Just Cruizin On Bluemoon

Log 57

Amazing how time just seems to pass so quickly!!

Well... the following day we hired a car and headed off to exchange the gas!!!           

This whole family would have some massive issues without that kettle boiling!!

So with two fill gas bottles we were back on target... with springs coming up we planned for Bluemoon to come out on the beach... this place has some of the most incredible sunsets!!

Our sail here was brilliant! Just what the doctor ordered! For some reason tension seems to be rather high on Bluemoon... hopefully just a quick faze... with the heat getting only hotter with no wind makes us all slightly agitated... yet with the sail to Telaga everyone seemed to settle down and start focusing on the task at hand. Thunder and lightening is becoming an everyday thing now!                                           

So we need to put on our lightening cables, as the season has changed.... a touch early it seems.  We all dingied to the beach and set out our markers and cleaned up the area of rocks, corral and big shells ready for our beaching! Everyone was getting excited now! We were on a mission!                                                                                      

We had planned originally to go on at midnight and start first light around 7 am!!! You see what I mean when I say I have a problem with this free floating hour that does not fit!! LOL Anyways, after looking at it again, it seemed better to beach her just after midday then work till 7:30 when the sun goes down which would give us more time so on the 10th we notice another boat ?bluemoon of oz!!' beaching on the opposite island... we did our washing with the water collected and sorted everything out that needed sorting, got our selves ready with the tools needed, delegated different jobs and times, and finally sat waiting ready to go!! Zaid, Amanda, and Fakrees called and were coming over to see if they could help as well as go onto an island that normally only yachties or fishermen could... so with great excitement, we lifted anchor and motored over to the sand bank....perfect! We had beached where we had planned! We put the Bruce out with a tailoring line, pulling up slack till we had braced the front bows with the lines attached to the trees up front. Now the wait! The great thing about coming out this time is that we had an extra 300mils of tide as a safety factor to get us off, just in case.... the other bluemoon of oz was really high up on the beach and had sunken in quite a bit!! We all dived and jumped into the water which was going out real quick! Jess was delegated the coffee making! Heheh which was well received as Jono and I landed up cleaning the hulls and vinyl while John and Jess sat idly observing us on the duck while Justine pulled them around! LOL Just like big kids!! We were rather impressed with the job we had done! Chuffed that the anti fouling looked still as good as when we did it! And the vinyl that we put on above the water line has been the greatest thing we did as all it took was a quick wipe and looks as good as new!! The job we thought would take us all day now was done in just over an hour with Jono and I!! Justine fetched Zaid and company on the dingy to the island with fishing rods in tow! We gave Amanda a fishing rod as that was her greatest desire... to fish, so we blessed her with a rod for something really great that she did for us, and man is this woman now addicted! LOL She really makes us laugh! With a wait in progress Jono and I took to being active by doing somersaults on the beach, with Jono doing back flips and walking on his hands which he is so good with!! He is a true fundi in this hand walking and is now trying to do a press up while in the up position!!! hehehe Better him than me hey?! Well I do believe he will do it with all the practice he gets on the boat!! While we are sailing!! Sometimes my nerves are a little frayed when he comes too close to the stanchion lines!!!!! Guess non of us have taken too well to the man overboard scenario! Jono and I went swimming again where I got stung by a small jelly fish!!! Then got pricked by a starfish that I leaned my hand on!!! Jono though it was real funny bringing this starfish out for all to see which had tiny little spikes all over the inside of it!! So now with the water going out at a rapid speed we started to dig a trench around the S/B keel...for the rest of the water to run off, so that John could angle grind and clean ...though very difficult as the keel is flat on the sand ? so we had to dig away the front section to work!! John managed with some tight squeezing and mega sweating to do the job without the cord going in the remaining water!! Then came the moulding of the epoxy putty which is brilliant stuff!! We could have gone under the water when it happened and fixed it then and there! In the water! Though we were happy to do the job right as once it is done then the problem is permanently fixed! Then we had an hour to kill while the moulding dried... It was not a big job, though the impact must have been quite big as the water was seeping ever so slowly into the water tank... though there was no structural damage at all! Thank the Lord for that! My turn was coming up to slap the antifoul on, in that tight spot, so the hour was great to have a good cuppa and a breath of fresh air! Boy was it hot! Walking to see everyone fishing, we chatted to some yachties that had come to make a bonfire on the beach and have some sundowners which was great killing some time... then the thunder started! Loud and rolling... OOOoooh this was gonna be a big one!!! The clouds started to roll and were gathering real fast!!! The hour was up and here I was snuggling in the sand with my head almost buried with a paint brush putting on the antifoul which John was giving to me... drops going everywhere!! lol With this mop of mine, I never seem to come away with my normal colour hair!!! heheh Also, being in my bikini - you would not have noticed for the amount of sand everywhere!!! John included!! Thank goodness we managed to finish the job in time when the waves started coming in.... All of us VERY HAPPY and satisfied with a job well done!! Jess made another cuppa while John and I tried to clean up ? by now the sun was setting and the dark clouds taking over the skies... with the lightening frightfully close!!! The yachties left rather quickly after wishing us well.. It was decided to Jono's absolute horror that he was going to drop Zaid, and friends off in this frightful t-storm.... shame!!! We watched them speed off while we tidied up the area, re-assessed the wind direction and our plan of action coming back onto anchor... It was full moon yet there was no sign of it, instead big black clouds and lots of lightening! The wind was up and we were all feeling the welcomed chill!.The rain was coming down now and with the lightening ? made us all feel very vulnerable standing in the water... feeling very exposed! So John lifted Justine up with his hand, then me as Jess was already on board making us all a good cuppa!! Now John could not get up! I was beginning to panic as he was left in the water and our swim ladder was taken off by John so we could weld some plates on to take the pressure off the gel coat, now when we needed it!!! ? I grabbed the first thing I saw, the block and tackel attached to the davits for lifting the duck up and lowered it to John who took it and then was swinging and spinning all over the place!! Look under the circumstances it was really funny!! Then Justine and I grabbed him and yanked him on board! Rain pouring down ? drenched and all cold!! The lightening was truly spectacular, though I am sure Jono was the only one who didn't see it that way let alone notice, speeding back to the boat!! We tied on and pulled Jono on board, who had the biggest smile of relief on his face!! lol Because the rudders were taking a bit of weight now and we were on a slight slope, we didn't want to be moving too much making them sink anymore into the sand so we all sat in the cockpit talking and drinking coffee while the massive storm raged ahead streaking across the sky... we expected to come off closer to midnight when we felt the boat bobbing ? after a while and a few more good cuppas we noticed that time had flown! We were totally stunned that the storm had moved over the mountain, the moon was out, glorious and full, the seas calm and we were floating!!!! Yea! What a thrill! So in calm conditions we pulled our lines in, and with a nice cool breeze lifted the Bruce up and set off to drop anchor again.... what a glorious site! That moon full and shining bright! Lighting the whole bay.... we dropped anchor at 10:30pm and realized just how tired we all were! And roasted!! After a good nights sleep, we all woke to another brilliant day! It is truly beautiful here looking up at the cable car going miles up to the top of the mountain... fishing boats drifting around... so calm and peaceful... even being blessed with butterflies!! This day was filled with completing all the small jobs on the list... we changed the bilge pumps on both sides servicing the ones we took out as spares... tightened the water filter, the Grey water pumps and flushed the S/B water tank out a few times with jik.... John and I went to fill the water drums then lug them on board and fill the tanks, and so it went till we felt satisfied the leak had stopped... the following day we could check again while leaving the jik in to kill anything unwanted!!! Then it was time to relax again, with this heat slowing us all down.... I got to drilling all the many shells collected and was making 'chimes' and small shell mobiles with all the coloured beads I had... true African style I tell you with bells!! lol Funny thing though, we have been known as being south African by the 17 ankle bands I have on!! hehehe It can only come from Africa!! Strange how each country has their own style which one can recognize!! Been fascinating learning this and being able to identify the style and colours of the beads!! Hanging my end product up and hearing them 'ching'about brought a real big smile to Justine and myself!! We felt like we were back at home where our lounge roof was covered solidly with chimes and mobiles, most of which I would make myself... yet John was not as thrilled or as pleased of course, as us... hehehe though he does like them! To look at only!! And on someone else's boat!! LOL I love it!!! So with an ocean incense stick burning, a full day catching up on the list, and the ching chang of beautiful sounds with a good cuppa... we all felt really happy, chilled and peaceful....contented to just watch the day fold away..... The following morning we lifted the dingy, lifted anchor and set sail to Rebak Marina for the night so we could flush out the tank a few times then fill up, wash the Bimini and tighten and of course do our washing with our wonderful washing machine!!! What another full day!! It was quite depressing trying to stay online and catch up! I cannot believe how much mail we had yet again!! Feeling really loved and missed!! Just love it!! AAAhhh you guys are just soooooo wonderful!!!!!! While scrubbing deck, a great surprise!!! TY Armor called! It was so good speaking to them and catching up on all that has been happening both sides! For some reason our sms's never went through and that was after changing the battery.. so we stuck to emailing... My nickname with TY Armor is ?Golden Mamma? to which even Francois calls me!!! LOL It was really great hearing from them!! And they will be sailing back here to stock up before leaving again by Saturday, so we have decided to prolong our stay... Justine is off to the dentist again this week, and hopefully we will get more dvd's which are so cheap here!! (Having watched so many movies already! There is always space for more!) Provision then head for 'Hole in the wall'  for a few days then head off with TY Armor to Penang, then down to Singapore!! We pulled in the mooring lines and set sail from Rebak back to Kuah ? all filled up, cleaned and packed.... Wow it is incredibly hot!!! Sitting here anchored in Kuah with a great cuppa while the kids have gone to the skate park gives us the time to put our feet up and just soak in the stillness and peace of another great day.... how I love this place!

