MARCH 21 , 2007
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MARCH 21 , 2007 |
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| SMALL WORLD |
January 16 – February 15, 2007
We left Yamba Marina in the morning of Tuesday, January 16. Because we had originally thought that we would be closer to Sydney at this time, we booked our international flights to Canada out of Sydney instead of Brisbane. Having earlier changed our minds about where we would spend Christmas meant that we needed to take a domestic flight to Sydney. We took a one hour airport shuttle ride to Ballina airport, flew to Sydney on Virgin Blue Airways, and then stayed overnight at an airport hotel in Sydney. By noon on January 17, 2007, we were on our way by Korean Air to Canada. We arrived in Windsor after a long 24 hour flight to Chicago, including an overnight stay in Seoul, Korea. In Chicago, Illinois, we had to take an American domestic flight to Detroit, Michigan, where we were met by friends, Jan and Rod, who drove us across the border into Canada. We were glad to finally settle back into the house of our friends Ray and Ann, although Ann was off in Barrie, Ontario, at the home of their daughter who had just had her second child. After a quick reunion with Ray, we hurriedly packed our winter clothes as we left early the next morning for a ski weekend with Mary’s two sisters and their families. Of great joy to us, was the fact that both of our children joined us for the ski weekend and we picked them up at the Toronto Airport at 1000h and drove on to Collingwood, Ontario. The ski weekend was fantastic with lots of snow, good skiing, great eating, and fun times with family. Despite frigid temperatures, we all had a great time and had a wonderful start to our four weeks home in Canada. On the way home from Collingwood, we stopped for the afternoon and evening in London, Ontario, for a visit with friends, Chris and Yvette Fliesser, and their children Denise, and Brett and Sheena. It was hard to tear ourselves away, but we had to get back to Windsor and continue the rounds of visiting friends and family and appointments with doctors and dentists, etc. We had an amazing time, with all but two nights of the four weeks, spent with friends and family. It meant a lot to us to catch up with their lives and we have lots of great memories of our visit home.
February 16, 2007 Early on this morning, we started the long trek back to Bella Via. We were delayed by three hours in Detroit, Michigan, and almost missed our international flight in Chicago. It was very close, but with a fast run through the airport with all of our baggage, we made it with a few moments to spare. We landed in Sydney on February 18, 2007, to blue skies and warm temperatures. After a short wait, we flew Virgin Blue to Ballina where we again took the airport shuttle and arrived back at Yamba Marina in the early afternoon. All was well with Bella Via and it felt good to be back aboard. Unfortunately, we then discovered that some of the items from our checked baggage had been stolen sometime during the many flights. All checked luggage is now x-rayed and also hand-inspected if necessary. Because we travel back with lots of boat parts, our bags look unusual on x-ray and our luggage is always hand-inspected. We were dismayed to identify several pieces of missing boat parts and electronics. Unfortunately, a phone call to the Australian domestic carrier (where we suspect the missing items occurred) resulted in the airline refusing to do anything about this event. Fortunately for us, the insurance company with Visa has reimbursed us for some of our loss and we are going about replacing the items. February 19 – 24, 2007 We stayed at Yamba Marina for one week, dealing with airlines and insurance companies, cleaning the boat, and reprovisioning. We were getting ready for a short visit with friends from Windsor, Pam and Nancy, who were on a month-long tour of New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. In between Australia and Fiji, they would be with us for three days. February 25 – March 2, 2007 We left Yamba at 1200h, to travel the 100 miles to the Gold Coast Seaway. This required an overnight passage and when we had done this trip south in early December we had a three knot current in our favour. In December the trip took 14 hours. This time, with the wind mostly on the nose and the current against us, the trip took 22 hours. We arrived at the Seaway entrance at 1000h on February 26 and settled at anchor at the Seaworld Resort anchorage, also called “Bum’s Bay” by the yachting community. There we awaited the arrival of Pam and Nancy the next day. For Pam and Nancy, getting to Bella Via was an adventure. They took a plane ride from Sydney to Coolongatta Airport and then a one-hour bus ride to Seaworld Resort, where Paul met them with the dinghy. When they were almost at the resort, and the last people on the bus, they asked the driver about the availability of a liquor store (called a bottle shop in Australia) and he actually dropped them off at a store and drove around while they very generously stocked up on beer and wine for the boat. He also drove them as close to the beach as possible where Paul was waiting with the dinghy. They were quite impressed with the friendliness of the Australians whom they had met so far on their tour.
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Here are Pam (left front) and Nancy arriving at the boat. The conversation and laughter never stopped during the entire stay.
