Wild Weather and a Baby on Board

Joshua Jesse Smallwood

The day we'd been waiting for finally arrived. Our new crew member turned up on Sunday January 24th at 9.20am. Joshua Jesse Smallwood was born at Proserpine Hospital, which is about 20 minutes by car from Abel Point Marina.

I went into labour early on Saturday morning, as not one, but two cyclone systems hovered off the Queensland coast. Tropical cyclones Neville and Olga seemed determined to distract me from the task at hand!

By the time we got to the hospital that night the contractions were five minutes apart. Initially I coped quite well, but in the early hours of Sunday morning we hit an obstacle. The midwife informed us that labour had stopped progressing and there appeared to be a problem. Shortly after this announcement a doctor was brought in to assess the situation. There were issues with the fetal heart rate and it was quickly decided to proceed with an emergency c-section.

When Joshua eventually emerged the surgeons found the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice. He had also managed to tie a knot in it, which, they informed us, is quite rare. "I can't believe he's already tied his first knot", said a rather stunned new dad.

Although we hadn't imagined I would end up in the operating theatre, we are extremely grateful to the midwife and surgical team at Proserpine Hospital for their prompt diagnosis and intervention. Our little boy was delivered safely thanks to them.

Joshua's first day of life was also a day of wild winds. Julian returned to the marina to double up on mooring lines securing Brilliant II to her dock. Meanwhile at the hospital all hell broke loose. Suddenly the place was full of an unprecedented number of pregnant ladies giving birth. Apparently when cyclones threaten and the atmospheric pressure drops this is exactly what happens. It certainly shows how human beings are governed by the forces of nature on our planet!

Four days after Joshua was born we were cleared to go home. The weather had subsided significantly and we were ready to settle back into life afloat with our tiny newborn. Below is a proud dad making his way down the dock.

And mum with her new baby on board...


Inside Brilliant II we had to make some modifications to our living space. Because of the surgery I wasn't able to bend through the little walkway we call the 'hobbit hole' and I couldn't climb onto the aft bunk. The solution was to move out of our aft cabin for a while. Thankfully we could set up camp in the saloon where the dinette folds down into a comfortable double bed, with the added advantage of being closer to both the aircon and baby Joshua's cabin.

Now we can enjoy nurturing Joshua and watching him grow.