Our friends Warrick and Lisa finally decided to tie the knot after living together for 20 years. It was also Waz’s 60th birthday! As you know we sailed down from the Gold Coast to Port Macquarie to celebrate with them.

We were wondering why they did marry after so many years together. Well apparently Waz proposed to Lisa when he was 40. Her answer was “ask me again when you turn 60!” … So he did … and she said yes! Nothing like a long probation!

The ceremony and party was at their gorgeous property on the Hastings River. Lisa and Waz took a punt asking Chris to be the designated photographer for the event as yours truly rarely takes photos of people! Hopefully they will be happy with the collection. It was nice to mingle, chat with old acquaintances and connect with new ones, while trying to capture the essence of the day. Their place is magnificent and was well suited to host the 100 or so guests. Luckily the weather was beautiful for the big day, and they were blessed with bright sunshine and heat. That evening the rain came and the next few days were very wet.

Here is a selection of images:

Storms have been frequent while we have been in Port Macquarie, which means some rather spectacular skies at sunset.

More boat improvements on the horizon

Our sojourn in Port Macquarie has also been a good time to think about further improvements for our floating home.

We love our dinghy and the power of its outboard, but it is heavy and beaching it is always a struggle with the tides. We have been researching ways of setting up a pulley anchoring system so the dinghy floats away from the shore, but nobody has to get wet bringing it into shore and retrieving it. Wade set up a few shackles, two anchors and a length of rope to do just that after studying YouTube videos. We tested the system while on the Hastings River. It is a bit of a fiddle to organise but it works well.

Another project is equipping the boat for cooler regions as we plan to spend time in Tasmania next year – which means installing a diesel heater! The Eberspächer D4L is our choice after some research. We found Nick, the Diesel Heat dealer, extremely helpful during our multiple phone conversations with him. Although we don’t intend to spend winter in Tassie, we have had snow on the deck in summer on the SW Coast on our previous boat, so we know we must be prepared for anything at any time, especially after spending close to six years in the tropics – we have gone soft! We have ordered the unit and its installation will be a job for when we return to the Gold Coast next month.

Oh, and our Harken electric winch has finally cleared custom and is waiting for us at our shipwright, another reason to stop at the Goldie in April!

Where to next?

We have a bit of time before we need to go back to Queensland. We have long wanted to explore the Solitary Islands off the northern NSW coast. This is a group of 5 main islands as well as rocky outcrops and submerged reefs stretching along 75 kms of coastline from just North of Coffs Harbour to the Sandon River. It is a place where the warm waters of the East Australian Current meet cooler waters from the south. They bring together tropical, subtropical and temperate marine life, so a rather special place to snorkel or dive.

We hope to get calm enough weather to explore this marine park. We left Port Macquarie on Wednesday as soon as the bar allowed us out and sailed back to Coffs Harbour, which we are using as a base to explore the Solitaries over several days. With luck we will be able to share our experience at this marine sanctuary with you in our next post.