The boat is a cutter rigged sloop, a 1989 Peterson 46, with a fibreglass hull, varying from 1.75inches to .75 inches thick. The boat, which they purchased in Auckland, had already been cruising around the Pacific for four years when they bought it in 1997, and it came with two en suite cabins and an extra seabunk. After five months on the hard stand to rid the boat of a nasty dose of osmosis, they decided to move the boat out of the Harbour where they had both had most of their sailing experience, down to Pittwater for the fresh air, marvelous sailing conditions and secluded anchorages.

The plan was to work in Sydney during the week, and spend ALL weekends on the boat, and this was nearly achieved. They joined the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club ("Alfreds"), and apart from enjoying the facilities and comradeship of this club greatly, the last four years have been spent on a major refit. The boat was already fitted with an excellent diesel heater, and an excellent water maker, and both of these, together with the 62 hp Yanmar have been retained. Then in addition to replacing all rigging and electric wiring, the couple have added wind, solar and trailing power to maintain the new gel batteries, which have been doubled in size. An inverter now provides 240 volts, as well as the original 110 and 12 volts systems. Other works have included the installation of two computers, one principally for navigation, the other for email, though they will act as a back up for each other. A full set of round world paper charts have been acquired, and special storage facility created for them - there are, at time of departure, 452 paper charts, as well as two navigation systems, Cmap and Maxsea. Pilot books have been acquired as far as the Atlantic crossing, and Nancy reckons there are enough spare parts and tools to outfit a small marina. Extra storage space was obtained by turning the seabunk into storage lockers.

For comfort and playtime, davits, a swim board, an extra foldable dinghy with an extra outboard have been acquired, and an inflatable kayak. The cockpit is now canopied with clear plastic sides, and inside, an added deep-freeze and microwave will tend to improve the cuisine. A very smart new flat screen TV and video and a favourite collection of books (341), CDs and videos were added to pass the time in anchorages and at sea. As the boat had not yet sunk, a piano keyboard and bongo drums were also added.

As far as the crew is concerned, changing from racing mode to cruising mode has been one of the main challenges. Sailing the boat was not the problem. The missing skills were how to stop trying to race every boat on the same tack, and how to drop an anchor or cross a bar. Add a little time wasting in America's Bay and the Basin, and the last four years have proved invaluable in learning "how to be a cruising sailor". Courses such as First Aid, SOLAS, Diesel Engine Maintenance and Man Overboard put on by the Club have also helped greatly, as did a Sydney Uni "Weather for Sailors".

Are we ready? Who knows?