Stunning Thailand - we'll definitely be back here!

Mischief Newsletter No 8

Hello dear friends
We left Malaysia and headed for Thailand early in December, calling in at a number of islands along the way. The scenery is majestic, the water on the outer islands, crystal clear, the reefs stunning and the weather very warm but at least not so humid – and it even cools down at night for a good night’s sleep!

Rok Nok was our first Thai anchorage, with brilliant beaches and really good snorkelling. We then visited Ko Muk and swam through a cavern (emerald cave) to reach the ‘hong’ – a lagoon within the island. Very beautiful! We went from there to Ko Lanta and visited a number of anchorages there, and caught up with our friends on Eloise.

The approach to the Phi Phi islands was quite stunning – dramatic sheer cliff rising out of the water, or with dazzling white sand at their feet…. The bay on Phi Phi Le (maya beach) is quite stunning and the location where the movie, The Beach, was filmed. We anchored overnight at Ko Phi Phi Don – you can see that this place was once quite stunning, but quite frankly, adhoc and unfettered tourist expansion has totally ruined it. We did have quite a good time though, and really enjoyed hiring a long tail boat to explore the islands – good fun!

We called into Ao Chalong, Phuket for our formal entry to Thailand. We have taken the opportunity to do some final engine and boat maintenance work that was planned for next year in Turkey whilst we are here such as some fibreglass fixes, polishing the hull and topsides, as labour here is very reasonable and the tradesmen very professional and with good attention to detail. I’m also getting new boat cushions for the cockpit done. Believe me, we are quickly becoming experts in all sorts of repairs and maintenance, and examining all work meticulously.

We’re in Boat Lagoon for another 8-10 days having a break from the boat and staying in an apartment at the marina. We hired a car for two days and drove around the island – including visiting the big Buddha: good fun. We have now rented a scooter for a week or so whilst we are here – whilst we expect the boat to be back in the water around Xmas, things do tend to drag on and we may as well enjoy the island, the food and the sun!!

We should be all set to go, hopefully early in the new year. The plan is to spend a week cruising Phangnga Bay to test everything out (and see what we have been told is even more stunning scenery), then depart for the Maldives.

We have uploaded the Malaysia and Thai photos to date which you can view at: http://picasaweb.google.com/SV.Mischief

Briefly, we hope to now be in the Maldives in mid to late January 2009, then on to Salaleh in Oman, coast hop through the pirate area to Aden in Yemen, in convoy with other yachts, then up the Red Sea in March – April, with a stay in Egypt to visit the Pyramids etc, and then through the Suez on to Cyprus and the Med around May when it hopefully has warmed up a bit. The first year will probably be spent in Turkey – our plans in a nutshell.

Here’s wishing you a very happy Xmas, and a great new year in 2009!!

Malaysia & the Malaccca Straits

Mischief Newsletter No 7

Dear friends
It has certainly been an interesting passage up the Malacca Straits. A place of contrasts, …everchanging.

To begin with, let me say that we were not really worried about pirates, and we found nothing but friendly fishermen, some perhaps also very curious who came to have a close look at a sailing vessel.

We left Sebana Cove in eastern Malaysia and rounded the island of Singapore and into the Straits, overnighting at a couple of islands on the way. Our first short stop was at the Water Islands, outside Malacca: pretty, huge resort on the island which was totally abandoned, and very much a hallmark of so many resorts throughout Malaysia –even worse than in Indonesia… in fact, after six weeks in these waters, I have to say I have never seen so many ‘white elephants’ – and costly ones at that – before!

We then headed to Port Dickson, and took the local bus to Malacca, as the waters outside are too shallow for anchoring there. This has been our favourite place, the narrow streets of the old town are full of doorways into worlds of old…. We loved the mix of Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures; the cuisine was to die for, and the added mix of Dutch, Portuguese and English history make for an extremely interesting old town. It has also recently been declared a UNESCO world heritage site – deservedly so.

We then sailed up to Port Klang, very industrial but worth the trip around the busy port, and on to the island of Pangkor outside Lumut. It was getting less humid and also the scenery started to change, becoming increasingly prettier. At Pangkor, some friends told us of a brand new abandoned marina (Pulau Mentangor), and we spent two days there among really pretty islands exploring the surrounds, before heading north again towards Penang.

