Family catchup in Carnarvon
We were back in Carnarvon, a place that has become very familiar to us over the years, especially now with Drew and Gosia back living in town.
Just before our arrival, we were thrilled to learn that Gosia had won the Gascoyne Art Awards ‘Best Overall Artwork Prize’ for a portrait titled ‘Judy,’ who is the mother of one of her good friends from Jurien. You can see a short video on it here:
Gosia does some amazing art and has a lot of cool programs running in Carnarvon for both kids and adults. We love following her journey and keeping an eye on what she is up to.
Insta: at_g_stop Website: gstop.net.au
Drew was turning 50 in a few weeks, so we decided that a family rv in Carnarvon would be the most likely way of getting everyone together for a few days. We made the most of our time hanging out, including dinner at the pub, breakfast at a local cafe, and a walk and explore around the river in some of the back-blocks of town. Taking advantage of, and making use of, their washing machine was also on the list, of course!! Great to have everyone together again. Well, the oldies at least. Next catchup will hopefully include Jemma and Kalani as well xxx
In a stroke of good luck, Singularity’s pen for the week was right next door to Forty Two’s. This gave us the chance to catch up, once again, with the crew of Sid, Katie and Jen. The timing of our visit was in our favour. After spending so much time in remote areas, it was time to let our hair down. QUEERNARVON was in town and this gave the girls (Gosia, Nicky, Katie and Jen) the perfect excuse to head out and bust some questionable moves on the dancefloor. A fun night, with the youngest in the group (Katie) feeling a little worse for wear the following morning. Definitely debatable, but the old girls still have it!
Some cruising friends, Kevin and Janie, formerly of Sojourn, have moved to Carnarvon and are in the process of building a house down on the fascine. Whilst on a walk into town, we saw them on their block and stopped to chat. They have been doing a lot of the work themselves and when Pete learnt that they were pouring concrete in a few days, he quickly volunteered his services to swing a shovel.
With Kalani due to move into a new place in Perth in the coming week, Nicky was keen to do the Mum thing and head south to give her a hand. Perfect timing, as Ian and Jen would be driving back to Perth. A great opportunity to jump in for the drive, continue with the family bonding time, and save the $500 that it would have cost for a one-way ticket from Carnarvon to Perth. Outrageous!
Pete had a list of maintenance jobs to do on the boat, so he would be staying put in town and getting stuck into some engine work, as well as a few other jobs on the list. Gosia had generously lent us her car so that made it all the bit easier to get to and from the shops, Mitre 10 and all the usual haunts.
We decided we would celebrate Drew’s birthday the night before Ian, Jen and Nicky’s departure. After a quick bit of teamwork to maneuver a large plant into position at the front of Gosia’s studio, we were ready for the celebrations. The studio, which is located on the main road into town, is a great space, filled with all Gosia’s art, as well as a collection of eclectic bits and pieces, lounges etc for hanging out. We put some tunes on, had dinner and a few drinks and, of course, a birthday cake for Drew’s 50th.
Nic headed south and Pete headed off for an afternoon pouring concrete with Kevin and Janie and a few other mates of theirs from town. After some time on the boat, it is really enjoyable getting into some manual labour. Helping friends is an added bonus as well.
Pete got stuck into a few maintenance jobs, the big ones being to put new exhaust elbows on each engine and to remove the heat exchangers, clean them in a chemical solution and then re-install them. He had been trying to source the cleaning chemical required without much success and fortunately another cruising mate, Ted from ‘On the Double’ lives in Carnarvon and was heading to Perth and was able to pick up some product and bring it back. Thanks Ted!!
This process went smoothly and completing these sorts of tasks provides great satisfaction because, in reality, the task is not that hard, you just need to do some research and then have the courage and confidence to get it done. Surprisingly, everything went to plan without the usual trick of breaking something else along the way!!
The other big job Pete was up to was to complete a proper documented maintenance plan for the boat, which also included a complete inventory of everything on board, right down to deck hardware, ropes etc. The reason for this exercise was two-fold; firstly, just good practice having a proper inventory of everything for insurance and maintenance purposes as it reduces the need to order parts only to discover you had some already hidden in a basket under the floor. Secondly, we are looking to head up into Indonesia next year and part of the Customs requirements is an extensive list of everything on the boat – in order to avoid paying duty on it when you return to Australia.