Today, Sunday, the kids have yet again got great plans for spending the day with their friends...John bandaged my right hand up with a finger splint as I have done something to it... then went off with Ian from Ocean spray to hire a bike for a few days while I was the only one who could drop the kids off at the jetty... (Jono had gone earlier to skate first... ) Justine was not looking so confident with this decision... especially looking at the bandaged hand!! Though she didn't actually have a choice! Though yes, I do know I am an ameteur and do not even trust myself!! lol

Though no worries...I will get to my destination come what may!!!!! 

So off we go, me steering off to the jetty... just to warm up, which is actually very close and ever so slowly,!!

Then suddenly a hard swing from Justine to the right, just missing a workers foot hanging in the water!!! I was concintrating so hard, aiming at the closest part of the jetty making it easier to manoever around!!! Could he not see me coming!!!!!!!

I was already having trouble with this hand putting it into neutral, stern or forward ... so with a looooooong talk about hitching a ride with another boat to make sure I actually got to our boat, I managed to persuade Justine I was now a fundi and would have no problem!!! All was cool beans... at least that was what I truly believed!!!!!

Yet with the wind up, I never took into account the current and so was heading for the eagle which is in the opposite direction of the boat!! Yet with a lot of praying and ziggagging I managed to get to our boat safely!!!!!! As I knew I would! Lol

The rain is coming down hard which is wonderful.... John is working on a new project and is only to happy for me to update the site and do some email replies... so till the next log.... Keep doing what you love and keep that mail flowing!!!!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jono