What next?

Well, I finally have my boat! I'm so glad I waited for Contessa II - I'd been ready to buy since January, but having seen her I was sure she was the boat for me, and was worth waiting 'till April for. Her previous owner, Steve Y., is a lovely guy and has given me loads of help setting up and learning her ropes. He and I have done quite a bit of messing around and sailing already, and we'll be doing more before I undertake the big sail to Townsville.

Contessa II has been slipped, surveyed, antifouled and insured - now it's time to plan and prep for the trip north. I'm aiming, probably overly optimistically, to be ready to go by the week of the 24th of May. With any luck Tony H. will be available to sail with me then. Euge C. will hopefully be joining me in Brisbane, around the 12th of June. That should see me arriving in Townsville around the end of June. I'm wary of fixing dates, even this vaguely, though - in the end it will all depend on the weather.

Listing all the things I need to do before I'm ready to go is a bit daunting - here goes (not exhaustive and in no particular order):

• Pick up copies of Alan Lucas' cruising guides (http://www.alanlucascruisingguides.com/)
• Lubricate the depth sounder.
• Get my marine radio license (urgently).
  
• Get a new marine radio! And install it.
• Wire up the solar panel and generally explore the electrics.
• Get a chart collection together - I ought to really list the charts I need, but basically, everything from Sydney to Cairns, no amount of detail would be too much!
• Get the dinghy on board and stowed.
• Fill up the water and get stores in.
• Rig lazyjacks (time allowing, I could manage without but they sure would help).
• Get a couple of decent life-jackets/harnesses, and jackstays.
• Get a proper toolkit together.
• Get a proper 1st aid kit together.
• Change the EPIRB registration.
  

Plenty to be going on with! It's going to be a busy couple of weeks. Well, by my standards.