James and Justin - Congratulations. I have been following you every day since you left Forster, and it has been great getting to know both of you. I have drawn inspiration from you to persevere and achieve some large business-related goals in my own life. It was great to hear that you are already talking about taking on new adventures (as you said, spending 61 days out there alone gave you a bit of time to discuss ideas). I've seen people achieve a lot of success in their lives, but watched as they wasted away basking in the glory of that one past moment. I know that you will both move forward into more (and dare I say it), and bigger adventures. I also believe that you have opened yourselves to huge opportunities in the motivational speaking arena, and there is a real market out there for people to listen to you give presentations. I think the young people of Australasia are really hungry to hear from people like you. Not sure if you have done that sort of thing before, but now is a great time to be looking at that avenue...

Patrick - Congratulations on running such a great website and forum. I know it didn't perform this morning when most needed, but who would have predicted the level of traffic that we did get. As a web developer/manager myself, I'd like to commend you on setting up and maintaining such a simple yet engaging website. It certainly had me hooked for two months!

Now it is all over (sob sob) I have a couple of questions:

1. I (and I guess many other forumites) would be VERY interested to follow these guys' future adventures. Do you have a (e)mailing list that we can subscribe to to receive updates and advance notice of their future adventures.

2. When is the book coming out?

3. What on earth are us "www.crossingtheditch.com.au addicts" going to do now that the rats aren't crossing the Tasman anymore? Give it a few days as the celebrations start to cool down, the Internet is going to get a whole lot less interesting...

Anyway, a huge thank you to all the team for all the effort that went into this epic journey.

Cheers.

Jeff.

THANK YOU TARANAKI
We will be visiting your wonderful country soon and phd and Carol Isabel will walk around your city ringing our bell so when you see us please just make your self known because we want to thank you personally for the generosity you have demonstrated to hold the ANZAC spirit where it deeserves to stay. Right in the Heart of ever man woman and child.
Thank you New Plymouth.

OK We went to the Clovelly Hotel this afternoon.

We celebrated and decided that we need to welcome the lads back home.

What about it Forumites?
Were you there?
Alister came and left, we were late.

This is our opportunity to clean our barnacles from HM Lot 41s hull and personally thank James & Justin for taking us with them on their experience.

So when are you coming back fellers?
What Time?
Which flight?
Which carrier?
When would you be available for a collective celebratory function?
Where would you prefer to have such and event?
How can we help you with any arrangements?

Those other sponsors have had plenty of exposure at your expense and when you were really putting in they let you down.
Not deliberately we know, however, unlike your own planning they must line up with the desalinator, the Comar, the bilge and the other pieces that fell apart.

You men may have been worn out, never the less you just kept delivering, we want to congratulate you for that amazing aspect to conquer all.

Everyone has been so kind to those who ran the systems and yes it was wonderful, so was the desalinator whilst it functioned.

You got there through planning, discipline, self adaption, and dour determination, regardless.

You absolute amazing champions.
Where as they fell and collapsed under your determination to break the line.
They do owe you for that, all of them, their planning, material or product was simply not up to the quality you expected of your selves.

Then Ch 7 went cooking for phduck sake.

They tried but "Wag the dog" proved that their systems are incapable of being able to be alive with the real people of our society. Ol Oiler mentioned the cops and robbers very early in the expedition.

Forumites you may think I am being unnecessarily callus.

Sorry if my grunt disappoints you but this is exactly one of the reasons why we developed the amazing bond between us all as these young stallions of liberty galloped across our world, they were honest, ethical and determined to achieve their goal, they cared for us too whilst they had their lives on the line.

So much for the individuals in the companies making the desalinator, the Comar, or the web server.

Our society has unquestionably had enough of fear and terror, and short delivered warranties.
We have been overdosed, recovered and fortunately survived to know better.

Welcome Maxine McKew.

It is time these corporate gangsters, short armed, short sighted, deaf, political dealers realised there are enough of us out here lurking the world to melt down a server or an electorate when we are activated.

Ants nourish their colonies on fallen crumbs whilst maggots infest the bodies of living creatures, kitchens and unethical minds.

Let us meet these wonderful lads and hug them into the national consciousness of our Age of Aquarius.

In this Chinese Year of the Rat.

Love & Blessings as always phd & Carol Isabel.

OL OILER
mate I hope you dont mind me writing to your Guardian Angel
who will be in hospital with you
mate you will be in gar gar land ,he will be sitting on that chair by the wall.


Angel sent by GOD to guide me.
be my light and walk beside me ,
be my guardian and protect me,
on the paths of life direct me. AMEN



on your stay in hospital I will be on the other chair
thinking of you you old salt
I dips my lid to ol oiler

bern

Bern,

Thank you so much for your kind words.
I will be looking out for me Angel!

