It’s almost been another two months since the last blog (7 weeks to be exact) with the days tending to roll from one into the next with us occasionally having to check the calendar to figure out what the actual day is.
We did get a fabulous six days off over Easter which we took full advantage off by sailing over to Magnetic Island. As we weren’t able to leave until after lunch we decided to head towards Picnic Bay which is the closest anchorage. We were slightly concerned upon getting closer that there was no other boats there but figured we would drop anchor and head into the pub anyways. We spent a fabulous few hours meeting locals, listening to music, playing pool and relaxing then headed back out to the boat before it got too dark where we spent a very uncomfortable night rolling and pitching about with the currents and the waves.
With less than a few hours sleep under our belts we decided very early the next morning to jump on the bus and have a look at Horseshoe Bay as we figured with the wind direction being the way it was it would be a more sheltered anchorage. As the bus took the final turn into the bay we saw all the boats – so this is where they had all been hiding. We stopped long enough to have some breakfast then headed back to Picnic where we got REAO ready to go.
Now normally when we are under motor we can get along at a leisurely pace of 6-8 knots however we were only making 2-3 knots and soon clicked that it was because the bottom of the boat and prop were completely covered in barnacles.
It was a very slow trip however the sun was shining and it was awesome being out on REAO again so we weren’t too worried about the time as we had the whole day ahead of us.
In the end it only took us a couple of hours and we were able to find a nice shallow spot to anchor and the rest of the day was spent relaxing, reading and just generally pottering around.
The next day Craig wanted to take the dinghy into shore to scrap off some barnacles which would hopefully help it pick up some more speed and while he did that I took one of the many tracks from the Bay and went for a walk where I came to another bay. As I had left early in the morning I was the only person there which was so peaceful.
I managed to magically time my walk back and arrived just as Craig had finished scrapping and as we headed back to REAO we straight away noticed the difference, we had more speed. The rest of that day was spent snoozing, more reading (finished the first book and started a second) and relaxing.
The next day we both went for a walk in the early morning to another bay which we had to ourselves and spent quite a while just swimming in the surf and taking the obligatory photos.
You can now guess how the rest of the day panned out (which included finishing my second book and starting a third)!
We decided the next morning that we were going to try and head back to the duck pond. We could see on predict wind (a weather app) that some strong winds were coming our way and with our boat sailing/motoring slower than normal we thought it prudent to go.
We got out of the bay okay and then hit the wind and currents which completely slowed us down to the point we were making less than 1knot. We tried a variety of sail combinations to help the motor but unfortunately with the direction of the wind nothing really worked and the entire time the boat was rocking and rolling. I held on as long as I could until finally I had to throw up. We still hadn’t made it past the top of the island at this stage so Craig made the decision to turn around and we headed back to Horseshoe Bay. With the current and wind behind us this return journey didn’t take long at all. Once we had dropped anchor again Craig went to visit a couple of boats we knew to see if there was anyone on the island who could do hull scraping. No one did but one of the local yachties said he would do it for us for a price and we agreed. It didn’t take him long to start the job and we have to say he did a great job, heaps of stuff came off in the water.
The next morning we woke up early, pulled anchor and headed off again. This time we were easily doing 3-5 knots which was brilliant and we set our sights on the duck pond. We got back in a couple of hours and spent the rest of the day tidying up so we could head back to the lodge the next day.
That is where we are now and with our boss away on holiday with her husband it looks like we will be here for another week or two before we get our next break. We don’t mind though as we have a great routine going.
At this stage we are not looking too far forward, we have an amount we are saving towards and once we have reached that goal we will reassess our situation and if we are no longer enjoying it we will move on. If we still are enjoying ourselves then we will most likely stay a little bit longer. That’s the beauty of our new lifestyle who knows just what may be around the corner!