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GLADSTONE MARINA—APRIL 2011...continued |
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All went well. The sun was up, we were in the ocean, the sails were up, the weather was beaut, and the engine was about to go off. All of a sudden we had an electrical fault that forced us to shut down the engine straight away. Every time we turned the ignition on, the fault reappeared. Clearly, the engine was out of action until we could eliminate it.
There was no way we could return to Gladstone without an engine, as the North Channel requires 8 miles of motoring through a shallow, twisting channel. We decided the only option was to sail the 50 miles to Great Keppel Island, anchor there, then sail in towards Keppel Bay Marina and call up for a tow. So we set the sails |
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Above: sunrise over Gladstone Marina on the morning of departure |
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Now, back to the outboard motor service. By this time we were pretty shell shocked, so I grimaced and cringed when the service place said the next booking was in a week’s time. For a piddly Mariner 3.3 2-stroke? Oh well. At least it should be done quickly, only about an hour’s work.
The service day came and ended. I went to pick it up. “Sorry mate, not finished. Come back tomorrow.” Next day I phone at midday. “Not finished yet”. I went to pick it up at the end of the day. Still not finished, and no promises. By the third day my eyes rolled back in my head. Leanne went instead. “If I go you have to promise you’ll be happy with whatever I do,” she said. “OK, OK,” I grunted.
Some time later, Leanne reappeared. “I’ve got the motor in the car,” she said, “but I don’t trust what they did to it so I did a runner without paying.” My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I can’t believe miss goody two shoes would do that! Visions of the police form in my mind, and the inside of a Gladstone jail…
Leanne asked for someone to put the motor in the boot. A young lad did so, and since so many people were standing around inside the store waiting for service, looking angry, she just drove off. About an hour later, my mobile phone rang. Guess who? “So sorry,” I said, “She thought I’d already paid. I’ll be in later to pay.”
In the meantime we put the motor on the dinghy and gave it a good test. Not entirely happy, but it sure wasn’t going back. And yes, I did pay - $195. Ugh.
So it was with mixed feelings that we finally said goodbye to Gladstone. |
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WEDNESDAY 11 MAY to THURSDAY 12 MAY 2011.
Nice Dog, Good Dog, Please Give Me Reverse Gear Normal practice for us is to have a bit of a shakedown cruise before departing our base for the season. This year we didn’t. We motored out of the marina on a sparkling morning and an hour later dropped the pick behind a nice sandbank on the other side of the harbour. The plan was to deploy our ocean sailing gear, get our sea legs, and depart via the shallow North Channel at dawn next day. |
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THE ABORTED 36-HOUR CRUISE |