Twilight Saga New Moon Party by Jet Mante

Part of my winnings from the party :)

For those of you who don't know it New Moon is the second book in the Twilight Saga, which includes Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. The series is written by Stephenie Meyer, and the first movie came out last year. The premiere of New Moon in Australia is at midnight on November 19. To celebrate Borders is holding a Twilight (Saga) Party, and as I absolutely love the books, and am sort of obsessed with them I decided to go to the party. Mom and Dad had visitors, but they allowed me to go by myself!

After Dad had dropped me off at the dingy dock I walked to Borders, only stopping to ask directions once. When I did ask directions I didn’t really need them, because when I looked again I could see Borders just one block down.

When I reached Borders I saw no sign of a party. I was looking around thinking what to do when a staff member approached the door. At first I thought that he was going to ask me if I was okay, and offer help, but when he opened his mouth he asked “Are you here for the Twilight Party?”

I was very relieved, and I asked if he could wait while I called my parents. After 3 tries, and hearing nothing I decided that they were busy and didn’t hear the VHF. I finally gave up and went inside.

On the third floor I found about eight women in their late forties, and three twenty year old Borders staff members. I settled in, feeling a little out of place, and introduced myself.

I was handed 5 quiz sheets and told to make myself at home. On the quizzes, I did rather well, having an average 10 out of 15. I even won the last round, receiving 2 free New Moon passes, and a Twilight 2010 Calendar.

After finishing their quiz I wrote my own. I also learned that Emmett, the wolf pack, and Edward were the main attractions for people to go and see New Moon. We shared how we had been introduced to the Twilight Series, which turned out to be either by seeing the first movie or a friend suggesting the book (for me it was the latter).

The last thing we did was ‘pin a kiss on your favorite character’. The character, who earned the most kisses was Emmett, with Jacob coming in second and Alice third with three kisses including mine.

At nine o’clock I headed downstairs, just as I had promised Dad. As I hurried downstairs I saw Dad talking to a Borders staff member, and trying to enter Borders. When I saw him I rushed over, and after he told the Borders person how concerned some people had been we left. He told me how Mom had been very worried, because when she came an hour earlier to surprise me she could find no sign of a party and this mega-bookstore was all locked up. Adding to this the absence of a VHF call from me, Mom had come to frightening conclusions. After Dad had called Mom on VHF and reassured her that I was OK, we walked home living the saying “All is well that ends well!”

Land Ho! by Jet Mante

Australia is HOT! (spot my earrings!)

We made it to Australia! The first first-world country since the USA. After stunning nature, wonderful untouched cultures, and places right out of vacation brochures, I was personally very glad to be back in a city! I absolutely loved the (hopefully not) once-in-a-life-time experiences, but after a year in the Pacific I must confess to enjoying such little things as the hustle and bustle of people, and traffic lights. Even traffic jams can seem wonderful.


As soon as we were through customs, we met lovely people. Especially Susanne and Jerry (long term Australian cruisers) made us feel very welcome. For those of you who know Lisa Peery, Semiti Saini, Martin Livingstone, Kelly & Al Chan, Don Raymond from SDYC, Paul and Tamar, Pamela from Precious Metal, Lupe from Moon and Stars, and many, many others, you will know one of the greatest joys of cruising is meeting such extraordinary people!

Australian welcome committee, the wonderful Susanne and Jerry

On Saturday we, Jerry, Susanne, and the Mante family, went shopping at the Outlets. The funniest thing that happened was that Dad bought two new pairs of shorts and a new polo-shirt, but when he put them on Hein and Eltjo refused to believe that they were new. They said that they were exactly like the old ones!

OLD	NEW

Spot the ten differences, it's not easy!

On Sunday we visited Mom’s old school friend’s younger brother: Joris Eerkens. I had great fun playing Scrabble with Yinte (8), and Torwen (7), Joris’ two eldest daughters. After Scrabble we jumped into the pool and splashed about with them and their younger siblings Mognild (5) and Jeurt (3).

What do all children like?

Today I sorted out my cupboard and made a pile of clothing that was 1/2 a meter high, for Yinte, Torwen and Mognild. Not only did I realize that I am either really spoilt, or a packrat, but I also managed to procrastinate writing this blog post for over half an hour! I definitely decided that I should clean out my closet (if you can call it a that) more often.

The pile I cleared out is too high. I need a LONGER ruler!

On Wednesday Joris and Co. will visit and have dinner on the boat, which I am really looking forward to. Afterwards I will go to a 'Twilight Saga New Moon' party, which I will be going to alone because it starts at seven and we don’t know how long Joris will stay. Even though I will have to go alone I still insist on going, because I am obsessed about this book the way I sometimes can be about books.


