Hi everyone This site will be closing down soon, so We have built our own blog site.

It contains all the old blogs from here along with the latest blogs. We have also added videos.

Please continue following us at: trypod.co.nz/imagine/ Thanks Sue & Andrew

TURTLE SOUP ANYONE Friday 21st August We have a new crew member. Karla flew into Airlie Beach on Tuesday afternoon. Sue and I went ashore to pick her up. It was an extra low tide and the sailing club marina was almost high and dry. We had to get out of the dinghy and wade it though the mud to the no longer floating pontoon. We were able to wash most of the mud off before heading into town to meet Karla. The first stop after meeting Karla was the booze shop. Sue and Karla had lots to talk about as they haven't seen each other for 20 years. That evening there was a bit of swell coming in the bay which made Karla sea sick.

Wednesday morning we hauled anchor and sailed south to the southern side of Shaw Island. We found an unpopulated bay that was nice and sheltered. As Karla had taken sea sick pills in the morning she had felt good all day and was eager to partake in sundowners.

Thursday Karla was up early and watched the sunrise. After breakfast we went ashore and swam. In the afternoon we took the dinghy out and fished for a couple of hours. Sue caught two small Rock Cod and Karla caught a Damselfish and a baby Reef Shark. All were returned to the sea. Back on Imagine sun downers started earlier than usual. Everyone got a good night sleep.

This morning we left Shaw and headed across to Thomas Island and Naked Lady Bay. But it was too busy for us, so we went around the point to our own private bay. Eager to catch fish for dinner the rods were deployed . There was nothing biting then Karla called out my rod has got very heavy. Looking over the side of the boat, at first it looked like she had caught a fish big enough to eat. Then the turtle surfaced. It had swam passed the fishing line and the hook caught its shell. Before we could do anything the line broke and the turtle swam off. Isn't that called tag and release? Upon winding the line in we discovered that it had broken close to the hook so the turtle should survive its ordeal. With fishing out of the question for a while we had lunch then headed ashore to explore, a quick swim and sunbathe. Back on Imagine and it wasn't long before the rods came out again. Even fishing while having sundowners still resulted in nachos for dinner. One day we will have fish, so Im told.

Thursday, 30th July Again we went snorkeling and then Sam went up the main mast and cleaned the spreaders (Alan - you will be pleased to see!). In the afternoon as the wind was getting up and the bay was getting a bit choppy, we moved to the next bay for an overnighter at Butterfly Bay.

Friday 31st July After lunch we were going to move to Stonehaven Bay but we were interrupted! A couple of amourous whales were blocking the entrance to the bay frolicking around. For over an hour we were entertained by their breaching and laying on their backs, splashing the water with their fins. We arrived in Stonehaven late afternoon and fed the fishes some more before having roo for dinner!

Wednesday 29th July Luncheon Bay is a nice bay sheltered from the SE winds. After a nice night we woke to having large fish swimming around the boat so we had to swim with them! We then noticed a large manta ray swimming back and forth across the bay so Julien had to go take a closer look and swam with it for a short time.

After lunch we hopped in the dinghy and went around to the next bay (Manta Ray Bay) and snorkeled with large Maori Wrasse, tuna, parrot fish, Pinnate Batfish and many, many more that were used to humans and came right up close enough to touch.

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Monday 27th July We left Shaw Island this morning and headed to the famous Whitehaven Beach.

To get there we had to go through the Solway Passage. This meant timing it with the tide. We got through just as the tide changed and even in the slack tide the turbulent and eddie currents moved our 25 tonne boat around quite a lot.

As we rounded the corner we could see the immense white sand beach and boat loads of people at the southern end of the beach. We stopped quarter of the way up the beach for a couple of hours for a swim and walk. After lunch we headed off to Apostle Bay where we spent the night and fed the fish some more.

Tuesday morning we headed off to Cateran Bay, Border Island where it was a little more sheltered and we snorkeled around the reef. We would like to have stayed there the night but there was two hour limits on mooring in the bay and other boats wanted to come in. We headed off to Luncheon Bay for the night.

Sunday 26th July After the winds went through we headed back to Airlie Beach where we picked up new crew. Two guys from Canada, who have been touring Australia.

With Sam and Julien onboard we headed to South Molle Island for Saturday night.

