Mid West Blues

After a good nights sleep, we awoke early and started tackling our list of jobs.

First, was a phone call and email to our insurance broker to find out what we needed to do, which would also include a trip for us into Dongara Marine to have a chat and see if they could do our repair. We also needed to find out about lifter availability to get Singularity out of the water and onto a hardstand for repair.

Second on the list; we needed to get those engines going again and it was clear we had some sort of fuel contamination, so would need to clear and clean filters and also check out the inside the fuel tank.

After a few emails and some phone calls, it was into the engines and fuel tank. It didn’t take long to find our primary fuel filter clogged with diesel bug, which is basically a sticky black residue that is caused by water, usually as a result of condensation, but sometimes received within the fuel itself.

Removal of the inspection hatch for the fuel tank revealed a large blob of diesel bug sitting on the bottom and I also noted that the fuel level was lower than we have ever had it. I think that this, combined with the rough conditions over a sustained period, had been enough to disturb the sludge and allow it to be sucked up into the fuel sender. We had left Steep Point with quite a bit less fuel than we would normally carry. For some reason, I had elected not to top up in Denham and was now seeing the end result of that decision.

We are unsure how long the fuel tank had been contaminated for – it may have been lying in there for some time or we may have picked it up somewhere on our travels. Either way, another lesson learnt and certainly preparation for when we sail up into Asia where dirty fuel is a common problem.

After emptying the remaining contents of the fuel tank, I elected to dispose of the fuel and, after the usual numerous phone calls and head scratching, it was decided that we could deposit it at the Geraldton Waste Facility. That was until I arrived there in a taxi and they told me I couldn’t – bad advice from the Shire office – but we came up with a plan and were eventually able to leave it there.

The joys of cruising – no car, so catching a taxi with fuel jerry cans is not ideal!

The afternoon was spent cleaning out the fuel tank and then putting some clean fuel back in. Last season, we had some work done by Glenn at Seacat Diesel in Geraldton and I was on the phone to him talking through my dilemma and getting his advice about what I needed to do.

After a lot of to and fro, we eventually got the motors going again – Glenn ended up coming on board and helped me to rectify a couple of small issues that were inhibiting the starboard engine. He also gave me plenty of great advice about our system, which I was eager to take on, as I want to learn from every experience that we have.

It always feels better sitting in an anchorage with engines that are working, let me tell you!

We figured that we would be here for a few days, so we hired a couple of bikes and headed down to the fishing boat harbour. Visits to Dongara Marine and the boat lifter were positive – Rohan and the team at Dongara Marine were super helpful and it was a great feeling knowing that they were going to look after us and get the repair done. They have a large boat/ship building facility and do really nice work, so we were very confident they would do a thorough job.

A few days of back and forth with our insurers, who I must say were excellent, and we had Singularity booked in for a lift, a drive up the road to Dongara Marine and then the repair. The opportunity to remain on board whilst we were being lifted and transported approx. 800m to Dongara Marine was a cool, yet somewhat unnerving experience. Singularity was literally swinging in the breeze! The repairs were going to take at least a week, so we figured we would head back to Perth to do some catching up and then return once she was ready to go.

We are blessed to have made new friends, as well as plenty of opportunities to catch up with old friends from our travels up and down the coast. The timing of our planned trip to Perth coincided with the plans of one such friend, Jen, who lives in Geraldton, and who we’d met at Ningaloo. What was uncanny, was the fact that she was headed to the same suburb we were! No need to worry about logistics of south/north of the river drop-offs.

Some unplanned, and unexpected, time to catch up with family and friends was a bonus, to say the least. Late October is such a beautiful time of the year in Perth and we were able to make the most of the conditions with beach time, breakfast, lunch and dinner catchups, as well as some rides along our favourite bits of the metro coast.

Before we knew it, it was time to hop on the bus back up to Geraldton to arrive the day before we were due to splash.

Upon arrival in Geraldton, we checked into our digs for the night and then straight down to check out the boat. The final polish was being done and, after politely declining my request for them to keep going and polish the rest of the boat, all was just about ready to prepare for the arrival of the lifter the next morning.

Finally, we were back in the water, refuelled and watered, and ready to head south. Fortunately, we only had a few days to wait with a promising weather window approaching. We made the most of this time catching up with friends and taking in all Geraldton has to offer. We were lucky enough to time our extended stay to coincide with the annual Blessing of the Fleet; a time-old tradition wishing sailors, fishers and mariners a safe journey.

An early start saw us have a great run to Dongara on a stiff easterly breeze, a bit too stiff at times but made for good progress.

A north westerly wind was forecast for the next day; a blessing when heading south, so we took the opportunity to make a run for it. We had a lovely downwind run to about Cervantes before it petered out, but it allowed us to make some good miles early on in the day.

After an uneventful evening, and a light wind motor for most of the next day, we were making our way back into the familiar channel for Longreach, Rottnest Island.

Another season done, plenty of new experiences – some good, some bad - but overall we were happy and ready for our summer working on Rotto. Ahh, home again!