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To all of our families and friends, we wish you a very happy, healthy and propsperous New Year. We hope that some of you will come and join us in the Kimberley in 2009 and share some new adventures with us.

We were watching cyclone Billy very closely as we have friends who live permanently in the Buccaneer Archipelago and other fiends who are cruising through had gone there for shelter in their yacht. The cyclone passed overhead but thankfully all were safe. The cyclone brought heaps of rain to all of the Kimberley so we are hopeful  of some great waterfals and swimming holes this year.

Best wishes to all,

Barbara

What started as a simple blog to learn a bit more about computers and stay in touch has unleased a "monster" within me. I have just completed a new web site for our yacht Opal Shell to show case our Kimberley Cruises. Please feel free to visit the site at www.kimberleycoastcruises.com and view all the new pictures that have been added.

Best wishes, Barbara

When we left Cairns to sail back to the Kimberley at the start of my second season on Opal Shell, I was the proud owner of a new convection microwave and a lovely cookbook which came with it. The cruise along the far north Queensland was very windy and so we explored various rivers and mainland beaches with a few forays out to Lizard and Forbes Islands, both offering beautiful snorkelling and beach walking.

Ron and I dropped our passengers at Thursday Island and were to continue to Darwin on our own. We waited several days to see if the seas would die down, but they didn't and we had to go to meet our scheduled cruise.

The seas across the Gulf of Carpentaria were pretty high but nothing that Opal Shell (and us) couldn't handle so I started to try out a few recipes from the new book. The carrot cake recipe looked pretty good.

What I didn't realise was that microwave ovens are built to stand on a flat, unmoving bench and the latch is not made to withstand pressure from the inside- and we were on a bit of a heel. The uncooked cake was sliding around a lot and with one lurch, hit the door a bit harder, the door flew open and one partly cooked carrot cake flew right across the galley, upside down!

What a mess with cake batter everywhere. Fortunately it was just Ron & I aboard and the cake wasn't too bad after I scooped it up & finished cooking it!!!  Still, a great lesson learnt and just part of life at sea sometimes.

Thankfully the waters are calm on the Kimberley Coast and this disaster hasn't been repeated with guests aboard.

Cheers, Barbara

All the buz about Australia Movie has kept me a bit busy this week for Blogging! As a hostess and operator of Kimberley Cruises I am becoming 'multi skilled' which now also includes creating a new web site - still very much the novice but very excited that it is coming together. I have posted some photos of the King George River and Falls where Australia Movie was partly filmed and where Ron & I cruise every year. Check out the website at www.australiamoviecruises.com if you'd like to see them.

Best wishes, Barbara

The cruising fraternity is a very friendly one, especially in far away places such as the Kimberley, with crews often gathering together at anchor for sundowner drinks and nibbles or a "muck in dinner".

On one occassion, when we were passenger free in the King George River we arranged for 4 cruising yachts to join us on Opal Shell, a total of 16 people on the back deck for a party before we went our separate ways again.

Dianne asked if she could bring a roast chicken, which she had been saving for her family of four, to put on our Weber BBQ which sits over our cockpit rail. I cooked it early so that I could have an open fire for steaks & sausages etc. It looked perfect as I took it out, in front of the crowd, & placed into a foil dish.

As I lifted the dish, the foil buckled and in very slow motion the chicken slid quietly overboard!! Dianne was horrified. I grabbed the long handled fishing hook & managed to catch the still floating chicken, drained it and put it back on the BBQ to much laughter and a great round of applause! Dianne said it still tasted OK.

When Ron & I returned to Darwin I was contantly greeted as the "Gaff" lady, a title which still sticks in some circles. I have since discovered that steak doesn't  float and am always extra careful with the heavy roasts. The Weber is fantastic and I use it as much as possible, even for wood fired pizza.

Life is not always easy at sea but the fun and friendships certainly make up for it.

Check Ron's site for more Kimberley Cruise scenic photos.

Cheers, Barbara