Please take good care and look after your ol defib!

Ol Oiler

James and Justin, set up an interview with channel 7 tomorrow.

5 Minutes to go tell them "Sorry, we are doing a radio spot with radio nullabor!.

To channel 7, guess which finger I am holding up??????????

Craw

Awesome guys, just awesome.

Uncut 11min video of their arrival from TV3:
http://www.tv3.co.nz/Video/Theymadeit/tabid/315/articleID/43380/cat/101/Default.aspx#video

Here's the route the flotilla took this morning:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/dashboard.mb?episodePk.pkValue=4769602&unitSystemPkValue=1

Thanks to all the forum fullas who have made the following this epic expedition so enlightening and amusing for 62 days straight.

Double J's,

Congrats on your acheivement over the last 62 days. We don't know how you will be able to top this but rest assured if this is anything to go by, it will sure be good!

Phill & Wendy

To the support team - Patrick and race recon - fantastic stuff - as Frank Zappa said once of 4 track recording technology when it came out " aint technology grand!". Trac plus - really impressed with the real time progress reports and I guess without that, it would not have been the spectical its has been for us that have been watching Lot 41 form its early outset.

Justin and James - It was such a relief to see you ger here and achieve your goal safely. I still have the horror and unbelievable ending of Andrew Maculey who I began to follow last year, but late into his voyage. I think that you guys have been incredible - you guys were the muscle behind it all, both prior and during the voyage and most of us would have spat the dummy long ago when getting sucked backwards. the way you guys have communicated with us, and with each other are a example to us all. Good on you for keeping up the forum.
Any other year and I believe you could have cut anywhere from 10-20 days off. Bloody westerlies you guys send us from aussie failed you this year of all years which is unfortunate, but that is life!
To all you other sponsers - thanks for supporting challangers like this. It is successes like this that make the risk worth while, but they also make storys, which become ( hopefully) legends possible and serve to inspire us and future generations.

Well done to you all.

PS.a German lady recenlly done a solo effort circumnavigation
of the south island in record time -Another bloody amazing effort that to. Not the first but certainly the fastest!

Jax: "Someone had the opportunity to be brave, courageous and make a decisive move"

Hey Jax, that is just yet another of life's examples of the difference between what individuals (like the Tasman Rats) can achieve, and what institutions cannot. Don't worry about it, mate. Lets just celebrate the achievement of the deserving individuals.

Thank you Jax, well said.
When I e-mail Mr. A Boland I will make sure he knows that my 7 year old son was upset. I was lucky that I had my husband to cry on when the event happen.

I have e-mail The Green Guide in 'The Age', have left a complaint at Melbourne's Channel 7

Anyway as David said, "Lets just celebrate"

Channel 7. Drongos. How do they explain that their 'live' feed was anything butt? They landed at 12.20pm NZ time thats, 9.20am (here in QLD) but they were still showing 'live pictures' at 10am when they went to that business program. I looked on the net at 10am www.stuff.co.nz and I was amazed that they had already landed!!

what the???

well done lads. great to see both flags draped on your shoulders in a show of utmost respect for the NZ welcome.

Congratulations James and Justin,

I had a tear well up in the eye watching the news story on your landing. What a relief to all concerned. Praying for a speedy recovery and hope to hear more details about your epic journey soon.

God Bless and sleep well, you've earned it.

Biggsie

Hey, have a look who is on the forum now...Beky, DavidTangye ,Sharnee, Steve, the Craw, OL OILER, Lauren & Geoff, Lil9934, gravysmum, phduck Irene, Geoff, davidHarmer........kristenk (where are you ?)
A lot of the originals !

Take care everyone

Tot

Check the cnn site, can't see any mention about the boys. I can't wait for the podcast in the morning from them.

fred.c, it's a bit addictive, this forum. We have been following this daily, and sometimes hourly, for weeks and weeks. Now it's over, and we are grateful and relieved the boys are OK and have achieved. But we want the involvement, the engagement of our interest and emotions in this adventure to continue. That's why all us forum tragics are still here, long after the fat lady has finished singing. Pathetic, perhaps. But, gee ...... it's been great.

Ebay offer still on for a paddle.

$1000

Craw

Great to read all the comments from many regulars who have followed the progress and lack of progress or circle work in the middle of the ditch. James and Justin you are legends in my book, awesome. Paddling regularly, I still can not get my head aroun 60 days in that small space at the mercy of mother nature. Your trip is insperational but also shows that attention to detail in the planning of your trip can make the impossible happen if you have got the guts to do it. Well your off Lot 41 and looking forward to not paddling on. Guess your probably trying to sleep in a real bed that isn't moving and bobing about, without your best mate snoring alongside. Put your epic adventure into a book when you get a chance, would like a copy. Wishing a speedy recovery. The designer of lot 41 needs a medal, to come through the sease that you have been unscathed, is testomony to how well it was put together.

