FROM 1-32. Made it-Sydney

Dec 15, 2005 - 0440hrs EDT

0440hrs 15 Dec 2005 EDT 42’30”S 148’30”E Ref 652

The dawn of Act 6 – cold. clear soft silver blue sky – phosphorescence luminous as a floodlit fountain – we’re motor sailing up the Tasmanian coast, past all the wild and beautiful places whose Aboriginal names are, sadly, long since lost and forgotten and now retaining the names given by the French explorers – in this case, I think probably Baudin. Capes Forestier, Tourville, Sonnerat, Maurouard; Ile des Phoques, Freycinet, Bougainville, Les Hippolytes. They have been part of my life now since 1977 – usually, though, they have been more significant going the other way during the race.

For the first time in ages, I got into a dry sleeping bag last night. Bliss in spades. Joy by the wheelbarrow. Each part of this venture takes on its own dimension. Seems almost as far to Sydney now as it seemed to SE Cape from the bottom of Africa. Nice to be back on all the familiar waypoints stored for years now in my stone age GPS – and yet not real – there is no substance to the achievement – can’t pigeon hole it or file it – I have a feeling we have just sailed around the world and done ok in a Fastnet but when was that?? Odd. Even odder to be going north down here before the race.

We had the HF radio diagnosed – the tuning box is misbehaving and is almost certainly the cause of most of our problems on the return trip. I should probably have replaced it in Lymington with the transceiver but was in cost saving mode. Mistake. Will do it in Sydney – it’s a simple replacement job. We are in good nick otherwise – some minor fixes, nothing hard, and some new stuff on the Category 1 safety checklist we’ll have to buy when we get there and we should be able to degunk the feral fecals and have Christmas lunch at home.

I’ve told the ABC in Hobart they can cut my hair on camera when we finish. I think we have a deal. Scissors, please, Rachel! It has been slowly doing its Medusa act since Arlette worked her magic on it in the Falklands and it’s gotta go soon.

Josh – tragedy – I’ve lost your coin – must be in the boat somewhere but I can’t find it. Panic! Was so tired yesterday I can’t even remember what I was wearing.

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