Monday’s adventures
So even though I had had a horrible night (which seems pretty par for the course on this holiday) Chris had slept a bit . He got up in time for the morning scheds at 8:00. (Being a rented yacht, you're supposed to check in twice a day - in the morning with your plans for the day and in the late afternoon with your nighttime location.) It was still raining – a thick gray sheet covered the sky. He complained that it was no fun snorkeling in the rain, because often the water is grey and cloudy, too. The weather report on the radio was for rain for the next three days – not a very happy ending to a holiday, huh? So Chris suggested that we head back a day early. I said it wouldn’t be very nice sailing back in the rain. He said, “Let’s look at the options here. We can either sail back today in the rain. Or we can sit here all day in a closed, stuffy cabin in the rain with nothing to do and then sail back tomorrow in the rain.” Hmmm…when you put it that way, sailing in the rain doesn’t seem like such a bad choice! I asked him if he wanted me to fix bacon and eggs for breakfast – our last day treat. He said, “You can if you like – I’m having cereal!” Haha. That was the end of THAT idea!
So we decided the best thing to wear would be our swim suits and rain jackets and we got geared up. MY suggestion was for me to wear my wet suit – which WOULD have been a clever plan if I only never had to go to the bathroom. He thought it was only going to take a couple of hours, but still, the thought of trying to take that slick tight wet thing OFF in a hurry was daunting. It was a good decision to forgo that, as I had forgotten that Chris has a habit of underestimating sailing times. (Hmmm…come to think of it, he has a habit of underestimating DRIVING times as well! Maybe he’s just not good with time!)
We were barefoot, so had to be careful on deck, but we got off the mooring OK, and because of my logic and clear eyesight, we missed the reef Chris would have had us sail over. (We make a good team!) It was raining, but it wasn’t raining hard, and it wasn’t really cold, so we did just fine for the first couple of hours. (Notice the time already and we’re not halfway yet!) We were planning on going around the outside of the islands, (the same way we came in) due to the visibility factor, but since it wasn’t too bad out there, Chris decided we would cut through the channel between Hook Island and Hayman Island to save us time. That was fine with me – I’m all for LESS sailing!
Then the rain picked up again, the wind picked up and it was quite miserable. We were motor sailing at first, but while Chris was in the toilet, the wind shifted around like crazy and then died completely, so I had to furl the jib to keep it from just flapping around like an injured bird, while steering the boat at the same time. There is no auto-pilot on this boat. Can you IMAGINE the trouble novice sailors might get into with an auto-pilot? So Chris was surprised and impressed when he came up top and all the sails were down AND we were still on course! Yay for me.
The wind picked up again, but it was right on the nose, so we just motored through it. The rain picked up again, and let me tell you, it got QUITE unpleasant. The wind was gusting up to 20 mph and the rain was pelting me so hard it stung! Luckily I had my visor on under my rain jacket to protect my eyes a little. They were glued to the compass, which was about the only thing I could see. I had my heading and I was sticking to it.
Then Chris decided to go through “Unsafe Passage” between North Mole and South Mole Islands, which was a very interesting decision since the visibility got down to zero and the whole island actually disappeared in the gray mist and pelting rain. But – it was going to save us time, and I was all for doing LESS sailing – especially in these conditions! He was working hard with the charts and the VERY rudimentary GPS to determine the current drift and the correct compass heading. Don’t panic, folks, we had been told that Unsafe Passage was really very safe as long as you followed the leads and kept a watch out on the bow for coral. Well, we weren’t going to be keeping a watch out, as Chris was below working out the plan, and I couldn’t leave the steering.
The leads were quite clear and bright, so that was a good thing, and the rain let up a little. The island came back into view – partially. Even so, with the heading he had me on, we were aiming right onto the beach! He CLAIMS that was the correct heading, because I wasn’t allowing for the strong current drift, but gradually, he succumbed to my nervousness and allowed me to ease away from the shoreline more towards the narrow passage. Together we can do this! (We make a good team!)
Once we got through Unsafe Passage and past Daydream Island, we still had a ways to go and then we had to find the harbour. By this time I was soaked through and shivering, and my fingers and toes were pruned up, but there was no way I was going to let Chris steer. HE was doing the brainwork and running up and down to check things out. Remember the GPS is JUST a basic model – no charts are installed in it, no depths, no hazards or markers. In fact, it turned out later, our CAR GPS had more detail than the one on the boat! But the GPS DOES show true heading and compensates for current, so it was valuable. In conjunction with the chart, Chris could plot a course, and then I could adjust my compass heading to accommodate it. There was no point in BOTH of us getting wet and cold, and anyway, I couldn’t DO what he was doing! TOGETHER we make a good team. He’s got the brains, and I’ve got the perseverance and persistency! So, even with the shivering and the shriveling, I soldiered on.
