It was a cool autumn morn as four fifths of the Famous Five met at Bellissimo to undertake the voyage of the year - so far. 0600h saw Peter, Kevin, Daniel and our intrepid author loading heavy jarrah sleepers aboard and making ready. By 0630 we were run aground.

No sweat. After more three-point-turns than Austin Powers and two more groundings (damn you Low Tide!!) we finally left the comforts of SoPYC and hit the river-way. Up with the Genoa aka The Big Jib and we were steaming down the Swan at 3.5 knots.

Accompanied by dolphins and a 10 knot breeze from the ENE, we made good headway down the river, reaching Freo Left Bank by 0900. After all the work done by the Magnificent Monday team, bringing down the mast took a mere 20mins.

Then it was through the bridges - with a brief stop, courtesy of two lads in high-vis, in a boat, with a STOP / SLOW sign. Turns out you can queue up for road (bridge) works even on the river.

Re-raising the mast, on the other hand, was a nightmare. Took another 30mins tied up near the Maritime Museum, being shaken down by the wash of boats speeding off to Rotto for the day. Next time we should use the quiet surrounds of Rouse Head.

What followed though was a fantastic sail down the coast to Henderson.

Arriving at Henderson just after midday we were greeted by the final fifth - Mark. He was a vital cog to this operation. Not only an experience MHE operator, he was also our ride home.

We were helped by two of SafeRight’s operators who slung the boat and lifted her out of the water.

There was a lot of tense faces as we swung Bellissimo over to the yacht stands. Lots of chocking, dunnage and checking then re-checking later and finally Bellissimo was on the hardstand. Amazing work from everyone involved.