#76 NOW November 19, 2005, 0630—UTC +10 hours (Queensland, Australia Time) Anchored just west of Tulleen Island near the Gold Coast. Temperature 75 Good Morning, I am finally under way, heading South from Morton Bay to the Gold Coast via the inside passage. It is a beautiful morning, and I am anchored along the main channel next to Tulleen Island. The island is covered with a mangrove forest, which becomes inundated during high tide. The tides have been the highest of the year and have been running 2.5 meters above charted lows. Timing of my run down from Morton Bay was critical, as some areas of the channel are less than one meter at low tide. I had to do a bit of searching to find an anchorage deep enough so that I would not go aground when the water level dropped. Last week was busy with numerous little things to take care of. I picked up the outboard from the shop and reinstalled it on the dingy. He now says it runs like new—we shall see. I also picked up the new gypsy that I had on order. For you non-nautical types, that is the cogwheel on my windlass, not some poor little wandering waif. If you recall, it caused me no end of grief when I tried to pull up the anchor in Tonga. I cut off a piece of my anchor chain and sent it in with the order. As I had suspected all along, my old one was the wrong size and thus was skipping cogs every so often. Naturally, it wore down much faster than it should have, and I am amazed it lasted as long as it did. The new one works like a charm and should serve me for many years. Wednesday, I went into Brisbane for some more sightseeing. A cold front had passed through and it was sparkling clear and cool, a perfect day to take a walk-about and visit the historical sights. Brisbane, like many places in Australia, was first settled by prisoners shipped over from England. I spent an hour in the Commissariat Store, which is now a museum. Built in 1829 by prison labor, it is now filled with artifacts of that era. They had one showcase with about 20 items that they had not been able to identify. One caught my eye—a wooden mallet that is used to ring a small dinner gong. I have seen these in India and my parents had an identical one. I brought this to the curator's attention and he seemed very pleased. Wandering over to the Queensland Parliament House, I enjoyed a tour of this magnificent building and a look at their traditional British form of government. It was a kick to get my picture taken in the ornate "Speakers Chair." I could just imagine the debates that take place in this august chamber. Down one of the back streets, I came across a musty old bookstore. What a treasure house! Here was a complete beautifully bound 25-volume set of the works of Churchill (another of my heroes). Unfortunately, at $4,500 I decided to pass for now. I then came across a book listing ships that had carried migrants to Australia. Sure enough, in the book I found a picture and description of the Castel Felice—the very ship that I sailed on from India to Italy in 1955. It was on this ship that the intense vivid blue waters breaking from the bow, was to haunt me the rest of my life. Perhaps, this became the defining moment that created the dream, which I am now enjoying. Life is a Cruise, Larry -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm