After days at anchor fixing leaks, we needed a nice cruisy sail to remind us we have made the right decision in buying Anui. Despite the amount of maintenance which at times leaves us deflated, once we raise anchor and sail her, we beam from ear to ear and all woes are forgotten.
This was very much the case for our passage from Fraser Island to Burnett Heads: under spinnaker in a light SE breeze. Once set up, spinnaker runs are generally easy going affairs: smooth and gentle. It is a favourite point of sail of ours. Here are a few wide angle shots to give you a sense of the conditions.
Our passage to Burnett Heads took place earlier than originally planned. Our Open Ocean Watermaker needed attention, with the end of one of the pressure cylinders leaking. As a yachtie friend put it: “What is it with you and water?” I don’t know, maybe we are jinxed! When we don’t want water on the inside it dribbles in, and when we do want it, it dribbles in too, but is not supposed to! We discovered this as we were attempting to use the watermaker for the first time since purchasing Anui.
Look at Wade’s face: it says “Bugger” or is it “WTF”? It was not something we could easily fix at anchor at Fraser Island, so we booked a berth at the Port Bundaberg Marina and lined up the job with Ray Pettingale at R&B Marine Services who hopefully will get the water maker operational again in the next few days. Ray thought that the end piece of the pressure vessel may have become brittle from the pickling and when we turned up the pressure, it snapped. Fortunately we had a spare end piece on board. This will be installed, but Ray is also machining us a few extras in case the other end pieces snap too.
We could do without the watermaker for a while, but it will make life more comfortable especially with our friend Phil joining us shortly to spend a couple of weeks with us at the Reef. We want all mod cons and no water Nazi behaviour from the skipper!
While we eagerly wait for our spare parts and Phil to arrive, we are doing the usual provisioning and laundry chores as well as catching up with yachting friends we had not seen in a while.
Sv-Anui 
I am enjoying your blog and photos muchly. We , too, contemplated buying a bigger cat with a view of venture into the pacific. We have done this previously in a mono. I found a big cat that I really liked design wise but it’s 20 years old. New engines, about to fail everything else and wiring installed in the build that may be hard to access. My partner, the engineer, baulked but the positive was that he has enthusiastically agreed to some much needed upgrades on our present boat! ( new inverter so the washing machine can work, water maker, freezers) I’m sure Anui will be worth it in the long run but ironing out the maintainance / upgrades will take a while . Hang in there and enjoy the space and comfort.
Thanks Sue for relating your own story and your words of encouragement. We know it will all be worthwhile in the end, but sometimes it gets hard. In keeping with our worts and all approach to sharing our experiences, we tell it as we see it… it never is a smooth transition. Having said that Anui is a sensational cat and we will get her sorted!
It will have a full mains pressure shower with massage jets working when I arrive right? I have certain standards that I am expecting. Is there a jacuzzi onboard?
Sorry to hear about your ongoing fight with the water gods.
See you soon.
Phil
Full mains pressure shower yes, Swedish massage, in your dreams. Demanding passengers will be keel hauled… does that count as a jacuzzi? See you soon!
Getting there, oh what a good day that will be.
Nearly there!
Oh dear: With 300L I fear my future destiny will be as a water nazi! I’m hoping there will be enough in the kitty for a water maker after launch day. Time will tell. Hey, thanks again for your openness with your journey. We appreciate that you don’t try to sugarcoat your experiences.
Hi guys, you really only need the water maker if you want to get away for extended periods without having to come back to port. We only had 200l on TIE and were able to collect rainwater. For coastal cruising it was ok. But once we moved on board permanently, the portable W/M made life easier.
Re our openness… we’ll it is our philosophy – say it as it is, so people understand life afloat is not always easy! Our posts are also an avenue to vent our frustrations as well as share the huge highs! Thanks for commenting. It means a lot to us.