It doesn't get any better and floating objects

This photo was taken around 1am, about 50 miles offshore in between Port Denison and the Pelsaert Group. If you have never experienced sailing by moonlight I can tell you it is one of the most incredible things to do, gliding gently through the water under a full set of sails, a soft rushing noise of water to the side, phosphorous glowing behind, it is quite simply magical. A hot cup of coffee in one hand, rugged up in warm clothes, the love of your life, who is confident enough in your abilities to be able to drift off to sleep after a 3 hour watch below decks, you realise that you have never felt more content or happy. To quote a trendy phrase "....now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!"

This photo shows our rescued lump of wood, which we came across (luckily before hitting it) just floating in the middle of nowhere. Responsible sailors that we are, we performed a man overboard exercise and retrieved it. And took it all the way back to HYC, where we transferred it to the jetty to dry, thinking we could keep it as a rather unusual trophy....except that pretty soon it began to absolutely stink, and so it was committed to the bin.....just thought I'd share ....... hey it's my blog, I can write what I want :-D

What an adventure!

Sirocco, Mike and Jan have been to The Abrolhos Islands (well, one of them, anyway), Geraldton, Port Denison, Green Head and Jurien - all of which, for the benefit of our loyal overseas reader(s) are substantially NORTH of Perth!
We were away from our home port for almost three weeks, during which time we experienced several firsts - first time up North in Sirocco, first time overnight passage in Sirocco, first time provisioning, first time being on our own out of sight of land etc....we had a fabulous time even though we were beset by awful weather sometimes, but we learned from it and neither of us wanted to come home or get off Sirocco.
Also, another first for us was using our newly fitted auto-pilot, 'Otto' - have to say he did a wonderful job of steering for us and we can't believe how much easier things are with him! Although it must be said, Mike did a sterling job of getting us into strange harbours at night time (aided by me at the bow with a torch). A total of 574 nautical miles was recorded in our log books, with our best distance being 158nm in one 24 hour period.We both have the itchiest feet now and cannot wait until the end of this year for our next, even bigger adventure.....but more of that at a later date....meanwhile - a few photos....enjoy!

Mike at Port Denison

Sirocco at Port Denison

A lovely sunset

A lovely sunrise

Replica of Capt. Pelseart's longboat, Geraldton