Fw: Pump

This is the final proof that Open Ocean have sold us and any other clients a pup as HP water pumps with brass internals should never be used in a desalinator application. They have no integrity whatsoever and should never be let loose on the boating fraternity. We will be having a lot more to say and just apologise in advance for the possible boring nature of the ongoing proceedings.

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Jim Donald <tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz>
To: Open Ocean <openocean@xtra.co.nz>
Sent: Monday, 28 November 2011 7:24 PM
Subject: Re: Pump

Forsbrey,

You are a charlatan, a fraud and a liar. I haven't finished with you and your lack of integrity by a long chalk.

Jim Donald

From: Open Ocean <openocean@xtra.co.nz>
To: Jim Donald <tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz>
Sent: Monday, 28 November 2011 2:02 PM
Subject: Re: Pump

Jim,

I look forward to seeing you in February.

 

Terry Forsbrey
Open Ocean Water makers
Phone:  +64 9 402 8449
Fax:       +64 9 402 8450

From: Jim Donald <tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz>
To: "openocean@xtra.co.nz" <openocean@xtra.co.nz>
Sent: Monday, 28 November 2011 2:49 PM
Subject: Fw: Pump

I attach the forwarded emails for your information. You will note that the Italian manufacturer states that "salt water is aggressive to brass".  This is commonsense. How you have the gall to pass off the Hawk pump as suitable for a watermaker application is beyond me - not to mention the brass needle valve. You attempted to hide behind the smokescreen of inherent electrolysis on the boat when you knew full well that a brass pump was unsuitable - it was just a cheaper option which no doubt increased your profitability.

I will be back in NZ next February and am giving serious consideration to mounting a claim against you through the Disputes Tribunal. It is illegal to sell anything which is not fit for purpose and we can prove that in this situation that is what has happened. As an alternative we may consider accepting a suitable compensation offer.

Jim Donald

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Danie Malan ThoroughClean <sales@thoroughclean.com.au>
To: 'Jim Donald' <tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz>
Sent: Monday, 28 November 2011 10:17 AM
Subject: FW: Pump

E-mail from Italy

 

DanieMalan
Sales Manager
Mob: 0419 654 778     

From: Alberto Bertignon [mailto:alberto.bertignon@hawkpumps.com]
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011 9:10 PM
To: sales@thoroughclean.com.au
Subject: R: Pump
Importance: High

 

Hi Danie,

 

thank you for your e-mail.

 

Please find my commenst here below.

 

Best regards

 

Alberto Bertignon

Sales Manager

LEUCO S.p.A. (Hawk International)

Via Umberto Degola, 25

42124 Reggio Emilia - Italia

Tel. +39.0522.927036 * Fax +39.0522.926422 / +39.0522.275551

alberto.bertignon@hawkpumps.com * www.hawkpumps.com

Società soggetta all'attività di direzione di KärcherBeteiligungs GmbH

C.F. e Iscrizione al Registro Imprese di RE n.00607420353

Capitale Sociale € 293.144,40 i.v.

P.I. IT00607420353

Note: The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended for the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, any reading, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify us by return e-mail. Thank you.

P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail

Da: Danie Malan ThoroughClean [mailto:sales@thoroughclean.com.au]
Inviato: venerdì 25 novembre 2011 3.57
A: 'Alberto Bertignon'
Oggetto: FW: Pump

 

Hi Alberto,

 

Thanks for referring the enquiry to us a couple of days ago.

 

It seems that the gentlemen is running a HAWK HC190 pump on a water maker on a ship (see his e-mail below)

 

He is looking for a stainless steel head for it.

 

1. Do you get the HC190 head in stainless steel? (It is not in our catalogue) No, we do not. The only pumps with stainless steel AISI316 is our "ES" range. Please see the attachment.
2. If not, is there a similar pump for salt water with an 18 mm shaft that we can use in its place? No, ES pumps come with Ø 24mm. Shaft.
3. Do people use these pumps with salt water and just increase the frequency of servicing and replacing seals? HC190 : yes, also the brass head shall be changed more frequently because salt water is aggressive to brass.
4. Have you got any other ideas which will help? Unfortunately no.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Kind regards,

 

Danie Malan
Sales Manager
Mob: 0419 654 778     

From: Jim Donald [mailto:tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2011 7:22 AM
To: sales@thoroughclean..com.au
Subject: Re: Pump

 

Hi Danie

Thanks for your reply. We have been using the pump HP SALT water to drive a 60 litre an hour watermaker on our yacht on which we are doing ocean passages. It was supplied by the installers in NZ as suitable for that application. The operating water pressure is around 800 psi. Could you please advise your thoughts on the suitability of the pump for that purpose. We notice that you describe yourselves as "waterblasters" and wonder whether the Hawk pumps are best suited for that application. We would appreciate your advice.

