Speakeasy, Over The Horizon

The Voyages of Mark & Deanna Roozendaal

24 November 2016 | 26 41.15'S:153 7.72'E, Mooloolaba, Australia
13 November 2016 | 25 54.12'S:153 01.72'E, Tin Can Bay, Australia
12 November 2016 | 25 31.69'S:152 57.91'E, Fraser Island, Australia
31 October 2016 | 24 45.38'S:152 23.72'E, Bundaberg, Australia
30 October 2016 | 23 52'S:153 55'E, On Passage - Noumea, New Caledonia to Bundaberg, Australia
29 October 2016 | 23 28'S:156 47'E, On Passage - Noumea, New Caledonia to Bundaberg, Australia
28 October 2016 | 22 57'S:159 54'E, On Passage - Noumea, New Caledonia to Bundaberg, Australia
27 October 2016 | 22 40'S:163 13'E, On Passage - Noumea to Australia
26 October 2016 | 22 22'S:166 10'E, On Passage - Noumea to Australia
18 October 2016 | 22 16.60'S:166 26.40'E, Noumea, New Caledonia
17 October 2016 | 21 37'S:168 13'E, between Vanuatu and New Caledonia
14 October 2016 | 19 31.57'S:169 26.66'E, Port Resolution, Tanna I, Vanuatu
14 October 2016 | 19 31.57'S:169 26.66'E, Port Resolution, Tanna I, Vanuatu
14 October 2016 | 19 31.90'S:169 26.98'E, Mt. Yasur, Tanna I, Vanuatu
12 October 2016 | 19 31.58'S:169 29.65'E, Port Resolution, Vanuatu
09 October 2016 | 20 14.36'S:169 46.63'E, Aneityum, Vanuatu
03 October 2016 | 20 14.36'S:169 46.63'E, Aneityum, Vanuatu
02 October 2016 | 19 39'S:172 03'E, On Passage from Fiji to Vanuatu
01 October 2016 | 18 43'S:174 16'E, On Passage from Fiji to Vanuatu
27 September 2016 | 17 40.88'S:177 23.16'E, Vuda Marina, Fiji

That's all Folks!

24 November 2016 | 26 41.15'S:153 7.72'E, Mooloolaba, Australia
Mark
Dee and I have been in Mooloolaba for nearly two weeks, enjoying our time in this small, seaside city. It is a wonderful place with friendly people, great seaside promenades, and more coffee shops than even in Victoria. We would live here in a minute!

But, we are not moving to Australia. Our main purpose here is to prep Speakeasy for sale.

Yes, this is the end of this adventure for us. We are currently going through the expensive process of importing Speakeasy to Australia and then we will be listing her with Multihull Solutions. Some lucky buyer is going to have one heck of an awesome boat. We looked into shipping her back to Canada, but it made more financial sense to sell the boat here. Cats are hot properties in this part of Australia due to the great, and shallow, cruising grounds close by.

For us, this is a chapter of our lives that is closing pretty quickly. We are saying good-bye to lots of good cruising friends as we prepare to leave Australia this weekend. After a visit to New Zealand, we'll be back in Victoria by Christmas and look forward to seeing all of our BC friends again.

In the new year Mark will be rejoining his team at RE/MAX Camosun and Dee is contemplating stepping back into a career again as well.

Thanks to everyone who read and commented on our blog these last several years. We enjoyed having you all along for the ride, and what a great ride it was!

Picture: Speakeasy all spic & span with her new sailcovers in Mooloolaba Marina. This will be her home until she is sold.

Another Stormy Night?

13 November 2016 | 25 54.12'S:153 01.72'E, Tin Can Bay, Australia
Mark
Tonight, we are anchored deep in Tin Can Bay. It was another very hot day, and that means more thunderstorms tonight. It looks like it will be another doozy!

Tomorrow morning, at 4am, we will start our final leg to Mooloolaba. The only slightly stressful part is the bar crossing heading out of Wide Bay. But, the forecast is good and we will be going out at the top of the incoming tide - the recommendation for this bar.

On our way to Mooloolaba

12 November 2016 | 25 31.69'S:152 57.91'E, Fraser Island, Australia
Mark
As the sun came up this morning at around 5am we left the Port Bundaberg Marina and headed south towards Mooloolaba.

