The big welcome home

We celebrated the homecoming of Jan & Mike Drury this last weekend. On Thursday night we headed to the boat to make preparations for the coming weekend. They were due to arrive between 10 and 11am on the Friday which also happened to be Jans birthday. The weather had finally fined up after having weeks of rain and grey skies, so it was lovely to see blue skies and sunshine for a change which added to the enjoyment of the weekend.
Frank, Katrina and I sailed out to meet them and Grant and Ann on Coco sailed up from Hillary's. It was so exciting to see their sails in the distance and to realise that they had almost finished their trip from the US in the newly aquired "Fully Involved" a beautiful 42ft Island Packet.
Our excitement knew no bounds when we all converged together and Frank, Kat and I sang happy birthday to her over channel 73 on the radio. They did a few circles around so that we could take photo's of her from all angles and she looked beautiful with all her sails billowing. Jan was laughing and crying from the emotion of almost finishing this epic trip.
It was Frank and my turn to organise a cruising event to Mindarie for all the Hillary's people and we had blended that in with the arrival of Mike and Jan to make it a really great weekend of celebrations.
And what a weekend it turned out to be. Approximately seven yachts sailed up and I think all would agree it turned out to be a really wonderful weekend. Perhaps a little too much celebration for some of us, but how often do you have the opportunity to witness two people arriving home after sailing for twelve months across the ocean.
Frank had rung Chris Kealy from the club and persuaded him to put on a welcome for Mike and Jan when they sailed to Hillary's on the Sunday. It was our privelege to join them on Fully Involved for the sail to Hillary's. The weather looked rather grey and windy as we left Mindarie, but as we sailed it cleared up and turned out to be a lovely day.
What a turn out at Hillary's to welcome them home. The VIP jetty was crowded as we came in and poor Mike was having a meltdown in case he couldn't bring her up alongside the jetty correctly. He had no need to worry as he did it perfectly, and thankyou bow thruster, you certainly make it easy.
Chris did a welcome speech and also another official from the club and then platters of party pies and sausage rolls were bought out for all the people who were there to welcome them. So thankyou HYC, you did us proud with your welcome.
After all the fesitivities died down Kat, Frank and I drove back to Mindarie to pack up and head for home. The tiredness hit while we were enjoying some Thai food with Kat and was glad to get home and just fall into bed.
A very successful weekend and I think by all the feedback everyone had a great time.

weekend plans for cruising in company

Plans for the weekend are starting to be put in place. After getting some housework done at home after being away for nearly a week we will head to the boat to clean that up ready for the weekend festivities.
Very much looking forward to Mike and Jan arriving back from the travels with their beautiful Fifi. It will be a real welcome home for them and we will have the honour of sailing on their boat to Hillary's on the Sunday.
The club are sailing up to Mindarie for the weekend and we are the organisers of that event.
I am praying that the weather will fine up and shine on us for the weekend. Can't believe the amount of rain we have had and cold weather. We certainly have had no spring to talk of just an extended winter.
So looking forward to this weekend and catching up with all who venture to Mindarie.

Freo Weekend

The sail to Fremantle was very good apart from waking Saturday morning with a migraine and feeling very off, so while Bob & Frank readied the boat to start the trip I went back to the bunk and slept. I woke as we were passing Cottesloe, got up and made myself some brekky so I could deal with the head. We were on the motor all the way as there was no wind.
We had a call from Kat to tell us that she could see us and then we spotted several other yachts closer into shore headed for Fremantle.
We arrived just after Dan & Kat and slipped in, in front of them, successfully tied up to the pier and shortly after the others started arriving.
We helped tie each one up as they came in and all looking forward to the weekend ahead.
I started to put the cushions out into the cockpit, slipped the stern seats up into the cockpit and one was knocked down and landed right onto my big toe. It knocked the wind out of me with the pain as these seats have a wooden base and are quite heavy.
It took sometime for the pain to subside but it was obvious by the state of it that any walking for me on the weekend was out. So I was hobbling around for the rest of the weekend.
Apart from that catastrophe the weekend went really well and all really enjoyed it.
Dinner was in the Fremantle sailing club that night and much hilarity, especially when Rita told Frank to get up and sing the song he had written for the Dockers football team. He was rather embarrassed but did it in good spirits and apart from Grant telling him not to give up his day job did rather well.
I took some pain killers before retiring, hit the pillow and woke at 5.45 feeling much better.
The toe certainly wasn't any better but apart from that I was feeling good.
Frank, Bob & I had a coffee at the club mid morning and then lunch before getting ready to set sail at 2pm. The wind was rather high all morning but it was predicted to lessen later, so we all set off on the return trip. Another motor sail, but Kat & Dan were closer into shore and said they had a good sail. The swell was quite high and at times the coast was blocked as a large swell passed.
Kat & Reid were on the jetty to grab ropes and help us as we came in and then it was happy hour to celebrate another lovely weekend.

preparations for the Fremantle cruise.

