Jeff, the Bay's marina boss and would-be-member of the Nelligen Yacht Club, rang yesterday afternoon to tell me that an ocean-going yacht was making its way upriver and would probably spend the night at anchor at Nelligen. And she didn't just drop anchor but berthed alongside the Nelligen wharf which made it even easier for me to introduce myself to the skipper, Bruce from Tasmania, and his beautiful Alaskan Malamute.
Bruce turned out to be a mad-keen snooker player, and so we spent the evening at the Steampacket Hotel, playing snooker, drinking beer, and swapping yarns. Bruce has been sailing for the past year in his yacht "ARIA" and is now on his way north to the Coral Seas and points beyond. No real plans, no real time limits; as he said, "I stop when the money runs out!" I saw him off with a couple of sailing novels and Alan Lucas's "Cruising the Coral Coast" which will be of more use to him than me!
He's now heading downriver again to catch the lunchtime bridge-opening at the Bay. Good luck and fair winds, Bruce, and a pat on the back for Max the Malamute!
