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Reflections of Life on Board After 9 Months
The trip back to Sydney certainly made me reflect on the different lifestyle we now have living on board Byamee. It is certainly a slower lifestyle for a few reasons. For a start you don't have a car so just getting a part for the boat, a loaf of bread from the shop or renting a video can take hours by the time you get ashore, secure the dingy, find out where the shops are, catch a bus or two, walk a bit then make your way back - but what's the hurry. We really have had to accept that we cannot get things done at the pace we were used to in Sydney. It is a great thing to feel self sufficent and to do all the boat repairs and maintenance for ourselves (even though we may not think so at the time). Some of which are very challenging and some very very scary!!
Paul and I made a little pact - I am happy to do the repairs up the mast as long as he looks after everything
under the water line. So far it has been working fine. Not only did Paul get the toilet repair but he has also had to
dive to free the anchor when the chain got wrapped around a bommie.
The work on the boat can also be back braking, often
trying to squeeze your body into places you really don't fit then somehow getting your hands and head close to the part
you need to work on and exerting pressure to unscrew or tighten things in this bizarre yoga state.
Then there is the really cool stuff.
Water Usage - we are finding that a 250 litre tank of water is lasting between 7 and 10 days for the three
of us. That includes drinking water, washing dishes, water for cooking and showers (I have to say it is usually just
a quick rinse). Clothes washing is usually done at marina laundries but if we are desperate we use the dirty shower water
to wash a few clothes.
Gas - for the oven and stove seems to last forever. Each bottle lasting for approx 2 months and we use gas every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as the odd cup of tea. Power - the set up we have is working very well for us and so far we have not had to sacrifice anything, running a computer, television, DVD player, lights and a fridge any time we want and all the time in the evenings. The solar panels and the wind turbine usually manage all our needs during the day and if we haven't gone anywhere (ie haven't used the motor which charges the batteries) we use the Honda generator in the evening for around half an hour to top up the batteries. The fridge is on all the time and is the biggest drain on power. We have found that a full fridge uses less power to maintain it's temperature and reducing the temperature in very small increments to get to the required tempurate is much more energy efficient than just reducing the temperature in one go (after giving the fridge a good clean out). Fuel and petrol consumption - Overall it is proving to be a very rewarding time for us with heaps of magic moments and heaps of challenges to deal with. 20/01/2010 We have decided that our long layover
in Cairns is the perfect oportunity for us to get Byamee in ship shape as we prepare for our departure from Australia and
our journey around the globe.With that in mind we made a list of all the things that need attention and were a little stunned
at just what needs fixing.....a very long list
The List
So for those of you thinking we were sitting out here doing nothing think again ! Tropical cyclone Olga 23rd January 2010 On the 23rd Jan 2010 Darien and I got up and wrapped presents and made a cake for Paul’s birthday. I had been watching a tropical low that had been hovering off the coast for nearly a week threatening to become a cyclone but seemed to be weakening so I thought it prudent to do my weather checks. Boy did I get a shock to see a cyclone sitting next to the tropical low and it was heading straight for us. There had not been any movement of boats from the marina and the system was still well off shore moving east at around 17 knots. We decided to go ashore late in the afternoon to speak to a few people at the marina, do a bit of washing and go for a swim. Everyone was anticipating an evacuation around 10am Sunday. As we were leaving the marina everyone started getting text messages indicating a yellow alert - destructive winds within the next 24 hours and that all vessels should make their way to allocated areas in the mangroves either before nightfall or at 5.30am first light. With only half an hour till dark most decided to leave first light, us included. I was terrified, images of houses being torn apart and debris flying all over the place were flashing through my mind. We had not been down into the mangroves so the uncertainty of that was alarming in case we did have to leave in the dark. I didn’t sleep a wink the whole night. We watched the larger vessels move out to sea and heard more and more terrible squalls come through during the night. I heard one guy decide to head into the mangroves just after midnight because the weather seemed to be turning for the worse and another boat already down there offering to help him get in. I spent the night jumping up to the radio at the slightest crackle. I actually wanted to move too but Paul said I was mad and that we should wait till the morning. Considering there were boats scattered everywhere and the squally conditions that was the right decision. At 5am we were up doing final preparations and waited for first light. Around 6am we headed for the mangroves and a blue alert was declared – destructive winds within16 hours and everyone had to leave. Olga however, had moved a little north east and the forecast path had shifted to north of Port Douglas. It took around an hour to get down to the areas we needed to be and we anchored three times before we were happy that we had room to swing around and protection from the mangroves. By this time we were both just exhausted and Darien who had slept through the whole thing was just starting to stir. We were a little surprised at how few boats (especially other yachts) seemed to be around because the harbour had been so full. Paul is going to go out in the dingy a little later to see where they all are. There have been a quite a few tenders buzzing around between boats so we think they may be just a little further in or that they came down after us. Well the cyclone looks like making landfall at Cape Tribulation now so we will be lucky to get winds over 35 knots. It’s a little disappointing given all the anxiety and hype before the event. Hopefully we will spot a croc while we are down here. The mangroves really are the safest place to be. We saw some really large navy vessels tied directly alongside the mangroves. The wind just can’t get through the mangroves and there is nothing that can come flying at you. Even if your boat did get blown against the mangroves you would probably only end up with a few scratches on the hull. You know I was worried about a direct hit if the cyclone intensified with Darien on board but I have to say this is definitely the safest place to be. Not only can you get out of the wind but you are safe from the flooding in a boat which is the other potentially life threatening result of a cyclone. Well we sit and wait now until Olga has weekened which will be after landfall and until we are given the all clear to head back to the harbour. Little Darien will miss both her ballet enrollment and her first swimming lesson which is a little frustrating so I hope the teachers are understanding.
25-Jan-2010 What is it about marine spare parts? How is it that the spare part is almost as expensive as buying the whole item. We have been having endless problems with our marine manual pump toilet. In an effort to be a frugal and resourceful sailor I have tried to fix it. Using epoxy (my number one defense against boat breakages) I have tried to stop the leak from the base of the toilet. After a week of being elbow deep in shit I decided to replace the offending piece (a bit of plastic with no moving parts that connects the bowl to the floor) cost $115.00. Cost of new toilet $219.00. As we Australian's say this was a no brainer so we purchased a new dunny. We now have a "Latest Updates" section just above "Ships Log" so as you don't have to scroll thru all the old stuff. Its been nearly 3 months since I have updated the site. I know its been a long time because I
had forgotten the "log in" password. Being paranoid about internet security I decided to stop using the same
password for everything. There was a time not so long ago that if you knew our Ebay password you probably could of cleared
out our bank account. Not anymore now we have a cryptic mess of numbers and symbols, I work on the theory that if I find
it hard to understand the hacker will have no chance.