Thanks and regards,

Jim Donald

s.v. Tiare Taporo III

Bundaberg Port Marina

Bundaberg

Queensland

Ph. 0429471895

 

From: Danie Malan - ThoroughClean <sales@thoroughclean.com.au>
To: tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz
Sent: Wednesday, 23 November 2011 6:46 PM
Subject: Pump

Dear Jim

We are the Hawk agent in Aus.

What is your phone contact details?

Glad to assist.

Danie
ThoroughClean Water Blasters
07-54672025
0419654778
Sent via BlackBerry® from Telstra

I attach the forwarded emails for your information. You will note that the Italian manufacturer states that "salt water is aggressive to brass".  This is commonsense. How you have the gall to pass off the Hawk pump as suitable for a watermaker application is beyond me - not to mention the brass needle valve. You attempted to hide behind the smokescreen of inherent electrolysis on the boat when you knew full well that a brass pump was unsuitable - it was just a cheaper option which no doubt increased your profitability.

I will be back in NZ next February and am giving serious consideration to mounting a claim against you through the Disputes Tribunal. It is illegal to sell anything which is not fit for purpose and we can prove that in this situation that is what has happened. As an alternative we may consider accepting a suitable compensation offer.

Jim Donald

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Danie Malan ThoroughClean <sales@thoroughclean.com.au>
To: 'Jim Donald' <tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz>
Sent: Monday, 28 November 2011 10:17 AM
Subject: FW: Pump

E-mail from Italy

 

DanieMalan
Sales Manager
Mob: 0419 654 778     

From: Alberto Bertignon [mailto:alberto.bertignon@hawkpumps.com]
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011 9:10 PM
To: sales@thoroughclean.com.au
Subject: R: Pump
Importance: High

 

Hi Danie,

 

thank you for your e-mail.

 

Please find my commenst here below.

 

Best regards

 

Alberto Bertignon

Sales Manager

LEUCO S.p.A. (Hawk International)

Via Umberto Degola, 25

42124 Reggio Emilia - Italia

Tel. +39.0522.927036 * Fax +39.0522.926422 / +39.0522.275551

alberto.bertignon@hawkpumps.com * www.hawkpumps.com

Società soggetta all'attività di direzione di KärcherBeteiligungs GmbH

C.F. e Iscrizione al Registro Imprese di RE n..00607420353

Capitale Sociale € 293.144,40 i.v.

P.I. IT00607420353

Note: The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended for the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, any reading, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify us by return e-mail. Thank you.

P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail

Da: Danie Malan ThoroughClean [mailto:sales@thoroughclean.com.au]
Inviato: venerdì 25 novembre 2011 3.57
A: 'Alberto Bertignon'
Oggetto: FW: Pump

 

Hi Alberto,

 

Thanks for referring the enquiry to us a couple of days ago.

 

It seems that the gentlemen is running a HAWK HC190 pump on a water maker on a ship (see his e-mail below)

 

He is looking for a stainless steel head for it.

 

1. Do you get the HC190 head in stainless steel? (It is not in our catalogue) No, we do not. The only pumps with stainless steel AISI316 is our "ES" range. Please see the attachment.
2. If not, is there a similar pump for salt water with an 18 mm shaft that we can use in its place? No, ES pumps come with Ø 24mm. Shaft.
3. Do people use these pumps with salt water and just increase the frequency of servicing and replacing seals? HC190 : yes, also the brass head shall be changed more frequently because salt water is aggressive to brass.
4. Have you got any other ideas which will help? Unfortunately no.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Kind regards,

 

Danie Malan
Sales Manager
Mob: 0419 654 778     

From: Jim Donald [mailto:tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2011 7:22 AM
To: sales@thoroughclean.com.au
Subject: Re: Pump

 

Hi Danie

Thanks for your reply. We have been using the pump HP SALT water to drive a 60 litre an hour watermaker on our yacht on which we are doing ocean passages. It was supplied by the installers in NZ as suitable for that application. The operating water pressure is around 800 psi. Could you please advise your thoughts on the suitability of the pump for that purpose. We notice that you describe yourselves as "waterblasters" and wonder whether the Hawk pumps are best suited for that application. We would appreciate your advice.

