Voting Abroad

We had planned to vote in the upcoming election on November 6. However, our absentee ballots had not arrived by the time we headed down under to sail Sea Child toward Australia & the Great Barrier Reef. So we had our ballots mailed to us at Mackay Marina, our entry port, and they had arrived after about a 5 day transit via FedEx. We had expected to sail to Mackay, where we have found the best provisioning options in all of Queensland, but our freezer problem kept us north in the Whitsundays for longer than we expected. With time running out, we decided that it would be best if we rented a car at Airlie Beach, and drove the +150KM south to Mackay. With road construction and two lane highways, the drive took us over 2 hours. Add in the massive rain squalls that peppered the drive and the right hand drive/left side road, and we definitely had an interesting experience while performing our patriotic duty.

The lands between Airlie Beach and Mackay are massive and impressive and quite different than anything we have seen on this Sea Child journey. The prairie-like landscape of Queensland, Australia, featured beautiful farms with cattle grazing in fields of green, nursing their young as they gazed upon the passing cars. Another incredible ranch had a herd of horses galloping along with their white long legs and mains blowing in the wind, impressive and beautiful all at the same time. As we ventured further south toward the mountain region of north Mackay, the ranching turned to sugarcane farming, with field after field after field all laid out along beautiful rolling green hills. The cane fields were more like rows of grapes and reminded us of vineyards rather than cane farms. Every so often, a cane house would frame an edge of a large field, quite reminiscent of the plantation homes that dot the Upcountry, Maui region. As we drove along and the sunset came upon us, we finally reached the Clarion Hotel at Mackay Marina, tand retrieved our absentee ballots.

After a wonderful dinner at the Clarion, we began our drive back to Airlie Beach, and once outside the city limits of Mackay, the rains came down in earnest. This slowed our progress back north, and with the road construction along the way, we pushed onward. The fields were now black under the rains and clouds, the full moon invisible. The Bruce Highway connecting the Whitsunday Region and Mackay is populated by large double trailer trucks who barrel toward an unknown destination. Their distant taillights guided us back to Airlie Beach, where the delightful Whitsunday Sailing Club served us cold beers as the mission to vote was almost complete. We made our votes the next day and went to the Australian Post Office to send fastest delivery to Maui. We decided to pay the extra money to mail these ballots back and we realized that we must be crazy Americans, determined to cast our votes from faraway shores. After all the effort to rent a car, drive the distance, and pay the postage, we found ourselves out +$200 AUS. We really must be crazy Americans. And we insured that we can remain active participants in any dialog regarding American affairs. Well, thats what we tell ourselves, anyway, to justify the effort!!


CURRENT POSITON:
20 DEGREES 14.536 MINUTES SOUTH
148 DEGREES, 50.178 MINUTES EAST

More stories and Google earth position at:

www.sailblogs.com/member/seachild

Aloha, Australia! Aloha, Whitsunday Islands

We arrived in Mackay, Australia after rounding Swain Reef and beating our way up Capricorn Channel. The industrial port of Hay Point, with all the bulk carrier ships offshore at anchor, kept us busy at 3am as wind gust were approaching +25 knots SW. At 4:30am, Friday October 12, 2012, we finally entered the channel of Mackay, Australia, and with the help of the Mackay Harbor Master, we found the Q-dock and tied up for a few hours of much needed rest. After clearing into Australia with super friendly bio-security & border customs agents, we had finally arrived in Mackay, Australia. 1100 miles after departing Dumbea Pass, New Caledonia, and 5 1/2 days later, we entered our next foreign country. Australia, with all her vastness, awaited our discovery of islands and coastlines that Sea Child has yet to explore.

We victualed at the Coles Market in Mackay Town, across the Pioneer River from the Marina at Mackay. The Pioneer River is interesting in that it totally dries at low tide, and as we rode in the taxi toward the market, we noticed the vessels scattered here and there, high and dry. We found the market at Coles to be quite complete, with everything from fresh organic fruits and vegetables to a complete selection of tofu & vegetarian items to choose from. We stocked up on everything, as all fresh items on Sea Child were confiscated by the bio-security agent. We bought fresh red, yellow & green peppers, fresh eggplant, fresh apples, oranges & bananas, tofu, chili peppers and soy cream, along with a myriad of items. After about 2 hours of shopping, and $400 later (a weeks provisions for 4 passengers), we returned to Sea Child at Mackay Marina, and again, as we crossed the Pioneer River, took notice that those high and dry vessels were now floating. It was very apparent why Mackay built the outer marina, as the tides may have been drastic, but the marina never went dry.

After one night in the marina, we bid farewell to Mackay and headed NW, toward the islands & bays of the Whitsunday Islands. We sailed along for 6 hours or so yesterday, to our first anchorage at Thomas Island. Of course celebration beers were in order, and after a grilled eggplant sandwich lunch, we headed ashore to Naked Lady Beach on Thomas Island. A rugged island of scrub and eucalyptus trees, we followed the dry riverbed along a trail toward the SE side of the little island. There, we found a beautiful vista of the surrounding islands, and nosed around the driftwood and rock-strewn beach. The islands of the Whitsundays remind us so far of a cross between the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, and the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest. Beautiful seascapes surround us now, as we continue to sail NW to Whitsunday Island, where Buddy & Nancy will inquire about their return flight options to Sydney. Its wonderful for us to have such great guests come and join a discovery leg on Sea Child. Their company has been a gift to us, and we expect to miss them greatly once they take their leave back to the USA.

In the next few days, Sea Child will locate some spectacular dive sites on Hook Island, just NE of Whitsunday Island. A day trip out to Great Barrier Reef, from Hook Island, is in the plans for next week.


Current location:

20 DEGREES, 31.813 SOUTH
149 DEGREES, 02.238 EAST


Please see this link for google earth position of Sea Child:

www.sailblogs.com/member/seachild

Australia on our port side

Sea Child is nearing Mackay, Australia, our arrival port of entry after the Coral Sea Crossing (eta 0400 Friday October 12, 2012). Please see this link to read more and also view our google earth position:

www.sailblogs.com/member/seachild


21 degrees 50.164 minutes SOUTH
150 degrees 57.420 minutes EAST

Au Revoir New Caledonia

Sea Child has departed New Caledonia and is now sailing to Great Barrier Reef, Australia. For more information and Google Earth position, please see this link:

www.sailblogs.com/member/seachild

23 degrees 10 minutes SOUTH
163 degrees, 40 minutes EAST