In 1992, I met a girl at university from Lord Howe island – Monica’s stories and her then boyfriend’s stories of the island inspired me to make it a must visit spot. It took me 19 years to get to “THE ISLAND” as it’s affectionately called by the friendly locals. The island lived up to all of my expectations and some, it could not have been a more perfect stepping stone into Australia! – Great beaches, incredible scenery, fishing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, good food, a bowling club, friendly people and we even got a great surf in… it’s good to be home!

I would like to dedicate the Lord howe island edition to one of our most valued supporters, Andy’s grandmother. Lila, thank you for your support and kind words over the past year or so. I hope you enjoy this latest ‘journey’ from the comfort of your home in Qld. Don’t throw away your computer yet though, there may be one or two more blog editions to come.

First night at sea en route from New Caledonia.

 
It was weird looking at the chart plotter and seeing Squander pointing at the familiar shape of Australia
  

Heading south – the weather got colder with every mile sailed – are we sure we want to be leaving this life behind?? 
Powering along… giving the wet weather gear and hoodies a workout!

 
By Day 4, Lord Howe island appeared on the horizon – the main peak is almost 1km high – we’re were still some 25 miles away

G’day mate!

Speaking of mates… the greeting committee numbered in the hundreds!

Follow us!

Happier in mid air then in the water!
 

Some of the most playful creatures in the sea – we never tire of seeing these guys! 

the flying torpedoes!

Andy, the dolphin whistler!           

As Lord Howe continued to rise out of the sea in front of us. 

Suddenly the fishing line went OFFFFFFF…. 

It took a while to reel it in… the biggest Wahoo i have ever caught! 

Andy had the awesome death grip around the throat as we wrestled with the unhappy camper… 

Finally under control… yeah baby!! 

1.5 metre Wahoo – yum!!

With the fish safely onboard it was time to contemplate the significance of what was happening….I was about to set foot on Aussie soil….  

Hello Australia!! 

A BIG thank you to Clive Wilson, the harbourmaster and voice of “lord how Maritime” on VHF 12, who expertly guided us in through the narrow and shallow north passage. 

Squander safely attached to a mooring in 2.4m of water… 

We had heard about the bowling club, and when I asked Clive over the VHF if it was far away, the standard Lord Howe answer followed “nothing is far here mate”, but if you like I’ll meet you at the dock in an hour and give you a lift to the club…  we were sold!

I filleted and cleaned the Wahoo as quickly as I could, somewhat surprised by the 8+ foot “Galapagos whaler” sharks that soon started circling Squander… they were far from shy bumping the stern with their huge dorsal fins as they tried to get closer to the fish scraps… hmmm… snorkeling was going to be interesting!

We had a sensible 2-3 beers and a burger at the bowling club and retreated back to Squander for a good night’s rest.

The next day we hired bicycles and went about exploring the island…. most people get around on bikes, and the few cars that are around are limited to driving at 25km/h 

the local fuel station doesn’t get much use.  

On a sunny day Lord Howe island is spectacular… rolling green hills, forests and  mountains surrounded by crystal clear blue water – there seems to be enough of everything for everyone -  small herds of cows graze happily, oversized vegetable patches growing enough produce to sustain the needs of a few locals,  a couple of fishing and diving boats sharing the expansive lagoon and only two cruising yachts attached to the moorings inside the reef. 

Getting some shade from the midday sun.
 
Plenty of grass to go around.

The island is roughly 10kms long and 2kms wide. We soon got our bearings and like kids who just got their first bikes for Christmas, we raced around the nooks and crannies of the island checking out the sights.

Jose and Andy tackling the steep hill!
 

One of many pristine, deserted beaches! 

Sofi enjoying the windy roads.

Lord Howe island has no mobile phone reception and only one place where you can get access to the internet – when it works… The internet access point is at the museum, and I’m not sure if it is some sort of in-joke, but the access speeds are definitely pre historic!

So whilst Jose and Andy caught up on their facebook and email messages, I decided to do something rare – I visited the museum… and loved it!

It is largely dedicated to the history of accessing the island – from the early days of sea planes from Rose bay in Sydney that used to take 4 hours, to the ships that were tragically wrecked on the island.

The Ansett airways sea plane ready for take off from Rose Bay in Sydney.

Qantas Empire airways

Little has changed in the legroom department, however it seems the early days of flying were a lot more social. (…and thanks to Matt C and his keen eye… how’s the guy holding onto his rifle!)

The sea planes used to draw 1.5 metres which meant they had to plan to land and take off within 1 hour of high tide, causing flights to often take off from Sydney in the middle of the night to ensure a safe arrival at high tide.

The big, heavy planes would then be attached to a mooring overnight in  much the same way that yachts are attached nowadays. 

On a number of occasions strong winds caused the moorings to break and planes to end up on the beach. 

With locals chipping in to dig the planes out,  only one plane was lost due to too much damage.  

Some ships weren’t so lucky, if memory serves me right this was an American Tuna vessel wrecked in the 60’s – its remains are a popular snorkeling spot.

Squander is moored next to another yacht in almost exactly the same spot as the wrecked ship in the picture above. 

With the wind swinging offshore , the snorkeling conditions could not have been better – crystal clear water, although slightly cooler then what we were used to, provided a perfect opportunity for some more underwater photos.   

the cooler water seems to allow a lot more green plants to flourish underwater.   

Andy spotted this Butterfly Cod and called me over. 

he was interestingly stubborn and would not move even if i shoved the camera in his face – he would simply flare out all his defenses in a bid to threaten me out of sight! 

Snorkeling the Tuna Boat ship wreck 
the Pacific Rock cod.

The elusive Doubleheader
  
A school of locals – the lord Howe Butterfly fish

Sofi and the yellow Green Wrasse.  

The supply ship was in – it sails from Port Macquarie every couple of weeks bringing anything from barrels of fuel to run the power station to fresh fruit and veg .

One of the many highlights of Lord Howe is hiking – we chickened out of the 8 hour power hike to the highest peak, instead tackling a ‘strenuous enough’ 2 hr stroll.
 
Eight and a half minutes into it, having a much deserved break!
 

That’s where we came from – looking north!

I wish we had had more time to dive some of these outer islets. 

This seems like such a distant memory after 1 month in Sydney…. 

Looking South. 

Surf’s up on the outer reefs…

testing out the Macro function on my camera

Looking towards New Zealand!

The modern way to arrive – a small Qantas plane approaches the runway.

Almost at our destination… swim time!   

And a quick snorkel before lunch!       

With fresh Wahoo in the fridge, we came up with an idea to get up at 6:00 am and make fresh sushi before setting off on our hike… and so we did!  

Devouring the fruits of our early morning labour!

Being the only current crew member from the northern Hemisphere, Josie occasionally feels upside down!

we enjoyed the beaches… 

the slow pace 

and the pristine waters….but our minds were elsewhere, or at least mine and Andy’s were… we were ready to head home! I would have dearly loved to stay longer in Lord Howe, but the weather gods yet again played their cards and it looked like now or in 10 days time… we had only been here for 4 days, but we heard our calling and decided to set sail… We knew we were going to get a fast and bumpy start with some decent Nor Easters forecast, and according to the bureau of Meteorology it was going to be a slow finish with light southerlies…. hahahah… since when do you get “light” southerly changes offshore from Sydney… but I was willing to take the risk… worst came to worse we would head for Newcastle or even further north.

And so we took off from Lord Howe in 20 knots, which built to 25-30 fairly fast and with our trusty second reef in the main and not much stay sail, we got into the counter current and screamed along at 9 knots towards Sydney!

After 36 hours of high fives and close to record breaking speeds the wind went north then west the died then kicked in from the South West and gave us a last kick in the pants….! With confused seas and a  short and sharp swell, poor Squander was falling off waves and doing it tough….   

Andy trying to wash up as we beat upwind into the southerly…  

I spent a solid stint on the wheel in the rain trying to massage Squander through the peaks and troughs, taking my mind off things by recollecting the months and months of amazing adventures that were drawing to a close! 

And by early morning on the 17th of November 2011, Sydney heads were only 5 miles ahead (according to the charts) – I struggled to see the coastline through the fog, mist and rain!  

North head… it was emotional seeing that familiar headland that I had sailed past on so many occasions on various boats…  

The crowds stayed in bed, but my mum, Dad and my old mate Foz braved the elements and welcomed us with great fanfare! We could hear fog horns coming down from above and as we looked up….

we spotted the sign…. Welcome Squander… ahh it felt good to be home!!! 

hey girls….. wake up, check out the Sydney skyline!! hahaha

Are you kidding, we left Fiji for this??! 

