Captain’s Log: Bundaberg to Platypus Bay, Fraser Island

Sept 23

Hi All,

I last left off the blog when we had to wait for a berth to open up. The next day the marina calls early and says we have a berth…..great! We move over and sure enough, none of our electrical shore power connectors will fit this shorepower pedestal…..we have 5 all from different countries!!! I go up to the marina chandlery and the guy there kind of looks at me like I’m from another world….well, just the USA. Hmmm….sorry we don’t carry any shorepower connectors. You are a chandlery at a marina, right….never had a boat need a connector? Haha, well, maybe, but we are out right now. Great. So, back to the marina and they say ok, we’ll have to call an electrician. Oh joy….I know the drill!!!

So the electrician shows up like 5 hours later….already had to run the GEN. I show him my adapter cord and say I just need the Aussie shorepower conne

ctor….can you just sell me one? Nope….I have to wire it myself. Ok, so I spend the next few minutes telling him about the electrical on Mystic. Finally he says you just need a new connector….ah, the light bulb is burning bright. Ok…so he takes off the old one and then just stares….oh no, never a good sign. Is something wrong? Who wired this? An electrician in NZ. Really, well it’s wrong. Hmmmm, it has only worked in 4 other countries. Well, I’ll have to rewire because the wire colors are wrong. I bit my tongue…as if the little electrons really care. Sure, go ahead but you have to do both ends or else it is wrong going into the boat. Oh, well, maybe we need to change your connection inside. Ok, not going to happen….just wire the plug on and leave, thinking I’ll just rewire when he leaves. No, can’t do that….I’ll call my boss. Good idea. I hear the boss laugh over the phone….just rewire both ends of the adapter cord and everything will be ok. So, the kid does that, and voila, we have power…..only USD260 later….oweeeee!!!

So, it took a full 2 days to get checked in, find a berth, get the power connected and get the boat washed…..oh, was she salty!!!!

Next up…..a meal at the marina restaurant. Kathy had told me the galley was closed….and wow, were we in for a delight. The fresh seafood is outstanding, especially the prawns and bugs, small lobsters!!!!! Maybe some of the best prawns we have had since our Brunswick, Ga days!!!!

We really enjoyed our stay in the marina. We don’t often say that but we both found it very relaxing…..not having to worry about making power or water…..a mini-vacation!!!! We made a couple of trips to town, Kathy continued to rehab her hip/leg and we did boat projects at a leisurely pace:

Installed Lenovo (solid state drive) navigation computer: Should have taken 2-3 hours….took 3 days. I had tried to do this in NZ before we left and got waylaid by the crazy mouse syndrome. Well, armed with a solution I went to install only to find the solution did not apply….ugh. More google searches and a few solutions but nothing worked. I finally wrote Nobeltec and they sent me a software patch which worked….yeah!!! But, I really had 2 problems that were masking each other. We had installed a serial connector with 4 pigtails…..our AIS, autopilot and GPS all use serial connections….and it turns out this ASIX unit is either loose or bad. I ended up putting the AP and GPS on serial/usb converters and leaving just the AIS on the installed serial connection (however, sometimes this works and by juggling the connection it will start/stop). I have since bought a third serial/usb converter and will install for the AIS when the time comes!!!!

iNavx and laptop Nobeltec updated: We thought we had many backups to our Nobeltec/navigation computer only to find out our iNavx program on the iPad did not have any Australian charts (my bad) and we could not get our bluetooth GPS to work on my laptop. Finally just used the usb connection on the GPS and plugged into the laptop and Nobeltec worked just fine. It was a good day…2 things working now as b/u!!!!!!

Steering cylinder: So I wrote Seastar about the cylinder unscrewing from the ball joint….here is what they wrote back: “…the shaft is free floating and can vibrate loose from the ball joint if the lock nut fails. This is a pretty rare occurrence, in fact I don’t remember encountering this before with these cylinders.”

