The little things you take for granted . . .

The above pic was taken in Airlie Beach on arrival on my last trip as you can see from the stack of rubbish on the aft deck which I needed to get into a rubbish  bin on shore pretty quickly.
 Since then I have only posted two Blogs. One in October 2017 upon my return to the Gold Coast from that trip, " As the sun sets on my Winters Sojourn" and the other, "Hawaii, The Big Island - Kona & Hilo" about my pending trip to catch up with a couple of life-long friends.
This Blog however is something totally  different. It's the reason why I came back from that trip and what I did during my convalescence.

At left is the Proserpine Hospital, which is part of the Mackay Hospital system that serves the Whitsunday region.
It was while Bob, Kerry and I were over in beautiful Nara Inlet, see image below, in the Whitsundays, and a  couple of Sundowners after getting stowed away and settling in for the night, that I suddenly started seeing double - No It wasn't the Buddies!!!
Bob, who used to be a lifesaver came back to Fete to give assistance and recognised the symtoms as a possible Stroke.

He immediately called emergency and a boat was despatched from Airlie Beach VMR to come the 40 minutes over to the inlet with a paramedic to render assistance.
I was taken back to Airlie Beach and that's how I ended up at the Proserpine  Hospital where I stayed for 5 days. To that end, I would like to thank the staff, especially Dr Trimble, for all the care that she and the staff provided.
The Result was that I had suffered a TIA - Micro Stroke which is why I am writing this Blog, as a warning to all and sundry to watch your health.

Upon release, I was lucky enough to have another life-long mate, John McCouat seen here at left, collect me from the hospital and deliver me back to Airlie.
As Fete was still out in Nara Inlet, I had to get back out there to her and as I was still seeing double, which the specialists said that would dissipate over the next couple of days+, I would need assistance. Again, two yachties, Billy Gleeson & Gazza (a friend of Bob's from back home in Wilsons Creek), came to the rescue and took me out to Fete and assisted in getting us back to Airlie safely.

But, again, that is not why I am writing this Blog . . . below are the symptoms that I  suffered and the effects that go along with them and how useless you feel  when something like this happens.

Even though I was seeing double, walking was like having drunk a carton of Buddies (Budweiser). I was completely uncoordinated and likely to fall into the drink at any moment. Other things you take for granted, like tying shoe laces on your favourite deck shoes becomes a totally new experience, since I didn't have full use of my left arm or hand.

Again, shaving was a chore as my left eye was affected, seeing the left side of my face became a challenge, which I eventually gave up on until my senses came back a couple of weeks later. The pic of Norman Gunston, below, is what I looked like  after my 1st attempt. And finally, squeezing toothpaste - wow, I can't tell you how much I spilled by squeezing the tube so hard without realising it, and  cutting my nails was an impossibility.

Eventually, as stated in a previous Blog, "End of my Winter's Sojourn", I had a couple of good friends bring Fete back to the Gold Coast for me as I was incapable of sailing in the state I was in as you can imagine. I have now been back almost 2 years and have regained all of my faculties and am planning a new trip next year which I am sure you will see in future blogs. . . .

But the Moral to this story is . . . Never take anything for granted and enjoy every minute of your life and always have your health checks when your doctor tells you otherwise you could end up wobbling around like I was . . .

So as always - Cheers for now & until next time, take care of your health!!!

Hawaii - The Big Island - Hilo & Kona

Fete in Hilo Hawaii - The Big Island!!!

Most followers of this blog will recognise this pic, and a lot of you have asked me about it and the location.
Well, it was the 1st stop on our way from Napa/San Francisco to Australia back some 10 years ago now. Hasn't the time just flown by !!! It is in a bay on the Big Island, Hawaii, called Radio Bay in Hilo Harbour and was our first landfall after battling storms, engine & instrument failures, torn sails, flooding engine compartments and many more such incidents, too numerous to tell on, as Gilligan would say:, "On that Fateful Leg of the Trip".

