Sunday 12 August 2012

Land bound in Australia's far North

Regretfully we have had to advise the Louisiades organisers that we are withdrawing from the rally due to a recurrence of a medical condition affecting Jean. She last had it in NZ before we left and for a cure it needs very careful attention to diet over a period of time. In the meantime it is quite debillitating and unsuited to the rigours of an ocean passage as well as cruising in a primitive and isolated area. Nearest doctor up there is at best 150 miles away. The causes of the condition are various but stress coupled with inattention to diet are probably factors. Quiet attention to said diet and plenty of rest is the prescription for getting well coupled with plenty of time. There are signs of improvement already.
Anyway, it's not all bad - we are carrying on with the deck caulking and we are looking forward to the visits of Sara and Hamish and Jean's son Perry and his girlfriend Tracie in November. We are hoping that we can take them out to Fitzroy Is. (17 miles from here) during their visits. We even go into town at times to visit the market (!) and are planning a trip on the Kuranda Scenic Railway.
In the meantime the weather continues brilliantly fine with day temperatures in the mid 20's and at night sometimes below 10C!! Even frosts up on the Atherton Tablelands just inland from here. It's quite amusing to see the locals all bundled up in their coats while we stroll around in shirts and shorts. We're definitely made of sterner stuff down in Godzone!!
We are soon moving to another marina (Bluewater) which is not only cheaper but is also further up the same river that our present marina is at the mouth of. The only issue is the river itself which has minimal depths but we are assured that at half tide or better we should be OK. Normally we'd go up the river in the dinghy and take some hand soundings in advance but the existence of crocodiles puts paid to that idea! A 4 metre croc was seen swimming just off the Yorkeys Knob Beach a few days ago. The main attraction though is that it offers much better cyclone protection than this one as it's further inland (about half a mile) and the river has a 90 degree bend which should dampen much of any storm surge. The main thing however, is that we don't get any cyclones. Fingers crossed.
More from us as time goes on but at the moment things are a bit mundane.
Love from Jim and Jean
www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com

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