Saturday 11 February

A Nelson Bay Day…

We didn’t get up early.  Pete was up all night, it seemed.  First he realised the toilet wasn’t flushing properly, just about bedtime.  It took him ages, with his head in a cupboard, fixing whatever it was, with a few grievous wounds to the head and a few choice moments of very judicious swearing.  Then, way after I had drifted off to SleepyBoboLand, he was up and about again, changing the mooring ropes, with much lively scampering of feet on the deck.

When he finally arose from his slumbers, we had a big brunch – bacon, eggs, hash browns.  Pete Newman from Plan Four arrived halfway through this excessive repast.  He had plans for 2XS, involving the spare solar panel.  Within minutes 2Xs was awash with fine shavings of metal, soldering irons, two men huddled in arcane pursuits.  Pete Newman is SUCH a wiz!!  MacGuyver par excellence!

My contribution to proceedings… Well at one stage Pete H decided he had to take the dinghy in to shore, to use the facilities.  And could I please pop his life jacket into the boat for him, thank you very much.  I found it and dropped it lovingly into the little boat…oh dear splishy splash it went, into one of the puddles lurking in the bottom of the boat…it had been raining bountifully… Pete’s life jacket is a hi-tech model which, I discovered with a mixture of alarm and amazement, inflates at high speed at the least hint of…moisture…dampness…puddles in the bottom of the dinghy… Was Pete alarmed, amazed, charmed?  Well no…he was very very unimpressed.  I haven’t seen such a look on his face since the day, about four years ago, when I dropped two bottles of gin into the briny, never to be seen again.  (It is all actually very annoying because these life jackets inflate once and once only, whcih is probably why Pete was so...ummm...cross.  We have to buy a new gadget to get it back up to speed, and the lifejacket shop in Nelson Bay is – not open this weekend.)

Apart from that contribution…I sanded the other oar, and it is now varnished, Coat #1.  And then I went for a swim.  I had seen other people with snorkeling gear and I thought, good-o, fish to be seen.  I splashed in and it was all very refreshing and green and pleasant.  I swam five strokes toward the rocks and looked up… I was facing back towards the boat.  OK – five more strokes – facing the beach!  When I finally turned the right way, I was in a series of whirlpools…and then in a slipstream taking me very swiftly towards the point where, yes, there were lots of big silver bream, smaller fish, golden seaweed, rocks, oyster shells. Wheeee!!!  But where next?  Out into Port Stevens Bay, which is – I am not exaggerating – bigger than Sydney Harbour!  Not a good idea… I turned and tried to swim back to the boat – not a hope, even with my huge great flippers.  OK, swim in to shore.  This was easy but…to wade in to shore I had to cross rocks which were either slippery or covered with oyster shells.  Sigh sigh… I did it all very carefully, wobbling slightly.  Two young women (Pete Newman would have described them as being happy) were sitting on the little beach, watching me with sympathy and interest.  I gave them a brief explanation “Tide, rocks, oysters, slipperiness, can’t swim back to boat…” and they smiled lovingly as I clambered off back across the rocks and onto the beach, where I could walk back to a good position for swimming back to 2XS.

In the afternoon Pete and I took the dinghy (oar-less for the moment) into the marina, where we were allocated a place to tie up.  We were amazed by Nelson Bay – total HolidayWorld!  Whale Watch, Dolphin Watch, Party Boat, Dinghy Hire.  All go!  Subway, Hogsbreath Café, seafood restaurants, tarot card reading, apartments, resorts.  And I have never even heard of Nelson Bay… We bought a few supplies at the supermarket and made our way back home to 2XS to prepare – Pete and Leanne coming for dinner!

They have just gone home.  We really enjoyed having them here. 

