On new year's eve I jump aboard a fast boat of 39 feet to race on WAGS - Wednesday Afternoon Go Sailing. The G used to stand for Gentlemen's. But for reasons that have never been explained the RQ now permits women to go out sailing. It is an interesting race and evening followed by a slow start next day!

I spend the next few days organising my trip around Australia and spend a lot of money in the process but it promises to be a fun packed five weeks. My new charts arrive and I peruse my route through Indonesia; next to plan my route and timing to Cape York, the northern tip of the Big Pink Island. Leave too soon and risk a cyclone. Leave too late and I will be short of time at World Heritage sites such as Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef...