I am going to start this Christmas newsletter the same as last years’.
To all our family and friends, near and far, we hope this finds you well and you had a fantastic Christmas.

Our was very busy, with 14 of us on Christmas Eve but unlike last year’s, I didn’t host Christmas Day dinner letting a friend entertain and cater for 21 of us instead. So we’re feeling happy and blessed to be surrounded by loved ones, though tired after what has been a roller coaster year for us.

It started well, with a skiing trip to Canada with the kids, where we met up with cruising friends from Mexico and the Pacific. It never ceases to amaze me, how small the world is: we ran into the Bacon family shortly after landing in Puerto Aventuras and spent 8 incredibly fun months bonding over margaritas and tacos on the beach. Likewise, we met the Alexander family a.k.a Tribe crew in Tonga during our respective Pacific crossing and hit it off so well that we sailed along for a while thru Fiji until we parted ways, us towards Sydney and them to California.
We all hoped to meet again one day, though none of us expected it would be on the frozen slopes of Whistler! Friendships were resumed as promptly as they were halted years ago, the skiing was great and it was a wonderful start to the year…

We continued with the travelling theme in July, with a holiday in Singapore to celebrate our 30 year meeting anniversary. We took Marc and Anne to show them around, as well as discovering whatever changes had occurred over the years. Lots. Still, we managed to find some of our old friends there and reminisce over life as we knew it!

Both kids resumed their schooling this year: Anne excelling in year 8, she found a competitive streak in her we didn’t realise she had and blitzed thru all her subjects. Marc started a Bachelor in Business degree at the University of Wollongong, and deferred after 6 months, realising it was not necessary for him. He is re-enrolling for next year, after spending a few months trying new things ( like music producing, part-time bar tending, travelling with mates,…) Time will tell!

In the meantime, the fishing charter business has been doing well, with Terry, Mal and partner Michael putting in many hours into it. I have lost count of the early morning starts and 20 hour days the boys put in, especially during the summer months! Still, Terry always on the look out for a challenge, found himself “bored” and decided to acquire a plane to fly around in his ( our ) free time. It is a very attractive Piper Navajo, bought second hand which can accomodate 8 passengers, except that we’ve only been flying the two of us so far. Terry was lucky enough to resurrect his old Australian and American flying licences and has been spending ages upgrading these Visual Flight Rules licenses to a full Instrument Flight Rules license. These practice flights down the coast have been the opportunity to improve on my aerial photography skills. A long way to go still!!
For those of you on Instagram and Facebook, you can follow our travels, short trips thought they are.

So all was well and plans were made for further travelling by plane, until October when Terry came down with some health issues, namely Pulmonary embolism which required emergency hospitalisation and a few weeks of rest and relaxation. 2 months down the track, he is feeling 100% better, but still under doctors supervision and taking it as easy as he can. He is back skippering the charter boat, but the plane has been sitting in the hangar for nearly 3 months, as we are waiting for medical clearance to fly again.
Anyone who knows Terry will understand how frustrating this is for him, as he has always been a fit person, though I am pleased to say that he is a very reasonable and compliant patient. It could be the realisation that his body is not recovering as fast as it used to or simply the effect of my rousing on him to slow down! Who knows….

As I write this, we are preparing to sail the boat to the harbour for NYE fireworks. I can’t think of anything more fitting to end the year and sincerely hope it will be the sign of a better year, at least a more relaxing one. For the first time ever, we approach the new Year with no plans whatsoever, bar the odd medical appointment in January. This means we will either be home in Sydney and ready to welcome any visitors OR taking off on a whim around Australia whenever the mood strikes… Whatever happens , stay tuned.

We wish you all a very Happy New Year, may 2018 bring you much Joy, Happiness and Health in your life.

The Steens