 

Above are some more pics of Fete in Radio Bay, Hilo where I left her for several months to go back to Australia to recover from the trip over from the States. The bottom pic, taken by Mike & Ku'ulei Thomas, whom I left in charge of Fete during that period,  emphasising Fete against the dark sea and background, is caused by a small hurricane that passed over Hilo in December 2009. Mike told me that waves were breaking way over the break walls and the wind was howling, but Fete managed to get thru unscathed again.

Why I say again, is that Fete's original owner, Eugene Eisenberg,  went thru a typhoon off Japan in Fete on his voyage around the Pacific back in the 90's.

The Big Island has always had special memories for me as I have a great mate who lives on the western side of the Island, in Kona. His name is Dana, or should I say Dr Dana Boardman as he is now referred too.

That's him to the left back in the days when we were fishing for marlin up on the Ribbon Reefs, north of Cairns, Australia.


 

I first met Dana back in the early 90's when I was invited to go game fishing with another mate, Jay Meyer.
That's Jay & his wife Candice at left, and Dana & me at right catching my 1st ever marlin on board Warrigal.
I will never forget the experience or the forming of a life long bond with these two whom I am proud to call my brothers.

It was our first day out from Lizard Island on the abovementioned trip, Dana & I were in the cockpit watching the swell rolling by as we trolled down from #10 to #8 Ribbon Reefs, when one of us said: "It would be good sailing out here today" - almost 20 years later, I was in Napa Marina working on Fete and Dana came up for a visit. From that very first meeting on Warrigal, I knew we would be Maaaaaaates from then on in, and so it was & is today.

And at left, here is the third part of the trio. The man who introduced me to Jay and Dana - Greg (Muddy) Edwards.
Mud had been in the game fishing business for most of his life as his father, (Bald Eagle) Bill Edwards was a skipper of his own boats and taught Mud everything.
Here we are at left on the Big Island in front of a coffee producer of note back in 92. Of course I bought some, but had a few problems getting it back into Australia thru customs as you could imagine.

Now back to Kona, below is a description from Wikipedia of Kona, but it will never be able to tell you of the beauty of the area or the diversity of the Big Island.
"In the Hawaiian language, kona means leeward or dry side of the island, which I can vouch for as on the other side, Hilo, has over 250+ days of rain a year as stated in one of my past blogs.
Kona is also the home of the world famous Hawaiian Ironman which occurs in October of each year and is  also the place that Captain Cook met his fate in 1779.
The volcanic slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the Kona District, provide a unique microclimate for growing coffee and Kona coffee is one of the premium coffee specialities in the world - hence my purchase of the Bong Brothers coffee as mentioned above.
And finally, in the Pop Culture world, Kona is the region which served as the basis for the Beach Boys song "Kona Coast" . So now the history lesson is over so you will have to travel there yourselves to enjoy it.

Here is the King Kamehameha Hotel where the ironman starts and finishes and where Muddy an I stayed back in 92 after helping Jay with his stand at the Miami Boat Show. 

Above are a couple of short clips that Dana sent me of recently, which I will be seeing in September this year when Jay, Dana & myself will all be in Kona for a catchup. Looking forward to it with great anticipation.

I can't wait to catch up with these two although I think my liver is not quite up to what it use to be, and I'm a lot older, (not wiser!) than I used to be, but I am sure we will reminisce on all of the good times and other happenings that occurred over the years . . .

Some things  will never be told about our adventures . . . but those who know, will know!!!

 Well that's all for this blog . . . but as always, until next time . . . CHEERS!

The sun sets on our Winter's Sojourn

As the sun sets over the western skies here at Hope Island Marina on the Gold Coast, I am sitting back having a Buddie or two and reflecting on my recent 6 month hiatus up in north Queensland to get away from the cold winter months.

Airlie Beach hasn't changed much since I lived up here back in 2007-2009. The main street, Shute Harbor Road has been streetscaped, which I like, as I knew the person responsible for designing it, Steve Moss of UPlan. Well done Steve.

But the things that have changed, besides the streetscape, was that there was a lot of businesses closed due to the beating Airlie copped from Cyclone Debbie. The Lagoon, above, and the famous Airlie Beach Hotel, at left, were simply destroyed. The Hotel is not likely to open for another year, but has opened a couple of smaller areas like bottle shops etc & the lagoon was still closed when I left. Many other businesses are shut and are not expected to reopen. A real Shame!

