Schoolies, Foolies and Toolies

Well we certainly are not Schoolies, so where does that leave us? A trip down to the Gold Coast was great. Just loved Tweed Heads, Byron Bay. Surfers Paradise is a little too built up for my taste. It is the annual event when school leavers having finished 12 years of consecutive study congregate in trendy places and party it up. Many finding enterprising ways to secure horrendously overpriced booze and then flop about like jelly fish until escorted home by a kindly police officer or in sometimes more dubious situations by a "Toolie". 

View from Tamborine Mountain

Apparently a Toolie refers to some of the more predatory, non school going individuals out there that see Schoolies week as an opportunity to "socialise" with a younger crowd. Needless to say Schoolies refer to them as being diminutive tools!

And then of course there are Foolies. These are generally Schoolies who, all fired up on the local plonk, proceed to perform daring stunts to impress friends, fair maidens and their Facebook friends by spider manning between balconies of tower apartment blocks and other such stunts. The occasional mishap making the news the next day.

On the way home from Byron Bay (where I have not seen a higher concentration of body beautiful's in many a year), we decided to stop in at Nimbin. Rather disappointed that Byron Bay is seemingly devoid of hippies and instead full of tourists and residents with very non hippy budgets from the looks of the houses. Nimbin did not disappoint though. We arrived just as a small (5 stall) farmers market was going up. Variety of products and produce for sale. The best being produce grown to the sounds of classical music. It did not look like it had done them much good as they were all rather organic (read puny) and knobbly…maybe they tasted better.

Goat poo anyone?

The highlight of Sally's day was being offered a bit of "giggle twig" by a decidedly grubby individual. Not being of that persuasion we gratefully declined his offer of "Nimbin home grown mango flavoured grass" and continued to peruse the hemp related paraphernalia in the many shops. 

Road trip Aussie style

After a week of marina living, we thought it was time to explore the country so organised a trip up the coast to Cairns driving a campervan. Ever since Florida 2 years ago when we first started hunting for a boat, we had been looking forward to our next road trip. There is something enticing about chucking your belongings in the back of the car and heading off into the unknown armed with Google Maps on the iPhone and a summary of the Lonely Planet for the area in your brain. Rather like sailing really but you can do it in pretty much any weather and driving through the night is frowned upon in the land of the kangaroo road kill. To keep costs down we chose to do a delivery which meant we had 5 days to get from Brisbane to Cairns, driving 2000km and only got charged $15 / day for the hire of the van. 

The pick up location was in the middle of nowhere and we rocked up at the train station and soon realised we were on the wrong side of the tracks (not the first time) with no way of getting to the road on the other side, there was a barbed wire fence between us and the office. Armed with 2 heavy bags of clothes, electronics and food we walked 2km to the closest bridge. By the time we reached the office we had a right sweat on so you can imagine our despair when they had no idea of our booking. Luckily they had a van that needed to be relocated to Cairns so we grabbed that one. Unknown to us a delivery meant that the van doesn't get cleaned after the previous occupant…we opened the fridge and inside was a very bloated very old pint of milk. The smell that escaped from the opened door stayed with us for the rest of the trip! We feel sorry for the lady that worked there though as Dylan handed her the stinking pint and told her 'be careful it may explode'. The (dim) lady ignored the warning and threw it into an empty metal bin beside her…where it proceeded to explode ALL over her. To make matters worse, there were road works nearby and their water supply had been shut off for the morning so she had to walk around for the rest of the day smelling of baby vomit!

Settled in, Dylan (who drove for the whole trip) pointed in the direction of Australia Zoo. This place was set up by Steve Irwin and continued to run in his memory. We spent a great afternoon cuddling koalas, feeding kangaroos and staring down crocs. 

We were on a schedule though as had booked a day trip to Fraser Island the following day so a couple of hours at the zoo and we were on the road again to find a camp site for the night to plug in. 