Had to wait this morning for a front to pass over before heading to the boat. It was quite rocky when we boarded and had a bit of trouble telling my head that it was all in the mind.
cleaned the cupboards and restacked everything while Frank scrubbed seagull left overs off everything they could possibly leave their left overs on. Someone in the marina is obviously feeding the seagulls on Olives as most of their doops have olive seeds in them. Thankyou whoever is doing that dastardly deed.
The weather fined up and it turned out rather nice apart from the chill setting in around 5pm.
It was then a rush to get home, gulp a bit of tea down and head to the club for the monthly meeting. (we have given up on the over expensive meals at the club and not really good food. A few vegies along with the main would be rather nice.)
Tomorrow Frank will be helping Grant Pitman out on his boat, diving to check the hull and prop, then onto Mindarie to do ours. Reid on Sadiquie Ra has offerred two bottles of wine if he will check their boat while he is in the water. So that's the plan as well to check their prop and see if it isn't clogged up with little sea creatures.
I will be doing the food shopping for the weekend sail to Fremantle, then we will spend the night on board so we can be up and on our way by 6am. Bob will be joining us for the weekend as well and will come after dinner tomorrow night.
The weather is looking pretty good. 27deg on Saturday and 33 Sunday but very little wind so will possibly have to use the old iron sail for most of the way.

Fremantle here we come

Well finally we are getting prepared to do a weekend sail to Fremantle. Tomorrow will be on the boat getting everything ready for the weekend. The prop needs attention so Frank will be diving down and cleaning that up.
Lots to do to get ready as we haven't been on board or done any sailing for quite some time. The first big job will be removing all the sea gull doops on the deck and bimini's. It has been suggested that we change the name of the boat to Johnathon Livingston seagull. No doubt they will have re built the nest that we destroyed the last time on board. So there will be some very unhappy seagulls this weekend.
It is the first time we have sailed to Fremantle since we bought Meridian 11 from the Fremantle sailing club, so it will be interesting to see if she is recognised by anyone who knew her when she was penned there.
She certainly looks a lot better than when we bought her as she has had a complete face lift with her paint, new bimini, spray dodger, seats and steps.
So hopefully the weather report that has been issued stays the same and we have a very pleasant sail.

sailing season

Well the new sailing season is upon us, now all we need is the weather to go with it. So far this spring it has been more like winter, rain, wind, freezing cold, simply put, not nice.
On Saturday we went to the boat for a few hours and rather disgusted at the amount of seagull droppings all over the boat, they had even painted my step stool that I use to get on board.
Dan & Katrina are thinking of changing our boat name to Johnathon, (Livingston) due to the amount of bird doops all over it.
Sadly we have some lovely cray fishermen in a boat near us who leave their left over lunch out for the seagulls to finish off, so they think we are a friendly lot. Bird nests have been built on a few boats and one in progress on the bow of Meridian 11 which quickly became dismantled when Frank saw it. A few eggs got lost over board and one very unhappy seagull who I am sure squarked some good Australian verbs at the offender.
Dan & Kat came for a coffee and one of the other guys on our finger who has a lovely catermaran. It cullminated into a very lively and hilarious discussion on eliminating seagulls.
We watch the weather window constantly for good days and Frank has bought a hoodie so he can dive and have a look at the hull and not freeze to death.
The next job is to do the antifouling and joy!!! Frank has agreed to put a gate for me to get on board more easily. I think he capitulated because he found that his shins were always getting barked when jumping on board, but that's ok, so long as it gets done, I'm not too worried if it wasn't done for me.
So here's to praying for some lovely sunny days and calm seas and I might even give in and go out on our own just to make the Skipper happy.

checking the sails.

After four weeks away we made a quick visit to M2 for Peter Carstens to check the sails. He wanted to go out for a quick sail so he could check everything out. So it was a mad scramble to make everything ready for sailing.
A rather choppy sea and certainly not my idea of perfect sailing, especially with the men sorting sails out, so it was tacking and healing and all sorts of manouveurs which made it rather uncomfitable for yours truly. My idea of coping with all this crashing and banging is to go below, stretch out on the couch and not see what is going on. I rather like the feeling of the boat when I can't see all the goings on.
Then it was back into the marina and Des and Kat on the jetty to grab ropes. Time to put the billy on and have a cuppa to calm my nerves.
We did a one day sail with Grant and Ann, Bob and Ross and Katrina earlier on and it was a beautiful winters day and perfect sailing conditions. As I have never sailed in the winter months it was a great learning for me to see just how nice the winter sails can be. Certainly not with the storms and high winds, but definitely on the mild sunny days that we are lucky enough to have.
Now it is time for the clean up after being away for four weeks and the birds using it as their roosting place.

