Port Denison to Geraldton

An easy sail to Geraldton, arriving late afternoon, Margie still suffering a little seasickness and unable to go below decks for any length of time. We followed the lead lines in and dropped anchor in the harbour and rigged up the snubbers to ease the shock of the chain on the rollers.

Easter Monday.

We set Toby up and took a ride to the beach feeling like explorers. Margie and I walked for miles today exploring the delights that Geraldton has to offer on a public holiday. We ended up hiking the hill to the HMAS Sydney Memorial and spent some reflective time taking photos and thinking about all those names on the granite walls. The dome is covered with steel seagulls representing all the lost souls. A sobering thought.

We returned to Moonshadow and had a relaxing evening rolling in the swell with an attentive ear on the anchor alarm.

Tuesday 22nd

A busy day planned with some maintenance to do and modifications to the electric 12 volt outlets so we can charge the phones and iPad. That done, the three amigos met at the Dome cafe and then thought that a trip to the Geraldton Maritime Museum was in order. A leisurely couple of hours learning about the history was great but the highlight for me was the wildlife photographic exhibition in the gallery. Stunning work.

Being Tuesday and not a public holiday we decided to go and get the replacement boathook from the chandlery. We went back to the dinghy so we could ride around the bay and save ourselves a very long walk. Strangely, someone had interfered with Toby, removing the sand anchor and pushed her to the waters edge. Lucky we got back when we did or we might have lost her.

We rode around the bay and got to the chandlers only to find out that, no, they didn't have a boathook. (They sold the last one yesterday!) Not to worry, there's the Fishermans Cooperative around the corner and they are bound to have one. Around the corner was another hike, but we got there. "One boat hook please," was answered with a blank stare and the offer of a gaff hook or a broom handle with a plastic fitting that didn't fit. Not having much luck finding one. Who'd a thunk it?

Anyway, back to Moonshadow sans boathook. We had work to do for a 6.30am start on the sail to the Turtle bay in the Abrolhos. All done with time to spare; Toby hauled on deck and lashed down. We are ready!