First Days Back

Since my return I have been a guest of Brenda and Stephen at their home in Beaconsfield, a suburb of Fremantle not far from the coast and the Fremantle Sailing Club.  After the privations of the boat their comfortable and thoughtfully decorated home in a quiet and leafy setting seemed like a palace where I have been treated like a king.  Brenda and Stephen had gone to the trouble to clear a room for my use as an office and have spared no effort to make me feel at home.

Home.  From the time I approached the marina on the boat I began to feel like someone who had just woken from a coma.  For the last 4 days as I have begun to move around the city my reactions have been along the lines of "I remember that" as though I am recovering from amnesia, which I suppose I have in a sense.

With Peter Sumner of Arrival Day

On the day after my arrival Brenda and I visited the Fremantle Sailing Club and it was great to be back and become reacquainted with its wonderful facilities and setting.  In my travels I had not seen a yacht club that matched the setting, size, layout, and management of the FSC.  We walked along D jetty to see my pen and along the way had an interesting conversation with the skipper of a Dufour 385 who would be participating in the Fremantle-Bali race and rally (http://fremantlebali.com.au/).   We then worked our way to the pen, while I checked out every boat along the way, some old neighbours, some new to me.  At the pen (D81) I had a look at Jeremy's boat and the condition of the rope harness which was designed to guide the boat into the pen.  I also introduced myself to Chris in the adjacent pen (D79) because I knew that they were about to depart on an extended cruise.  On 8 May Jeremy would move his boat from D81 to D79 and I would bring Pachuca home to her pen D81.

During my travels I had been harbouring thoughts of resettling in La Paz but just two days back in Fremantle dispelled all such notions.  Australia is my home and this is where I want to live, but having said that, thanks to the speed and affordability of modern air travel I see myself making regular visits to North America and Mexico.

Two days after than Brenda drove me to Darlington for a very important visit.  We went to the post office where I signed a redirection order then visited the office of the real estate office that has been managing the lease of my house and had a good chat about the property and its future.

By then I had already decided that it was time to sell my house in Darlington and move to Fremantle.  It had not been an easy decision because I had built much of it myself during a time of different visions and dreams of the future, but the 5 year adventure had changed me and it was time to let go to pursue another vision.  To have renovated the house and remained would have been to live in a monument to the past.  The center of gravity of my life had shifted from the hills to the sea and after having spent 29 years commuting between Darlington and Murdoch University 30 km away toward Fremantle I didn't want to face whatever number of active years remaining commuting 40 km to Fremantle.

The best time for selling property in the hills is the spring when everything is lush, green, and flowery, so the plan is to put the house on the market in September at about the time I return from my visit to the USA.  I'll then look for a secure and low maintenance place in the Fremantle area where I can rely more on travel by foot, bicycle, and public transport and less on travel by car.

We then drove around the corner to the house for my first look in 5 years.  Fortunately Bob, the father of the teneant was home, and he gave us permission to visit my garage any time.  In that garage were stored all of my household furnishings and the small car (a zippy Barina that I love to drive) that thanks to Reg was waiting for me ready to go.  Reg had started the car and driven it for a complete service, a new battery, and two new front tyres.  One turn of the key and the engine burst into life immediately.  Fortunately I had kept up the registration of the car so there were no licensing issues.

Yesterday I attended to some urgent business.  Club Marine and other large marine insurance companies have stopped providing 3rd party insurance and will sell only comprehensive cover.  After 5 years at sea dealing with all sorts of hazards with no insurance coverage I could see no point in spending big dollars for being forced to under insure the boat.  I had become accustomed to regarding the welfare of the boat as being totally my responsibility.  Also, this boat that had been strong enough to have recently rounded the Horn would have to be hauled out for inspection, and the nearly new rigging that had been installed in Argentina would have to be checked by a professional.  Fortunately Trident Insurance will be able to provide the 3rd party cover that I require, with no requirement to have the boat surveyed.

I also visited Customs with my passport.  I had not been able to find my passports during my clearance procedure and fortunately had been allowed to stay on the strength of my WA drivers license.  However, I had been asked to present my passport for sighting after I found it.  I subsequently spent literally hours searching for those passports with no success.   At 4 AM one morning while I was still half asleep my mind had drifted around the cabin of the boat.  I visited the navigation station and because I had already visited the rest of the cabin I moved my consciousness to aft of the nav station.  I mentally went through the door to the communications closet and zoomed in on the yellow grab bag.  Of course!  After encountering the two icebergs I quietly prepared to abandon ship if I hit an iceberg on my way to the north out of harm's way, and I had moved my two passports from their usual position into the grab bag.  Brenda and I visited the boat after breakfast and the passports were there.  Customs has an interesting setup for telephone contact: if you ring the first number you never get an answer, and if you ring the second one you always get a busy signal.  After 2 days of this nonsense I visited the Customs building, which was interesting because everything inside the building was locked up and there was nobody around.  I rang a buzzer for people inquiring about goods in quarantine and fortunately the officer who emerged was very helpful and soon my passport had been officially sighted.

Then we went to the gigantic Garden City Mall where I faced the task of having my Medibank Private health insurance reinstated without prejudice.  The issue is whether my coverage is continued as an old member or started as a new member.  If my coverage starts as a new member I will have to pay big dollars for the coverage based on my advanced age.  Fortunately the man attending to me was sharp and very helpful and it appears that my coverage will be reinstated.

Brenda noted that this day marked the 5th anniversary of the beginning of the circumnavigation.  She, Arnold, and I had sailed out of Fremantle on 3 May 2008.

There are many things to do and people to see before my departure to the USA in early June, and it will keep me busy, though I'm confident that I'll be able to do it all.