One Hit; One Myth

Finally got to circumnavigate something! So what if I had to pay for it, and it lasted only an hour. The boat was a 36' Catamaran called Adrenalin Rush. The breeze was slight, so hanging off in the trapeze was not that thrilling; my adrenalin strolled if anything. Needed bigger wind, so I called the skipper/owner, Keith Logan, the next morning for a weather forecast. He said that the winds were filling in, he'd take me from the harbour to Catseye Beach, and get me back in time to catch my flight to Sydney that afternoon, all for the low, low price of $AUD50.00 cash.
Keith picked me up from the Reef View hotel, where I'd stored my gear. We boarded the boat, along with the deckie (deck hand). Headed to windward and hoisted sail, then turned off the wind, toward the lee shore. Keith went forward to help the deckie with the centerboard; I was sitting amid ship on the trampoline. Seemed to me that we were awfully close to shore. Just as I had the impulse to run aft and grab the helm, the boat slammed into a coral head. The boat stopped dead, hurling the deckie overboard and into the net between the hulls. The momentum shot me forward where the rigid boom vang had a go at my head as the sail gybed. I was knocked down on my back. There was an awful lot of swearing coming from the skipper. A rather humongous goose egg was lain on my head. I marveled at how tough titanium must be to have held my neck together through the impact. Quite a hit!
The deckie checked for water intake, then was ordered into the dink (dingy) to push the boat off the reef and to turn it to head for a tack away from shore. Looked like the centerboard took a bit of a beating but the hull seemed sound. The deckie was ordered to survey the hull from the dink but could see nothing amiss. He took the dink around to Catseye Beach while Keith and I continued our little cruise as if nothing had ever happened.

So much for the hit. Here's the myth:
The myth: you can never go back. The reality: You can go back, but you may never figure out why you wanted to in the first place!

How to Make Enough Bread to Keep a Roof Over Your Head

There's nothing like travelling to make you aware of just how far a buck will get you. I stopped into a Technical Writing agency in Sydney to see about the chances of getting some work there. Unfortunately I'd need to be sponsored by a company in order to work in Australia, so the contractor thing is right out.

I was discussing the situation with the Georgelins when I stayed with them in Canberra. (Yes, I stayed with friends again, free-loader that I am.) Because my skills are not exactly in short supply, and because really I think an Australian could do my job, my chances of getting a company to sponsor me are nearly nil. I went on to say that although my work is somewhat mundane, and certainly not as creative as the special effects animation I was doing here before (and let's just throw in the fact that nobody ever reads the manuals I write), it does keep a roof over my head. Without missing a beat, the kids chimed in, "Yeah, someone else's roof!" Good on ya, mates.

To compensate in part for sharing their roofs, I made bread for the Rays and Georgelins. I think the recipe comes from the Silver Palate cookbook, published sometime last century. Here's how to make some bread (challah) to keep the roof over your head:

What you'll need:

2 c. milk

8 T. unsalted butter

1/2 c. sugar

2 pkgs. active dry yeast

4 eggs at room temp.

2 t. salt

6 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1/3 c. cornmeal (palenta will do)

1 T. cold water

poppy seeds

What to do:

1. Bring milk, 6 T. butter, and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat, pour into a large mixing bowl, and let cool till lukewarm (105-115F.)

2. Stir in yeast and let stand 10 min.

3. Beat 3 eggs in a small bowl, then stir them into the milk mixture

4. Stir in 5 c. flour, 1 c. at a time (add salt to flour). Flour a work surface and turn the dough onto it. Wash and dry the bowl

5. Sprinkle additional flour over the dough and begin kneading, adding more flour till dough is smooth and elastic.

6. Smear reserved butter around the inside of the bowl and add ball of dough, turning to coat it with butter. Cover with a towel and set aside to let dough rise until tripled in size (approx. 1 1/2 - 2 hours, though it may take longer in the cooler climes such as Bermagui, NSW)

7. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and cut into halves. Cut each half into 3 pieces. Roll the pieces out into long snakes about 18" long. Braid 3 snakes and tuck ends under. Repeat for the other 3 snakes

8. Sprinkle a large baking sheet with cornmeal, and transfer the loaves to the sheet. Leave enough room between the loaves for them to rise. Cover with a towel and let rise till nearly double (approx 1 hr.)

