Saying Goodbye

A former WA Premier, Sir Charles Court, used to say "Leave while you are still having a good time". This wise advice ensures that you don't overstay your welcome and leave with the best memories possible.

We didn't get a chance to farewell everyone but we gave it a go.

If you start getting your photo in the Social Pages is probably another sure sign it's time to leave.

 

We probably won't miss this fella spotted sheltering on the jetty between Zofia and Urchin during a 30kn gale

Jim and Gyn are retired local farmers and cousins of long time friends. They lived only a stroll away and were most hospitable and came to say goodbye

Three Doctors in a row.

Jonathan and Wendy Newbury with the Bloke.

Wendy's recent Doctoral Graduation photo visible on the bookshelf...Onya Wendy!

Who is the 'Chookman' anyway?

Claire Bear

Claire left Perth on her own in a Kea (Winnebago style) van some 3 years ago for an adventure. During that time that she's been chris-crossing the continent and made a few trips home too to be with her family for significant events. Mostly though, she's been on the road. We've always stayed in touch having phone chats while she was in lay-bys in Tassie, FNQ, Exmouth the NSW high country or wherever Claire has happened to be. We even trailed her in her first year. The year we sailed to Shark Bay, we stopped at Port Denison (Dongara) and spotted the same 'Red-Hat' ladies she'd been with only a couple of months earlier. I'd recognised them from a photo Claire had attached to an email. News of Claire's whereabouts was exchanged amid great hilarity.

We have always thought that somewhere along our travels it must be possible to intersect our journeys and in Port Lincoln we have made it so!

We enjoyed Claire's company for a week, sharing meals and wine and stories of what we'd all seen. Did I mention wine? Yes, lots of wine! So far, we've covered a section of the country Claire has not yet visited; the SA west coast and south west WA coast. We shared heaps of hints and tips for our future destinations - and some more wine!

In the very first week of arriving in Port Lincoln, we'd been invited out to dinner and met a man who likes reciting poetry and bush ballads on a scale that far and away outstrips the Blokes capacity with The Man from Snowy a River and The Man from Ironbark. Mike recited ballads and sang some tunes at the host's request and then revealed his membership of The Cellar Folk Club -(Port Lincoln). See below for the lyrics of the  hilarious Man From Kaomagma. The club meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month in the cellar of Boston House. The fact was noted for the future.  Three months later, Claire and the cat crews came with us for a rare Saturday night out.

Mike on the 'mike'

Claire getting a farewell hug from the Bloke in front of 'Winnie'.

Claire, always glamorous, dropping around for a cuppa

Thanks for visiting us Claire, we'll be in touch as soon as we get our livers out of rehab!

The Man from Kaomagma

There was motions on the station, for a wog had passed around.
Salmonella, I regret, had got away;
Makes you run like wild bush horses. Sorbent made a thousand pound,
And everybody's crack began to fray.

All the tried and noted bush quacks from the stations near and far
Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
But their cures proved ineffectual, from cement to Stockholm tar.
'Twasn't even plugged by trusty Araldite.

There was Harrison, who got his piles when a hard 'un got caught up,
The exertion turned his hair as white as snow,
So he took to liquid paraffin and drank it by the cup,
But now he don't need that to make him go.

And Clancy with his overflow came down to get a hand;
His guts so sore it crippled him with pain.
There was not a shouse could hold him, not a pedestal could stand
With a hundred cu. secs. rushing down the drain.

And one was there, a stripling with his arsehole tightly shut
'Gainst wogs what cut a mountain man to size,
But he wouldn't go outside to that single lonely hut -
From him no diarrhoea could be prized,

For he hailed from Kaomagma, down by Sulfanilomide,

Where the wogs are twice as big and twice as tough;
Where their guts are lined with leather. They're impregnable at times,
And the man who holds his own is good enough.

When the wog was at its zenith, even he was seen to weak,

But surrender, no! He'd not sit on the can,
Till intestinal agony made him shriek with pain :
'Look out! I'm going!' And off he ran.

He sent the flintstones flying with the patter of his feet;
He cleared his fallen comrades in his stride,
Till the man from Kaomagma was safely on the seat -
It was grand to find the loo unoccupied!

He stayed there single-handed till his sides were white with foam,
Ne'er allowing his sphincter to go slack,
But it was a false alarm, and so he turned his head for home,
And alone and unassisted staggered back.

For this hardy little mountain man would ne'er give in to trots
While Kaomagma settled his insides.

It's an intestinal panacea. You may believe it or not,
But without it he'd have surely filled his strides.

