile along the beach even paddling for a little while in the rather chilly water. The lifeguards were monitoring the surfers and the bathers in the shallows and we really enjoyed people watching. On our return leg we walked the promenade and took a few breaks sitting on benches enjoying cold drinks from one of the open cafes. The police were patrolling the area in beach buggies and most people were being very careful to socially distance.

We then headed to the Southport Marina to have a look around – it is a pretty big place – and we were tempted by the seafood markets but did not want to queue up with lots of people so decided to give it a miss this time.

We returned to Morpheus via the supermarket to pick up some nibbles as we had been invited over to French Curve for the evening. We eventually decided to purchase sushi and, armed with our supplies, we headed over to the Gold Coast Marina next door. Funnily enough, Mark and Cheryl had decided to buy sushi too, so we had lots of very healthy nibbles. Was a lovely evening.

Monday morning and we decided to drive south again expecting everything to be closed as it was Labour Day (a public holiday). We headed to Paradise Point first and strolled around the small town which was pretty busy. Continuing on foot we walked to the river and just sat at one of many of the public seats taking in the scenery. There were lots of ibis around which the locals call ‘bin chickens’ as they spend a lot of time rooting around in the rubbish! Was really nice…. Funny that we sailed (motored) up this river on our way to the Boatworks but it sure looks different from the shore.

Moving on we continued driving down the coast road through Runaway Bay and into Biggera Waters. This whole Gold Coast area is pretty affluent and the houses reflect that with lots of expensive waterside homes with private docks. So lots to look at as we drove around.

On the return trip back up the coast we went to Hope Island where there are lots of communities being built, not all of them that attractive to be honest. We then arrived at Sanctuary Cove. This is a large up-market marina, hotel and gated community which we fancied taking a look at. Sadly the waterfront was largely (temporarily) sealed off so we couldn’t really see much but the shops / boutiques / restaurants / cafes / theatre all looked very nice and, perhaps one day we’ll return and be able to enjoy the facilities.

Back at the marina we popped down to see how Steve and Jo were getting on with their jobs and spent some time with them before having a quiet night on board.

Tuesday morning I taped up Morphie’s eyebrows and starting rubbing down. We are not taking the varnish back to the wood this time round (as we did that last year in New Zealand) but we definitely have lots of areas that need some love and attention after being exposed to the strong UV here in Australia whilst Morphie was in storage on the hard.

Richard wants to help but I’m banning him from varnishing as often you have to contort your body to reach everything. Which is exactly what he was doing in the cockpit when he had his heart attack! So way too soon for that but am letting him do other jobs so here he is working on the new dinghy wheels again. On his first attempt he hadn’t realised that the bar across the stern of the dinghy meant that the new wheels wouldn’t lock into place in the upright position. So he took them off again, made up some teak infills, and then reinstalled them. And, hey presto, they now lock into place. Good job!

Going through the onboard supplies I realised that we didn’t have enough gloss varnish and thinners to do the whole job so headed to the chandlery. Sadly Epifanes, our varnish of choice, is not available here in Australia. They have some excellent products but, unfortunately, are not compatible with the existing varnish. So we decided upon Goldspar Original. When I got the varnish ready for our first coat I was surprised to find it was red in colour and much thinner than we are used to. Anyway, I did the first coat, found that it flowed really nicely and was quite pleased with the initial result.

During the week I had received news that one of mum’s friends had reached the amazing milestone of 100 years old and had duly received his telegram from the Queen. I felt quite emotional to see photos of the occasion. Congratulations Don, hopefully you can have your large party to celebrate once lockdown is lifted at home.

Wednesday morning and I sanded down again and applied another coat. After that it was threatening rain and, despite best intentions of both of us, we didn’t get anything else done other than the laundry! Oh yes and Richard had a chat with his cardiac nurse on the phone who had got his blood test results back and relayed the news that everything was looking very good. They also discussed the heart clinic that he is going to start attending next week for a while. Late afternoon we had sundowners with Steve and Jo again which always rounds a day off very nicely.

Thursday morning and we picked up a courtesy car at 7.30 am and headed out to Woolworths for a bit of shopping – primarily fresh produce as we were running low. After that we headed over to BCF (Boating, Camping, Fishing) to get one of our gas tanks refilled. We had hoped to get our original US Worthington bottles re-certified here in Australia (which is why we can’t get them refilled) but, apparently, that is not going to be possible so we are using our NZ ones instead. We also heard that our in-mast furling mechanism is still in the machine shop as they make a replacement (plus a spare) for us. The price of the needed replacement parts (excluding the worm drive which is fine) from Sparcraft were stupidly expensive so we had gone with the local fabrication option. Hopefully we’ll have that reinstated next week and will get the main sail back on. Obviously we’ll need a very low wind day for that to happen.