Before the internet connection breaks off I must tell everyone who knows Dad, and his policy about pets, the amazing breakthrough: I am now not only allowed to have virtual and imaginary pets, but also ladybugs! Yes! I hope to even get Dad so far as allowing geckos, or hermit crabs.

Brisbane

Australian customs and Quarantine have a reputation for being draconian. With that in mind we had prepared to make things easy to get off on the right footing. For example we had dug out all the shells we collected in the Pacific and had them ready on the cockpit table for inspection. The event was painless.

With entry formalities put aside, we got our first taste of Australian hospitality when we were embraced with open arms by Susanne and Jerry, a local cruising couple taking a break from actively cruising, yet still living on their boat. They knew what it is to arrive after a long passage and pampered us. The first night they fed us a gourmet meal and poured several bottles of champagne. In the following days they drove us around town on all kinds of errands and generally helped us find our feet in Brisbane. What a wonderful experience. Thank you!

Susanne and Jerry host us for a yet another gourmet meal.

Brisbane itself is a major city with a population of 2 million. Moored on the river just off the Botanical Gardens in the heart of the City we were meters away from high rise office and residential towers. After 10 months of sparsely populated tropical islands, ocean and coconut trees this was quite a change! Another reason to enjoy the tall buildings around us was that Brisbane is known for its heavy thunderstorms. We certainly experienced some spectacular ones.

What a change from a deserted South Pacific Island!

We loved seeing the sights of Brisbane. The city is a mix of ultra modern buildings and beautifully restored wharves and Victorian/Edwardian Government buildings. There are many museums and most of them are free. Amongst others we visited a Fashion Exhibit, the Modern Art, Queensland (Science), Police, and Maritime Museums.

At the Fashion exhibit Jet is happy to spot this Cate Blanchett dress. Ewout was disappointed not to find the lady herself.

One of the many delights of Brisbane's South Bank: The Senang and Bravado boys play "chicken" in a waterpark.

First "kangaroo" sighting by Senang and Bravado boat children.

Brisbane also played an important role during WWII. Many of the GIs shipped in from San Francisco landed in Brisbane prior to being sent into battle. Brisbane essentially became a large garizon town. General MacArthur, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, had his Head Quarters in Brisbane from July 1942 to November 1944. From here planned and managed the campaign to defeat Japan. His old HQ has been converted into a Museum:

General MacArthur's Head Quarters is one of the many museums we visited in Brisbane.

Hein learns about secret codes in the MacArthur Museum.

We learn about the role Australian children played during WWII (collect alumninium and rubber, help adults etc.)

Ewout tries General MacArthur's desk. Hmm. Ewout you sure are good at barking orders, but these boots might be a little too large to fill!

The MacArthur museum also gave us an interesting insight into how and when Australia shifted its allegiance from England to the United States. During the height of the panic in the Far East Churchill and the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin had a sharp difference of opinion: Churchill ordered Australian ships North to support the British in South East Asia. Curtin ordered Australian forces to return South to defend Australia. Curtin stated: "Without any inhibitions of any kind I make it quite clear that Austrlaia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom".

The rest is history. Australia today remains an interesting mix between British traditions and an American get-up-and-go attitude.

On our way out of Brisbane Eltjo had a close encounter!

We think there is something BIG in Eltjo's future!

Crossing the Coral Sea to Australia

Eltjo and Ewout adjust the sails as we leave Vanuatu.

Having left behind Vanuatu we set course for Australia. This meant we had to pass across the top of New Caledonia, a French colony known for its nickel deposits and natural beauty. We would have loved to visit it, but decided not to. Earlier on in our trip we learned we that we have more fun if we spend more time in fewer locations. Moreover, the seasons were about to change and who wants to run into Hurricane season?

All that remained between us and Australia was a 1000 nautical miles (1600 miles, 1850 km) stretch across the Coral Sea. At the far Western end is the well known Great Barrier Reef. We were aiming for the Southern end of it. Little did we know that the Coral sea is aptly named for scattered across it are endless coral reefs which rarely are visited by humans. One can either sail a big detour to avoid most of the atolls, or snake one's way through this mess. On a yacht with GPS navigation systems this is quite feasible as long as one doesn't fall asleep and literally miss a turn!

The Coral Sea actually has an important place in history: On May 7 and 8th 1942 Japanese and US forces fought the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was the first naval battle in history in which aircraft carriers engaged each other and neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, the battle would prove to be a strategic victory for the Allies: Japanese expansion towards Australia and into the South Pacific, seemingly unstoppable till then, had been turned back.

Japanese Expansion into the Pacific was halted with the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Luckily Bravado had a more peaceful ride! Winds were boisterous (30-35 knots) and from just ahead of the beam (i.e. slightly against us) which made it rough but fast trip. As usual Bravado held up well and 6 and a half days after leaving Port Villa we tied up at the customs dock on the Brisbane river. This marked the end of our crossing of the Pacific.