Signs 2017

The end of another year is upon us and I'm planning to start a new annual, end of year tradition with this post. Last year (2016), I published a post entitled Signs-Part I with photos of signs that we came across in our travels that had either made us laugh, think, or, just generally intrigued us. Often, the best ones go by in a flash if we're in transit, so we can't get a photograph, but, here are a few we came across in 2017 that may amuse you.

Don't remember where we came across these three...

The next four were in New Zealand...

One from the USA...

and a few from Canada...

This one isn't a 'sign', but, it definitely brought a smile on a woodland walk...

This one, seen on a park bench in Revelstoke BC, was a little unusual in that it didn't commemorate the dead as is usually the case with plaques on sponsored benches, but, expressed thanks to a place and community that obviously meant much to them. A few simple words, but, so evocative it really tugged at the heartstrings.

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Weston-Super-Mare

While waiting to move into our furnished rental in Bristol, we decided to head to the seaside for a few days as we'd been missing the sea already.

Just an hour or so from Bristol is Weston-Super-Mare, a traditional seaside town. We went not knowing what to expect, probably a faded, down-at-the-heels town with social problems. There was quite a bit of that, especially in the old-fashioned hotel we stayed in. Cobbled together from a row of old mansions, it was very worn around the edges and like a rabbit warren inside with steps up or down every few feet. Located directly on the front, across from the pier and adjacent to a shopping mall, the hotel was very busy. The included breakfast service, 'full English', of course, was run like a military operation. They couldn't serve a minute before 8:15, then, the whole team sprung into action. It seemed comical, but, the cheerful efficiency was appreciated and the food was mostly edible.

The town's natural setting on the Bristol Channel was superb. The weather was beautiful, cool, but, sunny, perfect for a long walk along the incredible beach.

Tidal heights of almost 14.5 metres did mean you had to watch the clock. The low tide mark is about 1.6 km from the seafront.  Although the beach itself is sandy, low tide uncovers areas of thick mud and gives the town its nickname of Weston-super-Mud.

One day, we walked east, the next west. One of the things I like best about the UK is you don't really have to plan a day trip, just set out from where you are and soon you will encounter something interesting. Today's treat was a Norman church, high on a hill with a vista of the Channel and the Mendip Hills. It was a hike to get up there, but, worth it. St. Nicholas Church, dedicated to the patron Saint of sailors, was consecrated in 1129. Although without a roof since 1860, there is a small, intact portion of the Church. It's usually locked, but, the day we were there it was being decorated for an upcoming Christmas candlelit choir service and was open to view.

At the base of the hill was a medieval port village, aptly named, Uphill.

Leading to the village was a tidal estuary and boggy marshland which we slogged through.

The next day we headed the other way, past the new, modern pier directly across from our hotel. It charged £1 admission to walk on it. It was full of tacky, noisy arcades with barely a way to get outside to admire the sea view.

Then, we came across the day's surprise. Just a little further along the front was the historic Birnbeck pier. Currently a ruin, there is a trust trying to raise funds for its restoration. Interested parties have come together to form the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust. It looks very much worth saving. Look more closely at the lifeboat shed and slipway. I'm assuming there must be a piece missing, otherwise it would have been quite a challenge to launch a lifeboat at low tide!

There were some quality buildings to look at.

Tucked in behind a sheltered wall, we also found this iris, in perfect bloom the first week of December, a welcome sight.

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Bristol UK - First Days

We'd been discussing returning to the UK for a while and had already decided on Bristol as probably the best place for us. So, when we left Australia sooner than we had anticipated, the decision on where to go was easy.

Why Bristol? It's an old place, having received a royal charter in 1155. It's on the west coast. In the past, we have already lived in London and the South/South East, so, wanted to be in another part of the country. Bristol is ideally located to explore the West country and more of the North. A rich maritime heritage and a location on the mighty Bristol Channel appealed (second highest tides in the world, after the Bay of Fundy), as did its long history with architecture to match. It's a university town, small (only about 465,000), has an international airport and a rail station from which you can get to anywhere in the country. When we later learned that the Sunday Times had rated it the 'best place to live in Britain' for 2014 and 2017, we felt we'd made the right decision. Bristol also won the EU's European Green Capital Award in 2015, the first UK city to do so.