But somethings don't change due to the resilience of the locals. The Whitsunday Sailing Club being only just one.

It was here that we, Bob & Kerry and I, would arrive nearly every day and tie our tenders to the pontoon before heading into Airlie to do the shopping. . . and upon returning, having a few beers  due to the tiresome 200m walk to Woolies, (another new addition to the main shopping area).

We had only been in Airlie a couple of days and already the local Whitsunday Times newspaper had caught Bob, myself and Billy Gleeson at the club having a coldie or two on the balcony one Sunday afternoon.

Billy and his mate Graeme Wilson would end up assisting me later in our stay and I am, and will always be, greatly appreciative for their unquestioned kindness.

Whilst in Airlie, Rob & Kerry's son, Ben, and granddaughter Amira visited and here they are on Errant prior to coming over to Fete later in the day for a couple of coldies. I think Rob said that they were getting Amira used to being onboard as they planned a family outing over to the islands the following week.

Below is a couple of pics of Ben & Amira on board Fete that day.

Somehow I feel that Rob's fears that Amira may not like the water were unfounded as you can see from the look on her face in these two pics.

I mentioned earlier that Airlie hasn't changed much since I lived up here, but at left, Port of Airlie was just under construction and now it is a vibrant community with eateries, bars, marina, bus terminal & ferry hub.

It has come a long way in the last 8 years . . .

It has been almost 5 months since Cyclone Debbie ravaged this place and still bits and pieces of boats can be seen. I am told that there were some 40+ boats that disappeared and have never, or will never be found again.
I guess the only way we would see them, like the piece that floated passed Fete, at left, one afternoon, will be like this.

We have been here a couple of weeks or so, now its time to head out into the 74 beautiful islands surrounding us to see more and experience new things.

Tomorrow we head over to Hook Island, only 15nm away and stay a couple of days in Nara Inlet before moving on to see the rest of this beautiful place.

0900 hrs Tuesday 18th July - On turning Fete out to Pioneer Point, we were passed by the Derwent Hunter, at left, which is owned by a long time mate and Beaujolais whom we 1st met back in Mackay.

Our destination for today as stated earlier is Nara Inlet and as you can see from this pic above, is beautiful. Actually the little bay in the center is Refuge Bay which is a great anchorage in all winds. (This pic came courtesy of Whitsunday Tourism website).

We entered the Inlet at around 1100hrs and went all the way to the top of the inlet to find a good mooring. The anchorage was very rolley but we decided to stay put as the tide was due to change in an hour so we decided to give it a go.

The inlet soon started to fill up with other boats but it didn't take Rob and Kerry long to get back out chasing fish for dinner (see pic below)

After chasing the illusive fish around for a couple of hours, they joined me on Fete for some sundowners and left just on sunset.

A few moments later I had an accident and damaged my eye and had to call on Rob for assistance . . . well to cut a long story short, I was later medevacked back to Prosperine for some treatment which took several days.

Upon release, I knew due to my unstable condition that I needed to get Fete back to the Gold Coast until I could sort things out.

Once again, I had to call upon a couple of trusted friends to get Fete back to the Gold Coast, and Ian (Grumpy) Knight, above and Ian (Russell) Waymouth, at left,  put their hands up to help me out. There was a third person who also wanted to help, Lee Sutherland, a friend of Rob & Kerry's, who just happened to be in Airlie, so the crew were all set.

Sunday 31st July, I sat in the cabana next to the Whitsunday Sailing Club and watched Fete, at left, head out back to the Gold Coast. Their journey, at right, would take 6 days with one stop at Roslyn Bay before arriving at Hope Island Marina tired and exhausted and looking for a good nights sleep.

I wish to thank these guys for all they did and to everyone else that made the last 6-7 months a great trip and I will surely be back again for a new adventure soon . . .

So until then, as always Cheers!