This morning we had no wind so we had to motor south with the tidal currents to Shaw Island. After lunch we went ashore and trekked across the island to a stony bay on the south side. The guys went for a snorkel while Sue and Andrew flew the drone and took photos. The trek back was a little interesting as the path we took wasn't the one we went on. After making our own path through the bush eventually made it back to the north beach and our dinghy.

As soon as we were back on Imagine the guys got out the fishing rods and thought they were going to catch dinner (we had Kangaroo steaks for dinner).

We will see what tomorrow brings.

Tuesday 21st July We left Airlie Beach on Sunday and went across to Stonehaven bay on Hook Island. Which turned out to be a popular place to stay with 21 boats joining us by evening. Sue had quite a scare as we were about to anchor it looked two snorkelers just off our bow. It turned out we were being greeted by a couple of dolphins. The breeze made it a bit too cold for us to go snorkeling even though the reef was only 50 meters away. So we sat in the cockpit with a drink watching the sun set.

When we checked the weather forecast on Monday, we could see high winds coming from the south. So we decided to head back to the mainland for shelter. Away from all the charter boats in the islands. We are going to hide out in Woodwark Bay till the weekend and the winds have died down a little. This morning we greased the headsail furler as it had been getting hard to wind in and out. We then decided to try fishing in the bay. We didn't come back with any fish but we did come back with a cauliflower. Is that called vegetarian fishing? We had just given up on fishing when a perfectly good and fresh cauliflower came floating by. It must have fallen overboard from one of the boats. So its cauliflower and cheese sauce for tea tonight. It wont need salting. Did we get the catch of the day or what?

Thursday 16th July After spending a few days of exploring Thomas Island and spending time on Naked Lady Beach, sorry no photos (been censored by Sue).

The tranquility was interrupted last night by two Porpoises splashing around in the bay.

This morning we hauled anchor and sailed to Arlie Beach. While we were ashore checking out the town we posted a notice in 4 of the backpacker hostels, asking if anyone wants to crew for us as we will be sailing around here for a couple of months. There are a few tourists here (not nearly the amount they would normally have). Airlie Beach has a man-made lagoon (like the one in Cairns and the one in Brisbane) - we didn't see too many sunbathers today - despite the weather being nice and sunny, there was a chill in the wind.

Tuesday 14th July Late yesterday afternoon while we were writing emails we looked up to see a turtle peering in the porthole at us. Sue jumped up and started making faces through the porthole at it. Andrew grabbed the camera and headed on deck, to see a large turtle still looking at Sue. There seems to be two large and two smaller turtles living in this bay.

This morning we set sail for Thomas Island only a couple of hours away. The breeze was quite cool but died down as we got shelter in the bay at Thomas Island. Tomorrow we will go exploring and maybe stay a few days.

Sunday 12 July We can now understand why no-one wants to join us as crew. Uninhabited islands, beautiful coral and shells scatter the beaches, Turtles swim metres away from the boat, schools of fish get in the way while swimming and colourful sunsets. Who would want to spend weeks doing this?? The past couple of days we have been ashore and checked out a couple of the beaches here on Goldsmith Island. Had a couple of swims and just chilled out. Today our bay got very crowded as we had three motor boats from the mainland call in over the course of the day, which meant we only had half the beach to ourselves. Whilst on the beach we had a chat to a couple from Mackay who had come out for the day with a couple of their grandkids who as they were beachcombing the island, didn't really mind there was no reception for their mobile phones! There is a small campsite on this beach and a composting toilet, which even here there is a sign re Covid-19 warning to keep social distancing.

Keeping our perfect fishing record intact, we headed out this afternoon for a couple of hours for a spot of fishing. We did so enjoy feeding the fish but do wish sometimes something would jump on the line and stay there! Needless to say it was a good job we got some roo steaks out of the freezer for tea! This evening when checking the mooring a turtle surfaced only metres from the boat, lifting his head and giving us a couple of looks before he dived down deep again.

Friday 10th July Monday the weather packed in and so we were confined to the boat, watching movies. Tuesday and Wednesday were the same. So it was quick dashes between Dalitu (Kirsty and David's boat) and Imagine as rain stopped. We swapped DVD movies and tails of the sea and travels.

On Thursday we made a run for it. Four hours north and we were at Brampton Island. The resort on the island had been closed down, with only the caretaker left. The weather was still scattered showers, so we didn't do any exploring. We discovered that we could get some internet reception on the tablet by taking the cell phone up the mast and using the hotspot function.

