I am off by 'plane to Auckland to see my little cherub, Garth, who is coming out for a wedding.  He is only 35 and already he can get on a 'plane by himself.  Don't they grow up so quickly these days?  I will also visit Iain and Vicky, first met in the Galapagos, who sailed from the UK in a 28 foot, 100 year old boat with two tiny children.  They are now land based and are so poor that they have to work.  Perish the thought!

I spotted this bottle of Jameson in a local off license. What fun.  And in the reception of the RQYS a superb restoration of a 12 foot youth sailing dinghy first built in the 1920's.

Back soon and it is then time to head north to Fraser Island, the Great Barrier Reef and the Torres Strait