Getting off the dock is the first step and sometimes you just have to unhook that umbilical cord that delivers unlimited power and water and just do it. Just get off the dock and see what happens.
The last week has been chock full of fix-it boat projects. It’s just amazing how much you can break over some 25,000 miles of sailing, and even more amazing how much stuff can break all by itself when a boat is just sitting in a yard unused. Macerator pumps lock up, thru hulls seize, and the relentless Australian sun can do a number on just about anything. At one point we had over 72 to-do items. Admittingly some of these are cool improvements like adding another solar panel (another 200 watts sure sounds sweet), or building a rain catcher (why run the water maker when if falls from the sky?) but lots of things are must-have like making sure the fridges keep the beer cold.
With Brady here now we kicked it into high gear and worked at a furious pace for a few days. Then all of a sudden we cut the cord and left the dock, and the deliciously tempting yet greasy fish and chips stand at the marina that was our go to call for lunch in a pinch. Delos was off life support and back in her natural element.
We motored “up da riva’” into the heart of the thriving metropolis that is Bundaberg. It’s actually not much of a metropolis at all which is what makes it so perfect. Within a 5 minute walk of our new spot in the river we have a marine store, electrical shop, 2 hardware stores, a specialty fastener shop, and a liquorfood store. Talk about cruiser heaven! Oh and our fish and chips have been replaced by a spicy ThaiIndian combination restaurant. Too cool. Plus the anchorage is mill-pond calm and ideal for doing boat projects.
And to top it all off after a hard days work of sucking diesel fumes upside down in the engine room you can take a break for a sun downer and enjoy the view, and remember the reason why you’re here in the first place.
Boats littered the river bank, washed out of marina and hard stand complex in the city by the floods in January caused by Cyclone Oswald. Some ended up in cow pasture. This one was a little luckier.
This fishing boat was not so lucky.