"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy: that is the search for a superior moral justification for
selfishness." : John Kenneth Galbraith
Beauty Day
Posted at 7:31 PM, 4/7/2009 by BeckBeck09
Today was my 'beauty day', which consists of lots of pampering, when I concentrate on just myself for the whole day. Beauty day began with a quick shower, washing my hair, then on with a conditioning hair mask (in the hopes of making what's left of my hair feel less like pubic hair) and into a bath. While in the bath I have candles burning and do the whole face mask while reading a book or magazine routine. I do a whole body exfoliation, which feels so good and I think, keeps my skin fresh. I stay in the bath for quite a while just relaxing, then wash out the conditioner and moisturize. I painted my fingernails and toes and let them dry whilst watching 'sex and the city' dvds. It was a particularly good day for all this because it was raining outside and I really didn't feel like doing much. Well, I haven't felt like doing much for a while, so this was actually a lot of effort. It does make me feel a bit better, but I am pretty bored and getting tired of just being at home - even though the thought of going out to a pub or for dinner is not appealing either. I can't remember the last time I bothered to do my make up, I mean, what is the point? So I look good for the people doing my radiation? There have not been ample opportunities to feel good about myself. So today was a small attempt and it did make me feel nice while I was doing it. I also found out the mark I got for an assignment and it was a high distinction - 'yippee'. I was very happy and relieved because it means I didn't lose my mind completely with the cancer situation. So here I am, at home, slightly sleepy at 7:30pm and not really accomplishing much. I hope your Saturday night is more exciting.
Originally I had planned to get a city job once I was back, and rent a place near enough to my daughters' home suburb that they could live with me but I can't anymore. After the last incidents I don't feel safe being anywhere near enough that he could know where I am and reach me. I don't care if that sounds histrionic; I am frightened and I don't want to put myself in a position of vulnerability. I can't do it, even for my daughters' sake. They may want to live with me but they don't want to enough to give up their friends and background in the suburb that has been their background for so long.
So I might as well apply anywhere. And I have. There's a seasonal job out towards the Red Centre. I saw it a bit late online so I may not have a chance but if they do look at my application and decide to offer it to me, I shall take it. I have just found, out via another workmate, that the company I currently work for may be liable for paying me all the hours I haven't worked over the last six months, because they guaranteed them to me when I came here. I wouldn't be so grasping as to claim them, because tourism is a seasonal and economically challenged business and its not fair to hold them over a barrel when the business isn't happening, in spite of how I feel I have been treated, but I will use the situation as leverage to get out if I have to.
This morning, when I met up with Al, who cooks the bushwalk breakfast that our sodden selves squelched back to, he held up a finger admonishingly and said , "Kitty! You didn't leave the fish fryer in a good condition after last Tuesday".
I shrugged, because he was right. I hadn't left it in a bad or a different condition from how everybody else does, but normally I take it and scrub it within an inch of its life, scraping off some of the extra years of accumulated carbon, as well as the current stuff. Not that night: I merely wiped it out. I really didn't want to even do that.
He continued "You're leaving, aren't you?". Mouth agape, all I could stammer was "How did you know?"
His answer: "This fish fryer says you've given up. You've just said 'fuck it; why should I make the effort when nobody else does and nobody appreciates it when I do?'".
And he was right. I told him so. If management was there,t hey would have been told so also, and received two weeks notice, regardless of my financial position.
I truly am just going through the motions of my life.
The wind has kicked in early this morning it is forecasted for 20 – 25 knot winds easing to 15 – 20 knots this afternoon. We have 22 nms to sail this morning so this wind being behind us will push us along with the genoa. It is 0530 hours and not yet light; we will pull the anchor when the sun comes up and head off.
Yesterday Nancy did the washing whilst I carted water and topped the tanks up; I also filled the three small jerries with ULP for our small generator. Once all done we went ashore and had lunch at Barracudas then went for a walk around town, we then went back on board for a rest before going to dinner at the sailing club. The sailing club was very busy so we were pleased we had booked a table. Had a very nice meal a couple of reds and returned back on board.
Later in the day…..
Well we arrived at CapeGloucester at 1140 hours after a very steady sail. We lifted the muddy anchor at 0655 hours and motored out dragging the anchor in the water trying to wash the mud off, Nancy ended up scraping it of. As soon as we could we unfurled the genoa and once the batteries were charged I shut down the engines and let the genoa take over.
The wind was right up our backside and it was rather chilly this morning, I had my tracksuit bottoms on over shorts and top over T shirt and a jacket on top of that. Chill factor was around 10̊ C; the sun was warm which warmed everything except my back as the wind was coming straight into the cockpit. The seas were pretty good as we did not get more than 20 knots of wind in places but mainly around 13 to 15 knots of wind from the south. Our sailing speed was anything from 3.7 to 5.8 knots so we averaged around 4.5 knots; this is not bad for a boat that does not perform great with a tail wind with only the genoa. To keep the wind in the sails we kept a little out from the coast , heading passed Grimston Point and then between Armit and Gumbrell Islands, then rounded George Point and took the outside route of Sadleback Island and the into Gloucester Passage which is between Cape Gloucester on the mainland and Gloucester Island. GloucesterIsland is a stunning landscape with Mt Bertha being 894 metres above sea level.
L-R Mainland, Sadleback Island and Gloucester Island.
There was also a smaller island that caught my eye east of GloucesterIsland, it is RattrayIsland, the shape of the island reminded me of one of my favourite mountains, Mt Sonder in Central Australia, it’s not exactly the same but it did remind me of her.
Once we were through Gloucester Passage we anchored just off the beach near Montes Resort, I had read about this anchorage in Cruising Helmsman magazine and it is a very pretty place.
Montes Resort, the sign welcomes seafaring visitors ashore.
Once settled we lowered the dinghy and went ashore and had lunch at the resort, it is nice, nothing flash like the big resorts but very nice. It has a great beach and is well protected from the prevailing winds.
We may stay in the area a couple of days and have a look at some anchorages off GloucesterIsland.
I just got back from escorting tourists on a rain forest walk. I was trying to convince them that it wasn't actually raining and even if it was, well it was only lightly and surely they must expect that because they were in a rainforest!
And, OH! Look at that lovely rainbow! That must mean the sun is shining! No rain here!
My credibility was slightly undermined when a whole sodden palm branch crashed onto my head, driven down by the weight of excessive moisture.
I am letting the whole family situation get to me. Things aren't so great right now: recession has limited my working hours greatly and no work here means no eat as welfare doesn't exist on the island, my blood relatives are all squabbling and hating each other, including me, and I had a really nasty comment on the blog that I wrote about the guy dying.
