01/06/2026
3 Weeks of M & A 🤝🍻🌏
And for once, it doesn't mean Mergers & Acquisitions! 😆
For the last three weeks, as you've probably noticed from the endless stream of photos, videos, whale shark selfies and suspiciously happy cocktail shots, we've had Mat & Amy onboard Spirit of Ulysses. 🛥️☀️
They flew into Bali with the plan of joining us for our run back towards Darwin, and for Mat, it was a bit of a full-circle moment.
Back in Perth, Mat was a regular crew member aboard Manduco, joining me for the annual run down to Busselton. Looking back now, I have to laugh... that trip was about 100 nautical miles and 4-6 hours long, and I genuinely thought it was a serious boating adventure! 😂
To be fair, at the time it was.
Those trips were some of my favourite weekends of the year. It was our chance to escape, live aboard, tell tall stories, drink a few beers and pretend we were proper adventurers. In many ways, those weekends planted the seeds for the life we're living today.
But enough of the nostalgia before I start sounding old. 👴🍺
What a three weeks it's been.
Together we've swum with whale sharks 🐋, explored remote islands 🏝️, chased sunsets 🌅, encountered wildlife that many people only ever see on documentaries 📺, survived questionable internet connections 📡, discussed every topic known to mankind over late-night drinks 🍻, and created memories that will stick with us for a lifetime.
Unfortunately, reality eventually catches up with all adventures.
Between weather windows 🌬️, Starlink dramas 📡, stabiliser repairs 🔧, schedules, flights, and the small matter of Australia still being a very long way away, we reached the point where we simply couldn't stretch the trip any further.
So the tough decision was made for Mat & Amy to fly home from Labuan Bajo, while the Townend circus continues the final leg back to Darwin. 🎪🇦🇺
(Still missing Gabby enormously by the way 😢❤️)
Their departure got me thinking.
Over the years we've been incredibly lucky to have so many amazing people step aboard our boats. Some we speak to every week, others we might not talk to for months, yet somehow when we reconnect it's like no time has passed at all.
We've shared anchorages, adventures, breakdowns, celebrations, storms, fish stories, sunsets, questionable decisions, and more laughs than I can count.
Every visitor has brought something unique to our journey, and every one of them has left with a little piece of Spirit of Ulysses... and usually a few embarrassing stories about us. 🤣
So this post is really a thank you.
To everyone who has visited us, joined us, supported us, laughed with us, and become part of our story — thank you. ❤️
And to our future visitors...
Our door is always open.
Well... as open as a watertight door can be. 🚪⚓😂
We can't wait to see who climbs aboard next. 🫵🌏🍻
