July 28
We motorsailed the 100 miles into Mackay - and saw whales in the distance a number of times. Once we got to see them fairly close up - close enough that we could see how incredibly large they are. This scared the heck out of the girls - they were yelling "turn away, turn away" "it might be a mom with a baby - and you know how mothers are with their babies - she'll sink us!!!" Lee and I weren't worried but the girls sure were. Afterward we read that they aren't here for calving but for mating, so there weren't any babies to be concerned about. Anyway, it was exciting.
We've had a few social events, happy hour on Anastasia the first night and a barbeque at the Mackay Yacht Club last night. Both lots of fun. Today we went to the mall, which is huge, and I indulged my desire for many magazines - I've got reading material for a few weeks if I pace myself. Sam and Sarah got a selection of new books, including one on birds of Australia. We haven't booked our Sydney trip yet but I'm researching the flights/hotels.....
Still have a lot of cleaning up to do and a few loads of laundry... We've sent the staysail and genoa off for a bit of repair. We're taking the boom off so the rigger can fix the attachment to the mast (screws that have worked their way out and could cause a problem if we aren't diligent), and the rigger is working on the vang and servicing the staysail furler. The electrician is coming on Tuesday to figure out the battery problem, we seem to only be drawing on one of the house batteries. And Lee just fixed the pressure water in the galley. Boats always require a huge amount of work/maintenance, especially when they are put through the ocean passages we've done.
The weather here is perfect now, cool (actaully a bit chilly) in the evenings and beautiful sunny days. We have been told by the taxi driver that there are koalas and kangeroos here so hopefully we'll get to see some in the wild!
Off to prepare dinner,
Pauline