The Granger Family sailing into Sydney Harbour

Sailing Faith: The Long

Way Home

Gregg II hamming it up in Cooktown, Queensland, Australia

The Gregg A Granger

Family Adventure

Gregg II buried in the sand, Whitsunday Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Sydney

We leave early for the ten-hour sail, and make it between the heads—promontories marking the harbour entrance—by mid-afternoon. In many miles and many different sailing conditions since leaving Hampton, Virginia, nothing prepared us for Sydney. New York doesn’t come close in the amount of on-the-water traffic. We were in New York in the fall, when other things are more important. We’re now in Sydney in the spring, and everybody is flocking to the water: a cruise ship, a number of ferries, tour boats, sailboats, powerboats, fishing boats, canoes, kayaks, tugs with barges, airplanes with banners, and helicopters—all in an aura of celebratory confusion. As we round Bradley’s Head, the Sydney skyline unfolds. Modern skyscrapers, glass and steel, and now the Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge. Many experiences in life are made better when shared with other people—it’s good to share the excitement of Sydney Harbour with Carl, Maggie and Maddie. (page 77-78)

Emily reeling in a fish in Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The fish Emily caught, cleaned, and cooked.

The Great Barrier Reef

Next, we visit Lizard Island, which may be home to the most exclusive resort in the world. It’s populated by lizards in the wild, celebrities in the resort, campers in the two campsites, and us. The campsites have a two-year waiting list.

We walk to Cook’s Look, the peak of the single mountain where Captain Cook hiked to find a passage through the reef. It’s a long hike, but it offers a view of the patchwork of pink reefs, golden sand, and aqua and blue depths in the Great Barrier Reef. On our way down, Greggii thinks it’s a race. I holler for him to watch out for lizards, monitor lizards that grow to a meter long. The next thing we hear is a shriek from his direction below us on the steep path. I holler, “Gregg, are you all right?”

“Li-li-li-lizard!”

When we catch up to him, he’s frozen in fear, a good thing so as not to scare the lizard too badly. This way we can all get a look as it warily watches us gather at the source of the scream. Greggii doesn’t run ahead again. (page 84)