Year 2 – 11 March 2025 -Brisbane – We are out of the tunnel !!

If anyone reading this and is free from now and all or some of April to mid July 2025 to come to Australia then do contact me as I am short of crew during this period at present.

I woke early to a sunny morning – the first for what feels like a very long time. We had breakfast and then started to continue to get Stormbird ready. We took down the cockpit cover and put it aside to dry. We then out up the Bimini again and got that into its usual position. We did some washing so we had clean and dry clothes.

The steel guys came for the davits (which we hoist the dinghy up) which took them some time but they have fitted a stainless-steel bracing plate each side between the old davit fitting and the new which should mean it should not droop or slip. This was good to get done and the workmen were very good.

We put away the cockpit cover, the sail bag which we had over the doghouse window and packed all the lazarettes back. We filled the water tank, checked the bilges and hoovered and cleaned. We washed the deck and cockpit. The biggest problem was debris from the river. There were huge tree trunks and logs and all sorts of rubbish coming down, most of it was lodged under and beside the large yachts on the outside pontoons and they asked the marina to help them with their dinghies to pull away the trapped wood and trees. It was so thick it was like a carpet/mesh of trees, leaves and debris. It took them most of the day to clear it out. We had quite a lot of stuff ourselves and pulled out some large logs and branches and put them on the dock. We managed with the help of the tide to push stuff away and/or under the pontoon. However, as I write this more has come back. It is a major problem and may continue for some days. We hope we will not run into this stuff tomorrow.

Trevor helped clean the hull where the fenders had been and I got on with other clearing away. We had a light lunch and then borrowed the truck from the marina to go to the chandlery to get some things, including a new fender to replace the one which deflated. We then went to stock up at the supermarket and bottle store ( odd why you cannot buy beer and wine at the supermarket but there you go) so we can be away from the shops for at least a week.  

We returned with our booty and stored it away. We then sorted out the final things we needed to do as the marina want us to move by about 8.30am which is fine as we want to go as well as long as the debris is not too bad. The problem is that our engine takes water from the sea and we do not want to get it blocked which would then mean the engine would overheat.

We are planning to go to Noosa Heads some 46nm up the coast and it will be good to get going again. We have been here long enough even though we have stayed here for good reasons. We hope we do not meet a forest of debris outside the river.

The picture of the day is a better scene of a sunset which we have not seen for a while.  

Need/Opportunity Year Two

I am in need of more crew from late April to Mid-July so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com