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We had moved Imagine further out into the river just before the storm. This morning we decided to haul anchor and move back to give the ferries a bit more room. It should have only taken ten minutes, not three and a half hours.

After all the times we have rescued other boats, it was now our turn to be rescued!

As usual with Sue on the helm moving the boat forward against the tide, I started hauling the anchor up. With just over 20m to go the winch started straining and getting slower with each metre of chain.

Because of the storm and the river flooding a lot of debris had come down the river. What prey tell had caught around our chain?

Sue now had to hold the boat still facing into the river current while I raised the anchor inch by inch. There it was, an old pylon (3.5 to 4m long) nicely tied up with the chain. I could see that it was at the 10m mark on the chain. This meant that the anchor was now off the bottom as we were in 12m of water.

I first tried dropping the anchor fast, hoping the chain would come loose. But no. Okay, inch it back to the surface again.

Note: For the anchor winch to work under load the engine revs need to be high to keep the voltage up. So Sue had to keep taking it out of gear and rev the motor so I could winch. Then she had to put it back in gear to get the boat back under control and face into the current.

Luckily we had previously met the young couple on the Cat anchored behind us, so I jumped in the dinghy and headed across to get assistance.

After about an hour of Andy and I tying rope around the pylon and trying different things, I decided that it would be better to get to the public wharf down river and tie up against that. I phoned Ben to come and give us a hand as the pylon was too big for the two of us to handle.

So we slowly made our way down river against the incoming tide (at .07knots). As we went past another Cat, Andy called out for Wayne to give us a hand.

The pylon was at the 10m mark on our chain this meant take away the meter of chain around the pylon we had 9m of chain and an anchor below us. Most of the river was 12m deep but coming up to the wharf it dropped to 9.5m and to make it more interesting there is an underwater powerline crossing the river.

We made it over the power cable, but 20m from the wharf the anchor hit the bottom. All we could do was drag the anchor. Full throttle and we made it to the wharf.

The crowd thought it was quite interesting seeing a yacht with a pylon out the front.

With a lot of pushing and shoving we eventually got two ropes around the pylon and tied to the wharf. Then we could lower the chain enough to untangle it. Free of the pylon we were able to leave the wharf, haul anchor and return to our anchorage before the storm. We have contacted the authorities to remove the pylon we had left tied to the wharf.

With many thanks to Andy and Steph, Wayne and two people from the crowd. Ben got caught in traffic and as we had so many people helping we told him to return home. But thanks heaps for trying to get here.

Sorry no photos we were a bit busy.

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Just letting you know we have uploaded two new videos. Check them out, Whitsundays part 3 and Coral Coast return.

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This is Nivi and Guido’s final blog entry (for the time being). 

This was the last day of our spectacular adventure. 

We have sailed through sunny, paradisiac islands and into fierce and frightening storms, always with the guidance and wisdom of Andrew and Sue.

Feeling safe, something we felt every day, as certain as the tides can be. 

This boat has been our home, and the crew our family.

Sailing has only been a part of it all, as we learned much more than that during this month.  

Seeking answers and experiences, searching for more, finding more. 

Not only has this voyage been a confirmation of our desire to sail, but Sue and Andrew’s spirit is an inspiration for future projects yet to come. 

Being this a unique tale that will not be forgotten, we say thank you. Thank you for it all. 

Happy sailing, and until we meet again.

Nivi and Guido, over and out.

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We arrived and anchored at the river this morning successfully, but that is not the part of the story I want to tell you. 

As the breeze pushed us on, passing behind Fraser Island, we heard on the radio that there was a “strong wind alert” for the zones that we were still to go through. Reading our own weather reports, we concluded – for the moment – that we could still have all our sails up, so we did. 

By the early afternoon, the wind started to increase its speed, gusting violently. Sue turned the vessel into the mighty waves, while Andrew and Guido put down the main sail. We kept on course, motoring, as the flashes of distant thunder continued to get closer, quiet, but certain. 

Now surrounded by clouds, we witnessed the sun hiding behind them, like a sea of white and orange cotton, and the night fell upon us. 

The view, a breathtaking set of flashes and purple lightning, still in calm seas, nature’s way to advise us what lied ahead, magnificent and menacing all together.

The calm before the storm. I heard this before and thought of it as an expression, but I was proven wrong. It is as real as what happened next. 