We had a great time in Bundaberg and can't say enough good things about the marina staff, the boatyard staff, and the businesses in the area. Everyone was definitely "open for business" and did a great job to meet our needs. We've got new bottom paint, new sail covers on the way, and a few other little issues corrected. Our wallet is a lot lighter! Darn, these first-world prices!

The town of Bundaberg was great and we did our best to fit in some sightseeing between the boat jobs. Besides visiting the koala's and kangaroo's at a nearby zoo, one of the best tours was to the Bundaberg rum distillery. We drank a lot of rum there, and of course, forgot to take any photos! But, the rum was excellent, even if most of the bottles were well out of my price range.

Today, after leaving Bundy, we had a great 60 mile sail south across Hervey Bay and into the Great Sandy Strait. This strait is exactly as it sounds. Lots of winding channels, lots of sandbars, and not much deep water anywhere. It was a very nice sail with 15-18 knots of wind from behind for most of the day. Of course, just as we came to our anchorage a thunderstorm and squall moved in with nearly 30 knots of wind! It was a bit of a fire drill rounding up and getting the sails down in the narrow channel, but all is now good and we are comfortably anchored. We can't get out of the wind here, but the water is pretty flat at least.

There are a few thunderstorms about, and more forecast for tomorrow, so we may stay here, or move another 30 miles south, depending on the weather. We have a bar crossing coming up the day after that which we will need good weather for!
Vessel Name: Speakeasy
Vessel Make/Model: 2007 Manta IV 42' Catamaran
Hailing Port: Victoria, BC, Canada
Crew: Mark & Deanna Roozendaal
About:
In 2005 we were lucky enough to be able to take a one year sabbatical where we sailed from Victoria BC to Mexico and Hawaii in our Catalina 42. We had a fantastic time! As soon as we returned home, we started dreaming about our next trip. [...]
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Speakeasy's Photos - 2014 - California Delta
Photos 1 to 27 of 27 | (Main)
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Lots of bridges as we head up the Delta.  The middle, low railway bridge was just a few feet clear of our mast.
Our first top at the entrance to the Delta, Pittsburg.  A super nice Marina at only 50c / ft per night.  A real bargain.
Pittsburg is an old town undergoing a real revitalization.
We have to keep in mind that large freighters  use the same narrow waterways as we are going to be using!
Anchoring in the Delta is basically stick your nose in the weeds, drop your anchor, back off, drop a stern anchor. All in 6-12
Lots of great birds like this egret.
Anchored peacefully in Bedroom #2, Potato Slough.
Dee admiring the water hyacinth.  Actually, they are a real problem up here, clogging up the channels.
You can
Another view of Potato Slough on the busy Labour Day weekend.  Not busy at all as many of the boaters were only out for the day and have now gone to a marina.
Exploring some of the narrow channels
Great sunsets in the Delta
Our new friends Dave & Michelle on their Catalina 42 Endless Summer.  It sure brought back memories as their layout is the same as our layout was.
Leaving Potato Slough, heading to Sacramento.
Lots of little marinas around. Most to small to fit much more than a small boat.  This one isn
Lots of bridges on the Georgiana Slough, on the way to Sacramento.  Some are swing bridges - easy and no stress.
Some are lifting bridges, generally no stress.
But, some of the lifting bridges are not that tall meaning that I need to aim the top of my mast in exactly the right position.  Easy I am sure for those that are used to bridges!
Getting the mast in just the right spot in the gap.
Nearing Sacramento.
On the way to Sacramento we stopped in Walnut Grove.  A very historic little town.
A mile from Walnut Grove was Locke, a national historic district that was and is a chinese town where the workers the built the levees making the Delta lived.
Locke
The Walnut Grove dock.
Love of live aboards in houseboats in most every channel in the Delta.  The more off the beaten track, the more run down. This community was pretty upscale!
The Tower Bridge, the last bridge as we head into Sacramento.  This one was a lift bridge that went straight up.  I felt very bad closing down a very major road.
Our parking spot at "Joes" at the city dock in the river. A great central location right in the heart of Old Sacramento, but extremely dusty.  As well, catamarans like ours seem to be extremely rare so we had a steady stream of looky-loos walking the unsecured dock all day and late at night.  I was not comfortable here at all and was glad to leave.
 
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Speakeasy - Manta 42 Catamaran

Who: Mark & Deanna Roozendaal
Port: Victoria, BC, Canada

Where are Mark & Deanna?