TRIP PLANNING may2013

3200 nm(6000 km) to RODRIUGES

.280nm putri to Belitung island-via Singapore strait,then south via ruing strait.get diesel.
300NM to SUNDA STRAIT,start of indian ocean
600 NM to COCOS KEELING ISLANDS.Plan stop a few days-rest,recreation,refuel,reprovision
2000NM to RODRIUGES.Want to get there in june before tradewinds and swell get worse.
plan 10 weeks in 3 Mascarene islands.
so 2 weeks in rodriuges
300nm to Mauritius.say 4 weeks there.
90 nm to REUNION (FRENCH).say 4 weeks there.a
then decide which way to Sth Africa-maybe via MADAGASCAR.
Plan get there October,and capetown by December.

reading lots of BLOGS-esp TAGISH,CATS PAW & SAL DARAGO.
SEA BUNNY DROP BOX NOTES
NOONSITE
PILOT BOOKS-INDIAN OCEAN CROSSING,EAST AFRICA

GETTING READY FOR INDIAN OCEAN CROSSING may13

Almost ready.We plan to leave tomorrow.
when we got back 10 days ago,we found our new bimini so full of water,the weight of the sag had damaged the front of the chartplotter below.Kerry spent many days on the phone,and finally a new front panel was found in Singapore,thankyou Allyson,and fitted here thankyou Ziane.We also now also have chartplotter linked to ipad.
one chainplate was leaking,through the deck.so we had to fix that.
also re-enforcing all the floor lockers,lockers under beds and seats,loose drawers and cupboards,for rough conditions.Putting in tie down for dive cylinders.putting up new barometer.plus lots of other little jobs.I am always amazed that Kerry has accumulated a tool for every job,plus nuts,bolts,and spares for any job!
we have done two large supermarket shops to provision for our trip,getting enough food for 2 months.

I went under boat to check-lots of very adherent barnacles on propeller,shaft,and uder keel,plus general thin coat of green slime.so paid to have that done.

Some play.Lovely sunday lunch with Gosi at new Indian restaurant at marina.Great to catch up with Tom and Barb.Another evening ,dinner with another 8 cruisers at this marina.all seasoned cruisers.

today we get our final diesel,engine oils,check out,pay marina and leave early tomorrow
 

flying back to boat # 20 may2013

We flew back to Singapore 0n 20 may,after a few days in Sydney at nics.
before leaving we collected a box of boat bits from chandlery,and half a box at another.
so when we arrived at airport we we had a lot of luggage,including 6 new diesel jerry cans.we had paid for extra luggage.
del ,and nic and baby rose were there to see us off.we will next see them at Christmas
we flew Singapore,then taxis across to Malaysia,to our boat,Haven,in Puteri marina,arriving late at night.

test

Throat singers kuching music festival 2012

EMILY

Baby Emily was born 5 may,to proud parents Philippa and Michael.this is Kerrys 2nd grandchild.kerry and sophie flew up before the birth.Philippa went home day 3. I flew up  4 days later,arriving in  Emerald,at same time as Elainee, Andrew's mother,who flew in from tasmania. Andrew drove us to his home in Middlemount,central Queensland,about 1700 km north of Brisbane.We all enjoyed our week up there.Emily was an angel.Hunter,their shorthaired german terrier was good.we had daily walks,lots of talks and social evening meals.

A GOOD READ

Wal at Point lowly ,april 2013

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WAL

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WAL .IRON KNOB. APRIL 2013

Wal's new cottage

SECOND GRANDCHILD may2013

Philippa & Emily

On May 5,on the due date,Philippa,kerrys 2nd daughter,delivered a lovely baby ,called Emily (her oldest daughter,Nicola,had baby Rose on 30dec).So this is Kerry's 2nd grandchild.kerry and sophie were already up at philippas for the birth.Philippa and Andrew,live in Middlemount in central queensland.
So on wednesday I flew newcastle to brisbane,then on to Emerald.1700 km.this adds up to 10,870 km  flying in australia since I got home- its a big country!
Andrews mother Elaine also flew in. Andrew then drove us the 1 1/2 hours to middlemount.Philippa and Emily got out of Emerald hospital on Tuesday.It has been a full house and lots of  fun.We gor for daily long walks with their dog Hunter,read all the news,watch sport on TV,and have lovely social meals,interspersed with breastfeeding,baby baths and ipad.

ANDREW & EMILY



Sophie,Kerry & Elaine on kitchen duty

TWO NEW CALVES may2013

brown cow

what a pretty calf

After 1,750 km,I arrived in Sydney ,from Whyalla,via Adelaide.I stayed at the Ibis Hotel near airport,and that evening caught up with my good friend David,who is also a sailing,locum obgyn.He had just finnished a locum in Darwin,and was shortly off to his boat in Fiji.So lots to talk about.
The next day with drove up to the farm at Maitland.On the way we detoured to Newcastle,where David shouted me a birthday lunch at the yachtclub.We were joined by Olivia.Itwas a lovely event.Then to continue the nautical theme we went to see Con Tiki.then eventually home to the farm where Gaby had the fire going ,making the house very cosy.So I cooked some steaks and opened a bottle of red.

two old goats

The next day we went for a walk to see the animals.Cossie was still huge and pregnant,but her 2 twin daughters had both just had calves,both girls.the light brown and white one is beautiful.Kirsten,our next door neighbour,had already put ear tags on them.Jasper the  old goat particularly liked ...David.

black cow,calf and steer

BROTHER WAL in IRON KNOB. May2013

Wal's new cottage

From Kalgoorlie,it was a 600 km flight to Perth,then a 2694kmflight to Adelaide,then  300km flight to Whyalla,where my brother Wal picked me up,and we drove to Iron Knob,about 60 km.I thenhad lovely few days catching up and relaxing.
Wal has just bought a lovely little cottage to live in.We had a look at it.It needs some painting before he moves in.It will look great with a new paint job.Mango will enjoy the big yard.
The next day we drove out to Point Lowly.There is a lovely white lighthouse.Many grey nomads occupied several campsites in the area.