Back on board we both cleaned up down below and I started cooking for the evening as Steve and Jo were coming for dinner for our last night together. In the midst of this Mark and Cheryl came over to see us so we caught up with them and their news. Later on Steve and Jo arrived bringing with them a lovely fresh prawn cocktail starter. After dinner we had a couple of games of Sequence (something that the Bracken / Pigram family introduced us to whilst we were home) and had a very social time. It was funny that in the first game Steve and Jo won (obviously beginner’s luck) and then it was boys -v- girls and the boys won…..Certainly not my best night as I was the only one on the losing side twice LOL.

Friday morning we popped over to see Steve and Jo and return their tupperware containers to find them a bit fed up – yes, the trades had let them down so they were definitely not leaving as expected and, on top of that, some cruising vagabond had nicked some of Jo’s bedding from laundry machines which are locked to everyone other than to people on boats within the facility. Really did not expect that sort of thing to happen here! Silver lining for us, of course, is that we get to spend more time with them before they head out.

Back to Morpheus I got on with rubbing down and applying the third coat of varnish on the eyebrows and was pretty pleased with progress so far. Richard was keen to do something so he taped up the rest of the boat in preparation for me so that I can start tackling the capping rail. In the late afternoon we met Steve and Jo and had dinner at our private BBQ area.

We recognised that it was a public holiday in the UK to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day and to give special thanks to all those who served. We hope everyone enjoyed such a special day despite the lockdown restrictions in place.

This morning, Saturday, and I’m up early trying to get this blog finished and published before I start on the varnishing again….

Stay safe everyone, we miss you. Bye for now

Jan

Saturday we did a few jobs and I finally finished the stainless steel cleaning. We also had a chat with Greg and Bev from SV Liberty as they were about to leave the marina. They were very supportive to me whilst Richard was incapacitated and had really looked out for both of us since. Hopefully we’ll see them at some point later in the season out on the hook.

During the afternoon Mark from SV French Curve came by to see us. He is currently located in the Gold Coast Marina next door with his mast down. He told us what had happened and, basically, without going into detail the relationship between him and the rigger had broken down. This was for a total re-rig of his boat and he had been in situ without a mast for months. The marina management had stepped in to mediate a way forward but, one of the future conditions, was that Mark and his wife Cheryl would not be present on board whilst the work was being completed. They were very fed up about this but need to get the job finished so they accepted the condition. As we are not doing much right now with Covid restrictions combined with Richard’s recuperation we agreed to ‘baby sit’ their boat and be their representatives whilst this was going on. Guess this could make the grade as another “international rescue” as they are from California…..

We had a quiet evening on board and watched another rubbish movie. Not sure what film the reviewers were watching but continue to be surprised at some of the official ‘ratings’. Never mind we have 2 GB of movies to get through, there must be a good one in their somewhere LOL.

Sunday morning we had a lazy start and come lunchtime we had a knock on the hull. It was Steve and Jo from SV Tamanu (fellow Island Packeteers) who had come into the marina a day earlier than planned. They are having problems with their engine turbo…. We said a quick hello and arranged to meet them for sundowners in the BBQ area later and had a nice socially distanced time catching up with Richard making do with coconut water as he has sworn off the booze right now. Steve and Jo had been great support to me whilst Richard was in hospital so it was nice for them to see Richard looking so well.

Monday morning we picked up our courtesy car from the marina and we drove to the doctors. Richard had his blood pressure tested, the GP listened to his heart and lungs and checked his ankles for swelling and declared his satisfaction with progress to date. Richard’s recovery is going so well it is hard to believe he has been ill at all. The GP is coordinating his recovery plan so we told them about other appointments that had already been made elsewhere. He also gave Richard a flu jab as we are heading into winter here in Australia and Richard is now in the ‘vulnerable’ category. We collected our printed prescriptions, paid our bill (yes still no Medicare) and headed off to Coles for the weekly shopping.

Back on board, car returned, we unpacked and put away all our fresh provisions. Currently there is a glut of huge fresh prawns around as the fishermen are unable to export them to the Far East because of the border closures. So we are supporting them by buying at least half a kilo each visit LOL. It is also advocado season so Richard is making the most of this superfood glut too. We met Steve and Jo for sundowners again and caught up on the events of the day.

Tuesday morning and we were picked up at 7.30 am and taken over to Mark’s boat. She sure looked strange without any mast or rigging. Mark and Cheryl vacated and then Jason (the rigger) came on board. We were a bit concerned that he would be difficult with us as we were there as Mark’s representatives but he was fine although did a lot of cussing and complaining whilst he was working.

During the day (which was a cloudy and gloomy one) Richard went for a walk and admired the amazingly sleek superyacht Dragonfly in the yard. This belongs to Sergey Brin of Google fame. What a beauty eh?!? Allegedly (and this is just a rumour which cannot be substantiated so don’t quote me) the yacht sailed through the massive pumice stone raft which was created last August by an underground volcanic explosion and floated from Tonga on the trades towards Australia. This scratched up the hull hence why it needed a new paint job.

