05/20/2012, Stonehaven Anchorage, Hook Is. AU
Clint has been leaving a number of blog comments over the last month basically advising me not to let the bad weather get under my skin since I really can't do anything about it. His advice is very salient and I have decided to take it to heart. What has made this so difficult is that we have been looking forward to sailing and diving in the Whitsundays ever since we first landed in Australia last year. Then, when we finally arrive, the weather poops out on us and we are stuck on the boat, looking out over the water, through the rain to where the reefs are and where all of that great diving is. It gets to you after a while as the disappointment swells with each passing day. It is especially hard when the weather gods just tease the heck out of you by showing peeks of blue sky and sunshine only to follow that with dark, nasty clouds and rain. However, that is now all in the past!
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Today is just another beautiful day in paradise. The skies are gray, the air is full of liquid sunshine and the wind is blowing sweet little nothings in my ears. Man o man, it just does not get any better than this...especially in the Whitsundays! Now, isn't that more enjoyable to read then the moaning and groaning of a spoiled old salt...
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Today, we received a photo of our three kids in the little restaurant they were in when we called yesterday. I have posted it to this blog. Aren't they great? We are so lucky to have such nice kids.
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This afternoon Susan and Mike of S/V Infini returned to Leu Cat under the auspices of playing cards. However, we ending us just talking and telling sailing stories and had such a great time, the cards never came out. Tomorrow, they are leaving this anchorage, giving up on the diving and they are going to Nara Inlet to explore the aborigine cultural center and cave that is supposed to be near there. I have asked Mike to email us on what they find. We may end up going there too.
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In the last few days, we have received a series of emails from Rick and Robin of S/V Endangered Species. We have yet to meet them since they have been a year in front of us and are currently in Malaysia. They have been reading our blog for a while and Rick wrote and said that he has used a few of my techno-tips. In return for using the tips, he and Robin felt it would only be fair to share with us the great information they have on sailing to and through Indonesia and the marina situation in Malaysia and Thailand. It was based on their own experiences and is a treasure trove of great information on provisioning, anchorages and waypoints, places to dive, and marinas to contact. Wow. We are so appreciative. I asked them if I could pass this info on to others and they were gracious enough to say yes. Thus, if you are heading up to that neck of the world and would like to have some of the best advice we have seen on this subject, drop me an email and I will pass on their words of wisdom.
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Comments [1]
OK, the last picture really is not fair. We can see the island most of the time. We just have to go outside to see it since the windows are usually covered with rain and water gushing off of our salon roof.
I took this shot while out in the rain but you can see the island!!!! See, that is the mountain peak in front of us, that is the rain laden clouds rolling over the mountain and that is the rain to the right of the peak. It just does not get more beautiful than that, does it...
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I thought you would appreciate the exotic and beautiful view of Stonehaven Anchorage at Hook Island that we have. This view captures what we have seen the majority of the time that we have been here...
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05/19/2012, Stonehaven Anchorage, Hook Is. AU
We came very close to running over to Langford Island to go snorkeling today. Our friends of S/V Infini, Mike and Susan, actually did run over there but never got into the water. We were planning to join them but we first wanted to make some calls using Skype. We have great Internet here, which is refreshing.
When Mike and Sue got to Langford Island, they called us on the radio and we told them that we thought we would be over in about a half hour. I had been watching the Met radar and it looked like there would be a patch of blue sky after the second of numerous rain cells that were heading our way passed us by.
As we waited out the rain, we called our three kids, who are all together in San Francisco for the weekend. They were at a restaurant ordering drinks when we called. They take after their dad on that subject. I'm such a bad influence... We had a great talk and we are so thrilled and fortunate that each of our kids are so close and supportive of each other.
Afterwards, it was still raining so we called John and Cheryl of S/V SeaMist. We had just received an email from them saying that they and S/V Kilkea are now at Goldsmith Island, in the southern Whitsundays. It was great to hear their voices. Like us, they too are fed up with the crummy weather. Plus, to make matters worse, at each of their anchorages, they have had very rolly times. It was not too bad a Goldsmith now but they are not happy campers. I suggested that they and Kilkea should go to Butterfly where the anchorage is very well protected from the swells and the water is very calm. You do get bullets and there is no Internet but you can sleep well throughout the night. They may do that and if they do, we will most likely run over and join them. However, to lose Internet, man, that is tough!!!
