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Sweet Dream - Day 223 August 26, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 223 August 26, 2019
26/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 223 August 26, 2019

We flew through another champagne sailing day. Perfect weather, perfect wind, beautiful water, pretty sky. I finished reading the biography of Mary Shelley and Captain stared reading the journal of William Daimler’s circumnavigations. We spent the afternoon researching the Darwin palaver; bio security inspection, through hull treatment, only space for two boats at a time on the treatment dock, and you can’t move the boat for ten hours after treatment!, 7 meter spring tide (it is new moon when we plan to arrive), the drying anchorage, the narrow long creek to ascend at high tide to the second marina where we will be berthed, five miles away from the check in point, with a lock only accessible at the top of the tide. All this taking place in serious crocodile country. Oy vey! What a. read more...


26/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 222 August 25: 2019

We started out across the top of the gulf of Carpenteria. Somehow, we really caught the tides correctly, because we fairly flew along. Wing on wing with a reef in each sail, we were surfing at ten plus knots in 18 knots of wind! It was a most excellent sailing day. Captain finished Stephen King’s “The Dome” , andI continued working my way through a biography of Mary Shelley, the author of “Frankenstein”. Our auto pilot behaved, the waves were with us, the sun shone brightly amidst happy gambolling “Lamb” clouds, and to make the day even more special, after lunch, a smallpod of dolphins showed up and entertained us for over an hour with their bow wake running antics. We took turns sitting on our purpose built ‘dolphin watching’ seat on the bow. In all our years of sailing, we have never. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 222 August 25: 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 222 August 25: 2019
24/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 221 August 24, 2019

Morning brought a glorious pink , glowing, sunrise. Captain made coffee, the sky was blue, the ships momentarily went away, the channel grew wider, things looked brighter. We settled on a plan to keep going over the top of Cape York, across the Gulf of Carpentaria, and to maybe take a break in one of the bays nearer to Darwin on the mainland depending on how fast we moved .Settling on a course of action brought a measure of contentment to the crew. This day was much less stressful than the preceding two. We still had to effect some sail changes, but the wind topped out at only 22 knots, the channels continued to widen, and reaching the northernmost part of the Australian mainland and leaving the Pacific behind was a couple of huge milestones in our sailing life. The scenery continued to. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 221 August 24, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 221 August 24, 2019
27/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 220 August 23, 2019

Suffice it to say that this twisted, tortuous, waterway was not meant to be traversed in a sailing yacht. We are attempting to move up the coast of North eastern Australia inside the barrier reef. To do this with a modicum of safety and in an effort to keep the keel intact, we are following the shipping channel. On stretches where the wind is at a usable angle and the reef is high enough to reduce the fetch of the waves and swell, it is quite pleasant travelling. The scenery to leeward is really nice; range after range of undulating softly rounded mountains, pretty little islands, and mostly blue sky and green water. To windward, the reefs occasionally rear their heads enough to provide a dramatic edge for the surf to break against. The uncomfortable part is that the channel is not in. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 220 August 23, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 220 August 23, 2019
23/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 219 August 22, 2019

Morning did not bring any lessening of wind intensity. We were disappointed because our main objective in being here at Lizard Island was to hike up to the lookout where Captain Cook found his path out through the reefs. After our wild ride to and from Danica the night before, I just could not face going all the way in to the beach in that rolling surf. Captain, being the intrepid Viking that he is, wasn’t daunted in the least, so he kayaked ashore and did the hike. He revelled in following in Captain Cook’s foot steps, and seeing the view Cook had seen. I was sad to miss that, but really accomplished a lot of housekeeping that needed doing. Lars came back for lunch, and at 14:00 we decided we’d had quite enough of the near gale wind on the hook...May as well be using that blow to make. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 219 August 22, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 219 August 22, 2019
23/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 218 August 21, 2019

We sailed into a snarling squall as we came around the point of Lizard Island. We were about 30 minutes behind Danica by then, and we heard Glen on the radio remarking that it was a windy anchorage. Drat! Just at that moment a 34 knot gust hit us broadside, and even with only the triple reefed Genoa up, we heeled over smartly. It was not reassuring to hear it was still windy in the anchorage. We furled the sail and started the engine and nosed into Watson’s bay. Here we were met with several WARC boats, a few power boats, a giant tour barge, and 26 knots of wind. Oy vey! There was plenty of room in 6 meters of water, and the only thing the pilot book was right about was that the sandy bottom provided good holding. (The book had proclaimed this to be the BEST tradewind anchorage in the. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 218 August 21, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 218 August 21, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 217 August 20, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 217 August 20, 2019
23/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 217 August 20, 2019