We were unsure of where the harbour was. We used the charts and the map book as best we could to determine which direction to take to avoid “Low Rock”. We argued about which islands were which. It’s not easy when you have only one view of an island, and it’s not the same shape from the ocean as it shows in the map book! But we resolved our differences and decided on a course. I had to stand up on the seats to see over the dodger in order to avoid the danger markings. (Remember the plastic is so old I can’t see through the “windshield?) Chris was VERY uncomfortable about this, as he didn’t want to lose me overboard, and the safety equipment was so poor on board, but there was really very little choice. I HAD to see, and he couldn’t be up there to help guide me. So I promised him that I was hanging on to the wheel very tightly, and that I would scream if I went overboard. Really – what was the alternative? I must have made a funny sight – chunky skipper in an aqua swim skirt and soaking wet, bright yellow, hooded rain jacket, standing spread eagled on the seats and bent half over to reach the wheel. (Besides, I couldn’t stand up straight because of the bimini overhead.) But the advantage to being up where I could see was that I saw two dugongs at the harbour entrance! That was a cool thing.
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| It has lightened up quite a bit by this time. Enough so that Chris could take the photo without getting the camera totally soaked. |
Just as we got to the harbour, we became aware of a ferry barreling down behind us, so I chose to move AWAY from the leads and therefore slowed WAY down to let him by! That was a good thing. He was MUCH bigger than I was, so I fear we would have fared poorly in a showdown. The pilot was actually grateful and gave me a wave.
Then the Rent-a-yacht agency guy came out in his dinghy to steer us to the dock. Of course, they can’t be relying on folks with no experience to dock their boats safely, so he actually took over and I could go below for a badly needed hot shower! Ahhh! No more shivering! Oh, and did I tell you that was FIVE HOURS of me steering in the rain?
We got all unloaded, and then had to meet with the guy for a “debriefing”. We told him all our concerns – the dodger window wasn’t clear, the water leak, etc. Chris complained about the safety equipment and he said, “Well, we just put on there what Queensland Safety says we have to have.” I said, “But you don’t have a Dan Buoy!”
He said, “Queensland Safety says we don’t have to have one.”
I said, “But the life-ring is unusable!”
He said, “Well, we just attach it the way Queensland Safety tells us to.”
The guy is full of bullshit! (Excuse my language!) So Chris says to him, “So, if Kathy had gone over board, what would you advise I should have done?”
He says, “I would suggest that you get in the dinghy and go get her and just leave the boat.”
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? What an idiot! It’s obviously not HIS boat so why should he care?
We set out in the car, and we were REALLY lucky to make it out! It had rained 8 inches in 12 hours, and we had to drive through 8 inches of water on the weir over the road for 200 meters in Proserpine! Two hours after we got through, the road was closed, so if we hadn’t made it then, we would have been stuck in Proserpine for at least another two or three days!
Now driving in Australia is not like driving in the States, in that there is NOT a motel every 20 miles. You have to plan your stops or you’ll be driving a LOOOONG while, or sleeping in the car! After we passed the town of Mackay (pronounced Muh KAI – rhymes with sky), Chris wanted to make it all the way to Rockhampton. But it was another 365 k, so I put my foot down as I was JUST a LITTLE bit worn out. (Well, I WOULD have put my foot down if I had had enough energy to do that!) But that left us very little choice. We were lucky to run across ONE “Caravan Park and Motel” in Marlborough. Chris was a little iffy about it, especially when the price was $90 for one night for a little podunk room, but beggars can’t be choosers, and I had had it! As a matter of fact, the lady at the desk said to me, “You look absolutely buggered.” I thought to myself, “You have NO idea!”
It was pretty funny because the ancient air conditioner made quite a noise through the night. It rattled and wheezed and clunked. An example of how noisy it was is that while we were laying in bed, I said to Chris, “That air conditioner is like our own little storm at sea.” And he said, “What?” haha
So the air-con provided the wind noise, and my body provided the rocking motion – just as if I had never left the boat! Guess I haven’t lost my sea legs yet!
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