19/06/2013, Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Italy

With a mixture of Italian and French and looking in the manual, Bill and Joseph begin to work out the problem. Tomorrow Bill will pull the engine apart and senor Joseph will come by to have look to see if it is repairable.

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19/06/2013, Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Italy

Engine problems
Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Italy
19 June 2013
Position : 37 17.10'N 013 29.42'E (anchorage)
Now :37 17.18'N 013 31.69'E

Sciacca (pronounce 'shukka') was a pleasant stop for a few days to recover from our trip from Spain. A small harbour with a picturesque outlook from Lati and supermarket, bars and the old town nearby made our stay very enjoyable. Sciacca has a distinctive ceramics community, the artists selling their wares all through the main part of town. The work is generally colourful, some with naïve designs and others quite ornate. I bought 2 largish flat bottomed bowls (wont tip) and a nibblies platter so now we can eat in style on board Lati. We also sampled the local cuisine, dining in a couple of the nicer restaurants. As Sciacca is a fishing port with some 100 fishing boats (Bill counted them), the sea food is very good. One of my favourite dishes is pasta with clams.

Yesterday we motored out of the harbour in virtually no wind to continue our way further east. We are keen to see the ancient Greek temples at Agrigento, near Porto Empedocle. It was a beautiful warm day with clear sunny skies as we continued to motor. Bill decided to have a nap while I was on lookout. With 16 miles to go at around lunch time, Lati's engine slowed down then stopped.

Bill checked the obvious things - fuel, water etc and they were fine. The engine started 2 more times but again stopped not sounding very happy. So in less than 5 knots of wind, Captain Underpants managed to make Lati sail towards our destination. We tacked many times, the water almost like a mirror with a few ripples. Just before dark (around 8.30pm), we were a couple of miles from Porto Empedocle. We had decided to anchor outside the harbour and work out what to do this morning. We were 2 miles offshore in 50ft of water and there was no wind whatsoever. My ingenious captain got the paddles out and stood up the back of Lati Polynesian style to move her closer to shore. At .5 knot speed, we reached 20ft of water about half a mile from the shore. Sails down and anchor down, we rolled a bit. After a glass of wine or 2 and a bowl of bean soup, we slept fitfully in our rolly bed.

It is now 7.20am and too early to go and see the marina and port authorities. With no engine, we will need assistance to get into the harbour. Porto Empedocle is a commercial harbour so we don't want to get in the way of ships. Bill will probably take the dinghy and outboard into the marina (2 miles away) and explain to someone who hopefully speaks English our predicament.

We think we will now be in Sicily for a bit longer than planned to sort out the engine. We will get to Greece, but probably not next week. At least there is plenty to see around here of Greek origin. Lonely Planet says "Agrigento would hardly be on the tourist map if not for the absolutely stunning Greek temples strewn along a ridge below town. Founded around 582 BC, this was ancient Greece's great cities, one of the major Greek archaeological sights in the world. The ancient Greek name is Agrakas."

2.30pm
We were towed in a couple of hours ago and several helpful hands were ready for us when we arrived at the small marina within this large port. What a relief. Vanessa the young woman who works in the office and also supervised the tying up of Lati is extraordinary. Without a word of English and with us not being able to speak Italian and with the help of google translate, she has offered to assist us with mechanical repairs and a 2nd had engine dealer. He is due to arrive shortly. We will have to get google translate ready!

I think it's the people who make a place. Even though not as picturesque as Sciacca (we are looking at cranes etc on the other side of the port), so far the locals have been extremely welcoming. The little café across the road sells fresh sandwiches and pastries as well as cold beer and wine so we are well provided for. They couldn't believe we were from Australia.. Vanessa said to me the bus to visit the temples is within a few metres. There are hardly any yachts here, just a few power boats and we Aussies are a bit of a novelty with our wooden boat and 'motor kaput!' And the cost of the towing? Just the 'benzine' and lunch.

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19/06/2013, Sicily Italy

I fell in love with this piece but had to say no as a ride in Lati then on a couple of planes would be high risk.

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14/06/2013, Italy

The wind picked up yesterday afternoon just as the faint outline of Sicily's hills came into view. On the vhf we heard something about a gale warning so of course I start to worry and stress. After downloading the latest Metarea weather and listening to the next broadcast, we then knew it was further north. In fact as the sun disappeared, its bright orange roundness disappearing in to the sea, the wind became less and less.

Closing into Sicily we arrived a few miles from Sciacca around midnight. We were indecisive about anchoring or entering a harbour at night so we sailed slowly along in the still sea at 2-3 knots. We could barely keep our eyes open. I had a nap then Bill had a short one when fishing boats began to come towards us around 20 of them in total. As we only have a masthead tricolour light, I flashed a torch on the sails.

At 3am we decided to anchor outside the harbour. It was around 25 ft. After a night cap we were snoring within minutes.

This morning the sun shone and the town of Sciacca beckoned. (pronounced 'Shucka') It was the easiest tying up ever for us in a marina with a local lad assisting. Il Coralla marina is a yacht club and very friendly. Alas no showers. Plenty of water on tap though. The older guy in Italian said 'No problema... Use ze goma (hose) the sun is shining. wear costuma not nuda...' So thats what we did used the hose from the back of the boat! (in our togs)

This is where we celebrated our arrival in Sicily at a trattoria. Lati is the 3rd boat from the end down in the distance. Time to rest and prepare for the next leg.

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13/06/2013, 37 21.20'N:11 22.30'E, between Algerian basin and Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean

Spain to Italy Day 8: Imaginary Marina at Bizerte �- so back to sea and dodging more ships.

13 June 2013, 7 40am.

Position : 37 21.20�'N 11 22.30�'E

81 nautical miles from Sciacca, Sicily

Our visit to Tunisia was short and sweet, not even leaving the outer harbour of Bizerte. As we neared the dryish hills with the odd ruin on top, the wind increased whipping Lati into full speed at more than 7 knots. The wind must have accelerated and funnelled through the hills around Bizerte. I was stressed enough about tying up Lati without that wind but we were prepared. As the breakwater came into view I called the marina on Vhf 3 times without a response. With lines ready, the sails down and tied up, fenders out, I used the mobile phone to call. The man who answered said in English ,
"The harbour is closed. Didn�'t you get my email? The marina is not ready.�"
And yes when we looked in past the inner harbour there was a bare expanse of nothing where the marina should have been.
"Go to Sidi Bou It�'s much better,�" he said apologetically. Now how would we have made a mistake like that? In Gibraltar we bought the latest 2013-14 Imray Mediterranean Almanac which stated und er Bizerte:
Navigation: yachts should head for the new marina.
Bizerte Marina �- A new development on the north side of the entrance, due for completion in 2012. Another yachting guide said �"opened in 2011�"

Feeling disappointed, I then phoned (on roam from Oz �-ouch!) the numbers in the Almanac for Sidi Bou :
" Ello?" a woman answered.
" Yes Good Afternoon. May I speak English?"
She giggled then said �"Oui..�"
" I am on a yacht in Bizerte and the marina is not open. Do you have space for us?" "Monsiour not here..... huit heure...later�...�"
"Do I call the harbour master?"
I couldn�'t really understand what she said but thanked her and hung up.

Ok so now I try the number for the harbour master:
"�'Allo..�" shouted a man with lots of background noise.
"Good Afternoon. Are you the harbour master at Sidi Bou Said?"
I couldn�'t understand what he said. It was brief and the phone cut out. I tried again
"Allo!�" I think that�'s what he said. There was still lots of background noise. �"Are you the harbour master? May I speak English?�"
He hung up. As Sidi Bou Said was some distance away and we wouldn�'t get there till after dark, and the non welcoming response, we had no choice really but to head out to sea. In retrospect, the fishing harbour outside the port of Bizert possibly could have accommodated us if we really needed to stop.

Anyway with the sails up again, we sailed out of there, Bye Tunisia! Later I did download the email from Bizerte Marina:

�"Good morning,

We are sorry to inform you that the marina is not yet opened and that you cannot get inside the port.

I will suggest you to reach Sidi Bou Said as all infrastructure and administration are correctly working.

Looking forward to welcome you next year.�"

Kind regards Christophe Lacôte Marina Bizerte Marketing Manager

Well, Christophe, Im not sure we will be back next year! We can laugh about it now. It was all a bit crazy really. I laughed even more when I received Dad�'s email:
"Glad to see that you will have a break at Bizerte. The Google earth view shows the marina at Bizerte to be completely empty but I'm sure it won't be like that now. We'll be thinking of you arriving at about midnight our time and enjoying your break and hot showers ( ? ).
" Yes well it is still completely empty and the question mark about the showers was true!

At least now we are headed for a marina we know exists in Sciacca, Sicily because our Danish friends have just been there. We often like to anchor and if we had been near the small island before Bizerte in the daylight, it would have been perfect as it was on our way. We couldn�'t see any other anchorages. We even sailed close to a rocky island on the way out. It had a lighthouse, was steep and rocky and looked rather forbidding so gave it a miss.

I have been awake since 12.30 after midnight and Bill was up till then and again since 4am. We worked together to get through a busy shipping channel (separation zone) between Tunisia and Italy. I recorded names, times, speed and course of ships likely to come very close to us. We had the engine going in case we had to change course quickly to avoid collision. A bit full on but we got through it. One ship that was very close (and Bill even had the vhf radio ready ) suddenly changed course to our surprise to go behind us. We think he was going to turn anyway but made his intentions clear which was good for us. The AIS is very useful and I remember when we had to do the same thing without it in Singapore, a much busier shipping highway.

The sky is blue, the wind is light and our instruments say with our current speed of 4 knots, we wont reach Sciacca until the early hours after midnight. Hopefully there will be lights and we can tie up at the visitors pontoon. Shame about Tunisia but now I look forward to the delights Sicily has to offer �- yummy food and wine (oh and of course a shower!) There are also some ancient Greek temples nearby that I would like to see. That�'s it for now. Time for a rest as the water laps gently against Lati�'s hull.

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12/06/2013, 37 29.8'N:09 20.9'E, between Algerian basin and Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean

Spain to Italy Day 7: Mmmm do we stop in Tunisia?

12 June 2013, 7.30am.

Position: 37 29.8N 9 20.9E.

Another slow night on Lati. Not much wind but peaceful enough with a number of ships to keep us on our toes. Some interesting names eg Great Happy (Chinese?), Inzhener Veshnyakou (Greek?)

We are thinking of stopping in Bizerte, 33 nautical miles away sometime this afternoon. It would mean customs and the whole rigmarole but the marina is reputably good and close to town. The thought of a rest, a shower and seeing a new country is very appealing. Its also a non Schengen country which gives us more time. (As Australians we are only allowed 90 days in Schengen countries.)

Wow back in Africa again. I wonder if there is lovely jewellery there too?

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11/06/2013, 37 55.02'N:07 06.49'E, Algerian Basin, Western Mediterranean Sea

Spain to Italy Day 6: Slowly, slowly not far from Tunisia

11 June 2013, 8am.

Position : 37 55.02N 7 06.49E

Grotty yachties. That�'s us. No bath for 6 days. Ewww you must think. But to us we don�'t stink. It�'s cool so we don�'t sweat. The secret? Baby wipes. Saves water and one feels clean. The hair is starting to curl up shrink and do funny things as it always does at sea.

Last night there was barely any wind so under the starry skies with north Africa on our starboard side, we motored. But sadly we were only able to do 2.5 knots for several hours so we think there was some current against us. Strange as its supposed to go the other way in summer. We noticed a track of a ship ahead and it had done a complete U-turn. Perhaps they were wondering why they were going slowly also.

The wind has picked up a bit now but coming from straight behind (westerly) but it is still light which makes it hard for Ariel the windvane to do her job and steer us properly. Yesterday we jibed 3 times and went full circle. Bill connected the tiller pilot which is steering us quite well and in a straight line. The only problem with that is, it uses power and Lati only has one solar panel.

We now have 284 nautical miles to go to Sicily and 89 to the Tunisian island Port de la Galite, should we choose to stop there for a rest. We are fairly tired as you never get enough sleep on passage. 2-3 hour stints around twice a day. When the sails are flapping or there are ships close by, it is not possible to sleep.

I finished The Life of Pi. Bill is reading it now. Some bits in it are a bit gruesome and wouldn�'t suit vegetarians but an interesting book nonetheless. I think I liked the movie as it left out a lot of the gory bits.

Another couple of days and we will be sparkling clean again. And we must do lots of laundry, I handwashed in Gibraltar and the laundry service couldn�'t get it done in time in Estepona. I haven�'t counted the pairs of captains undies. I�'m not game.

SateIite communication: I hope the positions are coming up correctly on the map. We�'ve gone from west to east meridian and if I don�'t get the decimal place right on my submission to sailblogs, it puts us somewhere different. If you click on the map, you should see little yellow squares plotting our position each day. If you click on any of the little yellow squares, it will come up with my blurb for the day. (No photos of the latest until we get to wifi at the next port.) If you have clicked on Google Earth plug in when asked, it will show all of Lati�'s voyage from the Caribbean as well as Valiam�'s circumnavigation. Pretty good that I can update the website by satellite phone in the middle of the ocean isn�'t it? And receive emails. (so where are they? Thanks to Bill�'s Dad who always keeps in touch when we are on passage.) I will give another plug for GMN. They are excellent. We use their Xgate software and sailblogs service. (approx. $600 a year plus satellite phone usuage) www.globalmarinenet.com

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10/06/2013, 38 08.24'N:05 37.39'E, Algerian Basin, Western Mediterranean Sea

Spain to Italy Day 5: The Med is bigger than you think.

Algerian Basin.

10 June 2013, 11.38am.

Position : 38 08.24N 05 37.39E

It�'s overcast today but last night the sunset followed by a clear sky with stars was magnificent. I saw one lonely bird circling yesterday in the distance and hardly any ships came past us last night. This is because we veered off more north because of the wind.

Bill poled the jib out yesterday and took out the reefs in the mainsail. Everything on Lati is labour intensive. No furlers and the winch on the mast doesn�'t work. Lucky she is a small boat and the captain get by using his brute strength! Of course after he went off bed and I was on watch, the wind increased, still mostly from the west and Lati took off! I thought I was on Valiam as she raced along at 6.5-7 knots touching 8. It was a bit much for me and didn�'t feel right. We were also heading too far north. Sleepily Bill came to his senses and assessed the situation. �"I�'ll put the reef back in the main but leave the rest. We will just have to jibe in the morning.�" I didn�'t want him mucking around with that pole in the dark either. It�'s bad enough in the day watching him do it.

I only had 2 hours sleep this morning and felt tired, aching, dirty and disgruntled. Did we really sail for 25 days then another 13 on Lati last year? I�'ve had enough already. The v-berth was still a bit bouncy, so I slept for another couple of hours in the saloon after the jibe. Feeling better I warmed up left over chillie concarne with fried bread and eggs for breakfast. Mexican brekky. Delicious!

I am reading The Life of Pi on this passage and quite enjoying it. I saw the movie on the plane over which I loved. The book as always has a lot more in it and is very philosophical in that is explores the relationship between humans, animals and religion. Survival on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger makes for a great book to have in Lati�'s library.

Looking through the Mediterranean Almanac yesterday, we noticed a small island off Tunisia called Isle de la Gilete which has a sheltered anchorage. It�'s tempting to stop there for a rest. We will assess the situation tomorrow when we know what the weather is doing.(or hope we know) It would be an overnight sail from there to Sciacca, Sicily if the wind is blowing from the predicted NW. We shall see�.... Friends Fernanda and Mark whom we met in Portugal gave us a Tunisian courtesy flag that we could hoist to do the right thing. International law says a 24 hour rest for vessels is allowed.

It�'s quite meditative in a way to be almost totally cut off from the world. Apart from these sailblogs up dates and weather forecasts, we have received virtually no emails from family and friends. No doubt my Hotmail in-box will be overflowing and my facebook pages will have comments on them but I cant read them out here! This website is linked to our Sailing in my Sarong facebook page. If you are new to our site, you will see extra photos in there of our voyages.

Thank you to the satellites and to Hughie the wind boss.

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09/06/2013, 37 14.86'N:03 11.80'E, Algerian Basin, Western Mediterranean Sea

Spain to Italy Day 4 : Along the coast of Algeria, North Africa Algerian Basin.

9 June 2013, 10.47am (UTC + 2 hours).

Position : 37 14.86�'N 03 11.80 E.

470 nautical miles to Sicily. That�'s not far is it? But at Lati�'s speed of around 5.5 knots equates to around 120 miles per day. The last day or so we have averaged 130 but the winds have eased off a bit. (not the speed of 45ft Valiam in good conditions of 180 a day, but Lati is doing well at only 31ft.) A shorter boat means cheaper marina fees which is good for us in Europe.

The last 24 hours have been a lot more comfortable as Bill was able to put the main up so it is less rolly. I�'ve always said it takes 3 days to get into a passage, the rhythm of it and being able to sleep. We�'ve managed to get sleep in 3 hour lots but there is still a considerable amount of shipping. The AIS takes most of the anxiety out of when ships come too close. We have a stand alone NASA black and white unit that is on all the time. It shows the track of the ships which we can then estimate how far they will be from us when they come past. We�'ve had to alter course several times. These big thundering giants usually cant see us. I only call them up on the rare occasion if they really are too close and the usual response is �'I cant see you on the radar�...�' But then a little while later they can�... Another one is heading towards us as I type this. We�'ve just altered course again to avoid it. It is 6 miles away and I can see its faint outline coming out of the haze to our starboard side. When I can see the shape and side of the ship, this is better than just the front! Also a special thank you to Kath who gave us her old Iphone. Not only can I use wifi outside cafes pretending I�'m on the phone but I have now discovered its timer with its many varieties of alarm sounds. I have chosen a sharp trill to wake us up if we doze off on watch at night. This was better than the old car horn or dog barking. It goes between every 10 or 20 minutes depending on how close and how many ships there are.

Enough about ships. I should not have talked about the fridge. It�'s not working again. It has some intermittent electrical fault to do with the plug and the voltage. Oh well, it�'s still cool weather here so not having cold drinks isn�'t too much of a hardship. We used the last of the fresh meat yesterday. Bacon, chorizo, cheese, marinated anchovies etc all keep without refrigeration. It�'s not warm enough to melt the butter, but its spreadable. We created 3 meals using the large pot of vegetable ratatouille. Very delicious. Not sure what is on the menu today. Perhaps Nachos with the captains favourite chilli con carne poured over corn chips.

What I do miss out here in the Med is birds. I haven�'t seen any. Bill said he saw one. But sailing other major oceans, we always see birds. There have been a few dolphins though �- fast small ones.

I read that on the coast of Sicily where we are going are some ancient Greek temples. We are going to try and go and see them. I am hoping that there wont be any more long passages after this one. We�'ve done quite a bit of sailing in the last 12 months. 1. Lati : Across the North Atlantic to Portugal last June - August from the Virgin Islands �- 3500 nautical miles approx. 2. Valiam: Return trip to Tasmania from Mooloolaba. January �- March 2500 nm approx. 3. Lati : Current �- Portugal to Italy �- 1000 nm. Then on to Greece and Turkey�...Phew! Two boats. Two hemispheres. We must be crazy!

We are hoping to relax a bit once we get to Greece and enjoy the islands (in between Meltemis �- the sudden gale force winds they have there in summer!)

Oh another ship coming close. I guess we must be in a shipping route again. Until next time, all well on board Lati.

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08/06/2013, 37 19.37'N:00 13.18'E, Western Mediterranean Sea

Spain to Italy Day 3 : Rough and Windy.

8 June 2013, 8am.

Position : 37 19.37�'N 0 13.18�'E. (We crossed from west to east meridian last night but werent that thrilled really.)

We weren�'t expecting it to be quite so rough last night. Bill changed the big lightweight jib for a smaller one and we still flew along slipping and sliding around over and into the waves at 5-6 knots. We don�'t have a mainsail up either. The swells are shorter in the Med and the waves seem to come from different directions. Apart from a few ships there�'s nothing much out here. Feels like any other ocean passage. It�'s a bit rolly and uncomfortable though with the winds coming mostly from the west �-south-west. It�'s a bit more settled now but last night it was wild. White caps and easily 30 knots a lot of the time.

The V-berth in the forecabin is out of the question so we are taking turns to sleep in the saloon with a lee cloth and strong bar across holding it in place. I was concerned last night when I saw lightening in the distance so I grabbed the sat phone, wifi device and computer (being careful not to drop them in the rolly wild seas) to download the latest Metarea forecast. Mmm near gale conditions and thunderstorms more from the west. When Bill saw the forecast he turned Lati a bit more to the north to try and minimise the discomfort as well as possibly getting seas less rough. Ariel, the aries windvane is doing a great job steering.

I only fancied 2 minute noodles for breakfast this morning which made me think of our youngest granddaughter as it is her favourite food. Last night we cooked a delicious meal of steak and ratatouille veges. We weren�'t sure what sort of steak it was that we bought from the supermarket butcher. It said something about filet so we took our chance. For only 3 euros we enjoyed a large lump of meat braised and roasted in the pan with the lid on. Bill then cut it into strips. It was a little chewy but not too bad. I put that in so that you wont think all we eat is 2 minute noodles and tins!

With just over 600 nautical miles to go to Sicily, we hope to arrive in Sciacca, our chosen port next Wednesday. But lets see if Hughie keeps delivering westerly winds. He didn�'t need to make them as strong though! I can see blue skies and sun which is good for the solar panel to charge up our batteries.Its cool out here and quite cold at night and in the morning. I have been wearing leggings and a long sleeved tracksuit top. Outside another layer goes on; either my yachting jacket (from Alex Rust) or my warm black coat. I hope Greece will be warmer by the time we get there!

A word about satellite emails at sea: Remember guys if you email me out here, PLEASE delete my email before you reply. Download is slow and expensive and I don�'t want to pay for my own words back again!

All well on board Lati

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07/06/2013, 36 44.54'N:02 07.05'W, Western Mediterranean Sea

Spain to Italy Day 2 : A rest at Cabo de Gata then on our way.

7 June 2013, 9am.

Position: 36 44.54�'N 02 07.05�'W.

The wind had us in the shipping lanes for most of the previous 34 hours so we had hardly any sleep. Looking at the grib files, we decided to head slightly north to get the best westerly which brought us close to the Spanish coast again. Bill mentioned that there was a possibility we could anchor behind Cabo de Gata for a rest before continuing.

Around 9.30pm last night it was still light enough to see so we motored slowly into the bay. There were already 5 yachts anchored in there. By 10pm we were rocking gently at anchor, cold drink in hand enjoying the late twilight cast shadow over the hills around us. Bliss. A hot bowl of soup (its quite chilly in the evenings) and we were soon in bed.

