Nearly sailing again Bundaberg - Cairns

The big news is that we now have a  working watermaker and freezer!! And no thanks to the cowboys in NZ. But big thanks to the suppliers and fitters of these items here.

The freezer saga initially involved getting a new evaporator plate which then had to be shaped (bent) to fit the cabinet. The old one had developed a gas leak because it had been damaged in NZ during removal and refitting. However, because of changes in the manufacturing between the new and old plates the new plate could not be bent as was necessary so, after a lot of toing and froing we decided to follow another more expensive path which has involved custom making out of medical grade stainless steel pipe a looped system within the box. This was a highly skilled operation and we are very grateful to Rolf (the refrigeration engineer) for carrying it out to the high standard we now have. It is much more robust than the previous system and, while we still have the problem of the inadequately insulated box, it should see us through until we can rebuild the whole system - hopefully at cheaper Asian labour rates. And we would still be able to reuse the stainless pipe fabrication. Rolf finished the job earlier today.

The new watermaker HP pump has been installed and during a short test sail last week it more than met our expectations. We now feel confident that our future voyaging should be reasonably trouble-free, at least as far as those two items are concerned.

But the fact that any of this should have been necessary together with the frustration over many months plus the extra high cost is a sad indictment of some work done in NZ. The unfortunate part is that all of NZ gets tainted whenever these experiences come to light. There is a very extensive network of communication between cruising boats and news like this quickly gets around. Contrary to popular opinion, cruisers are not made of money and are by and large great do it yourselfers. If they are getting anything done on their boats they research it all very thoroughly on the internet and opt for the best and most cost effective option. More and more this means SE Asia as costs are so much more competitive than down in the SW Pacific. There was an article in yesterday's The Australian newspaper detailing a report which states that Australia is fast becoming less competitive internationally because of high domestic costs and their high dollar - even including the burgeoning mining sector. Australia is not the only country which has iron ore and coal.

Today there is a strong wind warning in effect because of the usual situation of a big fat high down in the Tasman Sea. There is a strong wind warning out for the East Coast from Moreton Bay to Cairns so we're hoping that when Dennis and Jim set sail on the 18th. the conditions will have moderated somewhat. At least the wind is with us. Right at this moment we have 22 knots in the marina! If it's like this we'll wait for more benign conditions. Still, Dennis used to own "Reflections of Wellington" in Wellington so he probably thinks this just a gentle breeze!

The boat has been in turmoil in the last few days - getting the engine serviced, the freezer installed and Jean has been working like a trojan getting storage and food organised.  In a 38' boat whenever one opens storage bins under bunks it's always disruptive because the bed has to be pulled up and all the squabs and other paraphernalia but somewhere until the job is finished and calm reigns once more. We should be used to it by now but somehow we never seem to be.

Jean is getting ready to travel back to NZ on Monday to be with her sister for 4-5 weeks and we are looking forward to Dennis's arrival on Sunday. Then it will be off into the deep blue yonder once again........................... Tiare is straining at her mooring lines right now - she can't wait to get going after 5 months in the marina!

Cheers from us

Jim and Jean (Gina) xoxox

s.v. Tiare Taporo III

www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com