I truly couldn’t say how or when did it start, but the wind raised severely and with furious anger, struck the beam of the boat with a speed of about 50 knots. Minutes seemed like hours. Flashes everywhere. Wind howling and water squeezing through every possible opening. 

Andrew and Sue tried to put the boat in the best possible position, while Nivi and I just wondered when would it all end. 

The boat kept heeling over more and more. 

And of course, as everything happens at the same time, we could smell smoke. The wind generator, which by the way was being hit and damaged by a halyard, was overcharging the batteries. One problem solved. 

Then, we realized the anchor winch was enabled. Another cause for the smoke smell, also solved after we turned it off and Andrew went out to check where the anchor was. 

When the front had passed and Andrew managed to put the boat into position, we were wet and honestly, quite frightened. 

A true demonstration of power. 

Being in the middle of a storm cell is an experience that makes you respect the wind and the sea like no other. 

“No one’s life is a smooth sail; we all come into stormy weather. But it’s this adversity – and more specifically our resilience – that makes us strong and successful.“ -Tony Robbins

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Because of the low winds on Thursday we had to force ourselves to endure another day at Lady Musgrave. Friday morning and the winds were still light but we had to make a move, so back through the narrow passage into the deep blue sea we went. The light winds meant light seas which ment Gennaker time (The Gennaker is a large light weight sail). A few hours later the wind increased and we were sailing with the head sail and main sail.
During the night we crossed another shipping channel. This time with minimal stress. Saturday brought more of the same as we sailed passed Fraser Island heading for Brisbane. Late in the afternoon and into the night the wind increased to 25knots and changed to the wrong direction and the skies were not looking good. We weren’t far from Brisbane shipping channel entrance so we dropped all sails and turned on the motor.
We were now close enough to get internet reception. We downloaded the Brisbane weather to find a group of storm cells terrorising the coast and coming our way. The first two passed by putting on spectacular lightning displays.
But the the third one rained its fury on us. The rain was bouncing off the deck so heavy you could only just make out the bow. The lightning was lighting up the cabin and the concerns on Guido’s, Nivi’s and Sue’s faces, as they recalled the shipwreck movies they have been watching lately. The sound of the thunder and howling wind was incredible. A waterfall came through the partly open hatch soaking everyone. Even with the brake on, the wind generator spun out of control as we clocked 100km wind for a few minutes. The winds ferocity lifted lids on the deck lockers and released a halyard that had not been secured properly, which promptly flew into the wind generator. Even under bare poles (no sails) Imagine heeled over as she sailed across the waves at 7knots. Andrew struggled but could not bring Imagine to face into the wind and waves. He just had to sail knowing there was a container ship anchored nearby but could not be seen through the avalanche of water.
Half an hour later we were laughing about how we were taking photos and saying how beautiful the first two were, without knowing what was descending on us.
Surviving the storm we continued to the entrance of the Brisbane shipping channel. We had heard that two cargo boats were about to head into the channel so we followed them. Daybreak found us at the entrance to the Brisbane river and the Port of Brisbane. We passed though with no dramas and stopped at Rivergate to fill the diesel tanks. We meandered up the river to find there was no one anchored in “our spot”. So we are now back in New Farm, close to transport.
Time to get some sleep.

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It has been a rough couple of days. Plenty of snorkeling, diving, walking through the island and of course, chilling in the sun. This place has proved to be beautiful in many ways.
We finally got the chance to use the diving gear! It’s a mix between snorkel and scuba, mostly known as hookah. Nivi and Guido tried it, and loved it. Although we did not go deeper than six or seven meters, It was really interesting to use it here, as the visibility is really good. The outer part of the atoll has an incredible combination of corals and life, healthier than many places we’ve seen before. This is the season where the turtles start to go up the beach to lay their eggs. During the night, they crawl up through the sand to where they think it’s suitable, dig a hole and deposit their future younglings, that will hatch in about a month or so. We had the chance to see the prints of said act in the morning.
Also, we had a thunderstorm last night. A delightful display of thunder and lights on the horizon that we enjoyed while tasting Sue’s spaghetti bolognese, something to remember, both for the food and the scenery. It didn’t really hit here, but there is another one coming today. So, we secured the things on deck just in case.
Guido’s side note: after giving it a lot of thought, I have to say that both Andrew and Sue’s pasta is equally exquisite and heart warming.
Tomorrow is our last day here, and we will try to make the most out of it!