I had never been in a campervan before so had a lovely time checking it out. Sliding the door at the side of the van, the stove was on the left, an alcohol sort we daren't use it for fear of losing our eyebrows. Next to the stove was a fridge that ran off it's own battery so we had it on 24/7, what luxury! The van also had an electric kettle and toaster, what more could we need to travel with, there was even an iron and board tucked away in the back. The settee pulled out into a double bed which was bigger than the v berth we had been sleeping in for the past two years. And to top it all off, Dylan drove the whole way leaving me to navigate and provide the entertainment. We stopped at camping grounds each night where for around AUS$25-$30 / night you get a piece of tarmac and a plug to connect to, to top up the batteries. I was in charge of the accommodation choice and always directed us to the parks off the beaten track, far away from the main roads. Although this meant we took many detours, we found ourselves on small country roads by ourself, driving amongst fields of sugar cane, scooting past ancient farm machinery and eventually emerging into forest parks rewarding beach views. With it being off season, the site owners were so happy to get a customer, they went out of their way to make our stay as comfortable as possible, we felt like celebrities!

We took a day tour to Fraser Island, a beautiful place albeit slightly spoilt by the amount of tourists driven around every day. I know we are spoilt having come across the Pacific where we settled for nothing less than an island all to ourselves but still, I doubt many people appreciate 3 coach loads of tourists all trying to take photographs of the same sand dune. Crowds aside, it's a great place to visit and possibly better in your own 4x4 leaving you with the opportunity to drive away from the groups. The island is just one big sand dune complete with fresh water lakes and rivers. It is an eerie sight to find a river that is totally transparent, the bottom yellow with sand rather than brown with soil.

River on Fraser Island

Ship wreck

Tourists!!!!

The remainder of the trip was spent mainly driving with the occasional stop at a McDonalds to use their loos and purchase a 30 cent ice cream. The only bargain we have found in Australia to date! Following the coastal road we were at times rewarded views of the Whitsunday Islands and surrounding sea, what a spot to go cruising. Blue water, so many islands all close together to explore, we felt the pang of desire as we saw masts anchored out in this paradise. Next time…

Cairns was surprisingly built up for what I was expecting. We dropped the van off and checked into a hostel, that required a 3km walk as we shopped by price not realising the cheaper option was a bus ride away from the town. For $45 / night we got a twin room that consisted of a shelf and 2 beds, very basic and a shared bathroom down the hall. That night we were kept awake with a young crowd at the bar (right below our window) getting pissed until 4am. Delightful. Early the next morning, Dylan witnessed a half dressed man stagger into the bathroom, the only problem was, it was his bottom half that remained undressed! That day we vowed never to stay in a hostel again. I think we may be getting old!

We stayed in Cairns for 2 days and one of those days as a surprise for my birthday, Dylan organised for me to skydive over the barrier reef. So 7am we were at the hostel entrance waiting to be picked up by the shuttle bus, the grey clouds on the horizon looked rather ominous but it hadn't rained for the 3 weeks we had been in Australia so we didn't worry about it too much. Get to the dive office and we are told the clouds are too low and we need to wait for them to clear. Two hours go by and they decide to drive us into town to stretch our legs. Three hours go by and we get taken back to the office and told that no jumps will be taking place that day as the weather doesn't look like it is going to clear. Typical! Not to be dissuaded from this experience, I have rebooked for another time but jumping over Brisbane rather than Cairns. 

At 6am on my birthday morning we caught a flight back to Brisbane and that evening, Dylan treated me to a champagne breakfast. A little backwards on timing I know, but I sure wasn't going to appreciate it before the morning flight! Another year older, another year wiser, no wrinkles or grey hairs yet, I wonder where my next birthday will be????

