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.

Renovating the V-Berth

Before...

The interior of our boat had suffered some water damage over the years hence we always planned to 'do her up'. Renovating a boat whilst living aboard and travelling (as we have been), is not necessarily that easy. We started off slowly, fixing exterior problems first. There's little point in correcting cosmetic issues below when the source of the problem is still there. We rebedded deck fittings and made some temporary hatch covers; doing constant detective work to determine where the water is coming in.

Our first interior project was the forward head (toilet to the landlubbers!), which we gutted and rebuilt, using original timbers where possible. No sooner was this finished than we had another job on our hands - making the v-berth (forward cabin) habitable for the baby we are now expecting.

The v-berth was previously our storage 'shed', housing Julian's tools, our sail wardrobe, canvas awnings and a fabulous front-opening 12volt Waeco fridge! The decor surrounding this paraphernalia was grotty to say the least. The forward bulkhead at the chain locker was sporting delaminated teak veneer. The vinyl headlining was more than 30 years old and definitely showing its age. The portlights were leaking and the surrounding woodwork was damaged. The upholstery was past its use-by date and given its final death-knell by our cats. With the clock ticking down to my due-date we started work.

First on the list was demolition. We ripped out the headlining, removed the timbers and veneers and dismantled the portlights. We rebedded the stanchions, pulpit and babystay fittings above deck and gave the anchor locker a clean up and fresh coat of white epoxy paint. Below is a snapshot of how the cabin looked at this point.
It was good to reach the stage where something new was ready to be fixed on. Painted plywood had previously surrounded the portlights. This was now replaced with more durable laminex as demonstrated below.
Julian re-sealed the portlight areas using epoxy and silicon.
Meanwhile the original bronze portlight frames were polished, taking them from green to gold as shown here.
Original teak timbers were stripped back and restored.
New vinyl headlining was glued in place and the full re-assembly began.

Three coats of Goldspar interior satin varnish was applied to all timbers.
Here Carlos our cat is seen 'lending a hand'.
And here is the finished result.
All we need now is the baby....

December 2009 - January 2010

Happy New Year. It was a busy end to 2009 despite the fact that I'm now so pregnant I can barely move! We set sail from Shute Harbour (as seen above) for a trip to Hamilton Island or 'Hamo' as it's often known. Once inside the marina we were given a berth on E arm next to the recently opened Yacht Club.
Our neighbours had just taken delivery of their brand-new custom-built Riviera 70 and we were lucky enough to be invited aboard for the guided tour. The interior finish was impressive to say the least and the fishing gear - well that's another story.
Our main reason for being on Hamilton Island was work. Julian had a shipwright job on the luxury charter boat Zanzibar II, as pictured below.
"If only Brilliant II had a saloon this big", I thought when I dropped by!
Julian spent the best part of a week repairing exterior gelcoat on Zanzibar II so she would look her best for the festive season and beyond.
Meanwhile I made some work-related visits to some of Hamilton Island's more recent additions. These included the Great Barrier Reef Yacht Club, Hamilton Island Golf Club and 'qualia', a 6-star luxury resort. Below are a couple of shots of the Yacht Club and Golf Course.



The Hamilton Island Golf Club (located on neighbouring Dent Island) was particularly spectacular (if a little dry at the moment due to the lack of rain). To read my write-up on the Golf Club please follow this link to Suite 101.

All too soon our five days on Hamo came to an end and it was back to Airlie Beach for Julian to continue renovating our v-berth. No rest for the wicked, or so they say.
Our working Christmas was held in Abel Point Marina. Here we made friends with a new set of neighbours - the crew of a catamaran named Nirvana Seafari. Carlos was fascinated by their dog Lulu, although he disgraced himself by stealing her food.
On Boxing Day we took off for a couple of days r&r to Stonehaven Bay on Hook Island. Here Julian was especially pleased to catch a coral trout.
I took up residence under our Bedouin tent-style awning on the foredeck. Stonehaven is a hilly anchorage where the wind funnels down from the peaks. In tradewind season we tend to avoid it because of these 'bullets' but in the summer heat we're now experiencing it's one of the more comfortably exposed spots.
It was back to Airlie Beach for a tropical New Years Eve complete with fireworks under the palm trees on the beach - a great start to 2010 with lots of excitement ahead.

