From windy(!) Cooktown we sailed to Cape
Bedford, with a horrific side-on swell that almost drove the poor Matey to jump
overboard. Once nicely tucked in behind Cape Bedford she contemplated aspiring
to a lengthy life once again. Next day we sailed on to Cape Flattery: a pretty
spot with a long beach, lovely melaleucas and fresh water. Another day, and on
to Eagle Cay, with Lizard Island, our ultimate destination, in sight. Although
the wind was strong and the water choppy we snorkelled at Eagle Cay, excited by
the colour and beauty of the coral, so much more healthy, it seemed, than much
of the coral we had seen further south. We had Eagle Cay to ourselves — its
shallow lagoon is surrounded by reefs, and only shallow-draft vessels can
enter. We decided that lingering a few days at Eagle Cay was essential. That
evening scotch-o’clock was celebrated in anticipation of magnificent snorkeling
the next day …
Bail
But alas! The joy was muted when later that
night Captain noticed water in the starboard bilge. Oh dear, a leak! After a
night of three-hour bailing shifts, next morning we investigated the possible
source of the leak (by bailing, drying with sponges and squeezing eyes and
torches into inaccessible bilge access holes, and eventually concluded it was
coming from the aft (rear) of the hull, possibly the rudder. During the night,
around eight buckets of water had entered the hull: definitely bailable with
the hand pump, but not a joy to contemplate, particularly if it got worse. A
decision had to be made and bail it was — back to Cooktown, and then probably
on to Cairns, prematurely, for haulout, against the wind. Urgh!
A rough nine-hour trip back to Cooktown
required bailing at least four buckets per hour as the water was forced in by
the pounding of the sea. No great problem to bail, but the anxiety was always
present that the leak might suddenly become much worse (the ‘abandon ship’
procedure was revised). Fortunately, once at anchor again in Cooktown, the leak
resumed at its original rate. Phew!
Then the thought dawned … if the problem
were in the rudder casing, and we beached TC, maybe it could be sorted out in
Cooktown ... So, beach TC we did on a toe-squelching patch of mud (in
croc-infested waters). A significant damaged area in the rudder casing was
discovered, where a sizeable section of fiberglass had chipped away. Epoxy it
and all’s well — woo hoo!
But, of course, that would have been too
easy. After a battle to refloat TC at high tide, as the half moon was
approaching and tide heights were receding, the leak was once again evident as
TC floated. Hmmm. The damaged rudder casing wasn’t the source of the leak, but
at least it had been discovered and repaired, which was not a bad thing;
definitely preferable to having it suddenly become a major problem at an
inopportune time. Still, the source of the leak was yet to be found.
Fortune smiles
Meanwhile, Captain had noticed the Coast
Guard at Cooktown had a trolley for hauling boats out of the water. After some
investigation it was found to be the perfect size for TC (this is quite
unusual), and it happened to be available. We could haul TC out of the water at
Cooktown, and hopefully not need to retreat to Cairns. The good folk of
Cooktown could not have been more helpful, especially Coast Guard Hugh, who
patiently waited around for the tide to rise enough to sit TC on the trolley,
while entertaining the Matey with his many yarns.
Some boat noises just don’t sound good.
With TC sitting in the trolley the starboard hull was flooded again to force
the leak to reveal itself. The hull creaked and groaned as the weight of the water made its
presence felt, and not a moment too soon the leak revealed itself, up inside the centreboard casing. Matey was
very relieved to bail this flood!
In Cooktown the slipway is a good place to
make new friends (of the human variety). About 50 metres up-river from the
alleged site where old Cookie and his mates patched up the Endeavour’s leaky
hull, we were now planning to patch up TC’s leak. We were inundated by lovely
boat people offering assistance, and just as Capt was contemplating procuring
fibreglassing bits and pieces, some people we’d met more than two years ago at
Yellow Patch (Curtis Island), who happened to have fibreglass patches on board,
wandered by … ‘Er, don’t I know you from somewhere? …’
Getting into the centerboard casing to
re-fibreglass it was slightly challenging, and the odd expletive may have been
heard by the amazing paperbarks nearby with extraordinary girth and most likely
several hundred years under their ‘belts’. No doubt they could tell many a yarn
...
Fingers crossed the problem of leakage has
been solved!
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| Moon rise at Eagle Cay |
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| Beached near Cooktown |
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| Watch out for crocs! |
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| Starboard hull stripped bare and awash |
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| Cooktown slipway |
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| How roads should be constructed. No need to cut it down. |
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| Admirable girth of many metres |