Waking refreshed with the wind howling slightly in the rigging we are ready for the crossing. I downloaded the latest wind predictions via grib files overlaid on the charts on the Ipad. The iridium wifi accesspoint device is wonderful. No disconnections via the satellite phone. Via saildocs we received a 12 hourly 7 day wind forecast. Its looking good but we need to reach Sicily by the 13-14th June to avoid headwinds. I can also receive metarea text forecasts via saildocs. I love having the technology on board to do this. And the bonus of receiving emails from family and friends too. It costs around $1.60 a minute to download. A short forecast only takes about 1-2 minutes. The long one on the Ipad took 5 minutes but its worth it. The equivalent of a couple of drinks in the pub in Gibraltar says the captain.

Without further ado, we are ready to face the next lot of shipping and cross the puddle, the ditch or whatever they call it here. The fridge is still working and Bill has discovered it has a dodgy plug with a complicated fuse inside that cuts out sometimes. The engine still needs some coaxing and it still doesn�'t start very easily but she eventually goes.

Lati is closer to her birthplace of Barcelona than she has been for a number of years. (She was built there in 1967) So today she will fly the Spanish flag for the last time on this trip.

All well on board Linda and Bill SV Lati

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06/06/2013, 36 11.4'N:03 12.11'W, Western Mediterranean Sea

Spain to Italy Day 1 : Bicycles, Handbags and Ships.

6 June 2013, 8am.

Position : 36 11.4�'N:3 12.11�'W

Looking at the weather forecast on passageweather.com the last few days, we were pleased to see westerlies appearing. So 24 hours ago, we decided to try for a straight run to Sicily, 875 nautical miles away. Grib files only give so much information but it looked like mostly westerlies, weakening and strengthening over the next week. So after one last supermarket shop, (we could wheel the trolley to Lati), water topped up, the big light jib repaired expertly by the local sailmaker, the gas filled with our difficult American fittings, we set off at around midday yesterday from Estepona.

Estepona was a very handy and relaxing stop over as we could get everything done as well as buy me a new folding bicycle. We had been looking for one since we arrived from Australia as we had only brought one with us, a second Dahon, that Bill bought on gumtree. Yes he still buys things on ebay, but no more yachts allowed! Perusing the bicycle shops in Estepona was not a chore for Bill as he loves bicycles. Anyone who knows him well would have noticed his collection of 23 bicycles in his shed at home, all different vintages, makes and sizes mostly purchased from the recycling depot. (the �'tip�') He loves restoring them and giving them to family. Our grandchildren each have a bicycle just right for them, even if Joseph�'s is hot pink. He doesn�'t mind. I digress. Well this time for the very first time I have a brand spanking new bicycle! The shopkeeper Lucas from El Tourmalet gave us excellent service.We cant speak Spanish and he cant speak English but with much pointing at catal ogues and internet sites we came to an agreement. Our charades are getting better! Within 24 hours, a reasonably priced Monty folding bike arrived. Its red and silver and I call him Monty. Lucas�' colleague mechanic out the back spent a lot of time adjusting and lubricating Monty so he would go well. He also adjusted the steering on the Dahon for free. Next I spotted a zip up bag with drink cooler attached to fit on the handlebars. �'Another handbag,�' muttered Bill, hoping it would still fold up to fit under our bed in Lati. Monty is comfy and I had a grin from ear to ear riding him back to the marina. With the wheels removed he fits next to the Dahon and there is just enough space for one foot to get in and out of bed. A sideways wriggle and I can just open the door to the head. Yes Lati is well packed. But now we have everything we need that was on our list : outboard, folding bikes, fridge�....

I daren�'t talk about the good news about the fridge as I may jinx it. The second hand Engel plug �- in fridge we acquired from the boatyard in Olhao, as compensation from the break in, is working again. Yesterday we had cold drinks and we are very appreciative and not taking it for granted at all. Hopefully when we arrive in Sicily in a week or so time, we can celebrate with a cold glass of bubbly.

Lati has been sailing well with just the repaired lightweight jib at around 5 knots or a bit less. We have been surrounded by ships all night. Thank goodness for the AIS receiver. One called Korsika was very close on our tail at 3am, so I called him up on the vhf radio. No he hadn�'t seen us on his radar but then later he did, saying he would pass as on our port side. I like them to know we are out here and not run us over! Right now we are in the median strip of the shipping lanes near Cabo de Gata. One just passed half a mile away. Too close for comfort but in the daylight I could see it would miss us as well as from the track on the AIS.

So another passage on board Lati. With the wind behind, its been a bit rolly which always makes me feel seasick, But with stugeron I am fine and can type on the computer and work in the galley. So finally we are sailing in the Med!

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04/06/2013

RIP to a young courageous circumnavigator - Alex Rust

Yesterday I found out the 28 year old skipper of SV Bubbles died while travelling alone in India. I feel such sadness at the loss of this gentle adventurous young man. We met Alex at Nanny Cay Marina, British Virgin Islands exactly 1 year ago. He had just circumnavigated the world taking on adventurous young people as crew along the way.

We met Alex and his brother as they were having their dockside sale of all their gear aboard Bubbles. We have on board Lati their life raft , epirb , hand held VHF, Alex's superb wet weather jacket ( which I wear) and trousers along with other useful gear.

Alex and his brother invited us to their presentation the evening before they left Bubbles in the hands of a broker to fly home to the USA. It's great to see a younger generation take risks, seek adventure and have fun. They did crazy things like jumping off cliffs on vines in the Amazon, weather storms with bravery and humour and had a lot more fun than the fuddy fuddy retired cruisers we usually meet. Alex had a copy of my book 'Sailing in my Sarong' of our circumnavigation and I encouraged him to write his own to encourage young people. He was keen to do this. My parting words were "I look forward to reading your book."

If a friend or family member could take this on in Alex's memory, this would be a wonderful thing. I can't believe he is gone and our sincere condolences and love go to his family.

Linda and Bill Anderson
SV Lati
Spain

Email: valiam1@hotmail.com
www.valiam.com.au
( I will find the entries on our blog referring to Alex and Bubbles)

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02/06/2013, Estepona

Estepona
Spain
Position:
36 24.96'N 05 09.39'W
2 June 2013

Only half a days motoring from Gibraltar and we are tied up in a coastal seaside holiday town marina. We feel a bit frustrated as there is no suitable wind to sail across to Sicily and Greece for a week at least.

We've come here to mainly fill our gas bottle because with American fittings this is difficult in Europe and there is supposed to be somewhere here that does it.

We had our usual drama of trying to tie up in the marina. I radioed ahead and a nice young man assisted us. There wasn't much space to get into our allotted berth and Lati doesn't turn so well in small spaces. And forget about reverse. She is unpredictable with her long keel. With much bungling and rude words, we grabbed the adjacent boat to pull her in backwards. Luna gave us their old fenders so with 4 each side we were ok. One one side a neglected plywood boat sat bobbing folornly. Meanwhile helpful Josh of the marina grabbed our lines and we fended off the wind vane from the concrete wall. I find tying Lati up Med style very stressful! If we keep moving slowly along the coast we will have the same dramas each time. It costs 26 euros a night here for a 10m berth and we were given a bottle of vino tinto as a welcome gift. How nice.

I've been reading about Mediterranean weather and don't feel keen to be hit with one of the winds that can build up to gale force in an hour. Although a mistral further north would give us some wind to get across to Sardinia or Sicily. It's about a weeks passage. Luna left last week when we were in Morocco with a good westerly. Easterlies aware predicted this week. So we can't go very far.

Last night we found a seafood restaurant that had all locals eating there rather than British. Always a good sign. We enjoyed fried fresh anchovies, marinated red capsicum salad and another type of fresh fish. Yummo! There are so many restaurants and bars next to the marina and although reputably open till 2am, we didn't hear anything. The late meal times in Spain takes some getting used to. Most people don't go out until after 10pm. (Its still light till nearly then) The idea is to have a siesta!
There's a market being set up in the carpark nearby. I have to go and have a look!
PS I bought 2 pretty cotton Indian caftans, ready for Greece...

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31/05/2013, Gibraltar

Leaving Gibraltar
31 May 2013

Gibraltar has been a comfortable stop over and easy to deal with things here, possibly because of English being spoken. All the locals are fluent in Spanish also. Marina Bay is currently being renovated to allow for a large floating casino so there is lots of noisy machinery. We have filled up with food, fuel and water. Bill has just gone to get more ice and beer. No we still don't have refrigeration but its not so bad. We are making do.

We are not going far tomorrow - only to Estapona, Spain. It is supposed to be where we can get our gas bottle filled. This continues to be a headache with its American fittings. In Olhao, Portugal, someone in their backyard filled it with some sort of fittings, illegal here in Gibraltar. Before we set sail for Italy, a week or so at sea we need enough gas to make our coffee and cook. The winds are predicted to blow the wrong way until about Thursday. We hope to head up the Spanish coast towards Cartagena or so near there to wait for the right weather to cross over.

I will put some more photos in the gallery. I have put quite a few on Facebook. (Like the page Sailing in my Sarong)

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30/05/2013, Marina Bay Gibraltar

Gibraltar feels like the Gold Coast or Sanctuary Cove after Morocco. This is our newest neighbour on the same pontoon. More details of Tangier and our plans soon!

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29/05/2013, Tangiers

More on Morocco
31 May 2013

Luxor tours, a Spanish travel company organized our trip to Chefchaouen and 1 night in Tangiers. Chefchaouen was a delight and the memories of the quaint blue buildings and doorways set under the Rif mountains will always make me smile. It was a truly special time. The driver organized by the tour company was 2 hours late to drive us to Tangiers. Nevertheless laden down with jewelry and a new blanket for our bed on Lati we departed feeling enriched and relaxed.

The Lonely Planet guide recommended Hotel Continental in Tangiers due to its very old history (more than 100 years) of writers, artists staying there. When I mentioned that we wanted to stay there, Sara the travel agent advised against it saying 'It is for men... And they have a disco there'. She said Hotel Chellah was much better. She was wrong. Hotel Chellah is on her list and Hotel Continental isn't. We didn't like Hotel Chellah. It was a faded old place a long walk from the medina, the old part of town. The next day we promptly walked to Hotel Continental and I fell in love with the place. It's like a museum with wonderful old furnishings and quaint sitting rooms. We were given a room with views of the harbour. Yes it's a construction site out the front and the new bathroom smelt of sewerage but we still liked it there. (We received a discount when we mentioned the plumbing problems)

Another place recommended by Lonely Planet was another olde worlde restaurant called Hamadi. It is situated on the rim of the medina and we felt ensconced in the type of atmosphere I've seen in the movies. A waiter with moustache, British accent wearing black harem pants teamed with a white jacket sporting shoulder epaulettes with gold stripes made us feel like royalty. We sat at a long table decked with starched white cloths and fresh flowers. The seats were long couch affairs with cushions and backed by real maroon flocked carpet. Up until this point we had been drinking mint tea everywhere. At Hamadi wine was available. The waiter went through the wine tasting ritual with a flourish, and even though it was local Moroccan red wine it was quite drinkable. The tagine and couscous was delicious and the live music provided by 4 musicians was wonderful.
The music was Moroccan style and sounded familiar to me after years of belly dancing. The violinist held the violin like a cello. I had also seen this in Chefchaoen. I wanted to dance but it was quiet in there with a few subdued diners so I just imagined instead.
The medina was fun. So many alley ways, little shops and street vendors. We looked at lots of jewelry and even Bill was interested as he wondered if there was money to be made bringing it into Australia. I chose a couple of inexpensive pieces. The bracelet I chose was old and from the desert people further south. It even has engraving inside. I love it. Some of my friends on Facebook said it looked like it could have magic spells!

After 2 days in Tangiers, we thought we would go back to Latiinstead of catching the train to Fez. We had a taste of Morocco and perhaps one day we would be back. I did like sitting in the cafes drinking mint tea though. Further down the beachfront of Tangiers, are bars for the decadent Europeans. With our last 50 dirhams, Bill decided to go there for a cold beer. If we had our time again we would not have used a travel agent, and just caught the ferry over ourselves to Tangiers, walked across to the Hotel Continental and worked it out from there. But we weren't to know how easy it is to travel and be a tourist in Morocco.

As a woman you should cover the chest, shoulders, arms and legs to make it more comfortable. Blonde hair stands out and I was tempted to wear a scarf. Oh and Bill remarked that the beautiful young Moroccan women, although completely covered gave him direct eye contact! Their eyes do look beautiful outlined in black and each of their gowns were unique in colour , fabric and embroidery. The men continued to offer Bill hash wherever he went! ( And of course he said 'no' with a smile. Even the driver said to us, his family don't worry about him smoking hash but wouldn't like him to drink alcohol.

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26/05/2013, Chefchaoen, Marocco

Morocco
Chefchaoen
Riad Assilah
26 May 2013

A gentle introduction is what we needed to this huge Islamic country. The travel agent in Gibraltar booked the first 3 days with transport to Chefchaoen and back. We were glad of this as the onslaught of tourist guides at the ferry terminal was certainly in our faces. Having lived in Tanzania and travelled a fair bit, we were expecting this but wanted to be able to relax. Chefchaoen was perfect and our riad ( guest house) gorgeous.

This little town has the ambience of our Woodford folk festival at home but different of course. The locals speak Arabic and French. A few spoke English thankfully. We have wandered around blue painted alley ways with midget wooden doors, been offered marijuana on many occasions. It must be Bills long hair and my rainbow flared pants.( us old grandparents aren't interested in case you are wondering) No alcohol here but we are enjoying aromatic hot sweet mint tea.

It's been luxurious to have nice white sheets, a high ceiling and a hot shower to ourselves. I love the decor here . Everything is tiled, carved and painted with intricate designs.

The men mostly wear long gowns in earthy colours with peaked hoods , their feet in leather backless slippers usually yellow. ( the king wears this colour we were told) The women are covered from head to toe in long gowns, decorated with embroidery, sometimes patterns and individual colours. Head scarves match the gown , the younger women looking very beautiful their eyes darkly outlined . There are many Moroccan tourists here and I noticed many of the younger women were still covered up but wore shorter outfits with beige leggings, the fabric of their tops and scarves seemingly more gossamer and floaty.

Outside the tourist area, the division between men and women is more obvious. Only men sit around in cafes drinking tea or coffee like the local pub. The women sit huddled in groups sitting on steps or doorways gossiping. So thankfully we could sit together in the main square enjoying our tea.

I am entranced with all visual aspects here. I have tried to sketch but my poor attempts are nothing on the photos. The ladies who work in our riad are gentle and beautiful. Our pitiful French has got us by. We have been fed like kings with huge breakfasts of pancakes, bread, cakes and honey.

Bill enjoyed his walk on the mountain, observing life up there. He told me about people tending goats and he saw little shacks everywhere. The mountain dominates the town and provides a picturesque backdrop while we dine in the cafes. Our driver is due to pick us up soon for the 2 hour drive to Tanger. I'm sure it will be busy and even more of a sensory overload. And Lati waits for us in Gibraltar...

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25/05/2013, Chefchouen

Azure blue is favoured in the old Medina here

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25/05/2013, Chefouen

Just a quick pic from my iPhone and will add a blurb and more pics later. This village at the base of the Rif mountains feels like a stage set. Sensory overload! The locals wear long gowns with hoods. The men's are plain from wool and the ladies wear many colours with beautiful scarves. The sweet mint tea is so delicious. But now I must do some sketching.

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22/05/2013, Gibraltar

Gibraltar
Position : 36 08 91 'N 05 21.23'W
22 May 2013

In order to catch the favorable currents in Gibraltar Straits, we had to leave Barbate , on the Spanish Andalucian coast by 9am. We managed to untie Lati without scratching her. We really need lots of practice. Because she is a long keel boat, she is difficult to manoever especially in reverse. No matter what Bill does she is not predictable. This makes life a bit exciting in tight spaces. A little stressful to say the least.

As we made our way through the Gibraltar Straits, we enjoyed an extra 3 knots of current with us. There wasn't much wind so we motor sailed all the way. Coming closer to Gibraltar the AIS went berserk with ships everywhere. Most were anchored but we had to keep a sharp look out for the ones that were moving. I couldn't tell easily which ship was which on the AIS, so eyeball navigation it had to be. We tried to keep out of the way of 2 ships coming near us and I did hear one of them talking about a sailboat that could have been us. It reminded me of Singapore but none of them blasted their horn at us.

Our friends on Luna had already berthed in Marina Bay Marina and had sent a message that the harbour master said there was room for us. I had emailed but had received no reply. Motoring Lati into the marina, it looked very crowded. We saw Jorgen waving at us saying "Call VHF71!" The only place we could see to stop and tie up with unpredictable Lati was on the other side where we saw a jetty with cleats. After a circle or 2 we managed to tie on. When I called the marina, I was devastated when the British accented man said, " Sorry Madam, we have no berth for you and have no record of a booking." Not ready to give up I repeated what Jorgen had told me. Apparently Jorgen and Nonne had heard the radio conversation and had raced up to the office. Apparently Glenn the harbour master confirmed to Tony the marina manager that there was indeed space for us.

So with Tony and Jorgen waving and waiting at a small space where we had to tie up bow-to, in the drizzly rain, Bill slowly motored in while I was on the bow with the lines. Relieved to tie up at last, we wearily trudged up to the office to do the paperwork. It's interesting trying to climb off Lati from her bow on to the jetty, for me anyway. I won't be wearing skirts. After the paper work was finally completed, Glenn came in and said we were tied up to the wrong berth and had to move to the other side. Beer o'clock had to wait. Finally tied up for the 3rd time with the help of Minnie this time in the rain, we took a bottle of champagne over to Luna. Lati is now in the Med!

The marina appears a little tired around the edges but the bathrooms are newly decorated and are superb - just like a resort hotel. We are surrounded by high rise buildings, boats huge and small as well as the Gibraltar runway only 100m away. Apparently traffic and pedestrians cross the runway in and out of Spain. Gibraltar is a town really but it is a country governed by the UK. The locals speak English with a kind of London accent and most also speak Spanish.

The first morning we enjoyed a full English breakfast but with the prices here, we won't be eating out too often. After our big brunch we wandered through town and slowly up the rock. I wanted to see the famous Gibraltar monkeys. Walking along we got lost at one point and a British policeman complete with the bobby hat came to help us. I laughed when I saw a red Dr Who phone box as well.

After toiling half way up the mountain, we enjoyed the view as well as the monkeys. We could just see Lati's blue dinghy way down below. The monkeys nearly all had babies and didn't take much notice of us. They are tail-less and larger than the common macaques. Their fur is a soft brownish colour. We learned that the father monkeys also take care of the young. This was apparent as we observed them busily looking for nits and eating them! They are still wild and huge fines are given if anyone were to feed them. We kept our distance and so did they. I found them to be a lot more respectful than the monkeys in Bali who steal drink bottles, sunglasses and cameras!

Now to our immediate plans. We have decided to leave Lati in Gibraltar and take a ferry over to Morocco for a week. We will try and organize this today. After our week in Morocco we plan to wait for a weather window to sail to Sardinia. We are happy to spend time in Gibraltar and Morocco (non Schengen) as we only have 90 days in Schengen countries.

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21/05/2013, Marina Bay Marina, Gibraltar

After avoiding huge ships everywhere we finally tied up in Gibraltar yesterday.

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21/05/2013, Spain

Thanks to Hendrik of Sibina for the photo

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16/05/2013, Spain

Loving the old architecture. Will put some more pics in the gallery. There's some on Facebook too. Enjoy :)

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16/05/2013, Cadiz

Cadiz, Spain
16 May 2013

The wind is howling through the rigging as I type this and we are very glad to be safely tied up in harbour. Because Lati is only 9.45m in length, we pay 11.50 euros a night. Puerto America Marina has full security, wifi, hot showers and a laundry. The staff speak English and are wonderfully helpful, providing a map and explaining where things are. But today we had a holiday and walked into the old town of Cadiz. It's only 900m away so that was a pleasant surprise. Where the marina is it is commercial as it is a main port for ships.

I read that Columbus sailed from here and Cadiz has a rich history which is obvious by the remnants of its elaborate architecture. We enjoyed wandering around taking in the surrounds as well as sitting in several of the beautiful squares. It's not expensive to eat out and we tried the famous Flores seafood cafe and bar. It was packed to the hilt with mostly locals and barely elbow room at the bar. There was a waiting list for a table and after devouring delicious fresh anchovies with a drink, we were soon seated outside. This was great for people watching. Soon we had a feast of a variety of fried seafood Cadiz style in front of us. A couple of beggars came by which always make me feel sad and uncomfortable. We keep loose change for this. African guys were trying to sell sunglasses, carvings and DVDs. They did not appear to do much business while we were there and I wondered how they survive. I love hearing the chatter of Spanish around me. Somehow we make ourselves understood but always feel relieved when someone can speak English.

With our bellies full we continued to amble around. It was cheap to send a few postcards to the grand kids. On the way home we popped into the local supermarket where Bill was delighted to find cheap home brand beer for 23c a can. He tried it the other day with Jorgen and said it was quite acceptable.

It looks like another day here as we wait for the wind to calm down before we head for Barbate and Gibraltar. We might hire a bicycle so we can both ride around. As we only have one, we keep looking in bike shops for another folding bike. Maybe in Gibraltar.

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15/05/2013, Puerto America, Cadiz Spain

Puerto America -Cadiz
Spain
Position: 36 32.50'N:06 16.97'W

The sail here from Mazagon was lively and boisterous. But Lati handled it like the classy lady she is. We were hit by a rain squall with gusts around 30 knots but she was as steady as a rock but glided through the waves at over 6 knots. It was a bit uncomfortable at times and visibility was poor. Our AIS receiver told us many of the ships including navy ships were anchored.

With the wind behind, she was fairly rolly at first and I didn't get sea sick. The secret : 1 Travacalm and 1 stugeron worked a great. I was even able to heat up a tin of Portuguese cassoulet to have with bread and butter for lunch.

Yesterday in Mazagon harbour while we were anchored we were boarded by Spanish customs. Toting guns, wearing army helmets and bullet proof vests they visited Lati. One officer spoke English thank goodness and wanted to see our passports and ships papers. He radioed somewhere our names and passport numbers. The other fellow started lifting up cushions and opening cupboards. 'What are you looking for? ' I asked. 'Contraband' was the reply. Then he was happy for me open lockers to show him our food, clothes and tools etc.

