2nd May 2017 - Blue waters - Cairns - social times - boat jobs

Tuesday 2nd May 2017

Blue Water marina

Cairns Qld

We have been having a very nice Cairns interlude.

Love the pods on this big tree

Social engagements, for a start.

Last night we caught the bus to Kewarra Beach, a few suburbs up from Blue Waters.  It was such a good service - better than a taxi, really.  The driver asked us which number we wanted in the long street and dropped us off at the door.  For $2.40! 

Rosemary John Clive Pete Diana

We had a delicious dinner with old friends – ex-Tasmanians Diana and Rosemary, and their non-Tasmanian husbands John and Clive, in a beautiful house full of beautiful things.

And today we caught up with Pete and Maddie from Mission Beach, in town because they needed three things fixed/replaced; their car, Pete’s computer, and Pete’s health – he has a touch of pneumonia and is feeling very crook.  

A nice blurry photo of Maddie and me

The only thing which can be replaced is the computer; the other two will have to be fixed by experts.

Pete H and Pete S

We looked at the bus timetable but it was misleading and we had to wait wait wait for about half an hour.  It was VERY hot.  Pete stood in a shady patch on the grass and endured midgie bites; I sat for as long as I could bear it on a shadeless bench, covered in zinc cream (me not the bench.) 

The bites are extremely unpleasant.  Not as bad as in Darwin, where I thought I was going totally insane, but they are bad enough to wake us up at night.  I bought a 30-pack of antihistamines because I was horrified to see I only had one left.  NOT enough!!

As for 2XS…Pete has McGuivered the door handle, which was not locking at all.  This was very difficult.  He couldn’t just buy a new one because they don’t make them for this size/width/depth of door apparently.  But he did it.

And we pumped out the bilge in the port forward cabin – this had never been done before.  Apparently… There was a whole lot of salty sludgy water to be pumped and then sponged out.  It was a bit of a Sorcerer’s Apprentice task, neverending, and left us both looking like Mr Tomatohead.

And this afternoon Pete is negotiating with a nice young welder called Lee of Lethal Welding to see if he can fix the bits of 2XS which were damaged by Cyclone Debbie.  It’s all go!

Best news – James and Bron saw a cassowary in the Daintree!!