Whales! We got Sam back onboard in Mackay, then headed to Airlie Beach. He was on watch all morning and when I relieved him he was grumbling about not seeing any dolphins or whales. Less than a minute after I took the wheel, a whale popped up straight in front of the bow. Instead of surfacing for a bit then disappearing into the depths like they usually do, this guy and his smaller friend were just hanging out near the surface. They passed right by us on the starboard side, waving goodbye before they eventually took off. I actually managed to get a picture this time, discovering two things in the process. First, I should always leave the long lens on the camera if there's a chance of whales because the small lens won't get a good close up. Second, it's really hard to focus on something quite close through the long lens when we're surfing downwind. It's impossible to keep the camera still! Here are some out of focus whales, anyway.
That downwind run was a bit rough - the waves were much bigger than they would normally be with a steady 15-20 knot breeze. Cue dinghy incident number six and yet another lesson on what not to do. We were towing the dinghy for some reason, even though we were going way faster than it could handle. I was still on watch when the waves got too much for it and managed to flip the poor thing over. Whoops. The seat was tied on tightly (thanks to the Fiji dinghy incident... At least we're learning), but the oars were still inside. The oars aren't meant to be kept in the dinghy at all, and I guess this is why. I yelled out for Garth as I watched them float away, keeping my course just on the verge of gybing - straight downwind with the headsail poled out. One of the worst positions to be in for chasing things that have fallen overboard. We got the pole down, the headsail in and the engine started. Sam looked after the main sail as we followed basic man overboard procedure, while I steered and Garth tried to grab the oars. Garth and I eventually swapped and he put us on a good course for me to get them on board. It took quite a few goes. With three of us. I don't know how I'd do it myself... I think I'd just have to drop the sails, turn on the engine and throw out a rope, assuming the person in the drink was capable of grabbing it. It was good practice regardless, and we won't be leaving the oars in the dinghy again. I hope.
Mackay was scary. The marina was nice, although not as nice as Yepoon where they had a complementary car you could drive around for two hours (free car!!!). But it had a 37m long super yacht parked up at the fuel dock for a few days. Escapade was her name, and she's only three months old. Her 55 metre mast is almost 5 times the length of our whole boat. Five spreaders next to our lowly two. And if that didn't draw enough attention on its own, the whole thing was painted a blinding gold colour. I wanted to touch it. But there's no way I was going anywhere near it, seeing as our 3rd party insurance only goes up to 10 million. And we had to pull up next to it. As in, right next to it. There were two fuel docks with four sides, but everybody was parked up staring at it when we needed to leave. So the only free spot was alongside Escapade. I nearly had a heart attack docking next to such a massive boat, but Garth was all smiles and slid us in and out smoothly whilst singing a song. An actual song, in tune and everything. I'll never understand how he can be so calm and relaxed, but I'm sure as hell grateful for it.
We had to say goodbye to Garth's parents in Mackay, which was sad. They hired a car and spent their last day with us running all around town picking up supplies and tools. Including new flippers, which I broke on Lady Musgrave when a turtle swam by me in shallow water and I got so excited I stood up the wrong way and snapped the plastic. So that was really nice of them, and hopefully we won't need to run around like that again for a while. On the plus side, there was an amazing full moon while we were at the marina.
We anchored at an island overnight in between Mackay and Airlie. It was only a few days ago but I don't remember where it was or what it looked like. So many islands.
Now we've picked up my darling Sarah and her Tom, and we're en route to the whitsunday Islands for a week of relaxing and snorkeling and sunshine and warm weather. Finally!
Xxx Monique
Garth telling me to pull in the headsail... I told him I was going to take some pictures first. He wasn't overly impressed.
That downwind run was a bit rough - the waves were much bigger than they would normally be with a steady 15-20 knot breeze. Cue dinghy incident number six and yet another lesson on what not to do. We were towing the dinghy for some reason, even though we were going way faster than it could handle. I was still on watch when the waves got too much for it and managed to flip the poor thing over. Whoops. The seat was tied on tightly (thanks to the Fiji dinghy incident... At least we're learning), but the oars were still inside. The oars aren't meant to be kept in the dinghy at all, and I guess this is why. I yelled out for Garth as I watched them float away, keeping my course just on the verge of gybing - straight downwind with the headsail poled out. One of the worst positions to be in for chasing things that have fallen overboard. We got the pole down, the headsail in and the engine started. Sam looked after the main sail as we followed basic man overboard procedure, while I steered and Garth tried to grab the oars. Garth and I eventually swapped and he put us on a good course for me to get them on board. It took quite a few goes. With three of us. I don't know how I'd do it myself... I think I'd just have to drop the sails, turn on the engine and throw out a rope, assuming the person in the drink was capable of grabbing it. It was good practice regardless, and we won't be leaving the oars in the dinghy again. I hope.
Mackay was scary. The marina was nice, although not as nice as Yepoon where they had a complementary car you could drive around for two hours (free car!!!). But it had a 37m long super yacht parked up at the fuel dock for a few days. Escapade was her name, and she's only three months old. Her 55 metre mast is almost 5 times the length of our whole boat. Five spreaders next to our lowly two. And if that didn't draw enough attention on its own, the whole thing was painted a blinding gold colour. I wanted to touch it. But there's no way I was going anywhere near it, seeing as our 3rd party insurance only goes up to 10 million. And we had to pull up next to it. As in, right next to it. There were two fuel docks with four sides, but everybody was parked up staring at it when we needed to leave. So the only free spot was alongside Escapade. I nearly had a heart attack docking next to such a massive boat, but Garth was all smiles and slid us in and out smoothly whilst singing a song. An actual song, in tune and everything. I'll never understand how he can be so calm and relaxed, but I'm sure as hell grateful for it.
We had to say goodbye to Garth's parents in Mackay, which was sad. They hired a car and spent their last day with us running all around town picking up supplies and tools. Including new flippers, which I broke on Lady Musgrave when a turtle swam by me in shallow water and I got so excited I stood up the wrong way and snapped the plastic. So that was really nice of them, and hopefully we won't need to run around like that again for a while. On the plus side, there was an amazing full moon while we were at the marina.
We anchored at an island overnight in between Mackay and Airlie. It was only a few days ago but I don't remember where it was or what it looked like. So many islands.
Now we've picked up my darling Sarah and her Tom, and we're en route to the whitsunday Islands for a week of relaxing and snorkeling and sunshine and warm weather. Finally!
Xxx Monique
Garth telling me to pull in the headsail... I told him I was going to take some pictures first. He wasn't overly impressed.
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