We had the engine running because we wanted to go into the harbour due to strong winds predicted that night.The officers were very friendly and nice. I jokingly said my name Linda is beautiful in Spanish. ' Like you are' came the immediate reply. Haha. We even showed them that Lati is a Spanish boat as she was built in Barcelona and states this on her ships papers. Feeling kindly towards these gentlemen just doing their job, and we have a piece of paper to prove it, I gave theme 2 little koalas. Big grins all around.

Anyway now we are in Cadiz and the old town beckons. Day off tomorrow. Anyway Bill has to fix a ding on Lati's bow. This occurred when tying up because the wind was so strong and Lati does not respond well in tight situations, especially reverse. Luckily Jorgen was there to assist. A minor scratch says the Captain. Lati was a grand little lady today. I will not call her scruffy or feral again. I promise.

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14/05/2013, 37 08.14'N:6 50.4'W, Mazagon, Atlantic (not in the Med until after Gibraltar

Definitely in Spain now Mazagon 14 May 2013 Position: 37 08.14�'N:6 50.40�'W

I have just discovered my Portuguese data roaming sim card doesn�'t work here so I will send this by satellite phone hooked to the iridium wifi device and laptop. No photos till we get near wifi. No Hotmail, facebook or internet weather forecasts. Back to GMN and sending for grib files.

After motoring all day with the help of the genoa in light winds, we arrived in the harbour of Mazagon. All the way from Ayamonte, there were many fish traps to avoid, each with its coloured flags attached to a Styrofoam cube. Thankfully the ones that came too close slid away, nowhere near the prop. Mazagon appears to be a holiday town with a very long breakwater. There were several ships anchored outside the harbour with one coming out as we entered. We did notice some industry not far from here. Possibly oil refineries. Not sure.

Bill just had to go for an unplanned swim in the cool Spanish sea to attach the windvane paddle. Unfortunately it needed a lot of help with a hammer while Bill was treading water. It may have got bumped in the boatyard. We will need it tomorrow as it will be a good sailing day, we think. Tonight a stronger northweaterly is predicted after midnight. This will blow us offshore and hopefully the anchor is well dug in. There is a beach opposite so we are anchored in sand at about 12ft at half tide. There is a small marina here where Luna is tied up. Anchoring is easier for us and cheaper. Now it�'s beer oclock for the captain. He also topped the engine up with oil. She worked hard today. The plan is to head for Rota, near Cadiz tomorrow. All well on board Lati and there is let over chicken curry I made yesterday.

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11/05/2013, near Alkoutim, Portugal and Spain

11th May 2013

Keen to test and enjoy our new outboard, Bill attached her to the new wooden outboard pad he created yesterday on the wooden dinghy. I had been to the market this morning and purchased fresh local produce. Into the Tupperware cooler, (yes Vashti our Tupperware lady provided this from Australia) we placed cooled wine, beer, fresh goats cheese, succulent huge juicy red grapes, tomatoes, marinated olives and we were set.

The river meandered upstream it's muddy way surrounded by overgrown vegetation, the odd ruin as well as Spanish style hacienda dwelling. Little jetties with dinghies and canoes tied to them were part of the 'finkas', pieces of land and basic dwellings favoured by many British yachties who have never left this little piece of paradise. Nicknamed 'Gardiana glue' to those who laughingly stay on and can't leave. The British yachtie in front of us has been here for 16 years.

We grabbed a branch on the Spanish side to tie up and enjoy our picnic. Serene and peaceful we enjoyed biting into our juicy grapes, olives and cheese. Happily the wine and beer stayed cool.

With headwinds predicted Monday, we will stay another night here before we venture back to Ayamonte and out into the Atlantic towards Gibraltar.

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09/05/2013, Alkoutim, Portugal

Lati and Luna meet again in the water at lovely Alkoutim. When we first motored up the river and saw Luna, I was so excited to see Nonne and Jorgen. "We have cold beer!" Shouted Nonne. This was good as our fridge doesn't work and was very warm. There was no room on the jetty so we anchored. A few hours and several drinks later we noticed a space on the other jetty. Would Lati's engine start? After a few goes she did so Bill pulled up the anchor and we motored over to Nonne and Jorgen's helping hands with the lines. It's good as I can hop on and off the boat any time to go shopping or go to the free hot showers. Pretty good value at 7.50 euro a night.

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09/05/2013, Ria Guadiana

Alkoutim - Portugal's haven
Ria Guadiana
9th May 2013
Position : 37 28.31'N 7 28.25'W

It's like coming back to a favourite holiday town. We were here last September before we left Lati in Olhao boatyard on the hard. The quiet village atmosphere is what I remember and love. Our friends the Lunatics say there will be places like this in Greece. I do hope so. No large towns and razzmatazz for us unless it's to get supplies or enjoy some culture as in history or art.

Alkoutim is stuck in time. The same ducks are here. The same man Francesca with the partly paralyzed face collects our 7.50 euro a night on the jetty. The same long term yachties, mostly British. The same cafe Riverside Tavern with free wifi and the same code. The same small white van that parks in the village square about 9.30am selling freshly baked crusty bread. ('pao') It certainly is restful. And of course our dear friends Nonne and Jorgen on Luna, also tied to the same jetty. We see each other easily for drinks, meals and learning about the Med, as they've sailed to Greece before.

The wine and beer is still ridiculously cheap. 40c for a can and 1.5 euros for a bottle of wine. The beautiful big loaf of bread was 1euro. We will rest here a few more days before we start heading for Gibralter next week. And the weather is sunny and warm but cool enough at night to sleep.

Lati tied up to the local jetty, washing drying. Spain is on the other side of the river

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Ria Guadiana
07/05/2013, Ayamonte Spain

Instead of 4.5 -5 knots we were doing 2 knots against the tide. Pretty town and can hear the church bells:)

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07/05/2013, Ayamonte, Ria Guadiana, Spain

Lati back in Spain - her birthplace
Ayamonte
Ria Guadiana
Position : 37 13.18'N:007 24.63'W
7 May 2013

The engine needed a lot of coaxing to leave Culatra this morning. Something to do with the glow plugs the captain thinks. The only wind was a very head wind so we motored all the way. There are fish traps everywhere with flags on sticks poking out of the water so we had to make sure we didn't run over one and get nets caught in our propellar.

Sadly the new 2nd hand Engel plug in fridge doesn't work. We have received advice and info from a yachtie fridge mechanic in Oz and it looks like we need to find a source of spare parts for this model. Bill is getting used to warm beer. I pretend my wine is cold and cooked a pork curry with the pork chops we bought yesterday.

We are anchored in the same spot as last year with our friends the Lunatics. The tide was ridiculously strong against us coming up the river as Lati ploughed through it at 2 knots. ( Motoring speed averaged 4.5 knots at sea).We kept her in gear when we anchored so we didn't float back down the river. Lati's anchor is a CQR with 25m of chain and the rest rope. She weighs 5.5 tonnes. 'She'll be right', cap'n Underpants says. (Although he is wearing his favourite short shorts Yakka industrial style) . It's warm enough now for me to wear a sarong.

Tomorrow after 9am with the incoming tide we will motorupmthe river to Alkoutim where our Danish friends the Lunatics wait for us. There may it be any space at the jetty so we may have to anchor. At least we have an outboard now for our dinghy.

Ayamonte is all white as most of the town buildings appear to be along the coast. I must go now and enjoy our predinner snack of sardinha paste, olives and crackers with warm wine. The sun doesn't set until 9.30pm.

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06/05/2013, Algarve, Portugal

Monday 6th May 2013
Position: 36 59.96'N. 7 50.52'W

I'm not keen on ewes milk cheese. I discovered this after slicing off some of the soft round unrefrigerated cheese I bought the other day. It's very white, almost translucent, very soft and a bit slimey. I didn't know it was sheeps milk cheese as I can't read Portuguese. Now I know 'queijo de ovelha' means small, dried ewes' milk cheese. I knew 'queijo' was cheese but I must take more time translating from the dictionary in the supermarket. Or I could ask in charades to another shopper and risk embarrassment. The other cheese I bought has a picture of a cow and a sheep on it. 'Vaca' means cow. Maybe it will taste better to me than the sheeps milk one.

The bread or 'pao' is nice. Usually round loaves with a lovely thick crust. The wine of course is cheap and plentiful. My favourite is still vino verde which is white wine with a little sparkle. When we are out I like to order 'vinho blanco pression'. It's ordinary white wine put under pressure and served from a tap like beer.

Yesterday our boatyard friends Fernanda and Mark visited Culatra by ferry from Olhao. Fernanda was born in Portugal and both she and Mark speak fluent Portuguese. Mark is English but has lived in Portugal since 1981. They own a piece of land and live an alternate lifestyle in a self powered cottage near Lisbon. Their yacht Dream Child, a Roberts 45 footer will be in the Ria Formosa boatyard for a while as they prepare her for their eventual voyage to Australia, where their son lives. We enjoyed a walk around Culatra together looking at all the interesting boats left high and dry on the lagoon. Imagine our surprise when we saw the huge black Polynesian catamaran Ong Tong Java. We met Hans Klaar in Bora Bora just before he sailed to New Zealand in 2009. He said a Maori tribe wanted to buy his boat. I wrote about Hans and his boat in my book. There is also a photo and drawing I completed from on board Valiam anchored in Bora Bora.

Hans has a colourful history including a recent jail sentence in South Africa. We thought Ong Tong Java had done well to sail all the way here from the Pacific. But his German neighbour said Hans had just built this one and sailed it from Gambier. Hans was not home unfortunately but while we were observing the vessel we did notice it was a little different and looked a bit newer somehow. It is almost the same. It is built from solid tree trunks in Gambier. You can read about it here : http://www.sailfeed.com/hans-klaar-will-sail-seas-again

Now back to Culatra. After walking through the slimey mud at low tide, we cut through to the beach facing the Atlantic. Not too unlike our beach at home. But the light house is at the western end, the sand not as pure but the shells are huge. I filled my pockets with them. Our walk ended at one of the bars among the quaint tiled shacks in the sand. The locals were very jolly as there was a baptism celebration taking place. Little girls in pretty frocks played in the sand next to lazy dogs sunning themselves. We were having such a nice time, that Mark misread the ferry timetable and we arrived 10 minutes late. We saw it chugging off in the distance. So of course we invited them to stay on board Lati for the night. Laughingly squeezed in like sardines at bed time as Fernanda said. The guest accommodation on board Lati comprises of 2 saloon bunks with a trotter box at each end. A trotter box is a square hole where one puts ones feet when stretching out. They are ingeniously built in under the chart table and the liquor cabinet.

We now have 2 dinghies. Last year we bought a 2nd hand inflatable with a slow leak from a German yachtie for 30 euros. Our new Honda 2.3 4 stroke outboard drives it very well even when a little overloaded with 4 people and gear. Our plywood dinghy that Bill built in the Virgin Islands is an excellent rowing dinghy. The Honda pushes it along well too. The 3 newest purchased bulky items - the folding bike, outboard and Engel fridge all have to fit somehow. Lati really has no room to spare. The folding bike is on the stepping entry to our V- berth. There is just enough room to put one foot, swing the hips and lift ones body into bed or twist in the doorway to the head. The outboard is currently lying in the cockpit until Bill makes a bracket for it. The Engel fridge fits behind the steps but sadly only works intermittently. We have contacted one of our yachtie friends Darryl (Tami Tia) whom we met in Eden who is a refrigerator expert. I hope we can fix it.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Culatra for now. We will be heading for Ayamonte, then up the Ria Guardiana to Alkoutim on the border of Portugal and Spain. We will be reunited with our Danish friends on Luna.

photos in photo gallery Lati in Portugal

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04/05/2013, Algarve, Portugal

So good to be at anchorage again in our little floating home in Europe. Lati you have valiantly waited for us and now we are all happy together again. More pics in gallery

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04/05/2013, Olhao, Portugal

Bill and Jaoa sealing the deal with a bottle of red.

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04/05/2013, Culatra, Algarve, Portugal

Return to Isla Culatra
Position: 36 59.96'N. 7 50.52'W

How good is it to be finally in the water with little Lati. Joao (John) the boatyard manager and his staff were very helpful and professional this morning getting us back in. During our negotiations when paying the bill, the items stolen were compensated for. A new VHF hand held radio has been promised to be delivered to us in Alkoutim. A nice bottle of red wine was also given to us. We gave John a few tips to help promote his business when he expands. We recommended he get on www.noonsite.com and make sure emails are answered for international clients. (None of our emails were answered as he said someone else was in charge for 3 months) He really did try to help us. The welded spanner invention by Bill was welded in the workshop to replace the stolen winch handle.

As I sit here in Lati's cockpit I can finally relax. The dinghy is making water sounds as its hull hits the little waves. The seagulls sound like those recordings used in typical seaside location movies. I can see the buildings of Faro and Olhao shimmering in their whiteness. A plane has just flown over us to land at Faro airport where we landed a week ago from London and several flights before that from Brisbane, Australia. Bill has noticed our new plug in cooler fridge is not working. It is something to do with the temperature sensor switching off the compressor, he thinks. We had a couple of nice cold drinks when we arrived here but no more. That's sad. But maybe it will work again.... And it did - after tipping it upside down. So far......

Lati is happy to be back in the water bobbing gently at anchor. Our washing is pegged out flapping in the sun. Some time soon we will try out our new Honda 4 stroke 2.3 horsepower outboard on the dinghy. We bit the bullet yesterday and bought a new one. Bill laughingly said it cost almost half as much as his winning bid on Lati.

Culatra looks inviting but we have lots of fresh food to enjoy on board tonight.

Lots of photos on Facebook and in the photo gallery here. Cheers all!

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03/05/2013, Marina Ria Formosa, Olhao, Portugal

3rd May 2013

It's not easy, I'll just say that. I've worked on trying to get Lati clean and homely while Bill has been doing necessary repairs before she goes back in the water. We are continually being presented with things that are trying but we keep going with our spirits being lifted by something positive. Like today. Bill saw a small 2nd hand plug in fridge for 99euros in the boatyard chandlery. It fits under the steps and can fit a couple of bottles of wine lying down. Cold drinks and keeping perishables fresh. Yay! But if it draws too much power we have to unplug it. But hopefully there will be lots of sun in the next few months to keep charging the solar panel.

Yesterday Bill couldn't find the winch handle anywhere. The thieves must have taken that too. Bastards. Now we can't sail the boat. Great. John the boatyard manager says they can make one in the shed. Lucky he speaks English so Bill could explain the dimensions. Keeping fingers crossed.

Lati looks her age and reflects her tough life. The woodwork hastily painted a year ago now has peeled off bits and rust stains on the cabin and decks. I'm going to try and clean off the rust and touch up with some white paint. I soaked the cushion covers only made a year ago to try and get rid of the mould using Vanish. They've come up a bit cleaner but still look a bit mouldy. I'm glad I brought new linen for our bed as the old ones had to be thrown. We haven't tested the 2nd hand hand held VHF radio yet but hope it still works.

Communication:
I've had fun trying to get an Internet SIM card for the IPad. Everything is in Portuguese and not many people in the phone shops speak English. What I didn't realize is the 2 hours of data download keeps ticking over unless I switch off data in settings. So there went the first lot overnight doing nothing. Grrrrr. I couldn't workout how to recharge it on the net so I rode the push bike around town asking in any shops that had mobile phones. I wish I spoke Portuguese! I finally found an Indian man who put credit on for me. He also sold me a local SIM card (Lycamobile) assuring me calls to Australia were only 1c a minute. We shall see. I stayed up half the night trying to register the SIM card but had to have a Portuguese address. The boatyard address didn't work so I tried the hotel we stayed in in Faro. Still didn't work. Give up! As you all know I love to update our website and facebook and write emails so like to have some Internet on board if we can. There are cafes in town that have wifi so we usually use those. It was lovely to FaceTime Vashti on Bills birthday. We were stuffing our faces with cakes for breakfast while she was yawning almost ready for bed. There is a 9 hour difference between Oz and here.

Some other good news: when Bill started the engine, she went first go! Hooray! Lets hope it does the same thing when we launch tomorrow. It will be so good to be back in the water gently at anchor while we watch the sunset from our cockpit.

Many people are sanding and grinding fiberglass and other things here in the boatyard so its not a very healthy environment to live in. Some yachties choose to live here because it is cheap. Yuk. I'd rather be at anchor. When I see all the yachts propped up here they look like fish out of water. Boats are meant to be floating on the sea! Boatyard living means there is no plumbing. All water has to be carried up the ladder, like everything else. The bathrooms are some distance away so the wee bucket is necessary during the night. We notice other yachties in the mornings tipping their wee buckets down the loos too.

We enjoyed a night on the town for Bills birthday last Wednesday. We became friendly with Fernanda and Mark of Dream Child and Swedish Ricard of Golif (our neighbour) . Fernanda is Portuguese but has spent many years in England. Both Fernanda and Mark speak fluent Portuguese which was great translating the menu. All 5 of us squeezed into their little 850cc Fiat Panda which was fun.They kindly offered to take me to do our laundry in their car too which was wonderful. I had a huge load and I would never have found the laundry on my own.

Olhao is a jumble of old crumbling Moorish buildings with alleyways and one way streets. We go out for dinner every night as it is very cheap and dining in the boatyard is not pleasant. It's a km into town so the folding bike is great. We usually choose to walk together in the evenings rather than one on the bike (usually me) and one walking. I hope we find another one along the way.

The view from our cockpit is of an overgrown vacant allotment strewn with rubbish and dead boats. We are right up the back so I guess that's why we were broken into, as we are the opposite end to the main gates. The chain and combination lock is not very secure. In fact the lock breaks into bits sometimes and has to be put back together. Everyone knows what the code is. It hasn't changed since last year! But it's cheap here at Marina Ria Formosa.
John the owner wants to expand. He said he had to turn away 10 sailing boats as he didn't have the space.

We are looking to buy a small outboard for the dinghy as up to now we only have oars. We can get one sent to the boatyard from Spain but it takes a week. John said he could get it delivered to Alkoutim when we are there..... Which brings us to our plans once we are out of here.

We are both still tired so we are looking forward to a few days rest at anchor off Culatra island near here where we were last year. Our Danish friends Nonne and Jorgen affectionately known as the 'Lunatics' (their boat is Luna) will be in Alkoutim from Tuesday 7th May. The plan is to meet them there. Alkoutim is the delightful little town up the Ria Guardiana on the border of Portugal and Spain. Here we will plan our trip to Gibralter and Morocco.

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01/05/2013, Olhao, Portugal

1st May is a holiday here so the locals are enjoying themselves and so is Captain Underpants! Especially when a beer in a cafe is 95c!

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28/04/2013, Marina Formosa, Olhao, Portugal

28 April 2013

As we drove towards the boatyard, we saw Lati's little rear poking out between the other boats.
"There she is!" I said feeling a little more emotional than I expected. I guess we have been talking and writing about her for 7 months on the other side of the world. The combination lock worked and we walked into the quiet boatyard, now all concreted towards our little adopted child. Bill picked up an old ladder nearby and propped her up onto Latis toe rail. Just after his head disappeared inside the cockpit , he shouted to me, "We don't need a key to get in...."
"What do you mean?" I replied. "The lock has been broken and there is a bit of a mess inside, " he replied.

After I climbed up the wobbling ladder with trepidation and looked inside, Lati looked messy as well as mouldy. My heart sank as I wondered what we would find missing. The thieves were looking for valuables, as things had been pulled out of behind the chart table and my small jewellry box sat open on the table. There wasn't anything of value in there and we had taken the sat phone, AIS, GPS , a hand held radio back with us. ( the hassles we received each time we went through airport security was worth it). We continued searching and think the only electric tool that is missing is the jigsaw and a handheld VHF that didnt work properly that we left behind. The tiller pilot, sounder, EPIRB and other gear was still on board.

Upon further inspection, we found rain had leaked into a few places including the liquor cabinet. Not too much damage. Some of the linen and cushion covers were mouldy and the galley was covered in black mould. So we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. The wind is howling and whistling around us so its not good sailing weather. It's chilly just like the south westerlies in Tasmania.

We will be reporting the break-in to John the owner tomorrow. He possibly knows as the washboards were put back in. It was a piddly lock but it was all Bill could get his hands on the day we were leaving last year. Disappointing though and not a nice feeling that someone had been in going through our things. Poor Lati.

Washing the dishes in the boatyard

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28/04/2013, Portugal

Faro 28 April 2013

After a wonderful rest in our hotel Dom Bernardo in Faro, I was excited to see the quaint church steeple from our window this morning with a stork family in a nest on its steeple. It feels like coming home to this corner of Portugal. The genuine friendliness of the people bordering on seriousness and the simple atmosphere in the the little cafe we dined in last night remind me of why I like it here. We had no euros in cash but it wasn't a problem to use our credit card, even though our bill total was only 8 euros. As soon as the cafe owner ( family run with his wife as the cook) brought out the green olives, local bread and vino tinto in a small carafe, we smiled at one another and relaxed after a long uncomfortable trip.

Virgin Atlantic has smaller seats and less leg room than Qantas so by the time we arrived in London after 30 hours, we were sore and exhausted after being so cramped. Sailing is so much nicer - no sitting in a sardine box strapped in but room to move about , make a cuppa , lie down and there is always a wonderful sea view!

We had a whole day in London and although we hadn't booked transport from Heathrow airport to Gatwick , it was straight forward to get a bus. It wasn't cheap and our extra bags cost 10 pound each. We were able to check in early so we didn't have to cart around our 4 big bags. Sick of airports, we caught a taxi to a nearby town called Charlwood. Nothing there apart from traditional style brick English houses with hedges of ivy and a pub called The Greyhound. We sat outside the pub in the chilly wintery type weather for an hour waiting for it to open at 11am. Lucky I had my coat with me. Finally entering the warmth we ordered drinks and food. Bill's beer was room temperature and he liked it. My lamb shank was delicious and came with peas and Yorkshire pudding. I felt like I was on the set of the English TV show Eastenders watching and listening to the locals chatting in their London accents earnestly to one another around us.

Its sunny and cool this morning in Faro and should reach 21 degrees today. Being a Sunday it will be interesting if we can get into the boatyard to move on to Lati. I hope we don't have to peer at her through a fence and wait until tomorrow. We have a hire car for 2 days to cart our bags there and to do any shopping. The Lunatics , our Danish friends (SV Luna) sent us the code number for the gate! Fingers crossed. But first brekky downstairs.

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25/04/2013, Pt Cartwright, Mooloolaba

The trouble with having a boat in each hemisphere is the responsibility to both. Our little orphan Lati waits for us in Olhoa, Portugal after we rescued her in the US Virgin Islands last year. And our beautiful Valiam needs to be secure on her pile berth mooring while we are away. Bill checked everything and removed the windvane so there was no risk of the lines catching. Gary the friendly harbour master knows we will be away for 6 months and our mate Steve (Beyond111) will keep an eye out.