It's funny; that last is the most hurtful, even though I know not to take these things personally. But it basically said that it was all a fantasy created by a crazy, gullible woman who wanted love and that he wasn't really dead but just didn't want me around and so had made up the whole death scenario. For some reason, this depressed me utterly. I couldn't even type a rebuttal saying that although I hadn't seen him actually die, I was there when he did, even though not in the room, and I didn't think he was faking it. I suppose it makes me feel bad because I am still so sad about it all. I think I should have moved on more, or at least enough to laugh, but I couldn't. I deleted the comment and I cried instead.
A friend of mine recently returned from a holiday in France. She had a great time travelling around the Dordogne region in southern France, her only complaint being that she couldn't get to see the Lascaux Cave. The real cave has been closed to tourists for a long time, and next door to it has been built a replica for tourists to see. The cave was only discovered in 1940 (when a dog, Robot, crawled into a hole revealed by a fallen tree and was followed by his owner), and the first people to see it were amazed by the art on the walls, painted (it turned out) around 17,000 years ago. There were hundreds of vivid paintings of the animals hunted by the local people at the end of the last Ice Age, all as fresh as if they had been done the day before, and revealing much information about the fauna of the time, long extinct (including mammoths, horses, bison, giant cattle and so on), and about the behaviour and beliefs of the humans who lived there. The site was a treasure trove for archaeologists, but also quickly became a tourist attraction. A treasure trove, I'm guessing, for local businesses, who demanded it be opened as a tourist attraction. The entrance was opened up, water diverted, car parks built, the cave floored with concrete, bright lights installed - and up to 1700 visitors a day tramped through, bringing in, as it turned out, bacteria and fungi on shoes, clothes, and in the humid air they breathed out. After just 15 years the combination of all these factors was beginning to destroy paintings that had survived 17,000 years, and in 1963 visitor numbers were greatly limited, and a system to move air throughout the caves was installed and worked quite well. Then in 2001, in a misguided attempt to improve things, a new air conditioner replaced the old one and since then fungus and bacteria have again begun eating away at the paintings and walls, and a major conservation effort is needed to try to slow down the destruction.
I was reminded of this story last week when I watched a news item about the Bay of Fires in Tasmania. This beautiful spot was named, by Lonely Planet, as the world's top spot for tourists in 2009. It's attractions included its isolation, few visitors, unspoilt white beaches fringed with forests. The guide urges "travellers looking for a slice of paradise to visit Bay of Fires right now, before the crowds take hold". Now you might think, and you would be right, that listing a place like this whose value lies in its isolation, few visitors, and consequently unspoilt environment would be inviting its destruction and you would be right. Presumably next year other unspoilt destinations, in their turn, will be brought to the world's attention.
But in the meantime the Tasmanian government, in a rare example of conservation concern on the island, decided to declare the area a National Park in order to afford it some protection from the Lonely Planet crowds. Immediate outrage from both local businessmen, and an Aboriginal group led by Michael Mansell. The businessmen want development to take advantage of the Lonely Planet listing, which "gives the tourism and hospitality industries a unique opportunity to grow their business" according to a tourist industry leader, and I am picturing roads and paths and trail bikes and restaurants and marinas and adventure playgrounds and big air conditioned hotels. It's not clear what the Aboriginal group wants, but since it doesn't want a National Park, I guess it is also seeking development of some kind. In Cape York, Noel Pearson is similarly outraged by the Queensland government trying to protect some of the last wild rivers on Cape York, because Aboriginal people want to develop them. Strange that Aborigines and developers could both be enemies of conservation.
But whoever is pushing development of undeveloped areas, it really has to stop. Maybe okay 60 years ago (as Lascaux was opened to tourism), when there were still many untouched areas, but now they have dwindled down to a precious few, and the parade of Labor, Liberal and National politicians, marching robotically in step behind the developer drummers, chanting "money money money" and, hypocritically, "jobs jobs jobs", should be redirected to the redevelopment of already ruined places.
I don't know if the Lonely Planet writer had a dog who ran over the sand dunes and discovered a beautiful place ripe for exploitation, but if he did he should have called the dog back and gone on his way. If only that French boy had called his dog back instead of following him in. Perhaps whenever a place is lined up for development a talking statue of Robot the dog should be placed at the entrance as a reminder and a warning. "Woof woof" he would bark when he sensed a developer "woof woof". "Keep out".
It rains a lot here; between 50 and 80 inches per year, and the humidity is at a minimum of 65% all year round. But mostly it rains in short, sharp bursts and then clears to glorious sunshine as the white clouds scutter briskly across the sky and everything looks washed brand new.
This is a volcanic island and over the years the rock has eroded down to a fine dark silt, like brown talcum powder. In concentrations of several compressed metres of this silt it looks a dark red, almost but not quite, like the colour of my beloved red earth country. Yet there must be a subtle differentation because the colour doesn't tug at my heartstrings like my land does.
When it rains a lot, like it is doing this morning, the silt is washed off all the outdoor surfaces but the compressed red earth makes gloriously sticky mud puddles. There is relatively little paved or tarmaced area here and most walking involves a tremendous amount of feet squelching into mud. It's a day to stay indoors and listen for the tap of raindrops leaking through the roof onto the kitchen floor; a day to watch the damp patches seep through the walls. No work for me until this evening probably means that its a day to stay in bed reading and being self indulgent.
I'm half way through radiation, having completed day 10 of treatment today. I would yell 'wohooo' if I had the energy. My throat is very sore and I do believe there may be something wrong with having 8 dissolvable panadol in one day, although the oncology nurses tell me otherwise. Between you and me, I have not been taking 8 dissolvable panadol in a day because it makes me feel sick. I just have them when the pain gets too much to bear. I want to be excited about something, but I don't know if it is really happening, or if I'm just tripping out. I think my hair has finally stopped falling out. There appears to be no clog of hair in the drain when I'm having a shower - yippeeee! I do not see any new hair growing in my bald spots yet, but at least hair has stopped coming out. I guess I can still be excited about something. There is nothing else which excites me right now, I feel like I could sleep for one hundred years. I have been at home, sleeping, 'eating' liquid food (eg. soup, yoghurt), watching movies, playing The Sims and surfing the net. That is what my days consist of at the moment, pretty boring and no juicy details I'm afraid. I am anxiously waiting for uni marks to come out, only because I'm afraid that I did badly and the worry will kill me. I have almost forgotten what is it like to talk to a real person. My Sims creations just aren't cutting it, their lives are more exciting than mine right now though. I have nothing else to say....
