You need friends

The world is beautiful. The sea is magical. The land is teeming with myriads of plants and animals. But, it is the people we meet who make our travels so interesting.

We were anchored off Fraser Island close to another boat and each time we passed, we checked if there was anyone sat in the cockpit but found it empty. On day two or maybe three the neighbors waved and then came across in their dinghy. We agreed to meet at sundown on their boat for drinks. We took a home made pizza bread with us and the sundowner turned in to a late-nighter.

They were getting ready to leave their boat for six months and so needed help emptying their freezer. The next night we gave our best and it was once again very late when we took the dinghy home under the stars. The third night they moved down the island and anchored in another bay. We followed, anchored next to them and continued to be “helpful”. I still have no idea where the six hours went each evening but none of us were bored.

Thank you Sally and Neville from the sailing yacht Hau Korahi for three wonderful evenings.

We left the company of Hau Korahi to sail in to Moreton Bay and tie up to friends private jetty at the “bottom of their garden”. Sue and Chris are sailors and understand the priorities. Attach Artemis safely to land, have a shower, put everything in the washing machine and then make a drink and enjoy great company.

We spent three nights with these fantastic friends. They took us to all the shops we needed for those “hard to find little bits”. Without their help we would never have even known where to start looking. They also lent us their car to do a major shop and fill the lockers. It was amazing knowing that we had a vehicle from supermarket to boat. Normally we agonize over how many items we can fit in our rucksacks and bags, on this occasion we just bought a few extra of everything. The luxury of it all.

We asked if we could stay an extra day so that we could repair our bimini (cockpit sun cover) on their shady, flat, clean terrace. Not only did they agree, Sue spent the entire day assisting, explaining how we could improve things and suggesting two perfect design modifications.

In the evenings, they taught us two new games and Neill continuously lost both badly. And we should also mention the stream of fantastically cooked meals and refreshing drinks.

Thank you Sue, thank you Chris. Our break with you was such fun.