Thanks and regards,

Jim Donald

s.v.. Tiare Taporo III

Bundaberg Port Marina

Bundaberg

Queensland

Ph. 0429471895

 

From: Danie Malan - ThoroughClean <sales@thoroughclean.com.au>
To: tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz
Sent: Wednesday, 23 November 2011 6:46 PM
Subject: Pump

Dear Jim

We are the Hawk agent in Aus.

What is your phone contact details?

Glad to assist.

Danie
ThoroughClean Water Blasters
07-54672025
0419654778
Sent via BlackBerry® from Telstra

I attach the forwarded emails for your information. You will note that the Italian manufacturer states that "salt water is aggressive to brass".  This is commonsense. How you have the gall to pass off the Hawk pump as suitable for a watermaker application is beyond me - not to mention the brass needle valve. You attempted to hide behind the smokescreen of inherent electrolysis on the boat when you knew full well that a brass pump was unsuitable - it was just a cheaper option which no doubt increased your profitability.

I will be back in NZ next February and am giving serious consideration to mounting a claim against you through the Disputes Tribunal. It is illegal to sell anything which is not fit for purpose and we can prove that in this situation that is what has happened. As an alternative we may consider accepting a suitable compensation offer.

Jim Donald

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Danie Malan ThoroughClean <sales@thoroughclean.com.au>
To: 'Jim Donald' <tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz>
Sent: Monday, 28 November 2011 10:17 AM
Subject: FW: Pump

E-mail from Italy

 

DanieMalan
Sales Manager
Mob: 0419 654 778     

From: Alberto Bertignon [mailto:alberto.bertignon@hawkpumps.com]
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011 9:10 PM
To: sales@thoroughclean.com.au
Subject: R: Pump
Importance: High

 

Hi Danie,

 

thank you for your e-mail.

 

Please find my commenst here below.

 

Best regards

 

Alberto Bertignon

Sales Manager

LEUCO S.p.A. (Hawk International)

Via Umberto Degola, 25

42124 Reggio Emilia - Italia

Tel. +39.0522.927036 * Fax +39.0522.926422 / +39.0522.275551

alberto.bertignon@hawkpumps.com * www.hawkpumps.com

Società soggetta all'attività di direzione di KärcherBeteiligungs GmbH

C.F. e Iscrizione al Registro Imprese di RE n.00607420353

Capitale Sociale € 293.144,40 i.v.

P.I. IT00607420353

Note: The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended for the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this communication, any reading, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify us by return e-mail. Thank you.

P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail

Da: Danie Malan ThoroughClean [mailto:sales@thoroughclean.com.au]
Inviato: venerdì 25 novembre 2011 3.57
A: 'Alberto Bertignon'
Oggetto: FW: Pump

 

Hi Alberto,

 

Thanks for referring the enquiry to us a couple of days ago.

 

It seems that the gentlemen is running a HAWK HC190 pump on a water maker on a ship (see his e-mail below)

 

He is looking for a stainless steel head for it.

 

1. Do you get the HC190 head in stainless steel? (It is not in our catalogue) No, we do not. The only pumps with stainless steel AISI316 is our "ES" range. Please see the attachment.
2. If not, is there a similar pump for salt water with an 18 mm shaft that we can use in its place? No, ES pumps come with Ø 24mm. Shaft.
3. Do people use these pumps with salt water and just increase the frequency of servicing and replacing seals? HC190 : yes, also the brass head shall be changed more frequently because salt water is aggressive to brass.
4. Have you got any other ideas which will help? Unfortunately no.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Kind regards,

 

Danie Malan
Sales Manager
Mob: 0419 654 778     

From: Jim Donald [mailto:tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2011 7:22 AM
To: sales@thoroughclean.com.au
Subject: Re: Pump

 

Hi Danie

Thanks for your reply. We have been using the pump HP SALT water to drive a 60 litre an hour watermaker on our yacht on which we are doing ocean passages. It was supplied by the installers in NZ as suitable for that application. The operating water pressure is around 800 psi. Could you please advise your thoughts on the suitability of the pump for that purpose. We notice that you describe yourselves as "waterblasters" and wonder whether the Hawk pumps are best suited for that application. We would appreciate your advice.

