Impeller Mayhem

We're often asked what we do all day, so here is a day's report:-

• Up at 05:00 in anticipation of Coast Guard vessel arriving to retrieve the jetski involved in the accident 2 days previously.
• Read the weather forecasts, news, emails etc.
• Invite neighbouring vessel over for morning tea and bake pumpkin scones.
• Socialize for 2 hours.
• Attend to some messages and paperwork
• Do some hand-washing related to jetski accident.
• 16:00 turn on motor for hot water and battery charging.
• 17:00 The Bloke has a shower and pours a drink for 5ers. My turn to shower but we hear a weird noise in the engine bay. Bloke sprints up companionway to turn off the motor before returning below to investigate engine bay.
• 17:00 - 12:30 Engine off. Mayhem's just arrived! Keystone Cops saga ensues sleuthing and repairing - what caused the impeller to chew itself up?

Ouch! the impeller casing is HOT, HOT, HOT!

Looks like a vein has sheered off and the rest look like they are about to GO....Noooooo!

The impeller sits in here and pumps cool sea water around the heat exchange/ cooling system

Scoured impeller casing indicating friction

Very deformed impeller. The broken bit thankfully wasn't swallowed up into the heat exchange

Impeller failure is a crisis on a boat. Not only does it mean there is no possibility of propulsion by motor, there is the concern of shreds of neoprene/rubber finding their way through the entire cooling system. Engine overheating could lead to ....... Oh, let's not even go there! If there would be a need to deploy or retrieve anchor chain it could only be achieved manually. We had 40m of chain deployed and had no reason to think our holding was poor seeing as only 48hours before our anchor had secured Zofia, plus Tender Marilyn, plus jetski, plus the Water Police RIB, plus the Coast Guard. Yup, we think we were well dug in! The prospect of a wind shift that would put us on a lee shore filled us with dread. Luckily there were no predictions for this but noone wants to flirt with Murphy's Law.

So, one minute everything is fine and relaxed; a lovely anchorage, prospects of a warm shower, a drink and a lovely sunset etc and in an instant the moment is GONE. Time to haul out tool boxes and the Sh*t Box is definitely on standby. Stupid o'clock or dusk seem to stand out as the most dangerous of times.

By now we are working in the dark

Replacing the impeller didn't actually take long. We had 2 replacements on hand and it was just a matter of ensuring that all of the damaged one could be accounted for before lubricating the new one, and popping it in, then check if it all worked. If only it were that simple. We also needed to know if there was a reason for the impeller to be starved of water causing it to disintegrate. This is the first impeller to 'go' in 8 years and normally there would be some water in the housing. Instead it was dry.

Wine cork improvisations

 

A blockage in the seawater intake system was the likely culprit but we had a problem: The Bloke had over-tightened the lid (tighter better right? NO) to the skimmer bowl meaning the only way we could check and clear it, assuming the blockage was there, was to remove the whole housing and flush it in a bucket. Priming the system again would normally entail removing the lid and pouring water in. Unable to do this, we turned it upside down, filled it, then we put our wine drinking habits and my propensity to hoard 'potentially useful' bits and pieces to good use. A wine cork acted as a bung while we tried to shove the water hoses back on as quickly as possible, hoping that the skimmer bowl would not be completely emptied in the process.

  The Bloke holding the engine bay cover:also the companionway stairs.   Testing the various solutions meant turning on the engine to see if water was pumping from the exhaust. We were in the cabin. Engine controls and exhaust outside.  How many times did the stairs come off and get re-fitted? Too many times, that's how many!

The skimmer box wasn't especially full of 'stuff' and clearing it didn't make any difference. Was the below-water intake blocked? By this time it may have been 22:00 and diving below not a prospect. Perhaps we could push our mousing rod through the hose and out the ball valve? To attempt that, it was necessary to cut all the cable-ties holding the hoses, pull the intake hose through a bulkhead to try and straighten it etc, etc..... This was only marginally successful. Water flow was still restricted but only by about 80%. We'd learned a lot in the process but now it was 12:30 am and we'd missed dinner altogether. Time for a calming drink and we called it a day.

In the morning we gave the motor one more go. Encouragingly it spewed out a few cups of water before the delay ahead of the next mean splutter of water was unacceptable. When we checked the water level in the filter bowl, it was all gone. Empty! Another race to shut off the motor.

