09 July 2011 | San Francisco, USA
06 July 2011 | Monterey, California, USA
29 June 2011 | Santa Barbara, California, USA
17 June 2011 | San Diego, California
16 June 2011 | Northern Baja, Mexico
14 June 2011 | Turtle Bay, Baja, Mexico
12 June 2011 | Past Magdalena Bay, Baja, Mexico
11 June 2011 | Cabo Los Puertos, Mexico
05 June 2011 | Cabo Del San Jose,Baja, Mexico
28 May 2011 | La Cruz Marina, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
19 May 2011 | Barra De Navidad, Mexico
13 May 2011 | Zithuatanejo, Mexico
09 May 2011 | Punta Galera, Mexico
06 May 2011 | Oaxaca city, Mexico
03 May 2011 | Huatulco, Mexico
27 April 2011 | Puerto Chiapas, Southern Mexico
23 April 2011 | Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador
21 April 2011 | Golfo De Fonseca, El Salvador,Honduras,Nicaragua
19 April 2011 | Playa Del Cocos, Northern Costa Rica
18 April 2011 | Quepos

A Modest Road Trip

02 February 2009 | Sydney-Melbourne
(I didn't mind being behind the camera for this one, even Kara was slightly squirmy, Uwe loves when someone wraps themselves around his neck).
Unlike our 2 month road trip in New Zealand, here in the vast continent of Australia we compressed the Sydney to Melbourne road trip into 2 weeks, and in keeping with the recession gloom; under much smaller means, in a rental car. We drove toward the south west toward the Australian Open Tennis venue via the inland Hume Highway, all 3 bikes packed inside; ours folded in the trunk, Kara's in the back seat with a horde of stuffed animals
(Uwe and I drove this route 11 years ago, in the opposite direction, when we lived and worked in Melbourne for a year in 1998, bought a VW campervan and drove from Melbourne to Darwin, where we had our wooden boat "Inverlochy" which we sailed up through Indonesia, Micronesia and back......a whole other blog).
We strayed for a few days toward the high country of Victoria, where we found a fabulous and cheap cabin in Mount Beauty, which reminded us of the snow capped peaks of California's Lake Tahoe, but for the fact that it was devoid of snow, only heavy UV rays glared down upon us. Many of the charming towns we passed along the way seemed abound with declarations of being the last something or another of Ned Kelly. We bypassed Melbourne city and headed for Lorne, an attractive coastal town south of Ballarat. There, we had the luxury of staying at our friend Roberts' huge huge mansion.(Keep in mind that anything beyond the space limits of a 44 foot boat is a mansion to us- still it was spacious and open, with a tub big enough for all 3 of us).
While taking a walk in "the bush" we managed to spot 2 koala bears in the distance.
Kara formed a close bond with Robert's dog"Benji", and longs for the day when she can have one-hmmm, not on Magnum though.
Revisiting Melbourne was memorable for Uwe and I as we witnessed how much the city has vibrantly changed while we aged, in 10 years. We had fun introducing Kara to some of our old haunts and the places we lived in. In fact it was a special time in another way also, since it was the first occasion where all three of us rode our bikes in unison from Elwood to Luna Park at St. Kilda. Yes, Kara has morphed into a cyclist in her own right on her 2 wheeler, compliments of Santa. It gives Uwe a somewhat lighter load since her usual seat on his bike was vacated, so we load him up with a heavy backpack instead.
While Melbourne was experiencing its hottest heat wave ever, the Tennis champs continued to play. We thought that winning 2 trophies at Tennis Camp in Sydney would qualify Kara to enter in the Australian Open, but we were just too busy and hot to bother trying. Before we knew it, it was time to leave again, this time we returned via the Southern Coastal Route to Bateman's Bay where our friends Debbie and Greg offered us their house by the beach for 5 days. Jeez, we have nice friends! I wasn't too impressed with the coastal towns en route preferring the inland towns instead, Kara didn't care as long as ice cream was in regular supply and the thought of possibly seeing a Kangaroo in the wild. The luxury of spending a few days in a spacious house with running water, non salt water flushing toilets, a large fridge that did not have to be completely evacuated each time an item had to be removed was a welcome interval. We swam daily at the beach and generally relaxed. Although we failed to see Kangaroos in the wild, we did visit an animal farm close by where there was an abundance of creatures to enjoy.
