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Bye bye Silkie... and Happy Thanksgiving!
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After sailing with the Silkie from Scarborough to Southport, we pulled into the Gulf Coast Marina, a huge facility, on the 20th.
It was obviously a busy marina that catered to very large boats, with every kind of boat repair facility imaginable, but not too exciting of a social marina- there were very few people living onboard and the town was not centrally located. So I offer this entry and pictures as a recap of my time aboard.
As I have mentioned I had a berth in the port hull to myself. It was spacious, I had my own bathroom and shower, and there was plenty of room to store my kiting equipment. The actual bed was over the flat part between the hulls, so underway when the waves slapped it could be a bit noisy, but nothing compared to an aircraft carrier. (I may be repeating myself here- if so I apologize).
I would say my room measured about 6 1/2 feet long, the bed was about 5 feet wide and took up the whole length. Where the floor below the level of the bed it was about 6.5 feet tall, and about 3 feet wide. Through the aft doorway was the stairs to the main living area- then another doorway to the shower/ toilet and sink. Aft of the was another stairway and an aft berth used for Silkie storage and where I put my kiting stuff. Hopefully the pictures give an idea of the layout.
Being on the Silkie was an awesome way to start my trip and I am extremely grateful to John and Susan for welcoming me aboard based solely on the word of my uncle. Many thanks to them on this day of thanks. They were great, a lot of fun, smart conversation, and a great sense of humor. This portion of the trip gave me a chance to relax, let my knee heal some more after my ACL surgery, and see areas of the Pacific I certainly would have missed otherwise. I got some great kitesurfing in both Noumea and Bundaberg, and met some fantastic people along the way who I am still in touch with. It introduced me to the world of "cruising" on one's own boat- which I would definitely consider doing myself one day and would recommend to anyone to try. I read a LOT, and they had a great library of books to choose from.
It worked out that the boat was brought out of the water on Thanksgiving day.. so I packed up a backpack and headed to Surfer's Paradise, a short way south along the coast, that day. An interesting Thanksgiving to say the least! It was cool to see the boat come out of the water but also a little bittersweet to be leaving. It marked the first big transition on the trip, from Silkie based to on my own down under. I will John and Susan again before I leave Australia, expecially since they let me leave my kiting equipment on board until I figure out what to do with it. Free kites and board to anyone willing to pay shipping back to the States!
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