Going Down

 

Nothing for it, it was time for the 'inevitable'. Time to dive! Luckily it was a clear morning with good water clarity. The Bloke checked with the skipper of a nearby vessel who's day-job had been a Navy Clearance Diver what his most likely dangers would be. The Bloke was thinking 'sharks', given that prawning trawlers, little more than 500m away,  were attracting a lot of pelicans and other scavenging sea birds. Surprisingly, the answer was 'Jellyfish'!  A moments delay occurred at this point for a costume change. Board shorts were switched for a wetsuit.

 

Bottoms UP!

Our suspicions were confirmed immediately.  The Seawater scoop on the underside of the boat was entirely caked with a fine slimy weed and it was sucked in and on. It was the cause of the water starvation that shredded the impeller! To clean it all off, The Bloke called for a knife to clear the vents. This stuff was not going to let go without encouragement, so our improvised tool was a dinner knife. 

Confident that our troubles were over, we fired up the engine with both of us straining our necks around the side of the stern praying that we'd see the exhaust water gushing like it should. What we saw, followed by an inspection of the water strainer bowl made our hearts sing......YAY, we'd nailed it! Repair effected. Panic over.

  

Happy Days are here again!

Exhaust water 'gushing' and water strainer bowl 'bubbling'.

So that's an example of how we fill our day. One of them anyway. Can you top it?

High Ambitions

With yesterday's dramas now behind us, albeit that a jetski still trailed from our transom, it was time to do some sightseeing. The Zofia Bootcamp was open for business. Sand hills adjacent to the anchorage beckoned. In fact they called out to be climbed!

The Bloke was a pacesetter

   

Beautiful prints and markings in the sand

 

It was still enough for the clouds to reflect on the ocean

We scrambled up, up, up with the fine sand, sometimes firm and sometimes soft underfoot. This is terrain that requires 3 steps to progress one step forward! The Bloke took the direct and steeper route to the top while I looked for ridges to provide a gentler path. As the photos show, it was a diamond of a morning with still water capturing reflected clouds.

An ancient old banskia tree giving some drama to the view

 

  

These are fleeting moments of unparalleled pleasure for us.

We do so hope our Irish Mermaid, plucked from the sea yesterday, after being flung from a jetski recovers fully and quickly and can enjoy some more stellar moments in Australia before returning home.

Moreton Bay Sea Rescue

Conditions at this time of year, delivering prolonged NE conditions make Moreton Bay and Moreton Island off the coast of Brisbane, a gorgeous place for boaties. A truly popular spot is Tangalooma with is nice sandy beach and wrecks to dive on. Sailing past on a fine warm Saturday, its popularity was plain to see. 4WD vehicles  and quad bikes driving up and down the beach, tour boats, dive boats, power boats, para-sailors, yachts etc. Mayhem actually. We'll visit midweek when its quieter.

We terminated our Mooloolaba passage 6 nm further south of Tangalooma at 'The Sand Hills' anchorage. It had been a brilliant run down the coast averaging 6 knots and The Bloke helmed all the way. Nice to end up somewhere restful after a long day and the forecast looked like we could stay a few days. Perfect!

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon and we were preparing for a visit from Spiky Mikey for sundowners. The Bloke was taking in the scene. Just looking, looking, looking as he does. He's the one who notices everything in our surroundings. My trusty sentinel. Whether it's dolphins, dugongs or kids adrift in dinghies, The Bloke seems to spot the lot!

Our Irish Mermaid and partner waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

Derek is smiling. Naomi is actually NOT smiling but in pain. She was such a champion.

 

Recognizing the boat profile of Spikey Mikey's yacht Isabella on the near horizon, my birthday binoculars were called to duty. A sweep of the horizon also revealed a jetski zapping along. The next pass of the lenses and the jetski was in one location and the driver and pillion in the water some distance away and separated from one another. NOT GOOD. Not even waiting for me to toss him the portable VHF radio or a phone, The Bloke leaped into Marilyn (the tender) and sped off calling out over his shoulder as he did, to keep the glasses trained on him as he was headed 1,000m into the bay.

It was some while before he raced back with instructions to call the coast guard immediately as the lady pillion had suspected broken ribs and possible internal juries. The riders had hit the smallest of waves and the jetski flipped both off, injuring the pillion. She couldn't swim - even without broken ribs, and could only float on her back. Her PFD saved her life. It was newly purchased that day so you could say it just paid for itself! The driver was attempting to swim after the jetski but even a fit man can't  match the wind and tide especially when hampered by a life jacket. The Bloke retrieved the jetski providing the option of riding it back 5nm to the mainland but it was clear this had become a medical emergency and hardly an option.

