Back at Manly without cleaning the bottom of the keel on the way. Very uneventful motor from the Gold Coast. We are now buried in the unpacking process.....

Chilling at the Broadwater until high tide at Jacobs Well tomorrow morning. Hopefully we will squeeze through at about 0630 tomorrow without touching the dirt. That is really the last obstacle between us and Manly. All going well, we will be back in Moreton Bay tomorrow. I guess this is the last leg of our 9 month adventure and we have a whole bag of mixed emotions. While the boys are keen to see the house, Mum and Dad would happily restock and pull the sails up again. This trip was several years in the planning and was essentially a trial run for a longer term lifestyle. Trial complete, lots of lessons learned and some experience into different way of living; simply and as a team. Moving back into a house might feel a bit sterile, bland and lonely after living in such a dynamic and close medium. No daily decisions on where to move the home so that we are safe, I guess. So the planning begins again for the next voyage. In the meantime we will feed our dreams with weekend sails and MAINTENANCE!

Just dropped the anchor after 24 hours in the washing machine from Coffs Harbour. We are now tucked in at the Broadwater (Gold Coast) and ready for some sleep!

Got to Coffs late yesterday arvo after an overnighter from Port Stephens. Coffs always reminds us of a mini version of Newcastle (which we love) although the marina is a bit of a tight affair. Here is where you get to see some masterful docking (or otherwise). Uneventful trip here. The seas were horrible for the first day out but got better as the night wore on until it was champagne motor-sailing yesterday. Wonder chunder (Nate) got it in the bag both times. This success was positively reinforced by Mum who didn't need to reacquaint herself with the ravioli meal she had prepared earlier. It's blowing a northerly gale outside right now. That will be replaced tomorrow morning by a southerly gale for a couple of days with barely a blink in between the the two winds. After mother nature has gotten that out of her system and the seas settle we will make a break for either Yamba or Southport. Possibly Sunday..... stay tuned.

Back at Port Stephens after a motor from Newcastle. Most of the way it seemed as though we were pushing through mud cake, except for the smell of dirt. Overflow from the Hunter river extends almost all the way to Port Stephens. As we rounded the corner and passed the reefs near the entrance to Port Stephens we spotted something in the water. My immediate thought went to the body of the yachtie who had gone overboard a few days ago in this area but hadn't been found (as far as we knew). With some reluctance I disengaged the autohelm and headed toward it. As we got closer it appeared even more like a body but then a pair of flippers distinctly appeared. If this was a diver he/she was a long way out and without a flag or vessel. So we got closer. The seal was lying on its back and turned to look at us before giving us a wave with a flipper. It then resumed its stretches, including pulling its 'toes' back with its front flippers. Jodi, the photo is for you. We know what you have been doing. Our cafe culture dog revealed all when a cappuccino appeared.... Just not sure if he prefers Latte, Flat White or Cappuccino at this stage.

Back in Newcastle after a crazy day passage from Sydney. We did not want for variety with the wind ranging from calm to 26 knots and coming from the N, E, S and W. The seas were very confused, producing some of the most ridiculous motion I think we had experienced. Nice "Welcome Back to the Boat" for Robbie the dog! He took appropriate action and stayed in bed with Jay all day (mostly under the doona). We look like being in Newcastle for a few days as winter seems to have caught up with us. I guess you can sail but you can't hide.