Stoked….!

… and proud!! 

With Virtuo Michael braving the elements, we got a phone call from the Real Michael who had brought the whole clan down for a look… We diverted course to Rose bay and dropped by the wharf to say G’day!

Ava, Che , Michael and Rebecca… so great to see you guys!! 

before long the fog started lifting and incredibly within 1.5 hours of arriving we had cleared customs, Quarantine and wee free to enjoy the rest of the day…

Yeahooooouw!! 

Jose putting on a brave face!   

we sneaked into the RANSA dock at Rushcutters bay and managed to get a great shower before leaving Squander and heading next door for lunch at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia – the institution that i sailed out of for so many years.

With our welcome home party scheduled for a 5:30 kick off we all decided to get an after lunch siesta, before sailing to Manly for the party. 

By 5:30 we were anchored off Manly Wharf and getting stuck into the first of a number of rums… Thank you to Fil Tejszerski for the the next series of Photos!

getting ready to head ashore! 

Mum (centre) and friends Dorota (left) and Ania (Right)  

here we come Sydney!!
   

Woah… so many familiar faces in one place!! 

G’day Dad…. a feeling of relief to be home safe and sound!

yep, I think Mum was happy to see me! 

But even happier to meet Andy!!   

Original Squanderers Nath (Strike!) and Simon (Action!) were there to welcome us home!      
and after 10+ drinks a speech was made… for those of you who didn’t understand my slurry words, here’s what i really tried to say!

“when you’re old and frail, you’re far more likely to regret those things that you didn’t do, then those that you did”

For many years, I used to walk into my office and read that quote by Mark twain.
It gave me the courage and inspiration to attempt to try and fulfill my dreams and to do it without being slowed up by the fear of possible failure.

Three years ago almost to the day, I finished work and set my mind on exploring the world.  2 months four wheel driving around parts of Australia that I had never been to, surfing in Indonesia, 2 months sailing in the south pacific between Australia and Vanuatu, 2 months road tripping through the middle east and north Africa, 1 month of visiting all my family in Europe, and 2 months hitchhiking by sea on various yachts. Sailing from Europe to West Africa and eventually completing my first of three Atlantic crossings…. And that was all before I bought Squander! I feel like the luckiest person alive.

When contemplating these good fortunes, the thing that kept on reoccurring to me is how lucky I have been to be supported by so many good friends and family.

Most individual pursuits could not have been achieved if it weren’t for the support of others, and the voyage of Squander is no different….

Thank you ALL – your support has made this trip so much more rewarding, meaningful and it’s been awesome to share it with you.

And if the people involved from afar have been the supporters, then it stands that the Squanderers, the 25 or so individuals that have sailed on Squander, have been the amazing team, the players that I will forever be grateful to.

Amanda, Simon, Dimitri, Nathan, Todd,  Luis, my sister Agatha, the duchies Kiki & Allard, Jenny, JB, Aaron, my mum n dad Matthew and Elizabeth, my cousin Stefi, Stefis friend, Michelle,  Andy, AJ, Caitlin, Mojgan, Scotty, Elyse,  Brento, Sofi and Jose

At various stages of the past 20 months, we chose to share a living space equivalent to half a small studio apartment between as many as 6 of us at a time. Our home was often rolling and rocking, sometimes tipped to one side, sometimes wet, sometimes stifling hot, but rarely unhappy!

We gave up our personal space, forgetting our day to day needs and focusing on enjoying the journey, helping each other, giving each other space when needed, but mostly sharing the good times!

Everyone contributed to the journey in their own way and I wouldn’t change anything about it.

There are however two legendary guys that do standout as having been instrumental to the overall success of the journey. They both know Squander as well, if not better then I do, they committed countless hours to night and day watches, making critical decisions that ensured our safety and comfort whilst at sea,  ticking off the ever present TO DO and maintenance lists, coming up with creative solutions to problems when needed and probably the most impressive of all achievements – putting up with me for so long!!

Simon Fraumeni, with whom I first discussed this trip some 14 years ago, came onboard for 6-8 weeks in April 2010…. He stayed a year and 2 months!   in Tahiti, he jumped onto our ‘sister’ ship MAD and continued sailing as far as Fiji. He crossed the Atlantic Twice on Squander and sailed almost 5000 Nautical Miles of the Pacific with us. Punching out a joke a minute when in form, Simon kept the mood on Squander a solid 11 out of 10 at all times, never taking anything too seriously, and finding THE BEST in all things that came across his path.

Andy Patrick joined us in Morocco over a year ago, and at only 25 years of age he was instantly the most experienced sailor. His enthusiasm for anything to do with wind, water and waves made an instant impact– with Squander’s toy repertoire swelling almost overnight.

Andy lead the charge and inspiration to Dive, Surf, kiteboard, spearfish, skurf, freedive and keep us moving fast! Aside from being a gun sailor, he’s a pretty damn good sparky, pours a mean rum and has become the best cook onboard!

To both of you guys a MASSIVE thank you – I owe the success of this trip to you both and absolutely could not have done it in such style and comfort without you!

And last but not least – there are two people to whom I owe the biggest of thank you’s – MUM N DAD!! they introduced me to the spirit of travel and adventure at a very young age, gave me the most incredible of childhoods and forever changed my life when Dad hand built me my first sailboat when I was 8 years old.

They have supported and even encouraged my crazy antics ever since!
THANK YOU MUM N DAD!!!!!!
  

The party wound up at a reasonable hour and we somehow made it back to Squander for a nightcap!    

La Boheme anchored next to Squander.

the following day the Sun came out and we moved Squander to her new home at Middle Harbour Yacht Club

The days started rolling as we washed, scrubbed and cleaned Squander… a huge thank you to Andy, Sofi and Jose for helping out!

A short week after arriving in Sydney, it was time to say farewell to Andy… we miss ya mate and look forward to hearing more updates on what’s happening in QLD! 

Andy heads home…!

Writing this blog can be a real challenge sometimes… so much goes on, that it takes some serious effort to travel back in time and try and recall the multitude of experiences, emotions and events that took place in a different country, time zone and environment. One of the techniques I use, aside from the actual photos, is to look at emails that I sent to people when we’re at sea. The below excerpt of an email I sent to Rob summarizes our final 48 hours of the 720 Nautical mile trip from Suwarrow to Tonga

Calm before the storm, Wahoo Sashimi – powering along in a gentle breeze and calm seas.

From: vjn3469
Subject: laughing
Date: 2011/08/14 21:28:10

Thanks mate.

Had a look at the GRIB and decided to slow down to hopefully let the majority of the front pass North, before we plough straight through it. 216 to go – calm seas, and a gentle breeze on the beam – calm before the storm???

THAT WAS YESTERDAY – I GOT INTERRUPTED as I was writing this last night we piled straight into the Sou-Wester.

Hard 24 hrs – 25-35kn apparent at 30 to 45 degreees – getting an absolute pounding and struggling to keep on course. pretty full on out here, cracking up though as we’re really taking Scotty and Dad though their intro to sailing course (and some!)

……

yep, some of the toughest conditions we have experienced since sailing from Bermuda to the Azores in the northern Atlantic some 18 months ago.

 
Psyching up to take on the night watch in pouring rain and big seas.

 
Andy and I took turns hand steering – trying to minimise the pounding as we sailed into short, steep seas. Pappa G strapped in and having ‘FUN’.
 
Another decent wave rolls through under Squander.
  

the worse of the storm is over, wind swings 30 degrees and we look like being able to make it to Tonga. 

Every storm has to end, as a new day dawns we spot Tonga on the horizon… and….

… we land a Mahi Mahi at long last
Scotty holding up the final piece of the fishing puzzle!

Smiles all around – Pappa G responds to the news that Tonga is in our sights!  
Squander looking a little battered down below – the table went flying and tried to join Andy in his bunk as we fell off one of the waves the night before.
 
Well done Dad…!! a proud sense of achievement as we cover the final miles of a 1400+ Nautical mile journey from Bora Bora to Tonga via Suwarrow!
 
Still plenty of Breeze as we sail into Vava’u in Northern Tonga!

Neiafu Harbour in Tonga – a welcome shelter.