We got back to the Boatworks late afternoon and had a quiet evening on board enjoying being back on Morphie.

Wednesday morning and Mark picked us up again very early. This was supposed to be the day that the mast was going to be stepped….but there was a problem with one of the new deck plates as the holes didn’t match and Jason had to make new holes to fix it in position. This delayed everything and, eventually, we were told that the mast would be stepped the following day. We were there until about 3pm anyway keeping an eye on progress until he called it a day.

On return to the Boatworks we headed over to see how Steve and Jo were getting on with their jobs and ended up staying for a while chatting. We also said farewell to SV Calagorm who were heading off to anchor out – we hope we see them again later this season too. Was a nice end to a long frustrating day…..

Thursday morning at 5.30 am we were picked up by Mark again. This was finally the day that the mast was being reinstalled. We got the boat ready to depart the slip and I walked the dock to the lift-out area and helped tie the boat up from above. So I watched all the action from this relative place of safety whilst Richard remained on board to check all was well and gave orders about the easing lines as the tide was still dropping.

By 9am the mast was in and secured. We motored back to the slip for the final fixings.

All tied up safely and Mark went off to collect Steve and Jody (SV Enavigo) to help with the remainder of the work as we had to leave to head down to Southport for blood tests. While he was gone we continued to watch progress on the final fittings.

They arrived, we handed over the baton, and Mark took us back to the Boatworks. We got ourselves cleaned up and changed, picked up the courtesy car, and then drove south. We had a bit of trouble getting the tests done for free under the reciprocal NHS arrangements and without a Medicare number as the GP had filled in a ‘private’ form rather than a public one. But we had Richard’s unique in-patient number so that sufficed and we were able to get this done eventually. We also got our prescriptions filled at the hospital on-site pharmacy and, because Richard was in the system, they were able to give them to us at NHS prices which was a result.

We drove back to Morpheus – the roads were pretty busy as more businesses are re-opening – and gave Mark a call to check on progress. They had been able to do most things, everything had been tensioned, and all the sails were reinstated. Around 4pm Mark picked us up and we headed over and the six of us had a nice dinner on their boat. Was a good end to a very stressful period for Mark and Cheryl so we were glad to have been able to help them out.

This morning, Friday, and we are (alone) in the cruisers lounge again whilst the laundry is going around in the tub. Later on we have a car booked as we had a consultant cardiologist appointment at the hospital but this is now going to be done by phone instead as they are trying to reduce the footfall through the hospital during the Covid pandemic. A bit of a shame as Richard was hoping for a repeat ECG / cardiogram to see how things were progressing but guess this will have to wait until we have the appointment at the heart clinic on 13 May. But this week, as well as the GP visit, he has had a chat with his specialist heart nurse plus the pharmacist to check his progress. He is being so well looked after, we just need that damn Medicare number!

This coming weekend is a Bank Holiday in Australia (Monday is Labour Day) and we have a car booked for the whole time which is great. The Covid restrictions have been eased a little (there have been no new cases in Queensland for the last two days) and we are allowed to go out providing we stay within a 50km distance of our ‘home address’. Well, around here, that includes both the beach and the mountains so we are going to enjoy just going for a drive. If there are too many people around we’ll stay in the car but hopefully we’ll be able to just relax on a bench somewhere taking in the breeze and a different view. Such simple pleasures but we are really looking forward to it!

• 

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So we have lots of sympathy for our UK family and friends who remain in total lockdown mode and hope that at some stage they will be able to enjoy life’s simple pleasures too. Stay safe everyone and take care.

Bye for now

Jan

Friday afternoon the riggers were on board and took away the worm drive furling mechanism for the main sail. Here they are trying to remove it and the space left behind. It looks very strange with just a hole in the mast. Oh yes and Richard had to check it all out but we managed to keep him away from the winches and the sail flaking.

Saturday morning we had a lazy start and had just got our laundry packed up and ready to go to use the facilities when Steve and Jody turned up on their bikes (they are now on anchor out in the river somewhere). We had collected a parcel for them from the office on Friday afternoon so they had come to pick it up. We had a nice few hours chatting and catching up before they left us to it. By now the desire to do laundry had waned LOL so we had a lazy afternoon / evening on board just reading and chilling.

Sunday morning we took ourselves off to the laundry facilities after breakfast. Of course, this is the most popular day to do laundry in the boatyard so we had to wait our turn for machines. And it really annoys me when people don’t bother to come back to empty them when they have finished their cycle. These ‘smart’ machines actually tell you how long they are going to take, so it’s not rocket science. Rant over…..

Eventually we managed to get the washing on and, as the place was pretty quiet, we took up residence in the cruisers’ lounge. We don’t often go in there as it is too small to allow for proper social distancing but as nobody else was around it wasn’t a problem. Woo hoo! This meant we could use the Boatworks internet rather than our own mobile SIM data package (which is what we use onboard) so we made the most of it and managed to download a couple of our favourite TV programmes to the iPad to watch later.

