Brisbane, Australia
3rd November 2010
27 26 S 153 06 E
Finally we received confirmation that our visas had been granted. The wind was set fair and in a whirlwind of activity we completed the official paperwork, took on fuel and fresh supplies and left Numea without a backward glance.
The sailing was perfect, with light winds just aft of the beam and the cruising chute carrying us gently along. The nights were very dark, with only a slither of moon shining amongst the zillions of stars. In our wake millions of tiny jelly fish glowed brightly.
As we came through Moreton Bay Andy crossed his track from 11 years ago, so completing his circumnavigation. There was much excitement in the cockpit whilst, unconcerned, Chinook plodded on having been around twice! After the formalities we toasted this momentous occasion – several times!!!
The following day we settled in to Manly marina where we set about preparing Chinook for sale. She desperately needed a paint job and Andy wanted that done before getting her valued. And she deserved a bit of pampering after taking such good care of us.
The paint job has taken more than two months to complete as Queensland has had its wettest summer for years. We have had torrential rain daily with terrific storms which have culminated in the terrible flooding of the entire region. We have spent a great deal of time confined to the boat as the rain has hammered down and it was only the fantastic cricket on the radio that kept us sane. Congratulations to England on winning the Ashes and the series!
This has been a good stop, we have met up with Andy’s old friends from his previous visit and they have looked after us well. We also bumped into a friend from the Caribbean in the marina; it really is such a small world. We have also had plenty of opportunity to get out on our bikes, there is a fantastic network of cycle paths around the area, and it is pretty flat too!
Now that we have completed so many jobs on the boat, and she is looking better than ever, Andy is having second thoughts about selling. We plan to head down to Sydney shortly and will consider our options some more on the way. Watch this space.