9. Preheat oven to 350F.

10. Beat remaining egg and 1 T cold water in a small bowl. Brush evenly over loaves and sprinkle on poppy seeds

11. Set baking sheet in middle rack of oven. Bake for 30-35 min. or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped

12. Cool completely on rack

Makes 2 large loafs, but don't expect them to last long!

Life on Land and Sea

The constant cackle of cockies (cockatoos), crows, and kookaburras may rival that of wayward roosters in the Micronesian islands, who never seemed to know what time of day it was, and so crowed constantly. I guess, like sailors, they know that the sun must be over the yard(arm) somewhere in the world. Just as well they woke me early--I left my bungalow and found that a wallaby and her joey were foraging right in front of my room. Nice way to spend the day. Here's what my bungalow looks like:

Now, to continue from the last post: I did get to do some snorkeling the following day, but must say that I've had better. I think the problem is that I'm rather spoiled, having dived at Jacques Cousteau's favorite reef in Palau. Anyway, the islands are lovely and the water warm.

I did get another offer for a ride, this time to Perth, on board a 46' catamaran. I could get off it anywhere along the way, say Canberra, for instance. Two things scuttled that adventure: a) the owner didn't know how to sail, being a new convert from power boats, and b) there are no flights available from anywhere in Australia back to D.C. any time soon. Oh yes, a Swedish woman was teaching the skipper how to sail along the way. Never did receive any calls from the New Caledonian, Richard, who Bottle Shop-Debbie thought would love to take me out for a sail.

So, the only thing left to do was to try my hand at windsurfing. I gave it my best for a good hour and a half, half of which I spent in the water rather than on top of it. After a short break I sailed a small Hobie Cat for an hour to make me feel better. Here's why I need to be at sea:

Time to go.

...And a Bottle of Rum, continued

Where was I? Oh yes: just as I was getting ready to board a bus back to Schute Harbour to catch the ferry back to Hamilton Island, I received a call from a yachtie, Craig, who saw my notice in the Whitsunday Sailing Club. He lured me from the bus stop back to the club by suggesting that perhaps I would like to join him for the Dent to Dunk rally--a sailing voyage from Dent Is., near Hamilton Is., to Dunk Is., near Cairns. And so we met and chatted (long enough that I almost missed the last ferry back to Hamilton Is.) and decided that I would go along if a) Craig's other crew approved, and b) I could change my flight back to Washington.

Because you are reading this, you have probably guessed by now that that ride fell through. The following day I found out that Craig's boat suffered a grand mal cutlass bearing failure and that the trip was cancelled. But that's not all that was cancelled that day. First it was the sea kayak adventure I'd signed up for in the morning, due to wind and waves. Given the wind part of that cancellation notice, I signed on to the Banjo Paterson, a yacht built originally for the Sydney to Hobart race long ago. I scrambled to get to the pier on time; everyone was waiting for me. And off we went. We even got the sails up. But then came the notice that there was a crack in the heat exchanger and we were taking on water a bit faster than the pumps could handle. So we turned back. The crew was apologetic and offered us free drinks. I had a glass of champagne while sitting on the bow pulpit. I understand that they drank champagne on the Titanic too. Back on shore; back to the tour desk. I booked onto an afternoon snorkel safari in the Coral Gardens in the Great Barrier Reef. So off I went--back to the harbour and into the dive shop, only to find that there were not enough people for the trip. They needed a minimum of 6 people and had but 3. You'd think I'd know when to quit. But no; I signed up for the next day's excursion.

And now you'll have to wait for the next installment because the masses are staring me down as they circle for computer time.

The weather has been spectacular. Just lacking wind.

"Yo ho ho and a Bottle of Rum," or, "Yo, a ho, and a Bottle Shop"

Sorry to say that I still can't post any photos. I did manage to transfer my photos to CD in Airlie Beach today, but the computer I am using doesn't have a CD bay. But hey, it's free. Stay tuned...

I spent last weekend with Mark, Danie, Joseph, and Rosie Georgelin in Canberra, Australia's capital. The American embassay consumes 3/4 of the city, and may be larger than the White House itself. How embarrassing! So what do you do when you meet up with friends you haven't seen? Well, you watch the kids play netball (sort of like basketball, and sounds like "nipple" when Australians say it), and Aussie Rules football (sort of like a combination of American football and soccer), and of course you bake challah, just like before in Pohnpei.