A time-consuming task, but rewarding at the same time as it really makes you physically examine every item to get a model number, serial number and check its status. A work in progress, but once completed we will have a very comprehensive document which will serve us well into the future. Will also come in very handy if/when we decide we need to sell so we can buy a bigger boat! :)
Whilst on the dock, Pete made some new friends with Steve and Kerry from Kiko, on a Beneteau 47 yacht, who were circumnavigating Australia, having departed from Mooloolaba. Like most people we meet, a friendly and interesting couple, Steve having been a pilot for KLM and they had lived in the Netherlands for the past 25+ years. Having access to a car meant Pete was able to offer a few rides into town to pick up stores etc as well as the obligatory visit to Bumbaks for a smoothie and some pickle.
Meanwhile, Nicky was well on her way to Perth. After an overnight stopover in Geraldton, where, due to the whole of Dongara and Geraldton being booked out of accommodation options with 2 bedrooms, Nicky shared a room with Ian and Jen (more family bonding :) for the night. A forecast weather front made for an interesting (and windy) drive from Geraldton. The worst of it hit just after driving through Jurien. Hail and wind gusts forced Jen, who was doing a great job of driving, to pull over and wait for the weather to abate a little. After a short waiting period of horizontal rain/hail, and some localised flooding, they were off.
Apparently, it hasn’t been a bumper wildflower season this year. It was interesting, however, seeing the changes in the foliage as you ventured further south. Some little pockets of wildflowers were evident, but not abundant. The final leg to Perth was uneventful and made in good time. Nice job, Jen!
The trip to Perth came with its usual challenge of catching up with as many family and friends as is possible in the short time available. One word comes to mind; EXHAUSTING! Driving around and getting from A to B is always such a huge contrast to the life we’ve been living on the ocean. Everyone is always in such a hurry!
Great to catch up friends, but the priority for the trip, however, was spending time with Kalani and helping her move into her new pad. Nothing screams mother/daughter bonding more than a bit of retail therapy and a trip to IKEA. After picking out the required furniture (and distinguishing between the needs and the wants), it was home to order everything online through Click and Collect. Apart from the slightly annoying omission of half a couch from our pickup collection, this system is definitely the way to go. However, that’s the easy part. The next two days were spent on all fours, allen key in hand, trying to decipher the somewhat confusing IKEA instruction manuals. Our collective brain power served us well and, after a slow start, we managed to get everything assembled and into place. Grateful to be able to share such a special time with Kalani. A special shoutout to Greg Mickle for lending us his ute for the day.
Nicky’s trip coincided with the running of the Perth Boat Show. Not so much a sailor’s event, but worth a look anyway. So, a quick train trip into Perth with Ian and Jen to see what was on offer. We don’t have the odd $500 000 sitting around, waiting to be spent on a luxury motorboat, so wasn’t expecting to purchase anything. Nicky surprised even herself by limiting her purchases to useful items; a purpose made Iki Jime tool to replace the rusty knife we had been using to put our catch/dinner out of their misery, and a pair of Shark Eye stickers for our dive masks. More for the benefit of Nicky’s peace of mind than Pete’s. Nicky even managed to resist buying yet another pair of bathers to add to her collection. Yes, there were bathers on sale at the boat show.
After an exhausting week in Perth with plenty achieved and quality time spent with loved ones, it was time to fly back to Carnarvon in time for the winds that would take us south.
One of the great things we love about Carnarvon is the produce. Local produce is often used as currency around town between neighbours/businesses, so Drew and Gosia are always loaded up with fruit and vegies when we arrive. No exception this time, as we were quickly handed a box full of egg plants, star fruit, bananas, apples, tomatoes etc etc. Not wanting to see this stuff go to waste and with the boat to himself Pete turned into a one-man pickling prince, knocking up batches of Tomato Kasundi and Eggplant brinjal. There were some seriously good spice smells wafting around the dock whilst this was going on.
The kasundi we will be straight into, but the eggplant needs to sit in the cupboard for about a month before we crack into it so, hopefully, it turns out well.
Nicky flew back into town on the Wednesday and it was looking good for us to depart on Friday, exactly as we had planned with our pen booking ending that morning. We had a day and a half to do final provisioning including a farm run for our fruit and vegies, last minute washing and any other little bits and pieces that needed doing - like filling water tanks etc.
Our plan was to head south to Cape Rose, just to the east of Cape Peron and spend a few days there before wandering up to Herald Bluff. One eye would be on the weather with thoughts of the Steep Point to Geraldton run in the back of our heads.
Way too soon, it was goodbye hugs to Drew and Gosia and prepping the boat for an early departure the next morning. The forecast wasn’t ideal but the reality was that this was the only day when the wind wasn’t a 25 knot southerly, so we knew we had to go with it. Fingers crossed!