Thanks and regards,

Jim Donald

s.v. Tiare Taporo III

Bundaberg Port Marina

Bundaberg

Queensland

Ph. 0429471895

 

From: Danie Malan - ThoroughClean <sales@thoroughclean.com.au>
To: tiare_taporo@yahoo.co.nz
Sent: Wednesday, 23 November 2011 6:46 PM
Subject: Pump

Dear Jim

We are the Hawk agent in Aus.

What is your phone contact details?

Glad to assist.

Danie
ThoroughClean Water Blasters
07-54672025
0419654778
Sent via BlackBerry® from Telstra

Bundaberg in the land of Oz

Well, it is Sunday the 27th. and we have been here for 9 days. The facilities here at the marina are very good and one doesn't pay for the showers - same as Noumea. The weather is getting hotter, especially over the last few days when rain was expected, but all we got was higher humidity. We are starting to get a bit more used to it though and will certainly need to before we go north next April. The marina is near the entrance to the Burnett River and is 2 kms from Burnett Heads township where there is a hotel, bottle store, post office and reasonable supermarket. The supermarket (IGA) gives us poor old yachties on Shank's Pony a lift back to the marina with the purchases.
The marina itself runs 2 courtesy shuttles per day into Bundaberg City 20 kms away and there is also a very efficient bus service. At the marina there is a food takeaway, 2 fish shops, a restaurant, a chandlery and the marina shop which sells clothing and other knickknacks as well as having an ATM machine. All very service oriented and friendly. Also the people who organised the Port to Port Rally of which we are a part have been very welcoming and they have been organising various outings for us as well as a dinner on the 30th. Tomorrow we are going to a boomerang factory and a wine tasting!!
One disadvantage for us is that there is currently a 25% difference in our respective currencies but we feel this is to quite a large extent offset by generally cheaper prices here. There is no doubt NZ is an expensive place to live. And, if recent predictions about the Chinese economy come true the Aussie dollar will drop substantially but then so will the Kiwi. Certainly the world generally is not looking good and is on something of a knife edge right now. There doesn't seem to be much awareness of all that when you read the NZ papers which up until now have been full of various party policies as if NZ just existed in some sort of vacuum. It's somewhat the same here too, although the papers here do have much better coverage of world news.
On the subject of party policies we watched the election coverage on the NZ Herald website last night and generally we are reasonably pleased with the result, except that it's a shame that National won't be prevented from carrying out or called to account for their future actions, particularly selling what's left of NZ down the river. ACT and United Future will of course support them and the Maori Party will go wherever they see the greatest short term advantage. So their support is assured. However, we are pleased that it worked out that we were able to vote in Noumea and play however small a part in bringing Winston back into Parliament, so that there will be some strident and transparent opposition in the House. In many ways it's gratifying to see the vilification constantly heaped on him by the other parties and especially the media. They must be worried about something - no doubt being constantly exposed will cause them some anguish. And it's also good to see that there was a positive vote for MMP. It may be flawed but it's certainly more democratic than the old system of FPP. And it should be possible to tweak the legislation so that the flaws are dealt with.
We are experiencing some frustrating problems with the boat. From advice received here it seems certain that the watermaker HP water pump and another part have been supplied with brass internals whereas they should be high quality marine standard stainless steel to withstand high pressure salt water which is extremely corrosive. Just another example of the shoddy, "cheapest is best" philosophy which pervades so much of work in NZ these days. And we had a replacement electric element put in our hot water cylinder before we left NZ and the person who did it (not PJ) managed to jam it between the copper coils which are part of the heat exchanger system inside the cylinder. They have possibly been damaged and we are unable to get the broken element out. So we are looking at a replacement cylinder which, as the old one is at least 25 yrs old, may not in itself be a bad thing but there's a space problem and the only one that we have been able to identify to date doesn't have Australian certification so cannot be installed!! The alternative is to do some modifications to the space to accommodate a rectangular cylinder but then we will have to find another place for the engine start battery!! There used to be an Australian manufacturer of circular cylinders but they went into liquidation a few months ago after over 100 years in business - no doubt another victim of cheap nasty Asian imports! The joys of cruising on a yacht. It's not all G&T's at sunset!!
Cheers and lotsaluv from us........
www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com

