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| Vanessa & Luna, Melbourne Great Exhibition building |
Having, on arrival, intended to spend about three months in Melbourne it is now looking as though I'll be here more like three years! Best I make the most of it! If I had known then what I know now I might have chosen a warmer part of Australia to hole up in; Melbourne in winter is little, if any, warmer than Brighton and Hove, in UK!
Having transferred Yiorgos', my crew's, flight from 5th of May to 3rd of June (as reported in the previous Blog) that flight was also cancelled by the airline, Scoot; although they didn't bother telling us so. The reason; Singapore was refusing all transit passengers! We discovered this on the day before he was due to fly and even then, on the airline's App, it showed the flight as confirmed and extant; whereas, on the associated flight schedule it showed no flights leaving Melbourne for Athens (via Singapore). A telephone call, including an hour long wait, confirmed the flight had indeed been cancelled and the airline was not going to schedule any further flights on that route. In addition we were informed “No credit card refund was available” as we had previously transferred the credit from the first cancelled flight to the second cancelled flight via their voucher scheme! The refund claim is now in the hands of Santander Bank and MasterCard!
After several days of searching we eventually found an alternative flight with Qatar Airlines, departing on the 3rd of June; all good ….. until the 2nd of June when an article appeared in the Greek press stating that Qatar airways had just been banned from flying to Greece after arriving, the previous day, with numerous Covid cases onboard! A phone call to the airline confirmed this to be true but they initially resisted a request for a refund as the Melbourne – Qatar leg was still operating!
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| Olinda Falls, Dandenong |
After a few choice words from me they agreed that Yiorgos being stranded in Qatar, accommodated a their cost (joys of a full service airline ticket!), with no guarantee of an onward flight, was not to their advantage nor to ours. Eventually they agreed a full refund which would arrive within 4 weeks; which it did.
The problem was now that Yiorgos' approval to stay in Australia, under the terms of his Electronic Travel Authority (ETA – aka paperless Visa), was due to expire on the 9th of June. A phone call to the visa “Help” line achieved very little other than a suggestion that we should go on their website and look for another visa; one that was obtainable whilst onshore in Australia. Such a visa was available but at a cost of $A340 ~ £180. A bit costly for a few (we hoped) days extra in Australia. I then looked up the Covid “special arrangements” for the issue of visas. Covid visa extensions, at no cost, were available but only to those already on a working visa, in Australia, in essential industries. As Yiorgos' ETA specifically precluded working in Australia he did not qualify; however, it also stated that once application had been made a Bridging Visa would automatically be issued covering the period until a final decision was made. Eureka!
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| Sunset over Sandringham |
On the basis that the wheels would grind slowly, and that Yiorgos would have left Australia before the decision was made, we made the visa request and received the free Bridging Visa by return. Next problem – find a flight!
Fortunately Qatar Airways were authorised to recommence flying to Athens 10 days later and, on 12th of June, we were able to book yet another flight departing Melbourne on the 15th. This one finally went. Using Vanessa's car I dropped Yiorgos off at Melbourne Airport at 2000 on the evening of 15th. I have never seen an international airport so empty! One other car at departures and 6 people in or around the terminal! A ghost town! From there all went well and Yiorgos was back in Paros by late afternoon the following day much to the delight of his family!
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| North Sunnyside Beach |
Since Yiorgos' departure the Covid situation in Melbourne has fluctuated. Initially restrictions were being lifted and recreational boating was permitted again after a two month long ban. That lasted a month, by which time Covid cases had started to get out of control again; second wave! Two weeks ago Stage 3 restrictions were re-introduced but the concession allowing boating and fishing to continue was retained, unlike the first lock-down. That lasted two weeks after which, with infection rates still in the region of 500 per day, we were hit with a Stage 4 lock-down. Currently masks are mandatory when out of your home/boat, a maximum of one hour outdoor exercise per person per day and one shopping trip per household per day is all that is allowed. In addition a curfew has been imposed between 2000 and 0500 and a limit on the maximum travel distance from your residence of 5km. All but essential businesses are closed and the overall situation is being very heavily policed by Victoria State Police, Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and Australian Armed Forces; it all feels very oppressive and is not helped by a very small minority of inconsiderate “Smart Alecs” who want to make a “claim to fame” by bucking the system and then posting their stupidity on social media.
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| LtCdr Rob Ware and I, in SYC |
These Stage 4 restrictions are forecast to go on for at least the next 6 weeks, or for as long as it takes for infection rates to decline to manageable levels.
Over the period when boating restrictions were relaxed I managed a few day sail outings with Kurukulla but only short trips from the marina; similarly, I managed a few trips out, by car or train, to the centre of Melbourne and along the coast of Port Philip Bay. All of that has now stopped of course. The slightly bigger problem is that the Sandringham Yacht Club marina and Vanessa's residence are ~7km apart which means, under the current restrictions, I am not officially allowed to travel from one to the other. This would not be particularly troubling if it were not for the fact that the present Melbourne winter, night-time, temperatures are around 1-5ºC and at that temperature life onboard is not that comfortable; Kurukulla having been built for life in the Mediterranean is not fitted with a heating system!
As a consequence I am splitting my time between Vanessa's home and Kurukulla using the pretext that I have to go to her house for the purpose of “receiving care”, which is legal; i.e. to do my laundry and stay warm on the particularly cold nights!
The next challenge is my visa. It allows a maximum stay of 6 months per visit to Australia and my 6 months is up on the 9th of September, 5 days before the earliest date that total lock-down ends …. bit of a quandary!
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| Red Bluff anchorage and the hulk of HM Victorian Ship Cerberus, RHS |
Given that Vanessa is now a permanent resident in Australia she can sponsor me for an “Aged Parent Visa”; you have to be over 67 to qualify, (I am 70). Minor problem is that the advice from the visa office is that the waiting time for this particular visa is currently 30 years so I will be 100 when I get it! The up side is that you get a Bridging Visa whilst waiting but if you want to leave Australia you have to apply for yet another visa before departure... It goes on and on.... Fortunately, currently all I presently have to do is fill in the 27 pages of forms, pay ~£2000, and wait.
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| WWI Submarine J7 |
So what next for Kurukulla. I am now a full member of the Sandringham Yacht Club and perforce contemplating the next year or two, at least, in Australia. The much talked about prospect of a “Tasman travel bubble”, encompassing Australia and New Zealand, is all but history given the current Covid problems in Melbourne/Victoria; hence, if I am able to leave Victoria at all it will be for a 2 month trip to Tasmania in the coming southern summer, if possible starting November, and then possibly a circumnavigation of Australia in the following 12 months.
All of this assumes that a boat that has been in Victoria will be accepted into the other Australian States and Territories. At present all the borders of Victoria are closed to all but essential/commercial traffic. The up side is that the Sandringham Yacht Club has an amazing clubhouse (when it is allowed to open) and a very friendly membership. Within the marina is the hulk of HM Submarine J7, the largest and fastest submarines in the world when built during WW1. It was scuttled to form a breakwater protecting Sandringham anchorage in 1930. As the visiting “Pom” in the club I have even been invited to join in on two of their weekly Podcasts, http://podcasts.oceanmedia.webfactional.com/episode-eleven/ which have been created to help keep the club engaged during the lock-downs.
At this time there is little more to report but I will put another Blog out as and when it is possible to get out on the water again...........
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| View of Sandringham marina and Melbourne from the masthead |