Interesting statistics of our time onboard Orion

Number of days at sea - 153

Number of nights at sea - 77

Number of days at anchor - 521

Number of days in a marina - 13

Number of days on the hard - 28

Countries visited - 29

Miles sailed - 12585 nm

Average speed for whole trip - 5.5 knots

Max speed reached - 12.3 knots (surfing down a wave between Suwarrow and American Samoa)

Best 24hr run - 177nm (Colombia to Panama)

Worst 24hr run - 43nm (Panama to Galapagos)

Highest wind speed experienced - 48 knots (off Santa Marta, Colombia)

Largest waves experienced - 3m (between Suwarrow and American Samoa in the ITCZ)

Times crossed the Equator - 1

Fish caught - 85 (includes spear and line fishing)

Number of fish species caught - 15 

Largest fish caught  - 10kg (mahi mahi between Galapagos and Marquesas)

Lobsters caught - 67 (all in Caribbean)

Beach BBQs had - 31

Trips to A&E - 2 (Dylan enjoys collecting scars)

Deepest depth free dived - 100ft (Dylan)

No. of flip flops worn through - 4 pairs

Combined weight lost - 25kg

Marinas visited - 4

Nights spent away from Orion - Sally: 27 (went home to UK for 3 weeks) and Dylan: 6

Clearing in fees paid during the 2 years - US$802

Money spent on boat repairs and maintenance -  US$8126

Times eaten by a shark - 0

Times boarded by pirates - 0

Times capsized - 0

Times we have fallen overboard - 0

(The last four are for my Mum's benefit!)

Importing a boat into Australia

The first thing I would advise is do not listen to your fellow yachtie, especially if they have never imported a vessel themselves! Rather ironic then that I write this post I suppose, but I will just lay out what we did and how we did it.

We chose to have all the paperwork done by an Import Broker. This was the recommendation of a number of people in Brisbane who had just gone through the process. At the princely sum of $550 this seems like a lot of money, however as they perform these sorts of tasks all the time they can get it done in the most efficient and timely way. There is so much bureaucracy to wade through that we wouldn't even know where to start to do it ourselves and with only 3 weeks left in the country we wanted the boat imported and on the market as quickly as possible.

We contacted the broker, he sent us a list of what he needed in order to proceed, some of which I shall elaborate on further:

1. Signed letter of authorisation for him to proceed as our broker (they provide the document)

2. Valuation for the boat

3. History of the boat since we have owned her with a time line (month / year) and countries visited

4. Copy of the main information page of the captain's passport

5. List of any expenses involved for the trip from the last foreign port to the first Australian port where you cleared customs. This includes food, fuel and any expenses incurred in preparation for the voyage from the last foreign port of call prior to arrival in Australia.

6. Any documents issued by customs and AQIS (DFF) on arrival in Australia

7. Documents supporting manufacture in USA (only applicable if your hull, deck and bulk heads were made in the US)

A valuation was done and the GST and duty is paid according to that figure given (10% GST and 5% duty of the value). As our boat was built entirely in the US and according to the Free Trade Agreement that Australia have with them, we expected to get out of paying the 5% duty. However…as we have come to learn, bureaucracy had a few tricks up their sleeve to make you pay the full whack anyway. Although the boat had come from the US and we had the builder's certificate to prove it, we hadn't been the captain to sail her from the US and as such, the exemption rule didn't apply. To be honest I think it depends how customs feel on the day of receiving the exemption form as last year, a Tartan 37 owned by a Canadian didn't have to pay duty. O and they don't accept precedence as a good enough argument…so we just paid it!

In 48hrs of receiving the required documents, the import broker had given us a restriction to port (from customs), a quarantine sign off (we didn't need a second inspection as we had cleared in and had the termite review only 2 weeks previous) and an invoice for his work, GST and duty. We really recommend this guy, he was by far the cheapest and most sensible guy we spoke to and seemed to understand us cruisers. We had some horrendous quotes from other import brokers we contacted that told us we had to ditch our fridge, charged $800 for their time and had a 2 weeks turnaround time with guaranteed visit from a termite dog at an additional $1000. So if you need an import broker, we highly recommend David Ouston from Transways.