We had a fine walk in the Tidbinbilla nature reserve, where we hunted the great Australian koala bear. Rosie spotted one first; I wouldn't have noticed one if it had dangled a eucalyptus leaf in my face. They are tough to see, of course, because, well...they hide high up in trees and blend in with the bark. Later we saw gaggles of kangaroos and wallabies, and even a couple of emus. That about rounds out the fauna, except for the echidna and platypus. Have to have something to look forward to the next time I return.

So, here I am in Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays on the Great Barrier Reef. What's up with the "Yo ho ho"? Turns out that yachties don't sail into the harbour here because it's just too damn expensive. So I spent the day on the mainland in Airlie beach, where I donned my "boat ho" hat and made the rounds of yacht clubs (one, actually) and marinas (also just one), leaving notices and pleas in my wake. Still I felt that chances of getting a ride were slim. So I posted a package (what else could I do). And lo and behold, across the way from the Post Office was a bottle shop (Australian for liquor store). Naturally I walked in and went for the rum. The cashier asked me how long I'd been here. I said it was my first day in Airlie beach, but that I was staying on the island, and was just here looking for a sailing fix. And Debby from the bottle shop came through for me. Turns out she has a friend with a great yacht who just likes to take people out sailing and would more than likely pick me up from the island. There's more to the story...including a call from someone who saw my notice in the Whitsunday Sailing Club, but I'll save that one for next time. I'm on a shared computer and need to relinquish it to someone else for a while.

I'm going sea kayaking tomorrow and will return to the post sometime thereafter, but don't hold your breath--I can't always count on getting online when I'd like to.
So, "yo" from the boat ho.

Life in Bermagui

I'm getting lazy.
Australia has some of the planet's most deadly
wildlife: Black snakes, great white sharks, stone fish, jelly fish,
etc., and a nasty spider called a Funnel Web. Here in Bermagui the Funnel Webs don't bite. They're just too damn lazy.
There are, of course, more benign types: kangaroos, wallabies, Rozellas,
etc.
Alan Ray was kind enough to wrangle up a few kangaroos for me. We
walked down into the paddock where Alan shouted, "All right you
kangaroos. Time to get up." Right on cue 2 Big Grays hoped out of the
bush, did their tourist posing act, then hopped right back to the bush.
They've been telling me that dolphins play in the surf
below the hill, but so far there have been no sightings. Alan assures
me that I should look for them in the sea, and not in the paddock.
Now making plans to visit with Danie and Mark Georgelin, who took me in when I jumped ship in Micronesia. They live some 5 bus-hours from Bermagui
in the Australian capital, Canberra. From there I hope to fly to
Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays for a week or so of even more
R&R. Looks like my sailing adventures will be reduced to hourly
expeditions on small catamarans. At least I won't have to stand the dog
watch.
I can't post pictures of Bermagui because I forgot to pack a cable or card reader for my camera. Details, details.
More details as they coalesce...

"We've Been Squashing Quite a Few 'Sepos' Here Lately"

Translated, this means that Americans are getting run over in the streets. Remember, it's all upside down and backwards here, which means that Americans must remember to look RIGHT instead of left when crossing the street.
Further translation: The word "Sepo" is the shortened, endearing form of "Septic," which is what the Aussies call the Yanks. "Septic" is derived from the rhyming slang for Yank, "Yank wank septic tank." Charming, I know. Anyway, in an effort to cut down on the numbers of squashed sepos, Sydneysiders have painted little reminders in the street for us. See the photo.

I'm off to the northern beaches now to see if the house I used to live in on Bungan head is still there. Then from there I'll head north to Palm beach and the Hawkesbury river. Tomorrow I'm busing myself down to Bermagui on the south coast of New South Wales to visit my long lost friends.

Meanwhile, my former colleague and now well-renowned Film Director, Bruce Hunt, is trying to get me a spot on board a race boat that his brother is delivering from somewhere in Queensland back to Sydney. Too soon to be hopeful about this, but perhaps this is the big door that is supposed to open when another one has closed.

Stay tuned... Oh yeah, the weather is beautiful, and I wish you were here!