2002-2005 (c) GetJealous.com, All rights reserved. http://www.getjealous.com/sailingfastforward/rss.xml Welcome to our website! You can check out our diary entries; leave a message; view our photos and movie; or see exactly where we are in the world... it's really easy: select the URL below (http: etc); copy, and then paste it into your Address Bar in the Internet Browser, and hit Enter):<br /> <br /> http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=zr5165 <br /> <br /> Sea miles covered in the Pacific, 2007: 9041.55 <br /> Sea miles covered in the Pacific, 2008: 4688.40 <br /> Sea miles covered in Australia, 2009: 917 <br /> <br /> Total sea miles to date: 28225.00 <br /> <br /> CURRENT PLAN: AAAH DARWIN AT LAST!!!! http://www.getjealous.com/sailingfastforward http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=578553&go=sailingfastforward Our 6 month visitor visas were due to expire on 1 April, so we booked a (much-anticipated!) camper-van holiday in South Island, New Zealand for 16 days. Re-entry into Australia would reinstate the visas for a further 6 months thereby enabling us to stay until we departed for Indonesia at the end of July. I hauled out and washed all our winter gear... we"d be arriving at the beginning of autum... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=578553&go=sailingfastforward Wed, 4 Mar 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=578549&go=sailingfastforward The Sunshine Coast, less brash and commercial than the Gold Coast, is only about an hours drive north of Brisbane, and is apparently one of the most gorgeous stretches of Queensland"s coastline. The region is backed by the dramatic Glass House Mountains which rise from the sheer grassy plains to the west.We actually caught our first glimpse of these strangely shaped mountains when we first ar... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=578549&go=sailingfastforward Sun, 8 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=578537&go=sailingfastforward After starting 2009 with a serious of seriously big bangs in Sydney Harbour, it was time to start making our way north back to Brisbane, as we had family flying in on 8 February for a 10 day visit. Our "will only stay for 1 week after New Years " statement backfired, and we only left Sydney on the 17th of January! Ken wanted a spinnaker pole - but for the staysail, and the supplier was ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=578537&go=sailingfastforward Fri, 2 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=556116&go=sailingfastforward On 30 December Fast Forward was anchored in Farm Cove, right next to the Opera House... and with only 4 other boats in the anchorage, I was afforded a fantastic photo opportunity of only having Fast Forward, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge in the photos!! We were very lucky, because the following day was mayhem! Having phoned the Harbour authorities on 30 Dec to find out exactly where we we... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=556116&go=sailingfastforward Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=551091&go=sailingfastforward 23-26 December 2008Luckily our trip down from Coffs Harbour was not as colourful as the previous leg! Actually there was a splash of colour in the form of a gorgeous rainbow that popped up behind us whilst roughly a mile offshore. Arriving just as the winds turned to southerlies, we entered the channel through the Heads, and headed to the right towards Manly... more specifically Spring Cove. We dr... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=551091&go=sailingfastforward Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=550627&go=sailingfastforward 17-22 December 2008 After finally managing to drag ourselves away from Dockside Marina, we headed for Rivergate Marina to fill up with some diesel. We were a week behind schedule, but it was not entirely our doing! The weather was playing havoc down south, with the deepest low they"d seen in years - and no, we did not intend playing with it! We had to wait an extra day for a new VHF, and then... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=550627&go=sailingfastforward Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=550626&go=sailingfastforward 01 November to 16 December 2008 So after spending a wonderful weekend in Sydney with Cheryl, Ben and Russel, we arrived back on board at 5pm on Monday, 3 November, only to find a note from the Wombats saying that they"d moved to Dockside Marina, and that they"d (very kindly!) booked a berth for us at a much cheaper rate than we were paying at Rivergate Marina. Good on you Mike! Rivergate... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=550626&go=sailingfastforward Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=545946&go=sailingfastforward Saturday 25 October, 2008After spending two days "hiding" in Baie de Prony, New Calendonia we received a favourable weather forecast for our departure to Australia, but our first priority was to move closer to the exit in the reef. So on Saturday morning we motored 21nm to Ilot Bailly, which is located only 15nm from the exit. After checking the weahter again, the forecast looked better ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=545946&go=sailingfastforward Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=540265&go=sailingfastforward 14 October 2008We left Fiji on Tuesday, 14 Oct in the company of Mike and Lynn on Wombat of Sydney. Our next stop was Port Resolution, on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. Well, after 8 hours of motoring we finally got a decent breeze of 12-17 knots so we flew the spinnaker all afternoon, taking it down just before sunset - better safe than sorry (usually if something goes wrong, it"s in the dark... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=540265&go=sailingfastforward Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=527631&go=sailingfastforward BULA! It"s 5 October, and outside are clear blue skies, but an intense ridge of high pressure is sitting over Fiji at the moment, causing very high winds and equally wild seas... it"s been like this for 3 days now. Apparently it should calm down within the next couple of days. Can"t wait. But for now, this is the perfect opportunity for me to catch up on this newsletter!! 21 Augus... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=527631&go=sailingfastforward Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:00:00 GMT