Yesterday morning we took our time before getting ready to move as we were only going a bout 7 nms to Airlie from SouthMoleIsland. I thought the longer we waited the wind might kick in but that was being hopeful as the forecast was for variable winds, which really means none at all.
We finally made the move at 0940 hours arriving in Airlie around 1100 hours; we looked around for a closer spot to the sailing club anchor to save distance for the dinghy. There are a few areas in between the moorings where you can drop the anchor and not interfere with the moorings.
Yachts on the horizan are the sailing club twilight races
We then lowered the dinghy and went ashore to get a snorkel replaced that we purchased and leaked, the shop owner replaced it without question. We paid our temporary membership to the sailing club to use their dinghy dock and then went and had lunch. They serve very nice meals at the Rum Food Court at the fish place next to the bar. They have standard restaurant prices but very nice meals. After ordering the meals I bought Nancy a wine and I a beer, we had our meal then I went to get another drink, the barman asked if I was ready for rum yet. I said I don’t drink rum. He then asked if I drank spirits and I told him sometimes I have a Jameson’s Irish whiskey. With that he brought out a couple of bottles of rum from Trinidad and port some samples, after tasting them he asked what I thought and my reply was not bad. He said don’t judge all rums from by one. He then continued to pour me another sample of liqueur rum from WA. I said you get me drunk, he laughed I finished the tasting and returned to tell Nancy with our drinks.
We stopped by ‘Zianna Rose’ and spoke with Bill and Val, they will be here for about three more weeks as they have ordered a new mainsail to be made, they are doing away with the furled mainsail and going to a fully battened mainsail. This will give them more sail area.
Once back on board we started to plan the voyage north, we have 350 nms to sail before reaching Cairns and we have decided to leave on Saturday, we still do not start a voyage on a Friday, not that I am superstitious, but we did one time and copped a storm, so Nancy said not again.
We can day hop up the coast, some will be long days unless we get good winds but if we have to go through a night or two so be it.
Dawn this morning.
Today will be hiring a cheap car and topping up with stores etc. We are going into Proserpine to do a bit of business and we will have a look around whilst we have the car.
The dawn light was beautiful again this morning, the weather here has been good, it cools in the evening and is a little fresh before the suns up, but the days have been around 27 – 29 degrees. The boat stays around 20 degrees during the night so we are quite comfortable. I do not miss the winters in the south.
I'll save you the effort of going through every entry to see the comment that my exhusband tried to attach to each new post. He wants to thoroughly degrade me; here it is.
Leave us alone
Posted by Steve (ex Husband) at 1:58 AM on 22/6/2009
You have upset our daughter and used her as an emotional pawn. You have upset your brother and used him as an item of interest to your pathetic internet “friends”.
You are truly a despicable human being who cares nothing for the feelings of others, and least of all for those you should care about.
I am tired of being attacked by you on your blog site. Leave me and my daughters alone. Carry on with your own sick version of life but LEAVE US ALONE we just want to get on with our lives and we don’t need your warped second hand grief.
NEVER MENTION ME ON YOUR BLOG AGAIN IF YOU HAVE ANY DECENCY LEFT IN YOU.
Let us get on with our lives damn you. WAKE UP YOU ARE HURTING PEOPLE.
Your very very ex husband,
Steve.
Contrary to his belief, I don't think that any of you are pathetic internet friends. Indeed, you've been a lot more supportive than most people whom I physically know in my life. And that doesn't mean giving me carte blanche for bad behaviour, either. I've been called out on bad stuff, given a check to rethink my actions and gently pointed in more appropriate directions.
I've got my exhusband and my brother furious at me because they got hyped up together on booze (I assume; this is how he usually plays) and read blog entries that were limited to a few people only. Those people not being them. He is very computer aware and tries to monitor the online activities of everybody that he can.
I have tried and tried to make ours a cordial relationship for the sake of our daughters. I'll do it but he won't. As he said, it is not fair to make our daughters emotional pawns and this can't happen if one player refuses the game. So I am refusing. Part of it is concern for their welfare, part of it is is being scared. He intimidates me, he always has done, and everything these days that we are in contact over ends up in me feeling vulnerable and threatened. I can't live my life being thrown back down into the abyss simply because he can't treat me civilly. I hate the threatening late night emails. I shake afterwards. Maybe he doesn't realise that he does this to me. Maybe he does know and just doesn't care. Either way, I can't do this anymore. With my long history of really bad depression every downward step leads me closer to the place that I start to believe that I am of no use to anybody and that everybody would be better off with me not around. Every day I wake up and fight those thoughts. He just makes it so much harder and I am so scared that one day I'll believe him and not myself.
I've closed my other email accounts, cut off my phone line; am hiding from every way he might contact me. I know my daughters hate me for this; my youngest writes here in the comments berating me. Baby, I'm not strong enough to handle this. Maybe one day you'll understand. Call me weak, call me selfish, call me anything you like. But know that I can't do this, can't be the person you currently need me to be, yet don't want to accept that I am totally worthless like he tells me I am. So I cut off from that which would take me over the edge as a means of selfpreservation. And also because if you are told often enough that you are a useless person, an abdicator of responsibiltiy, a bad mother, a deliberate evil-doer, you tned to believe it and believe that those you care for would be better off without you. If my mother hadn't been here at the time this all blew up I wouldn't have contacted her again, either.
This is the last entry. Don't bother commenting unless it makes you feel good.. I thought about turning comments off but I just don't care enough. Feel free to slate me; I won't reply and I probably won't even read.
Something about sqare riggers that makes you look, it may stir the thought of old sea dogs, when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel, arrrr!!
This morning we got up at first light and watched the sunrise, the sky had some wonderful colours all around, in the west the horizon was pink that faded into a two tone blues sky and the east was orange that faded into a blue sky. The sea was almost like glass it was so flat. After this I updated the blog and had breakfast, we did not rush about. I asked Nancy where she wanted to go and added if we are going to sail south it would be better on this side (west) of HookIsland. Then I said we could go to SouthMoleIsland and pick up a mooring there, Nancy said that would be a good idea so that was the plan for the day.
Just before the sun came up at Black Island
I then went out in the cockpit to start getting things ready, then I saw perched on the dinghy our friend the pigeon. Nancy got it some water and some bread and it was happy to stay in the dinghy. Nancy said we may have a passenger all the way to Townsville unless it flies off in the meantime. I thought once I started the engines it would take off.
