November 2016 I was jogging north, while enjoying the waves lapping at the edges of Brisbane’s Moreton Bay, when my music was interrupted by a phone call from a Swedish sailing friend. He needed help. Thankfully, sailors’ favors usually involve low level advice, not organ transplants. He needed crew for the six hundred nautical mile trip from Brisbane to Sydney. I was just about to do that same passage on Two Fish. We both had thought our yacht shippers were leaving from Brisbane, only to have the departure city changed […]
Eastern Shores
Despite my reluctance to sail to the Great Barrier Reef, I couldn’t imagine a stay in Australia without a visit to the reef. I booked a room at Lizard Island, the farthest North spot. We were greeted by a friendly lizard, although our co-guests didn’t seem as enthralled with it as we were. Anything that eats bugs is okay by me. We looked at the sailboats bobbing at anchor from the comfort of our room. The only other ship that passes by is the bi-weekly supply ship, bringing food and […]
The Wild West
October 2016 Despite being told that Perth is a modern city, I still think of it as a frontier town and was eager to visit. Most of Western Australia is red dirt; 2.6 million people live there, and three-quarters of them live in Perth. If you like a good story, watch the movie Red Dog and you will feel the iron-stained dust in your hair. The region had enjoyed boom times when commodity prices were surging but now the downtown sky tells a story of corporate belt tightening. Rio Tinto […]
Northern Exposure
September 2016 We timed our visit to Darwin so as to join our rally friends Magda and Tim (s/v Belafonte) and explore Kakadu National Park. Darwin caught us by surprise. It was purpose-built for rough men that mine the earth. Our first hotel was a gray building that felt like a scene from Cops Darwin. After we left the Cops Hotel, there was a knifing down the street. On our return to Darwin, I booked a larger room at adifferent hotel and we ended up with a two story 1970’s style […]
Australia Exploration Begins
August, 2016 Our sailing energy tanks were close to zero when we reached the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. We were looking forward to an extended stay and a chance to get better acquainted with Australia. Big questions such as “Does everything in Australia want to kill you?” loomed large in our minds. and we agreed that being tied to a dock for an extended period of time was in order. We had heard about the sharks, crocodiles, and boxing kangaroos, but until this trip we were unaware of swooping magpies, […]
Australia Bound
Although New Caledonia has many bays we could have explored, we saw a weather window for sailing to Brisbane so we decided to take it. Onward to Brisbane! Did I mention it was getting colder? The sea temperature continued to decrease as we headed South. Fleece blankets were retrieved from their hiding spots and hats were de rigueur for night watches. We entered the harbour (respecting the Commonwealth spelling) at night, with Darren at the helm. Major channels in Australia have blue leading lights; when the leads are in line, […]
Pine Trees in the Pacific?
After a bumpy, into the wind and waves, start to the trip, the crew and Two Fish quickly settled into old habits. We were headed to New Caledonia, a French territory on the edge of the Coral Sea. Once again, we were going to visit a country that I hadn’t heard of until our Pacific planning. I introduced the crew to the joy of the portable Starbucks Mocha Latte. “So, that is what took up all the room in my luggage,” Salwa said. However, they quickly joined my camp and […]
Vanuatu – The Reunion Tour
We were unaware of the Fijian tradition to sing good wishes and safe travels to departing yachts and were pleasantly surprised by the serenaders at Vuda Point Marina. It was a heartwarming moment. We then anchored near Fiji’s reef exit for ships, setting ourselves up for a classic Jason departure. As soon as the faintest glimmer of light appeared in the sky, we scurried on deck to ready Two Fish and weigh anchor. By the time we reached the channel, the sun was fully up and we were ready for […]
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