Trial Run

Finally Tuesday 17th July comes as we have waited anxiously over the weekend for James to come out again to fix the motor.  He is here a few hours and he and Andrew work on the motor, James showing Andrew a few tricks that will save some time and money and hopefully tears down the track, so that he knows what to do to fix certain things.  Ahhh, what a feeling of relief when James finally cranks it over and we motor out for a quick ten minute test run and all is going well.  It certainly felt like a celebration for us that night, so a few drinks and nibbles out the back whilst watching a beautiful sun set and beginning to finally relax.

James and Andrew fixing motor

Time to celebrate and relax after motor fixed.

The following day with clear skies, calm waters and no wind we decide to do a trial run ourselves before heading off up north. Also need to get the hours up on Mingo, so she can have her first service. We are only at 7 hours and need to get up to 20 hours on the motor.  So on Wednesday we pack the boat up again, fill up the water tank and head through the bay, past the Port of Brisbane  and three hours later we are at St Helena Island. 

Andrew at St Helena Island

Andrew at old prison grave site
St Helena Island

We moored Mingo up about 20 meters out from the island and then took the Sea Calf over, tied her up and went for a stroll around.  St Helena Island is Queensland's most historic island. It is a National Park now that is located approx 4 km from the mouth of the Brisbane river.  The island  contains the ruins of the States first penal settlement that was functioned as a high security colonial prison from 1867 till 1932.  Today there are very few original prison structures that remain on the island and these were mainly built of beach rock.  On the island is an area fenced off which is the old grave site for some of the many prisoners that died there.  The graves have numbers instead of names, these numbers were what the prisoners were given when they came to the island.  A very interesting island to visit. 

Chris at one of the old remains of prison site.
St Helena Island

We then motored along for another couple of hours over to the western side of Stradbroke to Peel Island.  Going on dusk we notice out the front a pod of at least five dolphins swimming around  us.  Its always so beautiful seeing dolphins in the wild and I am so mesmerised by them.  We stop the motor and sit there for a good 20 minutes watching them swimming around.   

Dolphins on the way to Peel Island

Then as we head over the eastern side of Peel Island to a place called Horseshoe bay, its a beautiful area and there is only one  other boat moored in the bay.  It is getting dark now so we decide to anchor Mingo here for the night.  Manoeuvring around to find a good place to anchor in waters about 4 meters deep and we are set for the night.  Christie cooks up a steak for dinner and we sit back with a wine and beer on the back and enjoy our first proper night out of the marina again.

During the night the winds pick up and Christie lay in bed for at least two hours with the boat rocking and water knocking on the side of the hull, it really does make a racket as it is right where your head lies.  Its sounds like someone is hammering into the side of the boat.  Andrew being such a heavy sleeper does not hear a thing and sleeps through it all.  Eventually Andrew wakes up with a little help, and we decide to motor over to the northern tip of Peel Island, after a bit of a hair raising drive, as it was pitch black and very hard to see where you are going (won't be doing that again in the dark).  We decide to anchor up about 30 meters from the island and after having a cup of tea end up back in bed at 3am.  

Up again at 7am and quite excited to be heading over to Peel island. We motor the tinny over and pull into the thick mangroves, tie up the tinny and then walk through the water and mangroves, around a lot of shrub trees and old corrugated iron that was lying around.  We see a roof of a building up the top of a 12 meter steep hill of red mud and decide we should have a look.  So clamber up the hill and at the top see the most pristine lawn with a number of old looking and a few restored shacks scattered around a fenced off area.  This is the old leprosy colony.

Male quarters on Peel.

We have a walk around ourselves and after about 20 minutes of looking in buildings etc we have two Parks and wildlife officers come up to us, asking us what we are doing.  We ask them if there is a permit we can buy to have a look around.  Unfortunately they inform us that the old colony is no longer open to the public due to a lot of asbestos found in the buildings and lying around the grounds.  The buildings are also in such disrepair that they are too dangerous to have the public going through them.

Andrew with Parks and Wildlife officers.

