Sydney Arrival!

Dransfields on the high seas
John and Helen Dransfield
Tue 9 Nov 2010 22:23
33:48.44S 151:14.94E

Here is our last blog entry from our main sailblogs blog! Hope you have
enjoyed following our progress.

Oh what a feeling???!! (Think the old Toyota ad). It truly was a special
moment to sail through Sydney Heads on Saturday and arrive to a bunch of
family and friends dockside cheering us on! Despite the absolute downpour at
the exact moment of our arrival people braved the conditions to come down to
see us which was fantastic! The champagne flowed and the stories started
coming out!
Thanks everyone for all your support and encouragement as it has been
wonderful to see you all. We look forward to catching up properly with
everyone soon. For those who couldn't be here, thanks for your well wishes!
We really feel so very lucky to have had the opportunity of this trip and
particularly to have a year as a family together. It really has been quite
incredible and we have all bonded tightly. It actually feels quite strange
to be sitting here by myself typing this blog as JD has dropped the kids at
school and already I am missing them! How ridiculous I know!!!
Life is quickly returning to some normality. The kids are on Day 3 of school
and have settled in nicely. They are still a bit of a novelty and are being
asked a lot of questions about their trip but are taking it all in their
stride!
JD and I are busy with the more mundane but necessary aspects of land life
like buying a car, facing up to tax returns and a mountain of paperwork. We
are starting slowly to check out some job prospects and are making enquiries
about the sailing scene and where best to leave our boat long term.
I take this chance to say to you all that it has been great having you all
following our travels and encouraging us along the way. Without all the
support from our friends and family we would probably be stuck in a hole
somewhere in the middle of the ocean. It was been brilliant to get all your
messages of support along the way and it has meant a lot to us. We have met
some wonderful people, been to some amazing places and really now have life
long memories. Hopefully we are better as people for it and can appreciate
life just that little bit more! We urge anyone who gets the chance to dip
out of the ratrace and do something special for a period to just do it!!!
Whether it be a boat or a caravan it really will be a life highlight for
you!
As I write this last blog to you all I must say how proud we are of the kids
and of course Nika. The kids have grown in many ways in the year. They have
rarely complained on the trip and we feel lucky that they have been willing
to tag along on such a massive adventure. We are also proud of Nika who has
treated us so well and proven to be a fast reliable and immensely enjoyable
and comfortable boat to live on and sail. We also feel proud of ourselves
for "pulling it off" so to speak and thank the weather god and other angels
who have watched over us over the last year! On that note I say a final
goodbye to the blog. I trust you have enjoyed the snippets of our life and
not been too scared by the dramas. It really has been mostly plain sailing
so to speak! Well for now it is Nika Out for the final time and back to
Channel 16 for a listening watch!! Look out for Nika in the harbour or
Pittwater and we look forward to getting our friends and family out for a
sail soon. x

Nika crew: John, Helen, Jesse, Zoe and Tyler
Email: nika {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com Blog: www.sailblogs.com/member/nika
Mob: +61 414 702 259 Satphone: +88 1631 646 231
Call sign: VJN 3421