The passenger, pigeon.
I pulled the covers off and stowed them and all the time pigeon is watching us wondering what we are up to. I then started the engines and we moved off the mooring, pigeon stayed. Once clear Nancy steered into the wind and I hoisted the mainsail, pigeon watched and was still happy to stay. We then unfurled the genoa and with the wind in the sails shut the engines down. Pigeon stayed perched on the dinghy, but it was looking around probably confused that we were moving.
To get to SouthMoleIsland under sail I had five long tacks to zig-zag our way south and keep the wind in the sails to go straight to the island would have meant the wind was on the nose and we would have had to motor. Today we had plenty of time so we enjoyed the sailing. About half way on the first tack we passed a ferry which created a fair wash and made us rock slightly, the dinghy was not fully lashed as we were in calm waters and that started to rock but pigeon stayed with it.
The next thin I turned to see how pigeon was and it had gone, so I thought, but no it had just relocated to the top of the solar panels. A short time after he flew off, not sure if that was the plan or the mainsail flapped at one point when the wind picked up that may have scared it off. Hope it makes it home safely.
We had around 10 - 13 knots of wind from SE and we were sailing at a very close reach with sails pulled right in and we were sailing 4.5 to 6 knots which was quite good. However, when it came to changing tack it slowed down almost to a stop. One change I had to kick the engine in to complete the turn because the genoa sheet got caught up and we lost sail power. AR is not good on tacking like most catamarans, but it does not help us being a little over weighted with the boat being home we have everything on board, like Nancy’s shoe collection. (Joking).
Some people make hard work out of sailing, these are people that like to race or get the yacht going as fast as possible, we are not like that, we are happy to get a good cruising speed that will get us from a to b at a reasonable hour. I occasionally trim the sails or change course to catch the wind but that’s as far as it goes, the rest of the time is sit back and enjoy the sailing.
As you can see, I work hard when sailing.
We were doing quite well as there was a monohull doing the same as us tacking south and we were catching up to them, the only reason we did not pass them was that on the one tack we got close they did not tack back they continued on the same tack to go to Nara Inlet and we tacked to go further south.
In our sail down we saw one of the grey funnel lines, a navy patrol boat heading south, before we reached SouthMoleIsland we saw them again going into HamiltonIsland.
Nancy tried calling SouthMoleIsland on the radio but no answer, Sunsail informed us that the best thing to do is pick up a mooring and go ashore and see them at reception. They do have a lot of moorings here.
We picked up a mooring, a red one, there are red and yellow mooring buoys the red are the larger moorings. Once moored and covers up we lowered the dinghy to go ashore. When we arrived at the jetty another dinghy was just leaving so we backed off to give them room. There was a man and four children which were off a small yacht on the next mooring to us. I initially thought when I saw the yacht that it was a resident one as it needed some TLC; the sea growth was starting to climb the hull of the yacht above the waterline.
When we got on the jetty there was a lady that said hello to us that was the wife and mother of the family in the dinghy, the dinghy could not accommodate all the family in one trip. We went to reception and paid a mooring fee $49; this allows you also to use the facilities on the island. The receptionist, a young English girl from Yorkshire, most workers in this industry is backpackers from around the world. She asked if there was anyway she could help us and we answered yes we might go for a drink. Well the coffee shop had just closed (1400 hours) and the bar opens at 1600 hours. So we decided to have a look around as we had not been here for some years. Everything was still the same; this place caters for school groups and backpacker groups. The place has a lot of potential but needs money for a facelift.
South Mole Island Beach and Resort.
We went back on board and decided we may go back in for a drink later. The yacht with the family next to us waved as we went by and the father went ashore and picked up three young ladies that we had spoken to earlier as we walked to the reception. I first thought the family had met these girls ashore and invited them over, but no they were all on this small yacht, around 8 metres.
I was sitting relaxing in the cockpit looking at the boat and how many people were on board when most of them stripped all their cloths off and jumped in the water, bare boobs and bums everywhere. Whilst in the water a couple of them started cleaning the growth off the hull above the waterline. A short time after the young ladies got out of the water dried off on the upper deck and put their bikinis back on, and then they dropped the mooring and motored off. Not bad the mooring, use of the island facilities and a strip show all for $49.
Around 1630 hours we went ashore, a couple of the tourist boats arrived dropping off the tour groups, there are a couple of yachts that run a two night three day cruise but the nights are spent ashore here. Most of the groups we met were Poms in their late teens early twenties, the language that comes out of them would make a sailor blush, well may be not. They know the letters of the alphabet, the A, B’s, C’s and F. This was the girls as well as the boys.
We went to the bar and ordered a couple of drinks and sat down outside around the pool, a few young people arrived that had been out on a yacht tour and one young man came over and talked to us. He was from London and thought Australia was the best place and he hopes to return on a permanent basis. He said he had already talked to his parents about it and they said they would help him financially as they say he would have a better future here than in the UK.
We had our couple of drinks and then returned on board for dinner and a quiet night.
It's a beautiful day today and I was just getting setup for cooking for a breakfast walk. On occasion I cook breakfast for a group of walkers down on the beach. We take these older people on a gentle amble into the subtropical rain forest and afterwards convince them (doesn't take much) that they deserve to stuff their faces with a two course cooked breakfast. My god, older people on holiday can eat. Or maybe it's everybody on holiday. Somebody once told me (and I think he was trying to get into my pants at the time, seeing as how I was many miles from home) that if you are away more than 200km from your place food, drink and sex, and their repercussions, don't count.
It's a beautiful day out there; all the little birdies tweeting away and also the feral chickens crowing, which they started to do at 3 am, the fuckers. It's quite cold and as I have the windows open and am sitting up in bed typing the cold has infiltrated my metal chest decorations and I have supercooled nipples.
Okay: I just got a phone call. The walkers cancelled because it was *too cold*. Sensitive little dears. Luckily for the company, they will get charged but unluckily for me, I won't get paid for the hours that I would have worked, or even for the preparation time that I have worked. The company will be happy though; money for not having to do anything.
I guess that this blog entry has immediately outed myself if the pathetic ex is still stalking me. He would have to spend hours on the net, trawling through the millions of spam blogs, though, if he was that dedicated to searching out offence against him. The thing is, I don't really understand. I save my vitriolic entries (and they are mild by comparison to what some would write) to 'friends only' and there is such a limited group of those. These days I have a very limited friend circle around me and I do regard my internet friends as real friends, no matter how my ex might deride them. These people have come through for me, again and again, throughout my trainwreck of a life and I value them. I have met some of them in person, knew one or two of them before they read my writing, and they have never behaved in any more negative fashion than real life people might do (and a lot less).
