Boyz In The Boat

A couple of weeks ago we had planned to spend a week as a family out in the boat. Unfortunately that was the week that Grandpa passed away, and what with funeral arrangements, plus the sudden shock of it all, and with family travelling from far to be here, we didn't get away. Instead, we took a much shortened trip, just for the weekend (Saturday to Monday) to Bribie Island.

This should've, in theory, been perfectly fine. Mum, Dad, me, Lach and Haz - all on the boat. The boat is big enough for all of us, so no probs. At least, it should've been...

The problem is that this, being Dad's boat, is actually his second dumping ground for all things that he just might need whilst on it. That shouldn't be a problem, because let's face it, if you're out to sea and your engine packs it in, or your sail rips, or whatever - then having the right tools to fix those things could actually be quite useful. Plenty of life jackets, buckets, fishing rods, everything.

To be fair, I don't care - if you need that stuff there, fine. Have it. Its just that Dad (bless you Dad, I love you but this point is true) has his own space to put these things in, which in my mind is not always logical, or practical - like storing things on the bunks that people have to sleep on, or areas where they might need to be sitting, or shower in (Dad - the generator in the toilet?).   I guess that's ok for the daytime when you're sailing - but then if you need to lie down, or sit, or shower, you kind of can't - until a new locale is found for said item - usually somewhere else you might want to lie down, or sit, or shower later.

So that was the first problem - a lot of stuff. But if you climbed over it, and tried to turn a blind eye to it, it was ok. Problem number 2, however, was not so easy to avoid - the weather. Because you see, Dad had asked me to print off the weather forecast, which I duly did, but although he read it before we left, he didn't share the information until we were underway - and that's when we discovered that we were in for a well and truly rough ride. Wind up to 45 knots or so, waves extraordinarily high, the boat being chucked from side to side... Harry was nearly sick, poor kid - he had to sit there in his life jacket with a bucket in case he spoke to Ralph.

Things didn't get any easier when we arrived at Bribie - we tried to anchor in 2 different places, and each time, the waves being so rough, and the wind so strong - we just kept draggin anchor. So this put us in a bit of a dilemma - because we couldn't go back, it was too rough - and there was nowhere else to go. In the end, Dad decided to moor at the Bribie jetty, where one of his mates had moored. This then turned into a mammoth operation, with me, Mum and Lachie manning different ropes and different positions on the boat, ready to fling ropes at Reg and Gail (Dad's mates) when we got to the jetty. But you try standing on the side of a rocking and rolling boat, in strong winds, where when the boat dips down, you literally have to fling yourself back onto the wall of the boat's cabin so as to try not to fall in! It was really somewhat like a scene out of that movie "The Perfect Storm" - except alas, George Clooney wasn't there...

We got to the jetty and flung our ropes - but some dipstick, who wasn't part of 'Operation Dragon Lady Rescue', caught my rope and then decided he was strong enough to hold the boat there by the rope (without locking it onto the cleat on the jetty - even I know you should never do that!). Suffice to say he nearly had his arms ripped off, and he nearly ended up in the drink.

However second time lucky, we managed to get tied up to the jetty, and then problem number 3 started - rubber neckers. Here we are, sitting inside the boat, minding our own business and eating dinner, when a bunch of people come past and start calling out for us. We come out, thinking there was a problem with the ropes or something - but no, all they wanted was to see if they could have a tour of the boat. Get out of here!

A little later on we discovered problem number 4 - the boys, being boys, and being 10 and 8 respectively, have no sense of packing or anything - and had forgotten to bring shoes. Normally that's not a problem - you're on the boat 24/7 - but on this occasion, with nothing to do, and nowhere to go, we needed to get off the boat and explore a bit, which thus required walking down the jetty to the main road and then off to see the 'sights' of Bribie - the Bowls club, the fish n chip shop, and the icecream parlour. Wow, what excitement. I could hardly contain myself, I was just giddy with joy.

However, we survived the weekend and lived to tell the tale..

... until the following weekend, the Australia Day long weekend. Now to be fair, I'd now started school, so I really had a lot of work to do - but the boys convinced me to come along (and bring my laptop - which I didn't, I'm not silly - as if I'm bringing a $3000+ macbook away on a boat - no sir, I'll just use Dad's cheap pc laptop!).

We again had some problems getting away due to weather - this time, not wind and wave, but rain. So whilst we should've left on Saturday, we left Sunday afternoon (after a visit to the movies for the boys), and headed again to Bribie. By the time we arrived, my Uncle had phoned to say he was coming up with Grandma and my other uncle, so we had to moor up again at the jetty (irritating the fishermen there) and wait til Grandma arrived. Unfortunately though, this weekend the heat was unbearable, and there simply was no breeze - so everywhere you sat on the boat you were hot. Just as we'd decided to go and get an icecream, the heavens opened up - but didn't bring any relief, no, it just made it more humid. And by now Uncle David, Uncle Raymond and Grandma had arrived, and we had nowhere comfortable to sit. So, we adjourned to the Bowls club and had a nice meal. By the time we got back it was too dark to go pushing off to look for a spot to anchor, so we stayed there at the jetty. And stayed. And stayed.

The reason we didn't move is that the next day, Melissa had phoned to say she, Kevan and Bethany, and Beck, Dem and Marcella, were on their way and should be there in an hour. Try more like 2. We sat at that jetty for the whole morning, and when they finally arrived, it was when we were getting icecreams. That was ok, but when we got back to the boat - the heat literally enveloped us. It was soooo hot! And there was nowhere to go on the boat!

I volunteered to take the boys to the park where there were some Australia day celebrations going on, so we headed off there. Dad cranked up the BBQ and grilled up the meat. Demo came with us to watch the sky divers.

The display they had going in the park actually wasn't so bad, and Dad's burnt sausages were sort of edible, so we managed to get through the afternoon. The boys, Cella, Beck, Dem and I went for a bit of a swim - I taught Cella how to make a drip sandcastle - and all too soon it was time to go home. We packed up the boat and finally left that blinking jetty.

It was nice to be together with the fam, but I'm not sure I want to spend another Australia Day like that, cooped up in a stinking hot boat, and with 2 little boys who just want to jump all over you...

Anyway, here are some pics...

Aren't these just two of the cutest little girls on the planet?

Lach and I

Cella drives the boat (whilst it's stationary)

One of the skydivers

Bethany, Mel, Marcella and Demo

Harry on the swing

Dragon Lady at the jetty (the far left boat) - a different picture to the week before!