Australia Bound

Although New Caledonia has many bays we could have explored, we saw a weather window for sailing to  Brisbane so we decided to take it. Onward to Brisbane! Did I mention it was getting colder? The sea temperature continued to decrease as we headed South. Fleece blankets were retrieved from their hiding spots and hats were de rigueur for night watches.

We entered the harbour (respecting the Commonwealth spelling) at night, with Darren at the helm. Major channels in Australia have blue leading lights; when the leads are in line, you are traveling in the middle of the channel. These were super useful as both the city lights and the large cargo ships can make for a confusing night entry. In addition, the headlights from the dune buggies on the western islands sometimes seemed like approaching vessels, keeping us all alert for a few hours.  There are a few unlit minor channels whose large markers create a hazard at night.  We had one last minute swerve to avoid meeting a marker.  The reason they are unlit is to avoid leading large ships away from the major channel.

For the Brisbane area, the point of clearance is Rivergate Marina. There isn’t much there but the staff are very nice and the flat whites at the café are tasty.  [Jason comment:  There was quite a lot at Rivergate Marina if you want to rebuild your transmission, haul out a ferry, or, install a new electrical system on your megayacht.  Gail’s nothing refers to restaurants, cycle paths and museums.] Australian Customs and Immigration were efficient and friendly. Biosecurity performed a full inspection of our boat, and after an hour or two, we were cleared. Thinking back to the supercilious guy on the dock in Tonga, who told us we were mad to go to Australia instead of New Zealand, we reminded ourselves that negative people are just that.

Australia will allow people to stay 90 days on a e-visa.  Yachts can stay one year and then apply for another one year exemption.  It gets complicated if you try to sell a boat in Australia, but nothing a broker can’t help you through if your last stop is Australia.

With a full day to explore, we headed to the Koala Sanctuary, where we couldn’t resist the tourist photo with the locals. Darren’s koala didn’t want to leave him but Salwa’s koala was uncharacteristically standoffish. I would have carried mine out if they had let me.

We headed to Moreton Bay to explore and anchor for the night. The westerly swell was a bit uncooperative as we lowered the dinghy. Eager not to repeat our Îles de Pins mishap, we secured the dinghy, bow and stern.  Sandhill races on the coast? With points for style, Darren certainly got the gold.  Too bad the westerlies continued so we gave up at nightfall and headed for our eventual Australian home at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

Jason was bummed that Salwa and Darren didn’t join for a warmer leg.  Swimming and Scuba were curtailed.  We also had run low on the tank in terms of energy, so we did not explore as much as usual. We only had a few more days with our guests so a whirlwind tour of Brisbane, Noosa headlands and the Gold Coast rounded out our trip.

We couldn’t believe that we were actually in Australia after spending the last year planning for our trip and sailing across the Pacific.  Those who have sailed across the Atlantic can wear red pants, but what color do we earn for the Pacific?  Maybe a floral print? Perhaps my next gift for Jason. The question left for us to answer was “What’s next?”.