This morning we continued north and are now anchored at Goldsmith Island. It seems quite sheltered with lots of little bays and beaches. We were greeted by a large turtle that seemed to be interested in our anchor. Maybe we stirred something up. Again the phone went up the mast so we could send this blog.

Sorry Guys the photos didn't upload. Lets try again.

Over the years I've only come across two other examples of this species of tree , I'm sure they must be on the endangered list. The shoetree is easily mistaken for the European sandalwood, see photo.

Image:coneshell.

Image:Sue.

Image:Andrew.

Sue survived her shark attack! We left Mackay on Saturday with the wind off our beam. With only the head sail up we were doing about 7 knots all the way to Scawfell Island. It was a really nice sail with not much swell until a couple of hours out from the island. Saturday afternoon we just chilled out. During the night the wind got up and was tunneling down the valley. By morning there were white caps forming down the side of the bay we and three other boats were anchored in so we hauled anchor and moved to the western side of the bay.

Later that day we explored one of the beaches. Today after Andrew took a very short swim off the back of the boat (water a bit cool) we explored another beach.

That's where it happened! Sue bravely ventured into the water at the beach for a quick swim. Knowing that there have been 3 shark attacks in Queensland waters (1200km of coast) in the past 12 months.

And sure enough she returned to the beach without a mark on her. Maybe sharks don't attack everyone, or maybe they're not as prevalent as Sue thought they were.

We met a couple (Kirsty and David) from one of the boats anchored near us who were walking along the beach. They invited us back to their boat for a coffee. After lunch we went to their boat and talked for hours about boats and boating. They then came to Imagine for Sundowners (drinks) as we talked more about boats and travelling. It's always interesting to meet fellow boaties and share tips and stories.

Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

Image Thursday 2nd July No not Thursday, Sadday. Today we bid farewell to Robyn and Karl.

After a gentle all night sail we arrived to Mackay. There were lots of cargo boats anchored outside the harbour. We phoned the marina and were told which berth we had been asigned. Luckily it was at the end of the pier, so all we had to do was turn Imagine around in the alleyway and glide up to the pier. Sorry. no mishaps. no over shooting the pier. No one fell overboard. Just a perfect docking.

Sue & Andrew booked in and checked out facilities at the marina, while Karl & Robyn went and hired a car. We then all went in to town to get groceries to restock the boat. When we got back to the marina it was Sundowner time so we had drinkies in the hotel room Robyn and Karl had booked for the night.

We said our goodbyes and bought burger and chips on the walk back to Imagine.

We have decided to stay in the marina Friday as well. Get the laundry done and a few bits and pieces.

Wednesday 1st July After an uncomfortable night we decided that we would head for Mackay. Over breakfast we calculated how long it would take to get there. Then what time we needed to set off, to arrive during daylight. So we needed to set off at 4:00pm and sail overnight.

This meant we could explore more of the island. Arriving on the beach without a spill this time we headed inland. We came across a very rare tree.

Over the years I've only come across two other examples of this species of tree , I'm sure they must be on the endangered list. The shoetree is easily mistaken for the European sandalwood, see photo.

We also discovered what looked to be erosion in a gully. The slip had uncovered a red soil and colourful rocks. We walked across the hill to the other side of the island where we could see how sheltered our bay was from the South Easterlies. Returning to Imagine we stowed everything away for our voyage to Mackay.

Tuseday 30th June We arrived at South Percy Ilse last night, anchoring in the bay with 7 other boats. Although we were sheltered from the wind and swell, we had a small amount of rocking.

Karl and Robyn had said previously that they wanted to experience everything about boating life. This morning after breakfast we all piled in the dinghy and set off for shore. As we approached shore Andrew slowed the dinghy down to surf in on a wave. As everyone got ready to jump out upon reaching the beach, the balance of the dinghy altered and we slid down the wave side on.

Karl fell out of the high side, launching Andrew into the air and over the top of Sue and Robyn. With the girls on the lower side of the boat, sank even further into the water, which sent them backwards into the water. Being a RIB the dinghy didn't tip over but did take on a large amount of water.

We picked ourselves up and dragged the boat ashore. Luckily the cameras and things were in waterproof bags. Still soaking wet we headed off to explore the island. We walked the beaches and came across another ship wreck in the sand. Back on board Imagine we all showered and relaxed the rest of the day. By evening the swell had started coming around the point which made it an uncomfortable night.

