Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I extinguished the flame and ushered all the readers out of my cabin. I had wondered for
almost two years what it would be like being with her and was rewarded with the sweetest,
most sensual, and honest lovemaking a man could ever hope for. It was indescribable and
lasted well over an hour. We both had obviously anticipated this moment, and we made it
last.
A week later saw Déjà vu all neatly antifouled, her topsides shining with a new coat of
white paint. I decorated her waterline with a handsome, black line and resigned her name
plates. Her teak navigation boxes were painted inside with green and red respectively, and I
sanded and varnished her bright work above decks. I would varnish her spars in New Zea-
land as I had run out of steam, and they weren't in too bad a shape.
I received a letter from Gavin, now in Mooloolaba. He was happy and evidently in his ele-
ment learning to surf, working out at the local gym, working on a wooden mast he had
made and surrounded by acres of bare breasted girls. Yes, they went topless on the Aus-
tralian beaches, he was happy to inform me!
Time was marching on. It was almost my birthday, and I decided to stay until after I had
celebrated it. Liza had a shock in store for me. Her husband had returned, and our little
affair came to an abrupt ending. She told me in confidence that it was over between them;
they were just going through the motions. I knew what she meant.
It was time to start laying in some provisions and figuring out a plan of action. I went
through my charts of Australia and New Zealand, and in conjunction with one of the pilot
books that had not been destroyed in the rain, I planned a course down the Gold Coast to
Coffs Harbor. There I decided I would take a small break, load up with fresh provisions
and maybe visit Gavin in Mooloolaba, and from there I would clear out and sail across to
New Zealand, sailing between the Three Kings Islands and on down to the Bay of Islands. I
noticed that the pilot book kept referring to the helpful four knot current setting south along
the coast of Queensland and New South Wales. It was situated a few miles offshore, and I
made a note to sail within this stream.
It became a countdown now with the weather, and Liza somehow knew when I would sail
off. She arrived the morning I was bending on sails. My dinghy had been hauled up on deck
and securely lashed; I couldn't row ashore to meet her. She waved a little purple hanky at
me, and I blew her several kisses. We had said formal goodbyes a few days earlier.
It was Tuesday, the 19
th
of February 1991. I had called the immigration office by radio and
had told them of my departure that morning. They had shocked me by asking whether I
was going to visit my brother in Mooloolaba! I couldn't believe how on the ball they were.
When I had renewed my six month visa with them earlier, the one smart alec had said that