another night and a beautiful curry

Still on board, as happens with the boating life, don't make hard and fast plans. Dan rang to invite us to Camelot for Sundowner. It was getting rather airless down below with the hatchs shut and heater on, so I went for a walk to clear my head. Reid from Sadiquie Ra popped out and asked if we were staying over and invited us to dinner on board. So after our Sundowner on board Camelot we all went to Reids boat for a beautiful curry dinner that he had prepared. It was the first time aboard Sadiquie Ra and what a beautiful boat. One you have to see to appreciate. I could definitely find it easy to live aboard that vessel.
It was rather late when we left there so too late to go home and definitely not a good idea to drive, so back to M2 and another night on board. As we only planned on an overnighter I didn't have another change of clothes, so am feeling rather feral at this stage and looking forward to going home to a hot shower and a change of attire.
Rather windy up on deck so we are spending most of the time down below just relaxing and doing nothing much.

stay over on M2

Overnight stay on board M2, Dan and Katrina joined us for dinner. Cold and windy outside, but snuggled down below with the heater on, lovely music so we are feeling very cosy.
Looks like storms are headed this way in the next day or two, so will go home tonight.
Its been lovely just vegging out here with little to do but play on computer and eat. All good things must come to an end though and home is calling and lots to do there.

loving the location

Settled into the new pen, we spent the last two days on the boat and it was lovely having a better outlook, especially as the day was absolutely perfect, sun shining, water like a mirror.
Kat came and had a coffee with us when we got there yesterday, Derek and Lorraine arrived later in the day. It is such a little village on that jetty, and often spend the day catching up with others instead of doing the chores that we came there to do.
A home day today for me as tonight is the end of season dinner and the changeover of Cruising Captains.
That is going to Dan and Kat, so we wish them well in that position and look forward to seeing what they have planned for the next year.
So another week passes and next week looking forward to spending more time on board the good ship Meridian ii.

changing pens

Today has been shifting pen day, we are now located 2nd from the end next to Peters Cray boat. Hopefully it keeps smelling sweetly.
Arrived at Mindarie to have coffee with Roger, Julie, Grant and Katrina. Roger and Julie had already arrived and were hanging out for some caffiene,
We all huddled up down below with the hatches battened down as the wind had a real nip in it.
After coffee, Grant helped Frank get the Hooker organised and he went below to change the small anode on the rear of the prop.
The water was only about 12 deg, so happy to have a wet suit and Rogers cap to ward off the chill,
Then it was time to organise the ropes in the other pen and move Meridian ii around there. All done with the minimum of fuss and now she is settled in her new abode.
Heated up some soup for the guys to warm them up and then Grant said his goodbyes to go back to his Canadian visitors.
Roger and Julie preparing to leave Mindarie as I write this. so will go up and wave them goodbye.

Back on line

Temporily back on line, thanks to son loaning me his wireless thumb drive.
The boat and hubby still down in Bunbury, the transmission has been repaired and re installed but he won't be able to sail back until Thursday next week as Bob can't make it until Wednesday.
Tuesday there is an expected blow of 35knots so he has managed to get a temporary pen at DPI as it won't be very comfortable in Koombana Bay.
So it looks like being Thursday before they set sail and if they stay overnight at The Cut in Mandurah it will be Friday night before they arrive back in Mindarie. So hopefully they will have good winds and conditions so they can sail back and not have to motor.
Rather a blow having this go wrong, but I guess M2 is getting on in years so it is to be expected things will need to be replaced. By the time we have finished she will up for another 20 plus years.

home alone

Well I am home alone, finding it a little difficult to deal with no internet, so thanks daughter, for a loan of hers.
It could be another 10 days before the boat is able to be bought back to Perth, so will just have to be patient.
Beautiful weather, so not hard to just enjoy this lovely sunshine, but we do need rain.