We have a chat to these guys for a while, and they asked where we were from, Andrew replied "Victoria", (which wasn't a lie, we just bent the truth a little telling them we had motored up from there),  they must have taken a liking to us as they ask us if we would like to have a look around.  They were very friendly and over welcoming and got keys to open up each area including the old hospital, church, men's and women's separate living quarters, they also showed us through the area they lived in whilst looking after the island and gave us a good run down of the history.  They were encouraging us to take photographs and even walked us back to where we had come onto the island, obviously they had seen us come up - at a sign that says "No admittance, on the spot fines apply if entry to the leper colony is gained".  Umm!!!!!!  We were a bit taken a back at their hospitality, knowing that the island was not open to the public anymore.  They did say to us that they don't usually show people around.  Christie told them that she had been to a leprosy colony in Nigeria, West Africa and I think they were a little shocked when she told them that people were living at the colony at the time.   After spending two hours walking around with these guys, we then have the task of clambering back down the hill.  Sliding down and now covered in red mud, we finally reach the bottom again and feel quite lucky to have had our own personal tour.  

Artifacts from leprosy colony

Old hospital room at leprosy colony

It was a very interesting morning and being able to see all the old artefacts and beds etc.   There are a number of the original old quarters on the island that are in such a mess and really do need a lot of work done.  The government won't fund the repairs.  The island is pretty magical  with some spectacular views into clear waters.  The side where Horseshoe bay is located has white sandy beaches and is popular for boaties to visit. 

Peel Island Leprosy Colony

 Peel was used as a asylum for vagrants around the turn of the 20th century but the conditions were too harsh and the inmates were then moved to Dunwich on nearby Stradbroke Island.  Between 1907 and 1959 the island was a leper colony.  The people who suffered from leprosy were taken to the island and were made to live on the there and not allowed to leave until they had been leprosy free for two years.   The colony was separated into different areas of men's quarters, women's quarters which were quite well built buildings. Down the back of the colony were tin sheds that were apparently where coloured people or Asians were made to live.  The conditions there would have been harsh.  In 2007 the island was declared a national conservation Park by the name of Teerk Roo Ra.  

We then decide to head back to the marina, so we motor at a calm leisurely speed of about 16 km most of the way and really seem to be getting through the fuel.  With the tanks being 200 litres each and having two on board it is a cost of $600 to fill up, we really need to work out the best fuel efficient speed.

Andrew decides to push Mingo at full throttle to see how fast we can get her fully laden with everything and pulling the sea calf behind, and jeez we were a bit shocked to only be able to reach the speed of 27 km.  This does not seem right.  We eventually pull into the marina, its always an experience motoring the boat in and carefully parking her in the pen without hitting any other boat, slightly nerve wracking.  Andrew is carefully motoring her in (and really does manoeuvre the boat very well, he is very precise with his timing and steering) and Christie is on the bow with ropes, ready to jump onto the pontoon and tie her off.  We then take the sea calf off and decide to head out without the extra weight and drag.  We watch as the speedo goes up faster and faster to reach a speed of 49km.  Wow, we are so shocked.

Andrew in the Zodiac

We then have to make the decision where we leave the sea calf behind and take the zodiac "Sea Joey" instead, with a weight difference of over one hundred kg, we are able to lift and tie the sea Joey up onto the back of Mingo, where with the sea calf we had to pull her and the extra weight and drag will obviously not be as fuel efficient.

Chris staining 

So the next couple of days, (we still can't leave yet as the winds have picked up to 20-30 knots) we spend once again the day driving what seems like one end of the country to the other to swap the tinnies over. Christie stains some of the unfinished wood work in the boat and Andrew takes everything off the sea calf that he has secured on including extra tow hooks (just in case),  fish finder, crabbing weights, battery, fuel tank etc and then spends the day fixing them onto the Sea Joey.  We preferred to take the sea calf as she is more sturdy and spacious, but with the extra weight its not worth it.

 Friends over for drinks, Alicia, Chris and Laura.

Over the weekend we have a few friends over for drinks and nibbles and a very enjoyable night on the boat.  

Now as soon as this wind dies down we are out of here.....