Pursuit

It seems like forever since we left Pursuit on the hard in Brisbane, but the time has flown by and we are almost ready to start off again. Although it was tough to leave all the texting while driving, and Twittering each other's Yahoo's back in North America, we must move on. We had a great time though! It was so fantastic to be able to be back for more than the usual two-week trip.

A lot of things have happened since we left Pursuit. We got married (yes, we took the plunge... I know, I can't believe Tara said yes either.) Since getting married in March, we road tripped for a couple of months around the United States, as a honeymoon of sorts. We also spent lots of time with our friends and family in Toronto and Seattle. It was such an amazing visit, but Tara and I are ready to continue the circumnavigation [TRL: or aren't ready for life in the real world].

With Pursuit stored out of the water, it allowed us the ability to not have to worry about all the potential issues associated with leaving a boat in the water for six months. Wow, what a long time since we had been on our home! It never ceases to amaze me at the speed that time passes! We were so excited about getting Pursuit back in the water, getting back on board and starting the adventure again. Prior to our US departure, most of our conversations went from deciding where the next place to stop on the road trip was, to what do we need to order and pick up that we wont find in Australia. Now that we're here, we talk mostly about getting our chores done and places we want to see up the Great Barrier Reef and into Asia. It is so exciting [TRL: and a bit daunting] to think about again.

We had quite the surprise when we arrived at the marina after just landing in Australia. We were exhausted from the flight from LAX and all we wanted to do was climb aboard Pursuit and have a nap. As we were driving down the road towards the marina, we could see all the masts in the yard so we started looking for Pursuit's mast. It was weird, we couldn't see it [TRL: masts may all look the same to you, but if you've stared at the same one for days on end it starts to become unique. Maybe a lot like children. Maybe.] We entered the yard and still no Pursuit - nowhere to be seen! What the %$@#! She was here when we left last year and she's a little big [TRL: not to mention a bit difficult] to misplace. We quickly went up to the office and asked where our boat was. The manager said, "Well, it's in the water, as you requested." I said, "Absolutely not. It is not insured to be in the water yet. We would never have authorized that. Get it out!" [TRL: I had to leave the office before I went bat $^*# crazy. Several months prior I had explicitly told them that the boat was not to go in the water until after we returned, and we had emails indicating that we were scheduled to go back in the water the week AFTER we returned. Communication breakdown somewhere.] So as we sat red-eyed and exhausted they scurried around pulled the boat out of the water and put her back in the work yard. What a welcome back! All is well that ends well though. We had a few beers, a beef pie, and then a laugh. What a day!

TRL: The good news about our arrival was that the boat was in nearly perfect condition inside and out. We spent a lot of time getting Pursuit ready for her vacation. It paid off, as we have found no mold or bugs inside, which were my major concerns. The maintenance department's (Gary's) list never seems to end but all in all things look good.

We did have a few things to do when we arrived back in Australia, such as getting a new boat survey done for the insurance company, putting on a bit of bottom paint, and the few little things that always pop up. There is always something to be done before the boat can go back in the water and sail away. We tore our main sail at the end of last year when leaving Vanuatu, so we had to get that repaired also. [TRL: In case you're curious, the provisioning department's job is mostly done. We needed very little as we're STILL eating canned and dried food we purchased in Panama. Most of it hasn't expired ☺. I did spend the last few days making/freezing stock, bread, granola, and various other items I enjoy having around. Gary would love it if all I could make were potato chips, but unfortunately he'll have to resort to snacking on squirrel food.]

There are a few other things we have to wait on, so with this down time it should be a good time to travel around Australia. We plan on traveling down to Sydney and seeing the sites along the way. We didn't get much of a chance last year to go south of Brisbane, so it will be nice to see that stretch of the coast.

A lot of fellow cruisers and friends have already started heading up the coast of Australia. We planned on getting going by the beginning of June. It always ensures that the weather has cleared up and the risk of any late season storms will have diminished. [TRL: At least that's how we justify our tardiness.] It seems like we are always a little slow out of the gate, but we have nothing but time ahead of us, so the feeling of having to move along quickly never really enters the picture for us. I don't think I could enjoy the feeling of just floating along if I felt there was a time constriction of any kind.

Anyway, the blogs will start to pop up again and pictures from along the way as well.

I have posted a bunch of photos from the wedding and also a few from our travels around the States.