The sunset next to the Christ statue.

Today was the first day using Millie's Christmas present. The wake board!!

Our first night in Brazil from the anchorage.

After, after.

After.

Before

The weather has calmed down a lot!! yay!! I woke up late and managed to stay in bed for 11 hours. When i got up we only had 20.7nm to go!! We can see land and smell it after being at sea for 18 days and smelling salt it is pretty exciting! Dads going to shave his beard today thank god! Dads 'shaving' different patterns into his beard its so funny! Wow, we are turning into the channel to Marina da Gloria everything looks so beautiful and green even with the clouds. We have arrived at marina da Gloria and they are full so we have to go to an anchorage instead which is meant to be nice but we cant step onto land :( The anchorage is beautiful from our boat we can see the cable carts going up the mountain and the Christ statue! We all fall asleep really early and sleep well.

Today is the day to leave St Helena. Its a perfect day sunny, hot and little wind. As we are doing the final clean-up for leaving the wind comes up which is a lot
better than no wind. Just before we leave we radio all of the boats we've become friends with to say goodbye as they all are going up North. When we have untied both of or moorings we leave St Helena to sail the big Atlantic Ocean to Brazil! When we have put out all of the sails we also put out the fishing rod hoping we might catch a good fish this trip. For the rest of the day we all just sit inside watching movies,playing ipod's or DS and constantly cheeking the fishing lines. Millie and i do a shift together for the first time. Our times are from when ever mum and dad go to sleep until midnight.

Our first fish....unfortunately we didn't catch it.

Napoleon's grave.

The view from the first Mountain.

Today we went on the tour it was amazing! we saw all the places where Napoleon Bonapart lived,where he died and where he was buried. He was buried in a beautiful garden with lots of forest around it and so many flowers it was beautiful. We also saw where the alcohol was made, dad really enjoyed that especially when he got free samples . One of the mountains we went up was so high we could see the whole island. As we were driving back we saw the school we will hopefully get into and be able to go for two days.

Looking down.

Unfortunately the cannon didn't work.

After the pain.

I feel tired just looking at it.

before the pain

Today is the day we are going to climb up Jacobs Ladder!! i can tell its going to be torture after sitting and doing nothing for 10 days.. We invite Emily along too. As we reach the start of the stairs we all see how tall it is and we are all going to count the steps. We all run up until we get tired which is like 15 steps we all run again and then again until we are practically crawling up the steps so we decide to take a break. As soon as we have our energy back we are smarter and walk the stairs. We take a heap of stops when we finally reach half way i remember we weren't counting.. Mum and dad are so far down that it looks like they haven't started yet. We pass an old lady and she stops and mum and dad talk for ever with her. We reach the top exhausted but laughing so hard as we all try to run the last steps to get there first! When we are all there we try to run to the bench but our legs are so sore. Mum and dad still haven't started so we take a look around its pretty cool there's lots of old buildings and cannons. When we round the corner there is a beautiful view of all our boats. There's a man in his house next to the view and he invites us to look from the back of his house. We climb on the cannons to look its amazing. We go around to the stair side of his house and wave to mum and dad who are still talking. We walk back around and they have finally started! We are throwing rocks off the cliff when they finally get up the stairs. We show them everything.

When we are coming back we read the sign about the stairs they are each 11 inches high!!!! on our way back we remember to count and there was a total of 699 steps. When we reach the bottom Emily, Millie and my legs are shaking its hilarious we try to stop it but they don't so we try sitting down and it stops but as we get up again it starts we all laugh hard again. We then go hunting for an ice cream shop and then were going to go to the pool to cool off. when we arrive at the pool with our ice cream there are school people in there so we cant swim, so we get some lunch and then go and sit in the castle gardens. We wait for mum and dad to finish their lunch at restaurant , so we can catch the ferry home but Emily, Millie and i are board so we decide to see if we can catch the ferry back to go and swim by the boat. We can which is great. We go snorkeling and get out when mum and dad get home.

First night not in a washing machine (sea)

First sight of St helena.

Champagne sailing.

After 10 days at sea which seamed a lot longer than it actually was, we arived in St Helena! It is beautiful the water is so clear and i can see the bottom from the mooring we're on. The island only has one way on and off and everything else is just a cliff of rocks.

We arrived at V@A Water Front, Cape Town at 3.00 AM this morning. Not much wind in the end except for 25/30 kn up the rear for a couple of hours just before Cape Town. All asleep at 4.00 AM and awake again at about 10.00 AM. Nice to be here. Tomorrow we will try and check out of the country.

A late night but up early to sand the hull. All four of us worked until at 1.55 PM. We managed to apply two and a half coats of antifoul. Back in the water at 2.10 and then we put the boat back together so we could sail to Cape Town (about 60 Miles, back out of False Bay and then west a bit). We got away at about 5.30 PM. The new prop is great. At 3000 RPM we were doing 8.5 knots into 28 apparent with a medium sea on the nose. I pushed the revs up for a short while and we can achieve 3800 revs which is perfect. (The old prop was over pitched and we couldn't get over 2600 revs).

