YES, YES, ... WE FINALLY NAILED IT

YES CAN YOU BELIEVE IT..... The fear of the next cold front finally convinced us we needed to leave whateverelse needed to be done to be left undone. So on Friday morning, without fanfare we took off. Flags flying and both yachts heading for downtown JACKSONVILLE. For those of you who have never seen the underside of Main Street Bridge, here's your chance. (Do that double-click thing on the pics).





Past all the dock facilities and the " Container Terminals " where huge expansions are taking place in readiness for a fabulous economic recovery of more imports (?) unless the acres and acres of cars and trucks we saw, are there to be "exported". The Intra-coastal Waterway channel (ICW) is lined with red and green markers all the way to St. Augustine and beyond to Key West. To be leaving Jacksonville really is an end of an era for both of us and now we have the company of SVEA and her crew to share this first part of the journey with. For them it is baptism of another kind.



Bridges really are spectacular and I'm sure that train drivers must get the same "kick" when the whole moving world suddenly comes to a stop to let us humble people pass. In the case of the "Queen" of course, she deserves no less.



For the "Queen of Florida" it is a tearful and emotional farewell to many friends and colleagues, spanning more than thirty years, some of whom waved from windows on the fourth floor of the School Board Building and others who came out on the dock to shout and wave. Blessings should be heaped on all of them. May they too have a chance to fulfil a dream and share in ours.



Tonight we are anchored in St. Augustine, FLORIDA, America's oldest city and another cold front is on the way and so are we.

TWO DAYS TO GO (WE THINK)

After 30 hours of flying and airports, my Niece Corina Taaffe arrived in Jacksonville to become co-owner of the Yacht " SVEA". From a car owner to a boat owner overnight. From a balmy 100 degrees farenheit to a miserable 28 degrees farenheit (-2 degrees C) overnight. No similarity intended whatsoever. She immediately went to work re-organising and helping Joel put everything away while recording the placement of each item with impecable precision. Two nights later we were invited for a formal dinner in grand style. Compliments to both of them. They have taken to the new lifestyle like ducks to water on a frigid pond.



Two nights later we were invited to Mike & Carol Sullivan, who equally put on a magnificent spread and came to say good-bye on the following night. Great people and great sailors too. Sir Tommy (THOMAS LIPTON )White from "Wind Dancer Sails", who has also been tremendously supportive came by to send farewell greetings. JACK FROST from the Artic Circle also stopped by to let us know in very certain terms that he is not finished with us just yet.



Joel has left "DISTRESS" messages out there but so far there has been little responce. Perhaps by Wednesday this week it will be warm enough to risk letting go of the extension cord and the heater. Meantime there are still more things to be done on both yachts, so we can afford to wait till the blood begins to flow again.

FINALLY, IT'S TIME TO GO

We have wintered the cold. We have seen the incredible blizzards of snow and ice in the U.S. mid-west on our baby TV, while huddled beneath our blankets in the front cabin. We have seen the equally incredible firestorms in Australia with temperatures at over 130 degrees on the same little TV and we have walked the paths around the boatyard only to discover this totally incongruous sign embedded in the pavement..........as shown in the photo alongside the firestorms.
Jane, my son's wife has sent these terrible fire pictures from Australia. The devasting fires have taken 200 lives at this point. Life is so fragile and so precious and so very short.

YES, IT IS TIME TO GO SAILING.

Corina, my niece just got on a plane in Brisbane and will arrive in 26 hours to take delivery of the yacht SVEA together with her partner, Joel Manton, who has been very hard at work these last few weeks getting all things in place.



Double click on some of the photos for better detail

Hope I can still go up a mast when I'm 80 plus. Hope Guiness Records are still around too. Hope the other Guiness is still around. Hope we are all around then and still smiling at each other.



The beauty of SVEA deserves an entry of its own. The interior teak is glowing and all the details that go into making a yacht sea-worthy have been done. There is now pressurised water on board. The two-burner gas stove with oven has electronic cut-off valves installed and the interior lights and an electronic anchor winch should make the former hardy owners want to turn in their graves. Both yachts have been moved alongside each other in the marina to facilitate in the completion of various projects, including additional navigation lights on the mast, life rings on the stays and sealing of all fittings on the deck. The happy faces you see are SVEA's new Captain, Joel Manton and the guys who have helped, Marek Rerucha and Jacint Jagicza.



Just had to add this photo of our wireless internet antennas and to thank the many nameless people who have so kindly provided us with their un-secured wireless networks that have allowed us to put this blog out there on the internet. This is how it all works...... Point the WIFI antenna it some direction. It picks up all the people who have a router working in their house, sometimes more than a mile away. We then log on to the internet and do our emailing, banking, skyping and phonecalls. Incredible really. This does not in any way compromise their security. The antennas, both directional (the horizontal one) and omni-directional (the vertical one) pack away when we go sailing, which hopefully is .......... ONLY A WEEK AWAY.

THERE IS NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL...........

There really is nothing more beautiful or more perfect than any of God's creations, be it a sunset, a perfect wave, a magnificent valley or an awesome flower. Takes this orchid as a classic example. So beautiful and so perfect. Along the coastal highway we found some succulents in full bloom. Miles of them in fact amidst the palm and sea grapes on the dune fringe. We have escaped again for the weekend to southern Florida and Vero Beach. This winter is turning out to be the coldest in the last six years.

At Cocoa Beach we drove past the RON JON Emporium, what must surely be the world's largest Surf Shop together with original and modern "woodies" parked in front. the buildings run from right to left. It took two photos to give you an idea and the "woodies" don't even show in the pics.



Within two weeks the new owners of "SVEA" will arrive to begin their journey back to Southport, Queensland Australia. Let the adventures finally begin.
Double-click on the little picture of "SVEA" and you will see what a beautiful classic she really is.

HONEY, CAN WE FIT THIS IN.........

The exquisite palm stem with the colored seed pods in the photo on the right is to give some contrast to the color co-ordinated "slick biker chick" on the left. Just look at the symmetry of the fuel tank with its duel filler caps.

When all the selected stuff and equipment was loaded onto ARITA we were pretty deep in the water, but with our delayed departure both of us have continued to add things without ever taking anything off. This situation needs urgent attention. As mentioned earlier in our postings, if anyone left the toilet pump in the open position it would fill the bowl to within an inch of the top (always assuming the boat sat level). Well, those days are well and truly gone. If the pump is now left in the open position the water level would be an inch over the top of the bowl. Now I know that an inch is not very much................but. We've been lucky so far.
O.K., so much for head etiquette



We are counting the days again to departure and continueing to do modifications and changes. In many ways our extended stay on board in the Marina has provided some advantages in coming to grips with the extended living on board. There are new ways of passing each other in the passage. Equipment has been extensively checked. The on-board generator has been changed out for a "wait-for-it"......a LIGHTER MODEL. New snorkel gear has been purchased. There is a new spot light on board. 17 million candlepower. When you stand it up on end it will do three eggs, sunny side up with bacon at the same time. The BBQ grill too has been tested for both fish and steak. Full marks.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The New Year is here. We saw the huge fireworks in SYDNEY on the little screen in the front cabin. Wow..... Shameful to say, but we spent New Year's eve snuggled up in bed watching a most awesome DVD on an "Underwater Journey through Papua New Guinea" by Joni Hildal. That's the videographic genius right there in the photo below. The lady on the right however, is Laurie, the "Queen of Florida" (as if you didn't know that by now). Yoga meditation is great in the morning in mid-winter. What a contrast of poses. Laurie, motionless and poised on the dock with the railway bridge, also poised and motionless in the background. All hell breaks lose when a mile-long train comes rumbling through heralded first by this archealogical monstrocity slowly coming down. We are used to the noise now that we have turned the boat around and facing away from the railway.



We have been fortunate to see the fireworks in Jacksonville many times on New Year's Eve, so that we really didn't miss it one bit and certainly no-one in Florida has the right to complain about the cold, not when you see the tons of snow and blizzard conditions throughout the rest of the country, even though some of the tropical flowers are a little the worse for wear.



Joni and Ken in the photo below, have an incredible 50ft Catamaran, a showstopper fully fitted out for extended cruising and diving and are heading through the Caribbean to the Pacific. It was invigorating to spend time with them during the week at Ponce Inlet, not only in hearing their wonderful stories of a life well lived, but in planning to make our cruise so much more rewarding. While in Bali (Indonesia) they had some door portals carved in teak. Art beyond art. These handcrafted pieces have to be seen to be believed. Be our guest and double-click on them. Their catamaran's name is "Dancing Walrus" the centrepiece above the door. The mermaid is an extra for good measure. Ken and Joni are two delightful people on the water. They are impressive in their vision, their practical approach towards cruising and in their choices about what really matters in life.



KEN and JONI on DANCING WALRUS at Ponce Inlet, Florida. One of the few inlets without bridges. Their mast height prevents them from entering in many other areas of inland Florida or the Intracoastal waterway.

The chess set and inlaid carved table also has to be seen to be believed. Each piece is an exquisite masterpiece. Collectors items. Playing with pieces like that would lead you to lose all concentration on the game, just in seeing the artistry of the carving. We are looking forward to crossing tracks with them again real soon.

PEACE ON EARTH

Christmas Eve 2008. 8pm EST JACKSONVILLE Florida. There is peace on the water and we wish that the whole world would choose peace. We are in the middle of the trio of lighted yachts. Snug, warm and happy.
We wish all those sharing this journey with us and all of our extended families the very best wishes for the season. Please use the comment box at the end of each entry to let us know that you're out there.