Dawn came, illuminating the fog shrouded mountain ranges as far as we could see on the mainland to the west. The Great Barrier Reef to the east was mostly underwater and invisible to the eye, even after the sun was high in the sky. I marvelled at the early mariners traversing these waters ...Cook; making the chart with only compass, sextant and leadline, and man watching from the crow’s nest for tools, Slocum; barrelling merrily along this same passage in his Spray with at least Cook’s chart, a sextant, chronometer, leadline, and compass. At this moment, as I’m writing these words, we are passing two miles away from Endeavour Reef that Cook”discovered” with the keel of the ship of that same name, and truly, my breath is bated with awe to be following in these, and other great mariners’. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 216 August 19, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 216 August 19, 2019
23/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 216 August 19, 2019

After a quick perusal of the contents of the refrigerator, we decided on a last trip in to town. Counting the days before we would see another store versus the supplies, we were coming up short in the yogurt and cheese department, but not short on snack treat, thanks to Maree! It was a very pleasant morning for a paddle. The water was smooth, the air was warm, the sun shone down, and there wasn’t a breath of wind. We pulled our kayaks up on the beach and had a chat with today’s life guard. Yesterday, when Maree was with us, Lars had inquired from the guy on watch, if it were safe to swim off our boat out in the bay here. The lifeguard said,”no, because there are big tiger sharks here in the sheltered waters of the bay. Because it is so murky, it’s not a good idea to swim out there, if. read more...


29/08/2019

Charm - Australia 3 - Bitter rage

I’ve chosen photos that are very cheery to counteract the written content.While in Mackay, I spent two days cataloguing receipts for the insurance company.If any of you have ever been unfortunate enough to be robbed (as we were from out of our rental car at the outset of this trip), you know that the misfortune of having your belongings taken from you pales in comparison to the unpleasantness of filing an insurance claim.After gathering proof that I owned the items I claimed had been stolen from me, I now have to provide proof that I have replaced those items with identical or similar items. Our insurance company has a delightful thing called “recoverable depreciation.”This means that the insurance company trusts you, but only as far as they can throw you and your alleged stolen. read more...


Charm - Australia 3 - Bitter rage
Charm - Australia 3 - Bitter rage
Charm - Australia 3 - Bitter rage
Charm - Australia 3 - Bitter rage
Charm - Australia 3 - Bitter rage
Charm - Australia 3 - Bitter rage
28/08/2019

Next Step - Update Baiona to Cascais

We continue our trip from the UK down to Las Palmas. Baiona our last stopover in Spain is said to be the first European harbour to hear that Columbus had discovered America (RCC Pilotage). We have had a great time in Baiona but it is now necessary to move further down the coast and in to Portugal. We left the marina on 23rd August hoping to be back some day…Our next brief stopover was at Viana Do Castelo, Portugal a small town with a marina on the north bank of the river. As we got in at a reasonable hour we took the opportunity to go into the town and have a look around, have a beer in one of the squares as well as buying some food for an evening meal made by Nicole on board Next Step before turning in for the night.24th August, we left Viana Do Castelo and sailed to Porto, Portugal's. read more...


28/08/2019

Charm - Australia 2

While in Mackay, we stayed in an apartment and wrapped up school for the year so we could have summer break while in Australia for winter.The kids took the standardized tests that I had ordered and Steve brought over.Our school district is consistently ranked as one of the top districts in the state so I was not surprised when I got a letter saying that home schooled kids in odd numbered years have to give some sort of proof that they are, well, learning.After e-mailing back and forth, I learned that Cobin and Marin could take a standardized test or be evaluated by a current teacher. My contact at the district told me that if they took the standardized test, they had to score above the 13th percentile to continue with home schooling.Wait, 13%?What’s the point?I understand they want to. read more...


