Welcome to an unusual Thursday edition of Southern Cross Yachting Enews.
No I am not sitting in a tent at Everest base camp typing away on my iPad waiting for the weather window for an attempt at the summit. The Everest Mission is on hold for now, due to pressure from the King and Prince William. Yes my two wonderful boys have tearfully pleaded with me to forget this foolish dream. Clearly I believed that they thought it was far too dangerous and they don’t want to lose me. Stupidly I had left the internet open on the pages about Everest that I have been studying and they had read them all. So what was it particularly that so frightened them? Was it the harrowing movie ‘Into Thin Air’ about the 12 deaths on the mountain in 1996? Was it the news about the angry mob of Sherpa’s attacking western climbers last week? Or the blogs telling of the 4 climbers that have died on the mountain already this year with this climbing season only 3 weeks old? No, it was the email from the guiding company ‘Peak Freaks’ telling me that it was going to cost $75K to join their expedition.
Yep the reason was the dent they thought it was putting into their inheritance! Well have I got news for them! The only thing I will be leaving them is an ageing Sydney 41 and an invoice from the ‘No Frills’ undertaking company. (Simple pine box, no flowers or music, and vertical interment to get the plot at half price.)
But it does give me an easy and selfless exit strategy from that particular dream/nightmare!
So I am now looking for a new great adventure – one with both much less cost and a higher chance of returning. And not nearly as cold. So inspired by Thor and the lads I am now planning on building a raft. My plan is to prove my theory that the Moreton Bay islands were first inhabited by people from the mainland. And you can be a part of the preliminary voyage of discovery starting this weekend! We have 3 places still available for this coming weekend courses at only $520 per person, and if you book 3 weekends the price is only $1360 – a saving of $200!
We also have places available for the 2 day Essential Navigation course being held this Saturday and Sunday. The cost of this course is only $430 and includes a chart plotter, practice charts, exercise book, course notes handbook and electronic navigation software. Get on the phone or email now as these places will not last.
That’s it for now until next edition start ticking off that bucket list!
Cheers Mike Job