Finally the laundry was finished and we returned to Morphie, stowed it all away, and had a evening in front of the laptop (having worked out how to mirror the iPad to the larger computer screen). Linking the bluetooth stereo with the laptop means we also have surround sound. Thankfully the evenings here are quite cool as we head towards winter so it is really comfy and cozy down below.

Sunday we had decided was a day of rest so we just chilled and read books, ate heathily, and went for a few walks. Richard has definitely picked up the pace now so he’s going off on his own most of the time two or three times a day. But we do occasionally walk the docks together to chat to people we know.

Monday morning and I had a courtesy car booked.

Richard was waiting on calls from Rene (about the fridge) and Iain (about the rigging) so I headed off to the mall on my own. The roads are so familiar around here now I don’t even need to use a sat nav. First stop on my list was to an Australian bank. Over the weekend I had been googling the requirements to open a local bank account. This is the only way to get refunds paid from Medicare for medical expenses that we have incurred prior to our registration number being issued. I had found one in the local Westfield mall that would consider us even though we are non-residents. So, armed with lots of ID paperwork, I waited in line. The woman in charge of the information desk was surprised by my request, having never been asked by a non-resident before, but when I explained about Medicare only using local bank accounts she understood and got someone to help me. Within half an hour of entering the branch I came out with a new bank account, a debit card was on order, and I had all the details needed for Medicare to add this to my application. Really friendly, helpful and efficient service – thank you Commonwealth Bank.

I then headed into Woolworths (making a change from Coles supermarket as I was parked up that end of the mall) and picked up lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Back on board, I got everything stowed, and then sent off another email to Medicare giving them the new bank account details to add to our application. Was feeling pretty pleased with myself. We then had a quiet evening on board.

Tuesday morning and we heard from Rene that they were coming back on Wednesday. So I left Richard resting down below while I started on the stainless steel cleaning. I managed to finish the starboard side before calling it a day in the hot sun. While I then chilled Richard did his daily walks and also visited some of the trades. After dinner we had a quiet evening watching another couple of episodes of the Peaky Blinders. Not quite addicted to this box set but each episode finishes on a cliff hanger so you end up binge watching just to find out what happens.

Wednesday morning and Rene was back with another of his guys. Look at this lovely new refrigerant plate before it gets bent into shape in the box. Rene was in the lazarette and the other guy was in the fridge as they took out the old equipment and reinstalled the new. The insulation foam had to be cut away in places to allow for the new installation but, once they had checked it all and re-gassed the system, they filled these in too. Take a look at the removed damaged old unit!!!

Really pleased that everything was working well, Richard took himself off for more walks while I got on with the stainless steel cleaning on the port side of the boat. Was really really hot….. We then had another quiet evening on board – not like there is really much choice in the current situation.

Thursday morning and I tried to get hold of Medicare on the phone. Richard has a GP visit next week and it is two weeks since I sent off the documentation (although I do recognise that Easter was in the mix). What I really wanted was confirmation that they had received all our documentation and that the process was ongoing and, to ask if possible, whether they could give me our Medicare number so that we could use this in the interim period before our cards are issued. Sadly they were unable to help me, so will just have to trust in the process and keep all things flexible crossed in the meantime.

So then, of course, the fridge decided to fall over! What?!? We called Rene and, luckily he was working nearby, so he came over pretty quickly. He did another complete check on the system and this time he found the high pressure “quick connect” fitting was now leaking. He quickly replaced this (without any further charge) and, again, all was working well. Great service.

After he had left we rinsed Morphie off as she was pretty dusty and then used the chamois to get off the excess water. I did actually let Richard help me with this so he did starboard while I did port. He is chomping at the bit to get back to work but he has another week before he is supposed to do anything although he remains a good dishwasher LOL. So that was it for the day apart from a couple of walks around the boatyard together and then back onboard for dinner and to watch another film before turning in.

Oh yes and we had an email from the British High Commission here in Canberra, Australia. They had asked all UK citizens in Australia to register and outline their future travel intentions. We had done this and explained that we intended to sit it out here as the risk of travelling home was significant (particularly after Richard’s heart attack) and that our visa did not officially expire until the 11 March 2021 (although we had hoped to return home before then). The UK government email explained about checking travel insurance; enrolling with Medicare for NHS reciprocal arrangements; availability of flights home being very volatile; and replacing expired visas. We had already worked through all this ourselves so the advice was a little late in the day but at least it confirmed we hadn’t missed anything we needed to consider. At least they know we are here….

This morning, Friday, and we are doing the laundry. We had hoped to use the lounge again but there are four ladies in there so that is that. So instead, we have found a nice bench tucked away which is in the shade and we are keeping cool whilst still able to use the lounge internet access.

