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We thought it was over.
With the clean up happening upriver, there has been debris flowing downriver. Because the river level is falling and the current easing, means the debris is not being dragged to the other side of the river.
Today we had to go ashore to do some shopping (we have run out of baked beans). Upon returning to Imagine we discovered a large rolled up pontoon casing, had wrapped itself around our anchor and bow.
Andrew tried to remove it but it wouldn’t budge. We contacted Maritime Safety Queensland to help. They sent a barge with a crane. The guys on the barge first thought they could just pull it off the anchor by hand and be on their way. No it wasn’t moving. They had to use the crane, and it still took over half an hour.
As they left they said that there is likely to be more over the next week.
A big thank you to them though as with the next tide change and the force of this on the chain, we could have dragged anchor.

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Day 7. We have managed to get some sleep over the past two days. The predicted storm stayed out in the bay, sparing Brisbane from another deluge.
The sun was out today the river is receding. The current was slow enough for Andrew to go get water in the jerry cans. We had been catching rain in the buckets to use for washing and flushing the toilet. Andrew was told by locals the the supermarket has now reopened after flooding, but has very little stock. Thats okay as we can survive a few more days.
We see the tugs and marine salvage boats go past, sorting out the wreckage in the river around the CBD and have heard on the radio that they are collecting the pontoons, yachts etc that have gone out into the bay.
There isn’t a lot we can do except wait for things to get back to normal. We are still booked in to be hauled out mid March. Then we can get stuck in to painting and antifouling Imagine. Luckily Andrew had run around the week before the flood and bought the paint, antifoul and hopefully everything we need.
There is more stormy weather forecast for tomorrow and towards the end of next week, but today the sun shone brightly.
Thanks to everyone for your support and best wishes.

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It started with a bang and roar during the night and into the early hours of this morning. Thunderstorms with heavy rain.
We have been filling our 6 buckets with rain water coming off the cockpit roof and using that to wash in. This morning it took one and a half minutes to fill two 12ltr buckets.
The rain cleared by lunchtime, allowing tugs and marine rescue to move a barge loaded with a crane down river. This barge/crane had been in danger of collapsing and causing much destruction in the CBD and down river had it not been secured by the marine authorities during the height of the flooding. The rescue/recovery units were obviously taking advantage of the clear weather and lower river levels to remove some of the damaged wharves and jetties. As the tugs towed them down river the debris that had been caught up in them soon followed.
We have just seen the news and the damage this morning’s storm caused. Although we have not come out unscathed, we consider ourselves lucky surviving and still having our home (Imagine) when so many have lost everything.
The forecast is for more storms for the next 7 days, how big and how much is anyone’s guess. The forecasters are struggling to predict as the conditions have been so rapidly changing.
The flooding here and in NSW has been unprecedented and devastating and our thoughts are with everyone that has been impacted.

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Over the last week we have been taking it in turns to get an hour’s sleep a couple of times a day.
We are not tired at all! Last night I made dinner. After putting the two pieces of toast on the bench, I spent at lease a full minute looking at them and the pot of baked beans bubbling on the stove, thinking I’m supposed to do something with the toast. Watching the beans bubble away I finally realised I’m making beans on toast.
I finally managed the beans on toast and went to make a cup of tea. The kettle boiled the tea bags were in the cups so I added a spoon full of coffee to each.
Sue didn’t laugh, just admitted that earlier she found herself adding milk instead of water to her cordial.
I think we should get some sleep!

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Day 5 and the water started receeding yesterday. They are still letting water out of the dam. They are timing it with low tide to minimise the effect.
This morning Andrew made it ashore in the dinghy and a friend from an apartment onshore had gone shopping for bread, milk and baked beans for us. So we are not going to starve.
There is a ban on non rescue/recovery traffic on the Brisbane river currently so Andrew took advantage of this and went up the mast to replace a couple of halyards. Couldn’t spend too long outside today as temperature has been in the early 30’s.
We have not been totally without incident. Yesterday a large piece of submerged debris hit us and caught on our anchor chain. This caused us to move back and forth in the water. We tried motoring forward to take some pressure off the chain, then winched the chain higher to see if we could dislodge whatever it was. The strain on the winch with us moving back and forth was too much for the gearbox. We no longer have an operating winch. We just had to let the object hang around. As the tide went out the current increased, but there was nothing we could do.
Luckily overnight whatever it was had stayed long enough and appears to have detached itself from our chain. The chain still has small debris tangled up around it.
We have just ordered a new winch and anchor. We wont be able to pick it up for about a week. Hopefully when the river gets back to normal we will be able to raise the chain and anchor. If we can’t and have to cut it free at least we will have a good anchor to immediatly reanchor on.
Its not over yet. The weather bureau has forecast 4 more days of rain starting tomorrow hopefully not as bad as the last lot !
Our thoughts are with those in NSW that are now copping it. Some of the towns there have also had some terrible flooding.

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Second day of not much rain (just enough yesterday to make a light rainbow). BUT another 4 days of rain predicted for the end of the week.
We are still safe. The water police have told us we are one of only a handful of relatively undamaged boats in the whole river.
Pete’s boat that was well ahead of us dragged early this morning. He is now just off our starboard bow. He has run a line to a tree and seems to be holding.
Yesterday one of the coastguard boats had problems in the river current as one of its engines water intake got blocked.
Andrew is now repairing the rear hatch which has been leaking onto our bed.
River is still flowing strong but not as much debris coming down today. They are still letting water out of the dams which are full and utilising the flood compartments currently.
The birds are back!