What? The Mast Is Not Yet Finished?
Wednesday, November 21, 2013 – We fly back home to the United States for an all too short 7 1/2 weeks. Our “here a while; there a while” schedule is beginning to catch up with us. Both The Captain and The First Mate feel a growing desire to stay home for a longer while. There are things we want to do and people with whom we want to spend more time. A long overdue trip back east to catch up with friends and family is pressing. Would not a few plays in New York be nice coupled with a visit to son Eric in Manhattan? While we’re at it, a slight detour to Minnesota to see son David’s new venue would be fun. We decide that at minimum a 6-month sojourn in the States is needed.
Tasmania, however, is the reason for our short stay in the States. As Tasmania is the the most southern and coldest region of Australia, the best time to be down there is in their warmer months, January through March. Due to threatened surgery to The First Mate’s shoulder, we had put last year’s Tasmania sailing plans on hold. Therapy worked. No surgery needed. Now, The Captain is eager to move forward with his sailing schedule.
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Short though it was, we filled every minute with friends and family while soaking up the pleasure of being home. The first 3 weeks are spent in Scottsdale. There were shopping to do, golf to play and friends to see. Thanksgiving was shared with Bliss Krekel, a dear friend of long standing, and her son, Michael, who had flown in from New York. Together, we inaugurated a new Holiday tradition: caviar and blinis!
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Off to Telluride, where we squeeze in a dinner party for 18 to celebrate Winter Solstice. Son Eric flew in from New York in time to help decorate the tree and join in the fun.
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Christmas dinner is shared with Telluride friend, Jane Hardman. Over an elegant caviar serving dish that The First Mate had given The Captain and another round of caviar and homemade blinis, we reminisce about the special time we had shared aboard Avante in Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve last year. Was it just a year ago? Time goes by way too fast these days!
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Granddaughter, Berlin, flew in for her Holiday Week with us on December 27th – just in time to celebrate her Uncle Eric’s birthday. We enjoyed our time with Berlin skiing and playing in the snow. How she loves the outdoors!
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Here we are at Alpino Vino, a little restaurant high up on the ski mountain that has become a must-do ski luncheon stop.
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Thursday, January 16th – After a thoroughly horrible flight on United Airlines, we land in Brisbane where Stephen Everett, owner of a sister ship Salacia, picks up ourselves and our luggage. While we were back in the States, we had had Avante’s mast removed so the rod rigging could be replaced. Stopping at the rigger’s shop on the way to Stephen’s home, we get bad news. The mast is not finished and is far from being ready to be installed the next day as scheduled. How long? We are not sure. At least a week of delay. The Captain is not happy. The First Mate is furious. Her dear friend, Bliss, is not well. Not needed here, she could have stayed home to help her friend. Now she is stuck here with little to do and a friend back home who could use her help.
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Poor Avante is out on Stephen’s dock living in shame. No mast, no rigging, no sails — the ignominy of it all!
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Much work still needs to be
done before the mast will be ready, but we learn to our distress that
the most necessary part, the rod rigging which holds the mast in place,
is not here. It is being custom-made in and shipped from New Zealand.
When is it due? Well, any day now, maybe, hopefully. In frustration,
The Captain works on projects that are way down on his hit list. He
decides to view this as a blessing. What else?
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Stephen’s hospitality is beyond compare. The guest bedroom is ours. We enjoy nightly dinners together over the best of wine, delicious food and great conversation. He understands our disappointment and frustration. With the weekend approaching and knowing nothing will be done on the rigging, he lends us a car and encourages us to take off and see his country.
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Saturday, January 18th – We take his offer and his advice. Driving north, we meander through the Glasshouse Mountains, so named by Captain Cook because from the sea, they looked like the huge glass furnaces of his home in Yorkshire, England. The sight of this group of 11 mountains, ancient volcano plugs that they are, rising so precipitously from flat coastal plain is impressive. Pondering which one to climb, we decide upon Mt. Ngungun.
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What a sweeping view from the top of Mt. Ngungun! The whole valley spanned out below us.
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As we stood on the top of Mount Ngungun taking in the view, The First Mate imagines an Aboriginal guide telling us his people’s legend of these mountains. “See over there? That is Mount Tibrogargan the father, and that one there is Mount Beerwah the mother. Together, they had many children. Mount Coonowrin was the oldest child. See his strange, crooked shape? This is how he got it.
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One day Tibrogargan observes that the sea is rising. Fearing for his family’s safety, he asks Coonowrin to help his pregnant mother while he helps the younger children flee to higher ground. Coonowrin is terrified and instead runs away. Infuriated at his son’s cowardliness, Tibrogargan chases after him and clubs him so hard that he dislodges Coonowrin’s neck. After the flood passes, Coonowrin feels horrible guilt and asks his family for forgiveness, but the law of the tribe will not permit this. They all weep in shame which is the cause of the many streams that flow throughout the area.”
