I’m home! One part of this extraordinary journey is over and another begins.
MaryLou and I have had several wonderful honeymoon days together and are going away for a few more to catch up on some time lost while I was at sea. We are charting a new course for our future which will include writing our book and me going back to work. There will be more adventures as well. Your overwhelming support through comments and emails helped sustain both of us through the many difficult times we had over the past several months and we’d like to thank you for that. It’s difficult to describe how much having that contact helped make the adventure more meaningful for us. We hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.
The last two weeks in Australia were hectic. After many months at sea, I was suffering from sore leg muscles and a drunken swagger that sometimes caught me off balance. My pristine, self contained aquatic environment ended when I landed in Fremantle and got a bad head cold from having been kissed and shaking hands with so many wonderful people. A small price to pay for all the attention and love I received on arrival in Fremantle. Bob Kucera, Commodore of the Fremantle Sailing Club (FSC) along with Terry Baker Vice Commodore, gave me a genuine Australian welcome and over the next two weeks I was treated as a guest and helped through a labyrinth of details by the friendly and competent staff at the Club. Their kindness and generosity went above and beyond the familiar assistance afforded a sailor in need. I owe them a great debt of gratitude.
West Wind II is in a “wet pen” (berth) at the FSC and is listed for sale with Peter Robinson, a long time member, through his brokerage. The very special situation that was created by pulling into Fremantle meant I could meet the ham operators and their families that had kept me company on the air through both my attempts as I passed Australia. It’s very difficult to put into words the bond that was formed between myself and MaryLou, and the ham operators and their families.
From the first teary contact in Fremantle until the heartfelt goodbye at the airport, my days were filled with wonderful times over barbecues at their homes, fishing at the beach, and playing cards at the kitchen table. We shared many stories about the hundreds of calls made between us over thousands of miles and many months. I left West Wind II in Fremantle which was difficult, but doesn’t come close to how I felt leaving the many friends behind whom I had become so close to in those two short weeks in Western Australia.
- floating carpet of pumice
- albatross
- transom view with auto pilot
- atop the mast view
- my signature stew
- man down
- hatch view
- flying fish fry
- 5 months growth
- dolphin
- distant spaceship
- a mackerel sky
I made many videos while I was at sea. Here are a few to give you an idea of what captured my imagination. Enjoy!
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