And here we are back home in Sydney already to our little home. But that's okay. The next few weeks, we'll be busy getting "stuff" done. Doctors and dentists have all been visited and left with our blood and a heap of money with no guarantee that we'll live for ever, but we'll enjoy whatever time we have. Good friends Molly and little Kendall are coming for a visit from Auckland too, very exciting! In another few weeks, we'll commence our migration up north again toward Brisbane and eventually Darwin from where we kick off for South East Asia.
Comments
Vessel Name: Magnum
Vessel Make/Model: Peterson 44
Hailing Port: San Francisco
Crew: Uwe Anne Kara
About: Anne Crowley Kara Dobers
Extra: http://www.sailblogs.com/gallery/magnum
Home Page: http://www.sailmagnum.com
Magnum's Photos - Magnum: Anne Crowley,Uwe Dobers, Kara Dobers (Main)
A much more exciting transit than the Suez canal 9 months earlier, another epic moment in the voyage as we re entered the Pacific Ocean
21 Photos
Created 28 May 2011
We spent an enjoyable 2 weeks exploring these close knit group of islands, home to the Kuna Indians. It was the first time in a while that we felt like we were cruising and not racing to get somewhere. Many cruising boats chose to make it their home by staying long periods of time. The Kuna's still live in a very traditional way, and create the most intricate sewing cloths called "molas". We hooked up with other kid boats, which pleased us all, and Kara certainly enjoyed her last taste of island life
32 Photos
Created 27 March 2011
The passage from Aruba to Colombia can be one of the roughest passages in the world, thankfully ours was not too bad, as we paid close attention to the weather. We sailed direct to the big city of Cartagena, and took the bus to the old city of Santa Marta
14 Photos
Created 27 March 2011
Late at night on December 23rd 2010, we made landfall at St.Lucia, 22 days after leaving Canary Islands, with a 2 night rest at Cape Verde in between. We were tired but happy to have made it in time for Santa's arrival. Daniel and Philippine flew in from SF and joined us for Christmas and came aboard to sail down through the Grenadines with us. We continued on to Grenada with brief stops at the Dutch Antilles islands of Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba.
21 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
First stop in the Canary Islands was Lanzarote, followed by Fuerteventura and then to the Capital of Las Palmas to await weather to Cape Verde. We had 2 short nights in Mindelo, before the Atlantic crossing to the Carribbean
9 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
At tip south end of mainland Spain lies the British territory of Gibraltar. It marked the end of the Meditteranean, and entrance to the Atlantic Ocean
9 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
Our first stop in Spain was at the Balearic Island of Menorca. From there we continued rapidly through Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera, before arriving at mainland Spain. We left Magnum in Alicante and took the plane to visit beautiful Barcelona. Halloween was spent in Cartegena befor continuing on to Gibraltar.
16 Photos
Created 15 January 2011
Stops at both Sicily and Sardinia were brief, but enjoyable nonetheless. The island of Favignana, off Sicily was just beautiful as were the quiet anchorages in southern Sardinia, especially with the end of high season
8 Photos
Created 22 October 2010
A quick detour to Malta to pick up our mainsail made us glad to see the old city of Valetta
12 Photos
Created 22 October 2010
We meandered slowly through the Dodecanese, Cyclades and Peleponnese islands, together with Kleiner Bar. Despite the high winds in some places and the high temperatures, it was a truly enjoyable few weeks
30 Photos
Created 22 October 2010
Reaching Turkey was greeted by all with relief, and a feeling of returning to civilisation. Delicious food, warm waters, wonderful anchorages and many things ancient
12 Photos
Created 23 August 2010
After arriving in Turkey in late May, we took a break from the boat to visit our families and enjoy the comforts of land for a month
15 Photos
Created 23 August 2010
From the endless desert to the ancient temples of Luxor,endless baksheesh in the suez canal; A box of contrasts.
