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experience to tackle any tasks on her own. To make matters worse, no one had the time to explain anything to her, so she was just expected to fit in and help out where she could.
    The day before our departure we headed to the yacht club to pack our equipment and personal belongings into the tight spaces below decks. All the crew was there except Nicolette and no one knew where she was for the entire day.
    Aboard Kijana I was relieved to find we had more room than I’d expected, but it still took well into the evening to get everything in place.
    I returned home to my flat for the last time, still unsure where Nicolette was and mildly concerned that none of her stuff had been packed or that she wouldn’t know where everything had been placed on board.
    My concern turned to anger when she arrived at my flat later that night having spent the entire day shopping. With less than 12 hours until departure, I had neither the time nor the inclination to raise my concerns with her. She was, after all, the least experienced, so I was willing to forgive a one-off indiscretion. As it was, I didn’t get much sleep that night as I wrestled with last-minute problems.
    In the meantime, Maya had decided to come home from her Canadian trip. She was scheduled to arrive in Melbourne the morning Kijana departed. I was over the moon when she told me, but came down to earth with a thud when she said she wasn’t sure if she wanted to come to the marina to see me, for she feared she’d be too upset. Her flight was arriving early in the morning so I offered to meet her at the airport, as I wasn’t due to leave until late morning. She said she’d prefer I did what I had to do and not worry about her. That was easier said than done.
    Departure day, 10 March 2002, finally arrived. For months it had felt such a long way off, and now it was here. But there was no fanfare as the sun rose, just a bloody lot of hard work ahead of us.
    I said a quick goodbye to my flat as Nicolette and I packed the last few boxes into Dad’s car and drove to Sandringham Yacht Club where Kijana sat silently by the dock. I wondered if she knew what lay ahead.
    Unfortunately, it wasn’t a simple matter of jumping on the boat and leaving, as I had done on Lionheart , a little over three years before. This was a slicker affair, with freebies and music, and a crowd of thousands. There was a formal function for everyone who had helped us get out on the water and a video presentation highlighting what we hoped lay ahead. The Victorian Government even sent along the Deputy Premier to say a few words.
    One by one, each of the crew, adorned in our uniform – T-shirts bearing the names of our biggest sponsors – was presented to the audience and asked to say a few words. There were plenty of tears and laughs, particularly from Josh, and then it was my turn. I’d given little thought to what I was going to say, but I knew that whatever I said I needed to thank those who had helped get us to that point.
    I directed most of my appreciation to Mum, Dad and the office team who’d done so much for me and the crew to get us to this point. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spied Maya. She had slipped in unnoticed and unannounced. Her face flushed red when our eyes met. I’d been thinking about her all morning and suddenly she was there. I hadn’t seen her for nearly three months and suddenly, in a crowded room swimming with emotion and television cameras, she just appeared. My lips started to shake and my mind began to swim. I was about to break down in front of everyone. So I quickly finished with: ‘I just do what I want and I get all this help.’
    Reading those words on a cold page makes it appear like the jabbering of a spoilt brat. But I honestly felt I was the luckiest person in the world – I was able to actually follow my dreams, and all these wonderful people were willing to help me. I felt as though I had