Our domestic flight on Quantas from Sydney to Brisbane was very refreshing indeed. The gate opened on time, following which ALL passengers were requested to board; no call for platinum, gold, silver, bronze, diamond, ruby, frequent flyers, etc and we were all greeted by name as our boarding passes were scanned. Everyone was loaded on a completely full 737-800 aircraft in ten minutes flat. Amazing! Then a healthy snack of hummus, celery sticks, cheese and crackers was served, accompanied by either a fresh fruit juice, water, coffee or tea, regardless of the fact that it was just a one hour flight. Having to wait only six minutes for our shuttle after our arrival, which dropped us off right at the Southport Yacht Club, was the cherry on the cake. Exhausted and feeling like death warmed up, we were both delighted to see Paw Paw and crawl into our own beds.
Tuesday morning was spent liaising with Delta Airlines both in Sydney and the US to try and obtain clarity on the status of our missing luggage which indicated everything had been loaded in LA. It was only when Elaine suggested that the sailbag resembled a mailbag, that the light bulbs went on - It had been unloaded in Sydney as mail. It was a great relief to receive the phone call later in the day indicating that the missing item had been delivered to Coolangata Gold Coast airport and was ready for collection.
With Roy feeling dreadful and having to spend most of the day in bed after starting a course of antibiotics for tonsillitis, a chest infection, sore ears and a splitting headache, we decided that collecting the sail could wait another day. Elaine, however, managed to mustered up some energy to start the process of getting Paw Paw back in order and unpack. A walk to Tedder Avenue for a late lunch and to buy a few things for a light dinner helped clear the cobwebs, but we were both "man down" by early evening.
Fortunately by yesterday morning, we were both feeling a little more human and the antibiotics had kicked in for Roy. A short walk to the nearest tram station, a tram ride and a connecting bus journey got us to the airport without any hassle. Finding the sail damaged because some bright spark had decided to drag the sailbag across the tarmac, rather than carry it was, however, infuriating and, of course, there is no recourse. Fortunately it is repairable, but another saga we would have preferred to avoid. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, then, since it was Roast Night at the Southport Yacht Club, we settled for a very tasty early dinner.
Although we were both wide awake at 0430 this morning, we took advantage of the time to catch up with family in Ireland and Arizona. Having William recognise our voices immediately, followed by his cheerful and enthusiastic "hi Grandma , hi Papa" was a wonderful start to our day. Then, while Roy dealt with some landlubber matters and investigated a possible leak in the dinghy, Elaine completed the task of unpacking and getting Paw Paw organised again.
This afternoon we dinghied over to the Australian Fair mall to make a start on our provisioning, while we await a weather window to head south. Although it has been raining on and off since yesterday, the weather cleared this afternoon, so we decided a barbecue on board and another early night was a fitting end to a very long and busy day.
