Nara Inlet to Airlie Beach and Airlie Beach Rendezvous
The day dawned overcast again, with low cloud covering the hill tops overlooking the valley. The impression was almost one of being in the Scottish highlands, but much warmer.
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| Gypsy Princess in a cloud covered Nara Inlet on its final morning of this leg |
We found a fair wind that gave us one last good sail across the Whitsunday Passage to Airlie Beach. This will be the first time I've come into the Coral Sea marina on my own boat and is something I've looked forward to for some time. Although cloudy, there was no hint of any rain. The worst of it was that David and Anne had a farewell in less than the sparkling weather this area normally produces.
We got a taxi into town, Anne shouted us a fish and chips lunch and at 5pm they were on their bus for Proserpine. I was alone on the Gypsy once again.
We covered 170 miles together on this past leg, from Mackay up to the Whitsundays and Airlie Beach. It's been a wonderful experience having David and Anne on the cruise. They're my oldest friends and David was with me on my first experience of this place and this lifestyle. Having time to simply spend together without outside cares is a precious thing.
The next few days were the usual busy laydays that I've come to know. Laundry duty was supplemented this time with an engine service, having wracked up a tad over 150 hours on the engine since leaving Sydney almost two months ago. I've been carrying fuel and oil filters, an engine oil extraction pump, a water impellor and spare engine oil from home, and I had a list of the tasks required from having spoken to and watched mechanics back home. So, with a deep breath I started the service and took over five hours for what should probably only take less than three hours. Things I learnt for next time:
1. insert the oil extraction hose from the back of the engine bay, not the front
2. it's futile spending half an hour putting the raw water pump back together the wrong way
3. have a plan for what to do with all the diesel fuel I drain from the fuel filters before I actually start draining it.
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| The engine, waiting for its service along with my tools and rags |
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| The oil extraction pump ready to go |
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| I'm much better at my day job! |
I'll spend the next week fearfully waiting for the engine to fail, but I got the job done in time for dinner. In truth I was exhausted after this.
We had the Rendezvous dinner on the marina, a great BBQ with seven Alfreds boats in attendance.
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| The Airlie Beach Rendezvous dinner Galadriel, Mix'd Nutz, Kailani, Gypsy Princess, Loseca, Seas the Moment and Echo Beach |
In the course of my stay in town we discovered a very modern shopping centre, several kilometres in from the coast in Cannonvale. This provided everything we needed for provisioning for two weeks.
Of course my new crew, Celeste, arrived for the leg from Airlie to Magnetic Island. Our plan is to spend a week around the Whitsundays, which Celeste has never really seen, then visit Hammo to top up fresh food and water before striking north.
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| The modern Airlie Beach - a far cry from the sleepy village that once existed |
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