Friday 26th June Yesterday we all piled into the dinghy and headed around the west side of Great Keppel island. We found the large bay (ship wreck bay) we had sailed past on the way to our anchorage. A beautifull bay but not as sheltered as our anchorage. In the sand at high water mark we found parts of a ship wreck including the pins used to hold the timber boat together.

Returning to Imagine Sue desided to fish off the boat. She surprised us all by catching two Shark Sucker Fish about 450mm long. Not good eating but good bait for later.

Today we explored the eastern bays. One of which had a small river inlet with two boats tied up in the mangroves, as if they were there ready for a cyclone. We also took a look at where the resort was.

After lunch we were met by Eilene, Mark, Alby and Helen from Black Diamond.

They had had a problem with a gearbox on one motor. Luckily we had some parts to help fix the problem. After the repair we all enjoyed drinks and nibblies on their back deck as the sun went down.

Unfortunately when it came to head back to Imagine, Sue, Andrew, Karl and Robyn piled into the dinghy, but the outboard motor wouldnt start. So out came the oars. Karl and Robyn rowed us back to Imagine.

Tomorrow both boats will head off to Pearl Bay.

Wednesday 24t June On Tuesday morning, we awoke to 20 to 25knot winds and a choppy sea. We intended to stay another day at Lady Musgrave, but with the high winds we decided to go. By 10am we had set off back through the narrow channel and off to Great Keppel Island. Just as we had cleared the atoll, we spied a set of sails. We called on the radio and yes it was Black Diamond ( Eileen & Mark's Cat). so we missed catching up with them there. We will try to meet them at Great Keppel or some other point in their journey up north.

The day's sail started with nice high winds behind us but after lunch slowly died to only 3 knots so we had to motor for a while. During the night the wind came back and we were able to continue sailing. A first for Sue, she got seasick so the evening shifts were divided between Andrew, Robyn and Karl. During the night we had to cross a shipping channel and as luck would have it we had to negotiate around three cargo boats, one of which passed only 100 metres from us and we could easily see the windows on the bridge! We arrived at Great Keppel at dawn and found an anchorage on the north side.

Whilst Sue was still recovering, Andrew, Robyn and Karl went ashore to do a little exploring. The rest of the day we relaxed on board.

Monday 22 June 20 We woke to a breezy morning. After breakfast we went to explore the island. Had a nice walk around, saw several noddie birds. We also came across some campers, a dad and two sons that had come all this way in their tinnie to camp for a week who had packed all their gear including gas cartridges but had forgot the gas cooker. The dad asked if we would happen to have one on board. We weren't sure as we have thinned out a lot of stuff on Imagine but after exploring the island some more we came back to Imagine and Andrew found we did still have it onboard (a bit of rust on it but it should work ok). We had come back via some of the reef but by that time wind had picked up again so we decided to leave the snorkeling today. The dad and his sons were coming out fishing and stopped to see if we had found the cooker, which we happily passed across in exchange for a fishing lure (they wanted to give us something). Later in the afternoon after they'd been fishing they came back and gave us a couple of fish which Andrew filleted and Robyn cooked up for tea tonight. Yum! Andrew went up the mast to fix the light at the top that was working intermittently. Unfortunately the lovely neighbours despite seeing him there decided it would be a lot of fun to take their speedboat and a jet ski past at high speed creating much wake! After seeing Andrew having so much fun, Robyn decided she'd go up the mast too! I do have to put in the blog today that Karl and Andrew worked really hard on cleaning the boat ..... read that as they spent a small amount of time cleaning the windows and Robyn and I are still hearing about it !!! Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

Sunday 21 June 20 Sailed overnight with variable wind to the point we had to bring the sails in and motor. Fred (auto helm) decided he'd had enough so packed it in early this morning. Whilst we could still steer manually, Andrew quickly did a temp fix and has done a more permanent fix today when he had some light. This morning we had blue sky and a bit of cloud, wind was quite light still so although we sailed some we also motored some. We arrived at the entrance to Lady Musgrove early this morning, it is a very narrow entrance only about 100 feet wide (about 30 metres) and a squall passed through at the same time which made things even more interesting! Andrew went up the mast to guide us in and Robyn and Karl were also lookouts, letting Andrew know what they saw so he could feed instructions back to Sue on the helm. Having navigated the narrow entrance, we then had to weave our way through the numerous bommies within the atoll. We found our way to a patch where we could anchor for the night. Andrew, Karl and Robyn took a dip in the clear aqua water and we all relaxed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we will go exploring the small island and do a bit of snorkeling. Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