Last day on board for me

Sitting on M2 while the guys are off for their walk, coffee and I think hubby is shopping for clothes.
Laura is arriving at midday to pick up Bob and I and we will return to Perth while Frank stays with the boat until the transmission is repaired.
Yesterday we had lunch with Graham, Ruth and Carolyn and then went back to their place while Bob and Frank went to view the insides of the transmission. Definitely need a new one after viewing the corrosion on the old, so a job very much needing to be done. A very expensive little trip to Bunbury, but happy it happened in open water and not while we were trying to reverse into our pen.
I will be leaving the wireless modem on the boat for Frank to use while he is down here, so will have limited access to internet for the next week or so.
Making the most of it now while they are away, as in an hour will be packing up to head to shore.
We called into the Koombana sailing club on our way back last night for some light refreshments and ended up having the Friday night fare of fish, chips and salad. Quite a good meal for $12, come on Hillary's, this is the type of meal we would like when going to the monthly meeting. Not A La Carte at exhorbitant prices and no vegies to boot.
Frank was a bit ticked as he was going to cook us Spaghettie Bog, but I managed to convince him that fish and chips and no washing up was a pretty good deal, so both he and Bob caved finally.
We met another couple there who were from the Hillary's club but have their cat moored at Bouvard.
So apart from the malfunction of the transmission and some rocking and rolling when the large tankers are leaving with the tugs it has been quite a pleasant stay. I am part sorry to be leaving and heading home, but am convincing myself it will be nice to have a week to myself and the ground will be staying still.

day 4

Black clouds on the horizon today, rain arrived around midday so we closed the hatches and cosied up down below. A slight thunderstorm but nothing too bad. It passed later and when things had settled somewhat Fran and I took the dinghy and went to Coles for some bread and a few things we needed.
Fran got the BBQ out and cooked up some snags for tea, I made deb potato and peas, a bottle of wine and it was a feast.
I think we are getting more relaxed as each day passes and just happy to veg out on board.
Today we are meeting Ruth, my sister in law for lunch at Dome and then she will drive the guys out to where the transmission is being dismantled to have a look at how it operates.
Laura is driving down tomorrow and will pick Bob and I up and take us back to Perth while Fran stays with the boat. I have mixed feelings about going, but guess it is easier to do this that get up at the crack of dawn to catch the train back in a couple of days.
If I didn't have appointments back in town would just settle in and stay until the transmission has been installed and running again.
The weather has been kind to us on the whole and have enjoyed this stay.

day 3

This morning we decided to go for a walk and stretch the legs, so off we went.
A lovely walk around the waterways and a stop off at  "the happy wife" for a coffee.
Dropped into the pharmacy on the way past for some plasters for my feet as they were starting to let me know they were not happy. Then across to the army desposal store to find a connection for the cigarette plug on the boat for our mobile charging. Came out of there of there minus connection, but a water proof jacket for me and waterproof dilly bags. The connection was found in another store so we continued on. It was decided that I would sit by the inlet and they would go and get the dinghy and pick me up. Had a lovely chat with a lady who was also resting her feet, then Fran was back with the dinghy. Another couple were sitting in their boat having a cuppa when we went to leave and invited us on board to join them for a cup of tea. Introduced ourselves and chatted for awhile, then decided we had better go and pick Bob up from the sailing club before he got concerned that we had sunk and come to grief. So said our goodbyes and thankyous to Peter and Lyn our new friends and back in the zodiac. Got absolutely drowned going under the road bridge with the tide roaring out and the wind picking up the waves and as luck would have it, Bob had the bag that had my waterproof jacket in it.

Transmission problem

We had motored the last 6 hrs as the wind had dropped and the guys were sick of going no where fast. When they started up the motor and put it into reverse to get the higher ratio the noise it was making sounded like they had hit a reef and were trying to free the boat. I came up on deck fully convinced that this had happened only to be assured we were not, so returned to the bunk to try and get some sleep with the iron sail roaring in my head.
It was when we were setting the anchor Bob realised we didn't have reverse, so after we had settled he thought it a good idea to check out the transmission. Not a good story here, looks like we need to ring someone who can come out and have a look and tell us the sad news.
It was sad news, so we will be staying here until they have located parts, might have to access them from Sweden if they are not available here and it will be approximately 10 days before it can be fixed.
In the meantime the boys had got the kayak off and were having fun on that, decided it was too cold to swim, but with two boys on a one man kayak it took three minutes and they were both swimming.
They then spent most of the morning roaring around in the zodiac doing what boys love doing.
Lyndon and Cherie rang to say they would be arriving in an hour and a half. They arrived and there was no zodiac to pick them up as the boys had dissapeared, left phones on the boat, so couldn't contact them, fortunately they appeared and saw the parents so picked them up and ferried them out to the yacht.
Lunch over it was time for them to pack up and head back to Perth, so we bid them farewell and settled into being just the 3 of us on board.

