Sens de La Vie – Returning to our Yacht. March 2021

 

Sens De La Vie stopping Traffic

Sens de La Vie – Returning to our Yacht.

Returning to our yacht was filled with challenges and difficulties none so greater than leaving our beloved mountain Beechmont, that we call home with our family and friends.  

Spending the last 3 months residing in the home of my daughter Tanya, son in law Ben and our beautiful grandchildren Teddy, Kate and Abby on the Munster Farm Ochilview. 

Saying goodbye to Jacqui our other daughter who is struggling with health problems was also heartbreaking that I would not be around and close to give them both support.

 

 Lots of teary farewell dinners with friends and big hugs, With mixed emotions, leaving our community of family and friends we departed in a hire care packed with belongings and boat spare parts and equipment making our way back to Sens de la Vie berthed at Cairns.

Friends Kerry and Steve Carmody 
Hugs and  Breakfast on the Sunshine Coast

We traveled slowly up the coast, caught up with Justin and Glen, Margaret and Pat both sailing couples we have formed a connection and friendship with over the past few years. Generously supportive with advise and understanding for this sailing life adventure. Justine And Glen spent many years living working and sailing in The gulf, Gove and the Wessels islands and her knowledge and advice has been so valuable to assist us in our passages in these remote areas. We are in regular contact as WWSA members we look after each other.

Justine Porter and I catching up on life and sailing

Lots of sights along the way 

Cardwell

We had a short break at Cape Gloucester as Terry was not in good health, he became tired very quickly. Terry was healing from the crush wound on his leg. 

A big thank you to Vanessa Bagley, Beauty by Nature Product , who gifted us a pain and healing oil .  This oil was a godsend and made a significant improvement in the  healing of the large hematoma on Terry's leg.

Terry had lost over 12 kilos in the space of 2 months and he was advised to go to a doctor in Cairns for further testing as his Iron levels were very high.

The return to boat required firstly much cleaning, 3 months in the tropics resulted in mold and maintenance servicing of all operational systems.  

Complete with bird nests in the boom and the BBQ.

 Booked into the Boat shed in Cairns for a lift out of water to do a small repair, so we thought,  on our rudder and new anti-foul, check sea cocks and general inspections of  hull, engine and so forth.

It was a surprise to find our rudder had a serious structural crack when we lifted her out of the water, both Terry and I were devastated and in shock.  Getting a repair was going to be both costly and time consuming. 

 

An Insurance claim was lodged but out of pocket expenses with a huge excess, additional hire of car and accommodation put a big dent in our living budget.  We were fortunate  to secure a shipwright, rigger and other  services on short notice.  The rudder had to be removed which meant that we had to de rig the boat to lift it higher in the crane cradle, steering gear dismantled which is attached to the autohelm, like a domino effect, additional work took time.  

The boat had its hull cleaned and prepped for antifoul  in scorching humid heat and many thanks to Matt from yacht  Cool Change, yachties we meet last year who are also going to the Kimberly Coast,  for giving Terry a hand to do some very hard yakka work. 

Sens de la Vie stopping road traffic as she moves into the boat shed.

It was evident at this time that Terry's Health and general well-being, loss of muscle and stamina was deteriorating further as we endeavored to get all the work done as quickly as possible. 

We got lifted back in after 10 days, return the hire car as we could no longer extend due to Easter Holiday demand, and made our way back to berth to complete preparations, get medical assistance for Terry, fine tune the rigging, replace batteries and all sorts of little jobs including installation of a new head(toilet).

We docked at Yorkeys Knob Marina being closer to the sea to catch a breeze in the heat and also to be close to Matt and Lisa on Cool Change for the company, support and care that they kindly gave to us over the next couple of weeks.

At this time we had a chance catch up with our dear friends Leanne and Angus from our home mountain.  Could not have been better timing as our spirits were low from the difficulties of the boat repairs and Terry’s declining health concerns.  It was just what we needed,  a little support and care from our lifelong good friends .

We also were fortunate to meet a young couple, Dan and Jess finishing a major boat refit in the boat yard, a year long project, Yacht “Vision”,  they also recognized we were struggling and kindly offered a spare car for our use over the next couple of weeks.   This was a tremendous kind gesture and so grateful as I had a little mishap with the electric winch when we were reinstalling the head sail, that required a dash to Emergency at Cairns hospital.

I tore the finger pads off 2 fingers on my right hand.  The little finger still had a partial finger pad that the doctor left with the hope that it would partially reattach. The ring finger pad completely gone. No finger prints anymore, the gold ring on my finger for 40 plus years cut off. This healing would take a while with antibiotics and dressings needed to be done everyday. The visit to Cairns Hospital, 5 hours,  was a social and cultural experience. This was a time when all Qld residents and visitors were required to wear a mask in public places.

As I sat alone in the Triage waiting room, bleeding and in a degree of pain my thoughts and appreciation to the Nurses and medical staff handling the care of patients presenting in emergency Triage during these difficult times in Covid restrictions.  The triage was also a Methadone distribution and was also handling those with mental illness that were requiring medication, along with an influx of interstate holiday makers seeking covid testing, the clinic for this was next door, no one reads signs anymore.  The patience of the nurses and medical staff is to be highly commended for managing all the rules and restrictions with Covid 19. They are the true heroes in service to communities during this Pandemic.

Terry could not sit with me and waited outside. Like others in the waiting room 2 meters apart we were alone in our time of need for comfort from love ones.

