Thursday 25th July 2924 13:00 hrs
Mackay, QLD, Australia
We arrived to a roaring welcome from our wonderful Shore Side Support, Nev and Fergus! It was a joy to see them standing on the pontoon in their very familiar yellow shirts beaming. This time they arrived before us. We were not sure if they were smiling because they beat us in or simply with pleasure to see us. Whichever it was, we were happy to see them!
As always, their efficiency knows no bounds. We radio’d ahead informing them of our arrival time, which as they have come to understand is exact, and our trusted Support Team organised Bio Security, Immigration, and Border Control to be waiting for us at the same time.
We were ready. First was Bio Security. Such a friendly lady named Katherine. We went through all the cupboards and freezer looking for prohibited foods, Katherine marvelled at the order and lack of clutter in our floating home. She could tell Iain was her sort of man! He had made her job easy.
On Katherine's check list were "souvenirs". She almost looked sorry for us when she asked to see our spoils from foreign shores, checking for illegal woods (model boats and trinket boxes), grasses (baskets) and seeds (local jewellery). Dugald recited one of our many mantras “if there isn’t a designated place for it, it doesn’t come aboard”.
This said, I did have a few items on her list which were confiscated, cooked chicken, and frozen tomatoes. I was sad to lose this food having seen so many people with so much less. But the process was painless, over fairly quickly and all with a laugh and a joke.
Next were Immigration and Border Control. These were serious gentlemen and ladies with dark glasses and many clipboards. They boarded our home wearing their protective boots with bulging rucksacks on their backs. We did not ask them to remove their footwear. They were clearly not to be messed with. No photography was allowed while they were present. They were looking for contraband and we obliged, much to their annoyance.
Before we joined the World ARC Rally in the Caribbean, there was much talk of pirates boarding our chariot in some exotic location far from any land. Friends, Tony and Lel, who sail Games Maker II (Lagoon 42), gave us a very small container of pepper spray which they had obtained in South Africa. It was felt we would be safe with this 3 inch canister of spray to protect us. We duly accepted the gift, primarily to put their minds at ease. The canister was stored in the torch cupboard, being of a similar shape and having a space for it, never to be thought of again - until the Border Control Team specifically asked Iain if he had any spray on board.
Iain’s face dropped, but not as far as the Border Control Team’s. We produced the canister. Their faces dropped even further. They donned their latex gloves, produced an industrial sized bin bag and dropped the 3 inch canister into its depths. Then the form filling in triplicate, and signing in triplicate, and photographing in triplicate, began. The lady in charge of this substance was new to the job. Her colleague had to explain everything in great detail which took extra time. No one was happy. Least of all Iain. He had failed to prepare.
Down below was a very different scene. Another lady and gentleman were grinning with excitement at the order in our lockers, as they peaked under the cushions, checking for hidden pets and alcohol. It was very apparent as they went through the labelled and stacked boxes in the sail locker or the individually sectioned cereal cupboard in the galley that there was no place on our floating museum for anything other than essentials.
The experience was over in an hour. We lowered the quarantine flag, replacing it with the Australian one. Another cause for celebration.
And we did! Sophia had been tracking us. She facetimed as we were settling on the pontoon. Fergus and Nev came bounding down, armed with certificates, bubbles and lots of enthusiasm which even the rain couldn't quell.
As if this wasn’t enough, Anthony and Billy family crew from Navillus who had arrived in Mackay to meet Frances and Brian where there too. They joined us aboard, armed with gifts, our first Australian meal, a KFC family bucket! The perfect pairing with our bubbles!!
We had officially arrived. Half way around the world.
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