I returned to Australia on Tuesday, April 28 after a month in California, visiting friends in Santa Cruz and my family in San Diego. I hired a car and headed south from Brisbane to the Boat Works in Coomera. I brought with me a Clark Pump for the water maker and some other boat parts.
Once back on the boat, I started getting ready to recommission it. First task was to remove things stowed on my berth so I could sleep somewhere. Second was to turn on my Starlink service so I could have Internet. After that, it was a matter of unstowing things, hooking things back up, going to stores to buy provisions, getting diesel fuel and petrol, and picking up my propane tanks from the man who serviced them and then taking them to get filled.
Two days after my arrival I learned that I needed to leave the marina. My slip was reserved by someone else for the month of May. Rob, the marine mechanic who was working on my engine, put it back in working order so I could move the boat. Chloe at the Gold Coast City Marina helped me out with a slip. And Chris of Sea Spray, who had been the boat’s caretaker, helped me move it to the new marina.
I spent the three-day weekend getting final use of my rental car with errands and provisioning. I also installed the Clark Pump and some of the water maker components. Then on Tuesday, I drove up to the Brisbane airport, dropped off the rental car and met up with Pat, who had just flown in. We took the train back to Coomera and an Uber to the new marina.
On Tuesday, one of Rob’s guys, Scotty, worked on servicing the diesel motor. Then on Wednesday, Craig came to install the new membrane and high-pressure hoses for the water maker, and tested it. By Thursday morning, we were fully up and running with the water maker. All that’s left is to wait on parts that Rob’s team had removed for further attention.
It’s now Sunday, and we’ve missed one weather window as we wait on the conclusion of the motor maintenance. It’s important to get it done here because I know they will do it right, and I don’t know when my next chance will be for this level of professionalism with regard to engine repair and servicing.
While we wait, Pat has been doing his water coloring and some cooking. I’ve been doing some projects on the list. And we’ve been walking as much as we can. We’re both very ready to get started back up the coast of Eastern Australia to the Whitsundays, as soon as we have a working engine and a good weather window.
