Wednesday 5th May 21 – Sunday 9th May 21 Brisbane River, Brisbane to Newport Marina, Newport

Tuesday afternoon

We motored up the Brisbane River passing under the Gateway and Story Bridges, then dropped anchor opposite the Brisbane Botanical Gardens. It was a great location, except for the continual stream of ferries passing by creating wake.

On the southern bank of The River is a park area with high cliffs. At dusk we noticed a lot of people rock climbing on the walls which were lit up with colourful lights, it looked spectacular.

Wednesday

With thunderstorms and rain forecast for the day it was a good opportunity to get schoolwork and other administrative tasks completed.

Later in the day between rain showers we went for a walk through the Botanic Gardens and into the city.

Thursday

So that we could ride the runout tide we departed at 0700 and headed back down the river. We were lucky enough to get a berth at the Newport marina near Scarborough for the next 4 days. This worked out well as we were going to catch up with Mark’s younger sister Claire, her husband Pano, and their three boys Antoni, Felix and Theo who live not far away.

Three hours later we were at the Newport marina where it was a tight fit into our berth. The Marina mangers were fantastic, extremely friendly and helpful. There were a lot of liveaboards in the marina, some of the boats looked like they hadn’t moved in years.

Adjacent to the marina was a huge building which was relatively new, and we were trying to work out what it was. At first glance we thought it was a conference centre, when in fact it was a private residence that had not been completely finished. Interestingly it was listed as Australia’s most daring residence. It was a tri-level home with 2850m2 of living space on 3557m2 waterfront allotment with 180 degrees views. It was quite astounding.

Friday/Saturday

The next few days were spent giving the boat a thorough clean and catching up with family.
Mark, Pano and Antoni went fishing in the dinghy and caught 3 pike in Morton Bay.
Our time together went too quickly and before long it was time to say goodbye.

Sunday

Getting to the supermarket can be a challenge at times without having a car. The Woolworths delivery service is excellent, but you must place your order 3-4 days prior to ensure you get your delivery when you want it. This can be a problem when sailing as you are totally dependent on the weather and plans can change.

Newport marina worked in our favour as it is surrounded by canals. We were able to take the dinghy to the end of a canal and with our granny trolley walk 500 metres to a major supermarket. At first, we were embarrassed having the trolley, but it makes sense and is a lot easier on our backs.

With stronger winds forecast for Wednesday, we decided to bring forward our departure from the marina by 16 hours. We cast off at 1400 hours and motored across Morton Bay to Bribie Island. It was unfortunate as we had hoped to snorkel the Tangalooma wrecks at Moreton Island, maybe we’ll get a chance on our way back down the coast.