Heading to Adelaide, South Australia

 

Our three day passage from Portland, Victoria to Adelaide, South Australia began at first light. We received a great send-off from the local gulls and terns who had evidently started partying in earnest, but very quietly, during the night without us.

Those loose-boweled, foulest of fowls, had covered the aft deck, bimini and dodger with plops of brown bird poop. Perhaps with all the Portland sawdust on deck, they'd mistaken it for a litter box? It is aptly referred to as the poop deck now.

No sooner were we out of Portland's breakwater than the dolphins appeared. Little guys, not much more than a meter long, were jumping, surfing the waves and watching the crew of Nine of Cups heave over the side rails. We'd left our sea legs behind the breakwater. We were both seasick for the day and miserable, despite the dolphins' efforts to cheer us up. “Oh look, David (heave, heave)...another dolphin.” “Yeah, they're (heave, heave) little guys, huh?” (Note to self: do a blog post on seasickness some time...but not now!)

As we got further offshore, golden-headed gannets, albatross and sooty shearwaters took over their watch as the guidance committee. They thankfully didn't feel the need to evacuate on our deck.

The swells were big and the ride continued to be rocky. Cooking on the first day included opening up a package of plain water crackers and even that seemed like a major effort. Day 2 and we were ready for something for breakfast...a hot meal. Scrambled eggs and toast seemed easy and bland enough, but remember Nine of Cups Rule #1...Nothing's ever easy on a boat … especially when it's rocking and lurching gunwale to gunwale.

I managed to get four eggs out of the fridge. They sit nicely on the grate of the gimballed stovetop. I cracked them one-handed (always one hand for the chore and one for the boat) and carefully ignored the shell bits that were in the bowl. I beat the eggs till frothy, but lighting the stove burner is a two-handed job. A lull in the boat movement and I was suckered into setting the bowl of eggs on the non-skid counter. In a nanosecond, the four beaten eggs had escaped the bowl and were all over the counter, oozing down the front of the drawers and puddling in yellow gelatinous pool of slime at and on my feet. I cursed, I yelled, I stomped my feet … then cleaned it all up and started over again. Neptune does not suffer theatrics.

More tomorrow...

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

World Sword Swallower's Day

The last Saturday of each February has been World Sword Swallower's Day. Sponsored by Ripley's Believe It or Not, this is the real thing. Sword swallowing at its best. Considering I'm a girl who still gags brushing her teeth, this is so NOT a hobby I'd want to pursue BUT that's just me. I don't recommend trying this at home, but give a look at the website...it's cutting edge.

Tootsie Rolls Birthday

You might try chewing then swallowing a Tootsie Roll while you're learning about sword swallowing.

Portland, Victoria - Waiting, Watching and Sawdust

 

We're still in Portland, waiting for a weather window to head west towards Adelaide. The winds in this area have been reasonable, but the winds further to the west have not. We have to wait for them to get in sync and play well together. Perhaps soon?

In the meantime, we haven't been bored in Portland. The sunrises and sunsets here have been awesome.

Beyond our first foray, we've been in town most everyday and always found something to amuse us. We walked out to the Fauna Park to watch the white kangaroos one day.

Another day, we visited the Maritime Discovery Museum which houses the famous Portland Lifeboat used in the rescue of passengers from the sinking ship Admella in 1859.

Also on display is a huge sperm whale skeleton, large enough to walk inside. Gives you a Jonah kind of feeling as you sit inside its ribcage. Both blue whales and southern rights still visit these waters frequently. Whenever one is spotted, they fly a yellow flag outside the Visitor's Center to alert folks to be on the lookout for spouts.

There's a vintage cable tram with a restored 1886 saloon car that travels a 3.5km route along the coast and harbor. We prefer walking, but we enjoyed watching a little bit of history pass by.

There's a charm to this little city … its little alleyways, historic bluestone buildings and street signs at each roundabout in town.

I did manage to get the cover and lifting harness made for the new outboard engine and the IRS tax prep work is done. Taxes are much easier now that we're unemployed and don't have much income.