Pete is watching a weirdo program – who is this interviewer?  He has David Beckham on at the moment, and they are singing Big Girls Don’t Cry together.  I am watching out the corner of my eye while I write this…

Friday 10^th February

Computer said NO yesterday but I think today I will be allowed to write just a bit…

I think I mentioned a few days ago that we were invited to dinner on Plan Four.  Well we had the MOST delicious meal.  Leanne had made “simple” salad with a “simple” vegetable tart.  The tart contained roast vegetables and lots of cream cheese… It was so lovely that when we walked past Plan Four the following day around lunchtime, I had to restrain myself from leaping on board and shouting, “I KNOW you are eating leftover tart!  Give it to ME!!!  NOW!!!”  Dessert was poached pears with some sort of caramelised pecan yumminess over the top.  Bliss!

So where are we now, and what have we just eaten – what culinary rabbit did I pull out of my hat?  We are moored safely off a beach in Nelson Bay, a little town in Port Stevens.  It is now quite light and bright, at nearly 8pm.  But when we came in, a bit after six, it was as black as could be, nearly dark.  Just after I pulled the mooring safely up, thunderbolts and lightening!  Pouring rain!  The temperature plummeted – I am actually now wearing my ugg boots… We are safe and happy, and we had a very nice, speedy trip down the coast.  And what did we eat?  Well a very un-glamorous meal…sausages and onions, mashed potatoes, steamed pumpkin, steamed baby spinach.  It was actually very nice, in its own simple way, but not Libby’s Café standard.  (Yes Leanne did have a café in Devonport, Libby’s Café, and I should imagine that when she closed it down the population of Devonport put on black armbands…)

On the way down the coast I decided to improve the oars on the 2XS tender – they are very shabby and weather worn.  I sanded one of them (the one Pete could reach and hoick out of the rowlocks) for many hours, and then coated it with a satisfying layer of marine varnish.  Lovely!  I asked Pete, in all innocence, how many coats it would need.  “Twelve,” he said, bluntly.  Oh.  So it won’t be ready to gleam and glow by the weekend, then, will it?  And the other one still needs to be removed from the rowlocks and sanded.  Many more hours of industrious effort ahead!

I went to such a nice hairdresser yesterday – Juz’s Hair Salon.  It is in a big weatherboard building along the river, all very casual and cheery.  The building used to be the post office, in days of yore.  My hairdresser du jour, Tracey, listened carefully when I told her I wanted NOT TOO MUCH cut off, and she did a very good job, all for $15.  When we got back to the boat, Pete said, “Leanne your hair looks very nice!” which made us laugh a lot… Leanne had come with me for the walk, and for a chat, but she hadn’t had a single lock of hair altered.

We walked back through Laurieton and spent a bit of time in an arty crafty shop, where I bought a most beautiful bridal gown for somebody’s Barbie.  (Unfortunately they only had ONE beautiful bridal gown, and I really need two…)  The shop lady wrapped it delicately in tissue and told us that her oldest granddaughter is 24.  When she was born, her mother gave the grandmother a book of Barbie sewing patterns…  There followed many years of fiddliness making tiny Barbie outfits.  I hope these labours-of-love have been preserved for future generations of Barbie Lovers!

Thursday 9th February

Not enough power to do a blogspotpost today

Have had haircut ($15!  This town rocks!)

Pete and Peter have MacGuyvered new solar panels (thanks James Miedecke and unknown deliverer of electrical wires...)

have drunk much wine with Leanne - much laughter and fun...

Off tomorrow - Port Stevens??

Wednesday 8th February

We spent the morning energetically and industriously trying to put 2XS up on a sandbank, again, so that Pete could fiddle around with the gearbox again, just a bit of minor tweaking.  Peter Newman – of course – hopped on board to help.  I was very grateful that he was there because Pete was out in the middle of the river in the tender making big gestures with his arms indicating, I think, THIS WAY, and THAT WAY.  We could see his lips moving but couldn’t hear anything.  I find these sorts of (inaudible) instructions more than a bit intimidating and confusing, so it was wonderful having Peter to turn the wheel this way and that, and to put the engines, port and starboard, in forward or reverse.  And in the end…well it didn’t work.  The current was rushing past much too swiftly, washing out all of the sand so that we might have been sitting in a big hole, not up on a firm sand bank.  After quite a few hours – well, we gave up.

