Australia

Australia is both a landmark and a pause in the Peggy Sue’s voyage around the world. After months at sea, Michael and his family sight its west coast and celebrate having sailed from England halfway around the world; near Perth, an extended family visit and a doctor’s appointment briefly restore the voyage to ordinary life before the family heads out again toward the Coral Sea.

A milestone on the route

The voyage begins on September 10, 1987, with the Peggy Sue provisioned for the journey. Its first week falls far short of the family’s planned pace of about two hundred miles a day: they are lucky to make fifty. After the Bay of Biscay’s Force 9 and Force 10 gales, they reach Spain, then continue down the west coast of Africa. On October 11, Michael sees Africa at a distance and follows his mother’s chart as she explains the route south before the crossing to South America. The navigation has practical stakes: if the boat drifts off course, it could enter the Doldrums and remain becalmed.

Australia comes into view after the long ocean passage from Africa. Off Perth on April 3, Michael describes the sea as empty all the way from Africa and says he increasingly enjoys the days when it is only the family, the Peggy Sue, and the water. Landfall brings a different excitement. The family hugs and jumps when Australia first appears, feeling as though they have discovered it themselves. Their arrival confirms a major achievement: they have sailed from England to Australia on their own, halfway around the world.

Shore leave near Perth

The family’s stay lasts nearly six weeks, much longer than the few days Michael expected. Uncle John insists that they see Australia properly and takes them to stay with his family on a large farm with thousands of sheep and many horses. Michael rides with his young cousins Beth and Liza; they call him Mikey, and by the time he leaves they say they want to marry him. They agree instead to become pen pals. The relatives call the visiting family their “pommy cousins,” and evening barbecues make the stop a warm, sociable contrast to the exposed routines of the boat.

The stay also widens Michael’s sense of Australia beyond the farm. Uncle John warns him that a copperhead could have killed him if he had stepped on it, and cautions him about Redback spiders in the bathroom. Michael recalls seeing a wombat, hundreds of possums, kangaroos, and white cockatoos in numbers he compares to sparrows at home. He sends Eddie Dodds funny animal cards when he can find them, including one of a wombat. Even during a welcome visit with relatives, the distance from his friend remains present in what Michael chooses to write and send.

Illness, recovery, and departure

Australia is also where Michael’s mother finally sees a doctor about her recurring stomach cramps. When the family reaches the country, Michael notes that she has promised to seek medical attention. Later, after their stay near Perth, he reports that the doctor thought the cramps were most probably caused by something she had eaten and that they are much better. The improvement is temporary rather than a final end to the problem: after the family leaves Sydney, the cramps return much worse, and she becomes too sick to eat, taking only sugared water.

By May 28, the family is back at sea after its nearly six weeks with Uncle John. The plan is to stop in Sydney, explore the Great Barrier Reef, and then sail through the Coral Sea toward Papua New Guinea. The Australian interlude therefore sits between two different kinds of movement: the achievement of reaching land after a long crossing, and the hazardous onward passage. The sea is calm and heavy with heat as Michael senses a storm coming; after Sydney, successive storms drive the boat farther north, the rudder cable snaps, and the family’s position becomes uncertain. Australia is a genuine respite, but not a refuge from the risks that continue to shape the voyage.