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To this day, Tibrogargan gazes out to sea refusing to look at his son, who with his dislodged neck, continues to hang his head in shame.
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That night, we spend with The First Mate’s childhood friend, Jane Minor, now living in her new house overlooking the sea in Mooloolaba. Overlooking the ocean, sitting on the balcony enjoying each other’s company could not have been more perfect.
Sunday, January 19th – The morning is spent touring the rolling hill country around Montville. A hike to a waterfall where Jane used to take her children for picnics is a treat. Afterwards, we head off to drive south to Lamington National Park where we have reservations at O’Reilley’s Rainforest Retreat. About 100 years ago, eight strapping young men bought land in this dense tropical rainforest area out in the middle of nowhere. With no access roads, they hacked their way in and then proceeded to hack out building lots and clear pasture land. It had to be brutal, back-breaking work – one tree, one bush, one vine, one root-wrapped boulder at a time.
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Not long after they had cleared enough land to build a few shacks and graze a few cattle, the Australian government declared all the land around them to be a National Park. There would now be nothing in the way of civilization growing up around them, but refusing to sell their land back to the state, they set about creating a back-to-nature get-away on the “build it and they’ll come” principle. Blessed with a multitude of eye-catching waterfalls and now acres of untouched land, they hack trails into the rain forest.
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The distance from the last of civilization to their retreat is formidable. It takes blind faith. Today, even with a mostly paved road, the drive up and in is winding and treacherous. Stretches of it are single lane only. The Captain and First Mate, having no idea how long it was going to take to get there, also persevered on blind faith. Did we miss a turn? No, there were no turn-offs. Finally, with a sigh of relief, we arrive and check into a thoroughly modern lodge.
Unlike the primitive experience of the early adventure seekers, hot and cold running water, heated rooms and flush toilets await us. To our surprise, the food is beyond reproach. Gourmet would not be a wrong adjective. A bountiful buffet breakfast is served each morning, and The Captain, noting a small sign saying that omelets are made to order, is one happy man! Dinners are elegant, delicious and meticulously served by well-trained, eager young people from several countries around the world who are drawn here by the natural beauty and adventure of the place. We enjoy talking to them as much as we enjoy our dinners.
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Arriving late in the afternoon, we stroll the shorter walks around the place, but the next morning with a lunch packed, we head out along the trails further afield. The song birds delight The First Mate. The dense rainforest vegetation reminds us of the primeval forests that pressed in upon us when anchored in remote coves of Vancouver Island in Canada.
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We are astounded at this huge boulder encased with tree roots and vines. The First Mate imagines it being grasped by the giant claw of some huge prehistoric bird.
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We walk along narrow trails bordering rock walls rising high into the trees above us. In the shaded dampness, moss and lichen flourish.
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Most impressive of all are the waterfalls. Not little trickles these, but full-bodied ones we can hear from a distance.
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After weeks of little rain, they remain impressive.
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Reaching Toolona Lookout, we sit in the shade along the trail to enjoy our lunch. A view of the valley below captivates us.
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Monday, January 20th – There is a top of the forest hike just waiting for us to do. A series of suspension bridges will take us through the leafy boughs at the top of forest, but first a wire-lattice enclosed ladder takes us up to the top.
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What a delight to meander through the dense green at the top of the forest! Birds dart through the leaves, and their songs fill the air.
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The views through the dense foliage across the top of the trees keep us moving from one viewpoint to another.
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Back on terra firma, the dead remains of what was once a huge tree stop us short. The inside of the tree has decayed, but the strong outside remains intact.
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All too soon, our visit is over, and we have to head back to Avante with hopes to get that rigging job completed. The First Mate pronounces these few days one of the most delightful jaunts afoot and abroad we have had in Australia so far.
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Tuesday, January 21st – Reinvigorated, we return to Raby Bay where work on the mast progresses slowly. We learn that the rod rigging is at last ready to be shipped by air from New Zealand. These are long steel rods that will be rolled into coils so large that they which cannot be shipped on a normal flight. They must await the weekly cargo flight which runs on Saturday. The bugger (That’s an Aussie term) with that is that Australian customs will not clear them on a weekend forcing a wait until Monday. Double bugger! Not this Monday, for, as our luck would have it, this is an Australian 3-day weekend. Clearance will have to wait until Tuesday! More delay, more frustration, but we endure. What else? The one consolation? They are not being sent by ship which would take even longer!
Tuesday, January 28th – The rods are finally delivered by noon, and the rigger goes to work assembling the mast with its new rigging.
Wednesday, January 29th – Stephen hosts a festive luncheon upon discovering that several of our friends from the Louisiades Rally are in the area. Counting the three of us, we are 11: Di and Ross, Stephen’s crew from Salacia, Chris and Rodney from Smart Choice, Kelli and Andy from Quintessa, and Allison and Nick from Isis, friends of Stephen’s with whom we enjoyed a day anchored in Island Head Creek last year. What a fun afternoon! Stephen’s marinated butterflied lamb leg cooked on the barbie and his simply sublime Potato Bake were delicious. Pronounced his newest best favorites by The Captain, The First Mate is going to have to get with the program and learn how to cook these.
