We had been cautioned about the challenges of getting into a slip at the Southport Yacht Club due to strong currents and we had a 20 knot breeze to deal with as well, so we planned our arrival accordingly which meant an early arrival. Truth be told it was an easy hop onto the dock with excellent planning ahead of time and everyone nailing their roles while docking.
First up was cleaning the boat, we had not been on a dock (with water) since Fiji. Work done, I headed into Main Beach (town) for a late breakfast and a latte – ah the joys of civilization. Later I joined Roxy showing her the posh downtown so that she could get a bit of brunch too. Then it was laundry and showers – boy did I feel spoiled.
The afternoon was spent cleaning my cabin and head since tomorrow I was flying to Sydney. I gave it a very deep clean and packed up my things. Lots of memories of the time aboard Sky Pond these last months and my time in general. It was surprising to realized I had been aboard about 1/18th of the time that Carl and Roxy have owned Sky Pond.
The highlight of the day however was still to come. A visit with Dave and George (formally SV Nimrod) was the perfect end to the voyage and as a bonus they showed up with some great Austrian beer and wine. The perfect guests! As I wrote to Dave the next day, “You know it was a great evening when you walk away thinking I have a lot of homework to do.” Conversations flowed easily from talk about sailing and boats to deeper philosophical discussions. We covered a lot of ground from benefits of feeling deeply connected to a single spot in the world (based on Māori traditions) versus living a nomadic life to political polarization fueled by tribalism kicked off by Brexit to Dave’s monthly men’s group loosely based on The Lunar Men. Lots of heady topics. Keeping track of such a varied and interesting conversation was a challenge, not to worry Dave sent over some links (see above) the next day for further reading. What a interesting, educated, and fun couple; I sure wish I didn’t live on the other side of the planet.
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