Year 2 15 July 2025 – Marlin Marina- Cairns – Another Busy Day

We woke to a better day and had a cereal breakfast. The freezer man came early as the freezer had not changed and he suggested letting out some gas and that should help. It did not and I began to feel he was full of gas!! He investigated further and found poor piping and recommended a new plate and to change the piping. I agreed to this and they worked and fitted it in the afternoon. It was then turned on and it started at 20 degrees and gradually began to come down. The fitter asked me to text him in the evening to let him know where it got to. He said he would return at 8.00am in the morning.

Whilst they were working in the morning 4 of us set off to the supermarket and did a big shop. We did not buy any frozen stuff pending the freezer outcome. This always takes time and we taxied back to the boat and then began to put things away. The problem was that there was a lot of parts and materials from various lockers which had to be emptied to give access to the workman.

I had contacted the pipe man in the engine room to say it was still leaking. He returned and brought a rubber seal and more gasket but stated that the fitting was a bit warped and it needed to be re-engineered.

By the afternoon we had had enough and went off for a well-earned beer and supper. It was Mark’s last night so we had to celebrate. He is leaving tomorrow to fly to Brisbane for a night before flying home to Blighty.  When we returned to Stormbird the freezer was minus 2.8 so it was going in the right direction. We decided if things looked good in the morning William and Nicola kindly agreed to go and get some freezer food.

We hope to leave for Indonesia tomorrow. Customs are attending the boat at 8.30am. The picture of the day is a dragon boat being launched for an evening paddle.

Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.  I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com