after a relaxing family Xmas get-together
we returned to Brisbane to finish off the PasoDoble project. Our neighbours at
the Dockside Marina watched over her carefully and she looked very content in
her berth at the edge of the city centre.
First on the to-do-list was preparing for
another haul out to do the necessary maintenance to get her ready for selling. Don,
the crewmember from Noumea to Brisbane dedicated some time of his busy retirement
and volunteer-ing schedule and after a week of electrical and electronic
revision we finally ironed out some of those persistently annoying little
problems we had over the last years and the labeling of the switchboard [and
the wires behind it] received a facelift, too.
The Rivergate Marina & Shipyard had a
travel lift wide enough for a catamaran and was the best option to haul her out
of the water. On a sunny and very hot day we motored downriver to the yard located
under the impressive Gateway Bridge. At slack low tide she was hauled up 8m
above water level and received an environmentally friendly wash down.
Her overall condition under the water line
was pretty good, but the 16.000 miles had left their mark on the anti foul and some
of the moving parts obviously needed some special attention.
Maria did a tremendous job meticulously
sanding down the hull and shining up her coat while Tao, another Noumea to
Brisbane crew and Ben [who missed out sailing from Fiji to Australia] volunteered
some of their time over the next few days to brighten up her belly. A big THANK
YOU to them for their time and effort. We also managed to get a warranty replacement
for our ailing silent wind generator. Glad to see this ‘vibrator’ gone after 2
years … the new one works a treat.
Here are some ‘before-during-and-after’
pictures … always interesting to see the differenece.
The 2013 South Pacific cyclone season is a
very active one and number 3 cyclone ‘Oswald’ was leaving its marks coming out
of the tropics and continuing on his unusual journey south along the entire
eastern seaboard of Australia. Bundaberg and Brisbane were hit particularly
hard. At first we [determined yet frustrated] tried to work in with the
intermittent showers before the full force of the wind and rain started to seriously
belt us and interrupted all work. With gusts of over 60 knots coming up the
Brisbane River, PasoDoble was shaking on the blocks and we considered our
situation very lucky to be out of the water. The Brisbane River didn’t reach
the levels of the record 2011 floods of 8.9m, but the debris floating down the
river was impressive. The colour of the water was a deep shade of brown and it
all looked very much like a mud bath.
We were hesitant to go back into the water,
knowing the beauty of our newly anti fouled and polished boat would be gone in
an instant. But a day after the floodwater in the river peaked, time had come
to get wet. We already overstayed our booked timeslot and the yard was filling
up with storm-damaged vessels. Furthermore we had an appointment with an
interested buyer wanting to see the boat in the water.
Just after slack high tide we were dropped
into the muddy river and with only enough engine power to keep steerage the 6kn
of current washed us down the river together with some seriously big pieces of
debris. We were very glad to be going the same way and speed as the tree
trunks, palettes, fridges and whatever else we saw and didn’t see, avoiding
whatever was stuck in the river.
The weather was still inclement and fog,
blown up dust and low clouds were inhibiting our view, ships were appearing out
of nowhere. We tried to stay out of the shipping lane, skimming along the edge
of the river and as we spilled out of the river mouth into the bay an
unpredicted 30kn southerly together with a very choppy sea made it impossible to
get to Manly marina [which was lying south], our meeting point with the
interested buyer. No choice but to succumb to the weather and turn north. We made
a few phone calls with our broker to change the arrangement, then pulled out
some sail and in rather blustery conditions made our way north to Newport
Marina, where we managed to get a berth for a few days.
The next morning was spent frantically
scrubbing off the muddy water stains along the deck and hull, getting ready for
the inspection. After 3 hours she kind of looked sparkling again. The
inspection went well, the buyer was impressed ... but so far no decision has
been made. Later we moved over to our leased berth at Redcliffe Marina.
Before tying her up for good and handing
over the keys to the broker we wanted to return some of the favours we received
over the past weeks. We were taking PasoDoble for a few spins around Moreton
Bay with friends and family, visiting some of the beautiful sights of the bay
like Peel Island and Tangalooma on Moreton Island. Although getting better by the
day, the weather was still unstable and the marks of the recent floods were
still noticeable with the normally sparkling blue water being a shade of green
with debris and jellyfish still omnipresent.
The first sojourn was with friends from
Byron Bay – our ex-neighbours Div, Gen, Tom and Mike and Cornelia. The dedicated fishermen came up with some good results and the rest of the time was spent snorkeling around the wrecks, beach walking and chatting ....
The next guests were Nina and her friends
from Uni – Alice, Nick, Dillon and Tom.
The water and weather conditions had improved and allowed for sunset cocktails, the obligatory over-board jump and water skiing, apart from 'chilling on the tramper' and playing games.
Then came the hardstand volunteer team with
partners - Lindy, Don, Georgina, Tao, Andrea and finally Ben made it for a sail
on board PasoDoble. Luckily we had some reasonable wind to have a bit of fun, together with more snorkeling, Champagne, more fishing [thanks to Ben some fishy dinners] and some serious contemplating ...
And here, at least for now end the
adventures with our beautiful PasoDoble.
Altogether we had 62 crew on board between
Barcelona and Brisbane. To all you readers who were able to join us for one or
more legs of this amazing journey –we hope you enjoyed the time we shared
together and you were able to take some of what you experienced back with you
to your daily lives. Thank you ever so much for the enthusiasm and ‘good vibes’
you brought with you to the various parts of the oceans, all contributing greatly
to the success of the trip.
To all other readers we hope that following
our travel reports and seeing the amazing pictures on this blog gave you a bit
of an insight into our adventures and let you have the notion of having crossed
the oceans with us.
And of course, thank you PasoDoble for a
safe passage … always
Should you be interested - here’s a link to
one of the web listings.
