Kusadasi To Coffs!
10 December 2015 | Coffs Harbour Marina, Coffs Harbour
Ange
Tuesday saw the Richmond River bar conditions at Ballina calm considerably so we cast off our lines & headed out at 6am. We had a lovely sail down to the Clarence River where we crossed over the bar with no trouble & dropped our anchor in the harbour at Iluka. We spent the afternoon snoozing & watching some TV. Wednesday we explored Yamba by crossing the river in the dinghy & then had a nice walk through Iluka. They are both lovely towns...probably Iluka was our favourite as it is a lot quieter than Yamba.
Yesterday we were up early to catch in the incoming tide over the bar. We left with 3 other yachts and a motor boat all heading south. Conditions were less than ideal with no wind after the first 2 hours & then a southerly wave chop popped up, that we had to bash into. PANNIKIN made her way into the harbour at Coffs just before 5pm & we were greeted by lots of friends waving from Mutton Bird Island. Thank you to everyone for coming into town to greet us...it was fantastic to see all of you. The champagne was nice too! We also had a visit from our sailing friends (2 who crewed for us in the ARC). We sat on PANNIKIN & ate fresh prawn rolls for dinner & had a great chat. It is really fantastic to be home. Today we are off to buy a car! PANNIKIN is now in here in her berth at Coffs Harbour International Marina where she will stay until sold. Her details should be available on the yachthub and yachtdomain websites soon.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank all our family & friends for their never ending support & love during our time away. A special thanks to Owen & Sue, Lesley, Frank & Gayle and Samuel & James for taking time out & visiting us and spending time on PANNIKIN. We really enjoyed your company and loved having you on board. We shared some special times with you!
Finally, to all the wonderful new friends we have made in our travels from Turkey to Australia. Your friendship & good times have been the highlight of our trip & we are positive you will all be friends for life. We miss all of you & are so blessed to have met you. Safe sailing to those of you who are still chasing the dream!
What an adventure it has been...some 26 odd countries, just over 20,000 nautical miles and nearly 3 years away from home. But what a ride!!! Thank you to PANNIKIN for looking after us so well!