After a few months hauled out at the Gold Coast City Marina, the crew of Tyee was certainly happy to see her afloat again. Days of work to get back in order, bottom paint, polishing and a few odd and ends and we were off to the Sunshine Coast.
Our New Zealand friend Tracey was back again for another week's holiday. We pick her up in Manly, a suburb of Brisbane, where we stopped to show the boat to potential buyers. We then anchored in Moreton Bay one night and then sailed north to Mooloolaba. Upon arrival, we were happily greeted at the entrance of the river by some Edmonton friends who have now made Mooloolaba their home. The boys were excited to meet with Monkey Feet again. We cruised with them at a few occasion both in the Caribbean and last year in the Pacific. Simi, Talon and Radik have been inseparable since, the 3 musketeers. We even have offered Giselle to pay for room and board for Simi.
Mooloolaba is a wonderful town on the Sunshine Coast. It is only an hour's drive to Brisbane and totally chilled out. This community feels on full-time holidays. We are at the marina which is on the inside of a long spit. We walk across, a couple of minutes, to the beach. The water is a bit chilly but manageable. It is winter after all. The days are beautiful around 25 but the nights are cool going down to about 10. We plan to stay here and sell the boat. We have talked to a few brokerage and hope that between our advertisements and theirs, we will find new owners for Tyee.
Check it out on www.catanaforsale.com

We've been back at work for a month already and can't wait to get back to Tyee. We miss the ocean, the swimming, the warmth but most of all, our wonderful cruising friends.
Thanks to all of you who have made our cruising an unforgettable journey.

It was not easy to leave Tyee for another ski season. It has been 30 celcius the last few days and the thought of going to winter is not enchanting...
Tyee will stay on hardstand at Gold Coast City Marina in Coomera just south of Brisbane for the next few months. We will be back in April and hopefully get a chance to explore the Queensland Coast though we will work a bit harder at advertising her for sale then.
For those interested in finding a bit more about this Catana 431 for sale, go to our website www.catanaforsale.com

We have been in Australia for 3 weeks already and it has been great until now...we are getting Tyee organized for storage.
After a short stay in Brisbane, we headed south to the Gold Coast. After visiting the marinas, it was easy to decide that Gold Coast City Marina was the best option for Tyee. The marina is a huge complex, a marine city with every type of marine industry right on site. Not that Tyee needs work but it is nice to have everything on hand when hauling out. The storage is also all concrete and very clean, as far as boatyards go.
From Brisbane to the Gold Coast, you can travel hundreds of miles in a waterway similar to the American ICW (IntraCoastal Waterway) which is totally protected from the great Pacific Ocean. Many boaters take advantage of this easy playground and on the weekend, the anchorages are full. The majority of them are only a few miles from home. They are surprised to see a Canadian flag and often asked about our travels.
Some of the waterway is rather commercial with lots of fancy development properties, others not with wallabies relaxing by the shore. Many spots to choose from and for all tastes.
We decided to go to Bums Bay by Southport, not far from the haul-out, to enjoyed the surf. A kiwi couple that we met in New Caledonia told us about this beautiful spot just south of the Goldcoast waterway entrance. There we could walk across a spit with our surfboards and be directly on the beach, a 5 minute walk.
Finally, we could enjoy a great surf. Traveling on the boat does not always provide proximity to a surf break. Usually we try to avoid being so close to breaking waves which does not make it easy for surfing.
Traveling through French Polynesia and Fiji, we encountered lots of great spot but maybe a bit too great for us and the kids. Most surfs in that part of the world break on coral, sometimes not very deep over the sharp rocks. In Australia though, there are miles and miles of beaches...all beautiful and great for learning. The kids had a blast and if the surf was too big, we got the boogie boards out and played in the wash.

We left New Caledonia at the tail end of a big storm brewing in the south seas. The swell were big and the wind a good 20-25 knots for the first few days but it did not last and we had to turn the iron sail, dear Volvo to the rescue for the last 2 days of our passage. We ran the 800+ miles to Brisbane in 5 days. It's hard to imagined that we made it all the way from America to the land down under.
Approaching the Oceanic Continent, we knew that we only had a few more miles to go, as the sweet smell of land engulfed the boat. A mixture of honeybee and eucalyptus greeted us.
We entered Moreton Bay at daylight and travelled down to the Brisbane River where we could do our arrival procedure with customs. We tied up at the Rivergate Marina and did not have to wait more then 5 minutes for the quarantine agent to conduct his inspection. He was followed by customs and in less then 30 minutes, it was all done.
Gabian, a French Catamaran, who had arrived the day before invited us to a beautiful prawn dinner that we could not refuse.
The following day. we rented a car to make it easier to visit the different marina options for storing Tyee for the cyclone season. We ended the day in downtown Brisbane, walking through the Botanical Gardens and the fancier shopping district. It was surreal to be amongst such wealth after having been in poorest Fijian and Ni-Van villages.

We left Kuto bay and followed an older german couple aboard Donella. Christian, who we had met a few days before persuaded us to follow him to clearer water on the eastern side of the island. We had been looking for a dive spot so it was not hard to pick up the anchor and follow a veteran of cruising New Caledonia. Christian and Hannelore, now live in New Zealand and come up to cruise in the warmer waters every cold season. They have been at it for over 30 years, they are 80 and 82 years old. An unbelievable couple!
As promised, as we rounded the corner of the island, the water cleared up. We timed our arrival at Baie de Oro with high tide so we could make it in right up to the beach. The water was beautiful, lots of turtles were eating the sea grass that we anchored in. We quickly organized the kayak and boards for a paddle around the lagoon. We rounded the corner where the Meridian hotel is located and continued up river where a natural pool is formed. The water had receeded by then and we barely had enough depth to clear our floating devices.
The following day, we organized our dive gear and went on exploring. Christian was happy to have someone to dive with as he promised Hannelore that he would not go by himself anymore. We poked around a few spots in the lagoon, it was great. Lots of coral bombies and crevases to swim through, a breathtaking scenery.