In the early afternoon we went for a lovely long bike ride, right out to the river mouth, to look at the fearsome bar we had crossed a few days ago.  The river is a whirling, swirling, chocolate brown eddy, with whirlpools and rushing water going hither and yon.  The bar wasn’t too fearsome today, but...today is not the day we are leaving Camden Haven.  We turned to come back along the lovely leafy bike track which the local council have so thoughtfully provided for the happy denizens of this area.  And there in front of us was a big black cloud.  Just waiting, we knew, to dump many many litres of water on us.  It POURED!  Our valiant little bikes are used to this sort of thing, fortunately, because in no time at all we were riding through a shallow stream instead of a solid concrete pathway.  By the time we got back to 2XS we were drenched right through to our underwear.  We proved, yet again, the worth of our Tilley hats, which had keeps our heads dry and our eyes clear.

Last night we went back to the Plaza Theatre, this time to the smaller, plusher De Luxe room.  Our movie was The Ides of March, which was nowhere near as captivating as The Descendants.  (By the way, Elsa and Susan, two of my very intelligent Hobart friends, found The Descendants totally boring and annoying…)  In fact…we thought The Ides of March was…boring and annoying!

Tonight we have been invited to dinner on Plan Four.  We have contributed some oysters, which we bought at an oyster farm (Armstrongs) along the bike track.  Leanne is thrilled with the oysters, which I have already handed over, so she can arrange them on a beautiful platter (I am so kind and considerate…); Peter is less thrilled, he really doesn't love seafood - all the more for us....

We were planning on leaving tomorrow but maybe we will have another Camden Haven day, and another bike ride, rain notwithstanding.

We are, by the way, in pelican heaven.  About twenty of these gorgeous birds spend their days gliding around us, sitting on the posts right next to the boat, sailing majestically around the whirlpools in the river.

Tuesday 7th February

Happy 6^th birthday to darling Leo Thomas.  He is about to become Big Brother again, and he recently said to his mother, Katy, “Oh Mum, how will I manage next year, going to school full time, and having to look after three little sisters!”  Katy hastened to reassure him that the onus would not fall entirely upon him…

Last night we had drinks on Plan Four, with some other yachties, anchored in Camden Haven, from Hervey bay.  Nick and Erica are about to set forth on a five year voyage on their boat, Jepeda (JeffPetaDavid) IV.  Nice people.  Erica had a heavily strapped-up knee, a result of walking DOWN from the five kilometer walk to the look-out.  Oh deary me…down is worse than up…

We came back to 2XS for dinner Pete had cooked – silverside with many veggies and a particularly delicious mustard sauce.  Not your usual summer fare but…all very nice.  And filling…

We had a leisurely morning and then at 10.30 went – to the movies!  As you do!  We haven’t been to the movies for about twelve months.  Laurieton is home to the Plaza Movie Theatre, built in 1959 and quite recently renovated and re-opened by what Peter Newman describes as “some happy boys from the city.”  It is just beautiful, full of urns and statuettes and blue curtains.  There are movies nearly every day, new releases, two at a time, in the main theatre and, behind the lolly counter, the Deluxe.  We went, by happy chance, to Descendants, a most delightful movie starring wonderful George Clooney, with a cameo role by equally wonderful Beau Bridges.  We liked everything about this movie – the story, the acting, the scenery.  Life, love, drama, pathos, humour.

When we came out it was time to meet Peter and Leanne for lunch at the RSL Club.  James Miedecke drove down from Port Macquarie to join us and to pick up his bathers and towels languishing, unused and forgotten, on the deck of 2XS.  After lunch, which involved much laughter and chat, he drove us up to the lookout so we too could enjoy the fabulous view.  Well umm no we couldn’t… As we wound our way up the 5 kilometre climb the cloud came down…and down… By the time we got to the top we could see precisely…nothing!