When I left the ex, pretty much all of my real life friends dropped me. When I told the woman who I considered my best friend that I was leaving him she physically picked up my handbag, thrust it in my arms and pushed me out of her door, telling me to go home. My second cousin, who I had grown up with, told me not to come around her house any more. My parents berated me. I literally had nobody to turn to. Except my friends whom I had met online. They came through for me, helped me to stand at a time when I felt there was no point in living at all.
My exhusband abuses for me writing online, abuses me for talking about what concerns me, what worries me. He accuses me of writing for an audience. No. I have never done that. I've always written what I need to write and have always been surprised that anybody wants to read it. A lot of things, deeply personal, I've written as private entries and the rest as friends only, to a limited circle. He has hacked in through my daughter's private dealings with me and then has the nerve to complain about what he reads. Not only complain, but threaten. And do his best to try and sever all contact between me and my girls.
I don't know why it should hit me so hard. He has always done this, always spied on me, always read my private diary entries. Then he's stored it up, waiting until I am vunerable or he is feeling aggressive and hit me with the restricted thoughts that he should never know. He installed spying programs on our home computers without my knowledge and I am convinced that this is how he knows things that I wouldn't expose to the general public. I know that he spies on our daughters and I have tried to be discreet about telling them, couching a warning about what they write, without saying directly that their father monitors their private writings. I was 27 when I found out that my father had read my personal diaries and it devastated me. I don't want them to lose that personal feelings outlet, for fear of discovery, as I did for years. I had a domineering father; I married the same. More fool me.
I suppose the reason that I am so outraged is that he denigrates the online friends I have made. That he equally denigrates me (and I am not so naive as to think that I am pure enough to not deserve this), except to people he sees face to face, rather than at a distance. He is invalidating the choices I have made and I am so tired of being pushed around by a bully.
Oh, dear. This started out so cheerfully and ended in a depressed mood; probably for everybody if you have bothered to read this far. Everybody? I've lost all my readers when I fled from the other place. He scares me and I am trying to cut off all contact.
Having no plan whatsoever really makes a day interesting. We got up this morning had a nice cup of tea and then breakfast. Then I said to the love of my life, “what do you want to do today?” The answer was that the bride would like to go snorkelling around the coral. So my thoughts were to head around to BluePearlBay before the crowd got there. So we rolled the covers up to the boom because no wind we would not be using the mainsail. Started engines dropped the mooring line and off we went before the others at the same moorings.
Blue Pearl Beach
It was only a few miles to this place but as we rounded HaymanIsland we could see that there was a lot of the tourist yachts there. We arrived and there was one mooring free to our surprise, we soon found out why, it was only for boats up to 9 metres. Anchoring there is OK however, the water is deep and we would only have just over a 3:1 ratio depth per length of chain, this is OK in good holding but this anchorage is coral. We did anchor and soon after we noticed more and more yachts were heading to the same place, this place was going to be crowded. So we lifted the anchor and headed for LangfordIsland which was reasonably quiet.
The moorings at these places have a two hour limit, but if you attach to one of these buoys after 1500 hours you can stay the night. So this means if you attach to a buoy after 1300 hours you have two hour limit which takes you passed 1500 hours, so you can stay the night. Legally questionable, but everyone works to this process.
Tourists off the maxi yachts and catamarans are dropped on the island to snorkel or just laze around for a couple of hours.
So I said to Nancy if we play our cards right we can have lunch, drop this mooring and if no one turns up in the meantime we can motor across to Black Island about a n/mile away, pick up the mooring about 1315 hours and we stay the night. Well it worked.
To top this off we had a very nice experience once we arrived. First of all this pigeon drops in on us, lands in the dinghy and appears to be very tired. I noticed it had bands around its legs which indicated that this was a racing pigeon. He or she appeared to be a little tuckered out. I got some fresh water in a container and placed near it. The pigeon got stuck right into it, it was very thirsty, then it just stood there and I think fell asleep. We left it alone to crap in the dinghy and sleep or the other way around I am not sure.
This couple came over to Langford Island from Hayman Island Resort for the day.
We went back to it later as we wanted to use the dinghy, I managed to pick it up and read the bands on the legs which had a phone number that we rang. The lady said that the bird with others being racers had been released somewhere near ChartersTowers and they were in Townsville, this bird was lost. We relocated it to the foredeck and sat it on the seat on the port bow so we could use the dinghy and go ashore.
We went ashore to BlackIsland to stretch the legs, when we got back the pigeon had now crapped all over the seat. I thought I might put it back in the dinghy for the night, that would be easier to clean and probably more sheltered for the pigeon. When I went to pick it up this time it took off into the trees on the island. Hope the poor little thing makes it home.
(The fish in our backyard)
Last time we anchored at LangfordIsland across the bay we had these large fish visit but we did not get a real good look at them. Well they came begging for food again, they are Bat Fish and they are very large as you can see by the short movie. They were very entertaining and we had some stale bread that they loved. They have decided to take up residence under our boat so if they hear us walk to the back of the boat out they come looking for food.
Then the day ends, and the sunset was unreal. Yeah I know another bloody sunset. But they are like storms and floods not one are the same. Sunset was followed with a nice dinner cooked by the one and only and served naturally with a bottle of the MargaretRiver red wines.