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Aussie update

Well, it's now Sunday afternoon and tonight we are going to the Burnett Heads Yacht Club for dinner with all the other rally participants. We've got British, Canadian, South African, Swedish, and all sorts in between. All great people - except we missed some excitement last Friday a week ago. Apparently a Spanish couple had sailed in and had been watched all the way across the Pacific by Customs in various countries. They had been to Columbia and had 400 kg. of Cocaine aboard - worth over AUD300 million on the street. The catalyst for action came when some locals arrived and were observed removing suitcases ashore. Federal Police and Customs moved quickly and intercepted the "cargo" and arrested the individuals who are likely to spend some considerable time in prison. In the meantime the yacht has been removed from the water and is in an adjacent hardstand area from where it will be sold by the Aust. Govt. Although whether it will be worth much after it had been literally pulled to pieces being searched for more drugs is debatable. As far as we are concerned the book should be thrown at scum like that given the effects on countless and mostly young lives that they cause. The death penalty as exists in most SE Asian countries should be mandatory. We'd happily pull the trigger!
This morning we went to the Sunday market in Bundaberg and bought luscious mangoes and other fresh fruit and veg. The marina puts on a free shuttle bus to take cruisers to the market. They also operate into the City on weekdays which is a great service. The marina office has merchandise for sale as well as an ATM machine - all very service oriented. Totally unlike NC and quite unlike NZ as well.
Yesterday we set off on foot to Burnett Heads and hadn't gone 100 metres when 2 locals offered us a lift. It's only 2-3 kms but the lift was welcome in the heat. The driver announced that he was married to a Kiwi and Jean countered that that sounded brave! Some more banter and we arrived at a modern (IGA) supermarket where we purchased some necessary items. IGA offers a service where they take you back to the marina gratis. Again something NZ could definitely learn from. Service is tops here and so often we have heard criticism from other international cruising yachts about NZ in that regard. As regards New Caledonia it's even worse - but then one can forgive the French almost anything! Certainly once they get to know you they change somewhat. We had an enormous lunch at the Lighthouse Hotel in Burnett Heads (creamy prawns and lamb shanks)and it was excellent and reasonably priced. But sooooooo many overweight Australians - we can see why and don't want to end up like that!
Just removed the engine battery so that the electrician can get into the hot water cylinder tomorrow and now a shower before walking along the road to the Yacht Club. Wot a life!!!!!
Cheers and lotsaluv again from us..........
P.S. Shannon - we'll be here at the Port Bundaberg Marina at least until the end of the month so if Neil is in the area we'd love to see him.

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Tiare Taporo III in Australia from across the Coral Sea

