“Golden Slumbers fill your eyes… smiles awake you when you rise”….

Well, the rain stopped overnight and today we smile … sunshine … blue skies and water so still you’re not sure which way is up !

What a change a day makes. Watching day tripper tourists walk around in ponchos and wielding umbrellas in not so friendly wind to then wake up to a real Whitsundays day, Huey can really torment the mind.

This week I’m flying solo, well boating solo more specifically. The First Mate is spending time with family in Tweed Heads taking my concern and feelings with her for Garth and Maxine in particular. Did you know there’s no direct flights from Proserpine to Gold Coast ? A logistics challenge to piece together a workable itinerary started with a shuttle bus from Port of Airlie to Proserpine, then the flight to Brisvegas, then a 2.5 hour bus ride to Tweed Heads. Luckily we are not under any time constraint. The cargo successfully arrived, as per planned itinerary ! No delayed flights or cancelled land transfers … things are looking up.

It’s been a relatively slow week. The 4 days of on-off rain had minimal boat movement from the marina, however, as soon as the sun was out motors were started, provisions were trolleyed down to boats and people were actually doing something ! Even the tourists were walking around - without umbrellas .. without ponchos - and there’s no wind !

This time next week we are booked in to Hamilton Island marina for the start of a family reunion of sorts with Dan, Reensy and the kids for a week of boating enjoyment around the Whitsundays.

Weather is looking good, but whatever we are dished out will not really matter… it will be great to see them after almost 4 months - one of the longest times since we have seen the kids for a while. The excitement is building, Sophia sent us a picture of her practicing the goggle and snorkel (check out the gallery) … We won’t see Kunzy and Juliette until September !

Ok, back to now. I have a few ‘boat chores’ to do today. One of which is to rectify a small leak I discovered during all the rain. Not a leak to effect the floating properties of CHARMER mind you, but an annoying leak from the davit on the flybridge. Loose bolts and what looks like a dodgey sealing job around the base. Why don’t people do a job properly in the first place ? That answer, if I could borrow an expression from Mr Spock (yes, while the first mate is away I am getting my fill of Star Trek !), is “totally illogical”. So, today I finish off what I started late yesterday after a half day search and investigation job to find where the leak originated.

Being of larger in stature than the Shipwrights more designed to contort their bodies around boat hulls and fixtures, it’s always a challenge to get right into ‘that spot’ when you see an issue. It often involves the thought of ..”.. if I get in there am I going to be able to get out ?..”. Hmmmm…. alone on a boat, deep in a cupboard below the deck level sandwiched between a cold hull wall and captured by bolts making holes in your favourite T-shirt or a leg pinned in an inhuman angle between large semi-flexible drainage pipes and hull mouldings .. however, I digress … believe me .. deep inside the hull …. “no one can here you scream !”. So, you take it slow and cautious, all the time being careful to look at ‘what if’ scenarios. Remember that guy who fell between two rocks and cut his own arm off ? I won’t be doing that. You can’t play guitar with one arm, at least I don’t think so.

Anyway, the sun is shining, Greg and Pia next door in a 55 foot motor Catarmaran are out for a few days with their kids making the most of the pristine conditions.

Next week is our turn and we can’t wait !