OMG are we sinking?
The calm after the storm
April 27th 2022. Nauti Time 052
OMG are we sinking
Rudely awoken by alarms blaring at 5.30 am. Still dark and I got up to investigate and in the other hull I heard the bilge pump blaring and water gushing. Thinking the worst was happening I yelled to Rick that we had water pouring in!
He raced over completely starkers and started pulling the multitude of stuff we have stored below the floor out to try and see where the water was coming from. Has a pipe burst? Has a through hull broken? Did we crack the hull when we grounded on the channel. Thought we’re racing not least of which was well what the fuck do we do if there is any of these things going on. Where do we take the boat. How do we keep the bilge running? How do we NOT sink?
We were frantically dragging stuff out. Checking pipes and turning engines on to keep power to the pump.
Rick slipped on the uncovered floor base and went down hard and I thought NO the last thing we need right now is a broken bone or something. Fortunately he bounced reasonably well although I sure there will be a few black and blue spots once we have all this sorted.
After the mad panic and finally reassuring ourselves the water in the bilge was not increasing, and getting some clothes on, we finally worked out the pump float was stuck due to a small wire casing that the electrician probably left after stripping a wire had gotten stuck in the pump and the small amount of water kept cycling through but not escaping thus the gushing sound.
Wow! I never want that to be a real situation ever. 3 things on the boat that kill you or sink you are the 3 Fs, Fire, Flood and Falling off. We choose none of the above ever.
Once we had sufficiently recovered, it was a shame it was too early for alcohol so strong hot drink had to suffice, we motored over to Belmont as the lake again was like a mirror with absolutely no wind. We originally headed to an anchorage right near the town but spotted some boats moored near some lovely green parkland so decided to drop the pick in this area as it’s a much prettier outlook than the town buildings. Once secured we put Little Puss in and motored over to check out the town. We found a floating dock to tie up to and the very friendly locals said it was fine for us to use. Belmont is quite an established town and even had a few 3-4 stores buildings. There seems to be a bit of money in this town as the yacht club for 16 footers was huge and very well appointed. Not sure if the gambling areas are what pay for it all but it was very nice. There were large supermarkets and strip shops along the main highway. We picked up a few supplies and had lunch at a lovely water front cafe before heading back to Nauti Kitty.
On way into Belmont leaving Nauti Kitty overlooking Green Point
We have decided to try and find a mooring here rather than Port Stephens to leave Nauti Kitty while we go and visit Helen and Toby in Running stream for a week or so. We both feel it would be safer in the lakes and probably much cheaper as we have been quoted $135 a night on a swing mooring at Soldiers point. So far we haven’t been able to find an available mooring at the marinas so we are thinking of contacting the park’s administrator to see if any of their mooring balls could be hired for a week or so. Fingers crossed