On the downside, with a population growth of over 10% in the last three years and a large student population, it has a very tight rental market and prices are only next to London in their heights. As usual, we applied logic to the process and quickly found a suitable rental, we move in next week. We would have liked a period property, but, most were unfurnished and/or needed work. We needed furnished and fast so took a new build. No one has lived in it, so, it will be all new and we can just move right in. We can walk everywhere from there, including to Bristol Temple Mead railway station, no car required, hooray!

Walking around The Floating Harbour (located on a stretch of the tidal River Avon its depth is lock-protected) is a delight. Its banks are lined with historic ships.

One of the boats with a Canadian connection is a replica of 'The Matthew', the boat John Cabot sailed to Newfoundland in 1497.

Other interesting sights are a steam crane and a row of historic, moving gantries, used to load/unload ships.

There'll be a lot more posts on Bristol in the months to come. There's a wealth of things to see and do here and in the surrounding area. Bristol is just 106 miles west of London, 77 miles south-southwest of Birmingham, 26 miles east of the Welsh Capital Cardiff and 60 miles east-southeast of Swansea. Interestingly, it's a city and also a county, positioned between North Somerset and Gloucestershire.

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Hemisphere Relocation!

It's only been a short couple of weeks since Gjoa was hauled out to sit on the hard in Carnarvon Western Australia, but, it seems like a lifetime ago considering I'm writing this in the UK. More on that hemisphere relocation in a minute. Back in Carnarvon, there was no travelift available, so Gjoa was pulled out on a 'jinker', Australian for flatbed trailer. With her bilge keels she sat on the trailer firmly and flat while coming out of the water, one less thing to worry about. It all went very smoothly. We spent a quick couple of days getting her ready to leave on her own for a few months and getting ourselves packed and ready for a quick departure.

Departure? We had already planned for Gjoa to be on the hard for a few months. We had been going to resume our land travel in the campervan and then get on with some of the necessary boat maintenance jobs before restarting cruising. Given the traumatic events of the last few weeks however and the fact that Northern Australia was now entering the wet season, not the best time to travel there, we decided that perhaps it made sense to take a break before resuming our travels. We gave it a lot of thought and decided that returning to the UK would be the best choice, even though it would mean giving up Spring in Australia and going into late Autumn in the UK. Frankly, we'd had enough of the glaring sun, endless wind and heat day-after-day anyway and were dreaming of cooler temperatures more suited to lengthy country walks and outdoor pursuits. Can you ever get tired of wearing tshirts, shorts, flip/flops and sunglasses all the time? Actually, yes.

We drove to Perth, parked the campervan in storage and got on a plane, first to Abu Dhabi (UAE), then, to Dublin, Ireland and finally Southampton, UK where we hopped on a train to Bristol, our chosen destination. It only took about twenty-four hours altogether.

Here are a few parting photographs of Australia taken on the way to Perth. We plan to be back onboard Gjoa in six months or so. In the meantime, follow along with us as we explore new areas in the UK.

Leaving a glorious Spring does have drawbacks. The jacaranda trees were in full bloom in Perth and absolutely stunning.

It was only mid-November, but, Christmas decorations were everywhere. Kangaroo and palm tree motifs were new to us. We're more used to reindeer and evergreen tree decorations.

The closing shot is, of course, another bird picture.

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On the move again

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a lovely Alpine scene. However, that's not snow, it's sand! The landscape here in Western Australia is one we haven't seen before. Hot, dry (currently) and desert-like.

Since we left Malaysia, back in August, we've been trying to reach the southwest corner of Australia, somewhere near Perth, where we could lay the boat up for six months or so, to continue some land travel and also deal with the maintenance issues we've uncovered on the boat. This coastline has proven difficult, in more ways than one. There are very few harbours and very few facilities. The wind is usually strong and unrelenting from the southern quadrant, a problem when you're trying to get south. Weeks can pass before you might get a weather window to allow some southerly movement. Our progress has been slow.  We arrived in Dampier, which initially looked very nice. After being anchored in the harbour there for a couple of weeks, we'd changed our mind and couldn't wait to leave. The anchorage is open and the wind blew through at a steady 25 knots all night, every night, whistling through the rigging and creating a sense of unease that affected our sleep. After a few days we realized the wind was also bringing copious quantities of red iron-ore dust. It coated the boat and us. Even the pretty, usually white cockatoos flying around looked dirty brown. We haven't seen any rain at all now for at least two months, so, there was no hope for a rinse off. During the day the sun is white-hot and glaring, temperatures are hot, but, cool off very nicely at night and we are enjoying the lower humidity very much.