We spent a lovely week at the Tanjung City Marina right in the heart of Georgetown. In the evenings, the Indian quarter becomes a street party with Bollywood music blaring and locals enjoying the cooler evening temperatures eating out at the many local restaurants. Some really interesting architecture around, but slowly being swallowed by the spread of high rises, if they’re not careful.

We headed northwards once again, intending to overnight at the southern islands outside Langkawi before heading there. We stopped over at a place called the Fjord, majestic sheer cliff face in a narrow channel sandwiched between stunning islands. We loved it so much that we ended up staying for 3 days! It was then time to head to Rebak Island, on the west of Langkawi to the Marina/resort for some R&R, Laundry, boat maintenance and general repairs in preparation for our Thailand visit and for the start of the Indian Ocean crossings before Xmas.

Some reflections to date: the big worry of those ‘sumatras’, the thundersqualls, never eventuated, although we did have a few thunderstorms at the lower end of the Straits, but no really strong winds. Cruising is indeed fixing the boat in exotic locations – the list grows longer daily, and you never seem to catch up! Also, I have never been so familiar with the underpants brand of so many friends around us.. haha, on board we all succumb to the ‘brief’ temptation, which is why one always calls out when visiting another yacht… well, what do you expect, it’s hot, and humid and thank goodness for these lovely pools when we’re in marinas! An incredible mix of cruising nationalities, and some very special people around, ever so helpful, welcoming and warm!!

We get hauled out in the next day, and then it’s waxing the hull and antifouling the bottom, doing minor repairs/ improvements, checking the vitals, and generally preparing for the next legs.

We’re really looking forward to cruising the incredibly majestic and stunning Thai waters, even if our time here is going to be brief and all we’ll get in four week is a taste! We hope to upload the Malaysia photos shortly to the Picasa spot for SV.Mischief: http://picasaweb.google.com/SV.Mischief

We plan to be leaving to do the next Indian Ocean crossing to the Maldives before Xmas, where I hope to get out our last newsletter for the year, with some indications of our itinerary through to Oman, the Red Sea and to the Med.

Here’s wishing you a very happy Xmas and a great new 2009!

Relaxing at Sebana Cove, Malaysia

Mischief Newsletter No 6

Dear friends
We’ve been both lazing away and very busy over the past 6 weeks – on the one hand the heat and humidity have slowed us down and therefore the relaxing at Sebana Cove Marina Resort has taken on new meaning: some work during the day, pool late afternoon, then hand exercises with glass of vino or gin and tonic to keep the mossies at bay!

On the other hand, Sebana Cove has been a great place to do some of the work that we identified needed doing on the way; one definition of cruising is that of fixing your boat in exotic places, and this has certainly true of our stay here.

Mind you, part of the fun has been going into the local towns, both in Malaysia and
Singapore trying to find all the parts and bits & bobs that you need: an adventure in itself!

We’ve been into Singapore a couple of times, as there is a ferry from here just next to us that goes across 3 times a day. I’ve also made a quick dash to Perth to catch up with our daughter Annika, her partner Jesper (& her gorgeous half dog/ half human, Chica). This was a time to do tax returns and totally ignore investments, the way the market has been going! The rest of the time was spent chasing exotic boat parts from an endless list Bjorn drew up. I had to acquire a suitcase just to haul back the boat bits, and only managed a corner to squeeze in some Italian salami and some cheeses!

This week, we waved farewell to ELOISE, our sailing partners in Indonesia so far, and hope to catch up with them briefly in Phuket or thereabouts. We also welcomed dear friends Gus & Gabbi on PAMPERO a few days ago and have been really enjoying catching up after some 8-9 months! And today our friends from NEREID arrived back in Sebana Cove after a trip back to the US and we hope to see more of them as we are both sailing towards the Red Sea and the Med. This is very much an integral part of the story of cruising: hellos and goodbyes to people who become very dear friends.

We’re now about ready to move on in the next few days, going round Singapore and up through the Malacca Straits!

Meanwhile, we have finally uploaded some photos of our trip so far. The web address is at: http://picasaweb.google.com/SV.Mischief

Incredible Indonesia

Mischief Newsletter No 5

Dear friends
Relaxing at Sebana Cove Marina Resort, to the east of Singapore on the Malaysian mainland, I can reflect our intensive cruise through Indonesia.