We are still waiting on Iain re the rigging – he is in discussion with Sparcraft about replacement parts and availability – so that is ongoing and Richard has just gone off to see him in his workshop. Not sure when we’ll get this resolved but we weren’t going anywhere anyway right now. In fact, we have just extended our stay on the dock for another month so that takes us up to the end of May.

Stay safe every one and take care. Bye for now

Jan

By Saturday morning the rain had passed through and we awoke to a lovely hot and sunny day. We had a lazy time just relaxing, reading, watching box sets and generally just chilling down below in the cool. During the day we did two 15 minute walks (flat surfaces only through the boat yard) so that Richard could start building up his strength.

He did really well and it was clear that he was bouncing back very fast. The hardest thing is going to be stopping him doing stuff because he feels so well right now…..

Sunday we had another lazy day with a couple of longer walks. And, of course, during the day the fridge decided to pack up. Was very strange – one minute it was working too hard (which we thought could be because the water here in the river is quite warm); then it went below the set temperature; and then the compressor fell over and wouldn’t restart. We tried to ‘force’ it on by mucking around with the set parameters but that didn’t work. So last option was to re-gas it – so Richard taught me how to do this with the pressure gauges etc – assuming a leak somewhere. This worked briefly as the compressor did come on but then fell over again and wouldn’t restart. The controller was working properly as it was ‘calling’ for cooling at the right time but it just wouldn’t play. We realised that we needed professional assistance so we sent an email to one of the on-site companies to see if they could help us.

Easter Monday and Richard had his first GP appointment since being released from hospital. Yes, the local medical centre here is open seven days a week, even on bank holidays, which is quite something. This was the original doctor who had called the ambulance the week before so we had decided to sign up with him as patients. We haven’t yet heard back from Medicare (not surprisingly really as all the documents were only emailed last Thursday) so we still have to pay for the GP visit which, actually, isn’t too bad at $60 (about £30) a go. But I’m hoping that Medicare will be sorted out soon, especially when they start re-doing his bloods and ECGs. The doctor was very pleased with Richard’s progress and to see him again – reviewing his discharge papers he kept telling him how lucky he was to survive. This is really just starting to sink in for both of us now. Dr Hassan was clearly pleased that he was going to be involved in monitoring Richard’s progress going forward. Next appointment was then fixed for two weeks time.

After the clinic we did a quick shop at Coles for some fresh provisions and then returned to Morphie. This little excursion had worn us both out so we rested up for the rest of the day before having a quiet evening watching some more episodes of the Peaky Blinders.

Tuesday morning and we were up early as I had to return the car keys to the office. Having returned the car we relaxed below waiting for the refrigeration guys to turn up. They investigated the electrical side of the whole system and said that was all good and beyond this, it was not really their speciality, so recommended Rene from a neighbouring marina who is the ‘best refrigeration guy around’. As they couldn’t help us they didn’t charge us for their time either….

So Richard called Rene directly and he agreed to come to us the following day. Richard then relaxed down below while I started tackling the cockpit. I cut and buffed the gel coat to remove the oxidisation so happily got to play with our new toy. There were also lots of fiddly bits that had to be done by hand too. Afterwards I sprayed it all down with water to remove the dust and then wiped it all clean. Phew!

Afterwards, while I was getting cleaned up, Richard went out for one of his daily walks. I wasn’t really happy with him going out on his own at this stage but he promised to be good and took his emergency spray with him, and I can’t keep him tied up down below forever LOL. I was anxious while he was out but he came back very happy to have done a longer walk and had picked up the pace without any ill effects. So all very positive stuff. Oh yes and he came back with a bit of teak that he needed for another job on the dinghy for when he is stronger……

Wednesday morning the specialist heart nurse (Imogen) called Richard for a telephone update. She also confirmed a follow up consultant’s appointment at the hospital for early May and discussed his progress to date. All is apparently going swimmingly and they may change his drug regime as he is tolerating it so well – but still very early days. About half an hour later we got another phone call, this time from Peter at the local heart clinic who are also going to monitor Richard going forward, so that was fixed for 13 May. We remain very grateful that we are here in Australia with this amazing medical service. Just hope that the Medicare registration comes through in time….fingers crossed!

Rene then came by and checked out the fridge compressor in the lazarette. He also monitored pressures and also thought we had a leak in the system somewhere. He had this whizzy nitrogen recorder which confirmed that all was well with the back end of the system. So I emptied the fridge out and he used it again inside the box – and it went absolutely crazy – confirming we had a leak in the actual refrigerator plates. Oh well, never mind at least the mystery is solved. So he ordered a new one and hopes to install it sometime next week. In the meantime he got the fridge up and running temporarily to tide us through. What great service!

Afterwards Richard then went out for a walk on his own again and I started to wax the cockpit now that we weren’t expecting any more trades on board. It was time to get the polisher out again and, as before, there were lots of areas that had to be done by hand. But was pretty happy with the end result. I called it a day later in the afternoon with just the binnacle and the cockpit sole to be finished off.

