Stuck in Paradise.....

In a perfect world, we would have been heading north today. In reality, we can't leave here till we fit the new macerator pump, and that won't arrive till tomorrow.

Raw water filter

But if you have to be stuck, this is a great place to be. Today was a magic Queensland pre-winter day.  With brilliant sunshine, little wind and a mild 22 degrees, it was a wonderful day to be tinkering with small jobs on Endless Summer.

More jobs??? Yes, the reality is that there are always things to do on most boats.

Our job list today included sorting out a minor leak on the so-called dripless shaft seals, cleaning the raw water strainers, fitting a new float switch on the mid-ship bilge pump, and trying to fix the air-horns.

This last job was the only one which was not successful. Well, not fully successful anyway. The air-horn which was not working at all, now sounds like a cow in the last stages of a difficult pregnancy. We will have to try again!

Dripless shaft seal

Once the job list was complete it was time to relax, and relax we did. Captain Bligh's wife Pacifica cooked up a feast, and an assortment of Tin Can Bay locals came around. It was one of those happy occasions with ten people around a long table, enjoying great food, wine and company.

After dinner we were entertained with a guitar and vocals performance by the talented Miss Tracy and her friend Georgia. Just wonderful!!!

The evening then either got better or worse, depending upon your attitude to loud 1960's music, courtesy of Captain Bligh. Love it or hate it, it was a rollicking night. .......As for me, I loved it!

To other matters.... the Endless Summer audience is expanding. As you can see from the table on the left, we now have people reading the blog from a ever-increasing list of countries, including Qatar, Argentina, Malaysia and Columbia.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to share our journey. It's great to know that we have such a diverse audience.

Thanks also to those (few) who have left comments. Keep them coming, they are really appreciated.

Tomorrow we hope to be heading north once more. We still have around 800 nautical miles (1500 km) to go, and I am sure that there will be plenty of adventures.

Goodbye from Tin Can Bay,

Navman