We spent a few more days on the pilings in Brisbane. We are enjoying the city and there is a lot going on for the holidays. The night after we returned to the boat from Straddie there were fireworks over the river. We were all pretty beat after our surf excursion so we decided not to go over to South Bank to see the fireworks, but to just see what we could see from the boat. They started on time, as scheduled, at 8:15pm. We could only see the top half but they were still pretty good. There was a night off and then 3 more nights of fireworks scheduled. On the 19th there was a parade before the fireworks. We went all out and did both! The parade was in the center of town thru the pedestrian shopping district. It was only 2 blocks long but it attracted a crowd. There were thousands of people trying to work their way into the front row of 2 blocks. We made our way in and had an ok view, with Zack on the ground in front of us. It got a bit more crowded as the parade started but we were still able to see, David around a post and me crouching to see over the heads of the children and under the heads of the adults, with my legs going numb. I was thankful that it was a short parade. It was a good one though. There were a few bands and carolers, acrobats and Santa in a sleigh but the highlight was the 3 wise men riding on real live camels, with a goat and a donkey. They were followed by a pooper scooper which was probably not in the authentic procession but appreciated in today's world. After the parade we walked over to South Bank for the fireworks. We hung out in front of the museum and while we waited Zack climbed on the big BRISBANE letters with a lot of other kids. The fireworks were much better from this view. After the fireworks we went to the pool to watch The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. We hadn't brought our suits but sat on the edge to watch. It is so easy to get around here, and there is so much to do, that it is making it difficult for us to get out of here. The next day our friends David, Angelina and Nathalie from LaFiesta came to hang out. They are from Brisbane and we met them in New Zealand last year and spent time sailing with them in Fiji. We went over to South Bank to hang out, have a coffee and then some dinner before the fireworks. Another good show of fireworks while Zack and Nathalie played on the letters. We decided to skip the movie as LaFiesta had an hour drive to get home. We walked back to the boat thru the Botanic Gardens. It is a short and pleasant walk. When we got to the dock we saw three older teenagers with an inflatable kayak at the river's edge. We really wouldn't have thought much of it but when they saw us they quickly ran away laughing, leaving the kayak in the water untied. It looked a little suspicious so we went to investigate. We pulled the kayak over to the dock and pulled it out of the water onto the dock, leaving it there with the paddle. I filed a police report online the next day but haven't heard anything further.

David has been watching the weather and looking for a window to get south to Sydney. We were hoping to be there for the New Year's Eve fireworks and Finnley is in a play the first week of January that we want to see. Well it wasn't a perfect window but the wind was coming around in the next few days so we decided to leave. We waited for the slack tide and cut loose from the pilings at about 10 am. We rode down the river with the outgoing tide. It was a long slow day of motoring and we decided to stop at Morton Island for the night. It was a beautiful anchorage and we had a couple of dolphins swim right past the boat. We left early the next morning. We decided to play it safe and stay in the channel. Morton Bay is shallow and the sand moves with the tide so the only really safe passage is through the channel. The wind had died and it was a long, tedious day of motor sailing. We got out of the bay by late afternoon and we were able to turn off the motor and sail. We hooked a fish and Zack reeled it in himself. It was a small mackerel but the boys decided to keep it because it has been a long time since they have had fish for dinner. Unfortunately they said it was bland tasting. They are eating it anyway because the rule is if you keep it you eat it. It had been a long slow day again but that night when I was on watch I could hear something surfacing by the boat and I recognized the familiar snorting sound of dolphins. I got out a flashlight and watched the dolphins play in the bioluminescense coming from our wake. They stayed for at least an hour and it was magic to watch them.

Day two at sea saw us sailing along nicely with a 2 knot current in our favor. A beautiful sunny day and a pleasant sail. Then the fishing line started screaming. Zack sprang into action. He is like Pavlov's dog to the sound of the line going out. It was going fast and we could see a huge shape jumping behind the boat. It looked like a big Mahi-Mahi. The line was going fast and the drag was close to smoking. It looked like we were going to be loosing another one of our good Hooker Lures. Zack was able to get some purchase on the line and slow the beast down. The fight was on. It was late afternoon and this was going to be an epic battle. It was touch and go for a while. Zack would get in some line and the fish would take off. We expected it to spool the line at any moment. Zack kept fighting, the fish kept fighting. Neither was giving up but neither was winning either. The war went on for an hour. Zack was finally able to wear the fish out and get it to the back of the boat. It was HUGE! The biggest fish we have ever gotten to the back of the boat. The biggest Mahi we have ever seen. Now the hard part, getting it over the transom and into the cockpit. David got the gaff and it took a few tries but he did manage to get it in. It was massive. It thrashed like mad, breaking the plastic covering for the autopilot, and flipping the engine switch several times. David fought to subdue it but it was just too big to fold in half. He had to slice its gills to get it under control and then he dispatched it as quickly and humanely as possible. It was 57 inches long and over 50 pounds. Zack was very proud of himself, it was a big accomplishment to get that beast in. It was almost sunset so David got to work butchering. We had stocked the freezer before leaving Brisbane and it was a trick to get the meat frozen. There was at least thirty pounds of meat. The fillets were so big that one slice across was enough for a sandwich. We have decided not to fish the rest of the way, because we cannot store any more meat. That night on watch I heard dolphins again. I got my flashlight out and was treated to 3 dolphins doing flips and coming all the way out of the water to splash back in. I think my light disturbed them because I only saw the three flips. Amazing.

We were not able to beat the weather and decided to pull into Coff's Harbor to avoid some bad weather coming our way. Coff's is a nice harbor but not well protected from the roll. There is a breakwater but it does not go far enough across the mouth of the harbor to block all the waves. It was Christmas Day and we hoped to make it in early. We were not early enough for Zack. He woke up at about 6 am. I had put the presents at the end of my bed so they wouldn't roll around and so that Zack would wake me up before he opened them. I had had about 4 hours of sleep when I felt a knocking on my head. He literally knocked on my head to wake me up. We weren't able to get many good pictures because I had barely come to when he stated ripping open his presents. It was a smaller affair as he had already received his surfboard. There was a stocking full of chocolate and a new rash guard from Finnley. Some gems and surf wax. A few other small things but the highlight was a new guitar. He is going to be a cool guitar playing surf dude. I went back to sleep and he read his new Tom Gates book. I woke up as we pulled into Coff's Harbor. We anchored and had a chill day on the boat. The next day we were feeling refreshed so we headed into the beach and Zack spent the day boogie boarding in the waves. We had hoped to bring the surfboards in the next day but it started to rain and has not let up. The wind has changed direction and we have spent 2 miserable days rolling, at times violently, with pouring rain. We are going to head out early in the morning and we hope to make Sydney in time for the fireworks.