Ok. Something desperately needs to be cleared up. For those of you who don't know - and I promise you this will be the majority of the population - the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment vary greatly from person to person. When I was first told this it made complete sense to me, its like when someone gets a cold, they may have different symptoms. Why then, is it so hard for people to understand when I try to explain to them that different types of cancer have different types of treatment? How can they not comprehend that there are many different types of chemotherapy which cause many different side effects? When doctors and other cancer patients told me those simple facts I thought - yes...that makes sense. When I, on the other hand try to explain the simple facts to my friends its almost like they don't believe me. After I explained to one friend that chemo and radiation were different (she thought they were the same thing) she even said to me 'fair enough'. FAIR ENOUGH?? Isn't that what you say to someone who is making an argument for something? I was simply stating the facts. GGGGRRRRRRR. I can feel myself getting angry again. The anger isn't directed towards people who don't know about cancer or the different treatments or side effects, because I didn't know those things either until I got cancer, its the fact that they DO NOT have any interest in the details. I dunno, maybe it's easier to not know the facts and be totally in the dark to cancer when a friend or family member is going through it? I really do think that with knowledge comes power and insight. How can someone be supportive if they have no knowledge of what their friend with cancer is going though? I am sure I have said this before...but, I'm gonna say it again, yes it is hard to know what to say to someone who has cancer and it can be difficult to know how to support that person. As a person with cancer - all I can say is that I'm so busy thinking about how 'hard' it is for everyone else and that I must keep my emotions and feelings to myself and I'm sooooo SICK of it. I'm tired of the excuses like, 'I don't know what to say' and 'I find it hard to handle' - How the fuck do you think I handle it???? I'm sorry, but I'm also tired of being polite about it. DO NOT ask me questions about cancer if you don't give a shit, DO NOT tell me how hard it is for you to deal with me having cancer and DO NOT ignore me or not speak to me just because you don't know what to say. If your biggest problem is not knowing how to talk to your friend at a time when they need you, then you should think yourself lucky. Ok - now that is out of my system...........*deep breaths* I am very tired - radiation (the treatment that is completely different from chemotherapy) is taking it's toll on me and I am frustrated because for the last few days I have been housebound due to the lack of energy and tiredness. I very rarely take days off work and tonight I realized there is no way I could go to work tomorrow. I got pretty upset about it because I want to be normal and do all the things I did before and feel better and I want that now. My throat is becoming increasingly sore and it hurts to even drink water - especially if the water is very cold. I don't even want to go shopping!! I don't want to see friends, I don't want to watch tv. So my world is fairly limited at the moment, which gives me plenty of time to think about cancer and treatments and people's knowledge of cancer and get realllllly angry. I may be grumpy because I'm tired, but bloody hell, I just want to scream. Why doesn't anyone just try to understand???????? Ok. A couple of people in my life try to understand and I love them for it, these are the people who get my tears in a phone call in the middle of the night, (actually, that is only one person) and I call because I know that friend is trying really hard to understand so I feel like its ok for me to share how I feel. I'm not a burden, I'm not over reacting and they are genuinely concerned. Other friends offer support 'if you need anything, just let me know' and that is awesome, but they aren't interested in helping me with the emotional side of it, when I talk about how I am feeling they just dismiss my feelings. Even people who have had cancer do this and it really pisses me off. Of all the people in the world, cancer survivors should know how it feels to be sick, alone and scared. I guess once they are better they forget how hard it was for them at the time, but all they say is 'hair isn't everything' and 'it will be over soon', which I feel is quite insensitive because I'm sure when they were going through it they didn't want to hear that, but heard it ALL the time. The most helpful comments I have had from other cancer survivors was when they told me about their cancer and their treatment, the effects it had on them and how they dealt with it all. I think someone should write a book about cancer etiquette - the rules of how to speak to and treat someone who has cancer. Ok, ok, one day I will do it. I will never forget how cancer and cancer treatment feels.
Another little slice of my life. Sometimes I feel as if I am parcelling out bits of me as I write separately again and again; I long for a place where I can feel whole.
This time around how much do I write to the public view? There's always the private entries, then the friends only ones and then the registered users. And he still manages to hack his way into all of them and read what is not meant for everybody's eyes. Why does he persist in doing this? I don't belong to him any more and I was too stupid at the time to realise that I should never count myself as belonging to anybody.
I am my own person now, trying to be as complete as I can. It will take a while for him to find me here again so I suppose the answer is that I will write whatever I choose to write, no matter how much it makes me shudder a little to think that he will dislike it, even if he doesn't know it exists.
I need it for me; I have always needed my writing to keep me sane.
Yes we have left the marina. We are back out with good views.
We went into the marina on Friday to drop Cassandra off and get some electrical problems fixed which I have already told you about, the wallet still has not recovered. What I did not mention was as I was waiting for the electricians a familiar face arrived. It was Tony and his wife Susie off ‘Capella Star’, if you go back a fair few blog pages we met Tony and Susie in Mooloolaba, they were looking at an Admiral catamaran and we got talking. Tony eventually purchased a Privilege catamaran in Adelaide and sailed it back to Mooloolaba. We met them again whilst we were there the last time. We will probably see more of them in the next week.
After getting everything fixed on Friday we had a quiet night. Saturday I looked at the weather and decided we would stay in the marina for some comfort, the wind although not that strong (15 – 20 knots) was from the N/NW, this meant it was coming across open water and would stir up the seas a little causing a little discomfort, so we extended our time by one day. We decided to go to the markets for some more fresh vegies and fruit and again bumped into Tony and Susie on the way. We did our little bit of shopping then returned on board. We then did a few jobs then I had a nanna nap, I had been up since 0430 hours, I woke up then and could not get back to sleep so got up and made a cuppa.
(Another sunset photo from Stonehaven anchorage)
Talking to our neighbours, Peter and Jann on ‘Foxy Lady III’ a motor launch (or commonly none as a stink boat, due to diesel fumes they make) on the way to the shower they invited us over for a drink, so once we had all got our act together we went over and had a pleasant time. Peter said they were leaving next morning to go to CidHarbour, we said we would probably go out of the marina and anchor and work out where to go next.
This morning being Sunday I got up about 0545 hours put the kettle on and turned on Macca on ABC radio, took a cuppa to Nancy in bed which I do every morning. That’s the only time I am allowed or want to be allowed in the galley, with the exception of making the brew before going to bed. I do cook the meat on the BBQ most nights.
Anyway once the cook got out of bed and made me a nice breakfast we started talking about leaving the marina and we decided to go up towards LangfordIsland. After this we started to get things ready to go, there was no real hurry I had booked the fuel dock for 1100 hours to refuel. The state government introduces the tax on fuel as of 1 July 09, 8.3 cents a litre, this is the norm in other states but Queensland the sate government had not charged that tax and that is why fuel has been cheaper here than other states in the past.
One of the marina staff was doing the berth checks and she asked if we were still leaving today, I answered yes we will be at the fuel dock at 1100 hours if I can get out over that sandbar at low tide. She asked what our draft was and I told her 1.4 metres, she said we had better wait until around 1300 hours due to the tide levels. The marina needs dredging in places as the mud moves around the bay fast. Some places at low tide there is a mound that is well above the water line.
Sunset from Stonehaven anchorage with yachts lights as they arrive to anchor.
As this was the case we did what we had to do before we sailed then walked into AirlieBeach shops to do a little more shopping. I had to get Nancy’s birthday present to make sure I had it before 4 August whilst in a place that has shops. When we returned we got everything ready and went to the fuel dock and fuelled up, it took 140 litres, this is not bad since the last time we fuelled was back at Mackay.
