Broken Foot

Yes, the headline is unfortunately true.  I've damaged my foot, maybe broken it, just 4 days into this voyage.  More on that in a minute but, just to bring things up to current, here's what's been happening.

3 big events on Tuesday at the Marmong Point Marina ...

• The visit from David, our boat builder, and the Yanmar engine mechanic.  That all went very well, Southern Belle's motor passed with flying colours.   
• Bruce - who is a radio 'Guru' - fixed our HF radio.  Since we had it installed Mr G couldn't get the receive function to work.  We thought we weren't doing it correctly but Bruce - who, along with his wife Thelma, had drinks and dinner with us Monday night - did some research on the unit and found the problem.  As usual with these things it was simple but you had to know what you were doing - just pushing 3 buttons simultaneously fixed the problem.
• Also, we got to know a lovely couple on board another boat at the marina - Peter, Nicole and their dog Charlotte aboard Escape Pod.  They came over for drinks at 5 and we had a great time.  Their trip north begins in about 2 weeks so we promised to catch up along the way.

So Tuesday was another great day on the water!

I woke up on Wednesday with the blues for some reason.  I couldn't really say what the matter was except that I just felt down....like I needed a good cry.  I think now it was a combination of homesickness - for Molly, the house, familiar surrounds - and realising the enormity of this trip...to be away, living on a small boat and controlled by nature for 7 months.  I don't think there are many endeavours that put you - as a human - in such awareness of the powers of the earth.  We had been talking about our trip out of Lake Mac which, most people, would think was just as simple as driving out.   But it isn't.  Not only do you have to take the weather into account but also the tide and the water depth.  And then there's the tide at your destination, and the weather, and the conditions during the time it takes to get there...and on and on.  With Queensland and then the Louisiade Islands ahead I think it all got to me.   Mr G is so good at this and he's been an outstanding and caring partner so far so I shouldn't have felt anything but happy but sometimes you can't help the way emotions come over you.

Then the universe gave me a cheering up!  The lady that runs the coffee shop at the marina - Julie - is from my home state of Georgia in the USA.  Its so good to talk to her whenever we're there because she talks and sounds just like me!  I love sharing stories about the south and the food and the places with her but she hadn't been there this time around so far.  Mr G went down for a shower and coffee and I did the same but said I'd just go back to the boat.  After his coffee he said Julie was looking for me and that she had made something special.  So I went down to see her and she had made cornbread.... and it was delicious!  It cheered me right up to talk to Julie and spend some time with a kindred spirit.



Lovely Julie in her little coffee café.

Georgia girls.

After that I felt much better.  We went back to the boat to get ready to leave in the evening on the high tide.  Then, as always happens on a boat, something broke - we discovered a leak under the galley sink.  Turns out the filter on the drinking water tap had suddenly (after 2 years) - for some reason - decided to come apart at the seams and start spraying water out of the side.  We brought spares for just about everything - except that...of course.  Turns out there was a Bias Marine store two blocks from the LMYC where we had moored on the first night so we decided to pull out and go there to get a replacement.  But we would have to hurry. 

As we left Bruce helped get the lines off the dock,  George came on the wheel as we reversed and I was taking down the washing from around the cockpit stepping spritely from one side to the other ... and then I kind of jumped down behind the wheel.  Then it happened.  I was wearing flip flop shoes at the time - not good - and I turned my ankle hard on the edge of the teak.  On its own this was bad enough but with the momentum of my jump my foot wedged between the teak and the side of the deck and I heard a snap.   I fell over and said, "I think I've broken my foot!".  Mr G asked if I wanted to go back but I said let's keep going and we can look at it when we get down to the LMYC.  Anyway a long story but we decided to keep going after we got the sink part.  My foot hurt but I could still walk on it a bit.  Hopefully it was just a sprain.  Mr G played nurse applying a great compression bandage which helped a lot.

The next morning we were on a courtesy mooring on the north side of the Swansea Bridge waiting for the early morning tide.  I had gone to bed the night before with 2 night strength Mersyndol so felt no pain until I woke up.  But we were already almost at sea - and the day was forecast to be sunny with no wind and a flat calm - so we decided to motor (for 6 hours) to Port Stephens.  I could go to the hospital there.   The most important thing to me was that Mr G keeps moving north.  I don't want to miss the Whitsundays or the rendezvous with the club boats so I was all for moving on.  So off we went. 

It was a lovely day at sea.  I found it really hard to move around the boat because my foot was turning quite black and blue and swollen.  Mr G alternated a frozen towel with a compression bandage all the way so I was well taken care of.  To keep things interesting - just off the port of Newcastle - we had an encounter with a very large ship that was taking on a pilot via helicopter to enter the port.  It slowly moved right in front of us as the helicopter landed.  We were so close we could take pictures!

We are tied up now at the Soldiers Point Marina in Port Stephens.  Yesterday, on arrival, we rushed off to the hospital but the doctor - who was very busy and depended on a nurse to tell her what my foot looked like - didn't order the right x-rays so couldn't tell if my foot was broken.  When she finally found time to see me the x-ray place had closed.  We have to go back at 2:15 today with new x-rays to find out if I'm broken.  Mr G spoke to a friend last night and it looks like we'll have some help in taking the boat up to Queensland....but we'll know more late this afternoon.

So the adventures have truly begun.  Onwards....with a limp.