Yesterday was not a good day. After agreeing to rent a mooring in Iluka Bay we set off in the cruise craft to Valiam at anchor. Our allocated mooring was only down the river a bit towing the cruise craft - what could possibly go wrong?

After being anchored since December in all wind directions our Manson supreme anchor held firm. It took a while to get her up. So off we motored towards the moorings by the boat ramp and ferry wharf. I had my phone with me with the navionics chart and opened it up. Bill said we have to keep close to the wall. We were 2 hours after high tide and so far so good. As we turned into the designated mooring area I checked the chart. The depth numbers seemed to be very low on the chart the direction we were going. We draw 1.2 m. I did say something but my captain kept going…. The depth sounder read 1.9…..1.8… 1.7… BUMP! Ok we turned a bit and seemed ok but again BUMP and we stopped….. uh oh. Bill tried everything reversing, gunning the engine… nope she wasn’t moving. Next thing the cruise craft came adrift and went over by the rocks forming the breakwater…. Lucky for us a neighbouring boatmen took his dinghy over to rescue it. Thanks Andrew! Two loops around the cleat this time..

So what to do? The high tide was in another 10 hours at 9.03 pm. Bill put the sail up to heel over in the puffs wind. We had the engine on in forward gear. Nope that didn’t work. Then he tried swinging off the boom…. She wasn’t budging and she was listing over now as the depth went down…. Sailing friends from Seachange came over to give moral support and would come back later to help if needed. They took me ashore as I had some errands to do. I took these photos when ashore. Poor Valiam… what a spectacle and um embarrassing!

I was back on board a few hours later and she began to straighten up. The engine was on and in forward gear. I didn’t like the look of those rocks close behind us. As the sun started to go down we had a bit more water under us. Bill then decided to deploy the spare anchor with the cruise craft taking it out past her bow. Back on board he winched in the anchor at intervals and she did move forward a little. All this took a long time. As the sun went down she bumped on the bottom occasionally trying to get off the shallow patch. At around 8.30pm the depth sounder was saying 1.7 and occasionally 1.8.. C’mon Valiam let’s go! Bill winched in the anchor a bit more…. I was at the helm when she began to move. Hooray! I steered her around the boats in deeper water as Bill pulled the rest of the anchor chain in. Now it was quite dark with the moon glinting through the clouds. Bill took over the helm while I shone the dolphin torch looking for the mooring buoy. As we rounded the last boat it was reading 1.9!! Back into the deeper water I saw our buoy. Luckily it was calm. Bill raced forward to hook up the buoy as it was heavy with thick chain which went over our Sampson post. Thank goodness. We were secure and floating again at 9.04 pm a minute after high tide.

This was our first grounding of significance in 30 years of sailing Valiam. We were too relaxed being in our local area. A rising tide would have been better and a proper check of the charts along with local knowledge. A stressful and exhausting 10 hours!! A lesson learned that’s for sure!

Woohoo! 29 hour passage to Iluka from Mooloolaba. Yay for our girl Valiam, 30 years young and still got it. A few anxious moments as always with me but glad to be here.
So now she’s a NSW registered boat but Mooloolaba is still her home port for Australian Ship registration.
We were faster than we thought so reached the Iluka bar just before low tide. Muddy water coming out the Clarence due to all the recent rains. Captain Underpants steered us in beautifully while I watched the depth sounder like a hawk. The good thing about anchoring at low tide is you know you aren’t going to hit the bottom! So currently in 2.3m ( 2.1 m keel) . We are still waiting for a permanent home for our girl so will be stayed on board last night to make sure the anchor is well dug in. Our home is a few blocks away. Good to be here at last. Happy 47th wedding anniversary to us!

It's been a while since I've posted here and also a long while since I've sailed! Bill has sailed recently delivering another yacht with its owner to Sydney.

I was happy to help as crew on this trip especially as I've never sailed on a catamaran before. After flying to Airlie from Brisbane the owner of Dadandi met us at VMR Cannonvale where the airport bus dropped us off. Dadandi was on anchor and after showing us around we used the dinghy to provision and to get bits and pieces we needed. The dinghy misbehaved a few times not wanting to start so eventually Bill walked to BCF before it closed to buy a new fuel line. This seemed to fix the problem.
Dadandi is spacious compared to Valiam and we certainly enjoyed the extra space. Getting food and drinks up to the saloon from the galley kept me fit going up and down balancing on the steps. After the first day of sailing Bill decided to anchor at Brampton island. We were still getting used to the boat and a rest did us good. Being on anchor again after so long for me was such a pleasure as we watched the sun go down.

Up early the next morning we took advantage of the northerly and sailed overnight. It was a getting stronger and a bit bouncy so Bill hand steered towards the Keppels. It was easier to manoeuvre the boat into the southern anchorage at North Keppel in the strong northerly. The steering was difficult so Bill rang the owner. After instructions on how to adjust the hydraulic steering, it was fine after that. The anchorage was very peaceful with not many yachts. Next morning Shambala came past which we recognised although now with a new owner. We first saw Shambala in Richards Bay, South Africa also with its home port of Mooloolaba. This was unusual and I don't think we saw another boat during our circumnavigation with its home port as Mooloolaba. Shambala was berthed opposite Valiam in Mooloolaba marina for the last few years.

Next we anchored at Second Beach at the top of Great Keppel due to a southerly. Another boat we know Cynosure from Mooloolaba anchored next to us with Mona and Bruce on board. They popped over for a chat and it was nice to see them away from the marina. A long walk to the resort just in time for Happy Hour that day was good exercise!

Waiting for the northerly we spent another night on anchor next to the resort this time. Great Keppel has a lot to offer - walks, snorkelling, a bar, restaurant and cafe with tourist shops. No groceries though! We were starting to run low on a few things but ate up big at the resort before heading off early the next morning with the northerly.

We knew the northerly would blow for a few days by checking the Prefict wind app so decided to make run for Mooloolaba around Fraser Island. Two nights at sea which were quite comfortable doing 4-5 hours watch each at night. A beautiful booby bird hitched a ride for a while.

On the last day, a strong wind warning and thunderstorm was predicted for later that day so I was anxious to arrive in Mooloolaba by lunch time. We motor sailed at 5-7 knots the whole way.

It was good to see our home port of Point Cartwright ahead and after a call to Colin Plant for directions to the private berth organised we made our way up the Mooloolah river, passing Valiam at the marina on our way.

Throwing the lines to Colin we recognised the house where the jetty was. We lived there in the early 90s when we launched Valiam. What a coincidence!!
The house looks the same but the jetty where Dadandi is now is new. When we first launched Valiam in 1994 our neighbour Rick rented us his jetty for $25 a week. Ricks house is gone now and replaced with a modern 2 storey building.

It was great experience sailing a cat but we prefer our beloved Valiam. Later the storm came through while we were happily having a drink on board.

My book Sailing in my Sarong - around the World, a 30 year dream has just been printed as a SEVENTH edition! It’s great to know people are still interested in our circumnavigation story in our home built yacht. My book has many images of my artwork including this one - a sketch and wash I completed on board anchored at Bora Bora, French Polynesia. On Friday 8th September from 2pm to 4pm we are having a relaxed celebration @iluka.emporium to enjoy a drink 🥂 and have a yarn with me and my Captain Underpants ⛵️ If you would like a copy it’s $45 and of course I’ll sign it for you. ($10 for postage) 378 pages of stories from 30 countries and heaps of colour images. I guess I’m a bit proud of this first book 😍