We arrived here on Jan 5th it is now the 28th of April. During that time we have endured 4 weeks of continual rain, 4 weeks of swealtering heat and humidity, been evacuated into the mangroves for a cyclone that never came, learn't to really hate mosquitos, seen more superyachts and blatent displays of wealth that is truly shamefull and in between it all have met some very strange people. On the pro side Joyce managed to score a job. This left me and Darien with the right amount of free time to work on the father daughter relationship and to spend the money almost as quickly as Joyce can make it. We have fallen into life in Cairns easily. Darien has been sent to dance lessons (her choice) and swimming lessons (our choice). We reside on a mooring which we rent off another yachty just outside the marina. A 3 minute dingy trip sees us at the dingy wharf and a further 5 minute walk and we are in the centre of the city. Cairns is the launching pad for cruising sailors. Weather you are crossing the indian ocean, heading out to the Louisiaides, joining the Indonesian rally or just making your way up to Thailand Cairns is the place to be. Because of this we find ourselves in amongst some very seasoned sailors from all corners of the world. There are people here who have circumnavagated 4 times, been attacked by killer whales, run aground on unchartered reefs, been dismasted, have had sea anchors tangled around there props in 60 knot winds. We have become friends with people who have made the ocean their life. It has made us feel green, but we are happy to be green, we are happy to learn. Thankfully for us they are happy to impart their knowledge.  Joyce ready for work in her Whitworts uniform (marine chandlery). Thanks to my darling wife the cruising kitty was kept topped up. 5-April-2010 It's been one year ago today that we sailed out of Sydney heads to start our circumnavagation. A new motor, my fathers 80th birthday and a cyclone season has made for slow progress. But now the rain has stopped, the boat is in tip top shape we have a new 15hp outboard on the dingy, a new set of passports, a very impressive (and exspensive) medical kit and much more. In fact our time in Cairns has seen us spend a small fortune on the boat but we are ready to go. All we are waiting on now are our Indonesian visas and a good weather window. The last 3 months have seen our plans change backwards and forward. We have decided that we will spend the rest of this year in P.N.G. the Louiesades, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. We will then assess the whole "Pirate Situation" in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea and make a decission. My life has become such that important decissions are few and far between, I like it this way . 13/may/2010. Joyce has been maddly provisioning for our 2 months in the Louisaides and P.N.G. We don't imagine that we will be able to purchase any staples but will be doing plenty of trading for fresh fruit and veggies and a few cray fish I hope.   Just trying to fit it all in is hard work. We had really better get going before I buy everything
in Coles and Woolworths, not to mention any other shop I pass.
 21st May 2010 25/5/2010 Well we finally did it we left Australia. We are officially out
of Australian waters and in the middle of the Coral Sea on route to the Louisiades SE of Papua New Guinea. We have been sailing
for just over 55 hours and are about half way there. It is a bit rolly (and we are not really capable of doing a whole lot)
but other than that the trip has been a lot easier than I thought an ocean crossing was going to be. There is nothing to see
out here except lots of water. We had a school of fish swimming with the boat that wouldn't take a lure even though we
were practically donging them on the head with it, a bird flew into our wind generator (not sure if it is ok?), and we have
seen one other lonely yacht in the distance.
We are sleeping a lot and taking turns to keep watch. Darien is entertaining herself with a bundle of DVD's we got on Ebay before we left Cairns. She announced yesterday that sailing is boring! - I only hope she likes the places we see in between.  26/5/2010
11'16.258S 152'23.222E Kokoluba Is of the Duchateau Islands We arrived in the most pristine and picturesque anchorage at around 9.30 pm. With a full moon in the sky the visibility was great and the water so clear you could see to the bottom in the evening light. Two other boats travelling from Cairns had arrived ahead of us and kindly gave us GPS coordinates in which was great. We travelled a total of 541 nautical miles fortunately having good wind for most of this. Only on the last day did the wind drop (we had to motor the whole day)but apart from that it was great sailing. We have been here for two days now and have not seen a local as there is no one living on the island. Probably a good thing as the Aussies have taken over. There are now four yachts here from Cairns with four children between us all and another yacht with more kids due to arrive today or tomorrow. One of the yachts saw a local boat sail by which was a dug out canoe with a makeshift sail and a father, mother and small child on board getting fish for the day. They went over and said hello and they were very friendly speaking a little broken English. This absolutely untouched Island really makes our flash boats seem a little over the top. We had a birthday party for one of the little girls last night which was lots of fun. We have had one of the little girls over to play this morning and will be exploring with everyone this afternoon. This place is just amazing and we will move to another island Sunday. We have been able to keep in touch with all the yachts here and in Cairns through sailmail and our HF radio - both proving to be fantastic.     29/5/2010. Deaucateau Is to Motorina Islansd. We pulled up anchor early Saturday morning leaving this beautiful uninhabited Island. We are keen to meet the people of the Louisiades so headed to Motorina Island 16nm to the east. Motorina has a population of around 400 people (nobody is quite sure exactely how many) but as we were to find out the majority of them are chrildren, some adults and very few old people. It is also one of the few islands with a school (primary and elementary). We had been constantly reminded about how little these people have and how they love to trade for simple commodities like rice, sugar, fishing hooks, clothing, pens, pencils and copy books. We were well prepared with lockers full of rice and kilos of sugar which we broke down into smaller tradeable sizes. Turning Byamee into the anchorage at Motorina was like stepping back in time. The small village was was picture perfect . We dropped the anchor in 15 metres of water, there were chrildren everywhere paddling around in dugout canoes with little outriggers. Shouts and screams followed - the Dim Dims are here! (the people of P.N.G. call us white folk Dim Dims no idea were it originated). The people are just delightful and so welcoming. We were invited to walk around the Island as we pleased, shown through the school and attended a church service. They have no electicity, so all cooking is done over fire. They have a well for water to bathe and wash clothes (too salty to drink), use tank water for drinking water (resorting to coconut juice when this runs out). They have livestock and gardens producing beautiful fruit and vegetables to trade. The livestock is really only pigs and chickens and on special religious events a pig is killed and there is a huge The neighbouring village on the same Island (where the school and church are) is currently building an amazing boat (approximately 40ft). They have made the frame and are waiting for more materials to continue work. They have the wood, skills and tools just not the nuts and bolts to put it together. The purpose of the boat is to be able to get to and from Alutau for supplies which is too far to get to in their