At 6.30 we are planning on going to see another movie, The Ides of March, also starring George Clooney (well one can never have too much of George Clooney…)

Pete has been out in the tender, poking around with a broomstick on a nearby sandbar to see where we can strand 2XS once again for another poke around the bottom of the boat.

There is a lot of thunder in the background.  At lunch time we talked about the dangers of lightning – much more scary, really than crocodiles, sharks or irukanji jellyfish!  We heard about some intrepid sailors, ready to make the journey of their lives.  The hero of this story – I will call him Arthur – built his boat, carefully and precisely, over a period of years, and then discovered, just before it was finished, that he had bowel cancer.  Oh well better fix that, then.  He got sorted, and continued with his building, only to find his sore shoulder wasn’t RSI, it was the symptom of a heart attack.  Fix that then!  They did get that fixed, and they set out on their journey, only to be stopped, short, by a lightning storm which blew out all of their electricals.  Third time lucky!  By the time they finally did leave Devonport, the riverfront was lined with well-wishers, saying, “Get on your way!!”

Monday 6th February

We left Port Macquarie this morning with an additional three passengers – James Miedecke, his nephew Harry, and Harry’s girlfriend Tegan.  Tegan had never been out at sea, and I think she enjoyed her 15 nautical mile trip very much.  She lay peacefully in the nets at the front of the boat, sunning herself and occasionally sipping on some lemon mineral water with ice.  I was worried that she and Harry would arrive in Camden Haven looking like ripe tomatoes, but no; Tegan was still beautiful, blonde, unburnt (not sunburnt) when we tied up to the wharf outside the RSL.

Our trip down the coast was, for once, another Attenborough Journey.  We have hardly seen any sea life since we have been back in Australia.  There was a lone dolphin which cruised around the pier in Coff’s Harbour, but other than that, just the odd sea bird, nothing else.  But today we saw dolphins, big silver ones, and a whole school of small rays, just beneath the surface of the water.  And just off the coast, we saw what looked like a raft of dolphins, lying close together, motionless with just their fins poking out of the water.  Leanne, when we told her about this, said that this is what dolphins do when one of them is giving birth – they make a protective huddle around the mother.  How Attenborough is that??

Going out through the bar at Port Macquarie was easy-peasy, although Harry assured us it is the most dangerous bar in Australia (he has been studying for his mariner’s certificates.)  So we were taken a wee bit unawares when we came in through the bar here at Camden Haven…it was short, sharp and scary!  Pete and I harnessed ourselves to our safety lines and I herded our poor guests into the cabin and firmly shut the door on them.  I didn’t want any of them to be washed away in the surging waves!  Pete steered 2XS through the waves, trying to keep in line with the leads, and we both got a bit rush of adrenaline as the rock sea-wall loomed rather closer than either of us would have liked.

But now we are safely in a dear little village, Laurieton, in Camden Haven, up another muddy river full of pelicans and cormorants.  We are tied up at the public jetty behind Plan Four.  Peter and Leanne were at the look-out on top of the when we came in; they were holding their breath for us.  They had a horrible time coming in a few days ago; the waves were three metres and it was very much not fun.

As soon as we had tied up I made chicken salad rolls for all comers.  There was plenty for Peter and Leanne to share and we were very happy to see them again.  The Miedecke contingent scarpered shortly after – they had to catch a bus back to Port Macquarie.  Harry and Tegan had to drive back to Sydney, a four hour trip, so they couldn’t hang about.

