Hello fellow cruisers/ dear friends, family and all.
We took off from Malta in mid December and flew to Perth to spend Christmas with Mark & Bridget and Annika & Jesper. Thanks to Bridget’s family, we house sat a beautiful home and garden in an idyllic setting in the bush (forest for you non Aussies) outside Margaret River, some 250 kms south of Perth, and had a terrific Xmas and New Year with the Swarbrecks (Bridget’s family), even managing to avoid the 40 degree heat wave in Perth.
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| Out with the old in with the new |
This has been our first long break ashore since leaving Australia over three years ago, as we have been off our beloved Mischief for about 6 months.
We were very lucky to have a friend with an empty house in Malta which we could move into. So everything came off Mischief, and she got a thorough scrubbing, refreshing the varnish an d airing/ cleaning bedding etc. We did the same to our friend’s house which had been closed up for a length of time.
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| Never knew the engine room was so cosy |
The first 3 months we concentrated on changing engine, and we now have a new YANMAR 54 hp in a pristine engine room. You almost need sunnies now with the glare from the new alfoil lined insulation, and Bjorn is justifiably very proud of his handiwork! As boat work will have it we also had to change the propeller shaft and propeller offcourse. Out with the old and in with the new became a major effort.
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| Our new tank |
Another project was a new fuel tank, made from fibreglass, using a special chemical resistant resin, to replace the old steel tank that has had a ‘temporary’ repair since the Red Sea. We should have finished all the major jobs now. Needless to say, to you boaties, you are having a quiet giggle now, as there is no such thing as no more jobs on a boat!
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| Only one thing to do when there are sharks in the water |
But our reprieve from the heat was short lived! Perth proved to be a hot destination this year, and a very social one too. Apart from all our friends, including those at the Fremantle Sailing Club, we managed to catch up with several cruisers (Sandpiper, Purr, Billabong, Pampero) and other friends (Mara) who were visiting in Perth.
Back in Malta in mid March, after a brief stop over in incredible Dubai, we concentrated on getting Mischief ready for this year’s cruising. The weather in this part of the Med has taken its time to settle down and even now, towards the end of May, it is still a coolish 20 – 21 degrees, and only slowly warming up.
We left Malta on the 15 May and had a leisurely motor sail – in company with Waterdrincker (Philip & Henriette and friends) to Marzamemi in Sicily, catching up with dear friends Georges, Andi and their gorgeous 9 year old Lea on Te Ara.
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| A feast of food and fresh produce in Sicily |
We are now back in Syracuse, enjoying the fabulous foods and feasting our eyes and bellies on the wonderful range of produce from the local market. We also celebrated our birthdays with these good friends.
Our plan for this year is very flexible, though we still intend to try and go up the Adriatic to Venice and stop over in Ravenna in August. We will be making our way towards Paxos and Corfu via the boot of Italy in the next week or so!
Until our next instalment, we wish you all best of health and a good season wherever you are!
Cheers
Christina & Bjorn