Seaplane Flight to the Great Barrier Reef

In December 2009 we will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. To commemorate these past five years of (mostly) marital bliss, we decided to take a seaplane flight over the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef. Our excursion was brought forward by my growing baby bump - by December 22nd we worried I might not fit! We took off in a Cessna Caravan from the Whitsunday Airport near Shute Harbour. Our pilot led us over the northern Whitsunday Islands as seen below.
Reaching the outer reef was nothing short of spectacular. I sat on the left hand side of the plane while Julian scored the co-pilot's seat diagonally to my right. From Julian's window he spotted several turtles and two large brown sharks swimming nose to tail. From my vantage point I was lucky enough to see a huge manta ray.
In keeping with the romance of our special occasion we flew above tiny Heart Reef.
The return journey took us over celebrated landmarks such as Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach.
Below us the waters of the Whitsundays sparkled and yachts sailed peacefully by.
For practical information on Whitsunday helicopter and seaplane tours please see my latest article called Whitsundays Scenic Flights, currently published on Suite 101.

Brilliant II - A Peterson 44

I recently had a request from a reader for some information about our boat. Brilliant II is a Peterson 44, sometimes known as a Kelly-Peterson, or KP44. Below is an article about Brilliant II, which appeared in the Australian magazine Cruising Helmsman. Click on the individual pages to read more.

Since this article was written we've been slowly making some modifications - nothing too radical, as we want to preserve the original character of the boat. Mostly we've repaired existing features or added new gadgets to improve the quality of our day-to-day lives. Repairs have included having a complete new dodger made (with minor adjustments to the old design), rebedding deck fittings (responsible for leaks) and maintaining the exterior teak. These last two jobs are pretty much on-going as is keeping an eye on the canvas.

Interior projects have involved replacing headlining in the aft cabin, re-building bookshelves in the main saloon and undertaking a complete refit of the forward head. Next on the list is the V-berth, which we must now convert from a storage space for Julian's tools to the nursery for our soon-to-arrive son. I'll be posting some before, during and after shots to document how this particular project goes.

Maintaining a 30+ year-old boat is no small task. At our current pace it will take many years to complete all the jobs we would like to see done and even then the routine chores will go on. Why do we do it? Because even though boat living is often hard work, it continues to be full of rewards.

Shute Harbour - A New Home Base

View across Shute Harbour

Shute Harbour is a little oasis just south of Airlie Beach where we are currently holed up on a rented mooring. Our journey is at a temporary halt while we embark on our latest project - preparing for a family. Our new crew member is due in January 2010. When he is strong enough to set sail we will continue on our travels but for now the best place for him is inside his Mum, although he's starting to get noticed as you can see!

For the next few months the Whitsundays will be our home and right now Shute Harbour is an excellent base. Sheltered from the winds that plague the anchorage at Airlie Beach, Shute Harbour is calm and secure. Moorings are available through Whitsunday-Rent-A-Yacht, one of the longest-running charter companies around.

Other than its stunning scenery some of the great things about stopping in the Whitsundays are the opportunities here. We are currently celebrating the issue of Julian's Coxswain's licence. This allows him to work for the resident bareboat companies in the capacity of a briefer. Briefers instruct the holidaymakers who come here to charter a yacht, catamaran or power cruiser. A good briefer will talk the charterers through all the elements of sailing in the Whitsundays, with particular reference to the type of vessel they have chosen.

Lately Julian's also been doing quite a few de-briefs which involve meeting the charterers on Hamilton Island at the end of their trip and returning the boat to base. This is good fun and a great chance to try out a wide variety of boats. The boat in the photo below is a Perry 43 catamaran - an interesting ride for a die-hard monohull sailor!

I have been busy as usual with various writing and photography projects. My latest assignment is a series of articles for an on-line magazine called Suite 101. Hot off the press are travel pieces about the Whitsundays and Hamilton Island, full of information for prospective visitors on where to stay and what to do. Also just published are articles on sailing Hamilton Island Race Week, visiting Hamilton Island by boat and hiring Whitsunday charter boats and bareboats; essential reading for skippers planning on sailing these seas.

Whitsunday Whales

The Whitsunday whale-watching season for 2009 has now come to an end. It's been a thrill for visitors and residents alike thanks to increased numbers of migrating whales allowing everyone the opportunity for a front-row view. This year we were extremely fortunate. The famous white whale Migaloo showed up in the region, much to the delight of passengers on board the Fantasea Adventure vessel 'Wonder', who received a visit from Migaloo during their day trip to nearby Hardy Reef. It's been a magical experience to hear whale song through the hull at night and witness spectacular behaviour such as breaching. Photographing the whales was surprisingly difficult. Whenever they emerged from the sea it always seemed to happen in slow motion, yet I could rarely press the shutter down in time. I think you're just so amazed by what's happening in front of you it seems a shame to view it through the filter of a lens. Nonetheless here are a collection of shaky snapshots to give you the general idea...