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A whale off Port Hacking, we are in the kayaks

Whale Watching in Port Hacking. Take the following ingedients:

• Winter in NSW
• Stretch of coastline in Sydney
• Saturday
• Sunshine
• Super fast, BK-enhanced, Nemo-coloured kayak
• Bunch of friends
• 16 whales
• Alarm clock set at 5:30 am
• 3 chocolates

Get up early and get under the hot shower to wake up, chew your muesli lethargically and hit the road for Bonnie Vale. Thereabouts, stir the above ingredients thoroughly for 90 minutes, and the result will be: 16 wales next to your kayak for 2.5 hours just off Port Hacking south of Sydney on Saturday July 3rd with sunshine and calm seas.

Special thanks to Kevin for this idea and the fantastic organization of the trip. The whales did indeed turn up as scheduled and paid for. You are aware, Kevin, that our expectation in you rise with every sucessfully run trip...???

Sail making loft on the snooker table

Sail making loft. The preparations for our next holidays are underway. In winter we (Peter, Claudia, Kevin, Sue) don't want to see 16, but 3000 whales when they feed on kryll before starting their long return journey to Antarctica. Therefore, we all – and hence Peter and Sue – need sails to achieve similar boat speeds. In June and July we set up the sail making loft on Kevin's and Sue's snooker table. On the first day, Claudia and Kevin draft the new super-fast "Radial Cut" design. Production starts on the second day: White with blue for Peter, white with raspberry for Sue. And now that we have started, Claudia also needs a new sail: white with hot pink. Think of the details: A sail that has its draft at 40% of its width. We use 4 panels with 8mm overlap and 6mm curve per panel. The window begins where the batton stretches. Sewing alone takes us three days. Once finished, we design another sail for Kevin who needs a bigger sail for his bigger boat. But even after all sails are finished, the work is not yet done: Mast and boom, fittings on the boats, rope work. Everything is hand made. And everything is of the finest possible workmanship. Peter misses out on the first six days in the sail making loft, then he returns to Sydney.

Niklas on the palm tree

Susi going physically

Susanne and Niklas. During our tour in the Northern Territory in May, we met Susanne and Niklas from Leipzig, who went to experience the adventures of Australia after having finished their studies. In July – just on the day of Peter's return – they have successfully completed the circumnavigation of this continent and set up their camp in our house. After one week, their car is sold and their camping gear has found a new owner. Now they can start to enjoy Sydney. And to pamper us! What a luxury to return home, and to find "Leipziger Allerlei" on the dinner table. Or kangaroo steak. And the clothes are ironed. It is a batchelor-like feeling in a perfectly harmonic flat-mate-ship. Four weeks pass like no time at all, many beautiful souvenirs remain. Susi and Nik, you are heartily invited to come and visit us again!

Until today, there is not a single photo showing Claudia actually paddling...

Forster Race. Claudia's time-out due to various injuries is now over: As of July, it is serious paddling again. On July 11 she participates at a race of the Winter Marathon Series in Forster: 20 km as fast as the shoulders can propel, with Kevin in the double. The best part is the race between the various identical Mirage 730 – this is where the expression "riding the tail" becomes a meaning. Out of 148 participating kayaks, and after 1h 53min we come second – ah well, in our category... There is still potential for improvement.