Mango

KALGOORLIE HOSPITAL 2013

I did a 2 week locum at Kalgoorlie hospital.Kalgoorlie is a mining city in the middle of western australia.It has one of the biggest open cut gold mines in the world,called the superpitI had worked there several times before,and enjoy it.
To help get my brain back into work mode I did lots of student teaching.Revising is much easier these days with hospital and state obgyn guidelines,online journals access,and Up To Date On Line-self expanatory.the students were very nice,and fun to teach.

Home on the farm - april,2013

After easter we were home for a few days.our new house sitters ,sara and gaby,have the house and garden looking great.they are well settled in with a new vege garden,and have converted a dogpen to a fowl house,with 3 brown hens and 5 chickens.They go out to paddock so they can freerange without the 3 labradors.I love hearing their contented chirping.
Mick ,next door neighbour ,rang up to say we needed tp renovate our boundary fence.so 3 busy days of farm work.we had to replace 5 big strainer posts,then reattach and tighten all the barbwire strands.a job well done- we think it should now outlast us.
The 6 steers we bought in summer are settled in and looking good.Our 3 cows are pregnant and due soon
We had our annual dermatology consult and are aging gracefully despite our sailing lifestyle.

EASTER IN AUSTRALIA 2013

After our great trip in Sri Lanka,we flew to Singapore,then Sydney,train to Newcastle,where Olivia picked us up drove us to Hawks Nest, for a holiday at the seaside.nicola and michael were upfrom sydney,philippa down from middlemount,both very pregnant,andrew had to work.
It was great catching up with them and liv,s jack,and sopie,s chris.
We enjoyed beach walks,local news,nice food and not having the heat and humidity of asia.

Sophie,Philippa,Kerry,Olivia,Nicola

NEGOMBO 29march SRI LANKA 2013

As we fly out tomorrow,we made our way to this seaside town,half an hour from Columbo airport.
We found a nice guesthouse,said goodbye to our van and driver,hired some pushbikes and spent a lovely afternoon cycling.In the port there are hundreds of colourful fishing boats,about
50 feet long,made of fibreglass.presumably a lot of wooden ones were lost in tsunami,and these replaced them.Negombo has become a major departure point for boatpeople to Australia.
Negombo is also known as LittleRome- as it has so many large catholic churches.most of the population is catholic.yoday was good friday.all the churches had huge congregations with outdoor stages and plays.there were large groups walking to chuches,the women in all white finery.young girls in exquisite dresses,with wings,ie dresses up as angels,were carried on high platforms,down streets to various chuches.it certainly felt like we were in another country than sri lanka.

MIHINTA 28march SRI LANKA 2013

We stopped here on way back to Anuradhapura.another 2000 yearold temple site,where we got some good exercise

JAFFNA PENINSULA 28mar. SRI LANKA 2013

Today we did a tour of the Jaffna Peninsula,north of the city.it was a lovely day.
Our first stop was a local fish market- lots of colourful little fishing boatd in little harbour.there were military checkposts everywhere,including here,and the army man said to not take photos.the tamils certainly are reminded all the time that they lost and the others won.
Next stop was KEERIMALI SPRING and temples,on the ocean edge.there are 2 bathing pools,one open ,for men,and one enclosed for women. Next to the temple were lots of severely damaged buildings.
We saw lots of hindu temples in jaffna being repaired.
Our trip then went along the north coast.lots of sandy beaches,with topaz blue seas,very colourful fishing boats,and no other tourists all day!
After lunch we left Jaffna and headed back south.Lots of driving to see Jaffna,but very worthwhile

JAFFNA FORT ,27march2013, SRI LANKA

Back in jaffna we went to see the old dutch fort.this was well worth seeing.it was originally built in 1618.it has massive walls,the sea on on side,canals on the others.it was in good condition till the recent war.now it is being repaired for tourism.at this stage the walls and main building and canals are looking good,but some on the inside some massively damaged buildings,and lots of content cattle grazing on the lawns.

JAFFNA, SRI LANKA 27march2013

Today we went to NAINATAVIU ISLAND.We got a tuk tuk from our guest house,to bus station in central Jaffna.we crossed several causeways and low islands.Lots of empty ruined buildings from war.at ferry terminal we had to show our passports.the islands are heavily controlled by the navy.we were packed into a small wooden ferry,with tamils going to temple,the women in very colourful saris.
SRI NAGA PUSHANI AMMAN TEMPLE was very colourful inside and out,with a loud and vibrant religious ceremony occurring.
As we strolled around the grounds of temple we were attracted to live music and came across a wedding,to which we were made most welcome,with drinks and snacks,while wedding ceremony in full swing.lots of colour and music
The Tamils are actively recovering from the war

ANURADHAPURA 26 March,2013.SRI LANKA

ANURADHAPURA q was fantastic.then again I love temples,cathedrals and history.The crew are less keen.So we did the quick tour with an excellent guide.this place was the capitol 2000 years ago ,for an empire that lasted longer than rome did.still a very active place for Buddhism.