We called Coast Guard Brisbane immediately. Yes, they responded and eventually help came. It took 3 hours for the medical evacuation from The Sand Hills anchorage off Moreton Island. The Water Police arrived ahead of the Coast Guard boat carrying the paramedics. They began assessing, breathalizing etc. It's clear there will be some fines - no mandated flares or V sheet! But more importantly, no paramedics yet! Where were the paramedics? The lady was in great pain, and after a time we were struggling to keep her conscious. (All the First Aide lessons kicked in).

Our Irish Mermaid finally being assessed and administered some 'joy serum' to manage the pain

We were 6nm south of Tangalooma in Moreton Bay and hardly in a 'remote' location relative to the 3rd biggest city in Australia! We gave our exact GPS and had our AIS transmitter on but in the end  we flashed our spotlight to guide the responders in - my other 'birthday money' acquisition. We'd never imagined that my birthday money that would fund the new X10 magnification binoculars and 1,000 lumen spotlight would be so helpful.

 

  

Our anchoring was properly tested. 

At one point we had a tender, a jetski, a Police RIB and the Coast Guard vessel all rafted up to Zofia.

With our Irish Mermaid made comfortable, at last on a stretcher and relatively pain free, we put some clothes on Derek and arranged to care for the jetski until he could get back to collect it.

So what is the acquired wisdom from today?

If you should ever have to be involved in an emergency and are in phone range, based on today's experience ring 000 FIRST (or whatever your emergency service number is) not VMR/Coast Guard! This is not a criticism of the Coast Guard but they have to call the emergency services anyway plus don't have teams assembled and on standby, they have to be called in. This just created delay.

And that Folks, is how we came to have a jetski hanging out with Marilyn!

After the rescue boat's lights receded over the horizon, we both had a few nips of something strong - for medicinal purposes of course!

Mooloolaba to Moreton Island When the Time is Right

There's no sense in pushing it. Go when the weather factors line up. We spent a week in the Mooloolaba Marina which gave us an opportunity to celebrate the 3 year anniversary of our departure from Mandurah with some cruiser friends that we've spent time with since our Tassie visit,  plus visit our Brisbane Grandkidlets for a couple of nights. We also needed to check the depth at a pontoon we'll leave Zofia on during our Christmas trip home to Perth.

Pontoons and water-facing areas beginning to be 'dressed' for the festive season.

At the conclusion of a week, the weather was nowhere near OK to depart (strong SE winds + swell) so we left the marina and anchored in 'The Pond' which is a wide portion of the Mooloolah River surrounded by Canal homes etc. Free anchorages, in otherwise built up areas, tend to be crowded and hosting rather too many 'unattended abandoned dreams'. The rules say 1 week is OK but there are some 'vessels' long past both their welcome and serviceability and prone to dragging anchor in strong conditions imperilling surrounding vessels. The Bloke wanted to keep our stay there to a minimum, despite the ready availability of 'Friday night Fish and Chips', newspapers and coffees ashore. To be sure, Mooloolaba is very seductive, offering beach, river and canal possibilities. A ready supply of avocado's and ripe mango's too.... drool!

   

Visiting the beach confirmed big swells and good surf.  A bad combo for a river bar crossing.

Let the wind and tide be right for our escape

Perfect, smooth conditions at dawn at the river bar on a making tide

 

Goodbye Point Cartwright.

See you on our return in 2-3 weeks!

Beyond Point Cartwright, ships anchor waiting for admission into the Port of Brisbane. Since Moreton Bay is full of sand banks there are clearly defined shipping channels, so The Bloke was on his toes while traversing the top of Moreton Bay but we had fabulous sailing conditions and averaged 6knots all day with the assistance of 15knot ENE winds and 1.5-2kn of current for part of the way too.

Passing traffic!

Although we'd considered Peel Island to be our target anchorage, it did seem a shame to pass a perfectly nice one that had been recommended to us by locals, so we dropped anchor at the Big Sand Hills off Moreton Island and declared: "Anchor's down, Cocktail time"!