We were all tired but with some encouragement from Rob, Hanne and the Ashes – we had a celebratory arrival Rum or two… at 11:00 am… and continued well into the afternoon and the evening. Incidentally, recent studies of sailors, have concluded that drinking large quantities of rum upon arrival in a port is an evolutionary phenomenon that erases the bad memories, and swells the stories to such proportion that they in turn drive the sailors to continue on their adventures with little or no  ‘liability’ from the previous discomfort experienced…. really!!!!
  
a couple of stowaways in the sail bag!

The next day we did all the usual chores associated with arriving in a new country… customs, immigration, quarantine and a fresh food shop!! Still looking a bit tired after the pre and post arrival battering!

We quickly got Squander back in shape and rejoined our friends on Backbeat, MAD and Sequel – we all headed off for Blue Lagoon… a small anchorage South West of the main island of Vava’u.

  
Leaving town behind. 

As it turned out there were three other boats already there – two from OZ and Mike, a solo sailor from the states on “Flyer”

We were really hoping to find waves… but it wasn’t looking promising. 

With the sun setting, and nature putting on yet another unique show for us, we decided to check out the local bar.

Backbeat with golden fingers of sunshine in the background.

 
The crooked pontoon – based on an average trajectory of a drunk sailor – apparently since removing the straight Pontoon, incidents of drunken sailors falling in the water has diminished by 30%!…. I love the initial sweeping bend to the right, followed by the sharp correction to the left.. they’re onto something!
 
despite the potential of this place, we didn’t feel all that at home and a plan was formulated to organise a BBQ on the beach instead.

Andy playing support for Rob on the BBQ  

Dinner is served! 
Freya putting on the after dinner fire show!

The next day we explored the outer reef, free diving whilst being entertained by the sounds of Whales ‘singing’ nearby… at first we literally thought it was someone playing a  joke on us, as the whale songs were so clear it sounded as if they were right next to us.

Scotty hunting the depths in search of whales
    

We ended up circumnavigating the small island, pappa G was having so much fun he didn’t want to get back in the dinghy and swam around almost all the way back to the anchorage!  

That evening, everyone was in good spirits and a jam session was called on BackBeat… Scotty, Raffa and Ash lead the charge interchanging the three guitars onboard, where as Andy played solid support keeping the beat.  

Ash threw me a harmonica, and I think I got one note out that was vaguely in tune… Scotty trying to work out the magic that was spilling from my mouth! 
As the main band took a break, the support act surprised everyone!

Moji encouraging an unplugged session after hearing the efforts of the support band!

after 2 nights in Blue Lagoon, and still no sign of waves, we started seeking out other activities… First on the list was Mariner’s cave, possibly the most famous of the many caves in Tonga, and also one of the more challenging to find.

searching for Mariner’s cave 

We eventually found the entrance, and took a leap of faith swimming inside

Here comes Scotty. once inside there’s a significant pocket of air where you can come up for a breather.

Hanging out on the surface inside the cave as the light beams in from the outside world via the underwater world tinting it a fluorescent blue.

Scotty comes up from the depths as Andy hangs on the surface inside the cave.

Every time the swell rolls in the air becomes crystal clear, and the minute it drains away a dense fog surrounds the cave…

eerie at first, but you soon get used to the sudden fog.

     
time to go… we’ll be back when Brent arrives!        

Dad stood by on Squander as we played in the cave… before long Pappa g had us enroute to our next destination.  
We were in the mood for caves so decided to check out Swallow’s cave

This time I stood by on Squander, as Andy, Dad and Scotty took the dinghy for a run  inside the cave.  

We proceeded to search for a deep underwater cave that is supposed to be home to many lobsters. We got the scuba gear ready, briefed Pappa G who was going to be our surface support aboard Squander and prepped our expedition. 
The dive compressor has been getting a lot of use lately.

We dived an amazing spot and found a number of caves, but no sign of lobsters. Unfortunately I didn’t take down my camera, so you’ll have to take my word for it!!

With all the fun we were having, time was ticking and Sequel got on the radio that the weather window was looking good to get moving – tonight!! This was likely to be the last place we were going to see them before a big reunion in Australia!
 

Team Sequel, Angus, 6 years old, first sailed on Sequel before he was 1 years old sailing from England to Norway and then to the Caribbean.  Freya 4, basically born on Sequel and Mum Hanne on her 2nd circumnavigation.
We’ve sailed with Sequel since first meeting in Panama over 5 months ago, in these 5 months there has been one or two occasions where our mutual departures have been mutually interrupted by an impromptu goodbye drink that tasted too good to stop at one….

and so it was that Sequel came to say goodbye and stayed overnight tied up next to Squander for a final farewell!

We woke up the next morning feeling a little hazy, Sequel was motoring out of the harbour and heading for Fiji. For us it was Super Saturday – the local Rugby derby was on and we were told it should be a good day with two big games planned.

Despite the wet conditions, we braved the muddy tracks and made it to the local footy ground. 

A solid turn out!

 
the local Chinese $2 shop was making a fortune – Rebecca, Moji and gAsh (girl Ash) sport the latest in football fashion accessories.

before long the local boys ran on to great roars and cheers form the crowd.

that was until the opposition fielded their side…
the local Gatorade sponsored VIP box.

Ash and gAsh.

The local boys try to get on the board with an attempted 3 pointer.
 
Despite all of the fun and fanfare of the Rugby, we bailed out at half time and headed back to the boats for an afternoon of slow cruising down to Lape island, where the local villagers were putting on a fundraiser to help build a small wharf.

there was no wind, so we motored all the way there – I came up with an idea to Skurf behind Squander and try and ride the dinghy’s wake.

Andy imagining a 6 foot barrel behind him…
 
before long we were anchored off Lape island and headed ashore to the small village of 20 or so inhabitants.
 
we got there just in time, as the chief said a few words of thanks, and the village choir sang a song or two.

The local feast was impressive, Rebecca jumping the line again as Moji protests and poor old Simon hopes there’s enough food left to go around!

the local kids looked well fed!

and we soon understood why – yum!!

Scotty, Andy and Dad.

The next day was yet again flat, and we felt for Scotty who was dying to get one more wave session in before returning to reality back in Sydney, we were all a bit frustrated as we had had high expectations for surfing Tonga…. 
 

Just as our frustrations were threatening to hit boiling point, Pappa G yelled out WHALE!! and we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon Whale watching, forgetting the lack of waves.
there she blows!

Mum and baby!
 
We tried to turn off our engines, and depth sounders in a hope that the whales will stick around Squander for a while.

but they had other ideas, diving for the depths in search of a quiet spot to rest for the night.

but just as one pod disappeared another one popped up on our bow… my ‘brilliant’ camera decided to create an artistic focused version of the stitching in my furler with blurred whale in the background – magic! 
these guys were a little more curious….

popping their head out for a look…
 

The sun was setting and we still had a way to go to our anchorage for the night, so it was time to say goodbye to the whales…

The next day we motored to town and i jumped in a cab to meet Brent TR at the airport. He arrived in great spirits to spend 3 weeks with us aboard Squander in Tonga.

We picked up some more supplies and were soon underway again, this time to a remote anchorage near Kenutu island.

We didn’t waste any time and soon threw Brent into the great blue abyss of snorkeling and free diving.

Welcome to Tonga…!.

Unidentified 4-5 foot shark of sorts?!   
Scotty making the most of his last days of a 7 week stay aboard Squander – wow that flew!

Brent’s first day comes to an end!
 
It’s not always paradise out here… in fact Tonga hadn’t been delivering the best in terms of weather or swell and so we decided to call an early end to our stay and head for Fiji….but not before changing a few logistics around…. I emailed Sofi (our newest crew member from Argentina) who was due to arrive in 4 days time from NZ and explained what was going on – she understood and rebooked her flight direct to Fiji with no fuss, the next step was to discuss an unplanned ocean crossing with Brent who had a return ticket to Sydney from Tonga – he was equally flexible and agreed to sail with us from Tonga to Fiji!
  

Dad and Scott’s last night in Tonga – we took over one of the local waterfront restaurants. 
BACK ROW: Brent, Scotty, Andy, Moji, Pappa G, Simon and Scott (from MAD)
FRONT ROW: Rebecca, gAsh, Ash and Gavin

Dad looking tanned and relaxed….!

The next morning Dad and Scott took off for the two flights back to Sydney via Tongatapu. For us it was time to visit a few of the sights with Brent, check out  of Tonga and look for a weather window to Fiji.
 
Friday night at the local park… roasting a couple of pigs and a few chooks!

