Life aboard at Lake Macquarie

The lake is at times a giant millpond which the girls love after the hurley burley of the harbour. The dogs have been for dinghy rides across the lake and have settled. Jacki has decided she wants to sleep in the wheel house as she slept under our bedroom window at the house - she takes her job of top dog seriously. She has been unsettled at night, constantly coming in to check on us which meant none of us got uninterrupted sleep. The wheel house works well, as with both hatches open she looks down into our aft cabin from one hatch and into the galley and saloon from the other. Idge seems to enjoy the lake, she gets up early to sit in the sun and follows it around the boat all day.

Marg has been spending lots of time with her family...cousin Greg is in hospital after having major surgery so she has been able to visit him and Aunty Beryl has been enjoying lots of Marg's company. Beryl came to the yacht club for lunch and a look at Manatee from the dock. Cousin Denise and Bruce took us touring the district in Bruce's truck on Saturday, the girls had a ball bouncing around the back seat...they miss car rides!Bruce, Denise, AK & Pearl at Swansea Heads with Moon Islet in the background.

AK has been painting above Manatee's waterline, taking advantage of the calm waters. A steel boat is a bit like the opera house, you start at one end and as soon as you get to the other you start again. We've done rough patch jobs up until now so Manatee's sides have been different shades of blue due to fading. She is looking much better with even colouring. Of course with a project like this underway the calm lake has turned into a heaving mass of water with breakers worth surfing. Dinghy rides have become adventures and today was so rough we haven't got off Manatee. Winds have been 30 knots so we have all bunkered downstairs.