We moved from Dampier to Exmouth where there was a marina and no dust and spent a couple of weeks there waiting for another weather window to move us further south. It was just coming to the end of the whale watching season and we encountered many humpbacks with young, mostly lolling about, sleeping, in the warm waters of the Gulf. The area is also home to whale sharks, but, only from April -July. We took the van and had a look around the local area. These huge termite nests were an interesting sight that dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see.

The weather finally turned, wind still from the south, but, a gentle one that we could get through. When we finally rounded NW Cape it seemed like a significant milestone.

We'd hoped to make it as far south as Geraldton during this window, but, we had to cut it short and go into Carnarvon when we had another boat problem on the third night out. Due to its location at the mouth of the Gascoyne River, Carnarvon has many fruit and vegetable plantations and is known for their small, super-sweet, bananas. We've never seen bananas growing on the tree before, so, it was all very interesting and very delicious. The town is located in Shark Bay, another World Heritage Area along this coast where the water is turquoise and the beaches white and deserted.

This may turn out to have been a lucky stop. Although we're still in the cyclone area, we're out of the worst of it and we may be able to haul the boat out here at a much better rate than farther south.

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Bali to Dampier, Australia

It felt like a huge relief to leave Bali and all its 'busyness'. We left the mooring field at Serangan and entered into a very strong southbound current  in the Lombok Strait. It spit us out into the Indian Ocean doing seven knots. Immediately, we felt the calming sensation of the long, undulating, ocean swell and we started to look forward to a long, but, hopefully uneventful, 1400 mile passage from Bali, Indonesia to Fremantle, Western Australia.

The boat mostly behaved, what else could go wrong with it? We had two minor issues, the grey water pump stopped working and one of the batten cars on the mainsail cracked allowing the batten end to come out of the sail and rip the batten pocket.

We'd estimated a very slow passage as the prevailing winds are southerly, right where we were going. We made good time the first few days and thought maybe instead of the three week estimate we might just make it in two. Ha! The winds didn't go over thirty knots, but, the waves at one point were enormous, so, we decided to heave-to and wait for better conditions. We sat there for a day and a half and eventually it did lessen and we started out again. We then had a four day window of light airs and relatively calm seas which got us very close to the Australian coast. We had burnt a lot of fuel getting this far and although we probably had enough to get us all the way to Fremantle, we decided to take the prudent course and divert to Dampier to get fuel. More importantly, we could check into the country there which would allow us to stop at other places on the way down, if we needed to, without incurring a possible $50,000 fine. As it turned out, it was a very wise decision.

We had just passed through a very desolate stretch of water. We hadn't seen another ship, visually, or electronically, or heard a single voice on the radio for six days. We were entering into an oil and gas area with a number of fixed platforms and we began to see ships again. It was good timing.

G hadn't been feeling well for about three days and he was getting more and more uncomfortable. We were about 125 miles and twenty-four hours out of Dampier when we realized that his situation was truly serious and possibly life-threatening. He needed to get to a doctor, now. We called DAN (Diver's Alert Network) in the US and spoke with a doctor there who said the situation could deteriorate without warning. We debated continuing on by ourselves, but, decided it wasn't worth the risk. What to do now? We called Dampier VTS and Australia Immigration to report a medical emergency onboard. We were very, very lucky to find ourselves in an oil and gas area. There were many ships surrounding a number of oil platforms nearby. One of the ships, Edda Fides, just fifteen miles away, overheard us on the VHF and called to say they had a trained medic on board and would we like to speak with her. We did that, then Australia RCC (Rescue Coordination Centre) became involved. They said they'd call around to the other ships and see what they could come up with. In the meantime, Edda Fides called us back to say that they had located a doctor on an oil platform nearby and put us in touch with them. We spoke with the doctor and captain and they came up with a plan. They would send out their supply ship, with the doctor onboard, to rendezvous with us and take G off for initial assessment. Then, they'd decide what to do.

After that, it all went very quickly. We were about seventeen miles apart. We set a course directly towards the platform. It would be a tense three hours until we connected with their supply ship. Darkness fell just as we met. The ship, the 150m Sea Tortuga, stopped in the water and we drove into their lee as close to the ship as we dared. The night was black, the sea was still heaving and the wind blowing. A RIB (rigid inflatable boat) was dropped into the water with three men aboard. They came alongside Gjoa and G was transferred to the ship. Gjoa held station while the initial assessment was done. After about twenty minutes, it was decided that G needed to go immediately to hospital and they were leaving right now. A singlehanded Gjoa into Dampier. It was a very long night. Along the way, the doctor called to say that G was stabilized and now comfortable. After that, there was no more news of him until Gjoa landed at Dampier the next afternoon. When I called in to report Gjoa's arrival to Customs and Immigration, they said they already knew I was there, they have cameras. Officers arrived within minutes and gave me an update on G's condition. They had already visited him in the hospital! Security is tight along this coast, currently maritime level 1, but, I didn't think this extended to hospital visits. 

