Journal Entry – June 20 & 21, 2007 Friends in Sydney, New & Old

Author: Pam

It’s just another day in paradise, well that is if you like the rain forest. Ok, we know we are now starting to sound a bit whiney. It has now been raining for almost a week and we are still waiting for the clouds to part so we can drop the engine into its new home. It has been confirmed by reliable sources Australia is having the worst June weather they have had in 40 years. We have not had a conversation with anyone that has not included that fact and their complete and utter surprise at how cold it has been, how hard the wind has blown and how much rain has fallen, thankfully it is finally going into the catchments and it is now up to 50 percent. We have been assured over and over this is not normal, well I guess not if it only happens every 40 years. I seem to have a habit of showing up places for record breaking weather. I am fine with it as long as it continues to happen while we are on land.

We spent the day finally getting some boat projects done. Scott installed our spare water pump for the fresh water system. On the way to Sydney the old one bit the dust because it ran dry while the boat was heeled too far to port to keep water in the Starboard tank (when the water level was getting low). We will chalk that one up to learning about what we needed to know about the cross feeding water tanks on Starship. He also put in a two way valve for the wash down pump so we can select fresh or salt water. We originally had the pump installed with that option, but unfortunately the technician that worked on the water maker didn’t realize the purpose of the valve and he took it out. Scott was a good “drippy” (plumber) for the day and water is now flowing in and pumping in all of the right directions and with great pressure.

Yippee!!! You guessed it the sun is finally out, but the wind is still blowing. Bob called to say it looked like tomorrow would finally be a good day. We were a little disappointed at first after waiting for more than a week, but it became clear an engine on a crane with that much wind was a recipe for a disaster. We decided to tackle an outdoor project and put our dinghy in the water so we could run both of our outboard engines. After a little sucking on the fuel line (who needs mouth wash?) Scott got our 4 horse power engine started. On his test drive he went around to the stern of the boat to discover it looked like a light blue leopard. Unbeknownst to us in the engine’s dying moments it coughed up and sputtered black oil and soot all over the stern, which was not a pretty sight. How embarrassing, we had no idea poor Starship looked so unsightly. I gathered up everything I could think of that could possibly take the stubborn gooey stuff off. I scrubbed and scrubbed while Scott held the dinghy near the transom. In 25 minutes I made a dent, but it was going to take another go.

We had to put the cleaning and outboard project on hold for the day. I had made a Dr. appointment to check in on a couple of small concerns before we head out to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands where the option of medical care will be practically non-existent. After my Dr. visit we met up with our friend Amber from San Francisco and spent the afternoon catching up on our respective adventures. Amber has been traveling around New Zealand and Australia since February and had visited us on Starship in NZ when she first arrived. She is now our only friend that we have seen in two countries, so some of you have some catching up to do.

Our luck meeting really nice people has continued. The other morning while we were having a muffin and coffee at CYC Michael Kelley approached us and said he was at our presentation to the Cruising Division on Tuesday and how much he enjoyed it. We chatted for a few minutes and then he went on his way. About an hour later while we were meeting with Ron and Sam he came by again and invited us to dinner on Thursday evening. So, on Thursday evening we met him and his friend Victoria (she is from Switzerland) at the CYC and then jumped in a cab to one of his favorite bistro restaurants in Potts Point. We had a lovely dinner, I ate the biggest chicken breast I have ever seen. Victoria was heading out the next day for a three week trip home to Zurich. She had talked to her mother in Moscow earlier in the day and told her she was having dinner with us, her mother said “you have to meet them I saw them on TV”. We have now heard our arrival in Sydney was seen in Russia, the US, UK and New Zealand. As our primary goal is to spread a message of independence we are absolutely thrilled with the wide spread coverage that our voyage is producing.