Bundaberg

Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to explore Bundaberg as thoroughly as we’d have liked due to the mechanical issues we faced and the repairs needed, but the people of Bundaberg are definitely worth a mention…

Krissy, Pete & Zayne

Pete, Krissy, Zayne, Michael

Jed & Grace

 

Krissy is Michael’s half sister, Pete is her partner and Zayne is her son.  It was our 3^rd catch up in 5 years… it was also Michael & Krissy’s 3^rd catch up in 35 years.  Michael’s family has a complicated history and that’s a story within itself.

 

 

It was the first time I’d met my nephew Zyane and was delighted to meet him.  He is a fine young man and a real pleasure to spend time with.  He looked after Grace & Jed during our stay and that just adds to his list of good points.

We were lucky enough to have been in Bundaberg for both Krissy & Zayne’s birthdays and feel very fortunate that we were able to share their special days with them.

They helped us enormously with the repairs on the boat and for that we cannot thank them enough… oh and of course the home made alcohol they loaded us up with prior to our departure.

Suzie the Sailor
 

Suzie & her daughter Melissa

 

Suzie is a brave and admirable woman who is sailing solo and working as a teacher.  She’s also an absolute hoot and fantastic company.  She has faced many trials as a solo female sailor and if anyone thinks they can pull the wool over her eyes, they could be in for a surprise.  I truly hope our paths cross again.

Gary the Mechanic

Gary couldn’t fix our damper plate or our starter motor has he was completely chocka-block with work but he took the time to come and have a look, offer advice and even lent us tools to help us complete the job on our own.  He didn’t charge any sort of call out fee or tool hire so a case a beer was handed over as a thank you for his efforts.  We bought the beer, it wasn’t part of our stash from Krissy & Pete.

Paul the Electrician

Paul is the opposite of Gary the Mechanic.  Paul came to the boat, offered bad advice, charged a call out fee and had no intention of repairing any of the problems.  Michael was able to fix the anchor winch for about $20 after refusing to believe Paul’s solution that would have cost us $320.

 

 

During the two weeks we spent in Bundaberg Michael managed to complete the following…

·         Remove broken damper plate

·         Order new damper plate from Sydney

·         Have new damper plate resized

·         Install new damper plate

·         Attempt to have started motor repaired

·         Purchase new starter motor

·         Install new starter motor

·         Erect new davit and move solar panels (with help from Pete)

·         Fix winch by replacing wiring and switch

·         Fix auto pilot

·         Replaced broken exhaust hose

 
 

He has to start wearing his undies on the outside because he’s my hero!