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   APRIL 18 , 2007
MISIMA OR BUST

March 22 – 28, 2007

Alone on the boat again, and still at the pile berths in Brisbane, we reorganized the boat to its usual liveaboard mode and spent a few days completing some of the items on Paul’s never-ending “to do” list.  The completed projects included various electrical improvements, installation of a new fridge door (the old one never fit quite right), cleaning the lifelines, cleaning and polishing the stainless rails, batten chafe repair, various sewing repairs and improvements, installation of a replacement chain stripper on the windlass, installation of chafe guards on the forward lifelines, 6 month outboard maintenance, improving the holding tank pump out system, and installation of a water filtration system for our drinking water.


Improvements made to the boat are not accomplished easily.  Here is Paul lying on the galley floor and trying to reach new flexible pipe which he is trying to thread through a newly drilled hole!

 
After a few days of project completion, we decided to take a “day off” and spent a wonderful day walking in Southbank.  This is a large park area on the banks of the Brisbane River and includes a swimming and wading pool area.  A long walkway, called the Arbour, is beautifully lined with purple bougainvilleas.


We walked a lot in Brisbane and spent quite a bit of time in the Queen Street pedestrian mall.  There are several buskers in the mall, especially on weekends when the crowds are greater.  We returned to the mall three times (mostly because we kept forgetting the camera) to watch “Charlie Chaplin” perform.

 



While we were staying at the pile berths, we met people from several other boats who were contemplating sailing to the Louisiades for this coming winter season.  We say “contemplating” because recently we had learned that Misima (one of the islands in the archipelago) is no longer a check-in point for Papua New Guinea.  That left the check-in options as ones that involve going to the mainland (which we did not like due to the reports of crime towards yachties) or an island which is close to the mainland.  If we chose to check-in at the island close to the mainland, we would then have to beat (sail into the wind) to get back to the many islands of the archipelago.  What a dilemma!  We felt, at this point, that we may have to decide not to visit the Louisiades but return instead to New Caledonia and Vanuatu and finish exploring those countries.

March 29 – April 1, 2007

When Bob and Julia arrived for a few days’ stay we discussed our dilemma with them, as they are joining us aboard Bella Via for the trip.  Fortunately, while we were still making our decision, a yachtie came over with the latest bulletin from the Papua New Guinea website which announced that Misima was back on the list of check-in points.  Good news indeed.

Having finally made the decision to proceed north to Mackay and cross to the Louisiades in mid-June, the four of us visited the Papua New Guinea Consulate in Brisbane to apply for our visas.  We had no difficulty with the application submissions and were told to return in four days to collect our passports and visas.

Bob and Julia left the next day to return to Tin Can Bay (where they live on Kinta, their boat).  We will see them later in April as we travel up the Great Sandy Strait.

April 3, 2007

Our two weeks were up at the pile berths so we headed for Newport Waterways to see our friends Sonia and Trevor.  We stayed at the marina for one week and continued to work on the “to do” list.  We also had time for some fun.
Just before Easter, we went out into Deception Bay with Trevor and Sonia to watch the start of a famous race called the Brisbane to Gladstone race.  Here are Mary and Sonia sitting on the foredeck waiting for the start and enjoying a little bit of bubbly and a few snacks.  Later, we walked along the shore of Redcliffe to partake in the “Festival of Sails” which included lots of market stalls and many people enjoying the festivities.

The first leg of the race was predicted to be a spinnaker (the colourful, billowy sails) leg, however, the winds were light and on the nose.  The boats made their way slowly up to the spectator fleet and the first mark.  At the mark the boats had a decision to make about which way they wanted to head off.  Most of the boats went around the spectator fleet but this boat “Ichiban” decided to sail right through the pack.  This was exciting to watch.  Ichiban ended up winning the race.

 

On Saturday of Easter weekend, we went into Brisbane with Sonia and her eldest daughter to see a musical, “The Witches of Eastwick”.  Live theatre is one of the things that we miss the most about our moveable life aboard and we really enjoyed the performance at one of the University of Queensland’s stage venues.

Our Easter weekend continued with attendance at Easter Mass with Sonia and coffee back at her house.  We returned to Bella Via by noon after asking Trevor and Sonia to come to dinner aboard Bella Via on Monday evening.

April 9, 2007

On Monday morning, Mary’s cousin Bill and his wife Brenda arrived along with their good friends David and Brenda.  Bill wanted us to meet David and Brenda and for them to see the boat.  We enjoyed a few hours with all of them and they left after discussing a tentative fishing expedition for the next week when we would be in Mooloolaba.

April 11, 2007

We said our farewells to Trevor and Sonia and left for Mooloolaba early in the morning.  We had a marvellous spinnaker run and were at anchor by 1330h.  We have been to Mooloolaba a few times and usually anchor in the river amongst several boats.  This time we went down into the canals to anchor near the Kawana Lakes Marina where our friends, Steve and Betty, are living on their boat “JAMS”.

We spent a week with Steve and Betty and enjoyed a couple of excursions in their car.  They have recently purchased some land and will be building a house and we went to see the property.  The woods smelled heavenly when we got out of the car and we were immediately homesick for Northern Ontario.

We were also able to participate in Betty’s dragon boat practice early one morning.  Paul was able to steer the boat and Mary paddled with Betty’s team.  After the practice we went out for breakfast, then walked through the Caloundra market, and then went on a driving tour of the surrounding area.  The countryside around Mooloolaba is very hilly and beautiful.

April 17, 2007

We had originally intended to leave Mooloolaba before now, however, the wind has been out of the north for a few days. We decided to stay in Mooloolaba and wait for southerly winds. This meant that we were able to arrange an overnight visit from Mary’s cousin Bill and his friend David.  Bill and David arrived in Bill’s fishing boat, which they anchored in the river and then stayed aboard Bella Via for the night.  Early the next morning, Paul, David, and Bill left in Bill’s boat for a day of fishing. Unfortunately they came home empty handed but all enjoyed the day out on the water.

April 18, 2007

Bill and David left for Brisbane shortly after 1400h.  We have looked at the weather forecast and hope to continue heading north on Saturday.

 

 

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Fraser Island