We are the People that are FREE!  Home  Passage People by edition  Passage People by boat names  From The Coastal Passage, issue # 17 Chum and Ellen had their stunning Schionning cat built in Townsville. In the process they added a bit here and a bit there..... When she was finally done it was time to go back to work for a while to pay for all those bits! But she is a boat worth working for. So for now they flow with the employment as long as there is a good marina to commute to and blast out for a holiday or weekend. There are far worse things... A word of advise to Chums employer... Threatening to sack may not have the effect you think!  Innaka and Bill are doing crusing the way it’s been done for a long time. There good old steel boat is berthed next to our good old steel boat while they take advantage of the cash flowing through Mackay right now. Innaka is having a ball working for Boutique Marine and Bill is driving bus to charge up the accounts for next season. From Wollongong so far but maybe Lizard next?? Who knows.. Or cares!  Jay and Hiroko are more proof, (if you needed any more) that the lifestyle is a universal thing. When I heard Jay’s thick yank accent I asked where he was from. He said Arizona, I asked what town, he said Phoenix, when I asked what block he spit the dummy! I had once lived within walking distance in another life. Jay was working in Tokyo where he met Hiroko and now has a smart Snell cat and cruising QLD. What else would a clever couple do after all!  Dave and Julie are keen ocean racers. Their boat was built to compete in the Osaka to Melbourne regatta and did very well. The Graham Radford boat is the mono of the 21st century. Sleek, fast and well thought out but I don’t have room to get into as much detail here as I would like so I’ll wait till I can bludge a ride and report!! YEHAW!!  By Fay & Eric, SV “Iwalani” Geoffrey Wordsworth, owner & pilot of the Cooktown seaplane, has retired. Lizard Island anchorage won't be the same without him. It was an “event” for us yachties to watch Geoff land amongst us and throw out his anchor. Then all the dinghys would swarm around the plane to collect their supplies. Or maybe he'd pull up behind someone's boat and step aboard for a chat and a coffee. How we'll miss those boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables and other essentials flown in from Cooktown when he brought in campers or day trippers to the Island. What a great service, more of a helping hand really. Thank-you Geoff, from all us boaties out here. Perhaps you'll buy a yacht and join us?