Saturday 20 Jun 20 We've escaped! On Thursday Robyn and Karl joined us and we left Brisbane for Moreton Island where we overnighted. Quite rolly! Met up briefly with Eileen (cousin), Mark, Helen and Albie. Eileen and Mark recently purchased a cat (Black Diamond) but have been unable to pick it up and sail it back to Weipa due to the covid19 travel restrictions. They are now sailing up from the Gold Coast and we hope to catch up with with them along the way. Yesterday we set off early and headed up the coast. Weather was overcast and we ran into several squalls. As we were coming out of one of the squalls we were very surprised by a couple of large humpback whales as they breached either side of the boat. Sue almost shit herself because they were so close, but it was an amazing sight and we are all just happy that they came up either side of Imagine and not underneath! Shortly after that when the hearts had all settled down we were delighted by a small pod of dolphins frolicking around the bow of the boat. On and off squalls all night gave us a wind range from 4 knots to 29 knots so we were constantly changing sails and 2am we gave up and motored for about 3 hours. Daybreak had brought catches of blue skies and no more squalls so far, though winds are still variable. Currently sailing along at average of 6 knots.

Another overnight sail tonight then hopefully to somewhere sheltered to anchor tomorrow.

Sorry no photos today. Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

HAD A BIT OF FUN YESTERDAY The solo skipper of the boat anchored behind us came over in his dinghy asking for help. He had been trying for two days to raise his anchor. It was stuck on something big and heavy.

So of course I went off to help. After a while of driving back and forth and straining the winch we got it off the bottom. Heaving it to the surface we discovered it was an old pylon. The anchor chain was still wrapped around the pylon and in knots. It was fun keeping out of the way of the ferries going by as the current was dragging us down river and we had to somehow untangle the chain from the pylon. A couple of hours later and a lot of colourfull words we broke free WE WILL BE HEADING NORTH TO THE WHITSUNDAYS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

Brisbane We haven't done a lot in the past few days, just putting more coats of varnish on the timberwork. We ventured out to get a little exercise.

Brisbane is set up well catering for walkers and cyclists with bike tracks everywhere. There are miles of walkways and cycle tracks running along the riverbank where we are. They have exercise equipment along the walkways for fitness freaks (not in use with COVID19). They even cater for dogs, with water bowls at every drinking fountain and doggy signage.

The Snitch Someone must have dobbed us in. The past few days every time we go on deck there has been a man standing on shore watching us. We have tried waving out to him but he just stands there in his yellow coat with his fist in the air. He has no expression on his face. I'm sure he's just waiting for us to go ashore again so he can snitch on us. As soon as I find my glasses I will go ashore and give him a piece of my mind (what's left of it).

Catastrophe! Sue went to make a coffee for morning tea. Turned the gas on, filled the kettle, lit the stove and put the kettle on to boil, then went back to doing her crossword while Andrew pottered around on deck. Five minutes later it was apparent we were in big trouble.

The kettle hadn't boiled! The gas had gone out. After trying to relight the stove several times Sue called for Andrew to check the gas. Sure enough we were out of gas. NO COFFEE. How are we going to survive the day? Being used to our big 19kg gas bottle that lasts us over six months we had forgot to keep checking the smaller 8kg swap bottle. Jumping on the internet we located a service station less than 2km away.

We lowered the dinghy into the water. Andrew disconnected the gas bottle and retrieved the fold up hand cart from the Lazarette (the black hole). With Andrew in the dinghy Sue used a rope to one at a time lower them over the side of Imagine and into the dinghy.

Andrew then set off across the river to an old floating jetty at Mowbray Park. Problem! There are no cleats to tie the dinghy to. Andrew had to tie the dinghy to the gangway of the floating jetty using rope as the chain used to lock up the dinghy was not long enough to reach.

With the gas bottle strapped onto the cart Andrew headed off through the park to the main road. The park seemed eerie as there was no-one around.

Empty BBQs, Picnic areas and playground. Andrew made his way up the road pulling the cart behind him. Upon reaching the pedestrian crossing had to press the crossing button. COVID19 stays on stainless steel for days.

Placing his hand up the inside of his T-Shirt Andrew was able to press the button and keep safe. Across the road and up the road a little way was the service station.