The commodore of the Hampton Harbour Boat and Sailing Club gave me a ride to the hospital in nearby Karratha. Just as I arrived, G was being released. He will require followup treatment which we're trying to arrange now. We are 'stuck' in Dampier, anchored in the bay, for the moment, as G shouldn't sail right now. Cyclone season starts in about three weeks, we'd like to be further south, in a more secure location.

UPDATE: Nov 13

G is fine now and we are moving on from this unfortunate event to take Gjoa further south.

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Bali

We finally made a much anticipated arrival in Bali. We approached from the north and spent a long time watching the island unfold in front of us. Obviously, it’s of volcanic origin and was green and beautiful, much like Hawaii. 

We cruised along the north coast and then headed south. We were going to the official port of entry, Benoa, at the far southern tip. Along the way we could see remnants of the old Dutch colonial infrastructure with solid-looking stone retaining walls that helped to protect the shoreline which is wide open to the sea. There were also many expensive-looking resorts and homes sprinkled along the coastline.

As usual, the trip down wasn’t uneventful. We weren’t at the end of our boat problems yet. On this leg of the passage, we just happened to notice that the battery monitor was showing zero. A quick investigation revealed that our 24v volt alternator on the new engine wasn’t charging the house batteries as the belt had shredded.

This surely shouldn’t have shredded after only 250 hours of use? A new bracket for the old Bosch alternator had been manufactured in Langkawi. Whether it was a slightly imprecise build that caused chafing of the belt, just a cheap belt, or, both, it didn't matter as we didn’t have another. But, no problem, just start our Panda generator and turn on the battery charger. We did that and were feeling smug until we tried it a second time only to get an overheat exhaust fault on the generator. Its impeller (which provides cooling water) had disintegrated. We had a spare, but, it’s a difficult job to do at sea and we needed charged batteries. Our third and last option was to run the portable Honda generator. It worked and gave us enough charge to get into port. 

Although Bali was much anticipated we ended up with only four days to spend there before our visa ran out. It went like this:

Day 1 – fix boat. First, we had to source alternator belts. With the help of Mande’s Yacht Service, we were able to find one right away. The same cheap brand that disintegrated, but, also some better quality ones that could be made to fit. It was a bit of a struggle, but, we got one on. Next, was the impeller replacement on the generator.

Day 2 – fuel and provision boat. We paid extra and had Mande’s Yacht Service deliver fuel to the boat by jerry can, what a luxury after our recent refuelling difficulties. We also found a Carrefour (French supermarket) in the town of Kuta. They had lovely bread, real French pastries and many other items that you wouldn’t expect to see. What a treat.

Day 3 – a half-day taxi tour followed by the start of the checkout process with visits to the Immigration and Quarantine offices for official stamps. We had actually planned to check out of immigration the next day, but, thirty minutes before the office closed we found out the next day was a public holiday and the office would be closed tomorrow. This necessitated a full-blown sprint by taxi to the next town arriving five minutes before the office closed. If we’d missed it, we would have had to pay a large visa overstay fine. We were disappointed to be asked for a ‘tip’ at the quarantine office as Indonesia is trying really hard to stamp out corruption of this type.

Day 4 – checkout that required visits to two more offices, Customs, followed by the Harbourmaster. Extra fuel filters that we ordered arrived at the last minute and we were able to leave by 1600.

It was a whirlwind visit and somewhat disappointing. I’m sure Bali has wonderful things there somewhere, but, we didn’t have enough time to see them. All we saw was a rather disappointing ‘beach scene’ with expats drinking beer in the bars and very aggressive street salespeople, endless strips of shops and traffic, traffic and more traffic. Our half-day taxi tour at least got us out to the countryside and there were  some very beautiful highlights. 

Bali is primarily Hindu, not Muslim like the rest of Indonesia. Religious symbols were very evident from the offering plates, consisting of incense, flowers and food that were seen everywhere, to backyard shrines/temples. Each house has a rear courtyard with an altar and beautifully painted/gilded decorations.

Our tour guide took us to a holy spring and a Bali traditional village, both very interesting.

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