By the way, I was a little under-prepared at last Friday's dinner to talk about our photo shoot. The idea is that we'll get a photographer (Craig) to take photographs of however many boats care to participate in November's mid month cruise. There is no obligation to purchase any of the resulting photographs. We'll display some of the results at First Friday in December. We'll try and price the photographs reasonably, although that price of course will have to reflect some of the cost involved. And just to make it clear, this is not an official club activity, but a private effort by the crew of Te Moana to get some nice sailing shots.

Te Moana, being trampoline challenged, decide to be alongside at the marina, rather than risk another anchoring spectacle. That provided an opportunity for League tragics to have there way. Leon provided the TV, the marina provided a reliable TV antenna system. Judicious gaffer tape and a collection of video cables did the rest.

Not everyone was obsessed with the game, but it proved an entertaining few hours with a difference. Thanks Leon!

More pictures after the "fold".

It has become quite a job, keeping track of cruising friends spreading out along the cost of Eastern Australia.  "Below the fold" are the boats we're keeping an eye on:

Follow the story as best we can tell by following this link for the unexpected outcome between Cat and Cruiser. Sorry Kevin, this one's not for you. [Thanks for Peter Style for  forwarding the original series of pictures]

Eleuthera (Bahamas) Map

"The definition of cruising is working on your boat in exotic places"

There are so many sail cruising websites out there. Apart from the many tantalising travelogs, there is also a wealth of incredibly useful information covering all aspects of sailing/cruising a yacht. Sometimes you need to dig deep to find the good stuff. Following is a review of just a few of the many sites on my list.

Whales as seen from Evening Star

After leaving last Thursday, Inez is going around the outside of Fraser Island "as we speak". Meanwhile, Tandanya just left yesterday and is making good headway after a great night, off Camden Haven. Bounty Child is apparently stuck in Burnett Heads, while Breakaway and Evening Star crossed paths last weekend. New boats blogging are Moksha (a bright orange Hanse returning to the club) and... yes, Breakaway has a blog!

Of course our friends further afield, Diomedea (now in Vanuatu) and Crystal Blues (in Singapore) are still communicating well and always interesting to read.

Has anyone heard of Friendship II lately?

On the other hand, the Members Only section provides a way for members to air opinions in the knowledge that only other RPAYC members have access (and yes, all membership classes have access). So let's see if we can make it work! I started a Forum topic with the aim of giving the club some feedback about the site.

In any case, it's a great improvement over the previous site. Thanks, Damian.

The winter exodus continues. Terry and Lilia just left on Tezelia to join Breakaway and Teeza on their way North. Rumour has it that Inez is about to follow soon.

Meanwhile, Bounty Child is on its way home and has reached Bundaberg and Diomedea is still discovering new places in Fiji.

For those interested in keeping in touch when away from the crowds, check out this article about Internet and phone access on the way North. All that, so you can let friends and family know where you are by starting a page for your boat!

Breakaway is heading North for the rest of the winter. First stop Mackay. Te Moana is going along in a virtual sense.

Will they get to MacKay before Bounty Child's parts arrive?

Diomedea is still having lots of fun in the Pacific

Alfie is still enveloped in a cloud of fibreglass dust, but is getting good press.

Evening Star is exploring Magnetic North... or was it Magnetic Island?

And you know who is you know where.

And if you know of someone else who is somewhere else, be sure to let us know by leaving a comment or by dropping me (Marius) a line.

Around the marina, you find boats being used, boats not being used, neglected boats and well cared for boats. The worst ones are well cared for friends' boats which are for sale.

You'll be missed, Ian and Sharon.

Sunrise on Lake Macquarie

The Heaven Can Wait 24 hour race was conceived and promoted by Lake Macquarie resident, keen sailor and cancer survivor Shaun Lewicki as a major annual sailing event on the lake, to promote sailing, the Lake Macquarie/Newcastle/Hunter region - and to raise funds for cancer research.

Is anyone interested in going down for the race? It might be interesting for some of us to join forces, perhaps crewing together.

You can read more about the race on the Heaven Can Wait web site.

Many of our friends are enjoying their sailing well away from Pittwater and sharing the fun by writing about it (hint: click the boat names).

• Diomedea is exploring Fiji on their South Pacific cruise.
• Bounty Child has started to make her way back South from North Queensland.
• Chrystal Blues is still wondering around Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
• Evening Star, meanwhile is about to leave Airlie Beach to sail further North.
• When last heard of, Friendship III was still berthed in Bundaberg

Leave a comment if you know of anyone else who is sharing their adventures by writing about it.