Adaire to Dream — Liveaboard Life
This article was first published in Hi Tidings in December 2023.
Home. This is where Adaire dreams!
By Adaire Palmer
When the ferry stops running, I start swimming.
My carboat is too heavy for me to drag up and down the beach when I’m on land. I’m still looking for the best solution that will give me more options when I want to park my carboat and go to the mainland. In the meantime, I snuggle it up under the jetty and lock it onto the pylon, trying to keep out of the way of the Amity crew and their tender as much as possible.
Recently, the ferry broke down, and anyone wanting or needing to get off the island was redirected to the barge. The ferry was out of use for several days. I’d snuggled and locked my carboat up under the jetty and escaped to the mainland to avoid the fierce Southerly winds that were predicted. (One day, I’ll just take my houseboat and my carboat around to the back of the island when the Southerlies blow, but that’s a story for another time.)
Coming home, normally I’d be hopping off the ferry and a few steps to the carboat, load ‘er up and I’m off. Not this time. I returned on the barge as the ferry was still out of commission. I trundled from the barge ramp up to the jetty hauling my washed clothes, shopping and computer gear with me. Halfway up the jetty, I sensed something was wrong. Not quite right. Not the same as it was the hundreds of times I’d done that walk. Then I realised. The gate in the middle of the jetty separating the fisher folk from the ferry passengers was shut AND padlocked! In my work gear, ready for a shift at the Beach Bar, I turned around and went to my daughter’s for the night, thinking I’d figure out how to get home in the morning.
The next day there was a note on the Coochie Community Facebook page - the ferry would be back to its normal run at 2pm that afternoon. Needing to get home earlier, I unpacked my bathers/ togs/swimmers (depending on where you’re from) and with the help of my daughter, got all my stuff down to the beach.
Luckily, it was a beautiful morning, with light winds and bright blue skies. The tide was coming in as I waded out and started swimming for the ladder under the jetty. I had a key float with the padlock key stuffed into the top of my swimmers and hoped there was enough cleavage to keep it there. It worked a treat, and grateful to be as fit and nimble as I am at my age, I was able to get aboard, crank up the motor and scoot back to the beach where I loaded up my goods and chattels and headed home.