The weather was looking good for a Saturday morning departure, so we got everything out of the way and saved the afternoon to show Brent Mariner’s cave.

    
Squander docked at the local container terminal, where a Diesel Truck comes to fill us up with Duty Free Fuel…

On the way we came across a couple of sleeping whales… I broke one or two of the guidelines and jumped in the water in an attempt to try and swim with them.
 
Chasing giant whales with a mask and flippers is not as easy as it seems…. I got within 20 metres before they reached for the depths.

The water was unusually murky…. I was so close, yet so far

Andy stood by on Squander as Brent and I explored mariner’s cave again.

A perfect day for a sail – waking up early on Saturday morning for the trip to Fiji. 

Despite only being onboard for 3 days, Brent acclimatized very quickly to life at sea. We had a dream run with strong winds and mostly clear skies.

Sailing West as the sun sets on the first day at sea!
  

And so here we are in Fiji – country number 20 for Squander in as many months. Fiji so far as been everything we imagined and a lot more. we still have at least 2 weeks left and it’s already looking like a bumper issue in the making with new crew, surfing, diving, guests from OZ, local villages and the occasional goodbye party as our floating caravan starts to disperse and head to their varied final destinations for this sailing season!

We sailed west from Bora Bora on a Wednesday morning. Our last night in French Polynesia was spent at the local Karaoke restaurant, listening to the local crowd busting out love song after love song – surprisingly entertaining!! Our initial plan was to sail to Maupihaa Atoll, followed by Palmerston island in the Central Cook islands. I looked at the weather and all signs were pointing at us changing plans and pointing Squander at the Northern Cook island of Suwarrow. It’s a destination that was 150 Nautical miles out of our way, but one that I had read about years earlier and was really excited to visit one day – I crossed my fingers and hoped it was the right decision.

Our first two nights at sea were tough. The seas were in the 3m+ range and confused at best, Andy and I hadn’t had a good shakedown since sailing from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus back in May, whereas Dad was fresh off  a plane and Scott was still coming to terms with his sea legs not wanting to co-operate.

But by Day 3 the seas had calmed down, the sea legs kicked in and Scotty reeled in his first Tuna – things were looking up.

Dad took his watches very seriously, and was always up on deck on time – checking for light leaks??.

Scotty was getting involved in every aspect of sailing, fishing, and day to day life onboard. Seen here wrestling a BIG fish at sunset.

We had a couple of good days and the evening of Day 3 we realised there was a slim chance we could make it to Suwarrow by Sunset of Day 4 – not a bad run for a 660 mile trip.

By Sunrise the Spinnaker was set, and Andy and I took turns hand steering aiming for a 180 mile run in 24 hrs. 
Yeeooow….the target is in our sights – Andy can taste that arrival rum already!

Everyone was eager to arrive before sunset as our charts of the pass weren’t ideal. Pappa G getting involved with some keen eyeball naviguess-tion.
Glad to be here… inside the Atoll heading for the anchorage as the sun begins to set.

Squander was the 36th yacht to visit Suwarrow in 2011 – not a whole lot of traffic around these parts.

Anchorage island – population = 2
With a cracker sunset, we enjoyed a quiet rum and an early night followed by a well deserved night’s rest.

The next morning Andy had a fun time launching the dinghy amongst our welcoming committee
Scotty stoked to be back on terra firma…

We had aspiration to explore more of the Atoll, but solid trade winds and the resulting chop inside the lagoon confined us to the area around Anchorage island.

Scotty and Andy stretching their legs – a walk around Anchorage island takes approx 30 minutes.

Pappa G appreciating the local sights.

Squander hanging out with some new friends. You begin to understand why the hermit, Tom Neale chose to live here for 17 years.

Everywhere you turn, there seems to be a conveniently placed Hammock to stretch out on – Andy testing the eastern side of the island.

the path to the “office”

Going through customs, Quarantine and immigration at Suwarrow – why can’t Sydney airport be this relaxed??

With all of the formalities out of the way, it was time to start exploring the underwater world. For the first time since being the in the Pacific, we were told the words we wanted to hear – “there’s no threat of Ciguatera poisoning here, you can eat whatever you catch!”

James, one of the two rangers that live on the island for 6-7 months a year, told us of a giant grouper that had been spotted near whale island the previous season – that’s all we needed as incentive to head that way as a starting spot for exploring.

No giant grouper in sight, but plenty of interesting fish and coral.

ahmmm… speaking of interesting fish – The black-saddled grouper became our main target with the spear gun. Most were between 30-60cms with Andy being the leading marksman teaching Scotty and I his skills.

Scott happy with just one flipper

A small grey shark comes for a closer look.
Hey boys, I might check out the sharks from up here for now.
More interesting fish that we have never seen before… a Bird Wrasse on the bottom right amongst them.
the trumpet fish.

Getting involved in the “food chain game” is interesting business… Scotty spotting Andy in the early days as we tried to work out how aggressive the local sharks are.

The black tips are generally first to show up…

Being a born king of diplomacy, Scotty brokered a deal with Mr Sharky.

Thumbs up, we kill one and keep it… and then we shoot one and leave it for the sharks to eat – that’s the deal!

The Lion fish – a pest in the southern Caribbean, seems to be at home here.

Despite the deal we brokered, the black tip gang kept up its patrol and was never far away.

Andy  decided to take matters into his own hands with a less diplomatic approach. Squander was suddenly thrown into a kidnapping ring.

Now listen here pal – you go tell ya mates, that if they don’t let me shoot three grouper per day, there will be serious trouble!

The wild animal and his shark!

One morning James and John asked if we could all come and help rebuild the jetty after one of the ladies caused a minor land slide upon entering her dinghy. Scott and Andy took up positions of Foreman and leading hand, while Gav & Matthew, also known as the “Blisters”, decided to show up after all the hard work was done.  

Following all the hard work on the Jetty, Scotty volunteered to use the over ripened bananas to bake a banana bread. There may have been some confusion with the ingredients or maybe it was Masterchef at his best?? either way an egg got replaced by chocolate and a good dose of rum, extra bananas were added and the baking time was extended by a solid 100% – the results were very “surprising”  to all of us – one word of warning – this is for professionals only -don’t try it at home kids!

With the day drawing to a close, we munched on banana bread and reflected on the To Do list which needed attention. A storm was brewing on the horizon so I squeezed in one last snorkel before tackling the jobs the following day.
The elusive “Moorish Idol”

As I swam back to Squander, Dad had launched a search and recovery mission – I guess I hadn’t realised I was back to being the kid and had to tell dad where I was going and what time I would be back… funny in retrospect!

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REALITY CORNER -  A NEW CONCEPT

We recently had a dinner conversation discussing the contrast of the images represented in the blog, with the reality of sailing and living aboard. There were a number of statements put forward as potential descriptions of the blog ranging from “highlights package”, to “false advertising” to “it doesn’t show the motion of the ocean” and a few others that escape me. It made me laugh but also made me wonder if I should start a “reality corner” aspect of the blog where we discuss the less glamorous aspects of our existence. I’m fairly certain, you, our audience is not interested, however I will give it a try…. here’s this month’s  top 5 of things that “weren’t in the brochure” .

5. learning to cook lunch and dinner for 4 people and cleaning up in a small cabin, that has been attached to the latest rollercoaster ride at sea world and happens to have a perfect temperature for bikram yoga. Not to mention the inspiration that comes from the taste of the breakfast that refuses to stop crawling up your esophagus.

4. Not using fresh water – we do most of our showering, shampooing, washing  dishes in salt water. It really is no problem once you get used to it.

3. Oil filter vibrated loose on generator and caused masses of black oil to spill through the bilges mixing with the salt water from the leaky foot pump. Today activity – on your hands and knees with toilet paper scooping up black diesel oil for hours – fun for everyone.

2.  One of the toilets backwashed whilst we were sailing in some bumpy conditions, spilling you know what into the intricate shower floor (rock, scissors, paper for who get to clean it up)

1. Sailing up wind for 36 hours in big swells, Squally winds 20-35 knots and pouring rain – did I mention we actually had to put a jacket on – almost unheard of!

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Now back to what we really get up to….

With the sharks still not honouring their end of the deal, we decided to get more tricky with spear fishing – the idea is you pretend you’re just snorkeling, check out the sites, and when the sharks get bored and swim away you shoot the grouper you’ve being eyeing off for the past 15 minutes.

Three species in one shot. From left to right  the White tip (top), the Black tip and the Grey shark.

