New Engine - Day 1

Up at 0600, coffee on....expecting to be lifted at 0700....1130 they finally are ready for us....Toketie once again visits the yard...and the old Chrysler Nissan makes its final voyage. With 20 knot gusts and the tide running out, it was exciting just getting off the dock! With 18' tides, the lift was higher than usual. But we managed and now are set in the yard. I spent the afternoon disconnecting all hoses, wires, engine mounts and separated the transmission from the engine in preparation for the crane tomorrow which hopefully will lift it through the skylight!

Re-powering in Mackay!

Well, the day has come....not unexpected...in fact have wondered how long our old diesel engine would last!  But working our way North, the cold mornings found us cranking her over more than usual and wondering if she would fire at all....not a pleasant thought when tucked in safely up a winding river around sandbars....turns out the compression is very low so the old girl has served her time and now we face replacing her with a new Yanmar!!  Wish us luck...tomorrow we haul out and I will take all the hoses and wires off so a crane can hopefully lift the old engine out throught the butterfly hatch over the settee...but we are committed (or should be) and see no other way of going forward than to take a giant step back (financially) and move on.....it's a funny old world...pics to follow.....:)

Mackay blues!

With plenty of sunshine and great winds, Toketie has managed to get as far as Mackay....with the infamous Whitsunday Islands just in sight....however the main GPS has been failing intermittently which is not critical as we have backup but it sure makes you realize how spoiled we are looking at the chart plotter and seeing where you are...and more importantly where all the lumps around your are!  As we are now in behind the Great Barrier Reef, there are many small islands and shoals and rocks and you need to be watching all the time not to run into any of them....also the old 'iron genny' has been cranky in the morning and not starting easily...probably just because it has been colder but since most anchorages are either up a creek or river or inside a fringing reef, we depend on the engine to get us in and out....so we are stuck in a fancy expensive marina in Mackay, trying to solve a couple of technical problems....also getting more beer, doing laundry, sewing lee cloths, etc.....and now the winds are howling 30 knots....so we read books, do chores, watch movies....and try to cope with the stresses of cruising...still beats going to the office.....:)

Coastal Cruising!

Safely tucked into the sheltering arms of Port Clinton, an abandoned attempt at loading ships and now part of the military training grounds, we can relax temporarily after three long days and rolly nights on the way North from Bundaberg!  The bay is tucked around a headland so free from the constant swell coming off the Tasman Sea.  Dolphins feed and play around us as we enjoy a 'sundowner' in the cockpit.  One other boat across the bay is our only company.  The forecast is for rain and Northerly winds, not our friend, so we plan to sit here for a day and catch up on some chores.  It has been a good three days plodding our way up the Australian East coast.  Everything from 30 knot tail winds to motoring in calms, so far stopping every night to get what rest we can.  We seem to have overcome the 'sailing blues', maybe the land travel break was beneficial, and though there are always challenges, we are enjoying the sailing once again!  We do not know what tomorrow brings but you must have a plan so our plan today is to make for Cairns, enjoying the Whitsundays and other stops along the way, then hopefully over 'the top' to Darwin and see what lies in store.  We loved Thailand so if we can get Toketie up there we would love to see more of the area.  Most boats join a rally in Darwin and sail through Indonesia.  We have chosen a path less travelled and plan to head straight West into the Indian Ocean to Cocos Keeling Island and then turn North to the top of Sumatra and direct to Thailand.  However, it is a long way and anything can happen so we etch our plans firmly in the sand and they glisten like a Sand Mandala (Tibetan: དཀྱིལ་འཁོར།; kilkhor) leading us on.....

...the pic is Fred and Lesley who made us feel welcome in Bundaberg and introduced us to so many fine people.....

"sail on Silver Girl"

It is with a heavy heart that Toketie prepares to 'go troppo'.....

Bundaberg, Australia has been a mixed blessing.....the flooding was one of the most intense experiences we have had in the Pacific Ocean!  For the third time since leaving Canada in 2006, we seriously contemplated giving up the cruising life.  But two months of land travel in Malaysia and Thailand have convinced us to give it another chance.  With all the drama and trauma in Australia though, the silver lining has been that we have met some incredibly fine people and I believe it is mostly their total acceptance of us into their lives, always being there to help us, whether machining the stripped out windless or a ride from town or the railway station....not to mention saving us on the river, that gives us the strength and courage to continue! 

But 'the time has come the walrus said' and the Great Barrier reef and points West are calling so last minute preparations have been completed, provisions have been stowed, fuel, water and all the other essentials for self sufficient living have been seen to and even the weather has finally cooperated with strong SE winds to drive us up the coast to Cairns and beyond to Darwin.

This message, however, is a special thanks to the friends for life that we have made in Bundaberg!  Through Lesley (OCC Port Officer) and Fred, we met a group of serious blue water sailors with many circumnavigations under their collective belts.  And a finer group would be hard to find anywhere!  So to Chris and Ann who bring the concept of 'mi casa es su casa' to life, to Brendan (who literally saved our bacon) and Marina, to Derek and Gill, to Phil and Liz, we can only say that just being who you are, so open and welcoming and willing to help, you have inspired us and given us back our love of this cruising life.  It's not always easy, it's never the picnic that non-cruisers imagine it to be, but it is a uniquely rewarding and fulfilling lifestyle that challenges us at every turn and makes us feel alive!  'Silver Girl' we hope to see you in Thailand next year and we will be keeping a weather eye out for 'Jorga' when your nest is empty and the call of the wild lures you to distant ports once again......rumour has it they are opening China up to cruisers :)

There are no 'goodbyes'....only farewells till we meet again.....thank you Bundaberg from david & linda!

the 'mastah' of pastah at work

while visiting friends in Canberra, we were treated royally ....the homemade pasta was to die for.....of course the 20 year old Penfold's was icing on the cake....thank you John & Masumi!

splash!