We just enjoyed a stroll to our beach with a glass of wine in warm balmy conditions , the full moon reflecting on the water. The children frolicked and are now exhausted. Time for cheese on toast and off to bed.

Up at sparrow fart tomorrow as Bill says to get to the airport in time. Our Mediterranean adventure is about to begin!

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13/04/2013, Pt Cartwright

The time is flying quickly as we spend each day with our daughter and grandchildren. It's been raining quite a lot so outdoor activity has been limited. Friends have been popping by to see us and we are enjoying each moment, knowing we will be out of the country most of the year. It's bitter sweet as always. The comforts of our home and closeness of dear ones contrast with our life that will be on the other side of the world. Living and exploring the Med in a small sailing boat will be challenging but fun and enriching at the same time.

We will be like a tortoise carrying our little temporary home with us as we invite ourselves to new countries and harbours, meeting the locals and other travelers and sailors. I am looking forward to seeing first hand some of the historical places I have read about for so many years. I am particularly looking forward to exploring a little of Morocco, Greece and Turkey.

But first we have to pack a few bags (including bicycles), catch a couple of aero planes and drive a car to reach Lati in Ria Formosa boatyard in Olhoa near Faro, Portugal on the Atlantic coast.

Here's a shot of our grandchildren enjoying the rock pools at Pt Cartwright.

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05/04/2013, Portugal

This is a shot taken last August with our Danish friend Nonne on the island of Culatra in front of one of the pretty fishing shacks. We will be meeting up with Nonne and Jorgen on their yacht Luna. Luna and Lati are currently side by side in the boatyard in Olhao. I hope they had a nice winter together!

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05/04/2013

Although Lati is up on the hard in Olhao, Culatra is where we have our fondest memories. The island of Culatra is just opposite and is down one of the channels avoiding sandbars in the Ria (river) Formosa. When we were anchored near Culatra we would visit daily to enjoy a beer or wine for 1euro, wander over to the beach or devour a cheap meal of sardinhas.(grilled fresh sardines). There are no cars on the island. It's primarily a fishing village with concrete shacks everywhere covered in pretty tiles. The little harbour is full of open timber fishing boats with big motors. There are piles of nets and things everywhere and giant squawking seagulls. There are a couple of little grocery stores that sell most things.

From Culatra there is a ferry to Olhao but you can also take your dinghy.The neighboring town Faro is 20km away. We will be flying into Faro from London after flying from Oz, and look forward to the slow pace of life. Having sailed Lati there from the Caribbean, gives us a reason to return and finally explore the Med. Lati is older and much smaller than Valiam and also has no refrigeration. Our bed will be a standard V- berth, not the luxurious queensize bed we are used to on Valiam! But she will get us around - a bit like having a floating camper van!

At present we are looking for folding bikes to have with us. We love having bicycles to get around at each place we visit. We still lug water and diesel by 20 litre jerry cans, so a folding trolley might be handy too. But Lati, being only 31ft has a lot less storage room....

Here's a a photo of Culatra, where we will in 3 weeks

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01/04/2013, Olhao, Portugal

Last September we left Lati sitting on a trailor after she had been hauled out at Marina Formosa boatyard, Olhao, Portugal. We are wondering what condition we will find her in when we return at the end of this month. Will she have leaked during any rainfall? Will her engine go? Will all the wiring work?

We shall see.... We leave Australia on the 26th April arriving at Faro airport (not far from Olhao) on the evening of the 27th. We have booked a hotel for that night as well as a car for a couple of days. ( Handy for carting all our gear around). As it will be Sunday on the 28th, we are wondering if we will be able to get into the boatyard. I've sent them an email so hope for a reply. They did forget we were arriving that Friday afternoon in September we booked to haul her out!

So here she is as we left her. If you are wondering about Lati - She is the eBay boat Bill bought in the Caribbean last year, and after spending months working on her in boatyards, we sailed her across the North Atlantic to Portugal. So very soon our adventure cruising the Med begins......

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28/03/2013, Mooloolah river, Mooloolaba

Valiam motored happily into her home port yesterday two and half hours after high tide. The river mouth had been silted up and dredging has been a constant issue these past months. When we left in January it was quite shallow and we had to do a dogs leg on the port side to get out. I found a notice in the Internet by Maritime QLD, that the survey conducted on the 21st February showed a 3 m depth at low tide straight down the middle with a shoal to be avoided on the Mooloolaba beach side. The notice included a detailed map which I will put up on this website for visiting yachts contemplating entering Mooloolaba.

As we motored in across the bar, the least depth read 3.1m. Bill motored alongside our pile berth mooring and it was already down to 2.9m. We draw 2.1m so at low tide this could be an issue. However the side next to the spit is deep enough for the pilot boats so we would enter our mooring there later. But first with Vashti and our 3 year old granddaughter Tahlia running alongside the river waving, we motored towards the public pontoon at La Balsa park. We were very tired and while motoring alongside, unfortunately Valiam scraped her hullside. I asked a fellow standing on the pontoon to grab one of our lines and Vashti grabbed another.

So wonderful to see Vashti and Tahlia with hugs and kisses without worrying about launching the dinghy. Little Tahlia climbed like a monkey all over the boat. We borrowed Vashti and Craig's ute to unload a huge amount of our belongings to take home. Bill prepared Valiam's mooring lines by dinghy and we soon had her back on her pile berth mooring without too many mishaps.

Now she will have another rest while we reunite with Lati in Europe. But first a few weeks with the family. We will book our flights for Portugal to leave around the end of April.

Here's us with our gorgeous granddaughter Tahlia Lily Rose tied to the public pontoon at La Balsa park, Pt Cartwright.

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27/03/2013, Mooloolaba, Australia

Coming Home
Between Cape Moreton and Point Cartwright
Queensland, Australia
28 March 2013
Position: 26 52.36'S 153 20.31'E
( a lot warmer than 43 degrees south where we were a couple of weeks ago!)

Behind me the familiar white sandhills of Moreton island stand out starkly against the pearly grey sea. Ahead the high rise buildings of Caloundra, also white reflect the morning sun. As we reached the top of Cape Moreton at dawn this morning, I had just woken after 3 hours of heavy sleep after taking a full dose of sea sick medication. The seas were messy, bumpy and rolly when we first left Southport around 7pm. Although the moon was full, intermittent squalls and dark grey clouds masked her luminous fullness at times.

"It was all go earlier, when you were asleep. 30 knot squalls and fishing boats all around me. I couldn't see where they were...." said Bill as I groped for the kettle to make a cuppa. Now there is very little wind and the mainsail is swinging uselessly . Before Bill went for a well deserved sleep, he took down the mainsail so we are a motor boat once more.

I just took a peek out there and now the Glasshouse mountains are peeping through the misty clouds in the distance. We are crossing the line where Valiam first returned to Australian waters after her circumnavigation. I remember that day so clearly in November 2009. We were sailing along at 9 knots with a strong wind behind us, passing Pt Cartwright to clear customs in Brisbane the next day. It was a more exhilarating ride than this one. However Valiam has done well this trip so she can tick off another destination to her list of achievements - Tasmania.

Arriving at the Gold Coast yesterday after and overnight sail from Coffs Harbour, we were greeted with crazy shaped high rise, huge expensive fishing boats and once inside the harbour, jet skis and fast motor boats towing inflatable things with screaming humans clinging on. I couldn't help thinking of the beauty of Tasmania. This sort of activity is unheard of down there. I guess mainly because the water is too cold but perhaps also because the Tasmanian boaties are more interested in sailing and fishing, real sports , not ridiculous thrill seeking.

Not long before arriving in Southport yesterday I noticed the jib flapping strangely. After informing the captain, he discovered that it was torn at the top. He was able to pull it down still attached to the furler but one of yesterday's jobs was for me to wind Bill up the mast to retrieve the halyard. We had a spare jib which we were able to feed through the furler. She's a bit smaller than the main one but worked well last night.

It will be so good to see the family again today, especially our grandchildren. And we achieved our goal to be home for Easter. Over the next week or so we will sort out our affairs once more for our sojourn planned in the Mediterranean. Lati, the timber boat bought on eBay and rescued in the US Virgin Islands last year waits for us in Portugal. Her story is covered in a 9 page spread in the current (April 2013) Australian Cruising Helmsman Magazine.

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27/03/2013, Mooloolaba, QLD, Australia

Direct entry is 3m at low tide. Avoid the shoal on the Mooloolaba beach side

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25/03/2013, North of Coffs Harbour

We are motor sailing again in light variable winds staying close inshore to avoid the adverse East Australian current. If we can keep up the speed of 6 knots we will be in Southport, Gold Coast tomorrow morning. Getting closer to our home port of Mooloolaba!

We squeezed through these islands rather than going around the outside. This is Groper Island.

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Warm
25/03/2013, NSW , Australia

Aaaaah its nice to stop! 2 days plus 2 hours from Manly, Sydney. Motor sailing all the way in light winds mostly north east. Same again tomorrow.

It's humid and warm after the coolness of Tasmania. "Tasmania is almost like another country!" Says cap'n Bill in his short shorts, not underpants and no shirt. I might just have to slip into my favourite sarong and celebrate our arrival with a glass of bubbly.

We are anchored in one of the spots recommended by the yachtie's bible 'Cruising the NSW Coast' by Alan Lucas.

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24/03/2013, 34 nm south of Coffs Harbour

We are both a bit weary after leaving Sydney on Saturday. Following the coastline as close as we can to avoid the adverse East Australian current. This can be up to 4 knots against us! We are motor sailing into light north easterlies mostly. The drone of the engine gets a bit much sometimes. Last night we tacked, sailing out to sea and enjoyed the sunset and chillie con carne for dinner. It was nice to hear the swish of the water again.

However we need to keep pushing north. We will get to Coffs Harbour today and will decide then whether to stop for a rest or keep going. There's been some nasty thunderstorms about. I hope they don't come near us!

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Lovely warm weather
23/03/2013, Brought on Islands, Port Stephens, NSW Australia

This was taken early this morning just outside Port Stephens. We made the decision to keep heading up the coast rather than stop. We are motor sailing into light northerlies. Lots of fishing boats, ships and the occasional yacht. Very tiring being on watch!

Coffs Harbour would be our next port if we need a rest.

In 1980 we anchored at Broughton Isles in our first boat, 24 ft van der Stadt plywood yacht. We had Jane our dog on board and we took her for a run. No GPS or IPad or mobile/sat phones in those days!

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22/03/2013, Manly, Sydney NSW

How convenient it has been to anchor right in Manly harbour. With the strong northerly blowing yesterday we hardly felt a thing. The ferries hardly disturb us even though they are close. It's surprisingly safe to leave the dinghy on the beach when we go into town.

The streets are full of happy holiday makers all ages and from all around the world. Happy sunny days laughing and eating ice cream. That's what it's like here and it's been fun. Glenn and Jen Love joined us again last night as we tried the local brewery, the world food festival ( we chose Turkish) and wound up at a small cafe bar where a very musical young man played guitar and sang. After hugs and 'see you somewhere on the water' we strolled back down to the beach to row back to Valiam.

Light winds for the next few days. We have plenty of provisions and fuel so lets see how far up the coast we get. We are hoping to get to Coffs Harbour at least. Coastal sailing is hard work navigating and watching for other boats but hopefully we will get enough rest.

Au revoir Sydney - until next time!

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21/03/2013, Mosman Bay

We will be talking about Valiam's circumnavigation with a slide show. Thanks Glenn and Jen for inviting us.

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20/03/2013

Before and after.... St Thomas boatyard, US Virgin Islands

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20/03/2013, Newsagents , Australia

Here she is in all her glory. I will only put up a couple of pages, the rest are on my Facebook page

( This is the 31 ft Kim Holman design timber yacht we rescued in the Caribbean last year and sailed to Europe)

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Lovely and warm. The ugg boots are off!
20/03/2013, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Last night was tedious and tiring watching out for ships along the coast especially near Port Kembla. We hugged the coast to try and avoid any adverse current. This worked I think. As we motor sailed closer towards Sydney, we tried to identify the flashing lights amongst the many other lights. The IPad was our chart plotter as we negotiated our way in the dark towards Sydney's heads. All of a sudden a huge lit up boat looking like a Christmas tree came surging towards us! Ok we know who is boss here so we got out of the way. It was none other than the Queen Mary! What was she doing out there at midnight?

Turning sharply to the right, we slowly motored towards Spring Cove. It was hard to see so we anchored not too close to the shore or the other 3 boats. A quiet port and we were finally in bed by 2am.

This morning we decided to check out Manly harbour. We squeezed in between a large catamaran and a small blue yacht. In less than 4m of water we are anchored right next to the beach adjacent to the ferry terminal. A short dinghy ride to the shops, as well as the facilities in shore. The showers are cold but we will brave them tomorrow.

I received a call from a friend Glenn who lives on his boat in Sydney with his wife Jen. Apparently my article on Lati is published in this months Cruising Helmsman. We immediately went out to buy 6 copies. It's 9 pages! We are
pleased to share our story of restoring Lati who no doubt will need more TLC after 7 months in a boatyard in Portugal.

Two boats! We must be crazy...... Looking forward to sailing to Greece though - definitely sarong weather and all those ancient ruins, yummy olives and Greek dancing..

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19/03/2013

We passed lots of ships outside Port Kembla. It's a lot milder than Tassie out here! Hope to be anchored Spring Cove near Manly just after midnight tonight - Tuesday 19 th March

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16/03/2013, NSW, Australia

East Boyd Bay, Eden
Position : 37 06.49'S. 149 55.53'E

Eden is a friendly place. On Friday afternoon and hour before knock off time we managed to procure 4 jerry cans of diesel ( from Andy near the big ice machine - he has a truck) and fill our gas bottle at the chandlery.This is all within a short walk of where our dinghy was tied up at the wharf. A tap at the wharf and Bill had all our containers filled. That night we slept so well in calm water. With a strong southwesterly predicted for last night and today, we needed to move to East Boyd Bay over the other side of the bay where there is only a wood chip export facility and a lodge turned backpackers.

So off we went with backpacks and our little trolley to walk into town to the IGA to buy food. Eden is a nice little town and we enjoyed ambling up and down the Main Street poking into shops. Bill found a home brew shop to buy more supplies and I found a multicolored crocheted cardigan I couldn't resist. As we were going through the checkout at the IGA, we were offered a lift with our groceries back to the wharf by one of the store employees. How good is that? The van parked right on the wharf next to the dinghy. So the IGA looks after the yachties which is great.

We were the last to seek shelter in East Boyd Bay with half a dozen other cruising yachts. It was still calm at 1pm. One of my purchases that morning was a kilo of fresh mussels. I couldn't wait to cook them up with wine and garlic. Crusty bread and white wine too. The meal turned out magnificently delicious. I used a traditional French recipe according to Jamie Oliver. The mussels were big and succulent and the sauce gorgeous mopped up with the bread dripping down our chins.

By mid afternoon the southerly hadn't arrived so we decided to row around visiting the other yachts. First we said hello Gannet 11 then over to Chris and Gilli on Westwind. We had read and referred to Chris' article in Cruising Helmsman on Cape Barren. He said he recognized my face from reading the mag too! Then we went over to Kintail. Both Westwind and Kintail are beautiful traditional wooden boats and had also been down to the Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart. Peter and Julie invited us on board and we enjoyed a few yarns over a cuppa. I signed a copy of my book for them - always enjoyable to meet the people who buy my book. Peter and Julie have sailed to Tasmania 3 times from Sydney so it was good to get their ideas of where the good anchorages are in NSW.

As we rowed back towards Valiam, we noticed Dutch sailors Paul and Caroline on board our neighboring yacht Tami Tai. We met Paul on Friday when we first arrived impressed by their voyages to Patagonia Chile, Easter Island, Antarctica, Spitzbergen (near the Arctic circle), NZ and Tassie in their Beneteau 40. Paul and Caroline don't like the heat and prefer to walk and climb mountains in cold places. Not sarong sailors! Darryl and Jo of Tami Tai ( also Queenslanders and keep their boat at Tin Can Bay) shared some wine with us and also bought my book. The 6 of us compared notes on Tassie and shared stories of our adventures. We talked about our challenges with restoring and sailing Lati last year. If the weather is suitable today they may come over to visit us. By the time we left Tami Tai it was quite late. It was still dark but there was lightning in the distance.

By 11pm the wind started to blow. But it was not as severe as the prediction off shore of Eden (25-35knots). It is very sheltered in here and we only experience a few gusts of around 20 knots so far. Right now its only blowing 8 knots and its been drizzling with rain. Tomorrow we head off for a 2 day passage to Pittwater, Sydney hopefully.

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16/03/2013

Here's a thumbs up for the IGA in Eden who delivered us and our groceries right to our dinghy on the wharf.

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14/03/2013, NSW, Australia

It's great to be back! The ugg boots are off and the bellbirds are singing. Looking forward to fish n chips and a shower ashore. We will have to move from Snug Cove to the other side tomorrow afternoon to East Boyd Bay in preparation for the strong southerly change. You never know we might be in Sydney in a few days!
Thanks Nicky and Chris for the bubbly you gave us in Hobart - worthy of celebration here! Cheers!

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14/03/2013, Bass Strait, Victoria, Australia

Not far to go now - only 19 miles to go. Now we are motoring in light winds. The stars are glorious and the lighthouse at Green Cape is flashing at us. Dolphins played around again last night. Bill could hear them squealing under the hull when he was in the fore cabin. We've enjoyed the antics of so many dolphins in Tasmania! This shot was taken in Scheuten passage.

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14/03/2013, Tasman Sea

Blustery Bass Strait
11.30am 14 th March 2013
Position: 38 47.26'S:149 11.86'E

Waiting for the westerly yesterday morning was a bit like going to the dentist. We had some idea what was in store and weren't really looking forward to it. I hardly slept at all the night before, watching a movie till late and by the time I went to bed, the wind had started making the rigging rattle. So after a few snatched hours of sleep, the day dawned. Bill began preparing the rig for the staysail. I made sure everything was stowed away using plastic plates in the galley on the port side to make sure nothing would become missiles. The only thing I can eat for breakfast when feeling apprehensive is porridge so after a nice hot bowl of this , a coffee and a stugeron pill, we tried to relax waiting for the wind to turn from northwest to west.

By 11am it was already 30 knots and gusting higher. The fishing boat that came back last night had already gone. Were we the only crazy ones crossing Bass Strait in a strong westerly? The forecasts predicted it would ease by the evening. So with a big breath and hammering heart, I was ready to steer the boat with just the right amount of throttle towards the anchor and the wind. Bill's job is on the foredeck making sure the anchor is coming up ok. He uses hand signals to me - starboard, port, more throttle etc. I tried not to look at the rocky headland behind us as the wind blew us towards it. I heard the familiar 'clunk' as the anchor came up, increased the throttle and drove Valiam parallel to the beach towards the wind. We then drove her out to sea. What a relief! It always feels better in uncomfortable strong winds to be at sea rather than a roadstead anchorage.

It wasn't long before the waves of Banks Strait spat, curled and hurled themselves at us from all directions. Once clear of the rocky headlands of Cape Barren, we put Mona Lisa the autopilot on to steer us east. The waves and wind got worse. Both fully harnessed and Bill with waterproof trousers as well, went up to the foredeck to raise the staysail. We hadn't used this sail since our dramatic Indian Ocean crossing in gale force winds. " It's the Indian Ocean again!" But hopefully this nasty bit wouldn't last too long. An albatross circled us and I thought of it as a good luck sign. No dolphins this morning.

It was at least 12 hours of bucking and broaching as Valiam ploughed through the crazy waves coming at us from all sides. Not since the Indian Ocean have we had water sluicing the decks and starboard windows. The wind gauge stayed above 30 knots gusting in the 40s. Once in deeper water and barraging through and over the waves, and now sailing northeast, Bill got Fred the wind vane working. We are having power issues with the batteries so its much better to use the windvane. By midnight the winds had eased to 25 knots and Valiam didn't feel so much like a bucking horse. Actually in the saloon and quarter berth (where we snatched a couple of hours sleep each), it wasn't too bad. I had pre prepared a nice stew which we heated up for dinner. We allowed ourselves a small port which also warmed the insides.

This morning, the winds have eased further to 15-20 knots and Bill unfurled the jib to give us a bit more speed. We are sailing at around 5 knots with just over 100 nautical miles to go. We expect to arrive in Eden tomorrow morning. There's no telstra signal out here so as soon as we get close to Victoria, I will be able to update the website and Facebook.

It's grey grey grey out here, but not cold. I'm feeling further north already and we hope to be home for Easter. Not looking forward to another night out here but happy the ride is now smooth. We've been watching DVDs of 'Thank God your here', one of my favourite TV shows. They always make us laugh.

Tasmania was fantastic and we have some wonderful memories but it feels good to be near the mainland again.

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12/03/2013, Cape Barren Island, Tasmania

Jamieson Bay
Cape Barren Island
Tasmania
12th March 2013
12.30pm
Position : 40 26.48'S : 148 27.02'E

There's a fisherman's tale that states the wind is made here. We are about to find out. Poised, at the southern end of the Furneaux group of islands in an exposed anchorage ready to cross Bass Strait. The wind is currently blowing from the northeast at 20 knots. That familiar yet slightly anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach as the rigging wires hum and the halyards rattle. This anchorage is only suitable for winds coming from the north, and on our east is Bass Strait. A south westerly change is arriving tomorrow, with predicted 20-30 knots from the North west then west in the morning. As soon as it blows from the west, we up anchor and head off across the Strait for Eden. A distance of 213 nautical miles.

It will most likely be uncomfortable at first so I will be starting my sea sickness regime this afternoon by taking Stugeron, the best medication I have found. Unfortunately it is not available in Australia but I have enough to get me home to Mooloolaba. Today we will try to rest and prepare for the passage. If the wind causes the boat to buck about and make the rigging rattle and howl, sleep may be in dribs and drabs. The anxiety on anchor like this with forecast strong winds is worse than being at sea. At sea there is plenty of room and nothing to bump into. ( unless there is a ship but they are usually a few miles away) Here the anchor is our best friend. Dug into the sand and holding us tight. There are rocks to the east of us so as soon as the westerly arrives, we will have the engine going before the anchor is up to get us safely out of here.

We have decided not to go ashore today. It would mean hoisting the dinghy down, climbing in while the waves bump the back of Valiam about and then rowing to shore to most likely bet dumped by a wave. We could do it in swim suits I suppose... But then we would have to jump back in to get back to Valiam. And it wouldn't be relaxing away from the boat in these winds. Then hoisting the dinghy and tying it down again. Better for the captain to rest.