What a difference a day can make. At 2.00 PM this afternoon we booked the boat in for a slip for 4.00 PM. Game on. Up at 4.00 PM, Pressure wash and scrape. The girls did this while I changed the prop. After dark I changed all but a couple of ball valves. These are the valves that let water in and out of the hull below the water line. I didn't know how old most of them were so now they are new.

The new propeller arrived yesterday afternoon. We are all very excited. All I have to do now is dive down, pull the old prop off and put this one on. Easy hey! Well maybe not. It’s blowing hard here at Simon’s Town today, between 30 and 40 knots since the early hours of the morning. When the boat stops rolling around so much I will dive the prop and make sure the prop puller that I have fits. Off to prime and paint it now, see ya.

This is a sailmail remote post test.

Had to post this. Ella and Millie, winter uniform, Penzance school, Durban. Ella is wearing her prefect sash and Millie is just plain cheeky. Picture taken at Durban Marina, Durban, South Africa, approx September 2013.

Ok, ok, ok, ok, I know I have been really slack (busy) over the last couple of years but I will try and be more up to date from now on.

Briefly, Mum and Dad flew back to Australia and we left Seychelles shortly after.

We left on the last day of our visa and sailed to Madagascar. It was a crappy sail with a south east breeze of between 20 and 30 knots all the way to the north Mozambique Channel. The breeze clocked more south closer to Madagascar. We had a wonderful four months or so cruising down the Madagassy West Coast, then across the Mozambique Channel to a little atoll called Bassas de India. From there, west to the Bazaruto Archipelago, central Mozambique. We cruised around the archipelago for a few months and then blew the engine up.

I tried to get it fixed there but couldn't so the girls all flew back to Australia and I sailed down to Durban, South Africa with a local guy, Jurie Human. A great trip with the breeze on the nose the entire way. We caught lots of fish. It took us 11 days from Vilanculos to Durban with no power, engine or auto pilot.

The girls flew to Durban, we slipped the boat and pulled the engine out. The engine was pulled apart and Andrea and I decided that we would be better off in the long run replacing the engine with a new one. We ordered a new Yanmar engine from the local dealer and were advised that it would take about three to four months to arrive from The Netherlands.

So, we put the girls into a local school and then ripped the boat apart in preparation for the new engine. Pulling out the old stuff was quite easy. We pulled out wiring, insulation, plumbing, genset, paneling, steeling, tanks etc, etc, etc. We pulled out anything that looked a bit old and dodgy.

NOT SO EASY- putting it all back.

It took two years. BUT now we have a boat with a new engine, new genset, new batteries, new plumbing, new wiring, water maker, inverter, washing machine, new steering, new instruments, new insulation, new pretty much everything. The best thing is that now I know how most of it works.

We had a great two years in Durban. We met some wonderful people and did lots of amazing things. The girls and I often talk about how we would not change a thing. It's all part of the adventure and it was truly great to live it another country for two years, especially a country as colourful and diverse as South Africa.

With toolboxes still on the floor of the aft cabin and the sun well and truly gone we said a final teary farewell to our friends and headed off in the rain. Our plan was to sail south as far as we could before the weather changed to the south. A couple of days later we arrived at East London. We waited there for two nights while the southerly blew through. Off again and a 30 hour sail to Port Elizabeth to wait out another southerly. Not long there and on our way again, this time stopping at Simon's Town, False Bay. Simon's Town is not far from Cape Town so we are going to stay here for a few days while doing some final boat prep for the sail to St Helena - Brazil. We need to clear customs and immigration from Cape Town so I think at this stage we will sail to round to Cape Town early next week.

Well, that's the much abbreviated account of the last two and a half years.

Next post soon, I promise.

TUESDAY Our 1st mission for the day was to unhook the anchor. This could take some maneuvering as it is hooked under a rock. Ella is a treat this morning. She is still in bed. I'm hoping she will go back to sleep. Unhooking the anchor was a breeze. Off we went into the Indian ocean. We had not planned to stay at Beau Vallon but the bearing on the water pump went. We started sailing to find we had no steering in the pilot house. An exciting position to be in. Nana and Pa were very quiet. Nick and I quickly moved and Nick jumped into the rib and towed us in. We are securely under anchor. Nick pulled off the pump and started making inquiries about a new pump. Taryn (the lady who took a liking to us when we were in her marine shop, maybe it was because we spent a lot in her shop) has ordered us a new pump which will take a week. Dinner, a restaurant in Beau Vallon.