Up close with the menacing-looking white tip

With the message loud and clear, we focused on the snorkeling for a while…

This Giant Moray was looking hungry.
The smaller fish teasing the hungry eel.

Flutemouth fish

Starry Puffer – Winner of strangest looking fish in Suwarrow
They could be brothers.

With the sharks distracted, we quietly slipped the spear gun back in the water and went in search of lunch.

Ooops… obviously not quietly enough – The white tip showing his stealth as Gav realises he has company – change of shorts please!

Not having much luck, I decided to hand over the gun to Andy.

It didn’t take long for Andy to spot his target in about 15 m of water.

and seconds later The white tip and the Grey shark were also coming in for the kill

The race is on to get it into the dinghy before the sharks eat your fish or…. you.

Unlucky mate, no fish for you, go find your own

Scottys target.

It’s best to get a kill shot through the head so the sharks don’t get into a frenzy and mistakenly eat you. Scotty with a solid kill.

Andy with the day’s catch. heading up to the filleting board. We ate fresh Black-saddled grouper, peacock hind grouper and marbled grouper on a daily basis. Just a few of the creations – Fish soup, fish Thai red curry, pan fried in Garlic, Butter, Chili. The best.

With the fishing out of the way, it was time to take care of some washing. So the women were sent to shore to the laundromat.

The shark feeding area used to be around the other side of the island where the boats are anchored. But that all changed when one of the rangers got nipped on his ribs by a black tip.

Following the sunset shark feeding session, John and James (the rangers)  organised a “potluck” dinner for the yachties in the anchorage. Everyone  brings a plate and let the feast begin.

Dinner time = Happy Andy

One of our neighbours plays the trump card. Baked apple pie.

Best immigration guy, AKA John the legend, in the world – now have a beer bro! 

It wasn’t long before some Rum was fetched from the boat and Scotty Sax came out for a one off show.

Ranger John, Corey from Rutea, and Lars from twister.

Papa G giving some solid life advice.. after a bottle of wine and a few rums. John seems to be taking it seriously.

One of the many great aspects of visiting places like Suwarrow, is that you tend to live life according to Nature’s will – you rise when the sun rises and once it sets, there’s no electricity to keep you awake (unless the full moon is out), so you tend to go to sleep early – if it rains you read a book, when the wind blows you kite, when it’s still you snorkel… most people are tired by 10pm and any attempt to bend nature’s laws tend to fail…. so despite a great evening being had by all, we were all back on our boats by 10:00pm ready for the next day’s activities.

Andy, the owner/skipper of Savannah told Andy and Scott there were big Manta Rays at a nearby reef. I’ve dreamt of swimming with these gentle giants for years. The tanks were prepped and we went off in search…

No sign of the Mantas yet, Andy in the distance and Scott in the foreground.

Cruising through the rugged terrain. 15 minutes and still no sign of any rays.

And then – out of the blue, the first of three Manta Rays that we saw within half an hour.

The Manta Ray is the largest species of the rays. They can grow up to 8m wide and weigh in at a solid 2300kgs. The biggest we saw were about 4 meters across.

they are incredibly playful and not in the slightest bit shy.

Follow me…like this….!

Andy “flying like a manta” ,getting in close and personal, at one point just a few inches away.

Blow some bubbles for me!! go on…

haaaaa…..Enjoying the Spa bath!

Scotty exchanging fighter pilot tricks with our new friend.

….And the Manta reciprocating with an evasive bank to the left.

Our white bellied friend decided it was time to leave us for now – the show ended all too soon and we hoped we had enough air left to see on more Ray before having to surface.

We didn’t have to wait long, out of nowhere this black one almost blindsided Gav

Hello human… I turned around and there it was – wow!
Seen with a 4 foot shark following it.

Like us they are curious and love to play

Speaking of playing, we definitely met our match in terms of a boat with the most toys onboard – in fact we were well and truly trumped by Pete and Daria from Downtime who have the best floating play pen we have seen to date. Kites, scuba gear, fishing gear, snorkeling, the best tender in town – Pete knows how to have fun – and so it was no surprise that they kindly decided to host a number of poker, dinner and drinks nights aboard Downtime – Thank you guys – good times and look forward to catching up again soon!

Pete AKA “Gary Busey”  and the lovely Daria hosted a number of great poker and drinks nights aboard “Downtime”

Pete came over one morning and suggested we go kiting – he had devised a way of launching a kite of the back of his boat – it sounded great – Scott and Andy were out spearfishing, So Dad and I jumped in to Pete’s dinghy and headed over to setup.

Imagine our surprise finding a movie star in the middle of the pacific. Jack Nicholson in Suwarrow.  
before long we were hooting up and down the bay in near perfect conditions – yet another tick for Suwarrow!

With a fun afternoon of kiting and a couple of celebratory beers under our belts, we went and  got cleaned up before returning to Downtime for a night of poker. 
Most of the people in the anchorage took up the invite – the stern of Downtime still had room for a few more dinghies!

The winner – ANDY from Savannah in the centre of the photo.

It was Day 8 in Suwarrow, time had flown and like it or not we had to start thinking about moving on to Tonga. A 720 Mile crossing. The weather was looking tentative at best, but we had little choice as it looked like it was now or not for another week. before leaving we took Dad for a snorkel in the hope of showing him a Manta Ray.

Pappa G searching the depths.

Blowing bubbles to try and attract the Mantas.

We had almost given up when  a Black bellied Manta Ray flew in for a look accompanied by a bunch of Remora sucker fish.

It didn’t feel like sticking around for too long….

Until Scotty went and grabbed its ‘hand’…

And it was soon back for another fly by!

And so on that note we all signed out from Suwarrow in our own way….

Scotty saying goodbye to the underwater world.
Until next time black tip.   
Floating in the blue Abyss – Thanks Suwarrow!

Pappa G kicking back in the Dinghy – satisfied with his efforts!

on the morning of leaving Gav went up the mast to have a look at some strange noises coming from the Staysail Furler – nice view from up here!   

With all said and done we went ashore to say goodbye to James and John – Andy sacrificed his Squander T-shirt, left behind as a memento.

John and James soon stapled it to a leg of their house

And so we sailed off on a Monday morning – bound for Tonga – it was an interesting trip, we caught 2 Wahoo and a decent Mahi Mahi, lost a number of lures to BIG fish and ended up getting both lines spooled arriving in Tonga with no fishing lines left. there are some serious fish in these waters!!!

Sailing with Dad – over 4 weeks onboard Squander – we’ll miss you Pappa G!
Stoked with Wahoo numero uno!

Smiles all around as we catch dinner!

Pappa G has been awesome – cooking dinner, washing up and generally helping around the boat wherever he could!

Scotty getting some driving under his belt!

resting – the calm before the storm!

We had a hard final 36 hrs – upwind in 25-35kn apparent at 30 to 45 degrees –short, steep swells – Huey decided to give us a good old pounding – we were struggling to keep on course. with some of the most serious conditions we have had to sail in.

We all had a good laugh at it in the end though – Scotty and Dad got a comprehensive intro to sailing in the last month – sailing over 1500 Nautical miles in a big variety of conditions, Squander held her own and we’re all here in Tonga, safe and sound and enjoying the local attractions!

Until next time!

After a memorable week of Villas, lakes and family fun in lake Como – it was equally great to be back by the seaside again and back on Squander. To make things even better mum & dad were staying with me onboard in Rome for a few days and then driving down to Vietri sul mare to visit their friends where they would again jump onboard for a week.

Back on Squander!

Aaron, an old mate from Sydney, has been living in Rome for the past 4 years and was kind enough to arrange a Vatican tour for us – despite not being renowned for my love of museums, I was really impressed – actually blown away by how good it was – maybe my cultural bones are finally maturing??!

A sculpture given to Pope John II as a recognition of his global reach and of being the most travelled Pope in history.

New meets old – I wonder if the foreground sculpture will survive 2000 years??!

There was some crazy statistic offered to us – if you spent 7 seconds looking at every single artifact in the museum – you would need 10 years to see it all??!

The last guy that tried??!

Today this would be a dude with a can of beer watching TV.

Our entertaining guide for the day – Eugenia from Colombia – see you in Cartagena in 2011??!

I dedicate this to my old mate – Matthew Carter – now i know where you got that dance move from!

My favourite – the more you look the more you notice – what’s with the Scorpion like creature having a nibble on the poor animal’s private bits??! …

Nothing on what happened to Michelangelo who spent years painting the Sistine chapel ceiling, but you do get a sore neck admiring the various ceilings.

