After long weeks out on the edge of the desert, it's always a pleasure driving 12 hours with no aircon to the big blue. My mate, Fran, along for the ride. I tried to do this as often as possible, if not I'd book a flight and fly across on my week off.
I felt extra lucky this trip. I spent time with all my friends, caught my first macky while searching the big blue for whales.. we even watched manta rays feed and swirl and had a visit from a dugong. My Italian friend, Andrea, taught me how to make wooden rings and he would prepare fresh ceviche (from the macky I had caught) and focaccia. Andrea was the engineer on the boat when I was the decky, in the years before. I had learnt so much from him over the years - even when I left, we still stayed in contact.
The morning after rolling into Broome, I went for my morning walk and dip. I pulled up admiring the colours that lined the horizon. White, lightning blue with an outline of red rocks in the southern corner. I hadn't even walked 5 metres before seeing a decent sized cowrie shell (my all-time favourite shell) I was stoked - I see them as a good omen and that I'm safe. Not even a step further there it was, sitting pretty; a brown paper nautilus. I'd never found a nautilus myself, I've seen them at mates places or on display on boats that I'd visited over the years, my skipper even found a large nautilus shell on the surface of the channel out at Rowley Shoals but I'd never actually found one myself. I'm at Gantheaume wondering how the fuck this tiny fragile shell hadn't been run over, stepped on or picked up, not a single chip to be seen on the shell. I was in awe.
When I visited Andrea, I brought my shell to show him. He was also impressed and had never found one himself. We then went down a rabbit hole of Argonaut information, watching videos about the interesting creatures. An octopus like animal using a shell for protection and to float around, using their two dominant tentacles as sails in the wind. There is so much information on these little critters and Andrea and I were mindblown.
Andrea had been wanting a mural for a very long time. He wanted pirate ships and the Kraken tearing them a part... not really my style and had to talk him out of that. But the more we brainstormed the more I was drawn to the idea of the Argonaut. By the time we'd agreed on the argonaut I had to head eastbound to get back to work.
A few swings later, I made my way back to Broome. My main priority was to head to Andrea's to complete the mural and to spend as much time in the ocean. I did both. With the paint leftover in Andrea's shed and a little imagination, the argonaut mural was created. The paint was so hard to navigate as it was so thin, meaning I had to go over all the lines multiple times and with its shimmer it made it difficult to see. But layers and layers (and puddles of sweat) later I finally finished the beautiful creature.
This mural took me roughly 11 hours to complete and I'm so grateful that Andrea trusted me to paint this space.