A very relaxing Christmas was spent with our friends Pam and Len from our sailing club in England at their home near Tin Can Bay in Queensland.

Our trip to the UK starting in February was extended while Richard had to recuperate fully from pneumonia before undertaking the two long haul flights back to the boat. We were really grateful to Nick and Lou and Susan's cousin Paul and his wife Elizabeth where we mostly stayed for the extra month and to our friends Alison, Jackie and Barry who kept Susan sane while Richard spent 12 days in Exeter hospital.

So there was the usual late start, followed by a quick 6 day sail to Cairns. The length of Australia's eastern seaboard gave us an appreciation of its size. Sea Bunny was spat out by the tide at the top at Cape York and hung a left across the washing machine ride called the Gulf of Carpenteria, anchoring off the top of the Wessel Islands There we reckoned that this was the furthest away from human habitation that we had anchored on our trip so far, until we remembered Beveridge Reef.

Anchored in Darwin for three weeks, we took a campervan to the well publicised national parks of Litchfield, Kakadu and Katherine Gorge.

At the end of July we set off from Darwin on the 3-month Sail Indonesia Rally through the Indonesian archipelago. Starting in Kupang we visited Alor, Lembata, Flores, Rinca/Komodo, Lombok, Bali, Karimum Jawa, Kumai and Belitung.

From Karimun Jawa we took a 4-day ferry and coach trip to Java to visit Borobudur and other sites.

From Kumai there was a three-day river expedition by local boat to see orang-utans in the semi-wild.

After three weeks in Singapore, getting a few things fixed, we joined the Sail Malaysia Rally up the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Main stops were at Johor Bahru, Port Dickson, from where we visited Melacca for two days, Lumut, Pangkor Island and Penang, heading for Langkawi for Christmas and the New Year.

Richard being so sick again it was scary.

Having the boat along with over 100 others impounded for a week in Kupang by smiling andfriendly Indonesian custom officials.

Nursing a failing gearbox and getting the anchor up with a halyard winch (1000 turns) when the windlass failed half way through Indonesia.

A ski trip to France with Nik & Lou.

Seeing how much our grandsons Josh (9), Jake (6) and Archie (2) have developed since our last

visit.

Susan unexpectedly being able to attend the reunion in London with the friends she trained as a nurse with 40 years ago - still the same supportive group

Maybe making CNN news as the impoundment of 100 rally boats by the Indonesian Customs in Kupang was an international boating incident.

The warmth of the Indonesian people was overwhelming.

The first boats at one of the anchorages could see about ten thousand local people waiting on the beach and they were carried shoulder high from their dinghies!

As our bus passes alongside a laden motorbike (dad, toddler and mum) the toddler waves, the mother on pillion lifts her visor lets go of the child grins broadly and waves.

Catching up with old friends and making a bunch of new ones.