Sam turns 13

I can't believe my wonderful niece is now a teenager. It seems like yesterday that I was playing "Spider! Spider" with her as a toddler in the garden.  How gorgeous does she look in these photos!!!  What a heart-breaker she's going to be with her great looks and warm, caring, fun personality.  

Seems like only yesterday....

Sailing on the Harbour

Dani and I went for a lovely sail around the harbour.  The Sydney Harbour always looks its most beautiful from the water.  We had a fun time despite the rather irritating habit of the skipper of yelling angry abuse at other boats for very little reason!

Henk

Lovely photos of Henk, Antony's dad.

Port Stephens Outrigger Race

I had a wonderful weekend watching Dani  take part in a 26 km Outrigger Canoe race in Port Stephens.  She was part of a 6 women crew.  Great to see finally see Dani in action doing what she loves.  She was in the front of the canoe, so got some nice photos of her ramping into the air and splashing through the waves.  It was nice to meet her paddling buddies too - a great, friendly group of people.

Some highlights of the weekend:

• Getting to the headland literally just in time to capture Dani going past.
• A fun "Mexican" evening with all the paddlers on Saturday night.
• A beautiful, invigorating swim on Sunday in the ocean.

Dani fresh and feisty before the race

Dani and her intrepid team

Getting ready for the start of the race

Get set.  Go!

SOCCI mixed team

And the highlight; Dani in action ...

Dani getting some great splashes up front

Dani getting some impressive air

home stretch

One of the team mascots

Scenes near the headland where I took most of the photos