Bali was our introduction to this country: the beaches did nothing for me, quite frankly – but then I’m not a surfer! I enjoyed the highland areas more: more natural, yet really marred by the tourist trade: I feel scarred for life harangued by endless hawkers: Come, come …look only… only one dollar (desperately trying to sell their wares). The bombings have really dented their economy, and yet, Bali is so filled to capacity with endless souvenirs that sooner or later there is reality they have to face up to which is that there is very little natural left here!

We sailed out of Bali Marina and had to hug the coast to avoid the immense southerly current. Locals told us to do so until we were well past the top of Bali, and then we crossed over to the north east of Lombok to Teluk Kombal, just south of Gili Aer in company with Ray & Judy (Alaska) on Nereid. Here we joined Tristan and Jas on Eloise (Australia) and Dorothy & Ed (US) on Prism and spent a very pleasant week on moorings provided by Mohammed from the local village.

Lombok it certainly is much more authentic. But hurry and see this place soon because it is destined to become the new Bali with development progressing at an incredible pace.

On the first night, Mohammed invited us to his village to see a wedding… we walked through bush and into the jungle to his village which is where the bride was. Here there was a ceremony with drums etc for both bride and groom, and then they left to go to the groom’s village to formally welcome the new bride in the back of a truck over a dirt track, followed with another truck with all the musicians, and all the rest on motorbikes – the main means of transport on these islands.

After Lombok, we sailed to the Kumai River via the island of Bawean where we spent 5-6 days. They do not get many tourists here, so we were quite the novelty; the local English teacher came and asked us to visit his school and talk to the kids, arranged for transport (young kids on motorbikes, each taking one of us as pillion riders). Everyone was so excited, and we then invited the teacher on the boat where we provided some National Geographic magazines (thanks to Nereid) with afternoon tea; we really enjoyed Bawean: every night we ate ashore where this family had a small restaurant (2 refectory tables) – each delicious meal costing us around US$1.50-$2 pp.

Kumai is something you have to do once! The trip up river to visit Camp Leaky, the orang utan sanctuary, is as exciting as the actual encounter with the apes. Again, a few days here, exploring the surroundings and then we were off again, sailing to the Riau archipelago, south of Singapore, via a number of islands and to our final Indonesian destination at Noongsa Point Marina.

It was from Kumai onwards that we started encountering the thunder squalls, which can be somewhat intimidating to begin with. One in particular struck when we were about to put down our anchor at Mesanek and the next thing we knew was we were surrounded by waterspouts! Really unbelievable how they form and change shape and direction – it is very difficult to figure out how to avoid them if they are close, and therefore we spent an anxious hour on the radio with Eloise with whom we were sailing. We just upped anchor next morning and headed into the Riau archipelago, where better shelter was available!

For the sailors among you, one of the memories of this trip are the fishing boats, which come in all shapes and sizes and utilise different fishing methods. Around Bali, the long, narrow boats, with outriggers, look like crabs, and it is a weird sight seeing a hundred come towards you when the wind picks up and they head back home. Then there were the larger boats and the squid trawlers with their flood lights, the fishing platforms, bamboo sticks, floats etc… every locality with its’ peculiar fishing traditions… some with lights on at night, but needing a really good look out!!!

In all, I think Indonesia needs two visits: the first to get to know the peculiarities (weather & currents; people; fishing; etc) of each area, and the second to be able to really explore the place in a more relaxed fashion.

Our first overseas destination aboard our beloved Mischief is now behind us, and the next two weeks are about R&R as much as about getting ready for Malaysia, Thailand and beyond!

Our first ocean crossing: Bali ahoy!

Mischief Newsletter No 4

Selamat Siang!

We're in Bali after a five and a half day crossing with a bit of adventure towards the end as we hit a strong current some 25 miles south of Bali. We were flying at 8-9 knots and only doing 2knots over ground, and the sea was a veritable washing machine- phew, the worst of it only lasted 1-2 hours, and then even though we still had a very strong 3-5 knot head current, the sea eased more and more until we reached close to shore and hugged the coast round to Benoa harbour.

