Two cyclones and a flood.

Well, the East Coast of Australia has really copped a flogging over the past few months. As we are in a La Nina year we could have expected an above average rainy season after years of drought but this is ridiculous. Late last year we had periods of rain lasting up to two weeks at a time. The ground became saturated and the dams full. As the New Year broke the rain intensified, particularly in Southern Queensland and then the floods began in earnest. First to go was Bundaberg on the pioneer river where boat losses were huge and riverside infrastructure was wiped out in many places. Then the Mary river flooded at Maryborough, again a lot of boat losses and marinas swept away and then it was Brisbanes turn. My usual spot on the pylons in the Brisbane River at the Botanical Gardens was badly affected. Some boats got away , with enormous difficulty and bravery from their skippers and crew, to then negotiate a river teeming with logs , broken off marinas and assorted debris, plus water filled with fine trash which blocked water inlets and led to motors overheating and threatening to fail. Other boats decided to stay tied to the piles and most survived even though the water went above the level of the tops of the piles. There was the one well documented sinking of the ferro cement ,which having submerged, suddenly burst back to the surface and attempted to take two yachties with it in its death plunge. not a good place to be.
I was busy congratulating myself on my decision to stay up here in Airlie Beach when news of the first real cyclone of the season began to come through. many boats had made the move South in the weeks before so were spared from what was to come. Work commitments kept me at Airlie a bit longer than I wanted and when I left to seek shelter at Gulnare Inlet the Southerly winds had increased to 20 to 30 knots and I was forced to seek shelter in Double Bay (Eastern). Cyclone Anthony, at category 1, crossed the coast just a few kilometres North of where I was and so I was hit with winds up to 50 to 60 knots for an extended period. During the night I dragged anchor and came to rest on a rubble beach . The full weight of the boat, about 10 tons, crashed down on the Port rudder and skeg for awhile before the tide fell and I was high and dry for most of the night. As the tide returned, just before morning, I felt "Zen" stirring and was able to get her off without too much damage. I had no radio contact and of course my Vodafail mobile and internet were useless so I had no idea of the cyclone's progress. Calmer conditions prevailed and toward the afternoon I sailed out of the bay and back toward Airlie. When I finally got internet service I immediately got onto the Bureau Of Meteorology (BOM) site and discovered that another cyclone was bearing down on us and it was huge. I went straight back to Airlie and next morning got more fuel and a few necessities and again headed out toward Gulnare Inlet. Gulnare is recognised as a safe cyclone"hole" and I was making good progress when the weakened port rudder came away and I was forced to go into Nara inlet to make repairs. Nara inlet is a fjord like indentation on Hook Island and is deep water all the way to the edges which are lined with imposing rock formations. I put out my 40 kilo Bruce anchor on all chain and attached my 40 kilo Manson to it in tandem with 2 inch silver rope. This setup should hold a boat of "Zen's" size easily. The really strong wind gusts began in the late afternoon and I made a decision to take all my important papers , log books and photo albums as well as some clothes, ashore and established a bush camp in the lee of a massive rock about 100 metres above water level, in case of flood surge. I settled in for an uncomfortable night, with incessant heavy rain which fed two waterfalls either side of me and enormous wind gusts. Luckily, cyclone "Yasi" crossed the coast some300kilometres further North with wind speeds of 200 kilometres an hour or more reported. Although the wind gusted from every direction inside Nara inlet the water remained relatively surge free and in the early hors my second anchor broke off (2inch silver rope) and "Zen" dragged and parked herself on a rock parrallel to the beach. Coditions at first light allowed me to get to the boat and I dived and untied both bridle lines on the anchor chain and was able to kedge her off as the tide rose and escaped with very little damage considering where "Zen" ended up. The rest of the day was spent assisting another yachtie to get his outboard going after it was dunked, and repairing the steering on "Zen". "Yasi" has gone on to be a rain depression inland and apart from some residual swell all is well here and I am back anchored outside the sailing club at Airlie. All appears to be well, "Zen" lives to sail another day, I need a holiday from my" holiday" and the sun rose this morning same as usual. I hope everyone is safe as I hear that the rain is now affecting Victoria and they are experiencing floods there as well. A big thank you to all those people who phoned to wish me luck or inquire about me.
As VODAPHONE continues to sponsor sports events all over Australia whilst refusing to spend that money on more coverage (oh, we are paying for the sponsorship, now I get it, I thought I was paying for a phone service that might work, silly me) I as a consumer can only apologise to anyone who could not get through. Stay safe and I hope we can catch up soon.