A Captain's Roll

The Bloke here,

Now with a blog title like that, you could expect me to be writing late at night and about to embark on the role and duty of Crew to a Captain, and his responsibility to them. You know however, that is not how Zofia is run. The roll I want to talk about now is the one delivered to me by 'Captain Jack Sparrow'. We recently attended a function at The Boatworks at Commera River which included refreshments at The Galley restaurant. They provided many excellent finger foods and then 'Captain Jack Sparrow' sought me out to sample their sausage rolls. I am not suggesting that my quest has become as famous as Johnny Depp and his alter ego 'Jack Sparrow', BUT you have to be impressed that I was offered the first sausage roll of the afternoon! It was a delightful offering and rates at number 7 on the table of fame. While the roll could have been bigger, one must remember that it was served as 'finger food' and not the meal they can be!

So, thank you Captain Jack Sparrow! You have come through with flying colours.

Captain Jack serving the remainder of the rolls after I had sampled one OR two!

Mary River Escapade

With time to fill ahead of our Xmas trip home and having reached the relatively safe latitudes (in terms of Cyclones) of Harvey Bay and the Great Sandy Straits, the opportunity of visiting Maryborough was too good to resist. Why not? Merely 20nm upstream and a city of great historic interest. It was given consideration to be the capital city of Queensland at one time. Yes, just THAT important! In colonial times, wool and timber was exported from there as well as the gold from Gympie. The key attribute being that the Mary River is navigable albeit very shallow in places.

Our shadow on the water

We left 1.5 hours before high tide and had a current of 1kn assisting our progress. The shallow area around Horseshoe Bank needed to be approached, according to Alan Lucas' Cruising Guide, with a tide at least equivalent to one's draft. In our case we needed it to be 1.6m+ and on the day 2.5m was the High Tide prediction. Easy-peasy!

Careful scrutiny of the depth readings showed nothing less than 4m beneath our keel for a total of 5.6m at the first obstacle - the 2013 floods must have flushed the bank!

  Spring Tides delivered extra depth   As we progressed upstream the mangroves gave way to a riverbank more defined by dense eucalyptus of some kind. The terrain was very flat and behind there somewhere, were sugarcane fields plus State Forests.

We found the area where the depths were somewhat more exciting was in the vicinity of Beaver Rocks and luckily our electronic charts were up to the task. If we'd have followed some of the leads located on the riverbank we'd have run aground! Needless to say it was eyes-up all the way. Running aground is not at all uncommon, not that I shared that little nugget of information with The Bloke! Nor did I mention the recent reports of a couple of crocodile sightings close to Maryborough. Why complicate matters?

A bush fire in a State Forest gave the aerial firefighters plenty to attend to. We'd observed the plumes of smoke for a few days from our anchorage at River Heads. Things must have been getting out of hand if they were deploying an Erikson Aircrane helicopter - in fact 2 of them.

 

A gorgeous stand of trees on a bend in the river

As the river narrowed and embankments became steeper, evidence of habitation increased

A late afternoon wind created by hot conditions suddenly delivered 25-30knot gusts

 

The sight of the little family owned and operated Mary River Marina (a pontoon and some moorings) plus a bridge announced that we had arrived at our destination. We anchored for our first night in the lower town reach but after a brief investigation the next morning, we rapidly appraised that a 2-3 day stopover would be insufficient to properly investigate this gorgeous, gorgeous regional city.

For $10 per day we could bring in our tender, tie off at the marina wharf and use the marina facilities. For not a lot more, we could actually berth there. An event that I wanted to attend next Saturday up in Urangan was actually only a 40 minute drive away. The availability of a loan car was an instant 'game changer'. Rather than take 3 days to get there by boat, we'd use the '$400 bunkie' on offer and stay a week!

Mary River Marina  (07) 4123 4105 

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Stormy Day on the Mary River

It was a hot and sultry day. It was just too hot not to get a storm. The initial offering was very heavy rain with a smattering of hail. The bulk of the hail fell in another part of town and made the evening news. This was just the entre however, as a second wave of nasty looking clouds followed soon after.



There was no mistaking that we were about to be hammered with the second delivery. Why stay on board? We took refuge under a verandah at the marina with a drink and waited together with a number of other jetty rats. But not for long.

   

This little system gushed through at 45knots (around 90kph) and kept streaming down the coast giving a repeat performance at Brisbane Airport and right through Moreton Bay, some 250km to the south!

At times like these, it is very nice to be tied up alongside a jetty!