The crossing itself was quite pleasant – it took us 5 ½ days to do the 734 nautical mile crossing. First day out of Dampier we were moving at a great 7-8 knots, but the wind died down after the first 30 hours and we spent the next 30 hours motor sailing gently at around 5 knots before we hit the south east trades and they blew us steadily for a couple of days, again doing 6-8 knots. We did 4 four watches, and I elected to do the midnight to 4.00am which was really no problem at all. Mind you I did have a really fascinating book The History of Venice and a red night light which allowed me to read without obscuring my night vision. We did not see any shipping until close to Bali, and only encountered the fishermen during the last 20 miles, inside the current.

Bjorn and I really enjoyed hearing from you all and especially appreciated those wonderful messages of encouragement – they were very precious to us.

Now sipping my first Balinese pina colada at Bali marina, and waiting for customs and immigration to turn up before getting ready to go explore this beautiful island.

Ah, here comes Bjorn: We’re all cleared now. Except for quarantine, who were two really nice guys, nobody else came on board and clearing customs and immigration was a breeze, with Bali Marina doing all the work in a couple of hours. Off on our first walk to stretch our legs after 6 days!

One day later:
Caught up with an American and a Dutch couple and had dinner at the Marina last night. Good and very cheap food – Marina itself is very small but the facilities are pretty OK.

We are now organising to go around the island and explore! We intend to ‘do’ Bali first, then attempt to go east (north of islands) to visit Lombok (& Gili Islands), and hopefully Komodo – I don’t know how far we’ll get before turning west once again and then make our way to the Kumai river in Borneo visiting the islands in between.

Our very best wishes to you all and we promise to try and live up to our boat’s name – we have to, she really looked after us and is a very comfortable cruising yacht.

Heading North

Mischief Newsletter No 3

Dear Friends

Carnarvon was our first long stop, for about a week, and it was here that we finally replaced the alternator and got rid of the needling battery problems.

We are totally self sufficient on Mischief. We have to be! We generate our own electricity, via wind, sun, and when both fail, via either engine or generator. I’m happy to say that, over the past month, we have only resorted to the generator 3 times for very short spurts, and that includes running not only all our ‘household’, including washing machine, but also the water maker, with the water tank in a very healthy near full position most of the time.

The next stage of our journey northwards along the West Australian coast took us along Ningaloo reef, with the first stop at Coral Bay. Here we caught up with fellow cruisers Leighton and Julie on Downshifting with whom we cruised for the next few weeks.

Our first foray ashore in crystal clear waters, and these lovely spangled emperor came to greet us (it’s a norm, especially as no fishing is allowed in the marine park) – photo attached.

We swan and snorkelled along the pristine turquoise waters, incredible coral reef and lots of marine life in the various places we called into along the reef, always anchoring inside the reef. A number of spots we called into were turtle nesting places, and though these were all around us, never succeeded in taking a photo of these shy creatures, which dive the minute they spot you.

We did try fishing where this was allowed, but have not yet landed anything worthy of mention. Unfortunately though, there are a number of fish now swimming the ocean with our lures attached. The first one broke an 80 lb line, the second, split a lure open and took off with the hook and the last one snapped the line again. Luckily Leighton and Julie on Downshifting proved incredibly successful fishermen and kept us going. We repaid their generosity by introducing them to a very versatile card came called “Frustration”… we still have to finish it!!!!

Our first brush with strong winds came at Tantabiddy, near Exmouth, where we stayed for about 10 days. With Downshifting, we hired a car so we could get to Exmouth, collect our mail, do some shopping, see some sights, and see to the bits and pieces that need attending to.
We waved Tantabiddy and our friends on Downshifting farewell on the 12 June. After a lovely 5 hour sail averaging a good 7 knots we reached Serrurier Island, and I immediately fell in love with this place and opted to spend the next 3 days there. The reef was in really good condition, and the fish plentiful, as were the oysters along the shoreline. We had the place all to ourselves for the first two days, and then a powerboat called in on the third.

With favourable winds blowing again, we headed off to Onslow, a very interesting old town that services the Onslow salt works and surrounding mines. Again, strong winds have held us here longer that the two days planned. There are strong wind and gale force warnings all around us, and this has been the case all week, but we seem to have been in a wind hole at Onslow as the winds have not exceeded 20-23 knots until this morning.

One of the pleasures of cruising is the circle that develops on HF radio, and we are in touch with cruisers up and down the coast and even in Cocos Islands. With two radio schedules a day (morn & evening) you can catch up with who’s doing what, where all the time!!!

Tomorrow we head north towards Dampier (a three day trip through the Mangrove islands passage, past Sholl Island for a sleepover and then on to the Dampier archipelago and Dampier).