The best plans of mice and men

The plan was to sail to Bunbury with Grandson and his friend and do an all nighter with them doing shifts, two hours on, two hours off. Bob came with us to help out, he was to have Tyson (grandson) and Fran was to have Henry (Tyse' friend). We left Mindarie at approx 9am and had a pretty good run, good winds until mid day or not long after, then on with the iron sail. The boys helped out on the Helm for a good bit of the time until I started being the grandmother and felt sorry for them, so took over myself which put a large smile on Hubby's face seeing me at the wheel.
Then as young 15 nearly 16 yr old boys are apt to do, they decided to cook noodles, so I handed the wheel to Bob so I could show them how it all worked. They then retired to the v berth with cheesy noodles and ipods. That was the last we saw of them for quite a while until two rather pale faces emerged saying they didn't feel all that good....hmmn. I think the cc's and the dip finished them off.
The wind was up again and so blissful silence reigned.
As the night closed in talk was about who would go and have a sleep before their shift. Both boys dissapeared, I don't think that was the plan. Some time later they both came back up on deck, Henry very quiet and pale.
Wrapped in sleeping bags they curled up in the cockpit, so Bob went off to have a sleep. Then Henry emerged and had to run for the side, didn't quite make it, clean up job when we arrive.
So over a very long night of tacking back and forth which the boys participated in quite well, we rocked and rolled, pitched and bucked, tried to sleep with no success, every time they tacked I had to change sides so I didn't get hurled out of the bunk.
Finally morning arrived after the longest night of my life, and there were two very weary older guys manning the helm and keeping watch while two teenage boys had a very lovely peaceful sleep.
Well it was a good try, but guess boys of that age don't think much of sitting up all night staring into the blackness. I now have a more indepth regard and appreciation for youngsters such as Jessica and Jessie.
We arrived in Koombana Bay to a beautiful clear day, blue skies and water.

Rockingham stay

Rockingham

We slept on the boat on Thursday night, Ross joined us for dinner and Bob arrived a little after seven pm. Frank told them that he wanted to be away by 3.30am and Bob believed him. He was up at 3.20 thinking he had slept in. The skipper was still in bed snoring much to our disgust but was soon up as preparing to get underway. We left at 4.30am, I went back to bed and tried to get a bit extra sleep but with all the banging and crashing around on deck gave up, so joined them.
A nice breeze to help us along until we reached Hillary's and then it died, so on with the iron sail. In the distance we could see another yacht and was wondering if it was one of the Hillary's crew heading to Rockingham. As we got closer we realised it was Camelot, so of course it was then on. Of course cruising yachties do NOT race, they just tweak the sails a little. We caught up to them with the help of the motor of course and had some fun seeing who could outdo the other. Finally some wind so we were able to kill the motor and once again, blissful silence.
I took a heap of photo's of Camelot as she was sailing and have to say she certainly looks beautiful in full sail. We passed a huge ferry as it came down the shipping channel, Camelot on one side and we outside the shipping channel on the other side of her.
Grant and Ann in Coco and Brendan and Jan in Vaninna arrived in Rockingham later in the afternoon. We anchored neared the silo's as there was a regatta on that weekend and couldn't get a mooring out from the sailing club.
It was a great weekend with walks together, coffees and a bbq tea on the beach, then the last night it was dinner at the club.
We, along with Brendan and Jan shifted to a mooring for the last night as a fairly strong wind was forecast for that night and we were a little concerned about getting back to the yacht late at night.
A fitful nights sleep after unwisely having a coffee after dinner, up at 5am and prepared to sail back to Mindarie. Bob suggested Frank put the main up while on the mooring and sail off it which he did with great success.
Apart from hitting the doldrums near the shipping channel we had good winds all the way, so had no need to put the motor on.
It was rather amazing watching a submarine slowly moving down the shipping lane and off into the distance. Not a thing we often see around these parts.
We were back at Mindarie by 3.30 and after a cold drink and a snack Bob and Ross said there goodbyes and left us. We were feeling rather tired, so decided to have tea on the boat and sleep here tonight.

So another lovely weekend gone and hopefully not the last.

Rockingham preparations

This week it is all preparation for the sail to Rockingham with the club. We plan on leaving Friday morning and Dan and Katrina will be doing the same in Camelot. It is the March long weekend here, so will not be returning until Monday which gives us a nice four day break. Bob has put his hand up to come along with us and also Ross from sea rescue, so it looks like I will be galley girl again feeding the men. Not too worried about that as it is good to know we have some experienced sailors on board, so if the sea conditions aren't the best I can go below and hide under a pillow.
The following weekend looks like being a rottnest trip as Lyndon, Cherie and the kids want to do a weekend over there again.
The weather in Perth has been horrible, real Pt Hedland weather, steamy and hot, so have spent most of it indoors or in the pool. It has been too hot to do any maintenance on the boat. We will probably have to leave any of that and most of the preparation to late in the evening when it is cooler.