Did we need to ditch our fridge? No. Did we need to ditch our stove? No (despite a qualified gas man telling us so). I cannot stress enough how important it is to get at least 2 different opinions. If you need further details, please contact us and we will be happy to give you them. By shopping around and asking an awful lot of questions, we have saved ourselves thousands of dollars by warning us off some ludicrous advice, so we would love to return the favour.

Orion is for sale

Yes, after almost 2 years of adventure on Orion, we are putting her up for sale. Sally and I, ever intent on further adventures are going to sell Orion in Australia and then go back to work (for a bit) to plan the next phase!

She has been an incredible little ship. We never would have been able to see what we have seen or experienced what we have without Orion. A yacht is the perfect vehicle (floating caravan) to get us around to remote spots. 

It was a very difficult decision to make. 

We only hope that she is to be used, cruised and not languish in a marina. Australians and New Zealander's are so fortunate to have Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu so close to home. 

If you are interested in being Orion's next owner, click here for more information.

A retrospective look at provisioning

Groceries (fresh produce etc) are available in even the smallest of islands. Logistics and supply chain has reached the furtherest corners of the world so it seems. You could probably pick up a jar of Skippy peanut butter in an igloo store in Antarctica... 

We have eaten far fewer tins / canned goods than we thought we would. One should stock up for the crossing from Galapagos to Polynesia as you could spend 30+ days at sea if there is little wind. But once in the Marquesas, there are loads of fruit and local vegetables and occasionally frozen meats (of questionable quality) from far flung places too. You certainly will not starve. As for prices, we thought that they were not too bad for the staples; fruit, veg, breads, rice and so forth. At the cost of adding a ton of tins to your vessel and at the risk of lowering the waterline another inch or so, I would (in hindsight) not have bought as much food. I'm talking about 100 less tins! I also found with the rice and flour from Panama that almost every bag got bugs in so if I were to do it again, I'd just buy enough to do the crossing then buy more when needed. I ended up throwing quite a bit of Panamanian flour out because it was crawling and this seems to have been the case with many others who bought their flour and rice from the supermarkets of Panama. I didn't experience bugs in our food anywhere else on our trip.

We did catch a large number of fish on our crossing and some of the islands too (all pelagic). We are by no means experienced fishermen, but tended to land a fish (mainly mahi-mahi) almost every time we tossed out a pink squid lure. This combined with a smaller appetite whilst at sea and dislike for cooking at a perpendicular angle meant that we ate surprisingly little. 

What we would recommend stocking up on would be more of the goods that you cannot find or are prohibitively expensive in the middle of the South Pacific. These include snack foods like nuts, biscuits, chocolate, coffee, good tea etc. I like my tea, good British tea and to my horror ran out in the middle of the Pacific. The only type I could find to replenish my stock was Lipton's Yellow Label. Yuck. 

We also went a little over the top on the toilet paper and other toiletries. Rather too much than too little I say, but you can find something to wipe one's posterior with in most places (texture and quality may be similar to that of a cactus but it still works). Now in Australia I still have 9 kitchen rolls and a 12 pack of toilet rolls left and that's having given some away en route!

With the extra food we had onboard, and we had A LOT, we started donating it to wanting individuals as early as the Marquesas. At least you know, if you do over provision, there are many opportunities to give it away en route. This is what I was left with of my Panamanian provisions when arriving in Australia bearing in mind I already gave a lot away to other yachties and island people:

