Tiring turbulent times ends well

by Jack and Jude on 2 Jan 2017 We’ve had tiring turbulent times since departing our home port full of hope. Boarding our home-built craft to continue our search for beauty and adventure, our hearts filled with pride as we successfully crossed the notorious Ballina River Bar, supposedly gaining freedom from danger. But, within minutes of gaining that freedom, our vintage engine savagely blew up.

Poor thing – built in the fifties, it first powered a road truck until the loads grew beyond the engine’s strength and that’s when we took it off their hands and rebuilt it with our own. Called “The Donk,” cause she’s mechanical noisy, she’s been powering Banyandah from the very beginning in 1973, when in ever increasing circles that ancient donk took us around every ocean, and then around the world and more recently around Australia several times.

After it blew up, without engine power to replace or supplement our sail power, we were quite restricted to where we could go. No longer could we safely enter our first planned stop and so we sailed overnight to the more easily entered Coffs Harbour. And that’s where we discovered that our fresh water pump had seized solid when its bearings collapsed. Replacing that pump, (yes, we carried a spare) solved the original problem – but when the repaired engine continued to run ragged and overheat, we soon discovered that there had been other damage.

The marina at Coffs was still closed from winter storm damage, and needing a safe quiet anchorage to delve deeper into the machinery, we sailed overnight from Coffs to Port Stephens. Through the heads, Port Stephens opens into a large waterway that at Christmas time is a rather mad place filled with water craft and tourist boats, fast currents and few supplies to repair a sixty year old engine. Therefore, after a couple of days we opted to take Banyandah to the marina at Newcastle.

The first European to explore the Newcastle area was Lieutenant John Shortland in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized the HMS Cumberland.

While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as “a very fine coal river”, which he named after New South Wales’ Governor, John Hunter. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area’s abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal mined from the area was the New South Wales colony’s first export.

Newcastle gained a reputation as a “hellhole” as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.

Being strangers in a big city at Christmas, we joined a thousand others from all walks of life for a free Christmas lunch put on by the Samaritans in an open ex-railway shed found in the foreshore park. Read more on that here.

Replacing the seized freshwater pump had not stopped the engine from overheating, which left us with several possible culprits. A blown head gasket can let the heat of ignition reach the cooling water, and this was supported by ragged running and voluminous white smoke at start-up. Our temperature gauge also came under suspicion when its probe fell to pieces, and of course the heat exchanger, even though it had been professionally overhauled two years earlier, could have been chocked. Therefore we decided to remedy the lot.

Once secure in a city filled with all kinds of shops that were still trading over the Christmas period, I unbolted and lifted the cockpit floor, exposing our sick engine. Our major goal was to replace the head gasket, and we carry a top end gasket kit which includes a new head gasket. A good idea, especially with an engine of this vintage.

Newcastle put on extreme summer heat and conditions were exhausting as I climbed up and down, in and out of the engine room, removing bits while having to be exceptionally careful not to drop something important down into the bilge under the engine – all the while maintaining 100% secure footing in and around what is basically a hole to the very bottom of our vessel.

You may recall that Jack and Jude have hitchhiked pretty much all over the world. Yes, it’s not accepted by modern folk – too many crazies out there they say. But we have never found that. Instead we have met many very nice people. Interesting folk interested in learning something about us. An example that gladdens our hearts happened a few days after Christmas when the roads were crowded with bargain shoppers. It was stifling hot when Jude and I toddled off by bus to the marine store to purchase anodes and dinghy paint. From there we trudged back towards the bus stop to go to a new destination where we could purchase a replacement temperature gauge.

A horn beeped from across a side road and a fella asked where we were going, saying he saw us walking the other way in the heat. “Supercheap at Kotara,” I answered and his reply was, “I’m going that way.” And so, in we jumped and immediately began chatting. Both of us relaying a little history eased any concerns, we’re savvy enough to know a good person from someone wicked.

Greg became entranced by our tales of wandering the world, fending for ourselves, fixing things. And not having much to do, he offered to chauffeur us around. What a nice chap. Proved once again that most folk are genuinely nice. We had similar experiences in Port Stephens – a young tradie pulled over and was so excited to meet real hitchhikers. Later another man gave us a lift back to our boat. Great examples of human kindness.

By Thursday night Jude and I had winched the head out and had cleaned it and the block, neither showing signs of a crack or being warped. And with the old gasket showing signs of water seepage, we were confident that replacing the gasket would cure our problems. The old temperature gauge was replaced and then the heat exchanger was taken out and flushed.

Early the next morning, we fired her up and the engine sounded sweet and ran smooth. Better still, it never got hotter than a mild 60 degree C. So, in a bold move, we opted to leave. The rent for the berth was up the next day, and who wants to spend time in a berth when a beautiful free anchorage can be found just down the coast at the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

Using the engine like we used to, we motored out the Newcastle channel against the wind, and then set sail for what we hoped would be a fast fifty mile voyage. Alas, the forecast wind never really showed, so we sailed the first 20 miles then motor sailed the remainder in an uplifting demonstration that our engine was back. Wow, what a relief!

Smiles here, but not for earth and her creatures

Today, many will be writing down New Year resolutions, starting fresh, attempting to kick bad habits, but few will succeed. Not because they are weak – but because the system is rigged to maintain the status quo.
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Around us, most of the world has misery either from conflict or the results of conflict, and as a specie, mankind is at a crossroads with many caught between warring ideologies supported by self-motivated factions. Many want us to open our doors to those caught up in the conflicts, and many others want to protect their own space. There is great sadness here on Earth and tears aplenty in Heaven.

The last decade of peace and tolerance ended just about the time that Jack and Jude sailed their home-built craft back to shore after circling the world, to what’s called civilization, about the time that many of our leaders began advocating globalization as the way ahead.

Humans are a varied group made that way by vastly different histories and ways we do things. For one, we have many different ways of managing our cultures with different rites and customs, and those leaders that pushed us towards being one have motives other than the betterment of our specie.

The so-called ally of the downtrodden and enemy of the rich are pushing policies that would condemn much of the world to poverty. The problem in their logic should be apparent to all because it assumes someone will buy all the stuff the workers make. If the people don’t buy it then the workers will be out on the street and growth in the developing world will grind to a halt. The problem in this story is that we do not have enough people in the world to buy all the stuff. In other words, there is a shortage of demand.

As a result, growth in population has been actively encouraged dare we slip into recession, or worse, it’s bad brother depression. But of course, this has further ramifications. Larger populations breed discontent. Earth suffers from pollution and a decrease in specie, and because Earth suffers, that sadness is brought to us. Our youth become despondent. They see their inheritance diminished. They see their future stormy. They see discontent and become disillusioned. Youth suicides increase. Radical movements gain support. And like a pinball machine, forces collide, bringing further disrepair.

Neither God nor Nature hands us a worked-out set of rules determining the way property relations are defined, contracts are enforced, or macroeconomic policy is implemented. These matters are determined by policy choices. And the elite have written these rules to redistribute wealth upward. Needless to say, they are not eager to have the rules rewritten.

Globalization is not for the betterment of Earth life. Not yet, maybe never. For we cherish our ways, we respect our histories. If we have never known democracy, then pushing that upon the people leads to a shift in power, which brings conflict – which we have plenty.

Reducing our impact on Earth is the answer. Economies will adjust. People will find more space as we develop answers for our pollution. The youth will see a brighter future, they will be encouraged to develop a more equitable governance that means equality in wages, output, and happiness. This will bring a return to a high level of tolerance last known in the 70s and 80s. Reducing man’s impact on Earth will bring Peace.

With thanks to Jack and Jude for a great tale - cheers.