Gypsy Cruising

1 – 4 October

Bundaberg

Completely unplanned and unexpectedly, I’m in Bundaberg for the final Rendezvous of this cruise.  We’re in company with five other Club boats – Nirvana’s Kitchen, Heaven’s Gate, Seas the Moment, Mix’d Nutz and Wisky Business.  The mood amongst the group is decidedly set on getting home to Pittwater, and we’re all looking for the weather window that will let us make the next jump south to Mooloolaba or Southport.  

The highlight of the stay was the Rendezvous function itself which started at the Kalki Moon Rum and Gin distillery before heading off for a café lunch.  Kalki Moon began when the former master distiller at Bundaberg Rum, Rick Prosser, decided to strike out and begin his own rum distillery.  To generate cash flow while his rum production sat maturing, he began making gin which has a very fast production cycle.  His gin has won a series of awards here and overseas and his first rum is due to come out of the barrels next year.  His output is small, coming out of a tiny copper pot still and with bottling done manually.  However he appears to be dedicated to quality, and everything we tasted was superb - very different from the mass production and exaggerated claims made by his competition down the road.  I hope he succeeds. 

We surprised everyone with the amount of fun we had during the morning’s tour and tastings.  Leon handed Rick a signed Gin Pennant which is now hopefully hanging somewhere on the premises.

An unsavoury bunch of itinerants - Leon, Jim, Greg and Bill waiting for a pickup from the car rental agency

The Kalki Moon Distillery with owner Rick and his mother - the epitome of a small, family-owned startup business.  Their entire two year production of rum can be seen maturing in the barrels stacked against the wall.

The Final Rendezvous - Gypsy Princess, Heaven's Gate, Mix'd Nutz, Nirvana's Kitchen, Seas the Moment and Wisky Business, with Rick Prosser and his Mum

Vivienne has headed home after two weeks with me.  We’ve covered 385 miles together over a very busy 11 days on the water – the furthest any of my crews have done.  We only allowed ourselves one double night stay, at Middle Percy, and had several 12 hour days to get through the miles.  In the process we’ve also had some fantastic days of fast sailing.  It’s been a very satisfying and enjoyable time.

Vivienne's farewell from Bundaberg