With the cart still behind him Andrew walked up to the counter and asked for a swap gas bottle. "That will be $19 thank you" as she pointed to the EFTPOS machine. (Having a NZ bank account, we are charged a fee everytime we use the card internationally.) Andrew placed a $20 note on the counter. "We are not supposed to handle cash". The girl eventually accepted the note but didn't give change.

With the bottle swapped for a full one Andrew made his way back to dinghy.

Andrew arrived back at the jetty to find the dinghy was still there. He loaded the cart and bottle into the dinghy and headed back to Imagine. Using the rope Sue hauled the bottle and cart back on deck. Leaving the dinghy tied off the back of Imagine Andrew reconnected the gas.

The catastrophe sorted, Sue put the kettle on for a coffee to go with the lunch she had prepared while Andrew was away. As a dutiful wife should.

Hopefully this killed 10 minutes of your boredom!!

The breakout..

Being cooped up onboard Imagine, not being able to go for a swim, exercise is 10 steps from the bow to the stern and back. We've had enough. We're escaping. Making a run for it.

We lowered the dinghy over the side and into the water. Grabbed our backpacks and headed downstream. Passing the houses on the riverbank we made our way to the New Farm Jetty. Without raising any attention we chained the dinghy to the jetty (thieving buggers don't know what self isolation is) and set off.

Not to raise suspicion we kept our social distancing as we made our way through the park. Reaching the other side of the park we made our way along the quiet streets as if we belonged there. Always wary that the police may come around the corner at any minute to question us about our travels.

Finally we were there! We had made it! We were at Coles supermarket. Bread, Milk, Toilet rolls and it was time to head back.

Yes . I'm bored !

Interruptions, interruptions Yesterday whilst sitting in the cockpit having lunch and watching small birds try to get into the mizzen boom to make a nest, we were rudely interrupted. A few kids had been playing with a ball on the river bank and it had ended up in the river. The first we knew was when two women (kid's mums) were yelling from the shore "excuse me, you on the boat. Can you get our ball". Seeing the soccer ball slowly float past Imagine, Andrew jumped into action (after putting some shorts on). He jumped into the dinghy and rowed after the ball. Just like Bondi Rescue he scooped up the ball and into the rib it went. He continued to shore where he passed the ball to the kids. The mums thanked Andrew and explained how the ball had escaped and made a run for it. They also where curious as to why we were here and about boat life. Keeping social distancing, Andrew explained what we have been doing before returning to Imagine to his cold coffee and dried up sandwich. Another successful rescue by Imagine crew. :-D :-D Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

Hope you all had a good Easter.

Andrew's been busy (he never stops!) .. he's Inserted a piece of timber in the rub rail where there was rot and sanded all the rub rail inbetween the ferries going past that are creating wake and rocking the boat somewhat. He is now trying to varnish as Imagine swings around in the breeze. He's already varnished 2 of the 4 storage boxes on the deck.

Yesterday we went ashore to fill our water containers as we can't make water here in the river (river too dirty). Whilst ashore and to stretch our legs we went for a walk along the river bank for some exercise. It's a lovely but very busy walkway through the park. It's hard sometimes to see where the social distancing is happening! ÿØÿà JFIF ` ` ÿáBExif MM * z ? ? ) 1 "

What have we been up to? Not a great deal. We are still in the Brisbane river (easy access to shops). We have been doing bits and pieces to the boat. Touching up the paint, running new sheets on the sails. Nothing too exciting. We hauled Imagine out of the water at Rivergate boatyard, to get the leaking propshaft seal replaced. While it was out we gave her a couple of coats of antifoul , removed portholes and resealed them, replaced the roller on the bow, painted 10m markings on the anchor chain and painted the hull above the waterline. All that in 6 days, while the seal was being done. We also got a rigger to replace the forestay and inner stay because I found 1 strand of the wire broken.

Back in the water and we discovered some rot in the rub rail while sanding it back to varnish. So we have now cut it out and have to go to the hardware shop to get some timber (this will be essential travel as we need to urgently fix this before it spreads).

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COVID19 Well it's stuffed our plans, along with everyone else's. All the Pacific Islands have closed their borders and we don't blame them. They would be very vulnerable. Just like you, we are in lock down. Only being able to go shopping or exercise. Yay we just found a shop that currently has plenty of toilet paper.

Australian's are to stay at home with no non-essential travel, including no boating. If we self isolate and stay at home and our home moves up the coast are we breaking the law? Is it non-essential travel and boating? It's a $1300 fine each for non-essential travel We have enough food to stay onboard for more than 14days and could make our own water up the coast. We now have to go ashore every few days to fill jerry-cans with water as the river is too dirty to make water. This increases our chances of catching COVID19.