Pete and I went for a walk into the little town once everyone had gone.  It was very hot so we had to walk s-l-o-w-l-y.  It is a very pleasant place.  All of the people in the shops are exceedingly friendly; unnervingly so, really… We bought two red pears in the fruit and veg shop, a book about road-building in the outback at a small café, and an icecream at the swimming pool cafeteria, and everyone was radiantly thrilled to see us.  We also went into the RSL club, a large and gleaning edifice about 100 metres from the wharf.  Some lovely smiling young women gave us a key to the toilet and shower facilities under the building and told us we were more than welcome to stay, for no more than a week… For free!  Usually there is a sign on these jetties saying, Stay 15 minutes maximum!!

I am now drinking a very welcome cup of tea and Pete is fast asleep downstairs, looking very happy (I checked.)  He is exhausted.  Our time in Port Macquarie was very pleasant and restful for me, with much couch-time and bike-riding time, but for him, it was yet another experience of spending many hours down in the engines getting very hot and bothered.

Sunday 5^th February

I had a lovely Port Macquarie day.  I read my (very enjoyable iPad) book on one of Andrew’s big comfy blue leather couches, much scarred by previous generation of cats.  His present cat is a slightly crabby and very pretty tortoiseshell who sometimes scratches humans but leaves furniture intact.  I also asked Andrew, idly, whether his massage chair was any good.  “Yes, certainly, have a go!” he said, swiftly settling me into its clutches.  There followed fifteen minutes of pummeling!!  I am sure I am much improved but I had no idea my back was so boney…

I certainly don’t feel boney; in fact I feel like a total boombalada, surrounded as I am by beauteous young blonde nymphs – George and Harry’s gorgeous girlfriends, Robyn and Tegan.  They are lovely girls, intelligent, polite and pleasant to be with, and I do NOT begrudge them their youth and beauty.  But I do wish I didn’t feel so very fat in their presence…

In the afternoon I borrowed a Miedecke bike and rode into town, about 4 kilometres away, along gently meandering leafy streets.  My own bike was accessible, but it was easier to hop on one ready to go in the garage.  The problem is…Miedeckes are tall!!  George (at least 6’5”) put the seat down as far as it would go but I still had to do much hopping up and down, and heaving of my leg to get it up and over.

While I was having mildly pleasant holiday adventures, Pete was…down the hatch with yet another kind and willing helper, James Miedecke, this time.  Something had come detached from the gearbox and the whole system was in peril.  It took them many hours.  James very skillfully hunted down a missing bolt (very small and sneaky) with the aid of a large magnet.  It had slithered its way across two pairs of legs and down a very small aperture; they were lucky to get it back.  When I got back from my ride, I wandered down to 2XS, and there were James and Pete, looking very pleased with themselves, but SO hot… Pete, in his bright new t-shirt, looked like a red and yellow tomato…

We have just had a most delicious dinner, prepared and cooked with love and skill by Andrew – prawns for entrée (well that was James not Andrew…) followed by marinated spatchcock with French lentils and lime and a fabulous salad with nectarines and chilli.

A few weeks ago John Miedecke sent me the following from the Mercury, George in his recent Targa accident…

TWO Targa Wrest Point cars ended up in the drink yesterday after tackling a tricky corner near Dover.

No one was injured when the vehicles plunged into the Huon River in the state's South early in the afternoon.

The Ford belongs to Miedecke's father Andrew, a Tasmanian racing legend who pulled out of Targa because of a back injury.  He gave his son two warnings before the race - don't crash and don't come second.

Oh deary me poor George… Tonight I thoughtlessly asked him whether he had been frightened – it really was a scary accident; I have seen the video footage and it was a big crash, roll, plunge, into the Huon.  “No,” he said, shortly.  “But I was scared afterwards.  After all, I had just crashed and ruined my father’s pride and joy.”  Oh deary me; poor me this time…I felt like such a klutz… But later in the evening, Harry leaned over the table and said, in very loving tones, to his big brother, “So what are you going to do next, now you have destroyed our father’s pride and joy?” and George laughed merrily.

We are leaving in the morning and will probably go not far down the coast, to Camden Haven.  James Miedecke thinks he would like to come with us for a day or two; this will be good – our third Sailing Miedecke Companion!