Now Its Chill Out Time

After 4 weeks in Australia, Ley and I returned to Thailand yesterday. Arriving at Boat Lagoon Marina, we could not find our boat - Crystal Blues was nowhere to be seen. The marina office was (thankfully) still open, and they calmly advised that "they needed to move it". A little less calmly we suggested it would be nice to seek permission next time, and to let us know where it was. After locating our home we moved back on board and attempted to shift our brains from a speedy Aussie state to a more relaxed Thai chill-out.

The visit home was as hectic as the last - maybe more so. A major Langford family reunion set the pace, followed by the 60th wedding anniversary for Ley's parents Ray and Edie Worrall. Then came son Shaun and Sarah's wedding, which included a buck's party and hen's night. We survived those (just) and were able to spend a beautiful weekend in Hepburn Springs, where the wedding was celebrated. You can see the wedding website here, or link strait to the wedding photo albums here.

Our godson Ethan joined us for two days, which included a visit to "Rovina", the new country property of friends James and Marian Farrell. In between all this we managed a lot of boat shopping and social contact, including three days on the Clarence River in northern NSW with friends Gary, Sue, Rhys and Tyler McAulay. With only months to go to the launching of their new Beale designed cruising boat, the McAulay family is pretty happy, as you can see here. Many thanks to all those who looked after us.

Last night we were tired and very glad to be home - however the ever-quirky cruising community wasn't going to let us rest. Within 10 minutes of arriving we'd met and re-met many of the people that live here - including Bill the retired pilot who's been here for 10 years, Dorine, the lady who walks her parrot down the dock every day, and Maria from the Czech Republic who (believe it or not) designs and manufactures World War II vintage German uniforms for the film industry. You couldn't invent a more interesting crew.

We'll move out of the marina on the high tide tomorrow, and re-anchor in Nai Harn Bay, at the southern end of Phuket Island. There we'll complete the plannning for our refit later this year, re-provision the boat and service the main engine. In a week or so we hope to head south, for Langkawi, Penang and Singapore, before returning to Borneo early in May.