And the floors are pretty impressive too!

The bath made from $90,000/kilo marble

…and we paid our respects to the fertility goddess – with her bullock testicles around her neck.

GOLD! everywhere – this crew over here in the Vatican has some serious mooolah!

This door is opened once every 25 years (used to be every 50) – anyone who follows the pope through shall have all their sins forgiven – with 900 people living in the Vatican it must be a long day before any outsiders get a go!

Saint Peter’s cathedral – if you only see one – this would have to be it.

Pope is out of town on holidays – a quiet Wednesday as a result!

Aaron, Stef and I – having a quiet beer after work.

Having ticked off a solid day of sight seeing, we bid a quick farewell to Mum & Dad and went about re-provisioning Squander with some local produce. The next day was a work day, we had a couple of maintenance jobs that needed doing and had been already put off for too long.

Simon drew the “Anchor windlass Gig”

Whereas I was back to face my old friend the generator – after 3 hours of banging my head against a wall it seems we have success!!

By Friday arvo, all was said and done and with a late addition to our crew, we set off for the Amalfi coast – Aaron joining us for 3 days and getting straight into demonstrating his newly acquired Italian culinary skills!
Night one anchored at the base of Monte Circeo after a slooow day of motoring. Monte Circeo is generally identified with Aeaea, home of the enchantress Circe with whom Odysseus hung out with during his travels.

We found this little bit of history intriguing – “ When Circe smites you with her wand, draw your sword from your side and spring at her as if you meant to take her life. Now she will fall before you in terror and invite you to her bed. Do not hesitate to accept the favours of the goddess!”

Az taking charge of the wheel in some typically Italian motoring weather.

Ischia island on the horizon.

A small outcrop, with a big rock & Castle – Ischia

Another 3 hours on and we finally turn towards Positano on the Amalfi coast – leaving Capri Island behind us.

A blurry shot taken in Positano – we were in a hurry to get into a bit of nightlife ashore – a fun night at “Drinks on the rocks”

We woke up the next day – or more to the point The carabineri (cops) woke us up to advise us we were anchored too close to shore – incredible view to wake up to!

By midday, with 4 hours sleep under our belts we were underway again – to drop off Aaron and pick up Mum, Dad, Stef & Harriet for a trip to Capri and surrounds.

Vietri Sul mare – a village where mum’s friends Basia & Tadek live.
Vietri is perched on a hilltop – Squander seen in the distance in the middle of the bay.

Having your Mum onboard has many advantages – clean laundry is just one of them Thanks Maaaa!

Didn’t take long for Captain Elizabeth to take charge of the vessel.

Cousin Stef working on her suntan, ahh I mean dissertation !

The arches in Capri. Isola Faraglioni.

Steff & Harriet plotting their Southern Italy attack.

A beach resort on the rocks.

The rolly anchorage on the north side of Capri.

Capri Marine – flooded with boat loads of tourists.

Seems we are following in the footsteps of some respected sailors.

By evening, the tourists boats are gone and Capri slows down to a calm yet alive pace – great for wondering the streets, people watching and finding a good dinner!

Mum & Dad lost in thought – enjoying a dinner in Capri.

Spaghetti con Vongole – a local specialty!

Dad’s been rechristened to “Jack Nicholson”

Quality times with the folks.

Ships of all shapes and sizes.

Mum was drawn to the hand made shoes, where as dad…

…., Dad had his eyes on food and wine! 
Apperitivi – enjoying a drink after a day of sight seeing.

Having spent 3 days in Capri, enjoyed the sights, sampled the food, the gelato and some great (and at times not so great) Italian hospitality, it was time to head off.

We sailed to Positano, where we picked up Basia and Tadek for a couple of days of sailing along the Amalfi coast.

We stopped into a little bay called “Recommone” that is home to a Restaurant “La conca del Sogno”  – The cove of dreams – great food and another accidental find that is making exploring Italy by boat better and better. Squander sneaking into the photo in the background.

With a looong lunch behind us and the sun setting, we decided to sail back to Positano, where we would drop anchor and leave the senior members of the current Crew looking after Squander whilst listening to the live music that was spilling into the bay, whereas Simon & I went ashore for a Saturday night of “future crew research”

Positano by night.

Drinks on the rocks… a great little club literally cut into the side of a cliff face. A fun night meeting people from various walks of life – a shout out to our friends from Napoli – Ciao AnnaLisa Pellegrino!

Having made it back onboard before sunrise, it dawned on me that we had to say goodbye to Mum & Dad – it was sad after a great couple of weeks of fun times.

We decided to spend one more night ashore together and ended up going to Cava, a town about 5 kms away from Vietri sul mare,  for their annual festival – another great insight into Italian life, with thousands of people around and not a single international tourist to be seen.

The area is famous for its ceramics.
Three to four kms of street stalls, wine bars and Italians walking – a national passtime!

Mum negotiating a good deal!

Wine bars are never too far away

Nougaaaat!

You gotta love an age old tradition mixing it with modern age – Italy seems to be full of these kinds of scenes, where a guy is lighting charcoal, in an old drum to roast his hazelnuts whilst talking on his latest iPhone, wearing a rolex and dolce & Gabana Shoes.

For those of you with a finger on the Italian fashion pulse, here’s an insight of latest trends for the coming winter – live from Italy!

Classical music concert in the town Piazza.

Local specialty – boiled pig skin, finely chopped and served with lemon – yummy!!

The fun box, vending machine perched outside a family gelato bar – Condoms, rolling papers and a lighter – sounds like fun to me!

The italians are masters of finding a tight parking spot – would have loved to see this one in action.

Having said a teary goodbye to Mum & Dad (mum made the point that it might be a year before we see each other again), it was time to focus on the next phase of the Squander Odyssey – talking in Broad terms, it was time to point Squander at Australia!. We realised this is as far east as we were going and I had to start planning crew, supplies, charts, pilot guides and routes for the next 4 months at least. But before we got too carried away, we had one last thing to take care of – we had to go and find the island of Lipari, where Simon’s grandfather was born and lived until the age of 20 or so before migrating to Australia.

We plotted a course for Lipari island and realised there were a number of potentially interesting stops along the way…
Pulling into Agripoli – a cool Medieval Village perched on top of a rocky promontory.

Safely “med-moored” in the FREE transit berth area – there are  a number of these in many Italian ports. You simply drop anchor and reverse onto the wharf and tie up. Usually you’re allowed a 48 hour stay for free. Ironically they are almost always right next to 50-70 Euro per night private marinas.

Restaurante Usghiz – perched above the Marina – great for a sunset drink & Dinner.

Walking up to the Village….

… and the view from above

Italians love driving their cars to the end of the concrete wharves – i guess at times things don’t go to plan!

Having stayed 2 nights in Agropoli, it was again time to keep heading south towards Lipari. We decided to anchor along the way and plan it such that we would sail past Stromboli Volcano at night and be able to see it errupt. A pretty cool sight as it explodes in a lightshow of red lava every 15-20 minutes.

Anchored off Capo Palinuro, Sun setting, BBQ fired up, enjoying a quiet  drink and the conversation drifts into an all too usual “man… what are we doing here without girls…?!!”  hahaha….

I frustratingly dedicate this moment  to my ex girlfriend Luciana who  didn’t want to come and sail around the world with me! there I’ve said it….HA!

Reminders of another life seem to appear in the most unexpected places.

The next day we set off for Stromboli island and by sunset we could see the famous volcano huffing and puffing in the distance.

It was difficult to get a good photo with the boat rolling in the gentle swell – and words aren’t likely to do justice to the moonlit night and the impressive island growing on the horizon as we sailed towards an active Volcano!

Catching a blurry eruption.

After the bigger ones, you could see the Lava flowing down the side of the Volcano.

Reproduced without permission from the web, the closer we got the more the spectacle resembled this picture.

By midnight we had sailed around the western coast of the island and anchored underneath the Volcano in a quiet little bay hoping we wouldn’t wake up with a lava hole in Squander.

All worked out well and by early morning we were up and moving again – unfortunately without having had a customary early morning swim as the waters were inundated with all sorts Jelly fish – including hordes of the purple ones that sting like crazy!

Leaving Stromboli behind puffing in our wake.

The Aeolian Islands in South western Italy.

Jelly fish – these watermelon sized ones don’t seem to sting, but the smaller purple ones are worst then blue bottles! 
On our eternal quest to catch fish – Simon abandons ship in the dinghy to try and drop a line closer to the rocks.

