A very lovely catch up with Women Who Sail Australia friends Justine Porter, Diane Lippiatt and their hubbies Glen and Cal. I first connected with Justine a few years ago when she was about to sail their newly built catamaran Shima, a Mumby Cyber 48, from the Philippines. We chatted on line for a long time as she and Glen continued their trip from Gove in the Northern Territory after weathering 2 cyclones on the hard stand. We finally met in person last year at the annual WWSA Gathering in Post Stephens sharing a unit with a bunch of women for the weekend. Such a great time! So now Shima sits comfortably on a pontoon in the town of Maclean on the Clarence River. It was the first time I had been on board. Such a spacious beautiful boat. The other couple known to me on line are the founders of Sailing Australia, Cal and Dianne Lippiatt who were on board when I arrived. I travelled the quick way by car from Iluka! A very pleasant afternoon indeed swapping yarns.

Bill has been building this Argie 15 sailing dinghy for a while now and it’s almost complete. Everything is new apart from the mast. He painted it red as he happened to have some red paint, not new either. A tentative name is Clarety. Before launching either in the Clarence river or Mooloolaba, she needs to have a registered trailer. In this photo 11 year old grandson Joe is admiring his Pa’s handy work. She was built mostly on the Sunshine Coast before we moved 3 years ago to our off the grid home in the bush. Hence the sea of green! Another little ship for Captain Underpants’ fleet.

Happy New Year Everyone! This came up in my Facebook page today and I was compelled to share. I sent the image and text via our satellite phone on our arrival at Lord Howe Island exactly 2 years ago after 5 days at sea:
ARRIVED LORD HOWE ISLAND 2nd January 2017 5am. Valiam was uncharacteristically slowed down yesterday and last night to a small triangle of sail so we didn't arrive in the night. We called the Port Operations Manager at 5.15am and he gave us permission to anchor outside the island lagoon. It's not high tide until 11.30am and as we draw 2.1 m we need enough water to get in. So we are stopped rolly rolly and making coffee. Not beer o'clock yet captain! Mutton birds are flying around the boat and the island looks rather majestic and a little foreboding with the cloud hovering over Mt Gower. One mutton bird decided to sit on the lifeline precariously balancing as the boat rolls from one side to the other.Looking forward to getting in there on to our designated mooring. We will be shown in by the POM. Because our depth sounder is broken, we bought a cheap fishing boat one that needs the stick with the sounder Bill cable tied to it poked over the side. It worked. It really is beautiful here and we can only count 3 boats inside. Must be because of the strong winds on the coast near Sydney preventing sailors getting here as it did with our friends Kim and Steve from Port Macquarie. We will miss them as we had planned this trip together for several months. The angle from Mooloolaba in a mostly 15 knot northeasterly was good for us. It did get up to 20 knots or more at times and when we were in the current we raced along. The waves coming from the east made Mona the course master autopilot work hard to keep us on course. So Mona our 3rd crew member complained beeping loudly frequently always in the middle of the night. Reducing sail kept her happy and ensured a daylight arrival. I'm glad I brought my art materials as I'm feeling inspired despite the aching tiredness.

I have been a member of WWSA since it’s inception in 2012 I think. It was around the time we were sailing Lati across the North Atlantic to The Med. Founder and friend Shelley Wright messaged me telling me about the new group being formed for Australia as we were both in the Internation group Women Who Sail. As a friendship and networking tool both groups have been incredibly supportive as I met Sailing women in many harbours around the world and in Australia after chatting on line. WWSA now has around 3,300 members and Women Who Sail almost 15,900 members.

Yesterday’s get together included a couple of women I met before but most were women I hadn’t. Partners came along too. I could have listened to the fascinating stories for hours. Lynette who has ridden a motorbike around the world and is now aiming to do the same in a yacht with her partner. Kate who had just come back from the Med and had experience that dreadful ‘cyclone’ in Greece, Jenny Marie who talked of her early experiences sailing to Turkey on a yacht with people she didn’t know who sailed drunk through a storm and delivered contraband secretly before officially arriving and many other stories including Bass Strait and the Tassie weather. The time just flew. So grateful for these special connections. So if you are a woman on a boat, dreaming of being on a boat or have sailed or interested in boats, join Women Who Sail Australia Facebook group. You will need your own personal page though, not linked to a male partner. WWSA is a closed group for women only.Link to Women Who Sail Australia