We have no Internet here as there is no Telstra signal. We have relied on the radio for updated weather forecasts which has been fairly consistent to what we expected. Because I have not been downloading and replying to people on Facebook or by email, I have had time to do some girly grooming - the toenails, eyebrows and smooth legs. I also trimmed Bill's hair today. Hopefully it doesn't look too much like a mullet! The silly seagulls were getting excited about the tufts of hair floating in the water!

Earlier a family of dolphins came to greet us. As we weren't moving along, they soon swam off, with no bow waves to play in. This is our last isolated anchorage and typical of the east coast of Tasmania. Huge granite rocks covered in orange lichen, a forbidding mountain with clouds hovering over its summit and white, white sand beaches. With no-one able to contact us, we are worlds away from the pressures of everyday life. It feels good, apart from the wind humming in the rigging.....

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09/03/2013, Passage Beach near Schouten, Tasmania

The northerlies in Bass Strait will be too strong now to cross so we wait.... Plan B is to sail up to Jamieson Bay , Cape Barren Island in the next couple of days then Wednesday/Thursday we leave in the southerly to cross Bass Strait. Jamiesonn Bay is an anchorage only suitable in a northerly so we have to be sure the weather window to cross Bass Strait Thursday- Friday will work.

I have plenty of pre- cooked food so I guess tomorrow will be a lazy day, except we will have to cross back to the other anchorage at Moreys Bay (under Bear Mountain). The flathead by the way was delicious!

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Warmish, overcast
08/03/2013, Passage Beach, Freycinet Peninsula

Our last afternoon at anchor in Tasmania is being spent with Bill fishing for flathead (using bacon rind for bait) and myself cooking for the passage across Bass Strait. People don't understand that I feel nervous about crossing Bass Strait when we have sailed around the world. It's different down here. The weather changes all the time and we are kept on our toes. The conditions are not ideal but the winds won't be strong ( we hope). We are also loaded up with fuel. We are thinking we may head straight across to Lakes Entrance, Victoria to avoid the strong northerly near Gabo Island. Then when the southerly comes through on Thursday we would catch the tail end of it to Eden. Well that's plan A anyway.

It's been relatively warm today and I had to have my first and last swim in Tassie. After my skin became numb, it was very pleasant! Looking forward to getting back to Queensland though! Hopefully all cyclones and wet weather will be gone.

Bill caught 2 of these flathead for dinner tonight.

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07/03/2013, Schouten Island, Tasmania

Bill got back in one piece and despite the cloud took this pic of Valiam

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07/03/2013, Schouten Island, east coast Tasmania

Schouten Island, East Coast
Tasmania
Position : 42 17.83'S 148 17.10'E

It's cool, grey overcast and misty. Bill is climbing Bear Hill, an interesting rocky outcrop adjacent to Moreys Bay where we are anchored. We had a light southerly in similar cool conditions from Fortescue yesterday. The anchorage here is called the Schouten Bay shuffle by yachties. When the wind turns to the north this afternoon we will up anchor and motor to the other side to anchor in Bryan's corner.

This is the last safe anchorage really on the east coast of Tasmania. (Apart from St Helen's where local knowledge is needed to get in through the shallows and bars). We are ready to head home. The weather of course isn't co-operating fully and it looks like we will have to sail to windward during part of the passage to Eden - a distance of around 300 nautical miles. Looking at the bom site (bureau of meteorology) we might be able to leave Sunday in a light southerly then sail in light to moderate east to north east winds. Not ideal but a bit of discomfort will get us to Eden within 3 days. That's the plan anyway. There's a strong southerly predicted next Thursday nearly a week away, and the weather will start changing to less benign conditions the longer we wait in Tasmania. So bite the bullet ( or swallow the sea sick pills in my case), we will probably head off on Sunday.

We have used Jack and Jude Binder's guide to Tasmania extensively on this trip and have found it invaluable. They have a wealth of experience sailing around Tasmania ( and Australia and the world actually) on their home built yacht Banyandah. I do love Tasmania and wearing winter clothes has been a change. But I admit, I will always love the tropics and wearing swimsuits and sarongs. I am missing the warm salt air on my bare skin! Although it has been extremely wet in SE Queensland since we left in January. And now a cyclone brewing in the Coral Sea is a possible threat. Our lives really are governed by the weather...

I am looking at Bear Hill enveloped in cloud at the top and wondering where Bill is now. I think I will cook a nice pot of soup to warm us on this cool wintery day.

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06/03/2013, Fortescue Bay

I am waiting here, dozing, sketching and reading while Bill climbs Mt Hauy.

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05/03/2013, Tasmania,Australia

Fortescue Bay
43 07.61'S 147 57.31'E
5th March 2013

This part of the trip back has been easy so far - motoring in calm seas and calm anchorages. Today was the most visually inspiring as we feasted our eyes and senses on spectacular rock formations, pods of friendly dolphins in water as clear as clear could be finishing with yet another slow leisurely sunset of pink fluorescent clouds spread across the sky.

The dolphins that visited us today just after we rounded Tasman Island (our most southerly point on the globe to date) were large , swimming synchronized together in leaps and dives around the boat. They made high pitched squeaks and rubbed their bodies on Valiam's hull. I'm glad they weren't whales! The air in this region is perpetrated to be the cleanest in the world. And I would believe it. The sky is as equally clear as the water.

We were feeling a little excited about sailing Valiam this far south - 43 15.18 South : 148 00.30 East. If we kept going east we would bump into New Zealand! Our previous most southerly position was just south of Cape Aghulas , South Africa. And today wasn't cold really. In fact when we anchored behind the shipwreck down the far end at 3.30pm, it was so warm, I immediately put on my sarong and enjoyed the sun. As we were coming into this small sheltered anchorage the depth went down to 3.5metres. I wasn't used to being in such a small space with such shallow water. But Bill reminded me that in Palau we anchored in small spaces like this in the Rock Islands. We are surrounded by trees and birds but can easily see the horizon as well.

Bill was keen to catch fish here and it didn't take long either! When he reeled it in it was a decent size too. We couldn't identify it though. It was silvery with motley marks and was slimey. Filleted, it was in the pan and in our stomachs within an hour. Delicious with butter, salt,pepper and lemon. It tasted a little like mullet. We have a photo of it to identify it later.

There's no telstra signal here so I will take the IPad over to the main beach tomorrow to update and check the weather. It's supposed to be a southerly on Thursday so will aim for Schuten Island near Coles Bay. Bill is keen climb the mountain here. We were here on several occasions in the early 80s when we used to live in Tasmania. One time we camped here and the locals had their chainsaws out cutting down trees for campfires and had noisy generators going. I don't think that would be tolerated now. On an another occasion we climbed up the hill and naughty Bill and a mate rolled big boulders down the cliff into the sea. I still remember the huge grins on their faces and even have a photo somewhere....

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05/03/2013, South east Tasmania

I have so many photos and didn't know which one to choose! They were even scratching their backs on Valiam's hull!

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05/03/2013, Tasman Island

The weather was so calm as we rounded Tasman Island - our furtherest point south sailing on Valiam. - 43 15.18 South : 148 00.30 East.

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04/03/2013, Tasmania, Australia

Port Arthur
4th March 2013

How nice it is to be in yet another calm anchorage with a day of sightseeing and a few chores. To see the historic ruins up close we needed to buy a pass which included a boat trip and guided tour. As the passes were quite expensive we just gazed from afar taking in the general surroundings. We walked up the road to the highway with 2 jerrycans to fill with diesel at the general store/ service station. Heavy for Bill to carry back! We bought a few more fresh provisions and I sent postcards to the grandchildren.

We found a garden seat close to the jetty to relax and enjoy the scenery. It's certainly different to be able to anchor right next to such a historic place. The remains of the penal colony is in very good condition. The information centre gave many visual interpretations of what happened to the convicts, supposedly the worst offenders. However many were imprisoned for merely stealing clothing or food. It must have seemed the end of the earth with no escape.

Having grieved with the people who lost loved ones in 1996 and followed some of their stories, I still felt emotional being here. I was compelled to visit the memorial garden and pool of peace. All so beautifully and thoughtfully done. Locals working in Port Arthur do not like to name the gunman who forever changed many lives. The memorial is a tribute to the strength, courage and compassion of Tasmanians. The 35 gold leaves each have the names of the people who died.

The harbour is so still and beautiful. Tonight we watched the sky change colour from baby blue to fluorescent pink behind the hills and reflecting on the water.
There was only one other cruising yacht here today which left for Fortescue Bay - our destination tomorrow. We will round Tasman Island, the most southern point reached by Valiam during all her voyages.

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03/03/2013, Tasmania, Australia

Port Arthur
position: 43 08.93'S. 147 51.35'E
Tasmania
3rd March 2013

After motoring for 4.5 hours from White Beach Nubeena, we arrived at the historic site of Port Arthur. There was very little wind and what there was came from the wrong direction. It gave us a chance to see the spectacular rock formations as we neared and rounded Cape Raoul. Thinking of the castles perched on rocky cliffs in Europe, I thought Tasmania had her own fairy castles 1000s of years old. Port Arthur's deep and magnificent entry captivated us, with rock cliffs and the beach of Safety Cove on our port side.

Once we rounded the Island of Death, the ancient buildings and ruins of the penal colony came into view. Bill chose to anchor rather than pick up one of the many empty moorings as you never know how secure they are for a vessel Valiam's size. Gazing out towards the old buildings, I could see large groups of tourists and a large motor cat at the jetty. I visited Port Arthur many times when we lived at Primrose Sands in the early 80s. I took little Vashti there to crawl on the grass outside. It was and still is a popular picnic spot.

But when I look out now I feel sadness, a heaviness I have difficulty explaining. I can't help thinking of the 1996 massacre of 35 innocent lives by the mentally ill gunman Martin Bryant. Port Arthur doesn't feel the same to me at the moment. But then again its always had an aura of sadness with people cruelly treated and locked up here 200 years ago. And of course the original Australians, the Tasmanian aborigines would have been flushed out of here too. Perhaps once we go ashore tomorrow and wander around I will feel differently. It's a gorgeous spot despite all the goings on in the past.

The large motor cat came past with many happy tourists snapping photos of us in the cockpit having a nice glass of wine. The motor cat goes out to the Island of Death. I don't particularly want to go there. Apparently there are Ghost tours. Not keen on that either!

It seems it will take at least another week before we can cross Bass Strait, according to the weather forecasts. Northerlies, northerlies which are no good if you want to go north. The plan at this stage is to leave Port Arthur at dawn on Tuesday to round the most southern point of our voyages on Valiam so far - Tasman Island. We will aim for Maria Island - Chinamans Bay to wait for a suitable opportunity for the next stage north.

My Optus phone stopped working yesterday and probably won't until we get to Eden. Telstra is great though for both the IPad, and Bills phone if anyone needs to contact us. And of course there is always Facebook.

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02/03/2013, White Beach

Sailing around Tasmania has felt much colder than we thought it would be at this time of the year. On our way across to Nubeena yesterday, we wore jumpers, coats and beanies. The wind is always chilly down here. But at 43 degrees south, I suppose one could expect that! Our friends Elaine and Gary skyped us from Darwin last night and laughed when they saw how we were dressed. 'Are you in Antarctica?' They sat in the heat up there swatting mozzie s while we were rugged up about to dine on steak, mashed potatoes, broccolini and red wine.

With light variable and virtually no wind last night we enjoyed one of our best night's sleep at anchor in Tasmania. Hopefully the weather will be kinder to us going north over the next few weeks. (And warmer!)

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02/03/2013, near Port Arthur, Tasmania

We are enjoying being at sea again. The natural landscape around here is just gorgeous.

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02/03/2013, Tasmania

The benefit of motoring - we can get up close.

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01/03/2013, Hobart, Tasmania

Saying 'Goodbye' or 'au revoir' to our Hobart friends yesterday, I felt a bit sad. Because we lived here when Vashti was little it feels a bit like home. But Queensland is where the family is, our house and Valiam's home port.

The weather looks fairly benign over the next week or so which will make our passage north pleasant, even if we have to motor. Our Coursemaster electric autopilot has been playing up and not keeping course for some time. After discussions with the very helpful local boat electrician from SNK electronics, Bill pulled apart the pump motor. The brushes were worn out. Don drove him around looking for the parts then with more mud maps Bill pedaled his bicycle a further 20km to find the bits as well as a soldering iron. He thinks he's fixed it. We need the electric autopilot (nicknamed Mona Lisa due to her moaning which sounds different now...) especially if motoring or the wind isn't suitable for Fred the wind vane to work.

A few more jobs and we hope to be anchored in Port Arthur this evening. These are my new pottery coffee cups created by Jude. Thanks Jude and Don for all you did for us and we will think of you each time we have a cuppa.

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28/02/2013, Tasmania

It's been really cold since we returned to Hobart. Bill's brother Chris and girlfriend Nicky have been on board Valiam most of the week, getting to know what life on board a boat is like. It was good for us to have crew on board the last 2 days sailing down the D 'Entrecasteaux channel in southwesterly winds. Feeling chilled to the bone we wore jumpers, coats and beanies to keep warm.

Once anchored in Barnes Bay, Chris got his you beaut new fishing rod out and proceeded to catch flathead. Several got away and we all had a good laugh. But, he continued to catch them and they progressively got bigger. But still he couldn't bring himself to kill them and flung them back in the water! We had so much food on board he thought we didn't want to eat them anyway. They are tasty though. When Bill and I used to live in Primrose Sands in the 80s, we used to catch and eat them all the time.

It's time for us to start thinking about sailing north back to Mooloolaba. I wouldn't mind being able to swim and wear summer clothes again!

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23/02/2013, Castlemaine, Victoria

Victorian visit

With Valiam safely berthed in Hobart, we took the opportunity to take cheap flights to Melbourne for a few days. We decided to risk Tiger airways, despite their bad reputation for delays and cancellations. Happily the flight was on time. We are now enjoying both rural Victoria and Melbourne visiting Bills family. Whilst sitting around drinking cups of tea, Bill's Dad showed us some old family photos. This is a picture of Bills grandparents on their wedding day. His grandmother Lily Rose is his Danish great grandfathers daughter. He worked on ships and came to Melbourne on the Mermerus. Yes, sailing is in the blood...

Everywhere is very dry with yellow parched grass desperate for rain. The little cottages here are often over 100 years old. Many have been restored lovingly by people who choose to live in the country and commute to Melbourne by train.

Bills youngest brother Chris and his girlfriend have decided to go to Hobart for a holiday. As they will arrive a couple of days before us, they will be enjoying Valiam's comfortable accommodation right in the city. We hope to take them sailing for a couple of days down the channel if the weather is suitable.

After enjoying a little more of Tasmania over the next week or 2, we will look for a suitable weather window to cross Bass Strait and begin our voyage home to Mooloolaba. We are due to fly to Portugal in April to rejoin Lati for a summer of cruising the Med.

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23/02/2013, Mt Hartz Narional Park, Tasmania

I won't be gross and submit a photo of wombat poo but we saw them everywhere - little squarish nuggets perched on rocks and along the path!

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20/02/2013

Tasmanian Wilderness

The other day we were taken away from the city of Hobart into the pristine landscape of Mt Hartz National Park by our friend Bet. When we sailed around the world, we would sometimes hire a car and look around the countryside if we could leave the boat. It was good for us to do this as otherwise we only see places from the perspective of the sea.

Affable and generous Bet drove us to her childhood farm at Crabtree. 89 acres with a sweet weatherboard bungalow filled with furniture built from silky oak and other timbers. The land used to hold 50 head of cattle but now has its grass kept down by many wallabies evidenced by the numerous droppings. Driving on to the small town of Franklin on the Huon river we came upon the Wooden Boat Centre. Gorgeous wooden boats, small and large including the Russian Viking ship and the Portuguese replica from the Wooden boat show were there. Our ex neighbour on the pile berth moorings in Mooloolaba , Peter (SV Vardo), is living there now working on boats. It's a small world at times.

After a picnic lunch overlooking the Huon river, Bet drove us up into the mountains of Mt Hartz National park. Already the smell was different. Clear skies and the smell of gum leaves and earth. After parking the car and taking the trail, beautifully laid out with timber slats and steps, we arrived at Lake Esperence. This took us an hour of ambling slowly. It felt so good to be immersed in such pristine and superb surroundings. I took around 189 photos that day, often focussing on little areas of moss or pretty little plants that caught my eye. That day I remembered why I loved Tasmania and what a little jewel she is. We also took a look at Arve falls, with its crisp cold tumbling water over and around large granite boulders. Bet said this was one of her favourite places and I can understand why.

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16/02/2013, Elizabeth st pier, Hobart

Again we woke up to a beautiful warm day. 'Meet you at the Growers market!' text messaged Jude. So we discarded the Sunday papers, got dressed and got on our bikes.

Delicious smells of coffee and baked goodies as well as free tasting of cherries, apples and chorizo sausages. We came away with half a kilo of juicy red cherries and spicy plum chutney. After the market, I showed Bill a beautiful gallery I had seen with Jude which had exquisite wood carvings and furniture made from local timbers such as Huon Pine. A gorgeous wooden rocking horse looked at me as if saying ' the grand kids would LOVE me! ' but with the $10,000 price tag it was a bit out of our budget.

Next we rode to the Botanical gardens. It was getting quite hot by this time and after struggling up a few hills, it was cool and calming to sit by the Lily pond. Back on the boat for lunch, I changed into my favourite apparel - a sarong. The chutney was superb with our left over salmon patties and rocket.

Tonight we are being wined and dined once more by lovely Tasmanian friends Bet and Graham, relatives of the lovely Margie whom we met more than 30 years ago cruising on our very first little yacht Alouette. We have been blessed with the friendliness and generosity of our friends in Hobart - thank you so much everyone!

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14/02/2013, Elizabeth st pier, Hobart

The wind has turned east - northeast which means we are getting some Queensland warmth rather than cold air from the south and the Antarctic! I can't believe I am actually wearing a summer dress this morning after days of leggings, boots and jackets.

Our friend Grant sailing his engineless wooden yacht Apache left this morning to go further up the river. Apache looked beautiful gracefully gliding out of the harbour with Grant playing his panpipes. It really made my morning. On board he has his extremely old (19 years) dingo cattle dog Zoetye who sleeps most of the time.

It's nice to be in one place for a while to rest before we set sail back to Mooloolaba in a couple of weeks. One of the highlights so far in Hobart was visiting MONA ( Museum of old and new art). Privately owned and managed by a somewhat eccentric fellow devoted to the arts, it really is stunning. Ancient Egyptian coffins alongside contemporary pieces in a building carved in stone under the earth with glass, steel and wood stairs and ceilings makes for a mind blowing experience. It is the best gallery I have seen in the world. I am not the only one who says this. We need to go back and take more in.

Elizabeth pier is next to Constitution dock and Valiam is moored behind the Lady Nelson, a replica of an old 1800s boat. We are right in town who his great. The showers are nice and hot and the laundry very good. Today I will be wandering around Salamanca with Jude poking into the little local galleries.

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11/02/2013, Hobart

Bill has just gone to help Grant to move the Russian Viking ship that has created a lot of attention here. She is a genuine copy of a Viking ship built by a few young Russian men. They had the Russian army on board with guns to scare off pirates as they traversed the Red Sea. She's a beautifully constructed vessel but I imagine she would be a bit uncomfortable in open sea if the weather was boisterous . She has the advantage of a big modern powerful engine as well as the oars!

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Overcast cool
11/02/2013, Hobart, Tasmania

After a couple of days of festivity during the Wooden Boat Festival, most of the yachts had departed by 4pm yesterday. Valiam was the only one left at Kings st pier deserted by all her new friends!

After talking to the Port officials and with the help of local Grant we are now finally tied up at Elizabeth st pier. There's a ladder for me to climb up and we have a tap! Our view from the cockpit looks out to the bay so it's quite nice. We can walk or cycle anywhere in town so we are happily settled for a while.

It's cool and overcast at the moment and to me it feels like winter! But we have been in the Caribbean and Queensland the past year and a half so haven't experienced cold weather for a while.

Here's Grant on board giving us a hand. On the agenda tomorrow is to visit MONA the local privately owned modern art gallery. We're really looking forward to it. Our lovely friend Jude is taking us out there.

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Cold!
10/02/2013, Hobart, Tasmania

Our first guests on board were Grant (festival helper) Philip George and his wife and daughter within minutes of our arrival. During the afternoon we had Fellow Queenslander Peter of Tere and later Jude and Don for dinner. Lots of passers by came for a chat including Ally Boococks ( from WA whom we met in Cocos) friend Robyn. Also a very nice man from the Royal Gelling Yacht club inviting us to participate in the 2014 Wooden Boat Festival. We are forgetting everyone's names so do apologies for that. Perhaps we should have a guest book. Bit late now! A couple of yachties who also have Lidgards came by too. Such a great meeting place for people who like wooden boats or just boats in general. I'm still not used to the cold weather. Too much time in the tropics I guess.

Now that we are in town we want to stay close to things for a while to enjoy this beautiful city.

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09/02/2013, Kings Pier, Hobart

After receiving a call from Cathy Hawkins, Wooden Boat Festival official ( and famous sailor - I have read her book) we were offered a last minute berth at the festival. It's lots of fun here talking to many people interested in our boat and adventures.

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08/02/2013, Hobart Tasmania

Today I spent the day with Jude at her stall at Salamanca Markets. Her pottery and felt work is just beautiful and complimented a few copies of my book on the display table. I had a wonderful time chatting to lots of people as they came past - even some old yachtie friends from Mooloolaba I hadn't seen for years! We both had a successful day with the Wooden Boat Festival next door.

Bill enjoyed attending several talks as well as observing the beautiful wooden boats. I did a quick round later in the day. The atmosphere is very festive with so many activities, buskers and stalls. I said hello to the guys at Boatbooks who are also selling copies of my book. But I think Jude's stall was more personal and relaxing chatting to people about our voyages. After Don came by with the van to collect all the market items, the 4 of us walked down to the Irish pub for a drink to celebrate a successful day.

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06/02/2013, Prince of Wales Marina, Hobart, Tasmania

Its so good to be tied up not worrying about the anchor or where we have to get to next. To not look at weather forecasts constantly will also be wonderful. We are a bit out of town here but it was the only place we could get into. We are waitlisted to be part of the Wooden Boat Festival but they had more applicants than berths available.

Our beautiful friends Jude and Don brought dinner and bubbly just after our arrival last night. It was so god to see them after too many years. I met Jude at playgroup when our children were wee babes.

We have our bicycles and apparently there are free buses this weekend. Sailing in my Sarong will be available from Boatbooks as well as from me direct.