The fishing tally in the Mediterranean currently stands at 23 plastic bags, 3 lots of tangled nets & one Italian windsurfer called Pepe!

We were motoring in the Amalfi coast, trawling a particularly sharp, three hooked lure, when 45 year old, extremely effeminate and all too Italian Pepe decided he would windsurf right off our stern to show off his great skills. By the time we realised what he was doing and that we had a fishing line out it was too late for all involved – we watched in horror as his mast caught our line and rather than kicking off the windsurfer and falling in the water, old pepe (who probably didn’t want to get his hair wet) was trying to grasp at the fishing line as it slid down the mast and was fast spooling through. We realised it was now in the area of his neck – it was a matter of split seconds before the end of the line would reach him and the lure would lodge itself somewhere in his body  – Simon jumped on the fishing rod and let the run line – but it was too late we heard screams – child like, gut wrenching screams as if the lure had penetrated deep into his flesh and was continuing to inflict unimaginable pain.

I threw the engine into reverse, and as Squander shuddered to a stop I yelled to Simon to take control of the wheel as I jumped in the dinghy and nervously motored towards a still screaming Italian expecting to find the worse…

As I approached, expecting blood and gore, Pepe was still screaming arghhhh, aaaaaaaaaaah, aaaaaaaahhhh…. I suddenly remembered an old line from first aid training that I did years ago – it came from an ambulance driver that had attended many car accidents  “don’t worry about the ones that are screaming, it’s the ones that aren’t making any noise that really need your help”.

I backed off the revs on the dinghy and was relieved to lock eyes with a terrified pepe – the hook wasn’t lodged in his eye socket, my eyes scanned his neck which was also blood free… this was working out – probably hooked deep into his calf or forearm…. suddenly i noticed the bright red lure – pepe was holding it in his hand!!!! still yelling “….. malle, malle…. incomprehensible whimpering….aaaaaah, ahhhhh, malle, malle”

Ok, so the three hooked lure that often requires pliers to remove it from a fish’s mouth was not lodged in his body – good…. I killed the engine and let the dinghy coast towards pepe’s windsurfer – I asked him if he spoke English, but he didn’t – so I made a few gestures to suggest he calms down and gives me the lure so that I can untangle it and stop any further damage – as I went to grab the lure, i found myself astonished to be getting my hand slapped repeatedly in a child like manner as Pepe refused to let go of the lure or to stop screaming…

So what is wrong Pepe??? – I gestured to a still screaming 45 year old man – he held up his PINKY!!!! I kid you not – he had pin pricked his pinky as he was trying to remove the lure which had lodged itself in his mast – he had the tiniest spot of blood akin to an injury you would cause yourself if you were trying to remove a stubborn staple from a bunch of documents…. I had to use all of my control not to burst out laughing…

By this stage Pepe’s screams had attracted the attention of two power boats and
another windsurfer, whilst Pepe stayed there holding up his pinky and refusing to let go of the lure.

I was concerned that the boats would get tangled in the 200 or so metres of fishing line that had spooled out and decided to get my knife and cut the line – i signaled to Dad and Simon who were onboard Squander some 200metres away to reel the line in, whilst Pepe who became even more irritated by my action of cutting the line started screaming even louder and almost hugging the lure to make sure i wouldn’t steal it from him – we were only 50kms from Naples, home to Italy’s tough guys – how did this guy survive here for so long I wondered???!

With no chance of reasoning with Pepe who was now demanding that the motor boats call in the coastguard, I started the engine and approached the larger of the two cruisers who were standing by with VHF in hand and was relieved to find out that one of the guys onboard spoke perfect English – I explained to him that it was my fault, i had been trawling the fishing line, that old pepe had got himself entangled, I had immediately stopped the boat and come to his aid and was extremely relieved to find out that it was only his Pinky that had a pin prick in it – and that I am sincerely sorry for what has happened but am not sure what he would like to do next.

The man onboard gestured to wait a second, he collected himself and asked in Italian if pepe was alright – Pepe shook his head and lifted his little finger in the air… to everyone’s credit on both of the motor cruisers, no one burst out laughing although it sounded as if everyone had been unanimously punched in the stomach as everyone tried to suppress their hysterics.

The english speaking guy told me to wait a second, he collected himself and delivered an academy award performance and an important cultural lesson – with open arms, and the most apologetic look on his face, he looked at pepe with genuine concern and spoke the most sincere apology I have ever heard – it was like being at an opera, you don’t understand everything, but the keywords mixed with the raw emotion deliver the message loud and clear – I half imagined, half understood that he said “Pepeeeee, oh deaaaar Pepeee…. we can see you are extremely hurt, but this guys is really sorrrrrryyyy Scuza, muita scuzaaaaa…. Pepeee you’re ok aren’t you?? yessss Pepeeeee….and on it went for a good 2 minutes….”

Pepe listened and even smiled a little, and most importantly he hadn’t screamed for the entire 2 minutes – finally he gave it some thought and slowly moved his head up and down – some 20 minutes after the episode had commenced, Pepe finally came to his senses – I thanked the guys on the motor cruisers and went to Pepe – repeating to him SCUZA PEPE!

Pepe looked at me and to my utmost surprise held up his hand and gave me a high five as he handed back the lure!!!

It was AWESOME!!!!

…. back to our trip, our next interaction with Italians was going to be far better –below we’re approaching Lipari island, where amongst other things Simon got to meet his Grandfathers cousin’s son, who amongst other things ahs been the mayor of Lipari 2 times and has written a book about the Aeolian islands that he proudly gave to Simon as a memento of the meeting – we also met a number of other great local Italians. 

Squander moored at the end of one of the small pontoons in Lipari.

Walking into town – 5 minutes from our pontoon.
Lipari by night.

Restaurants, wine bars and shops selling the local specialties – Capers and sun dried tomatoes sold by the kilo wherever you look.

The window displays were awesome – this is our favourite – the hardware store display! 
The piazza at Marina Corta.

Having explored the touristy areas, the old town and eaten at two great restaurants over the three nights we were there – we would have been happy to leave Lipari satisfied. However as is often the case, there was more in store – it all happened at a small bar, on the outskirts of town, called “Luna Quinta” – one of those special places, with people who will remain in your memories long after you leave!

It was Simon’s suggestion that we should drop in there for a drink, and what a great idea it turned out to be – we met the beautiful Maria – originally from Puglia but has lived in the Aeolian islands for 7 years – she was running the bar for her boss Dora who was on holidays in the adjoining island of Salina.

Maria welcomed us and it wasn’t long before we were exchanging life stories, drinking, eating and listening to some great Swiss Jazz being pumped live from Switzerland via satellite radio… http://www.radioswissjazz.ch/live/mp3.m3u

It was getting late, and the bar was effectively closed when in comes Giovanni Ullu – singer, song writer and all around nice guy that is always careful not to catch a cold!

Maria enjoying a break whilst having a beer on the fun side of the  bar!

It’s been a while since I’ve worked behind a bar, but always happy to return!

Simon & Giovanni unmasked.

Simon explaining that he is the Mayor’s uncle’s cousin’s grandfather’s brother….Capitto??!

Simon saying arrivederci to Giovanni as he does a bit of time behind the bar.   
The next night we couldn’t resist and came back for another evening of fun and laughs at Luna Quinta – Giovanni told us stories of wine, women and song – and recounted how many years ago he wrote a very successful song, Pazza Idea peformed by the famous “Patty Pravo” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XC9NzEL-e8

He also explained that at a young age of 62 can still charm the pants off a lady!!

Having heard Giovanni’s renditions of Tom Waits, Cat Stevens sung ABBA style and Bruce Springsteen amongst many others, we decided to invite hime to come sailing with us on Squander. He suggested we could form a band and call it “Pappa Ullu and his dangerous children” – as you can imagine, the wine was flowing thick and fast and we agreed to be re-christened to Uluwatu and Uluru – we were convinced that Pappa Giovanni Ullu was going to sail with us to ibiza and serenate women with his musical skills whilst we made them feel at home… ‘twas such a great plan!!! hahahahah

As one of the “Dangerous Children” ordered another round, Maria mentioned that Niccolo Fabi a more contemporary Italian singer was performing on Salina island the following night. She extended the invitation to us and we happily accepted. The next morning we stocked up on some local produce and by early afternoon we set off on the 12 nautical mile trip to Salina.

By 5:00pm we were happily anchored just south of the harbour and went ashore to explore the little town.