For the moment we are staying put. A shop across the river has advertised for workers so Sue has applied. If she gets it we would then have some income. Like you we will just have to sit tight and see what happens next.

It's good to hear that in New Zealand the number of cases are reducing due to their total lockdown. Still a ways to go but good to hear some positive news.

Stay safe and be healthy everyone

COVID19 Well it's stuffed our plans, along with everyone else's. All the Pacific Islands have closed their borders and we don't blame them. They would be very vulnerable. Just like you, we are in lock down. Only being able to go shopping or exercise. Yay we just found a shop that currently has plenty of toilet paper.

Australian's are to stay at home with no non-essential travel, including no boating. If we self isolate and stay at home and our home moves up the coast are we breaking the law? Is it non-essential travel and boating? It's a $1300 fine each for non-essential travel We have enough food to stay onboard for more than 14days and could make our own water up the coast. We now have to go ashore every few days to fill jerry-cans with water as the river is too dirty to make water. This increases our chances of catching COVID19.

For the moment we are staying put. A shop across the river has advertised for workers so Sue has applied. If she gets it we would then have some income. Like you we will just have to sit tight and see what happens next.

It's good to hear that in New Zealand the number of cases are reducing due to their total lockdown. Still a ways to go but good to hear some positive news.

Stay safe and be healthy everyone

Imagine:Esther.

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Imagine:Esther.

Sunday 9th January Back in Brisbane after taking potential crew to Moreton Island for a few days.

Amelia and Tim, originally from Canada and now living in Brisbane, may look at meeting up with us later in the year. They have had their own boat and did coastal cruising. Esther is from Germany and has taken some time off to travel and would like to do some sailing. She has had no experience crewing but is keen to learn and wants to do a blue water crossing. She is now travelling to NZ - where she may be able to get some more experience and is possibly looking at joining us in Vanuatu.

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28th January Back in Brisbane The steering...

The bearing seemed to have collapsed making the steering wheel very loose.

To get us back to Brisbane I cut up a nylon chopping board to make a couple of bushes which seemed to hold the steering in place better.

When we got back to Brisbane I started disassembling the helm. With several calls to a friend in Sydney (thanks Gordon) I discovered the only way to fix the problem was to remove the entire helm. With Ben and Greg's help we disassembled and replaced the bearings.

I remounted the helm on the boat, connected the rudder up and it seems to work.

In removing the helm, had to cut out all of the fibreglass housing which meant now I had to build a new helm station. Instead of using fibreglass I built this one out of timber so the back could be removed if anything ever needed repairing again. All this has taken approx 3 weeks to do.

Everything on the boat takes longer to do in this heat and humidity - a trip to the hardware store for bolts takes all day. This week we hope to take it for a test sail.

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Image 20th December We arrived in Bundaberg today after spending a couple of days at Fraser Island. On the way to Fraser Island the helm (steering wheel) started making a funny noise. When we got to Fraser Island, Andrew tried to oil it and discovered a bigger issue. We've now cut a "view door" in the helm pedestal so we can now see that the bearing needs replacing. Being this close to Christmas, it may be an issue as many places have closed already. (There is an emergency tiller if it totally packs up but we don't plan on going too far until we can get it sorted). Also attached is another boring (not) video of dolphins - some good footage of them jumping and frolicking across the bow. It's only a short video as the video camera had flat battery and ended up filming it on the phone.

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Still working on the boat.

Everything take 10 times longer on the boat. If I require a pipe clamp or extra screws or even getting groceries the process goes: lift the dinghy off the deck and into the water, lower the motor onto the dinghy. Lock up Imagine, dinghy 15 minutes to a secure dinghy jetty. then depending on what we want, it's a 3km walk to the shopping center or a 20 minute ferry ride and 1.5km walk to the hardware shop.

But we do get to watch the sunset while having a wine on the aft deck and have feasted on fresh prawns. We get to meet up with Ben, Amie & Lachlan and see him with Santa. I have even dined on Chickens feet, when Ben took me out for my birthday ÿØÿà JFIF H H ÿá?Exif MM * ° @ ¶ ¼ Á È Ð Ø( 1 à2 ü ?i ¤ rbsh HUAWEI LYA-L29 ü? ' ü? 'Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows 2019:12:13 19:22:59 (?? ö? þ?"