Busy back home, Goshawk has her first sail and I become an Aussie!

With our mates and Jayne Bates the KI Mayor (far right) at the KI council chambers for my Australian citizenship ceremony

We all went for Mud Cake and coffee afterwards

One of our KI mates, Bill Muddle, with an Aussie rugby jumper on for the big day

Just thought you might like to know....Goshawk our 'new' yacht has arrived. There was a salubrious ceremony and libation appeasing every water god imaginable which involved the spilling of ox blood (a nice bottle of red) and virgins urine (Ants Coopers Home brew beer) at American River pontoon with our fellow sailors the Strawbridge Pointers....Interesting design with two unstayed carbon fibre masts and a canard wing keel. Needs lots of timberwork replacement downstairs but sails beautifully. A good boat for around the bays here on KI and a project for some time.

The Strawbridge Pointers Gang raising their glasses to appease the gods at American River

Ants, very carefully, spilling some ceremonial ox blood

Goshawk our Sparhawk 36ft, a cat rigged Ketch...with .no rigging
 

We have both found ourselves busy. I'm now teaching full-time on contract in Kingscote for term 2 and 3 and Ants is painting Stokes Bay hall and organising our new house and shed. We have a final settlement date for selling our front house paddock of the 6th of August so if we don't get organised we might be living in a tent for a while!
A big day for us was my Australian Citizenship Ceremony in Kingscote....I am an Australian citizen now! and I even know Don Bradmans batting average!!! (99.94)
Some of the plans are to do some work on Goshawk, go camping in the school hols with Kimberley and to build the new shed for the new house on our back block (amazing views of Nepean Bay). Then visit Ireland, UK and Madeira in October/ November. Then home to build our new house....similar but different to our existing one.
I am trying to keep up the Uke playing but my concertina has been neglected along with my pastels and art. Hopefully once I get my head around teaching here in South Australia I'll be able to take up my hobbies again. Ants is always as always busy busy....repairing and looking after the two boats, planning the new house, solar power systems etc etc. He is back on the KI Yacht club committee and sails with the Pointers alternate Wednesdays.