Getting Ready to Go

For the last couple of weeks, we have been getting ready to move again.
Steve has been installing a new auto pilot system we ordered from the States. Since he had to remove the old system, it was the perfect opportunity to clean up all the instruments in the cockpit (depth sounder, gps, autopilot) and position them more conveniently. They had previously been attached to the steering pedestal which was not great because they were in the way of the grab bar which needed to be clear to grab in rough seas. Steve built a small cabinet to house all the instruments and mounted it beside the companionway. He also added a cockpit light which I am very excited about. We used to have to hold a light by hand to read by when sailing at night and use a flashlight to see the lines when we had to tack or adjust the sails.
While Steve was working on the electronics, I was restocking the boat with enough canned and dry goods for about a year. You never know how easy it will be to find these items in the islands or how expensive they will be so it is best to stock up in advance. Also, it is quite convenient to stock up in Bundaberg since everything we need is within a 3 block walk of the dinghy landing.
Now all we need is to have the weather cooperate. Cyclone season is almost over but there has been a Low hanging 200 miles off the East Coast of Australia for about 3 weeks. It has been blowing 25 - 30 knots the whole time. At first, all the fishing boats in the Bundaberg fleet (about 20)m came in off the waters to get out of the 15 foot seas. After two weeks, half of them went back out because they needed to make some money but they soon returned saying it was horrible out there. Today the winds dropped to 20 - 25 knots and it is forecasted to drop some more in a couple days. It will take a couple days of reduced winds for the seas to settle down and then we can be on our way.
When we do finally leave Bundaberg, we will miss it. It has been home to us for 4 ½ months. We will miss the friends we have made here, like Ran and Anne from New Zealand and Eric and Kim from Australia . We will even miss the thousand of bats that flew over our boat every night at sundown. We are of course very excited because new adventures lie just over the horizon.