G'day,

Charley: "... expecting to circle the city and head to the Blue Mountains, only to find outselves channeled back into deepest darkest Sydney ..."

Ah well ... there is a fairly direct route - but you need to know that you do a half-circle of the Airport - before heading west (through the part of Sydney where I was born).

Spindrift (Al): I got a bounce on my email to Robert Brooks, of the Polly Woodside, so I have to presume he has changed ISPs ... or otherwise fallen off my connections. I'll chase up Mike Richter, to see if he has direct connections to the Polly Woodside crowd. (BTW: I couldn't find any reference to active shantying aboard Polly ... unlike the James Craig ... but I'm sure there will be some stalwart band of shanty-singers in a place as large and musical as Melbourne.

Regards,

Bob