Last one

We are writing the last few sentences of an amazing, rich and diverse chapter of our lives (more to come about this soon). 

This weekend we went, for the last time, to Moreton Bay with Merlin. We did everything we loved there: climbed the dunes then slid down them again and again; we jumped off the stern and off the bow; we ate everything we love eating at anchor: lasagnas, pizzas, cake, etc.; we played card games at sundowners and were  just happy to be there, together. We had some rain and the sun was shy. However, this weather offered us some playful lights and some flat seas. With our high waterline, we were impressed (once again) by Merlin's performances: 7 knt with less than 9 knt of wind!

We had the privilege of witnessing a whale and her baby breaching and playing in front of us for 30min. That was an amazing way to end this special chapter. We are back at the dock, full of emotions but ready for the next chapter.

Check out Victor's photos below:

On largue les amarres

Leger, Merlin glisse vite

Sur les dunes, on glisse vite aussi:

On admire la baie

Et pour finir les baleines nous font leur petite danse.

Ciao les Merlins!

Few hints

Back online after a very long silence. Before I tell you too much, here are few hints.

Could you guess what's new for the Merlins?

Hint #1:The waterline is rising (indice 1: la ligne d'eau remonte)

Hint #2: New look for our lockers (nouvelle mode pour nos coffres)

Hint #3: Some usefull boxes (quelques boites bien utiles)

Hint #4: World flags packed away (on range les drapeaux du monde)

Hint #5: our new number (notre nouveau numero)

Feel free to leave a comment below.

Shower time!

Spa time for Merlin:

- high pressure freshwater shower,

- scrubbing / deep clean

- mask / new paint

While Merlin is having a special time, we are camping on board, without the benefits of camping.

So no water but also no clear sky, but strong spot lights from the yard which are on all night, no birds singing, but a cacophony of tools from 6am.

We also have quite an intriguing inclinaison. Victor calculated that it was only 3 degres. However, it feels much more.

This time, we also have very diverse neighbours:

A fast looking foldable catamaran

An 100ft ++ luxury power boat. 8 guys were polishing the hull yesterday and I was very envious of the result. But their rate is just not in my budget!

A city cat, one of the "floating bus" going up and down the Brisbane river

Black Jack, a maxi racing yacht that finished 3rd at the last Sydney-Hobart

An even a submarine!

After the 1st coat of antifoulling, Merlin looks already much better.

Another visit to Stradbroke Island

On Sunday, we did a quick visit to Stradbroke Island. Felix was busy with some friends, Victor was camping with other friends (on Stradbroke in fact! but I promise, we didn’t go to spy on him!).

So we were only 3 to go, easy.

Dans le ferry, partageant un delicieux smoothie a la myrtille

We decided to do very simple. So we only packed our swimming stuff, left the car on the main land, took a water taxi and then the bus to the main beach. We swam in blue blue water, walked along the coast line and spotted few really bog turtles, had a delicious lunch in a friendly café and tasted the amazing Italian ice cream.

We came back with the 4pm water taxi, refreshed, iodised, happy and sandy.

Simple is easy and we promised ourselves that we will do it again – hopefully very soon.

Back online!

Yes, dear readers, we are still here and the blog is still alive!

Life got a little too busy and our ordinary-running-around-like-crazy-day-to-day-life didn't seem worth a post. We are trying our best to escape what could look like a suburban routine. However, we are sometimes just doing what a lot of families do: driving the kids around (to concerts, scouts, climbing), working too long hours, going to the movie, seeing some friends (not often enough though). We don't mow the lawn - but we clean the deck!

Did I mention hours of lesson preparation and marking for me? I was recently submerged by more than 250 copies, so focused reading stole few hours of my day.

Marking could be seen as an adventure but not exhilarating enough! So yes, we are all missing some adventure, maybe excitement, even small,  but we know it will cross our path again.

In the meantime, the river and its lights help us find some extraordinary little moments in our daily lifes where we all stop, watch, enjoy the surroundings and reflect: Life is going fast and is too busy, but, hey, life is good.

Victor came back a little taller but mostly very happy from his trip overseas. He was satisfied with his French (even learnt some new words), amazed by the snow and was very grateful to have spent quality time with his extended family. He found the weather is Paris very wet but loved the "Vieux campeur" (shop specialised in outdoor equipment).

He went skiing and loved it, even if the shoes feel really odd.

He spent few days in Swizerland and was in awe with the white, vast, alpine landscape.

Once back and before he started his new university course in Industrial Design, he went hiking for few days with some friends around Mt Barney. Nature is his element. If you want to see a huge smile, give him a hammock and a backpack.