The return trip

Well here we are, back home after a very mixed week. The blow lasted three days, the first night was paranoia, the second night was....this is just xyz uncomfortable, the third night I was so exhausted I fell into my bunk and didn't hear a thing, woke at 6.30am to hear the wind still howling. At this stage I was rather over being thrown around and rocked up and down so it was into the tender and to shore.
We had some rather hairy rides in the tender tooing and froing between the boat and shore, but became quite proficient at getting in and out of it in very ordinary conditions. On Saturday night we went over to the clubhouse for dinner and were interviewed by the local paper, so we had our photo in the South west times. We are hoping someone will send us a copy of it as a keepsake of our week down South.
The other yachts came back from there Busselton trip and it was good to catch up again.
It was a rather social week with the yachties, family and friends so it all went too fast.
Once the weather fined up we used the zodiac to do our shopping at Coles and to go across to Dome to meet up with our sister in law Ruth for lunch. Ed and Barb, friends of ours met us there as well. Dolphins are always in the bay and it was lovely to have them escort us across to Dome.
We had a chinese meal with Ed and Barb one night and to our great amusement Ed emptied his crock shoe of a pile of rice that had landed in it onto the table. Barbs comment was that she can't take him anywhere.
We joined the other cruising people there on another night to enjoy a banquet dinner with them all.
When the weather fined up  it was bliss to be able to swim off the back of the boat and relax after the beating we got, and as is always the way, just starting to relax and enjoy and it was time to weigh anchor and head back.
The first day we sailed to the Cut in Mandurah and moored there for the night. As we neared the cut we reached 8knots which put a huge smile on Als face. After the many times I have been anxious about sailing, I sat on the back seat and just marvelled at how M2 was in her element in these conditions and could only have the greatest admiration for a beautiful old girl who was doing what she loved best. It was very hot when we arrived, so persuaded hubby to take the tender off the back so I could have a swim. Alan, who was helping us sail back also jumped in too cool off. Not the best place to swim no doubt, but when you are hot, who cares. It was delicious in the cool water.
We also had another friend on board, Ed Stuart who has never sailed but wanted to come with us and experience it.
Frank cooked us a lovely steak for dinner, I heated up mushrooms, made deb potato and opened tins of peas and corn. All washed down with a 10 year old bottle of red donated by Ed. Desert followed and then all fell into bed after a fantastic sail and dinner.
Up and about at 5am to untie and head off for home. What can I say about that sail, flat sea, perfect wind, so breezing along at around 6knots. The only time we put the motor on was past Garden Island to get us to the shipping lane. Then it was back to blissful silence again for the rest of the trip.
We were priveleged to pass close by the Queen Mary 2 as it was arriving at Fremantle. What a beautiful ship! So lovely to see her being escorted in by the pilot boats, what luxury that would be on board her.
Our arrival at Mindarie was estimated to be between 4 & 5pm, but with the wind conditions near to perfect we were there earlier. I took the helm for the last bit and then the dolphins arrived and escorted us the last bit of the way. As Alan said, do we really have to go in here, maybe we could miss the entrance and keep going and I really had to agree, it was such a fantastic trip.
We are hoping for a repeat of this in about 4 weeks, so can only hope it will be as enjoyable as this trip was.

Bunbury stay

Frank & Bob sailed to Bunbury on their own, I drove down with Bob's wife Laura and spent the three days waiting for them to arrive in their caravan at Koombana RV Park.
The weather was pretty awful and it took them three days to get here, They moored on a Fremantle mooring at Woodman Point to wait out a blow. Thankfully Bob is still a member of the Fremantle sailing club so they were able to do this.
They arrived Tuesday afternoon and anchored outside of the Koombana sailing club. There were quite a few boats already anchored here as the Fremantle, Hillary's and South Perth clubs were doing a run to Geographe Bay.
That night we went and had a catch up with them all at the club and then back to enjoy Lauras dinner which she had prepared earlier in the slow cooker. Then it was in the tender and fight our way back to the boat. A very bumpy wet trip and was a little concerned for my cases as the water was coming over the front, but we made it back without them getting too wet.
A good nights sleep and then we headed over for showers and to meet Bob & Laura to go back for Lauras brothers funeral. That was a huge funeral and a wake after with a large number of people.
Thursday was shopping day, we checked out the spud shed which was pretty good but unfortunately didn't sell meat, so after we got back, Frank and I went in the tender to Coles to pick up meat and a few other bits and pieces that we would be needing.
My neice contacted me and as they were out fishing came back to the boat and we enjoyed a catch up with her and her husband.
Then what a night, the wind hit and we spent a very uncomfortable night on the boat with over 30knot winds howling and the boat pitching and rolling. Woke at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep, so lay hoping that the anchor was well and truly bedded down. I moved into the saloon and spent the rest of the night there which was better as I couldn't hear all the banging and rattling like I did in our aft cabin. Finally dropped off and woke again at 8.30 with the wind still howling and the boat still pitching. It looks like it won't be abating for some time so will have to grit our teeth and ride it out. We have given up on the idea of showers at the club as it would be too difficult to get into the tender and battle the wind.
Thank heavens for a very substantial anchor which held and kept us in the same spot all night. Luckily I had a new prescription of stemetil on board so that helped with the nausea.