Don’t you just love statements like that from a technician!!!! For now, I have reattached with a lot of red Locktite. We might go ahead and pin it, but we’ll talk with the technicians in Bobbin Head and see what they suggest. I have this on my annual inspection list so all was good in April 2015. I will now inspect before each passage and keep a close watch on that locknut!! And, I might have gone a bit overboard with the locktite….we shall see when/if we ever need to get it off again….like when the cylinder needs to be repaired/serviced!!

GEN battery: Wow…found a replacement battery for $90….wired it in….went to start and it just cranks…..ugh….let it sit for a few minutes….we are on shorepower and it is being charged….tried again and voila, it’s all good. Have since run the GEN several times, and it starts right up…..sweet as!!!!

The Aussies are as nice/friendly as the Kiwis, and we had great dockmates, Seawhisker and Dreamtime. The seafood market at the marina sells a fresh seafood platter for $23…enough to feed 2+ people….prawns, bugs, crabs and smoked salmon. We all got a platter, and had everyone over to Mystic and let the wine and seafood flow!!! They both gave us great info on going down the coast towards Brisbane, as well as onto Sydney!! We had a great time and it was a fun evening.

We also toured the Bundaberg Rum distillery. They started making rum in the late 1800’s out of the molasses they had from all the sugar can fields…..molasses is a byproduct of processing the sugar cane. It was a bit different than our favorite Caribbean rums. It had a stronger charcoal flavor, and in some case a strong smoky, almost burnt flavor. We did enjoy more of their reserves and walked away with a 6 year old that is quite good!!

Another sidetrip was to the local farmer’s market….oh wow, after being limited in Vanuatu, especially after the cyclone, better in New Cal, seeing all these fresh veggies and fruits had us walking around in a daze. The strawberries….oh wow, almost as good as my granny’s on her farm!!!

We have heard the weather here on the east coastline can be challenging, and for the week and half we have been in OZ there have been several wind warnings….great….and ugh, ugh. But, the weather calmed yesterday, and we made a 45nm run in perfect trawler-like conditions to Platypus Bay on the western side of Fraser island. Also known as whale central, we saw maybe 10-15 humpbacks, most from a distance, but then a mom and calf gave us an up close and personal encounter….sweet as!!!!

It’s been a bit bumpy today as the winds are from the SW, and we are very exposed in this anchoage. It was forecast to back to S then SE about 6 hours ago, but it is late…..tG for the flopper stopper. The winds just died so we hope that means the winds will soon turn!!!

We will stay here for the next few days then mosey our way south through the Great Sandy Strait….a 50 nm somewhat narrow and shallow channel that separates Fraser island from the mainland and has many calm and comfortable anchorages. From there we need to cross the Wide Bay Bar, maybe the first of Oct. Similar to many of the PNW bars….must time it carefully….there is a volunteer coast guard station nearby that gives you up to date waypoints and the weather. Gulp…..maybe a sweaty palm factor coming up:))))

From there it is on to Mooloolaba for some more fabulous prawns…maybe the best in Australia…we will let you know…then onto Brisbane around Oct 6-8 and then back to USA on Oct 15.

That’s it for now……

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon

Pictures from New Caledonia:

Sitting at a bar in Kuto Bay, Ile des Pine, New Caledonia. And, a good beer too!!

Mystic Moon anchored in Adventure Bay where the local fisherman kicked us out!!!

Pictures from Australia:

Celebration dinner after arrival to Bundaberg Australia….yes, we did it, crossed the Pacific!!!

Bundaberg Rum distillery. The polar bear is just a marketing icon….trying to convince rum is good on a cold day:))))

Bundaberg Rum Distillery

Flores Island….just a very big sand dune…..look how calm it is….6 hours before we had 2′ wind chop….arghhhhh!!

Flores Island

Kathy took this pic right after sundown. Gorgeous orange sky!!!

Steering cylinder attached to ball valve……imagine finding this unscrewed in the middle of the ocean…..arghhhhh!!!!!