I never knew when we started sailing, how many new friends we would make as we travelled.
Now Peter and I are both quite sociable people, so I suppose it shouldn't have surprised me that much. But what fun we have been having! At Albany we had several people we were sorry to say goodbye to, and then again in Esperance we met lovely people who understood why we had decided to leave our home and life and head off to sea. And now it has happened again! I think I understand that old thing they used to say about sailors - that they had a girlfriend in every port!!! We feel a bit like that - that when we make it back around to these places, we will have a lot of catching up to do!
Seriously though, it is a special thing to arrive in a place and straight away find people who share some of the motivation that drove us to sell the house and cars and embark on this adventure.
So we leave Port Lincoln in the morning, ready for the next stage of our journey.
It's not like before. This time it's not about a major crossing. No more Bight - no more seven day sail. We will sail mostly by day for this part of the journey, dropping anchor at night and gradually hop towards Bateman's Bay and our family. Christmas and catch ups.
The auto pilot, Helmy, has been replaced - now we have Son of Helmy, and a myriad of other small fixes have been completed. We are ready to go and the weather is on our side ready to assist us.
So we sail in the morning towards Robe, via Wedge Island, Althorpe Island, Kangaroo Island and Victor Harbour. We will say goodbye then to South Australia and head into Victorian waters. It's amazing to be getting closer to those we have missed.