Copied from OBSCENE SONGS AND BALLADS OF AUSTRALIAN ORIGIN by BRAD TATE

Part 1 of the Brad Tate collection AUSTRALIAN FOLKLORE - OCCASIONAL PAPER No 11, RAMS SKULL PRESS 1982

Catching up with Nine-of-Cups

There are sailing vessels chris-crossing all over the Australian coast. It's the people that you meet along the way that enrich the journey just as much as the breathtaking scenery. We last saw David and Marcie as we sailed out of Streaky Bay. We've been in touch since and we made a point of calling in on them while they were on a scheduled maintenance visit to the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club. We were passing on the way back from visiting the General in Busselton while home in WA last month.

There is not much they haven't encountered in their sailing lives and this year should see them tie the knot when they reach Cape Town. They emphasise that The Med and South East Asia are yet to be visited!

The folks at MOFSC were treated to a talk from this intrepid pair and were asked for an encore the following week by popular demand! Apart from visiting their blog site www.justalittlefurther.com you can also read the July 2014 edition of Cruising Helmsman and read 2 of their articles... a bumper edition which additionally includes a letter from Steve off Easy Tiger!

More Home Improvements

Our trip home gave the Bloke plenty of opportunity to hatch more schemes to improve our life afloat. Despite groaning about lack of bandwidth with our mobile internet - 'too close to Murdoch Uni' and in a bit of  'an internet blind spot', he managed to research his project.

In the time we were back in Lincoln there was a flurry of activity on the jetty. Zofia now has a new inner forestay which is now sporting a furler. The little jib was sent to a sail maker for adjustments (hanks removed and UV strip applied) so that it can live on the furler rather than in a sail bag on the deck. Deploying this heavy weather sail will no longer require a visit 'up front' which is exactly where you don't really want to go in 'heavy weather'.  Getting the sail bag off the deck also improves windage issues when at anchor.

The Bloke and the boys had the best fun ever, assembling the furler kit etc.... Big boys meccano! I got the 'pleasure' of being the Winch Bitch hoisting the Bloke aloft with his drills, pop rivet gun etc.... Happy Days!

A safer arrangement.

Furler and furled sail on the inner forestay.

We decided to swap-out our Delta Anchor too and add a Stockless Marsh Anchor to our 'ground tackle' options. It is an Admiralty Anchor variant and much favoured by South Australian mariners as a reliable option in weed. Many of the commercial boats in Port Lincoln use them and one would imagine they are wise to a thing or two. Would such a beast have helped us anchoring in the weed in 30knots in Doubtful Island Bay?  We'll never know, but our hope is that it will make us less dependent on 'finding sand' when it's time to throw the pick down. Since we have ambitions to cruise parts of Tasmania and it's reputedly quite weedy we decided to splash out.

 Zofia's bow looking like a local

I've been enlisted too to make some repairs and 'improvements' to the dinghy cover. The Sailrite industrial sewing machine purchased before Easter was trailed on some small home sewing jobs like taking up the hems on the Blokes winter weight sailing trousers before attempting something more complicated. The whole process was probably quite excruciating for the Bloke who daily lifted the machine onto the cabin table in the hope that I'd get the canvass work done. Just a hint  - "no pressure" he said. Thursday was the requested deadline and I'm glad to report that I delivered, as per contract, by COB.

Reinforcing at the lift points plus a zippered pocket for the drogue. 

Materials all re-cycled from the sail bag.

The cats have also been on a home improvements mission. Easy Tiger, in particular has a repaired propeller, replaced their anchor winch, repaired the sail bag, installed new taps and much, much more. Urchin has had some small gel-coat fixes but generally has come this far with flying colours.

We are all now eying the weather hoping to time the completion of the works program with a suitable weather window to leave.

Getting with the Progamme - The Port Lincoln Long Lunch

This is an annual fundraising event that also showcases the best of district food and wine. It looked like another fun thing to experience while we were here. It's a variant of a progressive dinner. The concept is for several venues to offer small tasting plate/ tapas type catering options plus wine which one buys as you go along. The different venues can be visited via a minibus like a Hop on Hop off tour bus. Responsible drinking promoted.

Our long lunch kicked off with a stroll over to Jonathan and Wendy's in the Marina before being driven to the Yacht Club where we enjoyed 1/2 doz oysters prepared in a couple of ways plus a lovely beef medallion and chicken on a stick with a lovely cream and mustard sauce. We elected to skip Del Giorno's on the foreshore, which has some of the best food in town (and they have trophies as proof) because we'd already been there several times before including the Bloke's Birthday Bash.

 The local Lincoln Times -Social Page photographer and the Bloke.

Jason is originally from South Africa and was at a very windy bus stop in case you are wondering about the BIG HAIR!

So next we traveled to The Boston Bay Winery which has a lovely outlook over Boston Bay. It was just beyond Boston House on the Lincoln Highway where we attended the folk club the week before. With entrée already covered off, we chose the Tuna Steak option. YUM.

Boston Bay Winery here we come!