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We stayed in Bum’s Bay the entire three days that Pam and Nancy were aboard. We made a couple of trips by dinghy to a shopping centre nearby and toured a few marinas to look at the big yachts that are part of life in the Gold Coast. Staying at anchor in this area can be quite “rocky and rolly”, as there is no speed limit on the waterways and the big boats do not slow down when going by anchored boats. |
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By the time Paul got up, Pam, Nancy, and Mary were glued to the cockpit watching the activity, and using the binoculars whenever they thought that they could do so undetected. For most of the morning only the officials (by now Customs, Police, and Forensics) were on deck, and we wondered where the owner was. In the afternoon we saw the male crewmember on deck and he left the boat mid-afternoon by dinghy. Paul went ashore to talk to the crew but he wasn’t saying anything, and only looked very stressed. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that we finally saw the owner arrive back at the boat. Unfortunately for Pam and Nancy they had to leave Bella Via at this time to fly back to Sydney and weren’t able to stay for the finish of the drama. Slowly all of the officials left and by the end of Friday afternoon, only the owner was left on board. He went ashore by dinghy and we didn't see him again until morning. Strange! From all of that activity to nothing. In the morning, Paul waited until he saw him on deck and then went over in the dinghy to talk to him. Here is a summary of what Paul learned:
So many unanswered questions because Paul had to be careful what he asked. How did they get targeted? Why did the owner leave his boat with a crewmember whom he had only just picked up in Lord Howe Island? Unfortunately we will never learn anything more about this but it sure made for an interesting two days. March 2 – 5. 2007 We stayed at anchor in Bum’s Bay and re-provisioned and cleaned the boat for the arrival of our next guests. On one of these days, Paul took a bus ride down the Gold Coast to an electronics store and had an exciting experience. Here is an email that he sent to Brett Fliesser from London, Ontario:
“Aunt Mary and I are currently at anchor in an area called the Gold Coast. It's the famous surfing area known as "Surfer's Paradise". The city, called "Gold Coast City", located almost halfway between Sydney and Brisbane, is filled with expensive highrise hotels and apartment buildings that line the beachfront for miles and miles. The beach and breaking surf are indeed quite an attraction. Today, Saturday, I needed to take a city bus to make a purchase for the boat. While waiting at the bus stop I noticed a young man, early twenties, with a tattoo on his upper right arm. The tattoo was the outline of Canada with a bright red maple leaf in the centre. Tattoos are not something that usually appeal to me visually, but this one made such a profound statement of pride in our country, that I share with this young man, that I was jealous I didn't have one. I was however, wearing my peaked cap which proudly displays a large red maple leaf at the front. The young man was speaking with two young women of approximately the same age. I was standing close enough to recognize that all three were clearly speaking with a "Canadian" accent, or should I say, "speaking with no discernible accent what-so-ever." These three boarded the same bus as I and I sat directly opposite them. As I am sure you well know, I'm not very bashful and I immediately started a conversation. They were as Canadian as you can get. Friendly, polite, and as much enthused to hear about my travels as I was to hear about theirs. The conversation became so animated that I could see others on the bus listening in and enjoying it. We had been quite a while into our conversation before I asked where they were from. It really didn't come as much of a surprise when they said London because I'm realizing how really small this world is and how much we Canadians, especially young Canadians, do get around. During the conversation, I learned that all three are studying at Griffith University here in the Gold Coast. The young man and one of the women had just finished their undergrads at Brock. This of course led us into a brief conversation about Jennifer studying there. The two women are currently working on their Master's in education. One of the young women just finished her undergraduate education degree at Brescia College. By this time I had to ask if they knew of the Fliessers. I wish you could have been there on that bus in Australia when this young woman looked at me in amazement and said, "Do you mean Brett Fliesser?” If the Aussies around us on the bus hadn't noticed us yet, they definitely were now. In fact one young lady turned in her seat and readily joined in the conversation. We had a great time - so much so that I almost very nearly missed my bus stop! There ya have it Brett - my, "It's a Small World" story. With Love and Best Wishes, Uncle Paul
P.S. Holly Borrows says to say hello!”
End of Paul’s Letter to Brett
March 6 – 20, 2007 Pat and Brad arrived from Windsor by noon on Tuesday, March 6, and began a wonderful two weeks aboard. Pat and Brad, being long-time powerboaters, wanted to travel with us and experience all that they could about living aboard. With this in mind, we planned a slow trip up the Broadwater and Moreton Bay to Brisbane. In the two weeks, we took them to two new anchorages (Currigee and Dux) and four favourite spots (Tiger Mullett Channel, Sandhills, Tangalooma, and Brisbane River at the Botanical Gardens). We had great weather for the entire two weeks, with just one cloudy and rainy day which is always a welcome relief after heat and humidity. Here are a few pictures from Pat and Brad’s visit aboard Bella Via: |
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Brad and Paul at the helm as we travelled up the Broadwater. |
Paul taught Pat how to hunt for yabbies to use as bait to catch flathead. Alas, lots of yabbies were found but no fish caught for dinner that night. |
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Here we are out to dinner in Brisbane. We were at anchor in the Brisbane River in downtown Brisbane, just opposite the Botanical Gardens. |
It was “haircut day” for Paul and Mary and Pat asked for a trim around her ears. |
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Lunch on the run! We had a long travel day into Moreton bay and celebrated with spareribs on the barbecue, cooked while underway! |
Sunset at Tangalooma wrecks – one of our favourite places. |
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The last three days of Pat and Brad’s visit were spent at the Botanical Gardens pile berths in Brisbane. We were not able to obtain a berth as there were none available so we anchored nearby. The city of Brisbane is amazing and we really enjoy the availability of all services while being at anchor. On Sunday evening, we took a CityCat ferry ride to Mary’s cousin’s house in the suburbs of Brisbane. Bill and Brenda welcomed us for a Canadian turkey dinner, which we all appreciated very much. It had been over one year since we had a turkey dinner. On Monday when we returned to the boat from shopping and lunch ashore, we noticed that the boat had turned again with the tide and was sticking a bit further out into the channel than previously. Shortly after that we noticed that we were now quite close to a boat anchored nearby. We finally realized that our anchor had broken loose from its holding and we were slowly drifting down the river. We quickly tried to reset the anchor in the same spot, however, gave up after three unsuccessful attempts and moved further upriver on the other side of the pile berths. After finally setting the anchor, we settled down to relax on Pat and Brad’s last evening aboard. On Tuesday, March 20, 2007, Pat and Brad ended their two week visit aboard. We sadly said our goodbyes and they left with a promise to visit again in the future. By the afternoon we had obtained a vacant pile berth and here we will stay for two weeks. Our Australian friends, Bob and Julia, will be coming to Brisbane for a few days at the end of the month and will stay aboard. We will be discussing our proposed trip to the Louisiades this winter season and Bob and Julia will be joining us aboard for that passage. We have a lot of details to research and plan.
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