Upon hearing how abbreviated our time in Tasmania is going to be due to this delay, everyone exclaims that we do not now have time to do Tasmania justice. Chris and Rodney are from Tasmania. We have been misguided. 4 weeks? No, we need 3 months! Such is cruising. Never enough time.
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Thursday, January 30th – Di and Ross who live several hours north of Brisbane had spent the night. Early this morning, The Captain is going to motor Avante over to the boatyard in Manly where the mast will be stepped. Ross offers to ride along and lend a helping hand. Scheduled to start at 8:00, everything is ready except the crane which will lift the mast into place. It arrives and swings into action promptly at 11:00.
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Soon, Avante has her mast back. At long last, her bow can ride the waves proudly again. A few more things need to be completed, but at least Avante now looks like a sailing boat.
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Friday, January 31st – In addition to replacing the rod rigging, we did some other modifications. The biggest one is installing a second furler. The Captain is delighted. The First Mate is not so sure. There seem to be an awful lot of new lines and sheets to learn. Her job will be to remember where they all go, to what they all go and how not to get all tangled up in them. Such is the life of the Nautically Challenged.
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By the end of the day, all essential nips and tucks to the rigging are completed. One part needs to be modified, but it will be ready on Monday. With the rigging completed, we can finally think that setting forth might be a reality.
Saturday, February 1st – Avante is getting her sails on today! Hurray! Rick, the sailmaker, arrives and with Stephen on hand to help, the three men set to work. Not only do the mainsail and the jib need to be attached, but we have modified our staysail to go on the new inner furler. On the passage to the Louisiades, our first venture into staysail sailing, we had the sail tied on the foredeck the old fashioned way: in a sail bag, attached to the inner forestay and ready to be raised. In heavy seas, that sail bag had filled with water and been pulled over the side. We lost the bag and could have lost the sail if The Captain had not been able to pull it back on board. We then decided that the only way we were ever really going to use this sail was to have it securely attached to its own furling mechanism standing ready and easy to use.
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There is nothing easy about wrestling a bulky 150-pound mainsail into place. Not only is it heavy and unyielding, a vivid 3D imagination is required to be able to weave all the ropes and lines into their correct slots. Not done correctly … Well, we just wouldn’t go there.
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Ideally, we would be putting on the sails on a really calm day. Unfortunately, today we have a pretty good crosswind which wants to blow the sail off the boom and out over the water. Not only is it not pretty, it could be downright dangerous and threatening to life and limb. With 3 men hauling and yanking on the thing, it is soon under control and on its way up the mast.
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A thing of beauty it is!
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WE ARE READY TO SAIL! Happier words were never spoken, but we are two full weeks behind schedule! It is useless to get mad, but who cannot help being frustrated? Our sailing schedule must be amended. It is now February, and we are still a long way from Tasmania. We will not have time for a circumnavigation of Tasmania followed by a passage to New Zealand before the weather turns. Our friend Stephen suggests that we just keep the boat in Australia for another year and do our circumnavigation of Tasmania in 2015. While we love Australia, we cannot keep the boat here indefinitely. Each nation has its particular rules and regulations regarding boats of foreign origin. Here in Australia, Avante is allowed to sail its shores for a total of 3 years. Leaving the country for the few months we were in the Louisiades put the 3-year countdown on hold, but as soon as we checked back into Australia, that clock started ticking again. We have already been in Oz for 18 months and with our intended 6 month or longer sojourn in the States, we do not want to leave Avante idling here using up her Australian invite time.
Wait! The First Mate is being unfair. Of course, Avante can stay in Australia for as long as she likes. Australia likes boats. It really does! Her owners would merely have to pay import duties on her. For Avante that could be $80,000 to $100,000 by The Captain’s estimation. Not only is that not the way we would chose to throw around money, one would only realistically pay that amount if one planned to permanently import a boat into the country. That, we do not plan to do.
So, what to do? We must
carry on with our plans to return to New Zealand where more lenient
regulations give us more lee-way for leaving the boat for an extended
time. Everyone tells us that a departure from Hobart, Tasmania gives us
a better sailing angle to Nelson, NZ when we do set off across the
Tasman Sea. Thus, we will continue on with our plans to go to
Tasmania. We no longer have time to do a circumnavigation of the island
as The Captain had wanted, but we can fit in a cruise down the east
coast as we make our way to Hobart.
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Tuesday, February 4th – A farewell dinner was shared with Stephen and his daughter Cherie last night. Now, looking more polished, trimmed and decked-out than she has since first launch, Avante proudly heads out to sea. With a final hug to Stephen, lines are let loose, and we are off.