Thursday morning I waxed the binnacle and then worked on the cockpit sole – all done by lunchtime – phew! Don’t think Morphie has ever looked quite so shiny LOL. Richard headed off during the day on two longer walks on his own and talked to some more trades about some things he wants looked at whilst we are here. The main item is the rolling furling mainsail as the worm screw in the mast is a bit tight and stiff so it is not so easy to pull the sail in and out anymore. They are going to come and check it out on Friday. The rest of the day we relaxed and chilled.

This morning, Friday, for a change we turned right rather than left for our walk and admired our large neighbours that are in the new super yacht area of The Boatworks.

A huge yacht was hauled yesterday and you don’t realise the scale of it until you see the size of the 300 ton travel lift it was pulled out by. Check out the size of those wheels!

We also had a look at the newly-constructed VIP lounge which we don’t have access to but the cleaning ladies let us take a peek. Here is Richard pretending he is a VIP LOL.

It is really very nice – we particularly liked the scuba helmet and the ship’s bell – and the great views out of the glass walls….

We also took a look at the new marina ‘beach bar’ which is currently being landscaped – it is going to be really nice when it is finished. Apparently the next phase of this development is for waterside bars and restaurants – don’t think anyone will ever leave LOL.

When we got back to Morphie we checked on our supplies and realised that we had pretty much eaten our way through all the fresh fruit and there weren’t many vegetables left either. Luckily a courtesy car was available at noon, so I donned my chauffeur hat again (Richard is not allowed to drive yet) and took him back to Coles in the Westfield mall. We did a quick supermarket sweep – very few people around – and returned to the Boatworks.

We popped into Print Image on the way back to Morpheus only to find that they had completed our new logo – a little present for Morphie – and came straight round to put it on. Doesn’t she look smart?!?

No sooner had I returned the car, and then put the shopping away, the riggers came on board to check out the in-mast furler. Sail down and worm drive out….only to find that the bearings have gone. So they have taken that away to fix and hope to get that back early next week too.

Take care everyone – stay home and stay safe. Bye for now

Jan

Friday, apart from doing the laundry, we had a lazy day reading and chilling. In the evening we had to fight a mosquito invasion – hadn’t really suffered much from them here before so was a bit strange – but thankfully we won the battle.

Saturday we went for a walk through the marina to the on-site cafe, Garage 25, for a take out coffee and sat at the bus stop shelter (there are no buses LOL) before returning to Morphie.

In the afternoon after a bacon and egg brunch, Richard decided to start tackling the cockpit. He scrubbed it vigorously with boat wash and was using the chamois cloth to wipe off the residual water when he had a sharp pain in his chest which felt like he had pulled a muscle. So I finished off and we had a long evening and night of him feeling under the weather, but really all the symptoms appeared muscular combined with severe indigestion / reflux, as sucking Gaviscon tablets helped.

Sunday morning Richard said that the pain had eased slightly after having taken some anti-inflammatory tablets but was still persistent. So we had a lazy day but in the evening it worsened again – not helped by his struggle to get any sleep as it hurt to lay flat so he ended up sitting up all night again.

Monday morning we made a doctors appointment and got a courtesy car from the marina to go there. When we arrived, they decided to do an ECG just to make sure everything was OK before considering other reasons for his discomfort.

The ECG was not good and the doctor said that it looked like Richard had actually had a heart attack, although obviously he was not a specialist. As non-essential hospital appointments are being scaled back in Australia due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the GP decided the most efficient way forward was for him to be transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital in Southport so he could get into the system. So the ambulance was called….and then the nightmare really began. The paramedics said that he was actually still having a heart attack – and had been for two days – and they gave him lots of medications as they whizzed us down the M1 motorway. In the meantime the Boatworks sent a couple of their guys out to collect the courtesy car from the mall’s car park.

We arrived at this extensive modern teaching hospital and were put straight into Resus 1 where the paramedics passed Richard over to the on-site staff.

He was quickly stripped off and gowned up and there were at least 12 doctors / nurses plugging him into multiple machines, taking measurements, taking blood, and monitoring all the outputs. They sent the results to the on-duty cardiologist and, suddenly, Richard is being whisked up to the theatre for an exploratory procedure.

Throughout all of this I was able to stay with him, but at this point I was sent to a waiting room, and the reality of what was happening hit home. Couldn’t fault the amazing Australian medical services nor the facilities of this five-year old hospital – have never seen anywhere quite so clean. We were concerned over Covid but they explained that those poor people are isolated elsewhere so we didn’t have to worry about contamination.

Thankfully after what felt like hours I was taken to the recovery room to reunite with a sedated Richard whilst they continued to monitor him – they had found a blocked artery and had inserted a stent there and then.

