Bundaberg Rendezvous
My dear old DSLR camera died yesterday. Isn't it amazing - I've spent years and loads of money preparing for a whole range of eventualities, but no-one ever told me I should prepare for a camera that has ceased to be. Bundaberg has a camera shop and I caught the local bus for the 18 km trip in to town from the marina. SLR cameras are not cheap, but we managed to find a good model for not too much cost. Unfortunately, while the Bundaberg shop sells cameras it doesn't actually have cameras, so we order one from the Sydney warehouse. It might not arrive in time for my departure on the weekend. I dread the idea of having to use my little point and shoot backup camera.
On the same excursion I visit Jaycar to buy some bits to repair a misbehaving LED on the boat's main power control panel, then have to rush back to the marina in time to take the mainsail to the local sailmaker for some repairs. It suffered a small tear in the luff, just near the second reefing point, presumably during the passage up the NSW coast. The sailmaker proves to be excellent, pointing out to me several defects in the sail that my Sydney sailmakers blithely ignored when they had it in their loft recently. He can repair these and I'm promised it will be ready to go by Friday.
The three days in port proved to be remarkably busy. In addition to the above town visit, I took care of the laundry and then spent quite some time reorganising and rationalising all of the stowage on board. I think I've over-packed shirts and towels, and the galley lockers are hoarding some entirely useless stuff. I do what I can to fix this, and throw out a fair load of unnecessary things. I realise this process will continue for several more weeks as the Gypsy and I gradually work through the practicalities of cruising life.
All the rendezvous crew except David and Sonia from Galadriel agreed to a group visit to the Distillery on Thursday. While I personally find the local rum exceedingly rough, a visit is one of the key parts of any Bundaberg experience. It did at least give me the chance to try some of their more bespoke rum expressions. My only purchase was a bottle of smokey rum steak sauce - I'll stick with my scotch whiskies and the Sailor Jerry spiced rum already on board.
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| Distillery of the famous Bundaberg Rum |
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| Bundy R. Bear in the flesh |
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| Class Act |
The formal, or at least the official, rendezvous dinner was on Thursday evening at the marina restaurant. Seven crews from 4 boats (I was solo after Gene's departure).
Friday morning saw the arrival of Spencer, my crew for the next leg to Mackay. He has old uni friends who live in town, and the wife of one offered to drive us to the local shopping centre for our provisioning - $700 of food, meat and drink all successfully stowed. One of Spencer's mates owns a craft beer brewery in town and five of us met there for dinner and some great beer. I understand the four of them have not been together as a group for many years. They clearly have long and very deep seated bonds, and I thought myself fortunate to have been invited to such a great night.
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| The Brewhouse occupies a wonderfully retasked former car garage - our group is sitting on the far left |
Tomorrow we have a 4am start for the wonderful Lady Musgrave Island. The mainsail is aboard, looking really very nice. However my camera hasn't arrived, and will be forwarded on to the Mackay store, I hope.
So wonderful to read these updates Murray and to track your progress.
ReplyDeleteCan I ask some questions? How do you store $700 of produce - do you have a freezer? and what does a typical day of meals look like on board?
Looking forward to the next installment :)
Amy