25 Photos
Created 25 May 2010
After crossing the Gulf Aden, Eritrea was our first introduction to the east coast of Africa. From the Italian colonial feel of Eritrea's Port Massawa to the remoteness of Sudan, both countries were certainly unique. In Sudan, taking pictures was sometimes difficult as most Sudanese expressed great reluctance toward it, so we eventually put the camera away.
34 Photos
Created 21 May 2010
After Maldives, it was a 12 day sail into Oman, in completely new surroundings. After managing to go through the pirated Gulf of Aden, we arrived in Aden, Yemen, another new experience
34 Photos
Created 11 April 2010
From Sri Lanka we sailed to the Northern Most Atoll of the Maldives Islands called Uligan. We swam and relaxed for 7 days in this slice of paradise, clear water and tons of fish
24 Photos
Created 13 March 2010
From Galle Harbor, we took a 5 day trip inland via train, and bumpy buses with our companions on Kleiner Bar
27 Photos
Created 11 March 2010
From Phuket Thailand, we began our progression west, our first stop being the beautiful and remote Andaman Islands, a welcome break from the chaotic and busy Phuket
28 Photos
Created 25 February 2010
From Langkawi Malaysia, it was a brief trip up to the first island in Thailand,south of Phuket. We spent Christmas on the west side of Phuket, at Nai Han Bay with my sister and family. Travel in Thailand was limited,as the passage to the Indian Ocean beckoned by January.
50 Photos
Created 9 January 2010
From Indonesia, we motored our way through the maze of the busy shipping lane of the Malacca Strait, and into glitzy Singapore for a brief stop. We then continued along the Malacca strait on the west side of Malaysia stopping at Pangkor, Georgetown (Penang) and finally on to the last Malaysian island of Langkawi.
33 Photos
Created 8 January 2010
From Ashmore Reef, we sailed north toward Central Indonesia to Rinca and then sailed the southern route to Lombok and Bali. From there we sailed north in the Java Sea to the last exit port of Indonesia to the Island of Batam
74 Photos
Created 19 October 2009
Our first stop at an Ocean reef, Ashmore reef, still part of Australia, although closer to Indonesia, did not dissappoint. We spent about 5 great days here.
9 Photos
Created 8 September 2009
Our last passage in Australia brought up along the reefs of Eastern Austrlalia, around the rugged top end of Cape York to our last port of call in Australia:Darwin
11 Photos
Created 27 July 2009
As we left New South Wales, we moved slowly up the Coast towards Queensland, haven of wonderful weather and sandy beaches
49 Photos
Created 22 June 2009
Pictures from our first port of entry at Coffs Harbour. We then made our way down the coast to Sydney where we spent Christmas and New Year. We took a road trip to Melbourne for 2 weeks in January. Then toward the end of Febuary we sadly left Sydney and progressed back north.
67 Photos
Created 27 February 2009
From the Loyalty Islands of Lifou, Mare, then the Capital of Noumea and the Idyllic Isle De Pins Further South
42 Photos
Created 10 December 2008
Vanuatu's Capital Port Vila where Kara celebrated her 6th Birthday, and Islands of Malekula and Espirito Santo
27 Photos
Created 22 October 2008
Our First Destination in Vanuatu was Tanna, home of the Mt Yasur Volcano
41 Photos
Created 10 September 2008
A few pictures from Viti Levu on Fiji's Western Side
38 Photos
Created 20 August 2008
We left the boat in Tauranga and drove to Wellington, where we took the ferry to the South Island. We completed the circle of the South Island by going down the West Coast and back up the East Coast
89 Photos
Created 31 March 2008
Our first trip in the North Island brought us From Tauranga to Roturua, Hamilton,Waitomo Caves,Galatea, Taupo,Whakatane
37 Photos
Created 23 January 2008
50 Photos
Created 12 October 2007
32 Photos
Created 5 October 2007
30 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 22 June 2007
36 Photos
Created 22 June 2007
16 Photos
Created 12 April 2007
31 Photos
Created 6 February 2007
55 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
6 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
5 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
5 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
6 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
1 Photo
Created 20 January 2007
19 Photos
Created 20 January 2007
5 Photos
Created 1 December 2006