ABOUT: Chris & Manuela departed San Francisco, California, on April 18th on their J-40 sloop to sail to the South Pacific and points west. We think we'll be sailing 2-3 years, and then return to our normal lives. ARCHIVES:   Saturday, January 31, 2004   After arriving safely in Australia (Bundaberg, Queensland), we began to make our way south towards Sydney. Sydney Opera I single-handed Argonaut for the initial leg from Bundaberg some 120 miles south to Tin Can Bay, a trip that turned out a bit more adventurous than I had bargained for. For the first leg, I left Bundaberg with first light at 5:00am in order to make sure that I'd arrive at Fraser Island's 'Kingfisher Bay' before dusk. The wind was blowing a comfortable 8-10 knots from the North east, permitting myself and Argonaut to settle into a wonderful broad reach south. Being alone on board, I was a bit nervous about heading below for food, drink, or personal matters. Three minutes felt like an eternity, driving me to head topside as quickly as possible. I probably kept better watch than ever before, and easily avoided the two fishing trawlers that I encountered. At some point, I thought I heard a squeaking noise from the steering mechanism below deck. I opened the lazarette (a storage compartment in the cockpit which gives access to the steering mechanism), and climbed below. While I inspected the mechanics, a rather large wave hit the boat, and the lid came crashing down. I smiled. I had anticipated this problem and had laid a 12mm (1/2'') line across the opening before crawling aft. Switching on my headlamp, I completed the inspection. Turning around in the claustrophobic space proved to be quite the challenge, made that much more difficult by the constant motion of the boat. Then a surprise: the lid would not open as I pushed against it. I pushed again. Nothing. Slowly, it dawned on me that I, alone on the ocean, was locked into a 3'x3'x8' (1m x 1m x 2.5m) space, while the boat sailed along on the preset course. I closed my eyes, leaned my head against the sailbag on which I was lying, and took a deep breath. Then another. This wasn't fun. Ok. Stay calm and think. Given course and speed, I'll be running aground in less than 2 hours. Some breathing space. I had a screwdriver with me, as well as the headlamp. The hinges were accessible, but bolted through with only the nuts visible. A difficult job for the screwdriver. I tried wedging the screwdriver between the lid and the sidewall. Nothing. I tried again. Still nothing. I leaned back again and took a break. I had to chuckle. Sailing 8,000 miles, through storms and reefs, we had crossed the Pacific. Now, on a beautiful day on the Australian coast, I was stuck. I mean, you really have to see the humor in this situation. Once again I banged on the lid, with once again the same results. Ok, so the latch had fallen over the corresponding hook, which was about 0.5'' long. So I needed to get the lid at least that far away from the sidewall. Maybe, if I pried with the screwdriver while simultaneously pushing against the lid with my elbow/shoulder, I could bend the fiberglass sufficiently. Screwdriver in, deep breath, shoulder slamming, and suddenly, bright sunlight. Phew, I could barely believe it. Carefully, I opened the lid further, and then pulled a few more loops of the line across the sidewall before wriggling out of the lazarette. This was nice. Neither boat nor land in sight. I was safe. The remainder of this day's sail went like clockwork. My pre-arranged waypoints to enter the narrow channel between Fraser Island and the mainland were spot on, and given the nice breeze, I made landfall at 3:00pm, and was safely anchored by 4:00, some 11 hours since starting in the morning. Given the day's excitement, I didn't bother to assemble the dinghy, but just stayed on the boat and cooked a nice dinner. Two days later I left Fraser Island, and with two day-sails, made it down to Tin Can Bay, where Manuela joined me again. There, we stayed for 4 days, waiting for a weather window to cross the somewhat dicey bar out into the open ocean. A strong northerly had come in, pushing us south so quickly that we decided to bypass Brisbane and head straight to Coffs Harbour. This beautiful little town of 5000 lies about 500km (300miles) north of Sydney, and is home to Russel Crowe. Russel, the good guy he is, was attending the Coffs Habour premier of "Master and Commander: The far side of the world". Huge crowds showed up to hear him talk, but Manu and I decided to take a trip inland instead. Then we headed north to Brisbane to meet my sister Susanne at the airport, who was flying in from Germany for the Holidays. Together, we had a wonderful time touring the temperate rain-forests of Queensland, and then sailing into Sydney. Manu & Chris in front of Parliament in Canberra, Australia Sydney, it must be said, is one of (if not the) most beautiful city I've come across. The harbor is very 'cuddly', with many nooks and crannies, beautiful tree-lined shores, and the occasional island. Sailing is clearly the favorite pastime of many Sidney-siders, with races occurring on a daily basis. And of course we watched the start of the famous Sydney-to-Hobart Race on the 26th of December. Pretty cool. Recently, we have made a major decision, and decided to sell (yes, 'sell') Argonaut here in Australia to continue on home to Germany overland. Looking at what would be involved both time-wise (another 1.5 years) and sailing wise (going through the Red Sea & Suez Canal, etc.) to get to the Med, as well as our desire to be with family sooner than that, we decided that it was time to part with Argonaut. I am sad to part with her, after all this work, and excitement. On the other hand, we are both already looking forward to being home with our parents and siblings. Surfing in Sydney Looking forward, we will spend some more time here in Australia and New Zealand, before heading to Germany. It's a long flight west, so we will stop over in one or two places, most likely India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The summer will then find us in Europe. Christoph 6:33 PM