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06/02/2013

So lovely to be able to do this right outside our old shack!

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06/02/2013, Susan Bay, Tasmania

"Lets anchor in Susan Bay," says Bill."
"Can we anchor right near our old house?" I asked.
"We should be able to. It looks deep enough on the chart,"
And we did!

I was thrilled to revisit our lovely little shack we lived in, in the early 80s and visit in Valiam. We could just see the roof through the trees. The little boatshed was still there where Bill used to leave his sailing dinghy. This called for the special French champagne given to me for Christmas from family 'for a special occasion'. This was it!

After rowing ashore, we climbed the steps up to the block in front of our olf place. There she was! And she looked the same! My green paint lasted well after 30 years. I knocked on the door. No answer. We peeked in the windows and lo and behold much of the furniture was the same as well as the fireplace Bill installed. Wandering around in the yard we discovered the long drop dunny Bill built was gone. Instead there was a clump of trees and bushes and looking closer the hole and slab was still there! Bill noted the plumbing he put in was still there. Not much had changed. I phoned my dearest Tasmanian friend I had met via our children in those days to tell her where we were. She said "You will probably find the same people will be sitting on their verandahs!"

Anyway on that summers day, our little shack looked idyllic once more and I wanted to buy it back straight away.

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05/02/2013, Dunalley Tasmania

Up at 'sparrow fart'as Bill says, the alarm went off at 4.30am. We had to catch the tide high enough to get through Denison Canal with our keel at 2.1m. The sun rose as we bleary eyed drank our coffee wearing 4 layers of clothes in the early morning.

As we neared the Maria Narrows, the water was whirling about and it was quite shallow (less than 3m) we got through following the beacons towards Dunalley. We could see where the trees had been burnt to a crisp burnt orange and a few houses had been burnt in the recent bushfires. Most still seemed to be intact. We called up Denison Canal and they were ready for us 8am when they open and lift up the bridge for us. The tide was running out as we entered the narrow canal and we sped along at 5 knots. We could see the traffic lined up stopped for us. The canal man was ready with his bucket on a stick for the traditional gift of a beer and a coin. I managed to get the bottle of Bills home brew and a $2 coin in as we sped by.

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05/02/2013, Maria Island, Tasmania

After motor sailing all night with the dolphins saying goodbye at Binalong we arrived at Chinamans Bay, Maria Island. The correct name is Shoal Bay. It was fairly protected in here from the swell anyway. The wind still howled through the rigging. It would have been lovely to go ashore to explore but the count down is on to get to Hobart and the Wooden Boat Festival. There's been some spectacular scenery on the way. Photos in the photo gallery and on facebook.

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03/02/2013, Binalong Bay, near St Helen's, Tasmania

The anchorage was a bit rolly last night so we are taking it easy today and aiming to have a nap before we head off tonight. The wind is slowly swinging north so we can sail comfortably down towards Hobart. We are aiming for Chinamans Bay on the inside of Maria Island. Reports say it is reasonably protected in there from most winds. The northerly is predicted to build up tomorrow so hopefully we will get in there before it gets too strong.

A nice big pot of chicken casserole sits on the stove to warm ourselves. Being Queenslanders and having spent the past year in the Caribbean and European summer we are finding it a bit cool. But someone said there is no such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothes! I have several warm jackets and trackie daks (track suit pants) ,leggings, beanie and ugg boots. I even have thermal underwear but haven't had to wear that yet. Out of the wind it's actually quite lovely and we can actually wear just a t shirt. But sailing at night, it is quite cool.

Looking forward to the Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart and being a tourist for a while. We've been sailing and anchoring for a month since we left Mooloolaba so it's time for a rest.

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03/02/2013, near St Helens, Tasmania

3rd February 2013
Binalong Bay, North East coast Tasmania
Position: 41 14.81S 148 18.22E

Bill and I lived in Tasmania in the early 80s in a small shack opposite Susan Bay, Primrose Sands, south of Dunalley when Vashti was a toddler. Bill used to catch flathead in the bay which we would eat with potatoes we grew in our sandy garden. Today memories of our time in Tasmania came flooding back. I had forgotten how pristine, how unspoilt and how beautiful it is here. I always used to say Tasmania was Australia's jewel. Although a warm weather girl, and a Queenslander to boot, summer in Tassie is not so bad as long as you have the right clothes and can enjoy the sun away from any wind. Yes as a sailor in these parts the weather is challenging. But we are learning to make friends with it. Its not like trade wind sailing across the Pacific that's for sure!

After leaving Babel island on the tail end of the end of a southwesterly that had just about run its course, we motor sailed for a short time in excellent conditions. Clear blue skies and relatively smooth seas. The northerly finally came in which was good as our fuel supply was getting low.

"Theres something in the water. An animal or something," remarked Bill as he peered in the distance. I focused my gaze in the same direction. "It looks like a stick or a log..... no it isn't! It's a seal! He's waving his flipper at us!" By the time I rushed down to get the camera, it was too late. The seal looked like he was just floating lolling about in the water lazily lifting his flipper and tail. It reminded me of the seals we sailed past in South Africa near Simons Town.

It was quite brisk and breezy crossing Banks Strait with short choppy waves. I guess a lot of water funnels through here between mainland Tasmania and the Flinders islands. The Indian ocean on one side and the Tasman on the other. We were glad the wind was light. As soon as we were within the coast of mainland Tasmania, it became more sheltered.

The evenings are long here and with daylight saving, it doesn't get dark until after 9pm. As we were progressing down the coast at over 7 knots, we realised that Eddystone Point would be upon us quite quickly. And with the changeable weather reports, we weren't sure it would offer enough protection. We were moving along quite well and thought we should take advantage of the conditions. I began to stress about where we could stop safely before the southerly change. Pouring through the information I had gleaned from other yachties on line, I thought Binalong Bay north of St Helens looked ok. We would arrive after midnight. Normally we don't like night time arrivals but there were no rocks and it looked like a straightforward typical roadstead anchorage.

The northerly became lighter and the seas calmer as we quietly sailed along. The half moon emerged from behind the clouds giving us extra light. Just before we entered Binalong Bay we heard the whoosh and breathing noises of dolphins. Once again we were surrounded by dolphins noisily cavorting and leaping out of the water around us. We watched fascinated at the phosphorescence as they sped through the water. With the moon and the dolphins having a party around us, my anxiety about finding somewhere safe to anchor evaporated.

The seas were almost calm so we began to motor in. The motor began making a dreadful noise and wouldn't move us more than 3 knots. Oh dear, we wondered what was wrong. Visions of having Valiam up on the slip in Tasmania costing us lots of money to repair the prop came to mind. Bill later discovered when he dove under that a huge ball of seaweed had tangled itself around the prop. Easily fixed with his swiss army knife. What a relief!

Watching the chartplotter intently and the depth we anchored in 8 metres of water in the bay. I was glad it was calm. Lights from houses winked at us as Valiam rocked gently on her anchor. It was 2am by the time we went to bed.

One of the most important things we had to try and get was more diesel. We didn't want to go across the bar into St Helens, even though the Marine Rescue would assist. We liked the feeling of a quick get away from here as soon as the winds were right to continue south. This morning as I was enjoying my 2nd coffee in my pyjamas, a small runabout slowly came past next to us. I immediately asked the occupants - 2 guys and a young girl where we could get diesel. They offered to take Bill into St Helens there and then. Friendly people. To get back Bill had to hitch a ride by road with their son to the small boat pontoon in Binalong Bay with his 2 jerrycans of diesel. How was he going to get back to Valiam? I was below having a bath and the dinghy was still on deck and hadn't been launched. Next thing the local dive people offered him a lift in their boat. The whole exercise only took an hour. How nice are the locals?

I had heard about a lovely restaurant called Café Binalong which was directly opposite us on shore. To celebrate our arrival in Tasmania, we splurged out. I had to order the flathead for old times sake and it was succulent and sweet. The local Tamar river bubbly called Devils Corner was also delicious!

After lunch, a stroll around Binalong was such a pleasure. Powder white sand beach fringed with granite boulders dusted in orange lichen. This is where the Bay of Fires got its name. We strolled over to Skeleton Bay which is probably more sheltered than Binalong and noted where another yacht was anchored. This bay is surrounded by many huge round granite boulders forming protected rock pools. The boulders are covered in orange lichen hence the name Bay of Fires. It almost looks from a distance someone had fun throwing a can of orange paint around! Apparently at sunset it looks incredible. The rock pools looked so inviting, We met locals Marg and Brian and their dog Ablett and had a chat. All in all a relaxing day with friendly locals and superb natural beauty.

To answer Campbell and Annie's question if we saw krill in the photo of the huge flock of birds - no we didn't but didn't really look! I was busy with the camera as always. And we will be rejoining Lati in Portugal sometime in April. The plan is to enjoy Tasmania in February (with a quick flight to Melbourne and back to see Bills family), then sail Valiam back to Queensland in March.

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31/01/2013, Babel Island, east Flinders Island, Tasmania

1st February 2013
Babel Island
East of Flinders island, Tasmania
Position : 39 56.39S 148 19.191E

Bill just showed me a piece of 12mm nylon rope that tore through last night during a short southwesterly storm that gusted to 46 knots. "Me snubber snapped,"he said. It happened around 10pm after we fell exhausted to bed after virtually no sleep for 1.5 days crossing Bass Strait. The wind rose to a deep but high pitched howl, Valiam bucked like crazy and loud jolting sounds came from the anchor chain and winch. Poor Bill had to go out in the freezing wind and rain to let more chain out and try to stop the chain from yanking and pulling through the gypsy. It was a horrible and uncertain hour. But our anchor held. We are extremely happy with our Manson supreme. Fishing boats in Tasmania use them apparently. She's dug in fast.

It was a quick decision on Wednesday 30th January when we awoke to see on the weather site, ex-cyclone Oswald had gone. The forecast was for northerlies Wednesday night and Thursday with a southwest change on Thursday afternoon. We had enough time to get across Bass Strait before the change if we headed straight for Babel Island just off Flinders.

We motor sailed just about the whole way to keep our speed up to at least 6 knots to get across. At one stage we did sail well at 7.5 knots without the motor but this didn't last long. At midnight we still had 94 nautical miles to go. Bill did some calculations and was concerned about the amount of fuel we were using - twice the normal amount. We slowed to 5-6 knots. The next weather forecast predicted the southwesterly would reach Flinders in the early afternoon. We had to get there! I couldn't see us getting there before 4pm and felt rather anxious.

The morning turned fine and we continued to chug along with a 10 knot northerly. By 12.20 the wind had started already coming from the southwest. It was light and we still had 21 miles to go. We hoped it would stay light. It did increase enough to stop the motor for a while. "Dolphins!" said Bill, "Theyre all around the boat!" He did not hesitate to go up to the bow to watch them. "Come up here!" It was beautiful. Blue skies. Valiam sailing along with Mona Lisa the autopilot and we were thoroughly entertained by a huge pod of dolphins of assorted sizes. They were grey with while under bellies with long snouts. I think they were long beaked common dolphins. A couple of babies cavorted close by their mothers. We noticed a couple with scars and scratches perhaps getting too close to boat propellers? I had time to get my camera and take lots of photos. Usually by the time I do this the dolphins have gone. They stayed for a very long time. Perhaps saying 'Welcome to Tasmania!' I have always thought of dolphins as a good luck sign. We saw a couple of albatross earlier too. (also a good luck sign...) I even managed to get the Ipad out on deck and make a short movie. (Its on my facebook page)

Sailing towards Babel Island turned out to be very pleasant, not nerve wracking at all. We noted the rocks positions on the chartplotter and saw large waves breaking over them. As we slowly motored in, we chose to anchor as close in as we dared in about 8m of water. There were no other boats here. A few flat roofed shacks or buildings are on the island behind the beach. We saw no people although Bill said he saw a light there last night. Apart from the nasty short storm last night welcoming us to the 'roaring 40s', we are reasonably comfortable here. Occasionally we roll a bit in the swell but its not too bad. The sunset took several hours and that's when I noticed the line of dark cloud on the western horizon. Now I know what to look for to predict those fronts coming in! It's wild here and the light is different - brighter and clearer. And I am getting used to wearing winter clothes. So glad I brought my sheep skin lined ugg boots!
'Winifred' an older classic timber motor cruiser that was anchored near us in Eden is now here in anchorage at Babel island. We did hear them on the radio saying they were coming here. As they came past I asked if they had any spare fuel we could buy. Maybe 20 litres they said. Several fishing boats have also turned up. Its great to get a Telstra signal for internet. The phones don't work though.

Tomorrow a westerly is predicted. We may aim for Jamieson beach Cape Barren Island. There was a great write up in the recent Cruising Helmsman. It looks beautiful. We haven't been off the boat since Monday and it looks too difficult to get ashore here unfortunately. We would have to swim from the dinghy and its too cold.

More pics in the photo gallery titled Bass Strait and Tasmania

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31/01/2013

These guys were just so lovely and lifted our spirits after a long night crossing Bass Strait

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29/01/2013, Eden NSW

There is a 48 hour weather window so we are off! We will anchor somewhere along Flinders or east coast of Tasmania tomorrow night before the next southerly. Babel Island or a bit further there are a couple of road stead anchorages. We are well rested and ready. The winds have eased and Oswald has GONE!

That's the wood chip mill in the background at East Boyd Bay and Winifred a beautiful old timber motor cruiser. Au revoir!

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awful weather
28/01/2013, East Boyd Bay, Eden

Position : 37 06.46'S:149 55.56'E
Oswald the ex tropical cyclone is making his presence felt. The wind came in with a howl from the south west before dawn. I was up getting ready and making coffee. Bill had a look around and went back to bed. He wasnt going to do anything until after it got light. Valiam rode steadily on her anchor and we were quite secure. We were still debating whether to go over to the other side to East Boyd Bay. I had a chat on the phone with Lance of Kia Orana and they were thinking of moving shortly. Bill didnt want to rush so we had a big bowl of steaming porridge.

The wind became stronger and the rain pelted down as the waves became choppier. "Lets Go!" I said, "Kia Orana have gone" . So the wet weather gear got an airing/soaking including my lovely new fluro orange fishermans pants I bought in the op shop before we left. My bum was going to stay dry!

It's always interesting geting the anchor up while I drive the boat and Bill is operating the anchor winch. In windy conditions I have to drive the boat forward either starboard or port depending which way Bill points his arm. More throttle is indicated with a flapping up motion and less is a flapping down motion. The Navman chartplotter has a sticky connection and took a while to switch on. So off we chugged through the wind rain and Oswald's big swell to the other side.

As well as Kia Orana we could see several boats, mostly wooden anchored. Its sheltered in here relatively but there is still a swell and of course the wind keeps making its lovely noise. Some of the other boats here are Camille, Freya, Winifred, Pelican 1, Hohana, Africa and Ulysses True. Altogether there are 10 boats in here now. Camille came past as they were reanchoring and are also waiting to cross Bass Strait. Bill said he saw Camille a lovely Swanson wooden boat at the Wooden boat show last time he flew there. It will be good to make contact with the other boats here as we make our way to Tasmania.

There is a small weather window on Wednesday/Thursday but its not really long enough.... Camille suggested we join www.skipr.net which is a way the positions of the boats are recorded. We joined and logged in this morning. So if you go to that website and look for Valiam you will see where we are.

Im going to have a rest from weather forecasting and downloading photos and read a trashy novel. Till next time.....

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28/01/2013, NSW Australia

Monday 28th January 2013
Snug Cove, Eden NSW

Wooooohooooo hoooo-ooooo ratatatat whoooo rattle rattlehmmmmmm How do I type the sound of the wind in the rigging? Don't like it much. The wind gauge has recorded gusts of 40 knots. Ex-cyclone Oswald has arrived. It's blowing from the north-east and will swing round to the southwest in the morning. Before the southwesterly gets strong we have to up anchor and motor over to the other side of the bay to east Boyd bay. Then the wind is predicted to blow an average of 35-45 knots. The gusts will be more.

Before we circumnavigated, Bill researched anchors and chose the Manson supreme. It has never let us down. She digs in. We have heard fishing boats in Tasmania use this type of anchor. This makes me feel secure. The sound doesn't. Nevertheless we shall try and sleep tonight. The noise is deafening really. A bit like a wind tunnel or something. Maybe I need ear plugs.

Earlier today we dinghied ashore to the wharf where the fishing boats tie up. I had arranged to meet a beautiful friend, Chris, my ex step mum actually who lives in Tura Beach, half an hour away. I hadn't seen her for many years and she was just the same. Her sweet nature and understanding kind eyes greeted us. After catching up over a coffee at one of the local cafes, she offered to drive us into town for much needed groceries. This was great as its a bit of a walk a up a steep hill to get there. At the checkout, we found out that the Eden IGA will deliver shopping for the yachties for free. So that's good to know. The other free service at the end of the wharf is the free showers. They only go for 2 minutes with a 30 second delay. It took 3 goes for it to be warmer than very cool but not arctic. With no proper shower on Valiam I wasn't complaining.

The resident seal who is quite big did a twirl in front of the dinghy today just after some seaweed got caught in our outboard prop. We drifted for a bit while Bill pulled the weed off. It's been very grey and wet of course since we arrived but it does remind me of Tasmania. No sarongs. My wet weather raincoat is mouldy through lack of use but its getting an airing or should I say rinsing now. Bill opted to wear his lightweight board shorts that don't mind getting wet.

After shopping we enjoyed a tasty lunch of fish and chips even if it was a bit expensive as we had to eat inside the restaurant. I passed a fishing boat advertising mussels... Mmmmmm I love mussels. Perhaps there may be a chance to enjoy some after this crazy weather has finished.

When the weather is back to 'normal' we will take the first window of opportunity to cross Bass Strait.

I saw photos of 'our' beach on the Sunshine Coast that our daughter Vashti took. There is sand right up over the road behind our house. There is still no power so Vashti and the children are staying elsewhere at the moment. Other areas in SE QLD are badly flooded. The weather map is showing the worst of Oswald is now on the coast near Newcastle so I am so glad we got past there in time. First bushfires near Sydney and now ex cyclone Oswald. Hopefully February and March will be less dramatic weather-wise.

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26/01/2013, NSW Australia

Sunday 27th January 2013 en route to Tasmania
Snug Cove, Eden
37 04.413'S
149 54.299'E

It's raining. It's dripping and the captain is snoring... So what do I do but write something on the IPad for all our faithful followers and hopefully ex-armchair travelers!

Now the most important thing I have learned over the last few days is DON'T believe weather forecasts! You would think after all these years of sailing I would have learned that but really I am very disappointed in bom.gov.au. First we were supposed to get a strong northerly to get us to Eden from Jervis Bay. Wrong. Strong southwesterly instead when we exited Jervis Bay so that Valiam heeled right over dislodging all my Tupperware! Then it stopped. Then nothing. We had 24 hours before the supposed next strong southwesterly in Eden so we needed to get a move on. Start the engine. And of course Oswald the ex cyclone is on its way too. This was around midday. By early evening we were still motoring. Where was this north easterly? Oh here it comes. hooray! Lovely fast sail at 8.5 knots in flat water. ' We'll be there by 8 in the morning says the captain happily'

An hour later the nice wind died in the bum. Where is it coming from now? All over the place. Bill spent the next half of the night trying different sail combinations. Eventually gave up. Start the engine again. As I was on watch in the cockpit the lightning started all along the shoreline. Then it got closer. I had that tight ball in my tummy and tried to rationalise my fear of storms. ' Its ok,' says Bill, 'theyre a long way away. At 3am the wind came back sort of from the north quite strongly. Aha just as they predicted. Double reefed main and half furled jib. Then by morning we were only doing 4 knots. Strong wind warnings and 3 meter seas on the radio. Better get a move on. Start the engine again. Bill getting tired. No sleep. A few ships and fishing boats about. Grey pearly seas and wishy washy watercolor clouds. Getting closer. Motor droning. Cup of tea number 3 with a piece of fruit cake. Got to keep the energy levels up.

We finally entered Edens Twofold Bay at almost midday. The iron sails did well. Our anchorage in Snug Cove is good in a northerly but not a strong southerly. So do we move when the prediction says its going to happen or stay where we are? Actually that big low still called Oswald is visiting on Tuesday so we will up anchor and go to the other side (east Boyd Bay) just in case.

The resident seal visited us just after we arrived. How lovely... Now that we've had a huge feed of bacon and eggs, beer and bubbles and the rain has stopped we will go ashore. We've heard there's free showers! Lance and Marg of the catamaran Kia Orana popped by to tell us this as well saying they were also waiting for a weather window to get to Tassie. Another wooden boat called Venus is also wanting to get to the Wooden Boat festival starting on the 8th February. So that will be good to share more weather info, won't it?!!

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24/01/2013

Valiam feels a bit like a hobby horse tied to the public mooring here in 'Hole in the Wall', Jervis Bay. There is a northerly blowing so it is a little exposed but not too bad. The public mooring buoy said 'Up to 40 tons' so I guess we won't be going anywhere with our 8-9 tons.

It's a wild windswept place with white sand beaches and scrubby bush. I did detect a few humans wandering along the foreshore in the distance. We need to rest.

Coastal navigation is much more tiring than ocean passages as you have to keep a look out all the time. The weather is more fickle too. With good Internet reception via telstra, I am going crazy looking at umpteen weather maps trying to predict what will happen and where we will be. The safest thing for us at the moment is to leave at 'sparrow fart' as Bill says for our 24 hour passage to Eden. We will have to use the motor when the wind dies off and goes around in circles but we will arrive in a strong northerly. BUT we will have to anchor to protect ourselves for the ensuing southerly. Luckily Eden has 2 harbours to choose from depending on the weather.

So here's a pic of ' the hole in the wall' anchorage. There is a small cliff face on the beach that looks like a wall with a hole in it!

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24/01/2013

Sydney waved a dramatic goodbye with its icon harbour bridge and Opera House glowing in the late afternoon sun. We are now at sea a few miles off the coast motor sailing as the winds are very light. The three quarter moon is reflecting on the water and the lights of the Sydney coastline look like a glittery necklace. A passenger ship with all its lights on is way behind us.

We enjoyed seeing Bills sister Janet and her daughter Isadora while they were on holidays in Sydney. It was a novelty for them to sleep on board Valiam last night. A few last minute errands completed by bicycle riding around Sydney and we were off. It was still a light south easterly when we left but will turn to the north by morning. We are motor sailing to keep our speed up to 6 knots. We will probably anchor in Jervis bay tomorrow, depending if the predicted southerly appears further south. I do not like the look of ex cyclone Oswald travelling close to SE QLD and northern NSW - not more extreme flooding I hope. Anyway we're fine chugging along out here.

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20/01/2013

With very light winds all the way, we used the iron sails getting into Sydney. I felt thrilled to pass the famous Sydney cliffs on our way into the harbour. It was around lunchtime Monday morning and not many boats about. Bill even had time to look with binoculars at who was parading around on the nude beach as we went past. However as we approached the Sydney harbour bridge, passing the Opera House on our left, ferries, yachts and a large passenger vessel seemed to go in all directions around us.

After negotiating through the main harbour, we turned into Black wattle bay. the designated anchorage area is a bit squeezy but we managed to park Valiam. I'm not sure if we are too close to our neighbours but we dont have much chain out. We are right next to Glebe as well as Darling harbour so we will do some walking around.

It's nice to be here for a couple of days. We will provision tomorrow nd hopefully set off south again Thursday in the direction of Hobart, Tasmania

There's lots of photos in the photo album. click on the little camera

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20/01/2013, Pittwater, Sydney

We popped around the corner today to anchor behind the moored boats at Palm Beach to stretch our legs and buy a few things for dinner. We found a steak and a bottle of wine at a trendy deli place paying triple our usual allowance on such things. Nevertheless it was a very enjoyable meal on board. Better than beside the carpark. Much better view from Valiam. These little chirpers drew a smile from me.

Off to Sydney tomorrow! In the rain but that's ok. I have a choice of a yachtie raincoat or pink leopard print folding umbrella!

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18/01/2013, 33 35.79'S:151 15.03'E, Hawkesbury river, north of Sydney

Mooloolaba to Tasmania Jan �- March 2013 BUSHFIRE WELCOMES US TO REFUGE Bay, PITTWATER
Saturday 19th January 2013 Refuge Bay
Position : 33 35.798S 151 15.030E

By mid- morning yesterday we were 14 miles out from Newcastle and we had slowed down to 5 knots. I was concerned we wouldn�'t make Pittwater before the southerly. We started the engine to get her up to 6.5 knots. �"We should be outside Pittwater by about 3pm,�" said Captain Underpants. I now felt less anxious. I find when I am sleep deprived, I feel more anxious with that nasty knot in the belly feeling.

As we headed closer to Sydney and the mainland, our Telstra connection returned. I felt reassured that the southerly was still south of Gabo Island on the Bom observation chart and would take hours to get to us. I also saw a comment by a well- wisher on our sailblogs site who happened to be a member of the Pittwater Cruising Club. I emailed Ian, asking his advice as to where would be the best place to go to shelter from a southerly. Bill had already said Cowan creek would be a good place. Ian phoned me and said Refuge Bay was a good choice. He also said we could pick up one of the cruising club moorings attached to a red tyre. Armed with this information, I felt more confident.

It was around 4pm when we motored past Baranjoey point. The clouds had dark thunderhead formations and it was very hot. Lightning forked down from the sky to the hills on our left. Sydney reached 44.6 degrees Celsius yesterday. As we navigated our way down Cowan creek, the immense heat bounced off the rocks like a furnace. There were a number of boats moored in Refuge Cove and in the outer part I spotted a red tyre mooring. I hooked it up with the boat hook, placing the loop over the Sampson post. Hooray! We were here and safe. Bill noticed that the writing on the red tyre said Rose Bay MYC and thinks it�'s the wrong mooring. Never mind. At least it would be strong enough to hold us if it blew as it is probably designed for large motor cruisers.

Just as we were celebrating our safe arrival from Southport after 2.5 days at sea, we noticed a large cloud of smoke billow up in front of us close behind the headland. (We had already placed all our electronic gadgets in the oven for safekeeping in case lightning decided to strike us.) Whilst enjoying our lovely cold beverages, we continued to observe the smoke. It was getting bigger and darker and was obviously a bushfire. The strong southerly wind had arrived, fanning the fire along the ridge. The wind howled in the rigging and we felt happy not to be at sea. By the time we were enjoying our 2nd glass, noisy helicopters began to entertain us. One of them had a bag on a long rope and was scooping up water, swinging it around above our mast and proceeded to try and douse the flames that were now seen licking the sky from on top of the hill. We were so very very tired and at the time we could only feel amusement. Captain Underpants laughingly said, �"It�'s like farting against thunder.�" Futile he meant.

As the excitement continued, several boats right in the cove, decided to leave and moor near us. The helicopter continued whirring around above us and by the time it was dark, there was a very red glow behind the hill. Bill kept the chartplotter on in case we needed to escape. I was too weary to move and for some reason only felt slightly concerned that burning cinders or a fireball could reach our wooden boat. By the time we fell asleep, the worst seemed to be over.

This morning we awoke to a smoky cloudy sky. The first thing Bill said to me was, �"So no firestorms hit us in the night then?�" He then went on to tell me that while I was fast asleep snoring, he woke up to the sound of sirens. The police boat had arrived last night and with a megaphone was telling all the boats to evacuate due to a possible firestorm. He said many boats slowly made their way out of the harbour, their light shining through darkness. Bill decided we were safe and that the threat of a firestorm was hours earlier. By that time there was only smoke. I am so glad he didn�'t wake me. I never sleep through anything. I must have been tired.

So this morning we enjoyed coffee, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and contemplating moving away from the smoke. Its not too bad at the moment but we will probably move at some stage. We are also looking forward to sailing into Sydney harbour in the next day or 2.

Just out of interest, Refuge Bay was where we anchored in our first little 24 ft keel yacht Älouette in 1980. In those days we were here on our own. No other boats or moorings and felt quite remote. I found our old journal on board and we both enjoyed reading it, complete with amusing sketches. We sailed Alouette from Sydney to Brisbane, taking a couple of months to do so. We had our cattle dog Jane on board in those who refused to go to the toilet anywhere except on land. Consequently we crossed every bar on the coast. No electronic gadgetry. Just a handheld compass and paper charts. We looked outside to ascertain the weather. And many people think we take risks now! We are not sure if we could be bothered moving. It�'s probably smoky throughout Pittwater.

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17/01/2013, 33 00.75'S:152 10.28'E, offshore NSW coast

Mooloolaba to Tasmania Jan �- March 2013. WILD RIDE THROUGH THE NIGHT. Friday 18th January, 7.20am. Position : 33 00.75S 152 10.28E.

The winds continued to increase yesterday from the north. We were constantly hearing strong wind warnings on the radio. I managed to down load grib files for wind speed and direction, indicating a southerly change forecast for Friday, but no time. Bill continued to reef the sails, getting rid of the poled out jib completely. By sunset we were down to a triple reefed main and still surfing along at 9-10 knots! We were also scooting along in the East Australian current. Mona Lisa the electric autopilot decided to do strange things and wouldn�'t steer us any more. Thankfully Bill managed to get Fred the windvane to work. Fred is a very handy crew member!

As we continued to surf down the waves at crazy speeds, ships passed all around us. Our AIS receiver is only working when the ships come within 8 miles and is slow to relay information. When we were in Fiji, one of the rather large officials damaged the aerial getting on board�... Quite often we would see the ships before the AIS told us about them. An eventful night with virtually no sleep.

We realised that we would be outside Port Stephens in the dark so wouldn�'t be able to enter safely in those conditions. The problem was we didn�'t know when the southerly change would come, the further south we sailed. There was no phone reception so we used the satellite phone to ring Liam (not answering at first) then Vashti. Finally got hold of Liam who looked at the bom(www.bom.gov.au) site on his computer. Southerly change wasn�'t due until late afternoon/evening in Sydney. This was good news. So we continue to sail towards Sydney. We hope to make Pittwater before the southerly change. Blearily watching the sunrise this morning, the winds had abated somewhat. Bill shook out the reefs and unfurled the jib. Fred the windvane kept us on course all night and continues to. We don�'t trust Mona Lisa at the moment. We think it needs the compass reset which we will try and do in calmer waters where we have to move around in a circle. We may contact Coursemaster in Sydney if we continue to have problems with it. Although the signal we are receiving from Telstra is weak to non existent, I am managing to send emails via GMNs Xgate program without using the satellite phone.( I have prepaid usb modem)

So now we are down to a very moderate speed of 4.5 - 5.5 knots. I hope we aren�'t too slow now to make Pittwater before the southerly. At least it feels more normal now and less hair- raising. Bill is having a well-deserved sleep and hopefully the next update will be at anchor behind Baranjoey Point. Better go and keep an eye on that ship on our starboard side. Really looking forward to stopping later today. Its been a bit rough out here.

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16/01/2013, 30 05.44'S:153 37.79'E, 14 nm offshore

Mooloolaba to Tasmania Jan �- March 2013 17th January 2013, 8am At sea, NSW coast Position : 30 05.44S 153 37.79E Motoring at 7.7 knots

We are not far from Coffs Harbour, the most southern point Valiam has sailed in Australian waters, off the mainland. It was the end of December 1998 on our way to Lord Howe Island with friends Jackie, Rob, Jessica and our son Liam who was 14 at the time. We had no electronic gadgetry apart from a hand held gps and a mobile phone. We took turns handsteering all the way and arrived in Lord Howe on New Years eve. Such a wondrous island full of natural beauty. Valiam has had a long rest since our circumnavigation apart from a couple of short trips to Moreton Bay. Its god to be on board in cruising mode and the luxuries of refrigeration and queen size bed! The wind is variable this morning but will increase from the north today and tomorrow. Tomorrow we will pull in somewhere before it starts blowing 30 knots. We have Alan Lucas�' trusty NSW guide and print outs from yachtie friends of a few good places. In 1980 we sailed this coastline from Sydney to Brisbane in our first keel yacht, 24ft Alouette, a primaat Van der Stadt. Absolutely no electronic equipment in those days. We still have the paper charts and our positions marked in pencil. Now with the chart plotter, we haven�'t marked any positions yet as we know where we are, following the coast approximately 14 nautical miles offshore at the moment. I am impressed with Telstra�'s coverage out here and have even been able to update facebook with text on the Ipad. My Optus phone doesn�'t work at the moment. I am going to try and send this via Telstra and see what happens. Not much to report really apart from a few ships last night and lots of stars. Ive kept seasickness at bay with travacalm and sealegs mediactions. Im saving the stugeron for when it may get rough. I managed to chop up steak last night to make stirfry which was very tasty with teriyaki sauce. Bill and I have snatched a couple of hours sleep here and there and will have a rest day or 2 when we anchor somewhere tomorrow. We have had the East Australian current with us which has been very helpful in these light conditions. I haven�'t seen many birds so far. When we left Southport yesterday lots of dolphins jumped in the waves alongside us. A good luck sign I always say. Our goal is to be in Hobart in time for the Wooden Boat festival so we will have to keep moving rather quickly. We will have more time to stop in places on the way back to Mooloolaba in March. That�'s the plan anyway. It�'s a beautiful day out here for dreaming and catching up on some reading.

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15/01/2013

Calm seas and light winds - great for our start offshore south. We will be at sea for a couple of days so probably wont be able to access the internet and facebook unless there is phone reception. I will get the satellite phone up and running but it wont be long before we are in port again somewhere along the NSW coast by Friday afternoon.

This is us exploring Wavebreak Island yesterday. Quite pretty with great views. Pity about the human pigs who leave toilet paper and other nasty tings every where!

Last night we met up with fellow yachties Allison and Brian who happened to live across the water. A wonderful hot shower and a glass or 2 of bubbles and we were in heaven. Thanks guys. Hope to see you out there cruising on Ozone soon!

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14/01/2013, Wavebreak Island, Southport

When this yacht pulled in yesterday fond memories of La Barca following us across the Pacific overwhelmed me. Same type of boat, blue stripe etc. but no little whale painted on the side. La Barca crew are now right now delivering a 60ft catamaran from South Africa to Australia. They are now on their way from St Helena to Trinidad.

Meanwhile we are psyching ourselves Preparing Valiam for offshore overnight sailing. Shopping has been done by dinghy up the canal to Biggera Waters IGA. We are watching the weather carefully to time our departure in the next day or 2. Next stop Coffs or Camden Haven. We're not sure but will see what happens. A southerly on Saturday in NSW means we will have to stop before then.

Here's La Barca's cousin.

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14/01/2013, Wavebreak Island

Tuesday 15th January 2013
The wind has calmed a bit. We had gusts over 30 knots last night. Several boats up anchored and moved a bit and we were thankful none were too close to us in this tight little spot. Valiam dances about a bit particularly in strong winds when the tide is flowing in the opposite direction. We look forward to going ashore today. There will be no problem disposing of rubbish as there are many rubbish bins lining the shore. Council workers even came in a dinghy to take the rubbish away yesterday.

We have been in contact with Allison, mutual friend of Steve and Dee ( Red Dwarf ex Seren) who happens to live nearby. She says the shops are just a dinghy ride away. We need fresh provisions as well as replenishing my forgotten make-up purse!

Steve and Su (Beyond III), still in Jacobs Well have repaired their steering and will be on their way soon. As soon as the weather turns more east- north-east we will be off south. We may even make it all the way to Sydney. There are plenty of places to stop along the way. We have the trusty NSW guide by Alan Lucas as well as info for other yachties.

Bacon and eggs for brekky today!

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Overcast, spits of rain, southeasterly
13/01/2013, Wave break Island North

We are now ensconced behind Wavebreak Island protected from the southerly that's just kicked in. We've been dancing around a bit on anchor but because we were first here , we don't have to move. Another yacht got a bit close so pulled up anchor and moved on.

We haven't been off the boat really since we left last Thursday, apart for a swim at Peel island. We've run out of fresh fruit, veges and bread and I've left my makeup purse behind!? Funny how I only discovered it now with the thought of going ashore sometime soon. No mascara - what a calamity! For me anyway. Bill says I don't need makeup but I can't help thinking his comment is based on being frugal....

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12/01/2013, Broadwater, Southport

Always a bit of a drama when the wind and tide are in opposite directions...

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12/01/2013

After a quick coffee at 7am, we left Peel island in order to get through the shallows past Jacobs Well at high tide. Beyond 111 left at the same time. Just before Jacobs Well we received a message from our friends saying they had run aground and had lost their steering. With messages on the mobile flying back and forth, they were on their way again with tiller steering. We thought of stopping at Jacobs Well also but it was crowded, shallow (we touched bottom at high tide in one spot!) so kept going. Beyond III is now at a marina near Jacobs well to repair their steering.

Anxiously looking at the depth sounder as we negotiated the shallows , we got through with 3.7m as the minimum. The tide was 2.6 and we draw 2.1 so it is only possible for deep keel yachts to get through at high tide. Motoring along we looked at several suggested anchorages along the way but all seemed to small, crowded and too shallow. We opted for the Broadwater even though we are right next to the main channel into Southport. It's entertaining nonetheless. Lots of crazy people whiz zing past in fizz boats and jet skis. A tinny was even chasing a dolphin. Poor thing.

Tomorrow a strong southerly change is predicted so we will move a little further on in another anchorage called Wave Break Island North. Actually the captain just said to me we may have to move a bit when the tide changes as we may go around in circles where we are here. The joys of cruising....

At least we know our big anchor can hold us in almost anything....

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11/01/2013, Moreton Bay

We're feeling rather wind blown after sailing to Peel Island from Tangalooma today. The northeasterly blew around 20 knots most of the day but we still arrived at 3pm so it was not as close as we thought, or perhaps we had the tide against us .

We are anchored in Horse shoe bay on the opposite side to when we were here last in 1999 on Christmas Day on our way to Lord Howe Island. On the other side it's muddy with big piles of mud and shells which looked like manure. We have photos of Bill squatting over one of them! Anyway it's nicer this side and there is a proper sand beach.

A lovely couple Deb and Bruce (SV Matilda) came over for drinks. They had been in contact with us after ordering Sailing in my Sarong. We have met such nice people through my books. I am so pleased Bill persuaded me to self publish ! The other night we met Nicole and Paul who because of my book are inspired to sell their business, buy a boat and sail around the world. They took us out for a scrumptious dinner and we were more than happy to answer all their questions. Everyone will want to do it their way but we try to encourage people to follow their dream and not get bogged down with details and unnecessary things. The important bit is to actually do it and get moving. Now we are back on the water we already feel happier and more relaxed.

Here's us sharing yarns and a drink with Deb and Bruce.

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10/01/2013

Photo taken of us leaving Tangalooma this morning by Steve n Karen

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10/01/2013

It seemed like we were organizing, packing, provisioning, watching the weather for weeks to extricate ourselves from comfortable suburban beachside living. But leave we did finally yesterday afternoon at 2.45pm. Mooloolaba harbour is silted up and we had been watching the breaking waves over the entrance for weeks. Now there is a red buoy on the Mooloolaba side of the river entrance to skirt around. We left not long after low tide so there was enough water, just a bit rough and choppy.

The day before blew strongly from the north at around 30 knots. Yesterday it was still around 20 knots. With the motor running and just the job we rounded Point Cartwright through the largish waves. Crash! One of our wine glasses not secured properly in our glasses rack smashed in a thousand pieces through the galley. I had taken a Travacalm tablet so wasn't feeling too bad and was able to clean up the mess.

"The taco meter is not working! Hope the alternator isn't stuffed..." Thinking I may have dislodged some wiring behind the panel when replacing torch batteries yesterday, Bill proceeded to investigate. He couldn't find anything wrong. The engine sounded fine. We were sailing well. "Switch the engine off" he asked me. I tried but it wouldn't. Looking at the panel, we realized the key was on 'off'. Easy fixed. We must have been tired. Huge sigh of relief. All was well.

As it was so late, we decided to spend the night in Tangalooma as we know where to anchor in the dark, having been there so many times before. 8.45pm we anchored, enjoyed a bowl of tinned soup, a glass of wine and went to bed. Our bed is very comfortable on Valiam, nicknamed the 'princess bed' when we installed the queen sized memory foam mattress in 2007.

A gentle roll was all we experienced so its good to know that Tangalooma is fine in a northeasterly. We plan to sail down to Peel island today to anchor at Horse shoe bay. This should only take about 3 hours. Just getting back into cruising mode again before we do any overnight offshore passages. There's still a bit of sorting and tidying on board as I just stuffed things in lockers yesterday rather hurriedly. Still it's nice to know we have everything we need on board, including our bicycles.

Here's a pic of Captain Underpants enjoying his morning coffee.

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07/01/2013, Mooloolaba

Our room is full of mostly packed bags. There's stuff in the shed to load and groceries to buy in the morning. Once on board everything has to be packed away and electronic gadgets connected - AIS, chart plotter, sat phone to lap top etc. Jerry cans of fuel and water also need to be loaded on.

We've been studying the weather maps and forecasts and the northerlies are still being predicted for SE Queensland and northern New South Wales. There's a small SE change predicted in 48 hours then a northerly again. Well sail all night tomorrow night around Moreton Island and probably stop in Southport but if all is going well depending on the winds we could keep going to Coffs Harbour. We'll see how we go.

Better enjoy that last hot shower! Vashti and our 3 grandchildren will wave us off. I hope I don't cry..... We've been having so much fun living together for the past 7 weeks.

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04/01/2013

Well Freda has fizzled so now we wait for the southerlies to die down. Tuesday is looking good but forecasts are what they are so we keep preparing and watching the weather. And we get to spend more time with our noisy little darlings in the house. It's going to be awfully quiet without them! (That's the grand kids)

A strong northerly is predicted from Wednesday so we may scoot around the outside of Moreton bay and keep heading towards Sydney and ducking in somewhere before the next southerly change. Reminds me of going around South Africa...

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30/12/2012, Mooloolaba

I can hear the surf pounding out there and the strong southerly winds will persist for another week according to the forecasts. Cyclone Freda will hit New Caledonia today - poor people. Not a nice beginning to the new year. We were planning to leave Wednesday for Moreton Bay but the strong winds and swells predicted for Thursday - Monday (25-30 knots+) would make it uncomfortable.

The path of the cyclone is predicted to move south towards the Tasman causing the strong winds and swells along the east coast. Hopefully there will be weather window next week. Our plan is to head for Southport via Moreton Bay then continue on to Sydney and hopefully Tasmania. One step ( or port) at a time.

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27/12/2012, Mooloolaba

Tahlia's first trip on Valiam and loving it. She is wearing Liam's old life jacket
( he is now 28!) Tahlia our youngest grand daughter is 2 years 10 months and was born just after we returned from our circumnavigation. Joe, our grandson aged 5 is in the corner of the photo.

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27/12/2012, Mooloolah river, Mooloolaba harbour

Boxing Day began overcast with a few spits of rain but the kids were keen to have a "ride" on Valiam. Bill and I untied her from her mooring and headed over to the public pontoon at La Balsa to pick up all our passengers. Excited children and adults climbed on ready to take a look at how the canal waterfront folk live. Observing the interesting mansions, bird life and fishing boats we toured the canals at nearly low tide without touching the bottom. 2.5 was the lowest and we draw 2.1m.

A great time was had by all and ham rolls kindly provided by Jennifer with lemonade were greedily wolfed down due to the large gulps of sea air by the city folk, no doubt. Valiam happily did her little motor tour but is now ready to gallop down the east coast. Won't be long now....

Thanks to Paul for the shots from ashore. More photos in the photo gallery

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21/12/2012, Mooloolaba

Couldn't resist this one! Maybe it's Captain Underpants in disguise!

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19/12/2012, Pt Cartwright, Buddina, Queensland, Australia

I felt the need this morning to send a message to everyone who has and continues to support my book "Sailing in my Sarong". I forget how many people know about us, our boat and our voyages. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has bought my book, recommended it and spread the word. It was a big decision for us to self publish and we feel it was the right one. We are not dependent on agents, publishers or bookstores and it feels good.

This week alone I have been blown away by the number of emails and requests through chatting and personal contacts. The only promotion we do is through this website, facebook, our presentations and when chatting to people. I am also grateful to Boatbooks in Sydney who have supported us even when I hadn't even finished writing the book! If you look at their website, Sailing in my Sarong is listed as their number 1 best seller in Marine Stories. Thanks also to everyone who wrote such great reviews - I'm honoured and grateful.

Sadly our printers QLD Complete Printing have gone into liquidation but the new company has assured me they have all the artwork and reprinting more copies is not a problem. I am pleased with the 3rd edition as the colours in the photos and artwork is now spot-on.

For those of you who live in USA, I have left a few copies with my aunt in New York, so you wont have to pay for postage from Australia. As we sail south over the next couple of months, we will have copies on board. In April, we will take a couple of boxes with us to the Med on board Lati.

A special thank you also to my sister Yolanda who handled all my orders while we were sailing around the northern hemisphere this year. My daughter Vashti will take over this role in 2013. Thank you again to all my friends around the world who continue to support us. Each time we sell a book, we think "Great - perhaps we can have a meal out tonight! Or more often than not it goes towards ongoing costs such as satellite communication, diesel etc.