None so sad as a young Torres Strait Islander man who came to the reception triage wanting to see his Mum who was admitted into emergency.  He explained to the Nurse that the ship he was crew on was departing in 3 hours and that he would not get to see his Mum for 3 months and was desperate to give her a hug and reassure her everything would be OK. Sadly, the rules disallowed him into triage, and he was offered a phone link to the bedside of his Mum.  As I witness the scene of a young man saying his goodbyes only meters away from his Mum behind locked doors, my heart went out to all those who have been impacted by Covid restrictions, locked downs and general disruption.

 What we have taken for granted in our great health system in Australia.   I Could not see the expressions on the faces of the nurses behind their masks. In their eyes of those health professionals was a genuine sadness that they could not deliver the normal care to a patient and family members in times of emergency. The pain in my fingers replaced by a heartfelt pain and sadness to all families in Australia that have been isolated without the normal support and care of loved ones in times of need and those entrusted to care for our community restricted to deliver support in times of need.  I will never forget this experience, not for the injury, goodness your all know this is not my first trip into emergency, and this injury was not significant.  I am truly grateful that this country has not had the enormous impact that other countries have experienced and forever grateful for the freedoms we enjoy even though at times frustratingly restrictive and disruptive.

And then came the rain.   Flooding torrential rain,  that continued for 2 weeks impeding our progress on preparations but giving us  time to sort out Terry's health issues and for my fingers to heal to insure no infection sets in to the open wound.

Terry, had several tests some which took over 7 days to return results. After much concern and worry during this period no definitive diagnosis on why his Iron count was so high, loss of weight, muscle and general wellness.  In the end the doctors put this down to stress and he was been prescribed some vitamins to help his general well-being.  His Iron tests came back normal and at the time of writing this blog, his health is improving.  To witness him fading away both mentally and physically was distressing and a challenging time for both of us.

And on those days when we sit and look over the ocean and enjoy a beautiful sunset on board our yacht we remind ourselves despite our setbacks and personal challenges, how very fortunate we are to be living and experiencing our long held dream of a sailing adventure.

Trinity Beach Cairns

Preparations and Provisioning.

Red Claw

For those who may be interested this is a big undertaking to provision for long periods in remote areas its has many difficulties and challenges. 

What we will need for such a long voyage to remote coast lines with little amenities or services if we run out of something or need parts.  There are no more Dan Murphy's until Darwin, good lord running out of alcohol could cause a mutiny.

 Indeed, we have to rely on our resources and know how to fix, mend and make along the way, no more marinas or docks past Cooktown to fill up with fuel.  We will have to do by Jerry cans ship to shore on  Dingy then find a lift into a settlement service station.

Medical and First aid supplies are extensive including sutures, antibiotics, local anesthesia, epi pens, serve pain management such as a green stick puffer and general first aid supplies for wounds, snakebites, burns, strains and so forth. Then, we have spare parts upon spare parts, extra fuel, oils and all the emergency equipment that is extensive and a requirement for off shore cruising, as well as 6 month supply of personal medications.

The Captains tools for servicing the boat, bolt cutters and angle grinder in case we are derigged and the list goes on.  Fitting all this as well as personal items of clothes, toiletries, electronic devices, spare batteries and power supplies, inverters, cooking equipment, books, charts and so much more into a small space the size of most garages is challenging to say the least.

Food stock of dry and canned foods as well as fresh food is my management in meal planning.

All of which have to be secure and stowed away, you can’t have stuff flying about in the boat as you are on a 45 degree angle or in rough seas.

The stowage is pretty good for this size boat and she can carry a lot but it does make feel a little cluttered inside more then normally when doing short passages up the coast.  The back cabin is a storage room now but the hardest thing to do is to identify what items need to have quick and easy accessibility for emergencies and everyday use, so you are not scrambling around in lockers whilst underway. The lockers are categorized into zones and have baskets to give layers.

All this takes time  and is different for each yachty who cruises so there are general rules varying to individual yachties needs.  I have devised some zones in the boat so that the Capt knows generally where everything is in am emergency, however this is a learning curve for the Capt as he tends to put stuff in odd places, like tools on my kitchen bench, but as we go we are both learning to navigate not only the waters of OZ but our new way of living.

Power management is very important,  we have to sail most of the time now to preserve fuel and thankfully the SE Trade winds are now in our favor for the next couple of months.  New batteries were purchased but instead of the AGM’s weighing 70 Kilos each Terry opted for 14 Kilo lithium batteries which had individual power management systems built in to negate any  change over of a new alternator and current onboard systems.

I got mail at Yorkeys from Vanessa Bagley, some personal skin care from her range Beauty by Nature.  Such kindness, I certainly needed some personal care as the last few weeks had taken its toll. I now have a dedicated shelf of skin care in the head.

We finally departed in the rain from Yorkeys, after getting the all clear on Terry’s results and made way to Port Douglas to catch up with my Cousin Michael Cook and his beautiful wife Deborah. 

This was very special by chance unplanned catchup. Michael and I reminisced on our childhood and our beloved grandparents Nanna and Pop Cook.  Nanna in particular, her curiosity and interest in all 13 of her grandchildren, her stories, her big hugs, amazing delights from her kitchen and her laughter.  They along with our fathers who were close brothers would be delighted knowing that we connected again as adults.

Both our fathers in Service, Dad in Airforce and Uncle Stewart in the police force and Army reserves we spent a tropical rainy Anzac day in reflection of their many years in service to our country and communities.

We also had an outing up into the hinterland behind Cairns, which was a delightful reprieve from being on the boat doing boat jobs.  Thank you Michael and Deborah, it seems to be that when we need support it comes our way, like guardian angels, forever grateful for the kindness that people bestow upon us.

Shortly after Anzac Day we departed from Port Douglas to Hope Island where we had a few days to test everything and settle back into sailing life.