Mooloolaba - February 2009

After a two month break in NZ, where we managed to mix some business with pleasure, we are back in Mooloolaba. The yacht is in great shape, bar some waterline scum and growth –nothing a dive and a little scrubbing won’t fix.
We manage a five minute run from where we left her in the waterways to the Mooloolaba Marina. The whole place is comfortable – way too comfortable. We know February is going to be hot and the luxuries the marina offers are so tempting….. air conditioning….hire a car….buy a sewing machine…..fresh prawns…..shopping malls…..and on we stay…….



Daryl starts a new project, that of lining the cockpit roof. It is a much bigger project than first anticipated but we are pleased with the end result…..four weeks later!!! No regrets, we have indulged in marina life for four whole weeks but the kitty has had a beating and it’s time to move on.
It feels fantastic to be back on anchor once more. We head south towards Brisbane. Whose suggestion was it to go down the inside of Stradbroke Island? We have renamed the ‘Beacon to Beacon ‘guide book to ‘Sandbar to Sandbar’. We had chosen to go down on an incoming tide but that wasn’t enough. With murky water and the tide too low we banged sandbar after sandbar. That coupled with being attacked and bitten by march flies – we were very glad to anchor up outside Seaworld. But true to cruising life we had a surprise visit from Peter and Toni off ‘Tigger’ and the trials of the day were soon forgotten. It’s always a treat to remeet with old cruising friends and catch up on travels and info. We found we had mutual cruising friends in Brisbane – Jenny and Dudley on ‘Tropical Cat’ so the next day was taking shape already - lunch all together at the local yacht club.



Wonderful. Peter and Toni gave us valuable info on the best deal to get broadband onto the boat and Dudley offered to take us to the mall to get what we needed. What a luxury to have broadband on the boat for the next six months.
We were also able to thank Jenny for the article (and photos) she wrote about buddy boating with Aurielle and ourselves in the Loyalty Islands. It was published in the Australian Multihull Magazine last year and again in the Australian Cruising Helmsman in April of this year.
All too soon we are on our way again – destination Sydney.


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