Preparing For Sea

Saturday 28th August 1993
    It's time to go and get my boat.  Paul and I meet at Darwin Airport and board an aircraft to fly to Cairns on the eastern coast of Queensland.  Thankfully, there have been no dramas in getting away from Darwin.  There is a short layover for a change of aircraft for Mackay, so Paul and I take advantage of the time by enjoying a couple of drinks at the bar. 
    At Townsville we meet up with Brian, our last crewmember.  Paul has never met Brian and introductions are made.  It's good to catch up with Brian again.  We spend the short flight bringing each other up to date on family news and the like.
    By the time we arrive at Mackay it's late afternoon.  A visit to the airport car-rental counter gets us a small hire car for 50 kilometres per day for four days.  We figure this will be all the time we need to get the boat ready for sea, and although the car is small, it should be adequate for our needs.
    After loading up our luggage we immediately set off for my in-law's house, which is to be our base for the next few days.  Carolyn and Chris had kindly offered their home for this purpose, for which I was grateful.  There is a pleasant surprise waiting for us when we arrive at the house.  John and Nola are also my in-laws and they are in Mackay for a short time.  I hadn't seen them for some time and since we're gathered together, we have a small party that night.  My two companions fit like a glove as we got together around the table with a few drinks, catching up with the news and telling tales out of school.
    All in all it's been a good day but in hindsight, I guess any day without problems is a good day.

Sunday 29th August 1993
    We rise reasonably early to get a good start.  Caroline is a marvel and makes some breakfast for us before we leave for The Boatyard.  It's raining lightly as we pull up out the front of Lowana, cradled on the hardstand area.
    There are many signs of a shoddy job with the hull painting.  It's still not finished despite the painters having been contracted several weeks before.  The waterline and the rubbing strakes haven't been done.  There are bits of paper hanging off the boat everywhere and lots of paint overspray on the decking, turnbuckles and ropes.
    Irritation mounts when we notice that the zinc anodes have also been painted over.  Painting the zinc prevents them from doing their job of protecting the steel against galvanic corrosion.  Additionally, no effort had been made to tape up the under-hull log propeller, which is a mechanical device that measures speed through the water.  It had obviously been spray-painted under pressure causing the device to spin, bending the log instrument needle in the wheelhouse to a 45-degree angle.
    So far I'm not impressed but after climbing aboard I'm in for a further rude intrusion into my day.  No holes in the hull had been blocked before sandblasting had been carried out, and there's a mass of black sandblasting grit right throughout the interior of the boat including the mattresses.  The stuff had come up through an open seacock into the galley through the sink and it's a mess.

The Galley

   But the day gets even better with other problems.  The bilges are full of stale oil and diesel, and there's mould right throughout on the ceiling and walls.  So in addition to the mess, the smell isn't too good either.  However the mould is to be expected since the boat had sat unused and locked up for so long.
    Moving back outside we endure the drizzly rain, identifying all the sailing winches and controls and taking stock of what needs to be done.  Jobs are quickly prioritised, with getting the boat a bit more liveable at the top of the list.  At least this will get us out of the rain, so we return below and set about getting Lowana cleaned up inside.
    It continues to rain throughout the rest of the day but we make a good start to the cleaning.  We attack the galley, cleaning out the stove, sink and cupboards, washing all the dishes and pans and cleaning off some of the mould.  We even manage to make a start on the awfully smelly and dirty task of cleaning out the bilges.
    We're reasonably satisfied with our progress by the end of the day and feeling justifiably a little tired.  Before heading back home for a well-deserved beer, we take a moment to sit down and make a more detailed list of other jobs to be done.  The list is starting to get much longer.

Monday 30th August 1993
    The weather is not being kind to us.  It continues to rain off and on during the day.  Paul's first job is to set about checking the diesel motor and changing the oil, while Brian and I get stuck into cleaning tasks again.
    After Paul finished his work on the motor, he starts it up and quickly chokes it down, proving that it will at least run.  A quick check confirms that it can be started manually should the electrics fail for some reason.
    He then declares he's satisfied with the motor for the time being and once more, with audible groans, the task of cleaning out the fetid muck from the bilges begins again.  A visit to the local boat park chandlery provides a welcome break to acquire a new 1400 gallon-per-hour electric bilge pump.  This is duly installed into the bilges and hooked up to the ships 12v battery power system. 
    Paul also pulls apart the manual bilge pump and satisfies himself that it works.  This pump is located right next to the wheelhouse steering wheel and the helmsman can operate it by a lever while steering the boat, if it becomes necessary.  It will not pump out huge amounts of unwelcome water but every little bit helps in an emergency.
    Our attention now turns to some of the equipment aboard.  The epirb is found to be out of date and the MOB light has no inner workings.  The BCF fire extinguisher is unserviceable and an internal fuse blew while checking the Satnav equipment.
    This involves another shopping trip for a new epirb and fire extinguisher but we couldn't get another fuse for the Satnav anywhere in Mackay.  This isn't a particular bother because Paul had brought his own brand new hand-held Micrologic GPS device with him.
    The acronym BOAT for "Bring Out Another Thousand" is turning out to be painfully apt.  Today has set a pattern where I must keep pulling out more money.  It's become something of a standing quip by the crew to ask for another 'coupla hundred' for something or other.

Tuesday 31st August 1993
    At last the weather is starting to clear and the contractor arrives to finish the painting.  While he's doing that we drive into town to do the shopping for provisions.  During this exercise, the Woolworth's supermarket is brought to a complete standstill when I once again stub a sore big toe.  It causes a red-hot fire up my entire leg and an exclamation to the effect "oh my goodness, I really can't stand flipping pain!"  This of course is accompanied with a certain dramatic air and aerobics.
    Brian thought the antics were brilliant stuff and was later to vividly remember me hopping about on one foot, but his recollections of the words used are decidedly different.
    By the time we return to the boat, the painter has completed his work.  Apart from the things mentioned, the quality of both the spray-painting of the topsides and the antifouling turns out quite well.
    We load our shopping straight onto Lowana, being careful not to touch the paintwork or create any dust near it,  although it's already touch-dry.  After the stores are sorted and packed away Brian and I continue with some final cleaning, while Paul starts pulling out all the sails and checking their condition.  By lunchtime these tasks are completed so we stop for a bit of lunch.
    A fuel tanker had previously been organised and while waiting for it to turn up, we pull out the rest of the boat's inventory.  First, the items have to be checked to confirm they are actually on board, and serviceable.  Paul connects his GPS unit to the boats 12v battery power.  A quick test shows it's working fine but since none of us has ever actually used one before, we'll have to sit down at some point to learn how to operate it.
    Later on the fuel tanker arrives and we take on our diesel fuel.  This doesn't take long and upon completion, the main water tank is emptied and flushed.  It's then refilled with fresh water, plus two spare water containers.
    At long last the boat is almost ready except for the filthy mattresses and cushions, which are taken back to the house for a thorough washing and drying. Tomorrow we put Lowana into the water.