We then left the marina and the wind kicked in from the NE, yes right on the nose, so we motored all the way, only 15 nms we did that against the tide in 2.5 hours. As the wind was from the NE we decided it would be more protected in Stonehaven so we picked up a mooring there. Sat down and watched a magnificent sunset. Had our showers, got dinner under way, I cooked the chops on the BBQ and had the usual couple of reds with dinner and then came out to make these notes and I am now going to bed. Goodnight.
Ok, so you will need an update since my last tipsy, horny, tragic entry. The side effects of radiation are starting to happen. I'm tired, my throat is starting to get sore and I feel a bit of nausea after eating. I'm hoping they don't get worse, but at the same time, I'm preparing for it. I don't know if it is the lack of energy that keeps me from doing stuff like going out with friends, or if it is just because I feel crap. I guess I'm just so ready to be back to normal, then I will have no excuses. I have 13 more days of radiation to go...yay! But I would love to be excited about something other than the completion of my treatment. Next year I'm possibly going overseas in my mid year break from uni and I wish I was going this year. I have a fieldwork placement for uni in September and I'm not even looking forward to it - which is unlike me. I kind of feel like I have nothing to be excited about. Again, this feeling might pass when I have finished treatment and start to feel better. I guess I'm looking forward to feeling normal again. I know 2010 will be a better year for me, I just wish that I didn't have to wait six months for things to be good again. Hair is still falling out and I'm so over the baldness. I spent $160 on some hair stuff that is supposed to help hair to grow and get thicker and so far all it is doing is making my head look like a sticky mess before I go to bed at night. On my days off work I sleep a lot and really don't do much for the rest of the day (apart from radiation every day of course) so I'm living a sad existence. 2009 is a complete dud of a year and I can't wait for it to be over, unless something wonderful happens and I'm excited to be alive again.
Yep its bloody freezing here - not in the 0degrees freezing but as houses dont have double glazing/central heating and it gets down to around 11' at night = damn cold inside the house...remember being a kid in the old days pre central heating brrr thats what its like!
Seb has all in one sleepsuits - like baby suits as they sell them up to age 8 here so cute...Mum made Maggie one (with a friends help) and she looks like a tellytubby haha still cute but in a funnier way than Sebs cute!
I got a snuggly dressing gown and massive snuggly blanket for mothers day so im wrapped up in them on an evening (when im off work that is).
We're deciding whether to go whale watching or on the dolphin cruise at the mo - its warming up so i think the whales are going to win....fab as we havnt seen any yet.
Well, Jake is now officially an adult - turned 18 on Wednesday - thank you for his cards/gifts, it hasnt sank in yet, he still thinks he's 15, we went out for a lovely meal all together which was great.
We're sorting out driving lessons for him or furniture for a rental - he hasnt decided which and doesnt feel confident enough to go get his 'L's (provisional license) my mum will have hers before either of the big kids - shocking seeing as they can drive from 16 over here - neither of them are that interested.
Alicia is plodding along, waiting to start herTafe course but not doing much in the mean time. Jake has signed up for a bricklaying course - never shown an interest before but its a free 10 week course and gets us off his back for a bit - as he shows no interest in working at all!
Seb n Martin have had man flu - both been laid up for a week - driving my mum nuts, both fully recovered now thank fully. Maggies learning to sew and knit - but has very little patience lol shes on fb now if you want to add her.
Mum has discovered a creative streak - and with our friend is busy making alsorts - jarmies, scarfs, dog beds, cat beds, a kaftan thing for me, swim bags etc - lining her up for our new curtains next lol
We've had the master plans for the house and have signed off on them - woohoo!!! will post on fb
waiting for the soil reports and engineers report etc then we can finalise the money side of things, then its all go! We should be settling in Aug/Sept and the slab will go down September time - theyl be a running photo album going on fb....
we have a jar of our mud now - and lots of pics of it.
My works ok, got 5 days off next week and i cant wait - just to have a few days of doing nothing really - on a down side my knee is not a happy knee at all - i have to wear a brace now for work, my physio's not happy with it - im working on more strengthening exercises but after a load of split shifts i really dont feel like exercising - got to go see my surgeon again soon. fingers crossed.
On a positive note - a friend here put me onto a company re training future chefs etc, got to speak to the boss next week, see whats on offer etc - through Tafe its around 15 hours over a fortnight which will fit around my 'real' job for a while anyway.
Well, got to go get dressed - Whales it is...
Lots of love - will make all those calls ive been promising next week.
It is morning at a mooring off DaydreamIsland, you can call them on Ch 17 VHF radio and pick up the designated mooring buoy for $55 per night, this gives you the right to use the facilities on the island, swimming pool, showers restaurants activities etc.
We have had one of my stepdaughters Cassandra visit for four days which gave the opportunity to set a good sailing plan. Cassandra arrived Monday afternoon so we spent that night in the marina visiting the local pub for dinner that night. Tuesday morning we set off just after 0830 hours for TongueBay on the east side of WhitsundayIsland. At first I thought that we would be motoring as when we left the marina there was a slight breeze from the west and that was all. However, when we got closer to the headland where you enter the sea passage the wind changed to11 knots from the southeast. We had the main hoisted already in case we did get a little drive from any wind. As the wind picked up we unfurled the genoa and shut down the engines we were soon sailing at 6.5 to 8.5 knots. The route we took was via the north end of NorthMoleIsland and then between Hook and WhitsundayIslands, Hook Passage. As we entered the passage the wind was shielded from the island but we maintain sailing with the main alone with the wind behind us. As we rounded the northern point of WhitsundayIsland the wind picked up again but right on the nose. Sails were put away and engines started, we needed the engines to give some hot water for our showers.
Cassandra kayaking at Tongue Bay
We motored in to TongueBay and anchored rather than take a mooring as it was a little early to stay on the mooring overnight. Once settled we had lunch and then lowered the dinghy to go ashore. We had to dinghy around Tongue Point to Hill Inlet and went ashore. We took the walk up to the lookout point; it was a very low tide which is the better time to see WhitehavenBeach from the lookout as there is maximum amount of white sand showing. Once there the walk was very much worth it as the picture shows. The white sands are incredible. We then continued the walk down to the landing at TongueBay before going back to the dinghy. It is near impossible to land in TongueBay side to do the walk at low tide because the coral dries out so the dinghy trip around the point is necessary if you want to see the white sands at low tide.