MONDAY My main concern today was to remember to ring mum and Bel for their birthdays. As we were still out of internet range I rang on the sat phone. After breakfast Nick and I went by rib to Beau Vallon to met Ralph to give him the starter motor. Nick and I had lunch in Beau Vallon while Dot and Graeme and the girls stayed on the boat. We called Ralph at 2pm and arranged a time for him to drop off the motor to us. Very un Seychelles to have something done on the same day. Nick put the motor back in and bingo, the engine was a goer. Dinner. Pasta with pesto, fetta, pumpkin and bacon.

Still at Anse Major. At this stage not in a hurry to go anywhere. After breakfast I did some domestic duties, washing, cleaning etc. We are still moored in the same beautiful place. We regularly see schools of fish jumping out of the water, stingrays and turtles. Dinner - pork, noodles, salad.

After breakfast we headed onto land again to collect some bananas and paw paws, then more snorkeling on the reef. Heaps of colourfull fish. Dinner - fish and veggie curry, rice. Lemon slice to follow.

After breakfast we headed onto land. Today I decided to try making salt water bread, so I had it proving while we went swimming. The girls and I snorkeled in and the others went by rib. We explored the beach and relaxed. Some time later other people turned up. They had taken the bush walking track to get there .They had local guides, so we had a lesson on how to open cocoanuts. We added rum to the milk and watched the locals fishing with their nets. The bread was a winner which we demolished at lunch. We fished, swam, and snorkeled some more. Late afternoon Nick, Ella , Millie and myself went onto land and walked up the hill to check out an abandoned house. It was amazing. There were bananas in trees, paw paws and golden apples through out the bush. Once back at the boat it was cocktail hour. Dinner - Spaghetti Bolgnaise.

We topped up our water, paid our bill for staying at Eden Island etc, then headed out to Anse Major a beautiful cove. The first night we had to ourselves. We had not planned to stay the night but the anchor chain got caught under a rock and there was not enough light to see how to get it unhooked. We also had a bit of a drama the engine would not start when we had just anchored. Nick jumped in the rib and set another anchor just in case. (lee shore) Anyway it was just a loose clamp on the starter motor. I had a restless night as we were rocking all night and I was anxious about being close to rocks. Dinner - pork sweet and sour stir fry.

We had different agendas today. Dot and Graeme and the girls went out for breakfast at the yacht club. Nick and I made the most of having a car and ran around stocking up on supplies for Madagascar. It was an opportunity to not have to cart all heavy stuff back to the boat. For the rest of the afternoon we got organized for going sailing. Dinner - chops, sausages, mash, salad.

Up and out again to make the most of the car hire. This time we headed in a Northern direction. Again we had local cuisine sitting on Beau Vallon beach. It was beautiful. Dinner - The Pirate Arms restaurant. As it was Tuesday night it was buffet night. It had been recommended to us to do. It was interesting to try more local cuisine. Some weird stuff - fish head curry . I couldn't bring myself to eat it. Everyone else did.

Once we were all up we hired a car for two days and started driving south around the island. Dot and Graeme experienced the local cuisine for lunch. Dinner - Seychelles Yacht Club.

We were woken up by my dad calling us. I knew that something was not right. We decided to have a slow relaxing day so that Dot and Graeme could settle in and adjust to the time difference. Nick pottered and the girls did distance ed so they can have tomorrow off. We had Christmas in the morning with all the presents. Thanks Morgan for the scales, they are by far the best thing I have in my kitchen. Nick was playing with them and was impressed they go up in 1 gram increments. At one stage we took Dot to the local shop in the housing estate to meet the pig.(He is the shop keeper and he is revolting. Hence his nickname.) She got an insight to the locals. Actually it was very tame there yesterday and the pig was almost pleasant. Usually he ignores us until we pay. I am sure we would be his best customers. Dinner - local sausages, chops, rice and tinned ratatouille.

We had a slowish morning. Millie finished off her distance ed and I started to tidy up and cook. During the night when Nick couldn't sleep he calculated when his parents should arrive. To cut a long story short we worked out they should be arriving today not Sunday, so we all got moving. I rang Emirates here and they couldn't tell me anything except there was a flight arriving today at 1pm. Mirna and Amilie arrived for lunch just in time for the gas bottle to run out. As I was cooking lasagna and damper Mirna and I went to her house to finish off the cooking. Nick went to the airport. When we arrived back we were greeted by Dot and Graeme. Lunch was great but not as good as seeing nana and pa. They had obviously been very busy running around for us. We have an amazing new printer scanner, towels, and satelite phone. That is all we have opened. I never thought over my dead body that I would ever be impressed about a scanner. Nick is excited about the sat phone. We have not had the same response from the girls about their distance ed letters. A huge thanks Bel for also running around trying to find summer cloths for us in the middle of winter. Dot and Graeme managed to stay up till 3 am Australian time. Dot was pretending she was at a ball. We went to bed after trying the internet again with no success and read. Dinner - left overs.