New 12v cigarette lighter plugs look good, but only just hangs there... Allan drives Aliisa on the travel lift. Aliisa 2003 in Cairns Harbour. Run down and rusty. On the market for a few months. Second last re-fit, October 2003. Aliisa returning to Smiths Creek, Cairns, June 2004. We're ready to go. I've always wanted an inner forestay for the storm jib. After Tino welded a rather serious stainless plate on the deck, it was finally strong enough for the job. Andy Herd. Boatbuilder, sailor and a great human being. Our new tender, Anna, is under construction. Trevor Birch sold it for me for a bottle of rum. It took a lot of epoxy to fix but the end result is great Anna hanging from her new home. In longer passages, she will be lashed on the deck while the inflatable is packed away. Back deck before new solar panels. Paula's backgammon board was only used once before covered in paint again. A new engine panel for ignition key etc. Looks reasonable, but the wiring behind it is a mess. Aliisa on a weekend sail off Cairns. The brown stripe on the hull is now gone, simplifying the paint jobs in the future. Boyd's Forest Dragon. Why is this picture here? I don't know... Chris flautning the new hatch he built me. This is the mainstreet of Cooktown. The picture is in the wrong gallery, but I can't be bothered moving it. Craig Haslet (left) and Alan Cane surveying Alan's mast on the workyard. Craig "Put-on-your-boots-and-go" Haslet inspecting my mast. Craig did a five-star job on helping me. My payment for his time was to be a days work on his yacht. I still owe him that. A small crocodile opposite the yacht squadron. Darryl Hartshorne, the sailmaker. Darryl dressed up Aliisa in new rags. He also turned out to be a supporter beyond my expectations. He helped me with the new furler and even gave us a stack of old charts from his circumnavigation. Thank you Darryl. Darryl and Phyllis fitting out the new mainsail. Aliisa in the Cruising Yacht Squadron Marina, two days before departure. My philosophy in life; be naked and dig deep. Paula's old man, Ken, could not help himself when he came to visit. He built a set of drawers and cockpit lockers for me. You know your yacht hasn't been used enough when eagles start nesting in the rigging... This is Golden Plover, the retired star of the movie "Dead Calm". Endeavour River, Cooktown. Again, this pic belongs to the voyage. Sorry. Old Nissan SD22 - fully re-conditioned in 1999. Five years 411 hours later it turns out to be out of fashion with rusty pistons and two cracks in the cylinder head. Old engine is received by Steve Ansell who generously paid $1000 for it. (I gave him $7000 in cash for the new one...) Evan helping with the painting in 2003. The forepeak sleeps two or stores 2 tonnes of shit. Wiring in progress. An empty space waiting to be filled by Ken's set of drawers Aliisa's electical panel include a barometer, voltmeter and ammeter for the panels. The ammeter is now replaced by a solar regulator. The Golden Plower, once the star ghost yacht in the movie "Dead Calm" with Nicole Kidman, now sleeps in Cairns under the watchful eyes of the eagles above. Karina gives a smile in the Cruising Yacht Squadron. Paula's parents are visiting Cairns. Ken gets right into it and starts taking measurements for new furniture. Anna is getting a treat. The rest of antifoul is the last painting job before departure. On a weekend trip late 2003 My last evening in Cairns. Powered by red wine, I join the girls to play with dolls. The older one promptly advised me that I must be gay! On a weekend trip late 2003 When putting the mast back on, I managed to bend a spreader. Fortunately no damage was done. Re-fit 2003 Lauri G. is happy about new solarpanels, 2003. The spreader comes off for an inspection after a mishap when the mast was put back on. More stainless steel on the deck. Taking inventory of the tools and spares. Lots of shit. Mud between the toes. Walking home from work. New cushions A note stuck on the compression post reminds me of the coming departure. Paula and Lauri G. I've become a new citizen of Australia. But I'm still a Finn. Paula is working on Anna. Paula on a weekend trip 2003 This one belongs to the voyage too, we're just out of Cairns and Paula is testing the new wet weather gear. It's not wet. Re-fit 2003 Paula, Phil and Peter White. We're two weeks from departing. Paula feeding a marsupial in a zoo in Port Douglas. Peter White, one of my best friends on this planet. Phil Nielsen, my brother. Phil is joining us for the rounding of Cape of Good Hope in South Africa Phil is pushing the tape measure we named "The lord of the Strings" into the dark middle land of the mast. Sorry about the low resolution. Phyllis, Darryl's wife and the secret force behind the sailmakers sowing machine. A seagull passing the setting sun Glow plugs causing problems on the old Nissan. The new Yanmar has none. Steve Ansell working on the new installation; 36hp 3-cylinder Yanmar. Steve with his son Andrew in the engine room. Below, Steve is collecting the old Nissan. Old campervan stove, 2003 A Cairns local is learning a lesson of coming on a lee shore of a sand cay. Paula's birthday with Tequila sunrise at 7am. (2 Above and below) Tino is the man behind almost all welding jobs on Aliisa. A shipbuilder by trade, he has brought the quality of workmanship that I could not dream of even if I attempted welding myself. Rusty toerails in 2003. Tourist lining up to visit a sand cay. Finding the old wiring was frustrating and sometimes impossible My attempt to tidy up the wiring ended up in a mess much bigger than the original. The webmaster at work. Taking an inventory of things we found in the lockers.