Hi,
We arrived in Bundaberg, Queensland after a 7 day crossing from New Caledonia on Friday morning. By and large the passage was a much more reasonable one than when we came up from NZ although, as the winds were persistently behind us, the sailing wasn't quite as good as it could have been. It's difficult holding a precise course downwind in lumpy seas and requires much more concentration than reaching or even hard on the wind. It's not relaxing the way a beam reach is but hey, you'd think we were never satisfied. First we complain that we had it on the nose coming up from NZ and now we complain because it is behind us!! Some people are never satisfied.
Two other complicating factors were that our watermaker has packed up entirely and so we did not want to spend too long at sea because we weren't sure how long the water would last and the other was that AQIS (Aust. Quarantine) charge AUD330 for quarantine clearance but nearly double on weekends so, unless we were prepared to hang around for 2 more days at sea, we neeeded to get here by Friday which we have done. But only by extensive use of the motor because of extensive periods of light winds, either by itself or motorsailing. Once again the old Ford came up trumps and never faltered in spite of being run for 3 days straight as we approached Australia. We were constantly trying to second guess the weather and develop strategies that would get the best from the wind patterns but time and again Murphy would trump us. We'd look at the forecasts and decide whether to go south or north of our rumb line course but usually the fellow would wait for us to commit and then do something quite different. One day for instance we'd had the genoa poled out and for a while we were getting along quite well but then another windshift happened which as usual disadvantaged whatever we thought we had gained! But in spite of these minor frustrations we enjoyed the pasasge and certainly experienced generally benign conditions. Just a 20 or 30 degree change in the wind patterns would have been nice. But the absolutely azure blue sea and the sunsets and sunrises had to be seen to be believed and we had a reasonably full moon as well.
One experience on the morning of our arrival on the Australian coast should be mentioned. We have an AIS receiver which receives VHF transmitted information giving ID, position, course and speed from any vessel over 300 tons which are all legally required to have a transmitter. We were getting close to the coast and crossing a busy (north/south) shipping lane. No doubt ore carriers heading to Asia. The alarm went off at around 0300 and we could see a ship heading for our position at 16 knots albeit 8 miles away at that stage. So we called them on our VHF radio as we had the right of way and asked them if they had seen us and what their intentions were. Eventually, by which time they were much closer, someone with a heavy Russian or other E European accent answered and said he couldn't see us, either on the radar or visually. We were getting seriously worried as he didn't sound as though he was going to make the necessary course alteration. At 6 knots our ability to get out of the way in time was questionable and it was difficult to know which way to go!! Then we turned on our masthead strobe light (which is actually illegal) and he saw that. They then made a sharp course alteration to starboard and passed us on our port side within 200 metres or so. Not a nice sight especially when during his turn he was coming straight at us and we could see both of his red and green nav. lights!! These shipping companies are all run by accountants these days and they don't like doing anything which causes any type of delay whatsoever. Why he couldn't see us on radar or even visually we have no idea but the strobe made the difference and we would recommend anyone contemplating an offshore passage to have one as well as an AIS receiver. Ours has proved itself time after time. In many cases the vessels we have encountered hadn't seen us - weren't even looking probably - and our radio call alerted them to a potential nasty situation. We came across a total of 4 ships all at right angles to our course as we approached the coast from about 90 to 30 miles off Fraser Is.
We arrived at our waypoint off Breaksea Spit north of Sandy Cape (Fraser Is.) just after 1700 on Thursday and then turned onto our new course for the Burnett River (Bundaberg). Thankfully we were able to sail with the wind on our port beam AND NO ENGINE!!! We didn't want to arrive before daylight so sailed with reefed main and staysail only but were still doing up to 5 knots which meant that we would be at least 2 hours early. Never mind, the plan then was to heave to until daylight - which we did. On the way in we passed a number of large fishing boats with huge banks of floodlights to attract the squid or maybe prawns? Haven't discovered which yet. We were busy eating the last of our Noumea food because of course the Aussies would take anything not consumed. Among other things the last of our Saucisse Andouillette was sadly eaten!!
At dawn we headed for the Burnett River entrance 5 miles away. After 6 we called VMR Bundaberg to advise of our impending arrival and they advised us to moor to the quarantine buoy off the Bundaberg Port Marina. We couldn't find the buoy but were then directed straight into the quarantine berth at the marina. We had 2 very pleasant encounters with firstly the AQIS and then Customs. When the Customs officer came on board Jean was asleep and he sat on the saloon settee near her feet while he and Jim did the needful. She was very surprised when she eventually woke up to find him there and it was the cause of some mirth - especially as she had been gently snoring! Then at last we were free to go (although we have to let Aust. Customs know where we are every 3 months until we leave Australian waters next July!!) and we berthed in the marina. Everyone very friendly and welcoming and a bag full of goodies was delivered on board by the organisers of the Port to Port Rally. Even Customs had some free gifts for us!! Fish and chips at the local cafe and then some rest. Jim then walked ashore to start the process of sorting our problems - shore power/watermaker etc. Very impressed with the efficiency and facilities here.
It is now Sat. morning and we are about to go to breakfast with the Rally participants - then getting a bus into town to see the sights. Will let you kbnow our impressions later.
Lotsaluv from us
www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com

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