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Russ didn’t have any tide tables on board, so I yelled out to Leanne across the water. “Leanne, can you please get some tide tables and look up today’s tides?” She returned shortly with Garry, his tide tables, and a bunch of other interested onlookers. Everyone was grinning hugely.
“Spring low tide today” she yelled. “Only 12 cm of water above Lowest Astronomical Tide, at 3:30.”
“What’s the time now?” I called. “3:20” she replied. All the onlookers burst out laughing. It was going to be a long wait.
Russ and I had a cup of tea. Then another cup of tea. More onlookers came for a squiz. Russ and I had some deep and meaningful conversations and got to know each other a bit more. Fortunately there wasn’t much boat traffic – everyone else must have checked their tide tables. Two hours later we were finally back in his berth. Russ saw me off with a sheepish grin.
I offered to help him recalibrate his depth sounder on several subsequent occasions. But somehow he never got around to taking up the offer. He set off for the Whitsundays with a crew of three to help on the 5 or 6 day trip. As he departed I sang out “Russ, at least tell the crew there’s an error of 1 metre in the depth sounder.” “OK” he grinned. |
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COMMODORE’S CORNER |
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Hi everyone – I’m baaaaaackkkk!!!
Well, you’re probably thinking how are these two getting on, now they’re on board Masala in such close quarters?
It’s funny really as the boat hasn’t changed since we owned her last time, but we obviously have. It was like going back through a worm hole. Once all our gear was stowed it was like we had never left, except for one huge difference – we no longer end up in conflict with each other (so far!!). Our two years back on land have obviously taught us a thing or two and we are the closest we have ever been. We are both far more appreciative of each other’s needs and help each other out without needing to ask.
For example: Grant was trying to switch over a valve from the bilge to the grey water tank. He was huffing and puffing as it had totally seized and was in danger of breaking. I suggested that my hair dryer might help. In the past Grant would have dismissed this out of hand and I probably would not have even made the suggestion. Grant instead said “Well it certainly couldn’t hurt.” Although I detected a small sign that he didn’t think it would work, I dug out my hair dryer, plugged it in and proceeded to gently heat the plastic valve. I then said “Try it now.” To our amazement the valve moved effortlessly. Grant was ecstatic and I beamed as I never thought my hair dryer would have multiple purposes.
Our approach to sailing this time round is quite different. Masala is our home now and as such does not necessarily have to move. We have adopted a much more relaxed attitude and obviously plan to enjoy our cruising time but will be equally happy spending time in marinas, enjoying land based activities and socializing with new and old friends.
SNAPSHOT: LAUNDRY WHILE AT A MARINA
To help you understand what it is like to live on a boat I am going to include a snapshot section in each Epistle. Hopefully this will shed some insight into how mundane activities on land take on new significance when afloat. Today’s snapshot is about the trials and tribulations of doing the laundry at East Coast Marina, Manly, Brisbane.
Laundry is not a particularly difficult task when living in a house but it takes much planning when at a marina. Most marinas do not allow you to hang washing on your boat so you must also use the dryers. |
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EAST COAST MARINA STORIES...continued |
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