dug outs. They do have some boats with outboards but just don't have any fuel for them. Regardless of what they don't have they are so happy and live such a culturally full life. When things run out they just wait for the next opportunity to get more - it really doesn't seem to bother them. It is so amazing that they have school, church and a whole community functioning perfectly without any of the things we think are essential. Their land and water is pristine and they don't have a garbage problem because everything they have is grown and totally biodegradeable. Their houses are clean and free of clutter because there is nothing to clutter them with. They sing and cook by the fire in the evenings and everyone helps with the work during the day. The kids have to do quite a bit of the work too. The only trouble is that there is no way to earn money and money is needed to send the children to school. If they don't have the money the children just don't go to school. Having arrived at Motorina Is early on Saturday and spending Sunday there we were inundated with kids in dugout canoes wanting to trade. I think the kids get sent out because they are so adoreable that you just can't say no to them. By Sunday afternoon it was getting a little overwhelming, there were so many boats around ours we could not even go for a swim. I tried to have a lie down only to have little faces appear in the portholes. We had the same problem in the toilet too. They are very polite and do go if you ask them to but it just so hard to send away people who so desperately want just a little rice or clothes for their kids. We traded so many things and all the excitement was because of how much these things meant to them. We realised later that it was also so full on because we were the first yachts to arrive this year and being the weekend the kids were not in school. We decided that we had to leave if we wanted to have anything left to trade at the other islands. We did have a great time with the trading and it was quite a learning experience. We offered the kids lollies to start with which they were so excited about one boat tipped right over filling completely with water. They managed to get up the right way, bail the water and scoff down the lollies. Then they returned with fresh produce and had obviouly been asked to return with something of value by mum and dad. The requests went from rice and sugar, to hooks and fishing line, pencils and notebooks for school, then clothes. If they did not yet have enough to show for the produce they brought over they would just stay until you gave them a little more. If you came out with more than they were expecting they could not wait to throw all the produce your way and race back with the goodies. We just said yes to whatever they had on offer and did our best to give them what they really wanted. I did make the mistake of trying to make conversation with a couple of little girls about their pigs and chickens only to have them look at eachother in horror - I realised that they thought I wanted a pig or chicken so I quickly let them know I didn't. With more fresh fruit and vegetables than we know what to do with and some beautiful shells we headed for the Blue Lagoon.
The Blue Lagoon
11'08.120S 152'45.912S The Blue Lagoon is a beautiful area surrounded by three Islands and reef in between. We have only met two people here as two of the Islands are uninhabited and one has a family of 10 living there. A 17 year old boy from that Island came to trade and we invited him onboard for a Coke. They love anything to do with soccer and cigarettes here too - unfortunately we had neither but found some tee shirts he liked. When he finished his coke he tossed the can in the water - I nearly died! They are so used to fresh fish, fruit or vegies that you can throw overboard he had no idea not to throw the can overboard. We are having a great time here. Paul has been doing some fishing and spear fishing. Darien and I have been playing in the sand and swimming. We promised a man that we would come by the next Island to trade so will head there the day after tomorrow. There is a school there too so it will probably be quite busy. 2/6/2010.
What is paradise? Is it sitting on your own yacht surrounded by crystal clear water and white sand where the weather is perfect and the locals trade crayfish for your old teeshirts ?.Or Is it just a state of mind?.I mean do you visit paradise when you have a hit of heroin?Are you in paradise when you exspereance the birth of your first child,is it a physical thing or a mental thing?is one mans paradise another mans nightmare?. Well to answear the question here we are in "Kamatal Lagoon" the water is crystal clear,the sand is like white silt ,large sweetlip swim off the back of the boat.I could almost pick them out of the water with my hand ,the sky is blue with just a whisper of wind ,the tempertrure is perfect and best of all we are the only boat here .We have sailed over 500 nautical miles in our own yacht packed with food,fuel,water,beer and wine to find our island tropical paradise ,to have a "rich cultural exsperience".We bring refined white sugar,polished rice,sweet candy and CoCa Cola.They give us Coconuts,fresh pawpaw,yams ,sweet potato and bananas.They look at us in awe in our big shiny boats we have so much they want .They don't have much we want apart from twinkling our toes in there crystal clear water and raiding their crayfish we are happy to go back to our big boats switch on the lights crack open a chilled chardonnay at the end of the day. The longer we are here the more we come to consider those who live here and what it must be like to be here permenantly. The place is a paradise and a marvel to those passing through but perhaps not to those living here. We have met a few young men who have invited themselves onto our boat for the evening to watch a video or read magazines - not something you can do without electricity and light. They desperately want to educate themselves and some seem really bored. The isolation of these islands keeps the land pristine but is also very restrictive for the people. Our time at kamatal lagoon was wonderful, we got invited by the chief of the island Jimmy (as Jimmys family is the only family that lives on the island that makes him the chief) to an early dinner of freshly slaughtered chicken, yams, patato and pumpkins. Jimmy's wife spent most of the day preparing the feast but did not join us at the table when it came time to eat. The chicken was superb and just fell of the bone, the yams, patatoes and pumpkin would have benefitted from some butter, salt and pepper. We brought a few beers and a great meal was had. We felt honored and privaledge to be invited. During dinner the subject of Jimmies "not working generator"came up, at which point my wife put me forward as "Mr Fixit". Next morning I arrived with a bag of tools a multimeter and an air of confidence. Here comes the white man to get the Gennie going ! All the men sat around watching Paul take the gennie apart then a huge television appeared and a few lights - also not working. Joyce was then taken to see a man with a bad gash on his face needing attention and drugs?!?! Well mr Fixit came through for them fixing the gennie, giving them some petrol, sorting out the light, charging their battery and giving them a power plan regarding the charging of the battery to run the lights rather than running the gennie for one light given the price of petrol here is almost three times that back home. The TV just not power or cost effective - Jimmy was more than happy with that. The man with the gash on his face didn't do so well - he only got some antiseptic and a few bandaids. 15th June 2010
