Monday (5 October) and we decided not to move on as it was a Bank Holiday and this anchorage was serene and beautiful away from all the madness. Only downside was the amount of sand fleas that managed to bite us LOL.
Tuesday morning we weighed anchor and headed back through the myriad of channels and islands past the (not navigable) Jumpinpin Bar which separates North and South Stradbroke islands. And on the beach was this couple from one of the anchored boats – guess they just want to be alone?!?
Got a great spot in the Tipplers anchorage well away from the narrow channel. We went ashore and had a couple of drinks in the licensed cafe and, of course, said hello to our Wallaby friends once again. And then the day was rounded off by another lovely sunset.
Wednesday we stayed put at Tipplers. First thing in the morning, however, we spotted something odd with our charging system. The Balmar controller said 0% State of Charge! What the hell??? So we checked the DC panel and it said that the house bank was sitting at 12.4 volts and the engine battery was at 13 volts. Didn’t make any sense and we definitely had concerns as our batteries are AGMs which have a memory – if they get depleted too far they never fully charge again. So we needed to get on top of this. Before doing anything, however, we decided to test the actual batteries themselves directly. Thankfully they were both in the 13 volt range (which is fine) but both monitors were going crazy. We decided to link all batteries together just in case there was some problem somewhere we couldn’t identify. We then went through the schematic and found fuses associated with the DC volt meter so we pulled it, cleaned it, and reinstated it. Low and behold the problem was fixed. Yay….
Leaving that behind we had a lovely afternoon on the beach watching over Morphie in the anchorage. And we both had a beer – yes Richard decided he fancied one – over six months after his heart attack – and he enjoyed a couple with no adverse effects although he is obviously limiting his intake.
Was fun to watch all the comings and goings although, thankfully, it was pretty quiet. Some great boats moving around though, check this one out, do you reckon he wants to be a tug boat when he grows up!?!
Had been an emotional day for me as it would have been Mum’s 90th birthday but we raised a glass in her honour so I know she would have smiled down on us that day. We made friends with the solitary duck in the anchorage and then finished the day by sitting on the coachroof as the sun went down.
Thursday morning, very early, we were up and started to weigh anchor. We have rigged a submersible pump in the anchor locker that I throw over the side to give me wash down facilities….but this morning, I turned on the power, and nothing! Damn….never mind….back to the old fashioned method of bucket and chuck it until we manage to purchase a new one.
As the chain started to come up there was something strange about the way it behaved and when I got the anchor to the bow I found out why! Was very surprised to find an old water heater firmly attached and wrapped around the anchor. What drongo (Australian for idiot) would dump something like this in such a beautiful anchorage?!? Anyway, I took the helm and left Richard battling to untangle it as we worked our way very slowly out into the channel. Eventually, covered in nasty black mud, he got it off and dropped it back in the drink in the channel so at least nobody else was going to get their anchor caught up in it. Yuck!
We then meandered up the river system to return to the Boatworks. You can see our little trips around the area by checking out our tracker (which shows our current position at Tipplers).
By 10am we were back in our normal slip and quickly got Morphie hosed down and cleaned up, even emptying the anchor locker again to clean up all that nasty mud we had managed to pick up in the morning. We then got ourselves cleaned up and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon in the cockpit enjoying the sight of Boatie McBoatFace (not it’s real name of course) coming up the river. What a fun vessel, it even has a hot tub on its top deck, but don’t reckon it would fare too well in a strong wind!
At 4pm I picked up the courtesy car and headed off to the physio. This time he was much more personable than before (guess he must have had a bad day last time LOL) and gave me some different exercises when I explained the difficulties I had had after our last session. Fingers crossed….. He also was OK with a three week break before the next session so, hurrah, we can head off back out sailing on Monday once we have done the rest of our chores.
Friday we were going to be busy but made time for a leisurely breakfast in The Galley first…that’s always a treat when we return to the marina. Richard filled the water tank, topped up the diesel tank, and some general cleaning (including the bilge) whilst I did computer stuff (largely finishing off and submitting our travel insurance claim in relation to out-of-pocket expenses when Richard had his heart attack with fingers crossed for a speedy and painless resolution). We had lots of laundry to do so (making the most of the numerous machines) so spent some time doing that and taking refuge in the cruisers lounge utilising the Boatworks high speed internet. Managed to download some things to watch off line and also updated all our apps etc. In the evening, it was lovely and warm, so we enjoyed a couple of cold beers in the cockpit before retiring down below for dinner.
Saturday morning we were up pretty early. We had compiled a shopping list and set off on a mission to Oxenford. First stop was BCF where we stocked up on some strong Bushman bug spray to deal with the pesky biting midges! We also got a propane fill and some petrol for dink. Then it was off to the main village centre and we picked up some items in the pharmacy; some meat from the butcher and I got my hair cut whilst Richard started the Woolworths shop in my absence. I caught up with him in the aisles, we completed the shopping, and then came back to Morphie and spend a while stowing it all away again. We then had a leisurely and quiet evening on board.
Sunday morning and again we headed out to the shops – this time to Coles in Coomera – to finish off the shopping list for fresh fruit and vegetables. Heading back to the marina we popped into The Galley for a coffee then back onboard and stashed all our goodies. Then it was just a range of normal boat jobs to be done prior to heading out again the following day like engine checks, water top up etc. We are also checking the weather closely and deciding where to go. Strong winds and the risk of thunderstorms later in the week are forecast right now but that will probably change on a daily basis… We had a quiet night onboard.
This morning, Monday, we were up early and returned the car keys to the marina office. We then got ourselves cleaned up and ready and, by 8.15 am, we were slipping away from the marina and was underway down the river. At 11.05 we had our anchor down at Tipplers and here we stay. At 11.40 I finally had a telephone appointment with the dietician so that was another thing ticked off my list. So Richard is now relaxing in the cockpit while I’m down below blogging. Both of us are glad to be back out on anchor once again.
News from home is pretty grim and we hope you don’t all get locked down again. Please stay safe everyone and take care. Sending virtual hugs your way. Bye for now
Jan