Both Mike and I sleep badly, waking up at 3 am as we hear the wind start to pick up again, just like it did the night before. It only gets up to around 20 knots though, thank goodness, although getting back to a proper sleep is something that neither of us manage to do. Mike surprises me by saying that it seems ridiculous that we should come all this way and really see nothing of Australia and asks if I want to meet up with Johanne, Steve and Isabella in Sydney next week if the flights look reasonable. Do I?!! We decide to wait until we have internet access and can check before telling them.
With a level of trepidation, we pull the anchor up, but it comes up without a problem and we head off back to Mackay. No sooner have we left the bay than the wind picks up – 25 knots right on the nose. With the current against us as well, our progress is painfully slow (just 2 knots at times) as well as extremely uncomfortable. I take a sea sick tablet and head for the sofa again, with Johanne following shortly behind with both the sofa and the tablet!
We pitch, heave and roll. It is horrid. At least after a couple of hours the tide turns and we are able to go a little faster – 3.5 knots – not exactly speedy but better. I realise that it is getting late and we need to eat something. I dive into the freezer and find a pot of dahl that I made a few weeks ago. Putting on some rice, I serve it up, a little unsure of Isabella’s reaction but she enjoys it.
Eventually we see the huge oil tanks that mark the beginning of Mackay and watch them grow bigger and bigger over the next two hours as we approach.
Entering the harbour, it all looks very different to the way it did when we left. Back then it was clouded in mist; today, however, although still windy, it is bright sunshine, and as we venture further into the marina we become sheltered from the wind and it feels almost comfortable. We head straight for the fuel dock. We are all so glad to have finished that journey. Even Mike says “God that was horrible”, so it must have been as he usually downplays my moaning about sea and sailing conditions.
It may just be a fuel dock, but after the last few days, I feel an overwhelming need to kiss the ground, so I do!
We fill up with fuel again and Mike goes off to get our berthing information and pick up his new toy – a battery charger that will allow us to charge up the boat’s batteries from 120 volt shore power, something that we will need all the time now until we get back to the Caribbean. This means no more running the generator or engines in marinas to do it, something which I’m sure our neighbours will be grateful for!
Just as we finish tying up back in the berth we were in last week, Jutta and Jochem arrive fresh from Sydney. They had a great time and did lots of shopping, although it was very cold there. Mike checks on the flight situation and it looks doable, as long as the generator goes in tomorrow. I’d better get the thermals ready! Then Heidi and Casey arrive, also freshly back from a road trip to Sydney. They offer to take the Suttons to the airport in the morning so that they don’t have to worry about a taxi. How lovely of them.
Johanne and Steve start packing to get it out of the way and I go to book a restaurant for tonight. Mike goes off to check that the guys are coming tomorrow to do the generator and comes back with the bad news that they are a day behind and will start on Friday and hopefully finish Monday. This means that we can go to Sydney on Tuesday all being well. We get ready to go out, drinking a bottle of bubbly before we go, then Mike tells them our plans for Sydney and there’s shouts of glee and hugs all round. There’ll be no tearful goodbye when they leave tomorrow now.
We go to the Italian restaurant at the marina and have a good meal, all the happier now that we have plans for next week.
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