From Kamatal Island we have Island hopped toward the main land. Having some great experiences both with the yachts we are cruising with and on our own. It has worked out to be a great bunch of odd bods - On Antaia there are a couple with a little girl Louise, Latchen and Siara who is one year younger than Darien. Louise and Latchen come from a boating background, he is an engineer and she a master class 4. They are very thorough and prepared sailors. On Spiders Web there is the pommie John who has taken on board two back packers, Aimee (an Aussie girl who happens to be a child care worker) and Alohn (an American making his way to Israel). John sleeps late and is very relaxed taking the attitude if it ain't broke don't touch it. He is very witty and they locals really to take to him. Then on Unicorn, the big cat there are Dion, Yui and their two little ones Ryan and Louana and Dion's brother Troy. Ryan and Louana are two and three. Yui can cook up a storm so most get togethers are on their boat. Dion and his brother are obsessed with catching crayfish and zooming around in their dingy consequently they keep running out of fuel. Oh that and the fact that they run every appliance you would have in a luxury appartment - washing mashine, freezer, dvd players, air con, huge water maker, bread machine, rice cooker and the list goes on. We did trade them some petrol for 250 litres of fresh water - showers for everyone and got to wash some clothes (very nice)! Either some of us or all of us catch up every day or two as we all sail at different speeds and want to stop at different islands. The kids do love it when we catch up so the day is usually about getting the kids together and we get to know the locals a little better on the days we are alone. Maxea is proving to be only relatively accurate and there are a lot of reefs to navigate. Dion lent us a card for our chartplotter and that is accurate, spot on really. Regarless it has really been a case of having someone on the bow when we are approaching any reefs. They do come out of nowwhere though. Just a few minutes ago Paul went up the front of the boat to have a look around. I looked up form the computer to see him coming running back waving his arms in the air - we just went over a reef with 7m of water. The drop offs from some of these reefs are amazing 30-40m to 7m in a second then to 200m. We anchored off one island where we were in 10 meters of water and 30m behind us it dropped off to 100m. Luckily we didn't drag anchor but one of our friends did and drifted into 100m of water at 2am with their anchor and all their chain hanging straight down from the bow. With our super strong spots light they managed to reanchor safely for the night. Island after island we meet absolutely lovely people. Yesterday at Hemoe Bay the locals took us for a long walk through the forest to a fresh water creek where we swam then back through beetle nut plantations, gardens and different properties. Parts of the island flood during big tides so much of the track was soft mud with trees placed as walkways (some quite thin) it was a bit tricky. The forest is lush and dense and all the food they pointed out on the way just amazing. All the islands seem to specialise in some type of food production, be it smoked fish, yams, bananas, sago which they take to Alotau and trade at the markets either for other food or Kena. There they buy clothes, rice, school books etc. Hemoe Bay have a couple of large beetlenut plantations which is huge over here. They chew it with the fruit from the mustard plant dipped in lime (which is ground coral). It makes a mess of their teeth and seems to get them stoned! Even the kids are allowed to chew it. One of the young girls here had a terrible sore on her foot. It was like a crater we offered to dress it and treat it with antiseptic so she and all her family came over to the boat and sat on deck snacking on crackers until it got dark. Two of the men stayed on to read magazines until our power started to run low and we had to switch some lights off. This was a great spot and we traded for lobster and the biggest mud crabs I have ever seen. One so big I had to cook one half and then the other as it would not fit in my biggest pot! The locals have given us lots of great info on which places to avoid and how to cook their fresh produce. So far we have only felt worried for our saftey in one anchorage where there were no locals living and some people camped on the island fishing for clams. There were a lot of young men with macheties a few women and no children. When Paul went ashore they were not like the other people we had met certainly not friendly and they asked some odd questions about how many people were on board. We locked ourselves in that night and had a wallet ready to give them if they wanted to rob us. Nothing eventuated but we didn't get much sleep. All the other places have been are bursting with kids and welcoming adults.
Updated 18 October 2010
Alotau 16th June 2010 10'18.573S 150'27.011E Alotau is a safe province and a lovely town. There are really only a couple of streets to the main part of town but
it has a huge number of food wholesalers and supermarkets (because they service most of the Islands of the Louisiades). A
great place to stop and stock up. We took on duty free fuel and topped up the water tanks too. We met a few local captains
and spoke to the port authorities to get our hands on charts of the area - thanks to Louise our savvy mariner we were set
with photocopies of charts and local advise for the passage to the Trobriand Islands. It was nice to be in a town again with cars for a little while but it wasn't long before the frustrations of PNG meant we were happy to leave for more Island hopping. Things take a really long time to get done in PNG. Getting four charts photocopied at a printing company took 5 hours of standing around with the people who lent us the charts while the printing company meticulously put the photocopies together by hand. They did do a great job and it was very cheap. Internet access is incredibly expensive and slow. We were charged an extra 33 kena for a parcel we had already paid freight on in Australia due to some dodgy piece of paper apparently form Port Morsby regarding import duty??? - on a small toy and a few documents. Sometimes you realise it is just not worth arguing, just save the time and get over it - we have places to see.
From Alotau we day sailed to East Cape, Cape Dawson, Gomwa Bay, Sabutuia
Bay and Urasil Island before reaching Muwo Island in the Trobriands. Gomwa Bay has the most amazing volcanic hot springs with
water so hot you cannot touch it (literally boiling and spouts spraying out of the ground). Just amazing and completely untouched
(no fences, you could walk right up to the edges of these huge crevasses that seem to be sending up steaming water form the
center of the earth). Some hotter than others. A local guide took us through so we were never in any danger. It was just spectacular
and amazing to get so close to these volcanic springs and to see them exactly as they occur in nature, totally untouched.
The people of PNG believe in many spirits and black magic and the locals told us of a family that live in one of the hot springs.
If their spirits are with you it is possible to bathe in even the hottest pool without getting burnt and one of the men in
the town has done so. There are a few others, however, who have died at these springs. After heavy rain three young men felt
one of the pools and because the top layer of water was only warm they jumped in and died instantly. After a great day out and a wash in a warm creek the land owners then cooked a traditional meal and brought it out to the boat for us (after they had gone and caught the fish, cooked them and put the veggies in one of the hot springs to boil them). Hospitality you could not match.
23-6-2010 A great day sailing ends in Me , My Wife and Byamee
covered in Diesel. It had been a good
sail from Alotau to East Cape 15-20 knots on the side, not a lot of swell, the wind vane (auto pilot) was behaving itself
and my "Greg Isles" novel "Sleep no more" was starting to get interesting. I have a little ritual after
we drop anchor it goes like this.