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After the night sail adventure, we arrived to Lady Musgrave, our last stop before Brisbane. This is an amazing atoll (it’s basically a crater shaped formation covered by a reef).
To enter this reef, we had to go through a man made entrance, not much wider than the boat itself. Have you ever seen one of those “cat videos”, where they squeeze under a door or into a jar? Well… it’s pretty much like that. Sue and Nivi were at the helm while Andrew and Guido watched for corals while trying to find a place to anchor.
The place is what anyone might think of when the word “paradise” comes to mind. Turtles, birds, turquoise water. We went for a walk around the island, packed with shearwater birds nesting, a perfect time for the visit.
Tomorrow we’ll go on a snorkeling endeavor, always in the search for more surprises.

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We left Great Keppel Saturday morning with a calm sea and the wind off our back quarter. We had a great sail and by evening we were ahead of time. So we reefed the sails to slow us down. Although we were reefed Nivi still managed to reach 6.8knots. With half a moon lighting up the sea making it a nice night time sail.
During Andrew’s shift he noticed a faint red light on what looked to be the horizon. Suddenly the red light changed to green. Andrew checked the AIS. Nothing. Checking the radar and nothing on the horizon, just intermittent wave reflections.The green light was moving fast across the horizon. Thirty seconds later the light wasn’t on the horizon. The moonlight lit up the the sails. It was a yacht going past us only 200m away, with very dim navigation lights on the bow. No Tri-light, no stern light, and obviously no radar reflector. Hopefully they had seen our lights or on radar otherwise the outcome could have been very different.
Later in the night the wind dropped and we had to motor the last hour. The sail was so good we arrived outside of Lady Musgrave atoll at 3am, so we have hoved too and are bobbing around till daylight

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Paradise beaches? Clear water? This island has it all. We spent a few days at Great Keppel, were we could enjoy nice weather and Nivi and Guido even had beer at the local bar. As the wind and swell have been shifting quite often these days, we had to move to different corners of the island to get cover from the conditions.
One of the nights we watched the movie “all is lost”, where the character has a terrible time on a sailboat, with storms, lightning and eventually having to escape in the life raft. Nothing impressive really about the movie. Now, let’s say the timing was perfect, because later that night when we decided to go to sleep, we started to hear thunder rumbling and yes, lightning flashing in the night sky. Let’s just say that nobody got a lot of sleep that night…
Also, Andrew cooked his famous Pasta Bolognese, which was an absolute success, just writing this makes me hungry. Oh and now it’s Sue’s turn, as we heard there is competition with this particular dish.
It has been a beautiful couple of days here, and now it’s time to set sail again, chasing new adventures because as someone once said “you never know what the tide will bring tomorrow”.
Lady Musgrave, here we go!

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We have renamed this southern bay Idiots bay.

When we arrived Nivi and Guido found a place and anchored without our assistance. It was near high tide and we were in just under 10m of water. They put out almost 30m of chain 3 to 1 ratio, because winds of 18knots gusting 24 were predicted for this evening. The bay gives protection from the swell but not the wind.

So what happens? A small gin palace (a launch that has 3 levels where they sit on the back deck and drink gin) came and anchored a boat length off our bow. Sue and Andrew stood on the bow explaining very loudly to Guido and Nivi how the boats would swing around at the change of tide and collide and that his anchor may have hooked our anchor. The gin palace must have heard us calling him an idiot and he hauled anchor and moved away a respectable distance.

Two minutes later a medium size gin palace comes in and tries to anchor in the same place. He had a little more sense and realised he was too close and moved about 30m further ahead of us.

A half hour later a large gin palace pulls in along side of us about 25m away and drops anchor. We have 30m of chain plus 17m of boat swinging around. He has 20m of boat at least 20m to 30m of chain and we are 25m apart. So Andrew jumped in the dinghy and went across to ask if their insurance was up to date and to explain where our anchor was. He has moved to the other side of the bay where there was plenty of space.

Another half hour goes by when Andrew looked out the porthole to see a dinghy floating out to sea. No it wasn’t ours. Nivi, Guido and Andrew jumped into our dinghy and headed off to rescue the drifting dinghy. Half way there and it was apparent whose dinghy it was. A motorsailer had hauled anchor and was heading towards the dinghy. Our trio caught the dinghy and towed it to the motorsailer and the three men onboard.

What’s next?