Jax, you're right! One thing we can learn from this incredible amazing experience is that we don't have to accept the crap that is dished out to us!
We can, and should, demand better..respect..treatment...acknowledgment...fill in the gaps...!
These boys have set the bar quite a bit higher now. I'm ready to jump!!

there wasn't a dry eye in the house when you jumped onto the sand of precious NZ
the joy of seeing you arrive was a blessing to us all
we are all so proud of you we want to burst
you've made so many friends of people you've never met
this world needs more like you who reach for the seemingly impossible
extraordinary feat
extraodinary team
extraordinary friendship
extraodinary inspiration

love & wishes to the ol oiler too

Sunday Night Late
13.01.08

Been away with my beautiful daughters and pleased to return to an active forum.

We were into second level celebrations after our earlier visit to the "Clover".

Just delighted to see and being amongst those old faithful, tragics if you must, forumites who are still bubbling and coming along with the wake of HM Lot 41, not as in death wake but the spreading of the waters opened by her bow, and we anxiously anticipate the encore and more bows.

So yes, we celebrate whilst also venting at the total insensitivity of CH 7 whos behaviour was absolutely spinelessly inexcusable, totally and knowingly abusive. They were told, their switch kept me on hold for 10 and then 15 minutes, "Your call is import....." crap.

What a lot of 'poppy cock' that generic Boland email response, was possibly an automatic out of office response from his computer.

So I hold the celebration in my heart and soul and bare my bum at Ch7 in support of jax and any other forumites who 'gassed up' in the last moments.

Anger is a perfectly natural human emotion to help us jump the ditch and avoid the perusing predator or any potential predator between us our children and survival, Ch7 certainly prevented us from receiving our boys into shore safety of our waiting arms.
Yes we were forced to experienced that rotten abandonment sense of being left alone as they were stripped away for a commercial break.

Bed time all, thanks for all the wonderful loving inspiration and genuine humane fellowship we have been able to share with each other.
Not much sleep last night as with many of the faithful and the Js.
Love and Blessings as always phd & Carol.

PS Excuse mre Js and Forumites but there is this interesting Peter freespirit who does know this duck but as yet is swimming in some shadows.
I did ask Ol Oiler for a loan of his rear deck hose to give this lodger a wash but with the frazzle this morning I am unsure if the hose is long enough to reach to Bondi.
So I will try this way. "Hello darkness my old friend I've come to talk with you again".
As I walked home in the darkness the ants told me I was a good dad and not a crook whilst freespirit maybe a great Dad Crook with and Angelic wife.

Channel seven must have power, just finnished writing them a serve and then got timed out. pathetic effort seven, made the effort to cover the finnish of our epic adventurers with a crew and live feed yet could not finnish the race unlike James and Justin who completed what they set out to do. Director or who evre is in charge of programming where are you balls to make a decision to cover history being made. Sir Edmund Hillary just past away, and would be sitting back in heaven admiring the guts and determination required to complete this epeic crossing. Kerry stokes at times like these a block with your determination need to have a say in what is shown, not some crappy lifestyle show when history was being made.

Very Big congratulations to you James and Justin! Almost as amazing as your achievement is the incredible friendship you share. It's rare that you see such a bond and sense of 'mateship' these days. Well Done!

While any complaints here on the forum about channel 7 may seem to take away from your amazing achievement, I think it goes to show just how much support the two of you have had - whether it be from regular visitors to the forum or from those who have watched from outside the 'log in'. Sunrise are bound to 'ride the wave' of viewer interest in your amazing efforts! So they should!

Enjoy!

Hey Amoros Texan (or do we spell that Amorous Down Under?) so glad you joined the crowd, wouldn't have been the same without you, hope you realize that when Down Underites are giving you some stick (teasing, mocking etc) it means they like you! I

Hi Kiwi & CathieB...What an experience we had yesterday. I was on the phone with Tidybrains (Sherry & Steve in CA), trying to hook up with Wynne and commuicate through forum so we could get her on the line and have the US contingent 'watchin' together. One of my computers crashed, got another up, then forom crashed...What a day.

Kiwi, I like the stick. Glad to be back here in the forum...I missed you guys.

Falling asleep here..but finding it hard to turn this darn machine off. Having Forum Separation Anxiety already. Will you all still be here tomorrow? Promise??