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 by mid-afternoon.  We’ve logged 12,816 miles since leaving Hampton, Virginia, and have seen a lot of different sailing conditions.  Nothing could have prepared us for Sydney.  New York isn’t even close when it comes to the number of boats.  We were in New York in the fall, when other things become more important.  We are entering Sydney in the spring, and everybody is itching to get on the water.  There’s a cruise ship, a lot of ferries, tour boats, sailboats, powerboats, fishing boats, canoes, kayaks, tugs with barges, airplanes with banners, helicopters, and a general sense of celebratory confusion.   The excitement on Faith elevates with every minute now that we’re in the harbour.

Rounding Bradley’s Head, the skyline of the city unfolds for us.  Modern skyscrapers, glass and steel, and now the Sydney Opera House, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge come into view. There are many experiences in our life that are only made better by having people around to share them with, and it’s good to be able to share the Sydney Harbour excitement with Carl, Maggie and Maddie. 

Emily reeling in a fish in Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The fish Emily caught, cleaned, and cooked.

The Great Barrier Reef

After Cairns, we go to Lizard Island, which may be the most exclusive resort in the world.  It’s populated by monitor lizards in the wild, celebrities in the resort, and campers in one of two campsites that the Australian government makes available.  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 is a long hike, but gives a beautiful view at the top of the patchwork of reefs, sand, and depths in the Great Barrier Reef.  On our way down, Greggii thinks it’s a race.  I holler to him to watch out for lizards, monitor lizards that grow up to a meter long.  The next thing I hear is a shriek in his voice from his direction below us on the steep path.  I holler, “Gregg, are you alright?”

“Li-li-li-lizard!”

When we catch up to him, he’s frozen in fear, which is a good thing as not to scare the lizard too much.  This way we can all get a look at it as it slowly moves away from the place where the scream came from.  Greggii feels better with all of us around, and doesn’t run off ahead again.