ORCV Melbourne to Vanuatu (M2V)

Santa's Sleigh.

The 51st Project may well be an 'Ocean Grader', but it seems she's also been somewhat of a Santa's Sleigh. I'm pretty sure this posting is from Cheryl Coombs - "Cruising was absolutely fabulous !!! I will load my photos soon... Had a ball giving out school supplies to kids... one school had 76 kids and just two sports balls.... we gave them another 12 balls plus school supplies.... an absolute buzz !!!..."

Pretty sure this image was taken by Teri Dodds for the Bay Splash event...

Now on the other side of the Coral Sea, are the Samskara Mice and this is what they had to say of what would seem to be their last day at sea.

"There is not a breath of wind and our usual occupation of sailing the good ship Samskara, has been diverted to whale watching, as there are literally hundreds of them out here and a visitation from the Australian Customs plane. We were contacted by the plane on VHF Channel 16 by a lady officer, whose voice belied the fact that she must be very hot. Given that she had her binoculars on us and that she would be unable to look past the rugged handsomeness of all but one (or maybe two?) of our number, there is a clear expectation that she will be on the Quarantine dock at Mackay when we arrive, waiting to meet us."

Thanks for the mention gang!

"Given that this is our last day at sea, the unavoidable reality is that this is the last position report to be filed by the blind mice and the next time this trail will be picked up, it will be by the Samskara Hammo race week crew. We cannot make any promises on their behalf. I for one, know that most of them cannot read, let alone write. Please forgive their spelling errors and other mistakes if they happen to work out how to turn the computer on."

"It has been resolved that each crew member will have a final word prior to sign off."

• The Cabin Boy - "I wish people would stop poking around in my things!"
• Cammy Chameleon - "The aromatic aromas of the coral spunk are permeating my nostrils!"
• Linda Lovelash - "Call themselves men? - I wouldn't mind a hair wash though. Here's looking up your long and Lat"
• Alby Mangels - "My white budgies have had quite a week out!"
• The Stud - "Do you realise that DSB is a registered medical complaint"
• The Wriggler - "A ripper month. Kissed on the dick from start to finish!"
• Your Correspondent - "I think I have said enough!"
• Lieutenant Commander Stoopman RWYS (Southern Command) - " Great Company, Great Food, and a few drinks, Happy Days, Over "

"END OF TRANSMISSION (Possibly to be resumed on the 18th August)."

Let's see what turns up next...

By John Curnow