Hi all,
What do you know, we finally made it to Bundaberg Australia, time taken from Vanuatu to here (approx 1100 nautical miles) took one hour short of 9 days during which we experienced the usual mixture of weather en route, ranging from the now familiar mid thirties to zero knots of wind. What made this trip a little different was the fact that the weather forecasting company utilized by the organizers of the Rally, got every single forecast 100% wrong, it almost seemed as if they were 48 hours out of sync, annoying when you get flat calm instead of 35knots, somewhat exciting if you get the reverse.
Apart from that, the organization and reception given by the rally organizers and surprisingly by the Quarantine, Customs and Immigration authorities has been impeccable. The agreement reached with the Quarantine authorities regarding Rubbish is a little convoluted, but there are seven basics 1) the bird is not allowed ashore; 2) The yacht is not allowed to tie up to land, therefore we cannot enter into a Marina, so we either anchor off, or if available tie up to a mooring bouy; 3) The cage has been sealed with their official seals, ( the ones they used were made of plastic, which took Rubbish at least 30 minutes to investigate and destroy, so we now await metal ones); all waste associated with food, droppings, etc. must be collected and stored in official bright yellow heavy duty bags for collection by the authorities for incineration; 4) If we leave the yacht unattended, Rubbish must be locked down below; 6) we must inform Quarantine 48 hours ahead of our intention to change anchorage, and receive permission to do so; 7) The authorities have the right of access on the yacht at any time they deem fit, without prior notification, to check that we are obeying the rules. Needless to say each visit by the authorities is chargeable (approx $ U.S. 90 per visit).
Regarding the Rally itself, it could not have been better organized, people have been super friendly, the functions professionally executed with plenty of food and liquid refreshment for one and all. You cannot keep a good woman down, within minutes of our being ashore; Shirley was being interviewed by the local T.V station, and was prominently displayed on the 6 o’clock news that evening.
Then on Friday there was a Toad race evening, so she went and “purchased” a Toad, which then went on to win the race, in all honesty we have no idea, (nor does anyone else) if our Toad was the one we purchased, as before the race, half of them made a bid for freedom, and those that were not recaptured were replaced. Then all having been identified numerically on their bellies and raced, were found to have obliterated the identity numbers by the time the race was won, so the whole procedure had to be repeated with the numbering system transferred to the backs of the animals, and hey presto, our number 5 reigned supreme.
Since our arrival, it has been a constant run of attending of functions of various kinds set up by the organizers and attended by local dignitaries such as the local M.P.; Councilors; Port Captain; as well as Immigration, Customs and Quarantine officials, also a trip to the Bundaberg distillery and local points of interest, thankfully the distillery was scheduled for the end of the trip, otherwise the rest might have been a bit of a blur. Yesterday was a sort of unofficial holiday when the whole country comes to a halt for the running of the 150th Melbourne Cup horse race, so we all went to the local yacht Club to join in the experience, and I managed to cover the costs for the day by betting on what turned out to be the winner. As a final touch to the whole rally experience, we were awarded a prize for the most unusual yacht paint job; being the only yacht anchored off (the rest being in the Marina) our décor was akin to an oil painting, i.e. better viewed from a distance.
As the official Rally is now over, today (Wednesday the 3rd Nov.) we move from our present location (Bundaberg Port Marina) and motor 10 miles up river to Bundaberg Mid Town Marina, which as the name indicates is located smack in the centre of town, which as well as being more convenient for stocking up etc. is also a lot cheaper.
Well that’s about that for now, will write again when we have something to report.
Taffy Shirley and of course Rubbish.
