2010 Sydney Boat Show - Jessica Watson and Lagoon Catamarans

Despite the crowds, we had fun at the boat show looking for odds and ends for Lucey Blue. The kids were great and put in a ten hour day on Saturday which is pretty impressive given Ryan is only four.

We managed to pick up (well...only just managed to pick up ;-) a new Rocna anchor:


...a heavily discounted digital TV system and a few cruising guides for the East coast of Australia from Boat Books.

I also spent some time admiring the Lagoon 400:


A real highlight was Jessica Watson's talk about her round the world solo adventure. Emily really enjoyed meeting Jessica and looking over Ella's Pink Lady.



We were also amazed to see Lucey Blue - a tiny blue spot with a big pink flag (white arrow) - near the head of the welcome home flotilla for Jessica (red arrow) on the back cover of the Jessica Waston's book - True Spirit:

Jessica Watson - A homecoming video.....

Our day on Sydney Harbour turned into a lot of fun for all on board Lucey Blue.



For additional background on Jessica's adventure you can't go past the following: http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/jessicas-excellent-adventure/xl4hlid
(Nick only says this because Lucey Blue appears in the first 60 seconds of the video ;-).

More pics of Jessica Watson's homecoming...

Sydney Harbour waiting for Jessica's arrival...


Swell and surf at Sydney Heads...


Our Skippers on Lucey Blue...


Jessica Watson and Ella's Pink Lady crossing the finish line at Sydney Harbour Heads on 15th May 2010...






















:-)
Sam.

Our awesome day out with Jessica Watson...

...This is gonna be short and sweet. We've been out on Sydney Harbour since about 8:00 am this morning, and it is now 8:30 pm and we are about to go to bed...stuffed!

We went out to help welcome Jessica Watson home...and by the look of it, so did most of the rest of Sydney!

I've chosen two of my favourite photos to show you now. We have lots more (and video)...but I'll need to sit down and go through them more slowly for the best shots. I had my 300 mm zoom and managed to get some nice shots as she came through the Heads of Sydney Harbour.




It was quite scary out there in the Heads. With swells of about 4 m and dozens and dozens and DOZENS of boats milling about (at speed)...I am absolutely AMAZED we came out of it without a scratch. At one point, one small craft almost went between our hulls and there were upwards of four helicopters buzzing about overhead for added effect. Nick was steering...I would NOT have been able to do that!

It was an absolutely amazing feeling being out there with Jessica as she returned home today. I am just in AWE of her positive vibe, spirit and skill. I will be the first to admit that I was pretty dubious about the whole trip after the initial incident with the container ship...but she has shown me that she is made of some seriously stern stuff! Hats of to you Jesse...and thanks for sharing your day with us.

Hope you managed to catch a glimpse of her on TV. It was a wonderful day!

Sam.