Type	Qty	Measurement
Food
Pasta	2	kg
Tinned Tomato	8	tins
Tinned tomato paste (small)	1	tins
Tinned Veggies (assorted)	4	tins
Tinned black beans	3	tins
Tinned pigeon peas	2	tins
Tinned beef stew	2	tins
Cream of something soup	8	tins
Asparagus tips	2	tins
Artichoke Hearts	2	tins
Tinned Sweet Corn	2	tins
Creamed corn	2	tins
Cream of coconut	2	tins
Tinned chickpeas	6	tins
Tinned beets	2	tins
Tinned fruit	6	tins
Tinned condensed milk	2	tins
Tinned tuna	4	tins
Evaporated milk	6	tins
Smash	6	packets
Gin	1	bottle
Vodka	1	bottle
Rum	1	bottle
Burrito wraps	5	packets
Soy sauce	1	bottle
Pickled ginger	1	jar
Chilli sauce	2	bottle
Mayo	1	jar
Lentils	1	kg
Israeli cous cous	1	kg
Oats	3	kg
Pancake mix	1	box
Pasta sauces	10	packets
Peanut butter	1	jar
Teryakki sauce	1	bottle
Pepper	1	jar
Oregano	1	jar
Turmeric	1	jar
Cumin seeds	1	jar
Garam masala	1	jar
Ground ginger	1	jar
Chives	1	jar
Basil	1	jar
Coriander	1	jar
Salt	1	jar
Desiccated coconut	1	packets
Lemon and Lime juice	1	bottle
Stock cubes (Beef, Chicken, Veg)	3	jars
Tang (boxes)	1	box
Cup of Soup	10	packets
Galley
Tin foil	1
Cling Film	1
Zip lock bags (gallon size)	2
Pam baking spray	1
Dish washing liquid	1
Fire lighters	1
Baking
Baking Powder	1
Yeast	1
Cake mixes	1
Maple syrup	1
Easi-yo	4

So, hindsight being a wonderful thing, here is my amended provisioning list of what I would buy in Panama if I were to do it all over again. We also now know what we will and won't eat. For example, cup of soups sounded like a great idea at the time, but in hindsight, they just don't do it for us on passage where as dried mashed potato with baked beans is my favourite meal! Quick, simple and uses minimal pots and pans. No chopping stuff at 60 degree angles etc.

