Tuesday morning it looked as if we were better to stay in the marina in Brisbane CBD. There was a strong weather warning for Morton Bay and the current in the river was already looking very strong. As the day progressed and debris started to float past we felt this was the right decision. However by mid afternoon the forecasts had the river heights going above the height of the pilings which meant that there seemed to be a real danger of the whole marina floating off the piles and careening down the river.
We decided to spend Tuesday night in a hotel and review on Wednesday morning.
Low tide on Wednesday was at 8.30, we arrived back at the dock at 7.30 and the walkway (normally 6 feet above the water) was under at least a foot of water. The docks were still floating and we managed to get on board. We had decided to try to get Whimsey out of the river as the alternative seemed to be that we would lose her. The current was extremely strong by this point.
We stowed and got ready to leave. All around us our neighbours were doing the same. We warmed up the engine and at around 9.00 began to try to leave.
Whimsey was in a berth with the flood on our stern, this meant reversing out into the flow before we could turn out into the river. The strength of the water meant that on full power in reverse with lines tied to the dock and pulled tight we could not move back at all. At one point the wheel wouldn't turn and for several horrible moments we thought that the steering cable had broken - it turned out to be a surge of water holding the ru
dder to one side. At another point we thought that a rope we had tied to the opposite dock and floated down to us had caught in either the rudder or the propeller - this was where Steve stepped in to help and between us and the neighbours on E dock we managed to get free. We took this line to the windlass and tried to use this to pull us out of our berth.
Whimsey was in a berth with the flood on our stern, this meant reversing out into the flow before we could turn out into the river. The strength of the water meant that on full power in reverse with lines tied to the dock and pulled tight we could not move back at all. At one point the wheel wouldn't turn and for several horrible moments we thought that the steering cable had broken - it turned out to be a surge of water holding the ru
dder to one side. At another point we thought that a rope we had tied to the opposite dock and floated down to us had caught in either the rudder or the propeller - this was where Steve stepped in to help and between us and the neighbours on E dock we managed to get free. We took this line to the windlass and tried to use this to pull us out of our berth.This is the line we used.
It took us until 11.30 and it all happened in the last 15 minutes. Without the help of our neighbours, but more particularly a bloke called Steve who worked with us almost all of that time in the blazing heat, we would not have been able to get out of the marina. We had never met Steve before Wednesday morning.
We cannot thank Steve enough, he worked with us, gave us encouragement and advice, pulled lines, pushed us off and couldn't have helped more. We will find him and thank him in person but wanted to say thanks here too.
The neighbours on E dock had an engine failure and had to leave their boat attached to the marina.
On C dock and B dock we could see other neighbours having the same problems as us. Dockside marina has quite a live-aboard community and we regularly get together for BBQs so we are really hoping that our friends and neighbours who weren't able to get away are ok. For most of us our boats are our homes and have been for some time.
The water police and coast guard were up and down the river but could not help us to get out of the marina as the current was too strong and they had instructions to only intervene where life was in danger.
Once we were out into the river we had been concerned that we would have difficulty steering in the strong current, especially as there was a lot of debris to avoid. However we didn't have any problems and as we finally powered out of the marina had full control and were able to turn up and steer without difficulty. At one point the engine overheated and we had to anchor to investigate. Surprisingly this was not difficult and the overheating turned out to be temporary - probably debris in the water intake - and we were able to have something to eat and a few minutes rest.
We had deliberately chosen to leave when the tide was rising as we hoped this would slow the current, normally this would be impossible for us to make any headway but we travelled down the river at 8 to 10 knots (our normal motoring speed is around 4 knots). Once we reached the channel into Morton Bay the two sets of water meeting was a bit lumpy for about half an hour but nothing we haven't seen a hundred times before - except that the water was so full of mud that as the waves washed down the deck they left mud all the way down.
We motored across to Mud Island - about another half an hour in increasing calm waters and anchored in a peaceful anchorage with about 6 other boats. We were exhausted but relieved to be safe and able to report back to family and friends that we were out of danger.
Thanks to all of you who have sent us your best wishes. We send our best wishes to our friends and neighbours in Brisbane.
We cannot thank Steve enough, he worked with us, gave us encouragement and advice, pulled lines, pushed us off and couldn't have helped more. We will find him and thank him in person but wanted to say thanks here too.
The neighbours on E dock had an engine failure and had to leave their boat attached to the marina.
On C dock and B dock we could see other neighbours having the same problems as us. Dockside marina has quite a live-aboard community and we regularly get together for BBQs so we are really hoping that our friends and neighbours who weren't able to get away are ok. For most of us our boats are our homes and have been for some time.
The water police and coast guard were up and down the river but could not help us to get out of the marina as the current was too strong and they had instructions to only intervene where life was in danger.
Once we were out into the river we had been concerned that we would have difficulty steering in the strong current, especially as there was a lot of debris to avoid. However we didn't have any problems and as we finally powered out of the marina had full control and were able to turn up and steer without difficulty. At one point the engine overheated and we had to anchor to investigate. Surprisingly this was not difficult and the overheating turned out to be temporary - probably debris in the water intake - and we were able to have something to eat and a few minutes rest.
We had deliberately chosen to leave when the tide was rising as we hoped this would slow the current, normally this would be impossible for us to make any headway but we travelled down the river at 8 to 10 knots (our normal motoring speed is around 4 knots). Once we reached the channel into Morton Bay the two sets of water meeting was a bit lumpy for about half an hour but nothing we haven't seen a hundred times before - except that the water was so full of mud that as the waves washed down the deck they left mud all the way down.
We motored across to Mud Island - about another half an hour in increasing calm waters and anchored in a peaceful anchorage with about 6 other boats. We were exhausted but relieved to be safe and able to report back to family and friends that we were out of danger.
Thanks to all of you who have sent us your best wishes. We send our best wishes to our friends and neighbours in Brisbane.
This last photo shows the gouges in the toe-rail from the rope to the dock.
