the season begins

I suppose you could say our 2025 ‘season’ started way back in April, or even March, when Queensland’s big weather event impacted the Gold Coast.  

Either way, we visited The Bossa twice during our off season.  Fortunately the predicted cyclone was not as damaging as anticipated but oh, the rain it brought! It seemed to rain for months up here.

Our first visit was definitely a welfare check. Once the cyclone alert passed, our friend reported we had a water leak and it was filling our port hull. It rained incessantly after the cyclone passed. Our leak was fortunately rain water, so we were on a mission. Find the leak. We were overjoyed when we finally found the source. A simple oversight with the installation of an inspection port needing more sika.  The second visit was a Captain’s visit, a head start on our annual maintenance, with the major task of replacing our standing rigging dominating a two week visit.

So, the 2025 season begins!

A haul out at the Gold Coast City Marina (GCCM) was first up.  That’s right, not The Boatworks this time.  Time to try elsewhere when prices get too high. We were very happy with the GCCM service. Those months of rain sitting in the Coomera River weren’t kind to our antifoul. Once hauled out, we could see the antifoul had taken a beating. No barnacles, but the antifoul was flaking off. Our props however were fine. Covering each prop with a mesh bag seemed to keep the growth to minimum.  

So after a week in the workyard we splashed in early July.  The Bossa was looking shipshape after Ben’s annual polish, our dinghy was given some TLC with a fresh paint job, we replaced our mattress with another IKEA one (they are rolled up and pop out once in situ), our main was refitted after a repair and clean (the birds had found a snug home), the antifoul was completed knowing the bigger job will be next time (sanding both hulls) and EVERYTHING was washed, wiped, sprayed and cleaned after such a wet Qld summer.  Never sounds like much but those receipts and invoices pile up quickly. A big thank you to Pearce from J9 and John from Fusion Magic too. Apart from a few tavern meals we shared, these guys also leant us a hand here and there. Thankyou!

We met up with friends on Adagio (Marg and Ross have sailed north from Melbourne) and Crazy Lil’ Thing in Moreton Bay. With a stopover at Mooloolaba and an easy Wide Bay Bar crossing, we’ve enjoyed some lovely sunny days and calm weather in the Sandy Straits and K’gari (Fraser Island). We even squeezed in a visit up the Mary River to visit Fusion Catamarans.  So much motoring with these calm days.

We are now spending a few days in Platypus Bay, hoping for some whale activity.

This is my first blog post for the season and I know it’s not a hugely entertaining one, but please feel to comment and on any post this season. Remember to touch/click on photos for a larger view.

I also have an Instagram account you may be interested in … @ajcandthebossa