The Wrap, & Thank you's...

Back to the real world in Sydney & it's a tough thing to shake off visions of coral cays & the vast ocean.

Rob, Chris & I all feel a small sense of accomplishment at having plotted a goal, worked hard to get into good enough condition to expect success, & then execute the trip in the manner we had wanted to do it.
However, there were a small army of people who facilitated our trip, & we'd like to say thanks.
First & foremost, our loving partners, who did without us for 13 days while we chased what is hard to justify as anything other than a selfish endeavour.
My own Nicole did her usual amazing job looking after our three little kids, aged 2,4 & 6, with a little help from her Dad Steve Ronay who gave up the Noosa sunshine for a bleak week & a half of Arctic Sydney winter.
Likewise Sally had three small children to look after & still had a smile on her face when she collected Chris from the airport.
Sharon took care of our land based comms, liaising with the good folks at the VMR in Bundaberg, reassuring them that we were well prepared & equipped, & also passing on our sat. phone messages to Nic & Sally. 

Sharon - I wonder where they are now…?

It was great to have someone in charge of this vital role with such an extensive wilderness expedition resume, not many people would understand the rigours of what we were attempting as well as Sharon.
Chris' Dad Rob James & his lovely wife Cath not only drove all of our gear & boats up to Bundy to meet us, they then tailed us along the coast so as to be in the right place to meet us when we again made landfall.

Rob James, always smiling

This meant that three time poor blokes were able to dedicate the absolute minimum amount of time to the business of paddling, flying in & out the day before & after the trip & leaving the yak work to Rob.  
Eddie Safarik, Gary Forrest and Paul Wilton not only blazed the trail out to Lady Elliot last year, but shared their incidents and problems with honesty and integrity.

The founding members of the Lady Elliot Club

They left us under no illusions about the gravity of the crossing and the potential for problems if we got it wrong. Thanks guys, we stood on your shoulders and appreciate all of your help and guidance.
Ken at Hervey Bay Fishing Charter ran the entire show out to Rooney's Pt on Fraser Island, somehow manging to float anchor his boat backwards through the surf zone so we could unload in water only waist deep, what a boatman!
The VMR at Bundy logged our calls & position & kept us on their overnight watch on each crossing. These guys are all volunteers & like our own RVCP do a brilliant job.
Bruce Knuckey from the Marine Park Authority at Gladstone was kind enough to give us flexible landing dates onto the heavily booked camping area at Lady Musgrave & North West Island, & provided a wealth of information on the area's fragile ecosystem. He put us in touch with Andy, his boat skipper based on Heron Island, & Andy provided the valuable local knowledge about the Cays which we used to our advantage.
Tim Harvey, the manager of the Marine Research Facility on Heron Island, gave the resort people the heads up about our arrival, treated us to a terrific night of stories about his life on the island & his experiences in the early days of sea kayaking in the UK.

Chris & Rob with Tim Harvey in the Marine Research Centre boat shed.

He then took us for a tour of the facility, quite a place, & run by a great bunch of hard working people.
At Lady Elliot Island, the management & staff were so helpful it was almost embarrassing. Thanks so much to island manager Graham Wells & Ops Manager Peter McMahon for making our short stay so memorable.
Karel Vissel from Kayakweather.com provided us daily updates with micro-analysis of our particular area, with breakdowns of three or four different times during the day. In a forecast area from BOM which covers thousands of kilometres, it was a great help to have something from Karel so pointed. If you're considering a long paddle & may have variable access to weather info, Karel is a the man to get on board.
Mick MacRobb from Flat Earth Sails set us up us with his smaller sails for safety. We used them almost every day, even in adverse winds as they made us so visible to one another, & they performed brilliantly when required.

I'll post a video one day showing you what happens when a Flat Earth Sail mounted on a Taran meets a 2m following sea & 25kn of wind.
Toby Cogley from Endurance Sports provided detailed sports nutrition information & recommended his products e-Load & Gurney Goo. They were the revelation of the trip, providing instant energy underway & allowed us a speedy recovery from some big days. I got a small glimpse into how those adventure racers are able to punish themselves & get up for more. 
Finally, thanks so much to everyone who sent nice messages of support through the trip. We figured the Spot would give people something to follow & talk about & it was a pleasant surprise to get so many encouraging emails & comments. We even enjoyed Qld Paddlers' comments, the source of endless amusement while we were sitting on the sun lounges at Elliot!

Mark, Rob & Chris.