B.. Let motor cool down then switch off. C.. Congratulate Wife and Child on a successful passage. D.. Finalise Log. E.. Crack open a cold beer . F.. Pump fuel from bilge to header tank. I always like to keep our 75 litre header tank full , so
at the end of each day I will top it up taking fuel from the bilge tanks via our electric fuel pump and into the header tank
which sits directly above the motor. Its a straight forward process that depending on the amount of fuel used can take anywhere
from 5 to 20 minutes . I have a timer that I set so as I do not overfill the tank. After about 10 minutes
I noticed a strong diesel smell coming from the front of the boat . On investigation I found diesel fuel spewing out of the
main breather all over my workroom. Joyce grabbed a bucket and I dived for the cut off switch. Diesel has its benefits but
its smell in confined places is awful . When it gets on your skin its sort off slimy . When it gets in your eyes and mouth
its just revolting. It was everywhere but worse was to come. Why was this happening . We have owned Byamee
for nearly two years and this is the way that I always pump the fuel thru the tanks. We ripped up the floorboards to access
the bilge tanks and noticed that the aft tank was leaking a bit of fuel thru the side of the inspection plate . I started
to unscrew the dipstick hole on the top of the tank . There was no reason why I should do this except that I had no idea what
else to do. A fountain of diesel spewed out of the hole drenching me and our beautiful saloon. I pressed my thumb hard against
the hole whilst Joyce grabbed as many old rags and paper towels as she could . It was proving a horrible end to a beautiful
day . My thumb held the fuel at bay whilst we decided what to do. It was obvious that the pressure in the
tank would have to be released and that all we could do was try and control the Diesel Geyser as best we could . With a container
held over the hole and lots of rags and paper towels I released my thumb . A burst of fuel followed by a few bubbles and the
pressure was released. The boat was a mess and so were we. Darien was Diesel free as we had made sure she stayed out of the way. The clean up was exhausting . Why did it happen? I simply filled the bilge tank so full that the breather was covered in fuel . As the fuel was been pumped the tank could not breath creating a vacuum that shot fuel back down the breather . The pressure in the tank had nowhere to go except out the dip stick hole and into the boat.
The Trobriand Islands Muwo Island 8'42.818S 151'00.623E Kiriwina Island 8'31.150S 151'00.649E Tuma Island 8'19.9841S 150'50.6318E Kwalvaluma
Island 8'20.896S 150'35.565E The Trobriand Islands are an area which is largely
unsurveyed, so it has been very careful sailing and it is known for wooden carvings and great diving. The people are just
great - the odd exception being nothing worse than a little annoying. We are still doing lots of trading for fresh produce
and are still traveling with the three other yachts so Darien is having a great time with her three cruising playmates. Last
night some guys came past the boat and sold us three huge crayfish for 5 kena each (that's about $2.20 each). It would have been nice to have a little more time to explore the Trobriand Islands. Some big
winds and bad weather meant that we didn't explore as many Islands as I would of liked. It is a huge unsurveyed area you
really need to more around in calm weather with good visibility. It is quite exposed sitting in the Solomon Sea so to really
explore it you need heaps of time to sit out the big winds and move around in the calm weather. We did get to see some truly
beautiful spots and I am sure there are so many more in the Trobriands that we just could not explore with the weather at
the time. We are enjoying the group that we are traveling with and all the great benefits you get from traveling as a group (safety in numbers, always someone to keep an eye on the boats, sharing kid responsibilities, boats ahead feeding info back to those behind - we have all had our turn scouting around for anchorages and passing on the info and way points, sharing spare parts, sharing knowledge and the list goes on)so we leave the Trobriands with a good weather window to cross the Solomon Sea and head back to the mainland.
6'33.748S 147'50.583E The two day and night passage to Finsch harbour on mainland PNG was the first time we have flown the spinnaker -
now why haven't we done this before!!!! Just fantastic. We can sail 5 knots in 5-6 knots of wind, not bad for a solid
steel boat. The motion is just beautiful too. We had a little trouble getting it up but once up we couldn't bring ourselves
to pull it down - sailing the whole day, night and most of the next day with it up before the wind switched. We caught up
to the group in no time having left around four hours after them and had the pleasure of sailing when most had to motor. A
special passage. We arrived in Finsch Harbour the day before a local festival held
annually to celebrate the colonisation of the area 100 years ago by the Lutherine Church and were invited to attend, apparently
we were the first white people to attend the ceremony. It was special to attend something that was part of their traditional
culture and not put on for white people. It started with speeches and thankyou's to the officials who had traveled to
be there then there was a fantastic reenactment of the colonisation in traditional outfits, done with a touch of humour, which
kept the local kids interested, lots of giggles and excitement, it is the way they pass on the knowledge of their local history.
They played drums carved from wood with lizard leather stretched over the top and sang. A lovely woven mat was put down for
us to sit on and some locals explained everything to us. They even included us in the speeches asking the town to make us
welcome and to respect our boats.
Well this was nothing like our last sail. The Vitiaz Straight and the Bismarck Sea are know for
wild squalls and we copped the brunt of a nasty one. The sail was exhausting even though it was only a 24 hour trip. To start
with it was just a really uncomfortable swell to contend with then once on a good heading and sailing nicely we were hit with
a squall. We only had a small handkerchief of mainsail up as we saw it coming but that was enough to push us along at 10.5
knots (with no motor running)!!!! surfing down 3 meter waves. Neither the course master or the wind steering could hold our
course in the swell as the tremendous wind pulled the boat around the minute she veered down a wave tipping us on our side
so it was hand steering till it passed. It was after some time and after a lot of anxiety that we realised it was never going
to pass as we were being pushed along at the very front of it. We had blue skies ahead and a wild storm behind us.
We
arrive in Madang with a list of things to do on the boat. Some general engine maintenance, some repairs, provisioning, topping
up fuel and water, laundry and see a couple of great dive sites. We are hoping to do all this quite quickly as we have a long
way to travel to check out of PNG (approx. 350 nautical miles) and our cruising permits for Indonesia start on the 20th giving
us 60 days to travel through Indonesia (also a lot of miles to cover in that time). Well in true PNG style we won't be getting any booze in this town even thought all our boats are
dry. In Alotau they did not sell alcohol on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So when we were told there was a ban on alcohol we
sort of thought they meant till Monday. Nope they mean for six months. The counselor decided that no alcohol can be sold off
license for six months. Imagine that happening in Sydney! We found out later that it was because of regional conflicts. Madang is a peaceful province though there were a few more
serious looking men around and you could sort of see that with alcohol flowing things could get out of hand. The harbour is
just beautiful with scattered islands throughout. We anchored off the Madang Club (a boat/yacht club) which had a security
guard so our dinghies could be left there without concern and we enjoyed many great cheap meals there and a few games of pool.
