FEBRUARY 15 , 2006
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FEBRUARY 15 , 2006
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| "THERE & BACK AGAIN " |
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January 11, 2006 We left the marina at 0530h, when Trevor picked us up and drove us to the Brisbane airport for our flights home to Windsor. We had a good 24-hour flight to Windsor, via Seoul Korea on Korean Air. We would recommend this airline to others as the service was excellent and the personnel very friendly. We tried several of the Korean meals and they were very enjoyable. January 12 to February 1, 2006 We had a very nice three-week visit home. We were fortunate to stay with our good friends Ray and Ann, who put us up last year for a few months after we sold our house. It makes our coming home in winter a lot easier when we have been able to store some winter clothes at their house. We were wined and dined magnificently by friends and family and our calendar for the three weeks was very full. We so appreciated seeing everyone. We took many pictures; too many to publish in this journal. Here are just a few: |
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We should have published this picture long ago but better late than never. This is our brother-in-law Gabe, also known as our "Webmaster". It is thanks to Gabe that we can update our website Journal regularly.
Click on Pics to enlarge |
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Another long overdue picture. Dan Denomme (far left) with Michelle and Jason (far right) from Sea and Ski Marine Supply – from where we obtained most of our electronics and boat parts for Bella Via, and continue to do so from a long distance. You can’t beat their customer service anywhere! |
We were very disappointed when we landed in Windsor and there was no snow. Happily, we woke up a few days later to wonderful “packy” snow. In this picture, Paul is posed with Amanda (Ray and Ann’s granddaughter) and her newly built snowman. Alas, all of the snow melted within two days – typical of Windsor weather. |
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February 5, 2006 We arrived back at the boat on February 3, and we picked up our son Jeremy (who lives in Vancouver, BC) at the Brisbane airport on Sunday, February 5 at 2030h. Again, we were fortunate that our new friend Trevor was able to drive us to the airport. It was exciting to see Jeremy after more than a year and this was just the start of a three-week visit. We spent the first day of Jeremy’s visit mainly preparing to leave Newport Waterways Marina after a two-month stay.
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We couldn’t leave the marina without a fond farewell dinner aboard Bella Via with the two couples who have made our stay in Scarborough most enjoyable and have been so helpful. Pictured here are Sonia (far left) and Trevor (far right) and Julia and Bob. We don’t know where or when, but we will see these people again. |
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February 7 - 11, 2006 On February 7, Jeremy’s 30th birthday, we cast off the mooring lines and set off across Moreton Bay to follow the inside passage through the Broadwater to the Gold Coast Marina where we were booked to have our watermaker fixed. The trip took two days, with close navigation through the narrow, winding passage necessary, and a few nervous moments as we almost ran out of water a couple of times. Travelling in the inside passage allows for calm water and quiet, calm anchorages. We spent two nights anchored off of the Gold Coast Marina while the final work was completed on the watermaker. On Friday, February 10, we moved to the closest anchorage available to the exit out into the ocean – the Gold Coast Seaway exit. We stayed here for two days as we awaited northerly winds to begin our journey south to Sydney. The Gold Coast starts 20 miles north of the Queensland-New South Wales border and includes the well-known tourist centre of Surfer’s Paradise. This area was much too crowded for our liking, however, we were entertained several times by the various anchoring maneuvers of the many boats in the crowded anchorage. We also took a dinghy ride and a walk to a beautiful surf beach.
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Paul and Jeremy enjoying a body-surfing session at a surf beach on the Gold coast |
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and surfing with a board at Yamba. |
February 12 - 15, 2006 We headed out into the ocean early in the morning and traveled 40 miles to Ballina on the Richmond River where we enjoyed a calm night at anchor. We are now in New South Wales and all of our stops along the coast will be bar crossings (except one – Coffs Harbour). This means that we need to plan our entries to coincide with the right wind conditions and the fourth or fifth hour of rising tide – something not always easily done. We are prepared to keep on going down the coast if the conditions are not good for crossing a bar.
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On February 13, we traveled to Yamba, a small but delightful town on the Clarence River. The wind is blowing out of the south for a couple of days and we are happy to stay here at anchor. Paul was able to research the cost of hauling the boat out here in mid-April so that we can repaint the bottom. This is something that needs to be done every 12-18 months. The prices are quite reasonable here and several of our new liveaboard friends have used these facilities for boat maintenance. We look forward to returning in April and spending time at anchor in this small community. February 15, 2006 Our last day at Yamba. Paul and Jeremy have rented a surf board and are enjoying a day at a surf beach. We will spend this evening readying the boat for an overnight passage starting tomorrow morning as there are three days of northerly winds predicted. We will travel as far as we can in the next few days. We need to get to Sydney within 5 days in order to meet our friends Jan and Rod from Windsor – they will be staying aboard for nine days starting on the 22nd.
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