From Spain comes a surprising email from an adventurous one- legged grey nomad friend who once plied up and down the Queensland coast in a well fitted out yacht which even boasted a herb garden. I once went snorkelling with him at John Brewer Reef, 70kms off Townsville, journeying there in his son’s outboard . A flipper attached to the stump of his leg , and he was the first into the water ; after some time , we lost track of him and discovered him a long way along the reef , merrily exploring , armed with a speargun.
Some time later, he turned up in the yacht which he, being one of those people able to turn their hand to just about everything , had fitted out . With him was his partner, an intelligent, delightful woman , with a grown up family and a desire to write.
They told of their enjoyable trips and the sea- going nomad fraternity who regularly went north up Cape York with the south east trade winds and reluctantly returned to become landlubbers with the approach of the monsoons. On one of those trips north , some regulars gathered on a beach for the Melbourne Cup and ran a sweep.
Now comes this email informing us that he sold the yacht in December 2008 , split with his sailing partner and last year stripped and fitted out a 22- seater Toyota Coaster bus in which he plans to spend five years travelling around Australia. We expect to see a Spanish galleon in our drive way in the near future.
Some time later, he turned up in the yacht which he, being one of those people able to turn their hand to just about everything , had fitted out . With him was his partner, an intelligent, delightful woman , with a grown up family and a desire to write.
They told of their enjoyable trips and the sea- going nomad fraternity who regularly went north up Cape York with the south east trade winds and reluctantly returned to become landlubbers with the approach of the monsoons. On one of those trips north , some regulars gathered on a beach for the Melbourne Cup and ran a sweep.
Now comes this email informing us that he sold the yacht in December 2008 , split with his sailing partner and last year stripped and fitted out a 22- seater Toyota Coaster bus in which he plans to spend five years travelling around Australia. We expect to see a Spanish galleon in our drive way in the near future.