 

The bus stop clientele swap over

 

The reception committee at Boston Bay Winery

The wind associated with the front heralded in an earlier post, was already kicking up so the Bloke was rather chivalrous and shielded some young ladies with his jacket. His prize was worn proudly upon his cheek for the remainder of the day. All that lipstick was quite a conversation starter.

 Would you buy a car from this man?

Skipper of 'Fresh' Kim Clarke & wife Anne at the 'bus stop' crowd change-over.

Next stop Delacolline Winery not far from David and Sonja's off  Flinders Highway and high on the hill.  Here I opted for coffee and a Lavender Panna Cotta. The lavender was a bit overdone and I kept thinking of Pinoclean although the texture was sublime.

 A work of art and house speciality

We caught the last shuttle back into Lincoln and by a stoke of luck came across people we knew and got a lift back to the Marina with Evie and Drew just as both rain and darkness threatened. What a brilliant day!

Port Lincoln keeps ticking boxes and it will be tough leaving although we are actively planning to lever ourselves off this wharf soon. The lure? to join in the festivities over near Wirinna for a couple of significant '0' birthdays that need to be honoured. It's our duty to be there, weather permitting, for July 19. Today we were were just brushing up on party skills. It's blowing dogs off chains and the wave readings at Kangaroo Island say 8M !!! It will need to be much smaller than that before we venture off!

Tumby Bay VMR - VHF Channel 81

Call VHF 81 anywhere around the southern end of the Eyre Peninsula and announce "Tumby Bay, Tumby Bay, Tumby Bay this is..." and the voice of the Eyre Peninsula will reply.

 

Gary surrounded by his equipment (and Commendations)in his 'comms' room.

Gary Smith is that calm and unmistakable voice that has maintained a listening watch over mariners of this busy district for some 20 years and with good humour too! Via repeater stations, he monitors the whole southern end of the Eyre Peninsula including the West Coast. We heard him from as far away as Flinders Island and southwards. Considering that you are not deemed to be out of the Great Australian Bight until you turn east past Cape Carnot and Liguanea Island, you'd have to agree that his bit of ocean has some significantly nasty sections. If you are crossing The Great Australian Bight West to East and making landfall in Port Lincoln instead of Streaky Bay, Gary is likely to be your first radio contact.

Gary confessed that he hates the logins for vessels departing to cross The Great Australian Bight. He doesn't sleep for the 3-5 days that it takes for the crossing to be completed. We know that he monitored Wild Honey B and Steel Sapphire, as they traveled westward from Port Lincoln and part the way up the Eyre Peninsula before pushing on and across to Middle Island. They were glad to know that Gary was watching over them. Countless others would also have had that comfort. Imagine how many over the span of 20 years!

Once you log on with Gary, it's personal. You are on his list and you'll be roll-called on his twice daily sched until you let him know that you are safe. You'll learn who's out and about and can guess at the characters that are afloat too! Some mariner's radio techniques are not exactly copy book and some have their own codes. "Two for three" for example is one fellow's shorthand for "Two POB (people on board/Poor old bastards) going out for 3 days".  Many don't even identify their boat but Gary knows their voices and their habits. If someone asks for help, he knows who he can contact that might already be on the water with an appropriate vessel and with appropriate skills or information. If you need some local information like where to anchor in Coffin Bay he'll radio someone who'll know and can share their experience with you. He's the aquatic version of the bush telegraph. In a word Gary is a GEM in the same way that West Aussies know that Rae and Richard at ACRAM Base Capel are gems. Dedicated. Reliable. Professional. Priceless.

We sailed to Tumby Bay during autumn but didn't' get to meet Gary then. The Bloke was more intent  on sampling the sausage rolls at the bakery (you'll recall the Top 10 rating). We got a lift with Miles on Saturday and had the pleasure not only to met Gary but the 'woman behind the man' too. Without Sue's participation it wouldn't of course be possible to have the house wired with speakers like it is or put up with those mariners who, for whatever reason, choose to log on at 4am!!

Gary and Sue, THANK YOU so much for being there for us all!

Sue and Gary Smith - Eyre Peninsula Champions!

 

Some of Gary's aerials above his nerve centre located in his neat-as-a-pin back yard. They used to be mounted on a small tower but Galahs (the avian kind not the idiot kind) kept attacking them and toppling them! Thanks to repeaters located along the coast a tall tower is no longer necessary.

Take it while it's going

The Blokes Dad had a Welsh friend, what else could he be with a name like David Evans! David had a particular saying. It was "Take it while it's going". During our time away we have increasingly warmed to that saying and in fact have adopted it as a mantra which extends to 'Don't put off until tomorrow what you can achieve today'.


Scenario 1: You need to leave the marina fully re-provisioned in a few days. Do you plan the refueling today or tomorrow?

Luckily we are already full up!