Once we were done with our calls, I ran up to the helm and prepared to leave. When I returned to the salon, Mary Margaret was rushing around getting things ready also. However, I suggested that we wait a bit longer since the clouds coming over the mountain peak in front of us looked ominous. In a few minutes it was raining again. These rain cells are just popping up as they pass over Whitsunday Island and make their way here. The Met radar changes just about every minute regarding where the rain cells are.
After waiting two more hours, we called Infini and told them we were just staying put. They had motored over to the sand spit and walked it a bit. They said the water look very murky and without the sun, they really could not see the coral as they motored over it.
When they returned to our anchorage, we invited them over so Sundowners. We had a great time together and it was wonderful catching up after not seeing each other for two years. They too are doing the Sail Indonesia Rally so we look forward to getting together a number of more times.
Techno-Tip Of The Week: Grease Those Tools
When you get ready to start your cruising life, you will be sure to bring with you every tool in your tool box. You will end up using each one sooner or later. However, you will quickly discover that they will start to corrode the minute you have them on your boat. The salt air and water environment is just so conducive to the corrosion of metals that it is next to impossible to prevent.
However, if you start early, you can go a long way in slowing down the corrosion process. What I do is I wipe or spray a little CRC Lanolin onto each tool. This coats the surfaces and protects the metal. Before I use each tool, I may have to use a rag and wipe it off a bit but the tool is in good shape and ready to use.
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05/18/2012, Stonehaven Anchorage, Hook Is. AU
Early this morning I posted a number of the pictures that I had taken when we were without Internet. While I was doing that, it was pouring rain. However, as the morning progressed, the weather cleared and the sun was shining. I checked the weather radar at Australia's Bureau of Meteorology and saw that while a number of rain cells were making their way toward us, they just might pass closer to the mainland and miss us. Ah ha...a snorkeling trip to Langford Island just may be in the cards today. I told Mary Margaret that low tide was going to be around 1430 so, weather permitting, we should motor Leu Cat over there around 1300 or so. She was as gun ho as I was.
As the morning progressed, the skies remained clear but the winds picked up and we started getting 25 knots. White caps had formed in the passage between us and Langford Island. This was not good as it meant that the water would be all cloudy and even a low tide, we would be fighting a stiff surface current pulling us away from Leu Cat and the reef.
Then... the winds died and I started getting excited again. However, in a few minutes a cloud passed over and it started raining again. But then... the cloud passed by and the winds were only 10 to 15 knots. Maybe, just maybe, the weather gods would stop playing with us and let us get our snorkeling trip in...
Well, what do you think happened? Did we go diving or was it another bust day? For those of you who are faint of heart, not made of tougher stuff, who are weak kneed or just big pussy cats, do not read any further. If you do, tears will flood your eyes and you will fall to the floor and pound the ground in utter frustration. At least that is what I did...
The winds came up and it also rained. It then calmed down and stopped raining only to repeat this cycle again. Mary Margaret looked at me down on the floor, one big puddle of tears; hands balled in fists and red from pounding the floor and finally realized, after 41 years of marriage, what type of guy she had married!
These weather gods are so cruel here in Australia. To make matters worse, the weather report now talks about an upper level trough heading our way to be followed by another upper level trough. Man o' man, a double whammy of upper level troughs! This means that the air is going to be very unstable through all of next week and some of the weather web sites are predicting rain everyday throughout the entire next week! We still may be able to sneak in a quick dive tomorrow. At least that is my story and I am sticking with it...
I was so fed up with the crummy weather I just fell off of Leu Cat to get into the water. Ahhhhh, it felt soooo good. I ended up grabbing the scrapper and a scrub pad and removed the green beard that was growing along Leu Cat's waterline. Of course, as I was finishing after being in the water for about an hour, it started pouring and the wind whipped through the two hulls.
On the positive side, last night before we went to bed the resort that is on Hayman Island, about a nm or so north of us had a great fireworks show. It was awesome and lasted a good 15 to 20 minutes. Also, our friends, Sue and Michael of S/V Infini sailed into our anchorage here this afternoon. We talked a bit on the VHF radio and hope to get together tomorrow. We have not since them for about 2 years so that would be great.
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