There were great fresh produce markets and supermarkets and an international hotel that let us use the swimming pool which
was so nice and a real treat for the kids. We met a some lovely people on a yacht who had just come from where we are heading
and they were heading the way we came. We swapped charts and info which is just invaluable. This is where we started to hear
of trouble up around the Wewak area which we have to pass to get to Indonesia. One cruiser who we met had been robbed and
cut up pretty bad by some guys after anchoring off an Island northeast of Wewak around 7 weeks earlier (Blup Blup Island).
He said as he tried to anchor that there were canoes in his way and they were not friendly and that had he not been so tired
he would have read the signs better and not anchored at all. All good info to take on board. From Madang we were really trying to hurry along to make the miles to Indonesia. We did stop at the north end of the harbour at Sek Island for an easy exit the next day only to stay there another day because it was so pretty and the people so friendly.
4'10.251S 144'52.373E After a 24
hour sail we anchored in a coral lagoon off a small island in the middle of Hansa Bay. It was an early morning arrival and
we waited at the mouth of the bay by an active volcano for day light. You could see an orange glow from the top of the gigantic
volcano in the dark. The volcano last erupted in 2004 killing quite a few people who were living on it. While not many still
live there some did return to rebuild their homes. Latchen dove into the water and swam ahead of the boats to let us know where the edge of the coral lagoon was as
early morning is the worst time for visibility in the water. We were a bit nervous about this place as Unicorn (now traveling
ahead of us)had felt unsafe here but with the three yachts here together we found it fine and the locals friendly. A different
canoe came out to the island from the mainland each day that we were there and stayed until dusk. I am not sure if they were
keeping an eye on us or making sure no harm came to us, either way they were very friendly and told us we could make fires
on the beach and enjoy the island. It was a beautiful lagoon for snorkeling with hundreds of beautiful fish and soft and hard
corals. The harbour has a number of amazing wrecks and the surrounding land many relics from the war. Paul explored the forest
area coming across Japanese war planes pretty well in tact and dove on a huge ship that you could get inside the engine room.
Definitely a place we would like to come back to specifically for diving. Interestingly the locals here warned us seriously about the people of Wewak and the Sepik River. Telling us they
are very bad people. Paul and I were really losing interest in stopping at such places and were happy to make the three day
passage straight to Vanimo, a safe province and our last port of call in PNG before clearing out and sailing into Indonesia.
The other boats, however, are keen to break the passage up so we agree to make an overnight to Wewak arriving in the morning
so that we would have the day to ascertain for ourselves how safe the place is and whether or not to stay.
3'34.352S 143'39.021E While Paul and Louise were in doing the official business John
raised the alarm that he had been robbed in broad daylight while they were on the boat. The so called friendly local kids
who had been given lots of gifts had also taken binoculars, dinghy ores, clothes, and the list goes on. Louise had been called
on the radio by a local boat saying that our boats had already been looked over and were probably going to be robbed that
night, that we were not safe and should leave. John was so upset he pulled up anchor and circled his boat until the rest of
us could get organised to go. A gentleman and his wife came out to the boat to help and used very strong words to get everyone
away from the boats. The lady was the local chiefs daughter and when she heard things had been taken she took it upon herself
to track down the culprits and return our belongings (we did get most things back). They too warned that we really should
go, the few bad people in the town do have guns. We
then had a problem. The customs official had taken our clearance papers so we had no paperwork to give to the officials in
Vanimo to clear out. The gentleman helping us took Paul ashore to track down the customs official taking him all over town
and even to the official's house but with no luck. Antaia and Spiders Web were very uneasy about having a two nights at
sea to get to Vanimo and wanted to make their way out of the harbour in day light and it was now getting late in the day.
I said we were fine as the chief's daughter and a group of their friends were with us to ensure we were safe while trying
to find our paperwork. In the end we moved and anchored outside the customs office at around 6pm for one final attempt to
get our paperwork having decided that if we could not we would leave anyway and explain the situation at Vanimo. We did find
the customs official and got all our paperwork and even he said we really should go. I don't know how many times you can
be warned! We were so glad to be out of there. It
is funny though we were given some beautiful gifts by some people in the very short time in Wewak and Antaia thought we would
have been safe enough anchored off the island outside the harbour. To my mind we would only have ourselves to blame if any
harm had come to any of us as we were warned so many times and we were not willing to wait for something terrible to happen.
What an exhausting few hours!! 2'41.0575S
141'17.569E What a pretty and safe spot. Vanimo is a
small town with only a few shops and has a huge logging industry. The harbour has barges parked piled high with logs waiting
to be shipped. Long boats zoom in and out of the harbour and not a single canoe came out to our boats. We were assured by
locals that nothing of ours would be touched here and no one would come out to our boats. It was a really nice place to rest
after three long nights of sailing. We arranged a day of surfing off a breaking reef only to find out that in the north-east
monsoon the waves are 12 meters high with a right and left hand break (off either side of the reef) and surf competitions
are often held here. Unfortunately it is the wrong time of year for the huge surf but we did enjoy a day on the beach and
Paul, Latchen, Aimee and Alon all caught enough waves to be pretty happy. We are a little sad to leave PNG, we have many fond memories of all the great places and people we have met and it
will always have a special place in our hearts as our first off shore adventure. 2’32.301S 140’42.525E A short 5 hour trip and we are in Indonesia by lunch time. The contrast between PNG and Indonesia
is just crazy right up to either side of the boarder. The huts, subsistence communities, dug out canoes of PNG are worlds
apart from the hustle and bustle of cars, motorbikes, street vendors, shops, high-rises of Indonesia. The fishing boats here
all have motors and everything is so cheap. In PNG people cannot get two kena to rub together everything is expensive even
by our standards. The rubbish as a result of all the shops and packaged goods is quite overwhelming and again a big contrast
to PNG. Darien is so excited about getting some new DVDs, toys, clothes and not trading
anymore. The little thing really didn't like giving away all our goodies only to get fruit and veggies in return - not
a single new toy. She loves Indonesia with all the goodies in the shops. She has already picked out a beautiful dress in traditional
Indonesian fabric and shoes to match and didn't take them off for three days. Jayapura
is not a tourist town so there is really no need for people to speak English. While a few people speak the odd word or two
communication is really difficult so we are desperately trying to learn Indonesian. The people here have been so kind, inviting
us to meals at their houses, to their kids birthday parties and taking us around town. The police and authorities have also
been very helpful and are keeping an eye on our boats for us. The town feels very safe and because the people here are Muslim
they don't drink. Consequently the evenings are very quiet in the city and very safe. There is a huge night market here
full of fresh produce, clothes, shoes, DVDs, jewelry, cosmetics, everything you could think of. It is all for the local people
and it comes alive at night, stalls packing in tight, people and motorbikes making their way up and down the narrow passages
between stalls. Street vendors selling local meals are everywhere and the food is cheap and delicious. We are getting the
hang of the names for different food and now know "rica rica" is really really hot and not rice. The first restaurant
we went to we all ordered "rica rica" nodding our heads "ya" "ya" "rica rica" - all
the food was pretty much too hot to eat. We are finding that if people in shops can't
understand what we are saying they just go about their business and it is really hard to tell if they are doing something
to help us or just serving someone else, usually the later. After a while of standing around we often realise we are not being
served. It is quite funny really.  Indonesia is not the place you wanna be if you have just given up Smoking.