The lower-left ventricle heart muscle has also been damaged as it was ‘stunned’ by the lack of oxygenated blood for a period of time although it is possible that the functionality could improve over time and under treatment. The team worked hard doing constant ECG monitoring and scans. But Richard’s blood pressure and heart rate was all over the place. The machines were constantly sounding alarms and this was very scary – it was quite clear even to me that he was unstable. After an extended period in recovery they decided that he was OK to move to critical care. So I followed him on his journey along the corridor and he was taken into his own room. Richard remained pretty cheerful throughout the whole time and even managed to flirt with the nurses a bit. He was still being constantly monitored and it soon became clear I was in the way – I probably wasn’t supposed to be there anyway. So a nurse walked me off the premises – in a tearful daze – I really didn’t know where I was. Thankfully there was a huge line of taxis waiting and I was able to get back to Morphie for $50.

Back on board and the whole situation hit me really hard especially when I started contacting friends and family back in the UK – some by phone, others online. I also walked the docks to tell some friends who are on boats here in the marina. Then back to Morphie again for more calls, more internet, and lots and lots of tears. I was so scared and every time the phone rang I thought it was going to be the hospital bringing me bad news. I didn’t get much sleep for sure.

Tuesday morning, at 7am, I went to the marina office. Without any dramas they had booked the free courtesy car for me for the whole week through to the Tuesday after Easter. The manager of the site even came out and bought me a coffee from the on-site restaurant. He also explained how I was able to get out-of-hours support if I needed it from the Boatworks family and said that all I had to do was shout. Unbelievably supportive and they definitely live up to their reputation of being Australia’s Greatest Boatyard.

By 9am, google maps at the ready, I headed out in the car (very thankful they gave me an automatic rather than a manual) towards the hospital. On a good run it takes about 25 minutes but the roads were rammed – they couldn’t all be essential workers, could they??? Anyway, I managed to find the hospital and the car parking, grabbed a drink from the vendor in the main hospital reception and wandered aimlessly towards a lift block. The wards here do not have names just their location – so I was heading towards Floor 4, B block, North. Got a bit lost but eventually I made it to the ward, checked in with the nurses and was escorted to his room. It was a very emotional reunion and I quickly got told off for bawling everywhere as I was supposed to be there to support him!! Just so damn relieved. The doctors came on their rounds and they were very pleased with his progress. They explained that they would keep him in for a minimum of four days while they introduced him to a whole new drug regime. They also explained that he was in AF too. They confirmed that this was genetics rather than lifestyle so he could have had a heart attack at any time – thank god that we were locked down in a marina because of the Covid problem. The medics said that he was lucky to have survived and the horror of this happening underway or in a remote anchorage someplace doesn’t bear thinking about.

During my two hour visit (maximum allowed daily) we were visited by Justin who is a specialist heart nurse. He talked us through the problems, the symptoms, and the recommended changes we needed to make to keep Richard safe from other episodes. All very sobering stuff. Quickly my time was up so I drove back to Morphie – again surprised by the amount of traffic around. I visited the office to keep them updated and then walked the docks again to update our friends.

Back on board I did some research into Medicare here in Australia. The in-patient and future out-patient appointments are all covered free of charge as Australia has a reciprocal arrangement wth the UK. We are also entitled to sign up for Medicare to give us free access to GP services which is going to be required going forward. Although prescription medication, apparently, is charged at cost to everybody. So I rang them to see if I could make an appointment for Wednesday afternoon to be told you have to come in and do it in person. So I got the form printed off.

Another night on board but was delighted to speak to Richard in the evening to find that he had eaten and he was very happy with his three-course dinner service! In the evening, for an hour or so, I joined Steve and Jody – at an appropriate social distance of course – and it was nice to get off the boat for a little while. It is incredibly strange to be onboard Morphie without Richard – we are always together 24/7 and it just felt plain wrong. This was followed by another busy evening of messaging updates on his condition but sleep still remained elusive.

Wednesday morning, again at 7am, I headed into the office to update the office staff. Back on board I filled the 13 page form in and gathered all the original documents ready to take with me. They wanted quite a lot of information that I had to sort out. Armed with all this, plus the address of the local Southport Centrelink office, I drove back down the motorway to see Richard. The traffic had quietened a little – with lots of messages about essential travel only – but still more than I would have expected. The motorways aren’t too bad to navigate as at least they drive on the correct side of the road in Australia LOL. They also have roughly the same speed limit as us which is 110 kph / almost 70 mph.

I arrived to find Richard sitting up in a chair watching the TV. He was so much brighter I couldn’t believe it. They had got him up and about with a mobile monitoring device so he had been able to shower too. Here he is looking surprisingly well considering. After the photoshoot I got him to sign the documents.

