Cape Capricorn to Rosslyn Bay

We left Cape Capricorn early and sailed to Rosslyn Bay.  We’d booked a marina berth and I was a little excited about bathing… it had been a while.

 

The weather was kind and the sailing was good.  It was an overdue uneventful trip.

 

I called ahead to the Rosslyn Bay Marina to find out our berth number so we could motor straight into our home for the next week.  Armed with all of the relevant information, we approached the marina, turned on the motor (with our newly installed key bypass system), lowered the sails and put her in gear… where’s my fucking gears?  No forward, no reverse, no sails and being pushed into the breakwater wall around the marina.  I knew the uneventfulness wouldn’t last long.

 

We opened the hatch to the motor, jiggled the gear cable and managed to get her into gear.  We motored into the marina and found our berth.  It took a couple of U-turns but we eventually managed to get into the berth without reverse.  I jumped out onto the dock and the kids threw me the ropes.  I tied her to the front cleat but she wouldn’t stop coming.  Michael had turned the motor off but the tide just kept pushing her in.  I was trying to stop 16 tonnes from mounting the dock (and taking out a fire hydrant in the process).  A couple of neighbouring grotty yachties came and helped get her tied up at the back and stop her progress.

 

A shower and dinner out was a lovely but short lived diversion from our gearbox problems.

 

The next day Michael was again head first in the motor (I see more of his arse than anything these days) and the inevitable was confirmed… we need a new gearbox.  The next 24 hours consisted of much internet research, forum reading, phone call making and deal doing until we had one being sent from Sydney.  Now for the waiting…

 

We stocked up on groceries, got a haircut (I am now dye-free and very grey) and spent some time at the Capricornia Cruising Yacht Club, where even the dog is welcome.  It was quite relaxing knowing we couldn’t do anything until the new gearbox showed up.

 

The gearbox showed up late and it was all backwards.  The gear lever was on the wrong side and it was too short to reach the couplings.  Thank God Michael does nothing by the book and managed to bodgy everything so that it fit and worked!  He started the motor and got me to watch the drive shaft.  He put it in forward

 

Michael: Is it turning?

 

Me:  Yes

 

He put it in reverse.

 

Michael: Is it turning the other way now?

 

Me:  Yes

 

Michael:  Great, we have gears.

 

Gears, cheers and beers all round.  A mighty celebration was had as we prepared to leave the next day.

Our shiny new gearbox

 

We were headed to great Keppel Island, only about 10nm away so we didn’t need an early start.  Marina check out time was midday so at about 11.30am we untied Kidnapped from her comfortable  bed, put her in reverse and went forward into the dock!

 

Thankfully we were being cautious and had a neighbouring yachtie hold the bow line while I held the stern line.  No damage was done and we realised that as everything on the gearbox was backwards and bodgied to fit, the gears were now backwards.  Oh well, there’s only two, not that confusing, we can live with it for the moment.

 

Off to Keppel Island to “get wrecked”.