At less than $2 a packet and with everyone doing it everywhere the most hardened reformed smoker can surcombe. It is endemic
amongst Indonesian males { the women do not smoke }. The cigarette companies have no advertising boundaries and run riot.
This part of indo being so close to the equator, is hot and humid so all the fun things happen at night . The food tents with
their wonderful fresh fish, the outdoor coffee shops and night markets. Every indo male from 15 years up has a cigerette going.
The guy beside me in the restuarant last night was eating with his right hand and smoking with his left {Muslims do not use
there left hand for eating}. Even the month of Ramadan has become victim of the smokeing addiction. You are supposed to not
eat or drink or smoke for the best part of the day, they observe the no eating or drinking part but the smoking addiction
is too strong. The goverment don't seem to care as you're pretty much on your own if you get cancer {unless you have
lots a Rupiahs}. Something needs to be done before the Indonesian male population over 50 disappears. It really is tragic.
I have inquired as to why the women do not smoke and have been told that they do. When I push the point saying that I have not seen any women smoking I'm told that I must be mistaken.......A mystery.
8-8-2010
Sarong has also been a turning point for us .It is here where we leave
the group and continue alone. Latchen, Louise and Sieara {Dariens special little friend} from "Antaia" are heading
around the bottom of Borneo and up to Singapore. John and Alon from "Spiders Web" will be following the same route.
Dion, Yui, and there beautiful kids Luana and Ryan will be going the same way but at a faster pace as they are now keen to
get to Thailand Yui's birth place. Cruising in a group was never our intension
, but the opportunity to sail with people roughly the same age who had children Darien’s age was appealing and has been
a real success . It has allowed us to explore a relatively isolated coastline with a certain degree of safety. It has also
allowed myself and Joyce some downtime as Darien has played happily with the other three kids . There are things we would
not have done and places we would not have anchored had we been by ourselves. What I was initially nervous about has turned
out to be a great success. On the flip side we are now happy to be by ourselves, make
our own decisions ,move at our own pace and enjoy some solitude. We will hopefully all meet up again in Thailand at the end
of the year. RAJA AMPAT
Raja Ampat boasts the most bio-diverse reef system in the world, harboring more species of fish and hard
and soft corals than any where else on the planet. A treasured secret of hard core, well heeled divers and described by Cruising
Helmsman as possibly the most beautiful cruising destination on earth. We spent two weeks cruising this paradisacal chain
of lslands, we were the only cruising boat there, in fact the only boat there full stop. Pictures cannot describe this wonderous
place.
It was time to leave Raja Ampat and head west to the Island of Halamahera where we would once again
cross the equator. After stopping at Bacan for the night it was a two day passage to Manado the capital of North Sulawesi
and a predominantly Christian population. This must mean cheaper beer, surely! Perhaps we might even get a chilled chardonay.
MANADO
Manado is a predominently Christian town with a population of 500,000. It feels like there are three times
that many people here as everyone hangs out in the city where all the shops are.
The Indonesians have got the whole public transport thing sussed. There are two methods of public transport, the bemo or the motor bike. Everyone who owns a motorbike has the right to transport someone else at a negotiated price as long as they can supply their paying passenger with a helmet. The other method of getting around is by bemo, which is a small minivan, usually carrying up to eight people. In Jayapura the white vans did a circle around the town and the blue vans went out of town. You can hail them anywhere and get off anywhere for a charge of 2,000 ruphias (about 20 cents). The vans are in various states of disrepair some being well looked after and boasting velour interiors and flashing lights. Others have wooden floorboards replacing rust. The system works well nobody waits and no one is late,not like our modern non functioning train system back home.
BOND ISSUE IN INDONESIA
Edwin.
STEEL TORPEDO BUOYS
Tawau (Sabah Malaysia) 19-Oct-2010 4’14.987N 117’52.456E Tawau our first port of call in Malaysia could not come quick enough we were sick
of hearing the constant drone of the Yanmar. The wind would constantly tease, start to blow a little ,we would quickly unfurl
the genoa winch in the sheets then watch as 10 knots became 7 then 6 then nothing. In the end we just resigned ourselves to
motoring . 4 miles out of Tawau I started to get nervous thinking about customs ..what if they come onboard and check the
computers ....all that porn on the C-drive or is it the D-drive. They put people in jail here for stuff like that .Jesus what
about that x-rated cd of Pamela Anderson and Tommy lee or my all time favorite Mistress Berlin vol. 2 .Shit the boat is littered
with porn got to get rid of it .Joyce was not impressed that I was bringing this up at the last minute.
"You have got to be joking, leave them where they are or get rid of them"
So over they went arguably one of the greatest collections of vintage porn to ever
set sail .The sea was littered with broken cds they deserved better I should have left them in Sydney. We anchored off
the yacht club took the dingy in and made our way to Immigration and customs .20 minutes later we had a 90 day visa and a
big smile from customs ''Welcome to Malaysia " ...that was it no search ,no questions just a friendly smile and
welcome .I must have had that look on my face the one you have when the RBT officer doesn’t pull you over to blow in
the bag when you are stone cold sober but sure enough if you had had a few you would get waved in.