A short walk from the Marina into the centre of Santa Marina town

Sound Check in the town Square.

One of the local seaside bars
Nicollo and band in full swing

And guess who we ran into…. Maria and friends!

We found ourselves at an after party with the band and got chatting to Nicollo – turns out that the concert was a benefit concert to raise money for a hospital in Angola – a strange coincidence given that’s where I spent 6 years of my life when i was kid.

The Vespa equivalent of owning an EH Holden.

A lot of what we experienced and witnessed in these tiny communities is difficult to capture – the guy on the moped is the owner of an internet cafe that I had just walked out of – without saying a word he had stayed open for an extra hour past the usual Siesta closing time – as soon as i got up he left and shut up shop, as he was about to ride awayas another guy walked past with freshly picked tomatoes in a bucket and offered him a bunch – he gladly accepted and is seen here putting them on the back of his bike – i guess it all works out – when his wife gets angry at him for being late for lunch, he will smooth things over with freshly picked tomatoes!

Gotta love a butcher that calls himself a “meat boutique”

We could have easily spent a few more weeks exploring these islands and even heading down to Sicily, but we had committed to picking up Michelle in Sardinia – our new crew member also now known as “the girl with the dragon Tattoo”. So as the sun rose, we again lifted anchor and pointed Squander west for the 2 day trip to Cagliari in southern Sardinia. 
Early morning cloud formations, Salina Island

It was a fantastic trip – smooth seas, fairly steady winds AND we finally caught a fish in the med!!!!!! An 8-10 kilo Albacore (long fin) tuna…. we seriously could not believe our eyes and even as Simon was reeling in the line, we were convinced we had hooked another discarded net or something!!!  

With freshly caught tuna, comes Sashimi for dinner!!
Bellies full of fresh Tuna – we sailed on with a full moon behind us.

Having arrived in Cagliari, we rang a couple of the marinas on the outskirts of town hoping to get a good deal on a berth – they were still charging ‘summer prices’ so we decided to try our luck with the Harbour master – we called him and explained that we were form Australia, in town for a day picking up a crew member who was flying in and were hoping to stay in a transit berth if that was at all possible. he kindly agreed to let us stay for free, but warned we couldn’t stay for more then a day. As it turned out  Michelle’s plane was cancelled and we were forced to stay another day and then a storm rolled in and pinned us against the wall we were on for a further 3 nights – so things worked out brilliantly again as we were able to stay right in the middle of town for Free for 5 nights – in the process we met Christian & Matteo from France who were running a huge charter Catamaran – good to meet you guys and thanks for dinner!!
Old town of Cagliari near the Marina – small alleyways, dotted with cafes, restaurants, bars and shops of all kinds.

As luck would have it, the final leg of the Audi Med cup was in town and racing was at the business end of proceedings as the NZ team were holding onto a slim lead with 3 races to go…. we managed to sneak in to the Race tent for a few rounds of free drinks and a chat with some of the Kiwi and US competitors – as it turned out Team Madrid ended up winning the final race and taking out the 4 month long series.

Squander tied up on the Mollo Ichusa with the town in the background.

In the distance, white spinnakers – Final race of the med cup in 30 knots, whilst Squander is pinned against the wall bottom centre of picture

Michelle from California has finally made it to Cagliari and will hopefully sail with us for teh next 3-4 weeks.

Thank you guys – having dinner aboard Lady Paca – a 50 Tonne, 23 metre Catamaran run by Captain Christian on the right and Matteo – both from France. Michelle, our newest crew member sitting next to Simon.

After Dinner fire works followed by a few drinks at one of the local Street bars.

Walking home we came across some alligators and one tried to bite my arm off.

…. and on that note, we will bid farewell to Italy and head back to Spain before continuing onto Marocco.

Goodbye & Thank you Italy.

Nothing like a good wedding to bring the family together – having reentered the realms of family living slowly by first spending a few days with Agatha & JB, the three of us boarded an EasyJet flight from Rome to Milan where Mum and Dad were waiting for us with open arms.

A great reunion and an exciting time for all as we shared countless stories – Mum & Dad had spent 3 weeks in Poland and driven from Poland, through Germany, France, Switzerland and onto Italy – visiting friends and family along the mammoth 7,000 km journey – whereas we had tales of sailing, inebriated fun and occasional cultural experiences.

We had all booked a house in a small town called Argegno and were staying there with our cousins Nina & Stephi and my auntie and uncle – Gianni & Monica – it was the first time we were all together since 2006 and everyone was excited about a week of family fun!

As it turned out we had a couple of hours to spare before we could get into the house, so we decided to do what us Gorazdowski’s tend to be good at – have an afternoon drink!

Mum looking particularly pleased at the sight of the 3litre bottle of wine!

ehhh… whata you takena photo ofa me fora?

The small “piazetta” in Argegno, ‘our’ village for the week.

Kicking off proceedings with a family BBQ – Nina and Gavin missing in action
The view from the balcony under a full moon – first night’s sleep on land in over 5 months – I woke up 3 times to check on the boat!!

As the vino evaporated, papa G set the trend – time for bed!

The next morning the bride to be used all her resources to organise some last minute things for the wedding – seen here facing MACa – praying to the computer gods – please let me steal next door neighbour’s wi-fi!

Whereas the rest of us went about addressing our own needs!


AG&JB cruising the streets of Argegno.

JB, Dad, Mum & Sis

Happy Days!

In the infamous words of my dear old brother Michael Spiro,”…we are living the lifestyles of the the rich and famous, on a budget of the poor and who gives a f#%&!!” Seen here on the grounds of Villa d’Este – getting a ride across the lake to another incredible Villa for sunset drinks and dinner – a great night!

The girls ready to go!

Uncle Gianni – contemplating some time aboard Squander I hear??!

That whole Italian thing of talking with your hands is catching!

Nina & Agatha – partners in crime from way back!

Never too far away from a boat or two it seems!

A lake como sunset with family and friends!

Pali our great host and all around good guy – thank you for an evening to remember!

The dinner table had to be elongated beyond the gazebo to accommodate all 25 of us! Lake Como looking South towards Como.
The next day we went about doing some sightseeing, including checking out the wedding venue above – Villa del Balbianello in all its glory!

The marina town of Lenno.

Streets of Bellagio town – great lunch stop!

Agatha, Monica and Mum – taking a break from folding napkins!
And before we knew it, the big day had come. I had a small hiccup when  I went to check out the suit that mum had carried all the way from Australia for me – as it turns out there was a mixup and Mum & Dad had lugged one of Dad’s old suits around half the planet whilst mine sat happily back at home in Australia – with 18 hours left before the wedding, i managed to get myself down to the local D&G retailer and pick up a last minute suit, tailored and all – a nice souvenir from Italy!

Papa G has his readings in hand.

Bride running late??? Even the organ player was wondering if the bride would turn up!??

and she finally did – much to ol Rich’s delight!

You’re mine now baby!!

Business end of the proceedings! 
Nina looking to the skies – please lord make my husband stop singing!

Mr & Mrs – congratulations guys!

And we suspect the page boy was relieved the wedding was over – looks like he had plans for his saturday night – dressed and ready to run!

The risotto was flying!

Senior Gorazdowski trying his luck at the Italianismo

Time to get the party started!

The newly weds arrive in style!

Post wedding recovery at the ‘beach’ – hanging out with Stef & Nina

and so it was that we wrapped up a great week together. Ag & JB flew back to Paris, Monica & Gianni back to London, Nina & Rich took off on their honeymoon whereas Mum, Dad, Stef & I drove back to Rome.

Many adventures followed as we went about exploring southern Italy – but we’ll save that for the next blog.

Time to weigh anchor and sail to Lipari Island.

Christmas has come and gone and what a great success it was. The whole xmas crew enjoyed themselves, food, drink, sunshine and presents a plenty!!

Had a fairly restless sleep last night… actually thinking about work, and solving website hosting issues in my head. how loong will these last for? still get the odd pang of anxiety-like sensations about having to return to work soon, only to remind myself that in fact I don’t!

Funny thing happened yesterday, my watch battery went flat, it’s worked faultlessly for years and it’s an interesting time to stop. Maybe I should’n't get it replaced and dump the watch for a few weeks to see if I miss it?

The surf has been pretty disappointing to date, but it’s given us a perfect opportunity to
stuff around, get the longboards out and get into the Xmas spirit with the girls! Gidget would be proud!!

Wishing you ALL a fantastic Xmas and a happy new year!!