Heartfelt thanks also to Annie and Maya at Rosebed st Gallery, Eudlo, Sunshine Coast hinterland, Queensland for also promoting 'Sailing in my Sarong'. You can purchase a copy there too. Also at Rosetta Books, Maleny.

Wishing everyone a happy Christmas wherever you happen to be. Look forward to chatting to you all over the coming year whether its via the internet, satellites, on our boat or yours, the beach or anywhere relaxed and beautiful.

This photo was taken with my dear friend Jackie at Tangalooma 2 weeks ago

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10/12/2012, Mooloolah river

Another beautiful weekend at Tangalooma.....sigh...we didn't want to leave. A southeasterly change was predicted but was more easterly once we finally got going. We motored Valiam up the northeast channel to avoid uncomfortable choppy conditions near Caloundra. Caylan coped well with the trip both ways with the help of chewable strawberry flavored Travacalm. It did make her drowsy though. Better than sea sick.

It was great once we began sailing for Pt Cartwright, sitting on a steady 7.5 knots. As we rounded the point we could see our welcome committee of Vashti and our youngest 2 grandchildren at the rock pools waving. Then almost five year old Joe was first on his bicycle to ride to the end if the breakwater to watch us come in. The tide was strong and the wind was blowing the other way as we tied up to the mooring poles. Bill ended up driving her backwards down the river then forwards against the current while I grabbed the rope with the boat hook. Always stressful for me especially in those conditions. With Jackies help, we got the rope on to the bow as quick as we could, then Bill tied the stern. Phew! Covered in slimy river mud but happily tanned and with salt crusted bodies and hair we made several trips ashore in the dinghy to take home everyone's gear, uneaten food and beverages.
All of Valiam's systems appear to be working well despite her long rest since we took her out last. Now to prepare for our voyage south to Tasmania after Christmas.

Photo taken by Vashti from the breakwater.

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10/12/2012, Moreton Island

This is an aerial shot of Tangalooma anchorage , Moreton Island, Moreton Bay. There were a few more boats than this while we were there. The shipwrecks provide protection as well as great snorkeling. Young 11 year old Kody pestered cap'n Bill several times to snorkel there to see the fish. And who would blame him. 10 year old Caylan who had never snorkeled before was not keen. Snorkeling lessons are on the agenda I think. The big sand hills provided many thrills especially on Kody's snow board. Once Caylan got the hang of it she just loved it.
Valiam looked pretty anchored here with her freshly shined turquoise hull. We were recognized by another visiting yachtie who said I should have been wearing a sarong! Old friends Louella, Matt and Kade whom we hadn't seen for many many years were tied up to the wrecks in their power boat. A happy place close to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast for boaties.

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08/12/2012, Tangalooma, Moreton Island, Qld

With our 10 year old granddaughter Caylan and friend Jackie and her 11 year old grandson Kody , we enjoyed a perfect sail from Mooloolaba in light NE conditions. Valiam sauntered along at 8.5 knots and I couldn't help thinking of little Lati's top speed of 6.5! It's lovely to be back on board our beautiful mother ship.
The kids were up at dawn wanting to slide down the big Sandhills but had to wait until the captain had his 2nd coffee! Snorkeling over to the wrecks later to see if the resident wobbegong shark is still there.

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05/12/2012, Mooloolaba

Tangalooma is a popular anchorage on Moreton Island. It is one of the few places we can sail to and back staying in a protected anchorage provided by old shipwrecks as a break water. Valiam has visited many times especially to celebrate many birthdays and anniversaries. She hasn't been out for a while as we have been busy in the northern hemisphere on board Lati.

This weekend should be fun in hot rather benign conditions perfect for sailing with novice crew. We will have our 10 year old granddaughter on board as well a few friends. It will be an ideal opportunity to test Valiam's gear before we head off for Tasmania after Christmas. Looking forward to being back on board sailing with dolphins, swimming, snorkeling, a few glasses of bubbly enjoying the sunsets with special people. Turning 55 and 35 years of marriage is worthy of celebration. So looking forward to being on the water again. Must have been a mermaid in a past life!

This photo was taken 10 years ago at Tangalooma celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Bill is wearing his actual wedding tie! A lovely wide brown satin number. I'm not sure where it is. I might just have to dig it out again.

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25/11/2012

This was my 50th birthday eating fresh lobster on board Valiam in PNG - our first landfall during our circumnavigation. We grilled the lobster tails with fresh garlic and lemon juice accompanied by cold champagne of course!

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25/11/2012, Mooloolaba

26th November is our wedding anniversary - 35 years! I was a child bride of course (well I was 19...). It is also 5 years since we departed Australian waters to circumnavigate the world. From Townsville it took us 4 days to sail to Samarai island, Papua New Guinea in benign hot tropical conditions . Papua New Guinea is one of my most favorite places. One big reason is because we lived there in the early 80s and gave birth to our first baby. Visiting by means of our own yacht and our first foreign landfall being welcomed with grins, lobsters and abundant produce made for a memorable stopover. We had such incredible interactions with the locals wherever we went, the PNG chapter in my book is the longest!

There is no doubt that our circumnavigation on Valiam changed our lives forever and the sea continues to have it's pull. When on land we enjoy the comforts of hot showers, washing machine and a motor vehicle but there is something special about being self sufficient. We enjoy navigating and arriving somewhere new. We love the camaraderie of other yachties who really understand what it's like out there and some of the things we go through. It's the feeling of adventure and just being out on the big wide ocean exploring this planet. It gets in the blood and is worth whatever discomforts we experience to make landfall. Nothing beats the euphoria of arriving in a new country by sea. Our longest passage so far has been 25 days on Lati to reach the Azores from the Caribbean. And believe it or not I was never bored. There is always something to attend to or catch up on sleep or just enjoy the changing moods of the ocean and sky.

We plan to be off again soon sailing south along the east coast in the direction of Tasmania. Soon we'll take Valiam out to check all her systems for a couple of days to Tangalooma, Moreton Island. A weekend get away for my birthday.

photo of a pastel drawing I drew from life in Horta, The Azores of Puerto Pim

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08/11/2012, Mooloolaba

Each evening we usually ride our bicycles down to the breakwater to watch the boats, surfers, dolphins languidly fishing in the waves and the sun begin to set over the Mooloolaba beach and high rise in the distance. You can just see Valiam's stern in this photo as she was tied to the first pile berth mooring then.

She' s been shifted around a few times due to dredging of the river. We have become quite friendly with Gary the harbour master of late. Nice bloke. Valiam is now actually tied to a mooring buoy next to the police boat until the river is dredged to the right depth. This is taking a while due to the build up of sand. It's currently being pumped out with big pipes on to the end of Mooloolaba beach near The Spit. The pilot boats need to get out to the ships and the river had become too shallow. Good for us yachties who have boats with deep keels. Valiam's keel is 2.1m. Gary the harbour master is making sure the depth is 2.5m at low tide. We are planning to head off for a few days to Tangalooma soon(early Dec), weather permitting. It will be nice to have a fridge to put the champers in to celebrate my birthday!

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08/11/2012, Mooloolaba

It was time to replace Valiam's saloon cushions from the grubby pink velvet I hastily sewed on in 2005 to a much more professional job. I enlisted the help of experienced sewer Robyn to sew the new material. We removed the all 7 cushions, 4 of them long and unwieldy when Valiam was up on the hard. By the time the sewing was completed, the cushions had to be rowed across the river in the dinghy. Bill rolled them with string and he looked hilarious rowing across with red velvet piled up all around him. They look and feel good. Thanks Robyn! And the captain is pleased with the colour - wine red. Perfect.

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24/10/2012

Tied up temporarily at the public pontoon, La Balsa park.

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24/10/2012, Mooloolah river Pt Cartwright

I'm sitting inside Valiam tied to the public pontoon while Bill puts some lines on the mooring in the river. The position above will be confusing perhaps as the last position was with Lati in Portugal. Sometimes I am still getting my head around having 2 boats. I often tease Captain Bill about being the captain of 2 registered ships - what a responsibility! Which is true. We've been on boats and been in and out of boatyards all year. Lawries here in Mooloolaba is number 5!

Valiam is spacious and beautiful and indeed our mother ship, even if she is 30 years younger than Lati. As she was sitting up on props in the boatyard then back in the slings of the travel lift, we could only look upon her with such great fondness and the heart lurching a little at knowing she took us safely around the world. We love her and look forward to taking her down the east coast to Tasmania after Christmas. We will sail back by April to fly over to Portugal to Lati in her boatyard, to prepare her for a voyage across the Med to Greece and Turkey.
A couple of thank yous while I am here. Vanessa at Signarama in Maroochydore did a great job on Valiam's new name sign. We haven't done the bow signs yet - such a bugger to get off! Thanks to Kieren and Rick at Lawries - efficient, helpful and just fantastic. Lawries has looked after Valiam since her launch in 1994.

Well the captain is back. Better get back to crew duties....

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15/10/2012, Lawries Boatyard Mooloolaba

The Mooloolah river is being dredged so Valiam and the other yachts have had to play musical chairs while the dredging machines and big pipes occupy the mooring berths. Gary our friendly harbour master wanted us to move again and even picked us up in his government tinny. When it was time to move our big girl, the guys with the pipes werent quite ready. Bill thought we would see if we could take her up to Lawries to be hauled out. Another friendly bloke Kieren said "No problems mate. Bring her straight 'round." So before we knew it we were chugging along up the canals and up into the travel-lift and were immediately hauled out. Now that's service. I couldnt help contrasting it to the treatment we received at St Thomas boatyard USVI where we had booked weeks in advance and were kept waiting in the heat for 48 hours.....

Anyway as unprepared as we were, Bill had to borrow gumboots and a scraper. (No thongs allowed) She looks pretty good considering we haven't antifouled since Fiji in 2009. I walked home to get the car and donned my big boots and brought Bill's. Our feet dont know what its like to where big closed in shoes as its been a year or 2!

Anyway Valiam will look lovely soon and I'm going to give her a new name look as the old one is peeling off. Stay tuned....

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04/10/2012, Mooloolaba

Just to confuse our friends from overseas, Valiam is actually moored in Mooloolah river but is in Mooloolaba harbour! When we visited her she seemed enormous after little Lati . But bright and beautiful. We look forward to sailing her down to Tasmania after Christmas. We are hoping to participate in the Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart in February. It should be lots of fun.

Then it will be a quick sail back up to Mooloolaba to prepare for our sojourn on Lati in the Med next April.

As for being back in our house - it feels even more enormous and spacious with all the mod cons. I even felt excited about operating out own washing machine....

The photo above was taken by Anne Robertson who lives in an apartment overlooking the Mooloolah river. Valiam has to be moved due to dredging in the river so she will be in a different spot soon. She also needs antifouling so we'll be taking her up to Lawries boatyard within the next week or so. So she'll be gone for a bit, then back then gone again after Christmas, then back..... (For all the Valiam watchers who enjoy seeing her from La Balsa Park.)

NOTE: For those of you who are confused : We now have 2 boats:Valiam is our mother ship we built 20 years ago and will love forever. Her circumnavigation is documented further down in the 'Contents' page.
Lati is a second hand 31ft timber Kim Holman boat we rescued in the Virgin Islands and sailed to Portugal just recently. (recent entries outlining her restoration and 25 day passage to the Azores and 13 day passage to Portugal.)

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01/10/2012, Cruising Helmsman

While we were having our adventure on Lati in the northern hemisphere, an article I wrote a while back on Tuamotus and Bora Bora was published in Cruising Helmsman, and Australian cruising magazine. I'll be writing articles on the restoration and sailing Lati soon, so stay tuned!

This is the 1st page - rest of article is in the photo gallery and on facebook

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27/09/2012

Yay for Valiam!

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25/09/2012, New York, USA

With 3 days till we fly home, we are making the most of our stop over in New York. I hadn't seen my aunt Nancy for 10 years. (she is only 9 years older so we are more like sisters) and she has shown us around her beautiful neighborhood as well as the tourist sights. We had to see the Statue of Liberty by ferry and I imagined sailing into the harbour being greeted by her. Nancy's mum emigrated from Germany many years ago and apparently shed tears when she saw the statue.
Time Square is a crazy place full of gigantic flashing screens and lots of noise. Just like the movies! Today a leisurely bike ride is planned. Thank goodness as my feet need a rest.
Nearly home and back to Valiam.

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24/09/2012, Le Cheile, Manhattan, New York

Some of our New York supporters last night. Audrey, Nancy and Tom with Bill and Linda with the last few copies on hand. A great night was had by all helped by a jug of sangria - delicious!

More pics in the photo gallery

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24/09/2012, New York, USA

What an incredibly vivacious gorgeous city! From what weve seen so far', we love. Comfortably catered for in Nancy's 9th floor apartment overlooking the Hudson river, we are enjoying every moment. We have been shown Nancy's neighbourhood and lush, spacious, parklands where Nancy conducts exercise classes.
Last night Nancy co-ordinated a wonderful event at a local Irish pub for a Scribbling and Sailing around the World presentation. A great enthusiastic crowd made us Aussies feel very welcome. Lots of funny stories came out and we were lucky enough to have a well known artist and graphic designer Mike Samuel draw some great sketches. Here's one of the story of our visit to the volcano on Tanna island, Vanuatu. It speaks for itself!

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24/09/2012, Somewhere in Alsace, France on the near Basel Europort

An hour before take off to New York we enjoyed a 'last supper' with good friends Pierre and Florence in a quaint French restaurant. Pierre had escargot (snails)

From Red Dwarf

Words from our mate Steve, now proud owner with his wife Dee of yacht Red Dwarf, currently preparing to motor up the canals of France:

"I quite like Portugal. Culatra is as bill says, Like stradbroke island in Europe. For those who havnt been to stradbroke, its a lot like Culatra.

We got to visit with bill and Linda and see their Ebay boat "Lati" She is a georgous traditional little timber boat. Built in spain and somehow got to the U.S virgin islands.
It was nice to be back on the water and Lati was deliciously salty from her Atlantic crossing.
There is just something about a layer of salt on a boat that, for me anyway conjours feelings of adventure.Even though I wasnt there for the adventure, the boat has an aora of acomplishment. She is a proper boat doing what she was built for some 40 years ago. Lati and her crew have earned the anchorage in a way that many of the big shiny fibreglass boats will never do as they never leave sight of land

.
So back off you lot, Give Lati some swing room. She earned it.

So a couple of liver punishing days in Culatra and Lati is hauled onto the land to keep her safe till Bill and Linda get back in 6 months to sail her to Greece. We all piled into Pepe with Dee in the back on the van(Pepe has only 3 seats) and headed towards Spain.

Back in Almerimar Bill and linda stayed on Red dwarf on the hard stand for a couple of days and we punished our livers a bit more. It was really great to see them but they had some traveling to get on with so sadly they left in their hire car to go see family in Austria etc."

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24/09/2012, Steckborn and surrounding area

Bill was blessed with a perfect day to go tandem paragliding in the Swiss Alps. A treat provided by our friend Pierre. I think he's hooked now!

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24/09/2012, somewhere near the border of Italy and Austria

From a hot day on the coast of Croatia to 4 degrees in the Italian Alps in one day! this you can only do in Europe. We stayed in a quaint 'gasthaus' complete with wooden panelling, fake flowers and paintings of hunting deer. And we ate deer goulash for dinner. The snow capped mountain from our room was mesmerizing. Europe has mountains while I think Australia has hills. Thanks John for driving us to Switzerland!

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19/09/2012, Punat, Krk

John, Bill's brother has a 36ft (11.4m) Bavaria, 2004 model called Pave. Pave means Paul in Croatian. Its a beautifully appointed boat with 3 double cabins. lots of woodwork inside and spacious interior. So luxurious compared to little Lati!
We took her for a sail yesterday in very light winds and anchored for lunch next to a rocky hill and small beach. A perfect day.

That's John, Desi and I in the photo. More pics in the photo gallery and on facebook.

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19/09/2012, between Austria and Croatia

A country I knew absolutely nothing about but very green and picturesque with pretty barn style houses. We observed many hops gardens so of course Bill had to try the local beer.

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16/09/2012, Austria

16TH September 2012

Driving out of Barcelona to the airport in the hire car was fraught with wrong turns, naughty words, watching the ipad map and signs next to the road. But we got there. Looking at the 2 bulging suitcases , 2 back packs and my large handbag and big camera bag I thought "This is what weve brought from Lati and Oz" after being away for 6 months. It includes my artwork, books, t shirts, and a few clothes and not many souvenirs. We got through the Air Berlin counter without being charged excess baggage. Mmmm I wonder if British Airways will be as understanding next week...

Vienna is a stately and refined city. The architecture rather than being outwardly flamboyant is rather dignified, as the Viennese people are. We've been staying with Bills brother John who has been working here for many years and his son Oscar. Their apartment is also stately with incredibly high ceilings, stately staircases and a very spacious terazzo courtyard.
We hadn't visited Vienna since 1978! Now I feel old...... In those days we were backpackers with a small cowboy tent and Eurail pass. (our honeymoon...) We met my penfriend Lieserl who I had been writing to since I was 12. Penfriends were where we wrote real letters and waited weeks for a reply in the mail. No facebook in those days. Lieserl , I remembered as a beautiful young lady with titian coloured hair recently married to an Indian fellow. We were invited to have dinner in her flat. There we sat on the floor with her husband and other Indian men in turbans tasting different raw chillies drinking chai tea. A different Vienna experience! 35 years later we met Liesl again yesterday in a nice suburb of Vienna. She is a widow now with 4 grown up children. Of course we had all aged! But I could still see the lovely girl we met all those years ago regardless of her more conservative dress and hair less vibrant. Our lives are very different but we still enjoy corresponding by email.

Today I visited the Albertina gallery housing a Monet to Picasso exhibition. I soaked up the work of many famous impressionist and post-impressionist artists. The building adjoining had traditional Viennese art displayed in very royal surroundings - gold trimmed furniture, lush carpets and ornate ceilings and brightly lit huge chandeliers.

Tomorrow John is driving us to Croatia to see his yacht Pave on the island of Krk. We'll have time for a day sail before we head to Switzerland via Italy. I cant believe we 'll be home in 2 weeks! I also have to admit I miss Lati and hope she is ok. I feel lucky to have all these incredible experiences.

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13/09/2012, Spain

On our way again in our hire car yesterday morning the landscape became greener, a bit more like other parts of Europe I remembered. As we approached the metropolis of Barcelona, I followed our trusty Ipad map with a little dot showing where we were. Whizzing along through smog, spaghetti roads and industrialization, I said "turn here!" All of a sudden we were among tall old buildings and monuments. "La Rambla" I cried "Find a park!" And we did. Down a tunnel into the bowels of Barcelona. Lucky the car was small as the space had inches to spare and I could hardly open the door. After emerging into the street, we were like country bumpkins gazing at the scene of tourists, locals wearing trendy clothes and smoking fancy cigarettes, beautiful tall old buildings with cute balconies. One lady didn't mind being in public in her satin nightie at three in the afternoon. Bicycles, skateboards and scooters merrily swerved around everyone.

Our hotel is beautiful. We asked around at a few places and found Hotel Rivoli Ramblas. The first room we were shown looked out the back. I asked for a view of the street. The receptionist must have liked us as we were given a palatial studio room with chandelier, bay window, chaise lounge, plush carpet .. the lot for the same price as an ordinary room. I have lapped it up. I always knew I was rich in a previous life and love being a princess!
Our one full day here has been exhausting. Walking walking everywhere from the Musee of Modern Art to Cathedrals and enjoying the Gothic architecture. I have always loved Batman and some of the streets are very gothic. The highlight of our wanderings, even though my feet and legs were aching like crazy, was Gaudi's cathedral. I had no idea such a thing could be built. Gargoyles, whipped cream stone, spires topped with coloured fruit and angels galore. I just gazed and gazed and took so many photos.

Bill and I both want to come back to Barcelona. After all it is Lati's birthplace.

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13/09/2012, Olhoa Portugal

13TH September
Barcelona
It seems there is more time to write when out at sea. The land is filed with distractions and things to do. The senses are so over -loaded, that the days at sea now seem blissful. The days leading up to Lati's emergence from the sea back on to the hard in to a boatyard were full of social activity and thinking and planning what to leave, pack and bring. Aussie sailing mates Steve and Dee drove their van down to Portugal to have a look at Lati and Culatra. They've been fixing up a big 45 t aluminium boat in Almerimar in Spain.

We were pleased to have our friends on board and the small space was not an issue. We loved showing them Culatra and feeding them cheap beer and fish from the local little cafes. When it was time to get Lati up to the boatyard on Friday afternoon, we motored over to Olhao. Our lovely Danish friends the 'Lunatics' were there to assist with the lines. Imagine our consternation when she said the boatyard had forgotten we were coming and were already drinking beer. Nevertheless the guys opened the gates and began the process of pulling Lati out of the water. It was not high tide yet so it took a while due to a misunderstanding of the depth of her keel. She is 1.7 metres , not 1.2. We spent the night in the boatyard on the trailer. A wee wee bucket again for the night! However the view was delightful across to the little islands with fishing shacks. Dee cooked a yummy pasta from their van and all was well with the accompaniment of everyone's preferred cold beverages. My heart was heavy and confused leaving Lati but we reassured her we would return in 6 months.

We managed to get our possessions down to a reasonable level to transport in the van in preparation for our various flights across Europe, USA back to Oz. Driving with Dee and Steve through Spain was like a spaceship whizzing through desolate dry country side, mountains with high tech windmills and solar panels. Towns were more like big cities all white and terracotta. Not much green. The rocky mountains were a bit like Australian outback areas but many more of them.

We arrived in Almerimar boatyard to admire Red Dwarf, Steve and Dees lovely ship followed by cold drinks and free tapas at the local bar. We found Red Dwarf huge after Lati. And even being in this particular boatyard wasn't too bad. Great showers available and lots of local bars within walking distance.
Then we had to spend lots of time on the internet to work out the best way to Vienna to meet up with John, Bill's brother. We decided to drive to Barcelona in a hire car and catch an Air Berlin flight that had better baggage allowance than other budget airlines. It gave us a chance to see a bit of Spain on the way.

Wow - more dry dry landscapes interspersed with large cities again with lots of white and terracotta. Many towns had a castle perched on a hill which to me seemed to lose its romance when surrounded by ugly built up modern buildings.
I navigated our way away from the autovia and ugliness to a town called Santa Polo for the night. A ritzy holiday enclave on the beach with a great 70s style hotel right on the waterfront. And only 64 euros including buffet breakfast. What a bargain!

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