Mr. Tan is BAGUSE that’s Malaysian for good . He loves kids and
he loved Darien. We were treated like royalty and never asked for a cent . Malaysia has lots of Yacht Clubs even smallish
towns will have a club .They are generally large ,opulent buildings with resort type facilities and large car parks that house
the members motor boats .As there is little or no wind in this part of the world no one here actually owns a yacht ,in fact
I would be surprised if anyone on the committee has ever sailed . Anyway that’s not important ,what is important is
that they offer us yachties a safe and secure place to anchor off ,great food at great prices and cheap beer. We spent 18
days anchored off Tawau Yacht Club enjoying the Malaysian hospitality......and trying to fix our "Self Furling Mainsail". So Friendly, So Helpful. I know I have gone on and on about how great the Indonesian people are and now
here I’m taking up the Malaysians on how great they are. Well I was talking to another yachties about all this great
Asian Lov'in and he explained it as such. Paul, you have to understand that unlike us westerners these people treat the concept of time in a different way .The sence of urgency is not as maniac as what we are used to .Sure things need to get done but the timeframe is a little looser , there are not as many rules and regulations, here patience is a given not a virtue.
Malaysia to us is what Indonesia will be like
in 10 or 15 years .Economic growth here has been frantic over the last few years with western style shopping centers in most
towns . there are also quite a few Muslims getting around in BMW's and Land cruisers .......Allah has been kind. Despite
all this Malaysia remains a cheap place to visit. Food is great and it is rare that a good lunch will cost the 3 of us more
then $10 AUS including drinks. Highlights of Malaysia. There were many, but our trip down the Kinabatangan river a standout.
On route to Kinabatangan we came across this village, very poor Malaysian
people who belong to a certain tribe, have been told the name but cannot remember it. We anchored off the Island, had
a swim then took the dingy in to the village. These people were so happy to see us. They live on small stilt platforms, a
whole family living in a space not much bigger than a bedroom. The Islands are so steep that they have to build their houses
in the water.  Kinabatangan River 24-Oct-2010 5’6.655N 118’31.609E It took us two days to get down the
Kinabatangan River to Sibu, a really tiny town where the people are very aware of keeping the surrounding jungle untouched
and the animals undisturbed. We entered from the east of North Borneo and the river was relatively easy to navigate with
good depths all the way down. Leaving from a river a little further north was a more scary. The mouth of the river where we
exited was 2.3 meters deep at one point of the trip which lasted about half an hour and it was nearly high tide, we draw 2.1meters.
We were given a track from someone who had safely made it through and followed that which was great. The river was such a nice change. Flat waters and amazing jungle right up
to the waters edge. We spotted orangutans, proboscis monkeys and many other types of monkeys in the wild. We actually anchored
just down from one orangutan one night and I was very surprised to see the young male had come closer to the boat in the morning.
I could see him from the kitchen as I made breakfast - very cool. We also spotted crocodiles and the most fabulous birds.
Woodpeckers, hornbills, kingfishers and so many others I can’t remember the names of them all. A local guide took us
on a night tour in his boat for a small fee which was unreal. He had a huge spotlight with a lot of skill could get us right
up to the most fabulous birds while they were asleep. Literally about a meter away from them. He snatched a baby crocodile
right out of the water and we all got to have a look at the cute little thing. We heard elephants close by a couple of times
but unfortunately did not see them, however, a few of the other yacht there at the same time did. We bought and tried fresh
water prawns for the first time and they are delicious - a must if you ever get the chance. Another nice surprise from the trip is that any growth on the bottom of the boat fell off. The salt water critters didn’t like the fresh water. 
 Filling up the gas bottle is not so simple when the fittings are different. Here I am performing a highly illegal task using a Malaysian bottle to fill our Australian bottle. With the help of another yachtie we put together a hose without a regulator using a low pressure fitting on the Malaysian bottle. The trick is to keep the bottle you are decanting from higher and hotter than the one you are decanting to. It takes a bit of time but it seems to work. No doubt Thailand will have a different fitting again.   The two pictures above are of Langkayan Island north Borneo .For a small fee the resort let us anchor off and spend 3 glourious days here . Fast forward to Singapore. I thought it best we try and get
the website up to date so very quickly heres what we have done. Left Borneo and sailed across the South China sea to Singapore
.This was a bitch of a sail if you can call it a sail as we had the motor on the majority of the time ,wind on the top quarter
and swell on the side ...about the worst combination you can have .Halfway across the South China sea fuel was running low
so we diverted course to Kuching {which was not such a bad thing as i was keen on seeing kuching}. We unfortunately
were on a bit of a time schedule having made plans to meet up with our friend Tracey in Phuket on boxing day. This was begining
to look like a problem as its now the 7th of december and we still have a lot of miles to travel to reach thailand. There
is an old saying amongst cruisers " You can tell someone when you'll be there or where you'll be you just cant
tell them both " . We decided to give Tracey a call to see if she could meet us in Singapore instead. She said no problem
and the pressure was off,we could now relax spend a few days enjoying the beautiful city of Kuching ,fuel up and head across
to Singapore at our leisure.  Kuching, "The city of cats" Singapore .....We just want more ,more,more !
Joyce handing over our Precious passports to Singapore Immagration . I wonder how many have fallen in the water
? .You would think that one of the most advanced countries in the world would have a better system.
There are many ,for reasons only knowen to themselves that don't like Singapore.
The large majority of these people have never visited the island . Singapore is nice,
even great...Friendly people,great food, unbelievable shopping ,world class facilaties ,not that exspensive {certainly not
when compared to Sydney} and no crime,yes no crime. Breaking the law in Singapore is a health hazard {if you are the one breaking
the law} . . We loved it we enjoyed the feeling of feeling safe ,we loved the people and we loved the way they dealt with
the bad people . Would we live here... In a flash if someone would employ me. 18th December 2010 Feeling a little exstravagant we booked into "One fifteen marina" for Christmas and new years. One fifteen
{named after its longtitude} is the Ducks Guts when it comes to Marinas it just does'nt get much better . Turns out we
get the last spot and a quick look around confirms that most people here spend more money on there tenders then we have on
Byamee. This place is seriously plush. But we had a good friend flying all the way from Sydney to spend N.Y.E. with us so
we had to impress. After tying up we made our way to the marina office where they
took several copies of all our paperwork and a couple of visa imprints . Then it was off for the guided tour of all facilaties
.....
Not normally in the habit of taking pictures of mens toilets but this one had a plasma screen too.
Hard to believe this is part of the marina. |
