As the title suggests,
this week is kind of freespooling!!!
The closer 2 Friday I got, the busier I got!
My entire focus for the week, haz been to service the 2 motors B4 the Cairns trip.
Afta a few early hiccups I finally had everything ready by lunch thyme Wednesday.
Itz early Friday Nite and I'm wondering
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!"
I know a Cyclone appeared, workplace health and safety officers arrived and the outboards required lotz of finese'!
And to top it all off, the starboard fuel tank has decided 2 spring a leak as well.So all in all I'm kind of glad itz Friday.
The cyclone seemz 2B heading away from the coast, we bought lotz of signs and made lotz of new rules, The outboards R serviced and I'll deal with the fuel leak 2morrow morning.
To top all this- first thing this morn, a 22 tonne yacht managed to destroy a 60 tonne cradle in the yard!
Obviously the Gods were having a very bad day and decided to take it out on us mere mortalz.
Mark, from the boat yard next door has stepped up with lotz of help in the Tevnikal Dept with regardz 2 the outboard servicing.
Itz taken a few Man hours to get the Yamaha's serviced and just a few headaches.
We even had to call on the expertize of Gary,the "Outboard Guru".
With the help of these 2 Legends the Yamaha Outboards are now ready to tackle the trip northwards with improved reliability.
If the weather godz r feeling better we might just take the Yot out for a trial run 2 morrow.
The Big Tides are making their presence felt also with this superb piece of Kayak parking catching everyone's attention and raising a few comments.
The new Workplace rules see my life of boarding and leaving the Yot change, as I now have to have covered footwear at all thymes!
This is not so easy as most of the time there is about 3 feet of water over the "entry plank",and wearing wet shoes is not practical as it leads to all sorts of nasty type foot fungi'.
However I'm sure I'll come up with a viable solution soon.
I'm thunking "amputation" (wkoa)
Friday's lunch this week was a belated pasta cre8ion of sundried tomato, capsicum and fetta tortellini and a traditional carbonara sauce.
I waz 2 make my crusty parmasean and garlic bread but with the mornings events we kind of got sidetraked. "just a little"
Itz now Saturday Morning (very early)
Decision made, fuel tank repaired!
Itz thyme to take the Yot for a final shakedown and test the motors.
Mark and his family arrived around 10 am and we headed out towards West Point on the north end of Magnetic Island.
Good weather greeted us and we anchored on the "reddie" Nannygai spot.
However the good weather didn't last long and after a lunch of home-made chicken nuggetts + bbq'd sausages along with fresh fish fingers (it kept the kids happy), We headed back towards Townsville into increasing windz.A large squall saw the destruction of one of the wind generators on the roof. The mounting bracket or blades let go right in the middle of the squall creating an almighty noise that scared the crap out of everyone on board.
The generator itself is OK but the blades are destroyed and will need 2B replaced.
Apart from that. the trip was a success, the outboards didn't miss a beat.
We arrived back in Townsville around 4.30 and I said farewell to Mark and Co before I set about restoring the Yot to a house.
There are still a few tasks requiring attention but I thunk thatz always going 2B the case, I know the Autopilot would be a major help for the trip North and the "escape hatch" in the main cabin floor needs re-sealing. But I'm just about ready to say the Yot is prepared!
This lovely Flathead was a victim of the crab traps along with lotz of Big female crabz, no bucks though!
Tomorrow I'll reset the traps in the hope of having some crabs ready 4 when Mum and Dad arrive on Thursday.
Until later this week
A truly worn out,
Captain felix
.
Ahoy Cptn Felix. I take it my last message never found its way to you. I was only bragging about sitting trackside at Clipsal anyway so no harm no foul. I managed to get a couple of items in Adelaide which you might get some use out of. They are coming across with Mum and Dad. Looks like the cradle has seen better days, hopefully repairs went smoothly and the yard is back in full swing. I trust the cruise to Cairns will be interesting and the subsequent second crew that plan to join you there should also provide a different taste from the german backpackers that seem to find their way aboard. I know it is early days, but start planning for Gold Coast next year. The 2012 Bathurst crew are planning another trip. Might be the next race I get to see with 2013 proving financially challenging, not to mention the camping demands that the purchase of the trailer have now created. Dont get me wrong, life at a campsite is as close to serenity as I am likely to experience unless I pack it all in and buy maidenstone. Can't see Kym living on a boat less than 100 feet. Hope the sailing over the coming weeks is kind on you, your passengers and the Yot. May the fish bite strong and the breeze be fair. TTFN Brother Mark
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