There have been few idle moments since we left Fremantle, as we have been attending to the numerous items that demand attention and fine-tuning the boat. Living aboard in a marina and living aboard whilst under passage is significantly different – you are constantly looking for good anchorages, as there are no marinas to speak off along the northern coast line. But Mischief is doing very well, and we’re following suite.

If you want to follow our journey, you can visit the Google Map you find if you follow this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=112571862415287107174.00044d3e61644f046395b

Brave Beginning: Anchor aweigh!

Mischief Newsletter No 2

Hi All
Despite my best intentions, I never got round to sending an update of our preparations for departure - too hectic, and now we have completed the first leg of the journey and are in Carnarvon. We left Fremantle on 23 April, and headed up along the coast crossing over to the Abrolhos for 5-6 days . Fascinating place, and very weird... beautiful coral atoll very flat and then these fisherman's huts like a mirage over the horizon!!! The image of a 4-5 metre swell breaking off the reef fringe whilst we sat in perfect calm waters behind the reef often without the 1-2 metres of land is permanently stored in our memories.

From Turtle Bay in the northern group in the Abrolhos we headed towards Shark Bay.... Wow!!! What an experience... We spent another 5-6 days cruising around various anchorages, and the most poignant memory is the sealife..... turtles, dolphin pods galore, tuna and mackerel jumping out - probably being chased by bigger predators, water teeming with fish all around us - one regret: all this beautiful water and we dared not swim, not after all the tales that everyone likes telling about the tiger sharks which also seem to be everywhere!!!

We are now in Carnarvon, for some R&R, boat and laundry cleaning, and revictualising in preparation for our next leg up the coast to Coral Bay and Ningaloo Reef and a possible change in plans - but before I get to that in this upside down email, let me just say a few words about our preparations prior to departure.

With packing up house, auctioning off most of our worldly possessions, and organising our affairs whilst overseas, we also had to fit in ensuring the boat was ready for the voyage, and more importantly, ensuring we were up to the trip ahead.

There's so much to be done, getting equipment and all boating gear checked and ready to go, including life raft, power generation etc, ensuring the weather forecasts came in on HF as expected via fax, in depth passage planning and chasing cruising permits, visas etc - we were literally run off our feet as those of you at the Club undoubtedly noticed! I should take this opportunity to apologise to those of you I did not have time to catch up with - but still thought of nonetheless.

And then as D-Day drew close, the emotions come into play: elation, excitement, jubilation, - panic, anxiety, scribbled lists and mad rushes to add some extra just in case item - sadness at leaving our daughter Annika, her partner Jesper and Chika that beautiful half human dog of hers - and leaving some terrific friends behind. You end up with this long list of things still to do and if you don't get going you'll be stuck around for another 12 months. So like many before us, we knew we had the basics right (hopefully) and off we went!

It's funny how we would go out sailing in practically all weather and never worry about anything when based in Fremantle. Then suddenly we were leaving on this big cruise and the nerves kicked in! One of our wisest decisions was having Admiral Julie on board for the first couple of weeks, sitting quietly in the background enjoying the sail, exuding calm..... very wise decision!!!!

One of the greatest pleasures has been catching up with other cruising friends along the way. In the Abrolhos we caught up with the Fremantle Sailing Club cruisers and dear friends with whom we have enjoyed numerous cruises - Lynne & Ralph on Yandanooka and their guests, Jackimac - thanks guys for the farewell salute in Turtle Bay and others. We finally caught up with Leighton and Julie on Downshifting - we were moored opposite eachother on B jetty and yet it took this trip to really get to know two lovely people, as we have cruised in company from the Abrolhos to Carnarvon. Here we caught up with Westward II, Eloise, Sailaway Too and others. Then there are the cruisers who turn up from nowhere headed to some of the destinations on our way. I still haven't managed to 'dry' myself out with all the sundowners!!!

We're now here, settling down to cruising life (and what a life!) and enjoying time out in Carnarvon - for you guys in Perth, where the weather has been so awful this past week or so, let me say we're enjoying the climate change that Carnarvon provides.

We sadly said goodbye to Julie and Margaret on Wednesday morning. Thanks for the chokies and the lovely thought. Bjorn and I will miss you both.

