Back in the water
27 March 2011 | Mackay
michael and jackie
Phew! Lady Kay is back where she belongs in the water. The launch is always a bit tense will something go wrong? Will the engines start etc. etc? The scariest thing is the descent. Mackay has one of the highest tides in Australia so the lift drops the boat and keeps on dropping for seemingly ages.
Once in the water we got the genoa on, and then the rain came. It rained and it rained. Apparently this is the first time in 8 years that Queensland has had a proper monsoon. Along with the rain the wind gusted up to 40 knots and was rarely less than 30 knots. This weather lasted for the next three weeks. So our plans for an early departure were stayed. We couldn't get the mainsail on for almost three weeks. The weather was such that most boat jobs were extremely difficult. However, we decided having experienced the heat in Thailand to follow the unanimous advice of everyone up there to get some air conditioning installed for the trip to Indonesia. We have never needed air conditioning. The design of the boat picks up the breeze well and combined with our shades we get good ventilation. However, in equatorial areas there are no trade winds so the heat can become intense. So we went for some air conditioning, and it is now working well. It's particularly effective at getting rid of the damp.