giddy in Gladstone

We left Pancake Creek at first light (ages ago now) to make the most of the high tide. The Beneteau that up anchored after us got stuck but due to Manatee's shallow draft we leapt into open seas. It took what felt like forever to reach Gladstone Harbour and we used the time to do a refresher on radio protocols as Gladstone Port controls entry into the channel and permission is required to enter as the cargo ship traffic is horrendous. As we approached the channel we passed a 'parking lot' of moored cargo ships awaiting their entry times and we entered with trepidation, the channel seeming very narrow and churned. Once in the channel it took hours to reach the harbour, which we almost missed as we were so concerned about looking out for 'traffic'.

We arranged a mooring buoy with Gladstone marina as we were unsure of where we could anchor (nowhere much, we later decided). AK managed to wrench her shoulder in her numerous attempts to pick up the buoy in the fast flowing currents in the harbour. Finally we were secure! Margot headed off into town to provision while AK nursed her shoulder and found that it was a 2km walk to the supermarket from the marina. She heard a 'hey there' from a passing car and Sue screeched to a halt to give her a lift and sightseeing tour...how lucky was that!

Gladstone Marina

After a few days recovery we enjoyed all the sights Gladstone had to offer, worked on Manatee (with Roger's help AK climbed the mast to replace the halyard that Kerry was required to cut at Pancake) and socialised with Sue and Rog. Gladstone has a lot to offer, the boardwalks along the waterfront are fantastic as is the parkland. We quickly acclimatised and enjoyed the walk (uphill) into "town".

AK up the mast

We eventually found we had to move on, the air caused heaps of health problems for us all and Marg ended up having tests at the local hospital due to heart problems (which luckily appeared to have sorted itself without intervention).

Hmm ...wonder why we got sick-just around the corner from the marina-and no it's not sugar!

 

Bye, bye Gladstone