Members in FNQ

[Andrew]

Thanks David and Jo,

All good here in Townsville. Teria safely parked in the back yard (and immobile, due to bogginess, have to wait to dry out ground to move and that wont happen for ages..) We had allot of rain but not as much as surrounding coasts and mountains, because Townsville has "the dome", Urban legend has it that it's an invisible force field that repels rain. Meteorologically it's probably to do with geography and vegetation type..(the coast runs SE-NW parallel to SE trades, the mountain range falls way back from the coast here too, and the vegetation is dry savannah) . The air-force and army liked this fact in worldwar 2, and set up HUGE airbase (as less low cloud cover and open approaches) . We also have smaller river catchments in tsv, so floods go up-down much faster.

As you probably seen, it's dumped many more times rain north of us on the coast between Tsville and Cairns tho, Many of the rivers around us are in flood, including the large Burdekin which wraps around us 100km out to the west and south, but that's normal in wet seasons. This is a La Nina year, wetter than usual, so we are prepping for further severe wet weather. Been a good rain reprieve here for the last week and the sun even poked through at times, the backyard ponds have greatly reduced in size, just a local drainage problem, so no gumboots required for a few days and lawnmowers out again We have a high set house, in a flood-free area.

(Wish list dry season project is to build a raised "deco" driveway down the back for Teria, to move while its super wet)

Highways can get cut by floodwaters, which physically isolates our city for a few days to weeks. So supplies in supermarkets etc can run short. However most are prepared for this, we keep full pantry and fuel tanks in wet seasons. Airconditioners make it comfortable indoors, and there is almost total cloud cover most days which keeps the temperature down a bit to 29-30 C by day (that's "cool" up here now)

[Andrew]

Yes, dry season April-Nov definitely. Flood road closures bad , but not as bad as state borders with covid restrictions..

It would be great to meet up with a travelling Investigator one day, and David Jo if you get this far do drop by

dry weather on this week, amazing!

[Andrew]

Thanks for the offer, its on the bucket list . Once this viral world settles back down, how long is anyones guess

[Andrew]

Got Teria out of her bog and onto the deco driveway i gradually built back to where she was.
Had some dry weather,

Deco driveway Teria

[Andrew]

This dry spell is good! The next step is to enlarge front gate and driveway at the street. So the backing in turning circle is accomodated, (have a narrow street).

It's almost a new topic. Drive way and shed designs for Investigators...

[Topaz Bill]

Kind thoughts as usual from David. The cyclones do cause a bit of adrenaline rush, but I have found the perfect cure for cyclone anxiety - drink about four bottles of stout, put in ear plugs, and sleep the night away like a baby. Still, it is a secure feeling to have Secret Chord tucked away in the shed this time of year. I'm going to set a record for the number of free coffees scrounged by any member, and have quite a few already planned when I head south for a big road trip.

[Andrew]

Cyclone Kirrily aftermath, Teria (and us) made it through without damage.

It was forecast Cat2-3 (120-170k/hr winds) a direct collision course with Townsville a day out (the first direct hit since TC Althea, cat 3 in 1971).Gets the blood pumping, we wer well prepped. windy and meteye indicated southerly cylonic winds. Good thing about Trailer sailers is can move them to safer spots. I found a potential "Cyclone hole" between neighbors sheds and our house so moved Teria there (away from trees and exposed area in back yard). Also with masts down its allot less windage than a moored yacht.

The gale+ winds came from the south, began at 5pm and increased until 10pm. Then it abated veered easterly a bit, and slept through the wind reversal to NW-Northerlies (had to come overland/mountains so reduced to strong winds) Teria's cyclone hole proved perfect, it was almost totally wind free and a good spot to stand and watch all the trees thrash about wildly (cyclone tolerant species planted - big mangos, paperbarks, lillipillis, bottlebrushes golden cane palm trees. They were all remarkably "elastic" an shed only the smallest branch tips. 6 ft paling fences held up well and windbreaked (but quite a few fences came down around town)

The aftermath - Power was out over most of the Tsv region. Outage 1-3 days in the central urban areas, upto a week further out. Quiet after. its still getting cleared/restored. A huge humid heatwave week following. Very lucky out house never lost power, several blocks energized surrounded by a large area of grid down! (definitely going to buy a camping genset in future)

Turned out the eye crossed 50km north of us at Rollingstone (my boatyard, direct hit) , they only lost power for a day.