Whitehaven Beach from the lookout point (Low tide)
We then got back to the dinghy and the tide had changed causing waves a little rougher than before, we walked the dinghy over a sandbar then the girls got into the dinghy and I walked it out near to waste deep to ensure I could start the motor before being driven back onto the beach. Once in deeper water I jumped in the dinghy seal fashion, head first. Well with short legs it is hard to cock the leg over the side the dinghy in deeper water.
Nancy and daughter Cassandra on Whitehaven beach
Once back on board we had showers and watched some of the tourist boats many of which are maxi yachts that one may see in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. They pack their dinghies with eight to ten people and the water is nearly lapping in the dinghy.
We had a nice dinner and we were early to bed. The next morning we were up to see the sunrise, it is the best part of the day, Cassandra went for a kayak ride and when she came back we readied for sail over to HaslewoodIsland to ChalkiesBeach. This is a good snorkelling area with the coral close to the beach. However, the anchoring can be a little uncertain, it took four tries to anchor and grip and then it did not feel that good. I stayed with the boat and the girls went for a quick swim. Cassandra said the water was rather cold.
Snorkelling at Chalkies Beach
We the motored across to Whitehaven Beach, there were a number of yachts and motor launches there so we found a good area with lots of space and shortly after the Seawind Catamaran Club started to arrive, it was interesting to watch. I related it to a shopping centre where people in their cars want to park as close to the shop as possible, so you have all these people swarming around the closest area when you can park a little further away in the quiet and walk the short distance. Well these Seawinds were the same with the exception of a few sensible people; they rushed for the closest area to the beach where they were going to have their get-together, some not obeying the rules of the sea ways cutting across the bows of boats that had right of way. They all dropped anchor a few feet away from each other and they were working their way closer to us and there were more of them coming.
Seawind Catamaran Club arrive at Whitehaven
I decided that if they kept coming our way they are going to drop anchor over our anchor so we lifted our anchor and moved further away. We were pleased that we did as soon after the large tourist boats arrived with large numbers to be landed on the beach as part of the tour and we were well clear of it.
It always amazes me how some yachties have to anchor so close to one another, if the wind and seas pick up and one drags anchor there could be a lot of damage one has to answer for.
Fantasea tours take people ashore at Whitehaven (They used to ship cattle this way).
We had a relaxing afternoon watching all the activity, and then again had a nice evening meal and a couple of red wines before turning in. Next morning we left before sunrise, there was just the dawn sky, we motored Solway Passage, this is passage between Whitsunday and Haslewood Islands then turned into the wind and hoisted the mainsail although the wind was going to be light and just off the nose we motor sailed until we turned into Dent Passage, this is between Dent and Hamilton Islands. On the way the sun came up behind the islands.
Leaving Whitehaven at dawn
Sunrising as we sail passed Hamilton Island southern coast
We was heading for DaydreamIsland, (WestMoleIsland on the charts), and we wanted to get there to spend the day to see the island. As we entered Dent Passage there were stacks of people on kayaks or outriggers, they appeared to be in a race with several support dinghies. We went via the passage to show Cassandra how HamiltonIsland had grown. There is a major construction going on at present with waterfront units and some very large centre.
Cassandra at the helm
As we left we went via the passage between Dent and HenningIslands into Whitsunday Passage and crossed that towards the southern tip of SouthMoleIsland. We were able to motor sail with the genoa as the wind was now coming from the port aft quarter. As we approached SouthMoleIsland the wind disappeared completely. This was in our favour; we had picked this day to go to this location because of the predicted weather. The passage between North, Mid, SouthMoleIslands and DaydreamIsland has strong currents with the tide changes, in windy conditions the waves back up and it can be uncomfortable. Anchoring is not really advisable in these conditions.
Main centre building at Daydream Island Resort
DaydreamIsland is rather spectacular; it has everything for the holiday maker. It has different activities to offer, there are many swimming pools although one can walk around the island the is a vehicle that travels from north to south and back again that continually runs and be delivered if you do not wish to walk.
Waterways of the man made reef with sea life.
Man made reef at Daydream Island Resort
We called them on VHF Ch 17 and they told us to pick up No.3 mooring which we did, we then got ready to go ashore. We lowered the dinghy and went to the dock they said we could use then we reported to reception and paid our $55. The staff was very friendly and gave us a map of the island and told us to enjoy the island.
We started to walk south as we wanted to go to the Fish Bowl, the lady that is part owner of Daydream used to own the hotel with the same name in Redcliffe which was done out in the retro style, Daydream is very similar. Unfortunately the Fish Bowl at present is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, gives us a reason to go back. We had a coffee at the bakery and had a good look around they have mini golf with Australian themes. There is also a swimming pool and another eatery and shops in that area. We then caught the travel buggy back to the north end and went to Mermaids restaurant for lunch. Meal prices are fair, wines are a little expensive. They do have some bottles of red for around $22, but they are pretty ordinary. The nicer ones are more than $38. The meal itself could have been a little better, Cassandra and I had fish and it had been a little over cooked, Nancy had chicken cessare salad and hers was great.
Taking a photo of a friend when these two tried to get in on the act.
After lunch we went for a walk over to the west side where it is good for snorkelling and had a swim, this was followed by the girls having a dip in the spa pits. This was followed by going to the transit lounge and using the showers before returning on board. It was then decided that we would return for dinner that night to the buffet in the main building. This is one of those eating places that keep putting food out and you can eat as much as you like for $38 per person. The wine list was the same as Mermaids, but they do have nice cocktails at a reasonable price along with assorted beers and spirits. After having a good night we returned on board for a coffee and then to bed.
We awoke at first light this morning got up and put the kettle on for the morning cuppa, we had breakfast, loaded Cassandra’s computer up with Skype so she can talk to us in the future via computer, I copied all the photos that I had taken and cut a disc for her to take. Then Cassandra went for paddle in the kayak. We pulled the covers and slipped the mooring and motored back to AbelPointMarina. The days have been perfect for Cassandra’s visit, not so crash hot for a good sail each day but we did have some good sailing.
We arrived at the marina and were given the same berth as before, Cassandra had a couple of hours before she had to catch the bus to the airport so she went off to the shops. I had contacted the electrician yesterday to check out a fault, so I contacted them to let them know we had arrived. They came and found one fault on the port alternator and load tested the start batteries and they had passed their used by date. They are the ones I purchased in Rarotonga just over 12 months ago. I replaced them with AGM batteries so I have AGM batteries all round now.
We said goodbye to Cassandra and then got back into a little work, the water hoses from port engine to hot water service had a slight leak so I cycled to Enzed to purchase more hose and then replaced them. By that time it was time for a shower and a cold beer that I am having whilst typing this.
Bay of Fires
