We arrived back in Mackay and set to getting the boat ready to haul her out. She is to be stored on the hard at Mackay during the hurricane season during which time we will be in England. Since Mackay itself is in the hurricane zone a lot of extra preparations are needed. Basically everything is taken off the decks. So down come the sails, the bimini, the wind generator and anything else that can catch wind. When the boat is hauled it is tied down for extra security. Possibly that doesn't sound a lot but each sail not only is taken down but it it is hosed down with fresh water to get the salt off and dried. There are five sails in all. The same process is done for the parachute anchor and the bimini and the dinghy. The engines are serviced, the boat is cleaned from top to bottom. Each job tends to lead to another. All in all it turned out to be a good week of work in pretty hot weather. We returned to tumultous rain and thunderstorms which then settled into warm dry weather. The first long stint like this since we arrived in Australia. In the Whitsundays it would generally rain at night but clear up in the day, although often quite overcast.

We were looking forward with some trepidation to the haul out. Normally you motor the boat into the travelift straps. It lifts the boat up gently a few feet so it is just above the dock and you step across. The travelift then carries the boat round to the storage point. In Mackay you motor in and then get out into a dinghy. This is because the lift is typically about 20 feet. It's pretty high even at low tide.

Anyway the day came and the travelift had broken down so we missed the anguish of seeing Lady Kay dangling about 20 or 20 feet in the air. We left her on the dock and the marina will haul her out as soon as the travelift is repaired.