Down at waterfront yesterday, a couple of yachts beached and stranded (from the "duckpond" anchorage, a very exposed place to not be in). The park was cleared and open to tourist/local walkers and fitness fans but some facilities were still closed.

Wally's weather was good. We were protected by Geography. Peaks on Cape Cleveland, Mt Elliot, Mt Stuart broke the southerly-easterly blast a bit. Barrier reef, Cape Cleveland and Magnetic island and Cape Palleranda (with mangrove forrests in creeks etc) were huge natural seawalls. Then the Paluma-Hervey ranges broke the NWer's. Only 30-60mm rain here, a dry quick overnight wind event. so a few factors in our favor.

For house prep, boarded up 2 large bedroom windows with ply sheets. Made for a good nights sleep. No debris flew around (just small branches and fronds, due to diligent yard prep by community and cyclone bolted roofing/building codes (Post Althea codes).

[Ozzie]

Hi Andrew. Good to hear you are ok. I was going to post a general thread wishing our FNQ members well but figured you would be too busy to worry about reading forums. I like the Townsville area as my daughter started her career in Ingham and we were regular visitors. Nice part of the world.

Probably a very well prepared population up there because of the possibility of floods and cyclone. Simple advance planning such as your emergency food stores which is so good to see. Around here advance planning is next to non existent even for our most prevalent problem, which is bush fires. And even government agencies need a bomb put under them to get proactive. I’m constantly trying to push them. Probably why locals were so stuffed trying to adapt to Covid.

I apologise profusely for the bad taste joke I made on the other thread about needing 100kmh high winds to get my Investigator 300mm out of the water like a foil board. I just thought about it.

I have removed my foot from my mouth.

[Andrew]

All good Ozzie, still a fair few piles of branches etc on the roadsides for collection. Fine weather again so shaggy lawns and growth getting cut back to normal.

Bought a couple of DC fans, 12v and 18v. It brings the DC fan collection to 3 units. They might come in handy if power goes out next time around (you wouldn't believe how oppressively hot, muggy and calm it got the week after. They are also good for other things like camping and one might go onboard Teria on hot days.

My original one is a Coleman hybrid 15cm fan (240v or 12v cords). It's 2 speed with LED lights and Lithium battery, so can go cordless afew hours.

New one is a 30cm "Breezeway" from tentworld. It's large diam for a 12v plug in (no batt), designed to sit on camping benchtop/tables. 3 speed has low power draws 0.2A, 0.5A and 1A.

Final one is a Ryobi "one+"18v cordless 10cm, 2 speed personal workshop fan. It's very compact with a good directional swivel gimble for fan. The 5ah lithium battery at base makes it very stable on benchtops and it also has a good spring clamp to mount on shelves , chairs etc. It pumps out allot of breeze for size and is the most portable fan. The large capacity battery also allows it to run for days on one battery, and have spare batts. The batteries recharge on 240v.

We have about a months food etc in the larder, a few weeks fuel and water drums always ready. Cloth tape, plywood sheets, silicone sealant, vinegar, bottled water always well in advance, as they get panic bought in days before landfall and take weeks to restock. (240v Generators could be added to that list now, taking weeks to months to restock these, very high demand across the whole state due to multiple disasters all over)

[Ozzie]

Sounds like you are well prepared mate. We have the Coleman rechargeable like yours for the motorhome. Although we eschew free camping in the really hot months and stick to caravan parks with 240 so we can run aircon. I’m bloody getting soft in my old age .

It’s an oxymoron that people in big cities are far less prepared than outlying population. In a major event like a cyclone hitting the Hunter/Lake Macquarie regional area there would be thousands upon thousands effected and requiring help. As was the case with the Pasha Bulka Storm. The more prepared people are the less strain on emergency services so that really needy cases be serviced.

My plumber questioned my installation of a water tank a few years back. “Water has never been cheaper” he said. I pointed out that during a fire though or interrupted water supply water is more valuable than gold. I have a smallish 240 generator that will run my tank pump and supply a hose to give me a fighting chance to control ember attack if during a bushfire the fire department is sucking the pressure out of the already poor local supply. I’m not an idiot though. If things look grim I have an easy escape route to the pub where I’ll sit and peruse my insurance papers. Generator will also run my small bar fridge in long power outages. In the week after Pasha Bulka apparently there were dudes from Sydney with truckloads of generators making a killing in local parks.

Life needs to become more like sailing these days …”reef deep, reef early “.