The only negative thing about Portland ... it's done us dirty. The decks, canvas, the rigging … every surface inside and out is covered in sawdust from the wood chip plant across the bay. A good rainstorm of the non-violent variety would be a blessing.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

International World Thinking Day

Inspired by worldwide Girl Scouts/Girl Guides organizations. This year's dual themes are children's and mother's health.

George Washington's Birthday (2/22/1732)

Really! Eat some cherry pie!

National Margarita Day

End of a busy day celebrating? Relax with this wonderful tequila-based concoction OR enjoy it just as much without the alcohol.

Victoria's Discovery Coast - Gannets, Lighthouses and Wind Farms

 

Victoria's Discovery Coast is “ tucked away” in the southwest corner of the state. It wasn't tucked away well enough obviously, because we found it, although I don't think many other people do. It was a gorgeous, summer's day with blue skies, puffy clouds and wind in the wrong direction for sailing west. We hired a car for the day and took off to see what we could see. We expected lots of tourist traffic and crowded beaches, but surprisingly, we had the whole area pretty much to ourselves. School's in session here and perhaps for many, summer holidays are over.

Our first stop was at Australia's only mainland breeding gannet colony on Point Danger. We sailed by Lawrence Rocks and Point Danger on our approach, but didn't realize the rocks were virtually covered with gannets … some 6000 pairs. We thought all that white was perhaps bird poop and much of it probably is. We reached the mainland colony via gravel roads near the Alcoa Aluminium smelting plant. Evidently, the gannets moved ashore in 1996 because of overcrowding and the colony has continued growing ever since. In order to protect them from predators, Maremma sheep dogs are used as guards with great success. These dogs are also used to protect penguins. We saw no sheep dogs and no other people, but we certainly saw lots and lots of gannets.

We headed to Cape Nelson, a very scenic route along the high cliffed coast. The views were stupendous with miles of white sandy beach at the seaside. Several short walks, part of the 250km Great Southwest Walk, were marked and once again, we had them all to ourselves. Wind farms take advantage of the constant air movement here. Though we appreciate the fact that they're not using fossil fuels to generate energy and they're probably very efficient, they're certainly not very pretty.

We headed to Cape Bridgewater. If Shelley Beach was on the east coast of the USA (or Australia), there would have been no place for a towel. Here we counted six cars, a few folks walking on the beach and three surfers.

On the road before us, as we drove to the tops of the cliffs, a huge herd of wind generators seem to jump out in front of us. There are so many of them and they're so close to the road, it's kind of creepy. When you get out at the car park for a walk, you can hear the blades whizzing around. They always look like they're barely turning, but in actuality the outer tips of the blades travel at about 120 mph (193 km/h) and at maximum winds speeds spin at ~180 mph (290 km/h). We're told that the Portland Wind Energy Project is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere providing enough energy to supply electricity needs for 113,000 homes each year. We get the point, but still in our humble opinions … they're an eyesore in such a gorgeous area. We'd hate to be a bird in the vicinity.

We walked through the Petrified Forest which was not a “petrified forest” at all, but rather natural erosion of stone that looked more like a moonscape. We observed the blowholes nearby though they weren't blowing much because the sea had calmed significantly. For us, a calm sea is always preferable to super-duper blowholes.

We drove a loop back to Portland and stopped at the Tarragal Limestone Caves as we passed through the beautiful Bridgewater Lakes. The effort expended in the short, steep climb to the caves was somewhat wasted since the wind farm greatly obscured what would have been an outstanding view.

The farmlands in the area reminded us of the flat Midwest prairies of the USA. Stone foundations, remnants of days past, were evident in many paddocks (fields). We saw our first emu in the wild which pleasantly surprised us and one field had innumerable ibis feeding on whatever it is they feed on … grubs, seeds?

We ended the day at the Whaler's Bluff Lighthouse. This 1859 classic lighthouse structure was originally built elsewhere and transported to this spot later stone by stone. Views of Portland Harbour and Nun's Beach below us were spectacular. Discovery Coast … discovered.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Chocolate Mint Day

Didn't we just have peppermint patty day? Well, never too much chocolate or mint, I guess. Try something different though...how about chocolate ice cream with some mint candies crushed on top?