Thankyou Townsville, such unique landscape, stunning architecture and very friendly locals. You delivered on many levels. I was extremely sad to see your CBD retail barely hanging in. On the other hand the restaurants, whale watching ventures, cafes/ ice cream shops 😁, marinas were all full. Makes us so happy for the thriving businesses we saw from our dock.
You can't say I didn't try to support the local business, however the gentleman behind the counter where the town folk of yesteryear could be outfitted, was not keen to part with any stock. The door was open, and once I signed in at the counter - as instructed, ol' mate made mention that I could only shop from outside the window. 😳 Thought he was kidding me, but alias he definitely wasn't. Thoughout the long slow walk out, I kept my eye on the linen shirts scanning their perfectness at close range. I then pressed my nose to the window to see what else was within the dimly lit store I loved, until I realised how bazaar it all was.
I pined over what I could see but by abiding to the do-not-touch Jack Smith & Co rule, he was not having a bar of unpinning the folded shirt for me to view either, unless oh course I was definitely going to purchase. ⚖️
Anyhooo, we had a lovely stay, meeting up with many old friends and relatives, plus the new friends we made on our walks along the dock.
Even our last stop at the Breakwater marina fuel wharf, I met a delightful lady who asked about our boat length whilst I stood observing He Who Hums do the "blue jobs".
As it turned out she was the owner of the beautiful, equally big vessel named 'Poseidon', advising me it meant - God of the Sea. I mentioned we had admired her when she arrived. And so she then added, the name also means -The keeper of all boat names. 😑🙌🏻 I liked that! She told me they didn't own a bow thruster either, hence her interest in the access to the wharf we were standing. We bantered on overseeing He who Hums do the refuelling. I replied - 'Condesa' into the wind as we stood side by side. I then elaborated, 'Actually, her real name is La Condesa del Mar' - sensing she may want to know more. I also chipped in the translation - The Countess of the Sea😆. My new friend seemed suitably impressed and went on to ask about our onward journey.
What I know is this. The next time we see Poseidon, (The Keeper of Condesa's name), we will meet up like old friends, be it 4 days or 4 years from now.
We parted ways, knowing we were connected by the degree of difficulty in manoeuvring our vessels. Poseidon, due to refuel sounded like she was about a 6/10 degree of difficulty, as she mentioned her twin engines certainly made things easier. As for 'The Countess?'... Well being the princess she is, let's just say an 8 /10 🤔. Condesa's single engine and lengthy bow sprit requires skill (or 🏀 ⚽️) for most fuelling stations. Unless there is zero wind and tide in which case I could bring her in.😆
So, I guess we can double the friend stakes, minus one, 🤦🏻‍♀️ poor ol Jack the retailer with an interesting sales technique.
I/we have become fond of some vessels (and shops) without even knowing the owners. However, it is always preferable to meet the face behind the name 🔁. In saying, I realise we didn't exchange names before departing the fuel dock! Oh well our vessels had been befriended and that's all it takes for a sundowner invitation onboard either ship in the future.