Mackay to Airlie Beach

Well the time has come to leave Mackay Marina and head further north to the Whitsundays. Our destination for the next leg will be Brampton Island. This was once a bubbling Resort which people from all over the world flocked to, to enjoy the ambiance and tropical atmosphere.
The pic at top was taken when Rob and I went out to check out the entrance of the marina  and Brampton Is centre back with St Bees and Keswick Islands on the right.

As Brampton is only 20nm north of
Mackay, it was an easy 4hr motor sail
and at left is where we anchored. We
will be here for a 2 days so we can have
a look at the Resort which we were told was abandoned some 6 years ago and as you will see in the pics  below, the damage that Cyclone Debbie did to the place.

Below is a collage of pics on how the Resort is today after Debbie and as you

will see, she is in a bit of a mess - it is a shame this beautiful place is left like

this!!!!

At the end of the day, whilst on board having a sundowner

Rob turned and said: "Welcome to the Whitsundays"

So I guess our real trip starts from now . . .

Thursday 15th June 2017

We have decided to head north to Goldsmith Island

as our next leg and its only 12nm away. This will bring

us closer to Airlie as well as another give us a look at

another piece of these fabulous Islands.

We upped anchor just after 0730 hrs as Rob had received a text from a mate to

expect winds of 20+ knots with 1-1.5m seas and choppy conditions later in the

morning. As you can see from the pic above, this is Minnie Hall bay,

our anchorage at Goldsmith.

Rob anchored 1st and as I came up on his boat, the other yachtie, Neal, seen here

at right called out that I was headed for a bommie, so quick action was taken

to come astern of Rob and drop the anchor. Whew that was close.

Inside the anchorage was interesting as there is

another smaller Islet named Farrier Is, as you can

see at left. This Islet has a private residential dwelling

on its S/W shoreline and it doesn't appear to have been
affected by Debbie at all. 

We stayed in Goldsmith for a couple of days due to weather and it proved to be a good haven against the strong winds. Whilst there we spotted a Bronze Whaler shark chasing a feed of school fish and had dolphins swimming around the boats, but alas didn't get any pics of either.

The next leg will be up to Shaw Island bypassing Thomas Island - another small 15nm run with winds expected to be around 10-15knts.

0700 - hoisted the pick and headed off  and arrived at around 1000hrs. Good run with smooth seas and a gentle breeze, although I got an extra 1.5knots when I raised the headsail.

We anchored in behind Burning Point, but a little too far out, but that didn't matter as we would only be here for a day or two any how.

Shaw Island proved to be an excellent anchorage  and

as you can see at left, is across the way from Lindeman Is

which like most other Resorts here are or have been closed

for some time due to the economy or cyclone Debbie -

again a real shame.

Above is our next destination, Cid Harbour. A beautiful anchorage which many Bare Boat

Charters are attracted  to as it is only about 9nm from Shute Harbour, their base for the

boats.

On the way up, we passed by Dent and Hamilton Islands as we were running with the current and doing 6-7knts without any sail, although Rob & Kerry told me later that they sailed all the way.

Some other visitors are these two boats - a tallship & large privately owned cruiser - told you the place was popular . . .

Also here is some more remains of Cyclone Debbie.

I was told that this happened during the storm and

as yet hasn't been salvaged as there were some 40

vessels that have simply "Just Gone Missing"???

Wednesday 22nd June:

Today we decided to head into Airlie Beach, some 14nm away and as we passed the top of the Molle Chanel, The Pacific Jewell was there waiting at the entrance to Pioneer Bay.

The trip across had been a little rough with 20kn+ winds

and at times 1.5m+ swell and I was glad to be in behind

Pioneer Point and heading for an anchorage just outside

of the Abbel Point Marina Complex.

Upon anchoring the owner of the nearest boat came over

and it turned out to be Rob Woodforth from Southport

yacht club - small world!!!

We stayed at the first anchorage one day and as it was too rolley, we moved over near the Airlie Beach Sailing Club as you can see here at left and the view into Airlie at right.

Here we will stay for a week or so before heading off to explore some more of the Whitsunday Group of Islands as we have decided to make Airlie our base and I  will bring you more of the updates as we go . . . so until then, as always, CHEERS.