We have attached a rough plan for the next 12 months. We just received our cruising permit for Indonesia, and it seems we should first call into Bali to avoid the unpleasant import and tax charges, so instead of heading up to Darwin and across to Kupang, it seems that we may have to amend this part of the sailing plan... still confirming with Indonesia, so we'll spend a few extra days in Carnarvon sorting this one out.

The good part about the change of plans is that we may have more time to cruise gently to Dampier/ Broome (destination still to be confirmed) and can really pick the right time to do Ningaloo reef and the Montebello islands. We will get going once we receive a few bits and bobs from Perth and sort out our alternator problem (the young guy in Carnarvon seems to really know what he's on about - very encouraging)!

That's it from us for now. Attached is a photo and our original sail plan which may have to now read Dampier - Bali.

Preparing to Go Sailing

Mischief Newsletter No 1

Hello All
As many of you are aware d-day for the start of our crusing adventure draws near! I hope to get around to developing a website to cover our adventures but in the meantime, here's an update of what we've been up to in preparation for the next phase of our life - literally a SeachangeL

I had an idea that planning a trip like the one we're about to embark on takes time, but boy.. there's so much to do.... I also can now confirm that WA stands for Wait Awile, as the trades have really held us up.

So here's to what's happening.

MISCHIEF is a 15 year old MOODY (Forty four feet overall) that we acquired in really good condition and ready to take to the oceans. It was sailed by the previous swiss owner from Spain over the Atlantic and the pacific to New Zealand, where we bought her, so she's well tried and tested.

A friend of ours sailed her over from Brisbane after she was brought across from NZ, and I joined the boat in Darwin for the sail down to Perth, and managed to sail to Carnarvon before I had to catch a plane to get back to work. I am happy to report I am now fully 'retired'!

She's a fine and very comfy cruiser, and since getting to Perth at the end of August, I've been chasing trades to do the work which has involved changing all the portholes and hatches (the perspex mainly), new upholstery foam and cushions throughout, including a new queen size bed for the skipper and her mate, new carpet and curtains etc.... all mostly cosmetic to refresh the boat and make it 'our home'. It has been quite challenging moving from a large house onto a boat, and much had to go to auction - but I love my new home!

With some help from our able delivery skipper, I sanded and varnished the boat from bow to stern, and she really looks lovely and fresh now. Bjorn and I moved on board just before Christmas, and then set off on the two week cruise to Quindalup (down south of Perth). The galley is very well designed with everything handy. I had the benchtops redone and have also been chasing for the canvas work to be redone.... so it's been quite hectic.

Meanwhile we have been going through electrics, motors etc and checking everything in preparation for our big trip. Departure date is now set for April 24 heading north to the Abrolos Islands outside Geraldton for around 10 days before continuing up the WA coast. The rough plan is to go through to Broome and then sail across to Indonesia, probably to Kupang or to Bali and cruise there for 1-2 months heading up via Singapore to Thailand, then across to Sri Lanka via the Nicobar islands, to Maldives, Chagos, Seychelles then up to Oman and on to Aden around Feb 2009 heading through the Red Sea to Cyprus. We hope to be there around March/ April.

Still a rough plan at this stage as we are working our way through winds, monsoon seasons and currents etc to ensure we're sailing through waters at the optimal time and not during a cyclone season etc...

Bjorn has now handed in his resignation and he's a free man as of 28th March. The house looks like we have a good tenant for a couple of years, so we should finally be all set to go... It sounds so straightforward when you write it down like this, but let me assure you it has been mini dramas all the way. The latest is my wrist, where after two months of sanding and varnishing, I have aggravated an old condition and now need surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. Hopefully it will only leave me out of action for a couple of weeks, during which time I can concentrate on the passage preparation, stocking the boat etc.

It is not all drama, and really quite an exciting time... I guess you never realise the scope of the plans and when it dawns on you, you get mild panic attacks..... do we know what we're doing etc??? These episodes do serve to ensure we prepare as well as we can - Mischief is a real blue water cruiser and can handle some tough conditions; we need to ensure that we are also up to the task as best we can.

Annika is now well settled into her new home in Applecross (with Jesper) and hopes to come out to Europe next year to catch up with us. Mark and Bridget intend to join us in the Maldives later this year.

So that's it for now.... must get Bjorn to send some pics... the boat is very comfy ... we even have TV and DVD on board!!!