Scenario 2: The Bloke thinks it would be a good idea to go ashore to see a man about a dog.

Ooops go quickly... weather coming!

Night Omission

So we have plans to detach ourselves from this very comfortable and friendly dock in the very near future. Part of getting ready is provisioning and ensuring that we have lots of yummy stuff on hand for passaging and socializing. We did try to run down our supplies before we locked Zofia up to head off and make house calls on the family in Perth and Brisbane. This was no small project because I suffer from near obsessive food hoarding and I did need to enlist obscure volumes such as "101 Ways With Brussel Sprouts" to come up with ways of using surplus supplies. The Bloke and I did an excellent job though, of eating all the cake before we left.

To reinstate my comfort level of hospitality and snack supplies I had a triple bake session but left the run too late to do the icing. I've found that baking cake slices more efficient than cakes per se due to shorter baking times. This is economical with the gas and there is no risk of the mixture rising into the griller parts at the top of the tiny boat oven. Not a good look and spoken from an early mishap. The silicone baking containers - rust proof, flexible etc...enthusiastically declared by me to be sure winners, or so I thought, are going off to a better home. Anyway, the Moomba Slice and the Cinnamon Squares still needed to be iced and the trays were set aside in the front cabin out of the way for the morning.

During the night, the breeze kicked up a bit so the Bloke did his manly thing and did a prowl about checking on things. In the process, he decided in the interests of containing some heat for our comfort, that the cabin door to the front cabin would best be closed. Fumbling about in the dark, the cord from our little fan heater was preventing the door from closing so the Bloke picked up the heater, placed it on the bunk and closed the door. Job done. What a man!

What do you think?

Your captions are welcome and are unlikely to compare with mine!

Dirty Truth

After counting down the sleeps to our flight home we had 3 weeks in Perth to reflect upon what we had just experienced. After all the months living aboard it felt very strange to have access to limitless stand up showers. Prior to getting back to the Kardinya Hilton (Mum's) we calculated our last one was in Esperance! Oddly, we didn't enjoy them nearly as much as we'd dreamed.

The youngest Oldfield to date, to enjoy a shower at the Kardinya Hilton

In reality, our life afloat includes plenty of time on shore but actually reinserting oneself into familiar places has a weird aspect to it and we found our perspective shifted. We for the first time, actually noticed the fad for 'Smoothies' at one of our favorite coffee shops. You know, those hideous concoctions of puréed stuff that will include unlikely candidates such as wheat grass and kale? The last time I looked, humans had a good set of teeth by the age of 2 and with fluoridated water, fluoride toothpaste and generally better dental care, we can keep our own teeth until well into old age, so why not EAT your food? What is with this 'slops/mush' fad? Have we become so lazy as not to chew any more?

Time to return to the ocean....much too cranky!

Going home as cargo

Ever heard about the people that go away on a cruise holiday arriving as passengers and going home as cargo? Here's a real twist.

We sensibly decided that our last night in Port Lincoln prior to a trip home to Perth to visit family would best be spent going out for dinner to the Marina Bistro rather than cooking etc. The crews of  Urchin, Easy Tiger and Zofia had a meal together having just welcomed back B1 and Maree from their trip home 2 days before. A nice time was had by all and the Bloke and I, in high spirits and  already completely packed, (a rare triumph) decided that since 6 of us could not fit in the car to get back to our side of the marina, that a 10 minute stroll to walk down a dish of crumbed calamari was the go.

We were on the home stretch, not 100m from the gate to our wharf (and fully sober - honest!) when I stumbled and rolled my ankle. I knew immediately this was NOT GOOD. We were to fly in 10 hours and my foot looked like it had sprouted an egg. Bother and yowch! Ice, anti-inflamatories (oral and topical) plus a bandage were are all enlisted to make the bad thing go away.

Foot Selfie

The bad thing didn't go away and by morning, hopping was better than walking which is OK when you are on a boat and everything is within reach but not when in an airport and unable to negotiate to check-in, security etc... except by moving along the walls or hanging onto someone like a human crutch.  People 'look at you funny'! The Bloke had things sorted in no time however. I was in a wheelchair quicker that you could say 'walking sticks' and I found myself being scissor-lifted on and off planes and being inserted into baggage halls like a bit of cargo through the back door!

Hats off to Qantas customer service, they really looked after us and moved our seating forward to make things easier etc ... and of course provided the wheelchairs and theme park rides on the scissor lifts and golf carts. Very embarrassing though!

The Bloke almost felt left out in this household of hobblers

Post script
We collected our car on the way from the the airport from Quattro Motors seeing as The General had conveniently arranged for it to be serviced in readiness for our visit. Imagine our surprise when our friend Pat Chellingworth stepped out from her workstation for greeting hugs sporting a surgical boot. She had the same fracture as me and even on the same foot!