19/10/2020

Got up before 7am this morning and called vicroad to pay my car registration fee that is due to expire tomorrow. Picked up bed and bedding, moved to Mustang, dumped trash and old engine oil, went to boat store bought 30m rope and small anchor for dinghy. Went to pharmacy to buy sunglasses. Last stop was the marina office, J didn’t forget to let the staff know that there was a couple of Plovers had laid eggs on the lawn outside in the parking lot (a terrible place to lay eggs, but it was their land originally before human invasion), he asked the lawn mowers to keep an eye out for them. Back to Dagmar, J baked a big sourdough to make full use of the oven(no oven on Mustang) and we made a few more trips to move the last bit of our belongings. After a last shower in Marina and finally it was time to leave Dagmar. A little sentimental to leave, but excited for a new journey to begin.

After shifting everything including ourselves to Mustang it was almost 2pm. Stuff was piling up in the cabin. We made a quick tidy up, had sardine toast for lunch. Around 3pm, we were eventually leaving Airlie Beach where we had stayed for too long. I was feeling a bit tired already …

It was the first time we sail Mustang by ourselves, inevitably a little nervous. We started the engine when we set out, didn’t seems to work very well, always losing power. That was not a perfect start, it seems engine problems are following us. Once out of the crowded area, we raise the sail, the boat started to run, only a little bumpy but not rolling.

I was used to using the straightforward helm like a steering wheel before, not too used to using the tiller on the Mustang yet, as the direction of the tiller is opposite to the boat direction. After practice for a while, I gradually found out the way to do it. The trick is to move the tiller to the ‘out of course side’ until it has been corrected. Soon muscle memory formed, but I still got confused at times.

The wind died down in the evening, we were exhausted after anchored at Dugong inlet. I just made some quick noodles for dinner. After dinner J asked me if I missed Dagmar and I said not really, (I can adapt to new environment quickly due to moving around a lot). He said he missed it a lot. I knew he could have been tired and hadn’t quite adjusted to the new boat yet. Compared to Mustang, Dagmar feels spacious, so you could lie on the couch when you want to be lazy, while the new boat interior is more compact, there are two double beds but can’t really sit up on them. I believe he will feel better tomorrow after a good sleep.