Biancas dying moments

A front came over Mindarie around 2.30 pm, very nasty little one and did a lot of damage further across the city. Northam copped the worst with roofs gone and lots of damage.
After it passed it settled down again and the temp reached 41deg which was extremely uncomfortable on board. So we headed to dome and airconditioning to have some lunch and cool off.
We finished packing up, taking the bimini cover off and I left the boat so Frank could reposition the ropes and move her further off the jetty. The marlon board at the rear needed to be away from the jetty in case it jammed underneath.
It was interesting watching small boats coming in to be put on trailers and seeing the surging. The water would rise a couple of feet over the boat ramp jetty then drop again.
At home it was extremely steamy so jumped into the pool to have a cool down.
Biance fizzled out to be a tropical low, but on her way she battered Geraldton and Bunbury copped some high winds. So now all we have is another steamy day to get through and hope this is the last one we have to face this season.
With the little we faced it certainly gave a little reality to the people in Queensland and what they have gone through and our hearts go out to all those who have lost everything.

Birthdays, cyclones and a lovely cod.

A very brisk sail for my birthday, another stopover at Hillary's and dinner at the club to celebrate. Brendan & Jan met us at the boat to celebrate my birthday which was lovely of them.
Terribly hot, humid and yukky, with the news that cyclone Bianca is heading down the coast. We left Hillary's at 11.30 to head back to Mindarie with a head wind all the way, so it was motor all the way bashing into it. Frank showing Bob the track back to Mindarie that he takes which at times gets pretty shallow but quite safe.
It was the sort of weather that you stop worrying about what you look like and just dress to keep cool. The sun was fierce and could feel it burning into my back as we motored along. It was actually a great trip back, I sat on the rear seats and enjoyed the rocking and admiring the colour of the water as Meridian ii pushed her way through it.
A sighting of sharks as we passed Mullaloo beach with the Westpac helicopter following them and hovering over, only a few people swimming at the time.
A perfect reversing into the pen as there was no wind in the marina. Made her secure and then Bob collected his gear and bid us farewell.
Activity on the marina in view of the cyclone heading down and it would appear we were in its path, as well as Bunbury. So emails were being sent out for everyone to properly secure their vessels.
Jarrod from Stormy came to sort the boat out and as he was leaving gave us a beautiful freshly caught cod. Gary, Rae, Katrina and Dan came to help us eat it. Frank bbq'd it whole and it was absolutely delicious.
We retired at 11pm feeling extremely tired and were rudely awakened at 5am with a loud bang and pelting rain. Of course all the hatches were open so it was a mad scramble to shut everything down. After which Frank went back to bed and I sat up waiting for the worst to happen.
It was just a front passing over so I fell back into bed and woke at 8.30 to another hot, steamy soupy morning.
Grib files tell us it will pick up around 8pm tonight and then increase tomorrow, so in the mean time, we batten down, do all that we can to ensure the safety of the boat and go home to batten down there as well.

day sail & Dolphins

We did a day sail on Saturday with the family and friends. What was supposed to be an ordinary sailing day turned out to be perfect. 12-13 knot winds and gentle swell. We have decided to ignore the weather information as the days they have said would be a no sailing day turns out to be the best.
The young grandsons friend who was on board decided he didn't like being rocked around and wanted to go home. Thankfully he fell asleep and woke up feeling a whole lot braver and as they always do, a very welcome pod of Dolphins escorted us into Mindarie which made him forget that he didn't like being rocked around. He now thinks it is awesome and he has news for when he returns to school. Will be rather funny when Grandson and he give the same news, but then maybe something more exciting will happen before school starts again and the Dolphins will be forgotten.

