I Had Her!

I had her... Alisa had officially reached the apogee of cruising-partner status.

She woke up on one of our last mornings in Iluka and said, "I had the greatest dream. We had this really basic brand-new aluminum yacht and we were choosing the electronics to install."

Ha, I thought. This is it. Every other cruising dude in the world can officially eat his shorts in pure burning envy. My six-months pregnant wife closes her eyes... and dreams of buying electronics for a new aluminum yacht!

It's a good thing that I reveled in the moment so fiercely. Because, dear friends, (and this may be news) NOTHING GOOD LASTS.

Yesterday, on hour twelve of our thirteen-hour "day sail" from Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie(new rule - if it's longer than 12 hours, it doesn't count as a day sail), as we were slatting along under a draconically shortened rig, trying to delay our arrival at the Port Macquarie bar so that the tide might reach a more genteel stage for the crossing, as we were slamming from one side to the other in the growing swell, Alisa, gently cradling the new life within her with a protective arm on top of her swelling belly, uttered the words that every cruising dude trying to work the Good Life Trifecta (Family, Sailing, Miminal Work) dreads to hear:

"I wonder what catamarans are really like."

UGH! Make it stop make it stop, I thought to myself. Catamarans, it is said, don't roll from side to side in a seaway. But used cruising catamarans, as near as I can tell, start at around a million five and go up from there. You see lost souls out on the water in cruising cats, worrying about whether they remembered to send in the insurance premium, and they all seem to fall into two groups: oldsters who are trying to put off life in a caravan ("RV" to those of you in North America) for another year, or dudes who are blowing all their money in a losing battle to convince the non-sailing spouse that life at sea can be comfortable.

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(If anyone who lives on a catamaran actually reads this, please know it's a joke! You're not old, and you're not trying to keep your partner happy:)

Dolphins Afrothing

During February and March of 2009 while anchored in Iluka Harbor, we observed dolphin pups as they swam past Pelagic. Just a few days ago, while Mike was out surfing, I was lucky enough to see dolphins mating...at least that's what it looks like to me. I am no expert but I know what I saw was not a feeding frenzy. And aside from food and sex, I can't imagine what else would result in dolphins afrothing. Don't worry, the following photos are G-rated.

Santa Surfs!

Santa came to Pelagic early this year! Alisa, with some crucial guidance by a local friend, surprised me with this red boomer. Her guide to the world of surf gear pointed out that she could get a brand-new mass-produced board imported from Asia for less than the price of this used board, but she wisely went for the locally-shaped, tons-of-soul choice. It's a long board, as you can see, which Australians universally call a "Mal", as in "Malibu". Elias, by the way, is flashing the hang loose sign.

I went surfing a few times when we were here last summer, and got more or less trashed every time. But this summer things have started to click - I can paddle around without getting exhausted, and I get up on a fair number of waves, even if I do fall off right away. I've been out on my new board four times in the week I've had it, and I can see that the day might arrive when I'll be able to call myself a surfer. Tasmania, by the way, is known to have good waves.

But now, the problem. What the heck do I get Alisa for Christmas that can compete with this? Any suggestions would be gratefully received!