Charm - Australia 2
Charm - Australia 2
Charm - Australia 2
Charm - Australia 2
Charm - Australia 2
Charm - Australia 2
27/08/2019

Charm - Australia 1

We are in Australia!For some reason, this feels like an accomplishment.I keep telling the kids, “Now you can say you’ve sailed to Australia!”They are underwhelmed.I think they figure they can tell people they’ve sailed to any of the places we have been . . . and they’re right.I think it’s because I’ve read Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day so many times.Australia has this exotic connotation for me, when, in reality, it is probably the place most like home that we’ve visited. After ten days in Mackay, soaking up civilization and the first “real” internet we’ve experienced, we left to make the long trip up the east coast to Darwin.We are traveling inside the Great Barrier Reef for most of our journey which means we have some protection from the open ocean and. read more...


Charm - Australia 1
Charm - Australia 1
Charm - Australia 1
Charm - Australia 1
Charm - Australia 1
Charm - Australia 1
21/08/2019

Selkie - Sweden for Selkie

Left to Right: Tristan, Nick, Rory, Lily, Mara, and me behind the camera. Here we hike and forage for berries ashore. -- Maggie Magdalena Hirt   "Writing is a process, a journey into memory and the soul."                           -Isabel Allende IMG_5242.. read more...


Selkie - Sweden for Selkie
Selkie - Sweden for Selkie
21/08/2019

Selkie - Sweden for Selkie

   Sweden was like Candy Land for us. In Stockholm, the Vasa and the Junibacken, which is a kid’s museum based on Swedish children’s books, kept us enthralled all day long. Though Nick had to stay behind and fiddle with the engine, the kids probably had the most fun day of the entire Baltic. Nick and I let loose later in the night, when we rented scooters and zoomed all around the city, which landed us at a delicious steakhouse.     In the Swedish Archipelago, we had to motor against the wind and waves a lot dodging and weaving between rocks in the fairway, but we found so many nice anchorages and marinas. We explored the forests foraging berries and meeting mythical white cows, we fed the ducks and explored peninsulas of the mainland by biking and hiking, and we. read more...


18/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 215 August 18, 2019

A lovely calm night for sleeping in Horseshoe bay gave way to a beautiful morning. Because we have such great WiFi here using the iPhone as a hot spot, I was posting on Facebook and received a message from a friend we hade made in while overwintering in Ipswich 18 months ago. What a fantastic gift from the universe! Maree from Red Roo was in Townsville working for a couple of months, and recharging her Schengenprivilege! What a fun reunion. I kayaked ashore, picked up a bus to the other side of the island where the ferry comes in from the mainland, and met her there. We had a lovely time catching up, came back to Horseshoe bay on the bus together, met Lars in the beach, and before she left, she gave us a goodie bag full of Australian yummies! One of the chief joys of our life is the. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 215 August 18, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 215 August 18, 2019
18/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 214 August 17, 2019

The approach to Magnetic Island was fascinating. There are beautiful bays all around it, and a wonderful giant cairn of rocks piled up beside it.It is called Orchard rocks. There was a lot of small boat traffic; local tour boats, a rescue boat zoomed past us doing 22 knots, and many sailboats. We rounded the north east point and came into Horseshoe bay. Such a pretty place. Lots of room for boats to anchor behind the local boats on moorings. After a “second breakfast”, and being sure the anchor was holding, we kayaked to the lovely beach. We walked across the boardwalk, found a convenience store with a friendly chap that directed us to the Koala Park. It was a pleasant walk to get there. Huge trees full of noisy cockatoos and melodic magpies graced both sides of the road, a sign. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 214 August 17, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 214 August 17, 2019
16/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 213 August 16, 2019

It was a lovely morning on the hook at Airlie beach after a wonderful quiet night. We put everything away, tied everything down, raised the anchor out of the thick grey clay and sailed out across the bay in 18 knots of wind. At 14:30, we had to turn almost directly downwind, so Captain put the pole up for the Genoa, and we flew along wing on wing for three hours until the wind headed north. Then we put the main and Hoyt away and managed to sail for 12 hours overnight with just the Genoa up. It was a nice sail. This part of the world is so interesting to sail through, so many little pretty islands, good wind, great weather, and perfect temperature!image1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 213 August 16, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 213 August 16, 2019
15/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 212 August 15, 2019

We had turned in early, and slept through a most blissfully calm night at Nara inlet, so Captain decided as we were both up early, to head for Airlie beach. The motor through the passage was smooth, but as soon as we were out in the open, a big squall hit us broadside from the port side. Woohoo! This produced great winds, (and a perfect full rainbow!), so, under a single reefed main and full Genoa we had a rollicking wild ride to Airlie harbour. Here we encountered over two hundred boats participating in the last day of the Whitsunday races. Dragonflies zipping along at impossible speeds, monohulls with huge spinnakers flying in the 25 knot wind, carbon fibre fancies dancing across the swell. It was an exhilarating sight! We managed to set the hook in 18 knots of wind on the first try,. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 212 August 15, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 212 August 15, 2019
15/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 211 August 14, 2019

Today we sailed from Whitehaven beach up through Hook passage, past myriad numbers of boats of all types, and into Nara inlet on Hook island. Here we found a nice spot towards the east side almost at the end of the bay. Tumi came in and anchored on the west side. We ate lunch, then kayaked over to see if Paul and Debra wanted to visit the cave paintings with us, but as it was all quiet at their boat, and neither of our crews had slept much the night before at Whitehaven, due to the incessant rolling surf, we figured they might be sleeping, and went on without them. We paddled over to the little beach where a flight of stone steps leads up to a wonderful walkway, complete with informational signage. It is really well presented, and the mini-cultural experience was quite lovely to enjoy to. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 211 August 14, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 211 August 14, 2019
15/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 210 August 13, 2019

In the morning we paddled to the magnificent beach, climbed to the lookout, marvelled at the stunning views, saw two big goana lizards, climbed back down, and played another round of beach paddle ball in the pristine, squeaky, soft sand. We kayaked back to the big boat, accomplished a few chores, had a delicious lunch and took a short nap. In the afternoon we had a terrible fiasco of a dinghy trip to the north end of the beach. The wind was howling again, and the surf was big enough to ride in...not good conditions for a rib. Captain dropped me back at the boat, and continued over to a snorkel spot, I couldn’t get the generator to start to make hot water, so gritted my teeth and took a cold shower to wash all the gallons of salt water off from the terrible wet dinghy ride. Lars came back. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 210 August 13, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 210 August 13, 2019
13/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 209 August 12, 2019

Another champagne sailing day. We lifted the hook in Roylen bay at 08:30, sailed wing on wing to Solway passage, where we put away the main and Genoa, turned on the engine and came through and around to Whitehaven beach. What a stunning vista greeted us. The best part was reconnecting with Paul and Debra on Tumi. We anchored just aft of them in the wide, shallow, sandy bay.After being sure of our set, Captain buzzed around in the dinghy while I oiled the snaps and zippers of our cockpit closure. Then we kayaked ashore, had a fast round of beach paddle ball, walked in the squeaky sand, then paddled back to the boat via Tumi. The wind, which had been howling a steady 20 knots, laid down at sundown, and we had a lovely, calm evening on our Sweet Dream. image1.. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 209 August 12, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 209 August 12, 2019
13/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 208 August 11, 2019

The most perfect cruising day ever! We let go the lines in Mackay marina at 09:30, with Cole and Marge sending us off with waves and good wishes. We sailed with just the Genoa in 15-18 knots of wind almost to our destination at Goldsmith island. Talk about champagne sailing! It was the most delightful journey we’ve had in months! Captain sat on the bow and spotted some dolphins. We anchored in 18 feet of water on a good sand bottom. As we were backing down on the hook, a huge turtle appeared just above where we’d dropped. It took a breath, tucked it’s head down, surfaced, took another breath and looked directly at me as if to say, “yep, it looks good, now I’ll dive on it to be sure”, and went down. We sighted it several more times after that while we waited our hour to be sure of the. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 208 August 11, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 208 August 11, 2019
11/08/2019

Sweet Dream - Day 207 August 10, 2019

Our last day in Mackay. I went to the Mackay organic farmer’s market with Marge from Aussie Spirit, the boat next to us on c dock. Such beautiful fruit and veggies. One of the most wonderful joys of our lifestyle is meeting new, interesting people. When we arrived back at the marina, Lars suggested that I go purchase some pies from the coffee shop to stock up the fridge. Yum yum! I have an agenda to eat pie every day while we are in Australia. So far, I’ve met that goal! Captain cleaned the outside of the boat and I caught the laundry up. In the evening we had Cole and Marge over for happy hour. They shared lots of great local knowledge with us on anchorages, tides and currents. Jopie and Chris, from Sky came over as well, and we had a nice evening. After our guests had left, we had a. read more...


Sweet Dream - Day 207 August 10, 2019
Sweet Dream - Day 207 August 10, 2019