stop over at Hillary's

We sailed, or should I say, motored 25% of the way, to Hillary's on Thursday morning. No wind to speak of when we left Mindarie, then up she came to 21knots. We were doing over 6knots with just the main up. We arrived just as the Thursday morning race was finishing and all the mains being dropped along with ours, then into the relative calm of the Hillary's marina.  We followed "Sana ii" in and waited for "Sally Mallay" to berth as she was in the pen near the visitors jetty. The plan was to tie up on the visitors jetty, attend the cruising meeting that night and spend the night there.
As we were tying up "Coco" followed us in to tell us there was a pen near them, but as we were already tied up decided to stay where we were.
Bob had joined us that morning to sail down with us and was staying over as well. As he said, it would remind him of old times when he would go and sleep on his yacht years ago.
We were greeted by the "Maitre D" of Pinky's to see if we would be needing lunch. Always makes us feel like visiting VIPs.
The racing fraternity all gathered at Pinky's for their after race catchup, so we went across and joined them for a drink. We then returned to M2 for our lunch which Laura had very kindly made for us.
A walk across to Hillary's Marina to get Bob some crock thongs, then back to boat to get cleaned up and ready to join the mtg that night.
A very good meeting with Dan & Katrina giving us a glimpse of their crossing of the Tasman, then a couple of others giving us a view of their trips. Time then to pack up and back to the boat with Rita, Brian, Grant and Ann joining us for coffee.
It was midnight when we retired to our bunks, a bit difficult to go to sleep after a few coffees through the day, but finally nodded off.
Woke in the morning to the tide having dropped a couple of feet and what had been an extremely easy exit from our boat to the jetty became a challenge for me. Managed it with a little help from hubby and offered thanks for floating jetties at Mindarie.
It was motor all the way back to Mindarie, I was feeling rather tired, so climbed into my bunk and lay enjoying the motion of the boat. Absolutely no wind when we came into the marina and Meridian ii behaved herself beautifully while being penned stern first. Then it was coffee pot on and a batch of muffins into the oven to celebrate a most enjoyable couple of days.

Back home again

After spending five days on board, we are back home again with all the chores of a home staring me in the face. It doesn't take long to realise that living on a boat is so much easier than living in a house with all the extras that go with it. Floors to wash, furniture to dust etc etc. What takes 15 minutes on a boat takes me all day in a house if not all week. I made the comment that the longer I live on a boat, the less I need a house. I wonder how I would feel about this if I didn't have the house back up. It could make a difference. Just know that walking through the front door and seeing how much needs to be done here I wanted to flee back to the boat.
I think the most enjoyable thing about boat living is the village atmosphere, here inside four walls one doesn't know what is going on outside of them and can become so isolated. While living aboard there is always someone popping by, walking past  & stopping to have a chat.
But for now it is back & forth between the two and making the most of the opportunities of having a permanent home to return to with all the modern comforts.

Day sail

We slept on board Wednesday and Thursday night. Bob & Laura arrived Thursday morning loaded up with enough food for a week.  I had woken feeling very unwell and wasn't looking forward to being rocked around, but took some medication plus a kwell and after having a bit of a lay down started to feel better. We had a coffee after they had settled all their things in the v berth and then prepared to go.
It had been raining heavily the day before and the weather bureau had forecast morning showers Thursday. Unfortunately Frank had left the forward hatch open earlier on Wednesday and with the rain we had, things had got a little damp but that was soon taken care of.
As we left Mindarie marina and into the ocean it was very choppy and windy. This kept up for a couple of hours with large swells, but as she does, M2 took it all in her stride and have to say so did I. I have this tape that goes around in my head....she heels over, not falls over. It seems to be working as I am getting more used to adverse conditions. Just don't ask me to helm. Gradually the day warmed up, the sun came out and the seas flattened. Good winds so we didn't have to ark up the iron sail.
We spent the day sailing, catching up on news and returned to Mindarie at 3pm. It took a few goes to reverse the boat in, but finally managed it. Richard from across the other finger had seen us coming in so came to give us a hand which was very nice of him. Just a young lad who sails with his dad.
Just a little aside from this, Richard and his Father John and Mother Lorraine have a yacht penned in Mindarie, they belong to the Hillary's yacht club. They are on another jetty and Beth, the lady in the office has given them access to our jetty as there are three yachts from Hillarys on ours. The Cruising club call us the Hillary's sub committee and sometimes the "Glee Club". We all often get together for sundowners and bbq's. A few sometime sail up and join us as it is quite a pleasant sail from Hillary's and a nice place to stay over.
Back to our day, it was time to relax, make a cuppa and a few snacks. Then a bubbly to salute the day.
Laura had decided she would like to return home and sleep in her bed, so after we had spent the evening chatting, they packed up and left.  So back to being just us, showers and bed and for the first time ever on M2, I didn't wake until 9am.

preparing for sail

Preparations being made for a day on the water tomorrow. Will be joined by old friends Bob and Laura. Looking forward to a catch up and hoping the weather is kind to us and this humidity goes away.