7th June - leaving Seisia - wet mattress fiasco - croc at Margaret Bay

Friday 7^th June

Wreck bravely afloat near Red Island.

We are still on our way down the west coast of Cape York.  The wind is still very strong and yesterday the waves washed over the boat all the way from Seisia to…somewhere near Cape Verilya, where we anchored near a long beach, which seems to be a major highway for 4WD vehicles.

It was a bit of a challenging day for both of us.  Pete’s foot is causing him a lot of pain and he is taking pills, which makes him deeply unhappy – he doesn’t usually believe in taking so much as an aspro clear, so it is making him furrow his brow and shake his head as he pops nurofen and anti-gout pills every few hours.  And still he is in pain, poor Captain Pete.  And I found the motion of the sea a teensy bit uncomfortable…no I wasn’t sick, but…nearly…

So when we finally dropped anchor, wherever we are, along the coast, all I could think of was - cold shower, cup of tea…I had a quick shower on deck, put the kettle on, and strolled downstairs to get clean underwear…only to be confronted by total chaos and horror…The hatch hadn’t been properly closed (notice I am using the passive tense and not apportioning blame???) and many waves had washed in, completely drenching our bed.

So instead of lying on the couch, groaning faintly and sipping my weak black tea while Pete lay on his couch area groaning faintly and washing down painkillers with XXXX Gold, there we were, lugging the sodden mattress and bedding out onto the deck, to be Dealt With.  Salt water is NOT a good thing on a boat.  Once something has been drenched in salt water, it is perpetually damp.  So we had to rinse everything in fresh water, including the beautiful new mattress I bought in Hobart before we left, and with which I was so enamoured.   We had to peel its lovely blue cover off and wash that separately and then hang it over the railings along with the washed sheets and underblankets etc etc.  I am pleased to report we did this in reasonably amiable silence…

All of this activity had the result of completely curing me of any slight malaise. So I dispatched Pete back to his couch, with his book and a nice cold beer, and went down to construct a comforting meal.  And very nice it was too…a totally Tasmanian winter meal – meatballs in tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies.  Never mind that it is so hot up here; the situation called for emergency measures.

The good thing is…it is very hot and windy so everything has dried in record time.  We have only had to spend one night in an alien bedroom, where everything is the mirror image of the cabin we have left – very weird, trying to work out which way is up at 3am when Nature Calls…

On Wednesday when we were having our very nice drinks with Andrew and Sue, we idly talked about this and that.  Crocodiles, family, sharks, this and that.  You may be surprised to hear that they did NOT do the Blue Thong Walk at Margaret Bay.   I gather they had planned to go in the morning, but on their first evening, Sue was idly fishing of the back of the boat when there was a thrashing commotion right under her.  She saw a dark shape, and then a maelstrom of water as a very large CROCODILE wrestled the fish off her line…Now who in their right mind would get off the boat and stroll through the mangroves after that experience?? Poor Andrew was so freaked by this that he very carefully closed and locked all of the doors, just in case this croc has SuperPowers!!  And who could blame him?

The toilets at the Seisia caravan park had the following signs for Ladies and Gents:

MANGOES

NOMANGOES

clever!

Speaking of toilets…at the Seisia Fishing Club there were lots of signs about health issues, for the people in the community.  Ear infections are rife amongst the children, and there were cute pictures and rhymes telling children to:

Be deadly and blow ei nos

When I came out from my cubicle I had a brief encounter with a dear little girl about six years old, who looked at me in wonder and said, What are you DOING???  I explained I was washing my hands and she was mightily impressed and puzzled.  So maybe they need another sign saying be deadly and wash ei hands…

We lingered at bit at our anchorage, to allow a bit of flappetyflap in the strong breeze – we have high hopes of getting our bed reassembled today.  I made a cup of coffee and prepared to have a nice little session with Lynda La Plante.*   But…where was she??  And what was right where I thought I had left my reading materials??  Well…my long-neglected ukulele and instruction book…(I had had a slight crisis of confidence…)  I have been happily strumming away and making Pete guess – Shortening Bread?  Que Sera Sera?  The Quartermasters Store?  He is being very kind…

We are going a bit further down the coast today, towards Weipa.  The German boat, Forty Two (Karsten and Mercedes), was at the same anchorage and they left a bit earlier; no doubt we will be right next to them again tonight.

*For some reason I have never read her books.  But at the Post Office on Thursday Island they had a sixpack of her Anna Travis series for $24, and I thought, Why not?  So now I have discovered another perfectly good thriller writer to while away my 2XS days.  I was actually inspired to buy these books because, amongst my downloaded podcasts, I found an interview with her, and what a terrific person she was, full of self-deprecating stories and laughter.