It seems a long time coming, but here is the Bluebottle, serenely resting against a floating pier, secure and about to be fed fuel and water and propane and provisions. She is content after winding her way through shallow channels of the Great Sandy Straits, crossing the Wide Bay bar, night-sailing it to Moreton Island and day-sailing it to Manly boat harbour. So here we are in Brisbane, a major step in getting back to Hobart. Adrienne and I agree the last part - of our cruise across the Pacific - is the hardest. Coastal sailing is more fraught - with shallows, shipping and lee shores, rocks, fishing boats and currents. And rules and regulations. There is also a psychological factor - the difficulty of completing something, like doing your final exams, finishing that PhD thesis - the last mile.

Sydney next port.

The best part was meeting up again with Michelle, of Warrior, her daughter Mal and her friend Erin, and Kim and Pierre and Robyn, of Victoria. We had a few drinks and a lot of laughs, in the convivial cabin of our boat. I invited Pierre's niece Robyn to sail with us to Sydney - she has been crewing with Victoria from Tonga. A chef, she wants to visit the Taste of Tasmania.

UPDATE, 4:35 pm:THE RAIN HAS CONTINUED UNRELENTING, ALL DAY.