Mackay Marina in Queensland is our new stopover in Australia and I feel sure that we have made a good choice.  When we arrive at our stopover locations we don't always find that things are as well organised as we had expected.  I went round the marina complex this morning to find that everyone here is geared up for the arrival of the Blue Water Rally.

Ready for our arrival
In the busy marina office Ben Anderson, the Marina Manager, and his staff are ready for the arrival of the majority of the fleet over the next few days and have already allocated individual berths.  I also went to visit the Customs and AQIS managers, who are based at the Marina making Mackay a particularly convenient port of entry.  On arrival our yachts will, of course, be quarantined at a specially allocated marina berth and officials are on hand to clear Rally yachts as soon as possible. 

Excellent facilities
One of the main reasons we chose to come to Mackay was the availability of the excellent boatyard facilities here.  Manager Todd Gavan has already handled liftouts and work for three of our earliest arrivals - Gaia, Canopus and Our Island.  In fact it was good to meet up with Bob and Phyllis in the boatyard, where Gaia was having finishing touches made to her new paint job and will be lifted back into the water this afternoon.  They were very happy working in the warm Australian sunshine (it's 75 degrees here this morning) and are planning to leave on Thursday ahead of the rest of the fleet to reach Darwin and make a pre-planned trip back to the States.

Another early arrival, Tony of Cayuco, met us in the marina office and told us how happy he was with the efficiency and professionalism of his arrival procedures and with the Marina and Yacht Club.  Apparently Audrey is taking advantage of the sunshine (?) to do some oiling of Cayuco’s teak decks!

First arrival from Vanuatu
So, the scene is set for the arrival of the majority of the fleet over the next few days.  I have just heard that Heidenskip (Robert and Wendy) - the first of our yachts to leave Vanuatu - will arrive this afternoon and several others tomorrow.  I feel sure that, with this level of support already in place and an excellent social and tourist programme, this is going to be a memorable stopover.  More news over the coming days!!