The doctors were incredibly pleased with his progress and said he may even come home on Thursday – which is a day earlier than we thought was the earliest release date. So we were pretty chuffed. Again Justin came by for another chat this time about support going forward. Basically Richard is going to be monitored very closely and has been allocated a specialist nurse practitioner who will be keeping in touch with him and his GP (when we have signed up with one) and monitoring his test results and tolerance for the drugs etc and also organising his out-patient check-ups. There is usually a rehab clinic to attend too but this is not operating at the moment due to the pandemic. The reality is that the medics have asked that we don’t move away from the Gold Coast for the next three months whilst he is closely monitored….and, as we are virtually in lock down here with non-essential boating prohibited, we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon anyway.

Leaving him again after my allocated two hours I headed off in the car to find this Centrelink / Medicare office. I found a free public car park and watched the queue up the street. Great…. I joined the queue (suitably masked up) and had to keep moving to maintain my position in the line but also to keep away from the damn people who clearly had no regard for the social distancing practices put in place. After an hour I made it into the office itself and then to the check-in desk – only to be told that they no longer do enrolments here and I have to send the documents in via email. Great, what a waste of time. The experience was certainly an education and people watching never gets more interesting than that!

Back to the boatyard, I did my now customary dock walk and visited the office ladies to give them some chocolates as a small token of my appreciation for their help and support. Then I started the process of collating pdfs of documents in readiness for the submission. And, of course, at that point my scanner packed up! Really…..I only had two more documents to do……sigh…. So that was the end of that for the evening so again another evening of messaging and keeping people informed. Another lonely and pretty sleepless night on board followed as I was by now feeling increasingly anxious about everything.

Thursday morning, again at 7am I’m back to the office, to get these last two documents scanned. They did it on the spot – amazing service or what?!? – and back to Morphie to get them all sent off. Phew, job done, and then back in the car down to the hospital. I did my usual two hour visit but Richard was still unsure of whether he would be released or not as the doctors were late doing their rounds. By this time he had been moved into a two-man room as his original one was needed for someone who was in a very bad way. That’s when you start counting your blessings!

So I left as usual and asked him to call me. When I left him this time I headed straight to Coles supermarket in the Westfield Mall (which we have found to be the better stocked supermarket locally). And, being the day before a long holiday weekend, with numbers being restricted inside the store, I had to queue for a long time to actually get inside. I was after some new essential ingredients to help Richard with his new diet plus lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. The weird thing was that the seafood stuff was all gone – so no hope of getting some fresh prawns and salmon then?!? Also eggs seem to be the latest things to be in short supply but there was lots of toilet paper instead LOL.

When I got back to the car I had missed a call from the hospital. So I rang back and it took me quite a while to get through to Richard – not great for my stress levels! But it was very good news and he confirmed that he was coming home and I should return at 4pm. So I rushed back to Morphie, unloaded the shopping and did a quick clean up job in readiness for his return. Then I headed off down the Pacific Highway towards the motorway as I wanted to pop into the rug shop. I know that this was non-essential (was actually surprised they were still open) but if we are going to be sitting on the dock for a long while we really need the saloon to feel more homely. Richard had given me permission to choose it on my own LOL. Anyway, job done, I headed to the hospital for the second visit of the day.

I arrived in good time and Richard was sitting in his chair, watching TV, all packed up and ready to go. The pharmacist was with him going through all his drugs and the regime he needed to follow and what each of them did. We still had to wait around for the discharge papers which are usually posted to your doctor – but, of course, we don’t have one yet – so we waited and waited. Realising that time was getting on I headed down to the hospital pharmacy to get the prescriptions made up in preparation for our departure. We got one month’s supply of eight different drugs for a total cost of $127 (as we elected for generic rather than branded ones) which didn’t seem that bad actually.

I headed back to the ward and he was still sitting there…..so I chased up the documents. I really didn’t want to drive back in the dark if I could avoid it. Anyway, finally, I was able to take him home. On arrival back we slowly walked around and visited three boats (at a social distance of course) to show them that he was well and then had a quiet evening on board whilst he phoned around his family after a very healthy dinner. We both slept pretty well.

At this juncture, I just want to praise the Australian healthcare system for being so amazing – fantastically prompt, efficient, professional, no-nonsense service. I’m not sure the outcome would have been such a good one if this had happened back in the UK right now with the current emergency situation. Grateful to be here in Australia and on the Gold Coast which has a relatively low number of Covid cases to date.

This rainy morning, Good Friday, and Richard is resting and reading in the saloon (with the new navy rug that he is not keen on, typical!). We’ll go out for a short dock walk later but don’t plan anything strenuous for him for the next two to three weeks as he builds his stamina. Guess the boat jobs will fall to me soon and expect to be tackling them going forward under direct supervision – not sure that will be fun LOL.

Happy Easter everybody. Take care, stay safe, stay home and to let you know we are thinking of you. Plus a huge thank you to everybody who have been phoning me; messaging me; and emailing me with supportive messages throughout this difficult time. You were all awesome!

Bye for now

Jan