Type	Original quantity	Revised quantity	Measurement
Non Perishables
Rice	8	2	kg
Pasta (Fusilli, shells)	6	2	kg
Spaghetti	5	2	kg
2 min noods	58	20	packets
Pearl barley	6	2	packets
Tinned Tomato	33	15	tins
Tinned tomato paste (small)	7	4	tins
Tinned Veggies (assorted)	20	5	tins
Tinned potatoes	8	2	tins
Tinned Black beans	6	4	tins
Tinned Beans pigeon peas	8	6	tins
Tinned beef stew	16	10	tins
Tinned ham	4	2	tins
Tinned corned beef hash	6	4	tins
Octopus	4	4	tins
Corned beef	2	2	tins
Tinned chicken	18	18	tins
Pork and beans	2	2	tins
Baked beans	6	12	tins
Chilli beans	2	2	tins
Meatballs	2	2	tins
Cream of something soup	20	10	tins
Asparagus tips	1	1	tins
Artichoke Hearts	5	1	tins
Tinned Sweet Corn	10	5	tins
Creamed corn	2	2	tins
Tinned Coconut milk	3	10	tins
Cream of coconut	2	2	tins
Tinned chickpeas	20	10	tins
Tinned beets	2	2	tins
Tinned mushrooms	4	10	tins
Tinned fruit	20	10	tins
Tinned condensed milk	9	2	tins
Tinned tuna	24	15	tins
Tinned salmon	4	4	tins
Tinned cream	4	8	tins
Evaporated milk	6	4	tins
Smash	7	20	packets
Coke	24	24	cans
Tonic	12	12	cans
Beers	6	5	cases
Wine	22	22	boxes
Gin	1	4	bottles
Vodka	4	4	bottles
Rum	18	18	bottles
Whisky	4	4	bottles
Burrito wraps	30	15	packets of 8
Chocolate bar (small)	7	8	boxes
Sweets (Hard candies)	1	8	boxes
Milk UHT	36	36	litres
Crisps (Pringles etc)	8	8	packets
Biscuits	5	8	boxes
Soy sauce	2	1	bottles
Tomato Sauce	2	2	bottles
Sweet Chilli Sauce	2	1	bottles
Mixed pickle	2	1	jar
Pickled ginger	1	1	jar
Chilli sauce	2	1	bottles
Chilli paste	3	1	jar
Mayo	4	1	jar
Lentils	8	2	kg
Sprouting seeds	1	1	bag
Israeli cous cous	1	1	kg
Dried pigeon peas	1	1	kg
Crackers (Ducales)	4	2	tins
Granola	2	2	bag
Granola bars	1	1	boxes
Oats	4	4	kg
Breadcrumbs	2	2	units
Pancake mix	4	2	boxes
Pasta sauces	27	15	sachets
Cous cous	3	2	kg
Pasta rice	1	1	kg
Peanut butter	2	1	jar
Teryakki sauce	1	1	bottles
Pepper	2	1	units
Curry powder	2	1	units
Oregano	2	1	units
Smoked paprika	1	1	units
Turmeric	2	1	units
Cumin seeds	2	1	units
Cumin powder	2	1	units
Chilli powder	2	1	units
Chilli flakes	1	1	units
Garam masala	2	1	units
Ground ginger	1	1	units
Chives	2	1	units
Basil	2	1	units
Coriander	1	1	units
Thyme	2	1	units
Salt	2	1	units
Desiccated coconut	4	2	packets
Tea	3	2	boxes
Coffee	4	6	jars
Olives	5	5	pouches
Minced garlic	1	1	jar
Parmesan cheese	4	1	jar
Lemon and Lime juice	2	1	bottles
Coffee mate	2	1	jar
Brown Sugar	4	2	kg
White Sugar	7	2	kg
Dark brown sugar	1	1	kg
Stock cubes (Beef, Chicken, Veg)	6	2	units
Olive Oil	4	2	units
Vegetable oil	4	2	units
Jam	2	2	jars
Tang (boxes)	8	2	boxes
Cup of Soup	28	12	units
Gravy	2	2	sachets
Popcorn	6	2	kg
Sunflower seeds	1	1	packets
Jalapeños	1	1	jar
Perishables – fruit
Oranges	40	40	units
Tomatoes	10	10	units
Courgette	0	2	units
Carrots	20	20	units
Cabbages	3	4	units
Potatoes	30	20	units
Green bananas	3	3	hands
Apples	0	12	units
Passion fruit	10	10	units
Coconut	0	4	units
Pumpkin	3	2	units
Onions	30	20	units
Garlic	20	20	units
Limes	40	40	units
Ginger	1	1	units
Avo	2	2	units
Beans	0	1	units
Perishables – dairy
Cheese (blanco)	2	2	kg
Cheese (normal)	2	2	kg
Yoghurt	12	12	units
Cream cheese	2	1	units
Butter	3	4	units
Eggs	6	3	trays of 24
Perishables – other
Bread	1	1	loaf
Mince meat	1	1	packets
Sausage	1	1	packets
Bacon	1	1	packets
Galley
Tin foil	3	1	boxes
Cling Film	2	1	boxes
Grease proof paper	2	1	boxes
Zip lock bags (gallon size)	3	1	boxes
Scourers	12	12	units
Pam baking spray	4	4	units
Dish washing liquid	4	4	bottles
Fire lighters	5	5	units
Batteries	3	3	boxes
Baking
Baking Powder	3	1	boxes
Yeast	3	1	units
Chocolate chips	3	3	bags
Egg replacer	1	1	units
Cake mixes	9	8	boxes
Cocoa Powder	4	2	packets
Flour	9	4	kg
Nuts	6	6	kg
Dried fruit	8	1	kg
Vanilla essence	2	1	bottles
Honey	1	1	bottles
Maple syrup	3	2	bottles
Icing sugar	2	1	boxes
Raisins	1	4	boxes
Muesli	1	2	kg
Easi-yo	10	10	sachets