Wooo hooo! There is a weather window good enough for departure for Lizard Island this weekend.
Whilst in Port Douglas, we have driven to higher ground and seen the very turbulent offshore waters and the peace and quiet of the Daintree lookout made it all the more boisterous.
He Who Hums is in the bowels of Condesa, checking the engine mounts with a marine mechanic who is supple enough to crawl around the area.
It’s funny, you phone the engineer workshop and the big burley owner says he’ll send someone who is working nearby in the marina. We located the said worker and once he heard the words “engine mounts to be checked”, he then sent the smaller skill-set over to view the job (location is in the bilge of Condesa, where no man roams - just sayin😬).
At 9am I set off to the commence provisioning, noticing the person who viewed it yesterday had sent an even smaller tradesperson today. 🤣
Yes, you do need to be like a carpet snake to get around Condesa’s engine. This roll call of mechanics reminded me of the spanners lined up on the workshop wall. It appears you keep downsizing until you get the right fit for the job.
So, I left the boys to it but didn’t get too far on my mission. I am caught up in The Port Douglas Book Shop, with a very chatty and extremely knowledgeable owner and his furry companion Brandy. The cream coloured Labrador who guards the door, only letting dog-loving-people step over him.
The shop owner loved an early customer, I guess it set the tone for his day amongst preloved books. Within the first 15mins he learns I’m from the marina, makes me a cup of tea, sets it in the maritime book nook where all dog-loving-people sit and insisted I stay as long as I want.
I view the low-set old ruby lounge reminiscent of the one my great grandmother owned and it smells of vintage comfort, so I sink into the too-warm-for-this-weather velvet seat. I respond to the ongoing questions shot from the next isle and ignore Brandy’s polite stare at the biscuit as it goes to my mouth and back to the saucer. All this is happening whilst pretending to read as I notice passersby view us, (the dog lover and dag) through the bookshop window. I have found the perfect book of maps from where I sit.
So now, let’s look at the next leg - 100 NM north (200klm) a 2-3 day hop, even beyond Cooktown.
In conversation someone said to He Who Hums ‘Oh! if your going that far you should also visit Princess Charlotte Bay!’ And, whilst that bay sounds perfectly divine, I can see it is far, far, far north Qld. Before we know it we will be in New Guinea if we’re not careful.
People, we have to turn this ship around before the cyclone season begins!
So back to the plan, if we take a few days to reach the allusive Lizard Island and spend a week “researching” the reefs whilst waiting for weather, eventually the northerly winds should start to blow. Which by then the calendar should read mid October. In that case Condesa a will need to be facing south to begin her return journey. a) pre cyclone season and b) to keep the insurance company happy. Fine! That’s all good timing for family and Christmas prep also.
Speaking of home, I need to get out of this time travelling velvet couch, find the actual book I came in for and hot foot it back via the markets to check on the boat jobs. Actually, I also want to see how small the worker became to achieved the impossible.🙊