Toketie is back in the water and we are happy to feel the floor moving under us again!  We are still at the dock but keeping busy getting sails back on and a million other chores.....not the least of which is charts for what we think might be our next adventure.....stay tuned!!!

home again home again

well....back in Bundaberg....Bagarra actually....house sitting the water dragons...after a wonderful visit with John & Masumi in Canberra.....but we must confess that it feels nice not to have to pack our bags again for another expedition to bus/train/plane stations.....as for figuring out where we go from here.....that seems to still be a mystery......

Sangkran!

In the Buddhist calendar, we are beginning the year of the rabbit...2555!  On April 14, as we were driving back to Thailand from Cambodia, the festivals were beginning.  Also known as the 'water festival', Sangkran is one of the biggest celebrations in Thailand.  The throwing of water on each other signifies cleansing for the new year.  In Bangkok, areas of the city were packed with soaking wet people as the celebrations took place.  They can last from 3 days up to a week and everyone has a lot of fun.

eating and sleeping in Thailand

We are enjoying the food in Thailand!  On the streets, you can still eat for a dollar or two, not including your beer which can run another dollar.  It can be very spicy, as in the Tom Yam soups or quite bland as the many variations of deep fried pork, chicken, beef or prawns!  Noodles or rice are the staples.  The next step up from eating from the countless carts on every street and alley is the open air food courts or very informal restaurants....only slightly more expensive but you get a plastic table and chair to eat it on.  Then come the mid-range restaurants with proper seating, and likely fans or air conditioning, where you can have a meal for two for under $10, again adding a couple of dollars more if you drink beer with it.  The local beers, Singha from Singapore, Chang from Thailand and Tiger from Malaysia are very popular and the big bottles (equivalent to about two cans) will cost anywhere from 60B to 120B and there are about 30B in a Cdn dollar.  Wine is available but imported and expensive.  Phad Thai, of course, is everywhere and varies considerably in quality.  It is not hard to find Western food if you get a craving...pizza and burger joints abound. 

We have been fairly lucky with hotels although a couple were not up to standard and we moved pretty quickly.  The best way to book them seems to be online where the prices are often cheaper than showing up at the front counter.  The risk is that the pictures do not often reflect the reality.  You can find a room for 200-300B but on viewing them we never found one we could stay in.  Our tastes seem to average about 1500B or $50/night and for that we have been staying in very nice clean safe places usually with a swimming pool.  It's way over our budget but that went out the window long ago!  This is the Mei Zhou Hotel in Phuket, one of our favourites!

elephant & mahout

we did the 'support the elephant' thing and rode this old girl around the trail with the mahout.....sad really as they are chained by the leg the rest of the time and it seems only the 'big boss' really profits from it....but they are fed and working and breeding......apparently some of the other elephant riding tours are more conscientious.....

quiet time on the beach

....on Ko Lanta.....

Contemplating!

The Temples or Wats are everywhere and very much a part of the culture.

local fishing boat

This is one of many local fishing boats we saw on the island of Ko Lanta.....usually propelled by a big diesel engine on a long shaft that sat on the stern...

The Chinese Dragon!

Great statue we walk past every day.......in Phuket!

Spirit House

In Thailand every property, every Buddhist one anyway, has one of these at the corner of the lot or on larger building maybe on the roof.  It is well maintained and offerings are made daily.  The idea is to placate the spirits of anyone who formerly lived or died on the grounds...to give them a place to reside.

Humpback cow

One of the earliest domesticated animals...about 7,000 years ago in the Indus Valley of present day India.....along with goats, sheep, dogs, pigs, chickens.....from 'Guns, Germs & Steel' by Jared Diamond

Phuket!

After nine days on the island of Ko Lanta, raining most days...in fact heavy rains, flooding, squalls....good thing we rented a scooter the second day and saw the whole island....wasn't so bad though as we were due for some 'down' time...as in recovery from the bus ride from Bangkok....would have been fun in my 20s.....but at this stage....well lets just say we'll fly back....now in Phuket and we seem to be enjoying the towns/cities more lately....more to do I guess....even the hustlers can be fun....the Tuk Tuk drivers are on to you at every corner...they rarely take you where you want to go but if you want to see the gem factories, their cousin's tailoring shop or countless souvenir places....they get stamps for petrol apparently for bringing you in....once you catch on you can use them to get you around cheaply....needless to say we have seen some shrines, some beaches and some marinas....still not decided whether to bring Toketie all the way up here....life is good here...as in cheap....and people are nice....but there would be some challenges getting here so no decision yet.....found a really funky bar that was hosting jam sessions....called the 'Glasnost'....closed now for a bit as it was getting too hot....Jna who was married to one of the owners has become a friend....four or five more days and we are back in Bangkok.....internet not always convenient....more pics when possible.....

Ko Lanta beach

....the view from our resort on Ko Lanta Island.....

on the other hand....

for anyone seeking the ultimate getaway.....