During our home visit we decided it was time to add to our coffee table book collection. I finally got to our ‘Build’ book and while I was at it, I put together a book on our 2015 northern trip. Revisiting our Fusion building memories brought back what a mammoth task it was, but it… Read More »
We arrived in Queensland nearly three weeks ago. After 10 days of maintenance at The Boatworks we then spent 3 days sheltering in a marina from cyclonic rains and wind, 1 night on anchor in a calm anchorage and now one week in the Brisbane River at a slipway repairing our “bottom”. Things haven’t exactly gone… Read More »
After a 6 month lay-up at The Boatworks in Queensland, we have finally returned to our Bossa Nova. Our boat has been well looked after in the storage yard with Neville visiting in March to check up on things as well as getting ahead on some jobs. Friends ask, “what have you got to do,… Read More »
We have arrived at our final destination, the Gold Coast. We will be leaving Bossa Nova here until we return next May, 2016. We have had the most amazing trip. The places we have been, the people we have met and the adventures we have had, have all made this 6 month journey such a… Read More »
When Leanne suggested we (Neville and I) have a turn at collecting the crab pots … and getting the crabs out of the pots … and getting the crabs in to the bucket … Neville and I looked at each other … and went eeeek!!! We can do this! Here’s my first try at a… Read More »
We are anchored in the Great Sandy Straits near Fraser Island sitting out another few days of unsettled weather. Big thunderstorms here last night with lightning illuminating our boats well in to the early hours of the morning. But we are snug and in the company of several other boats. With bad weather boredom can… Read More »
We knew it would be difficult to top our Lady Musgrave visit but we have found that each new destination, anchorage and even marina, all have something to offer. We left Lady Musgrave for Bundaberg thinking we would keep moving south. However, the strong southerly weather meant we stayed a week in the Bundaberg marina.… Read More »
The long passages up the coast can be quite monotonous and a tad boring at times. Neville can read which keeps him entertained (his speed reading has hammered our Kindle account though), along with his card playing on his iPad. However, I like many people get motion sickness. So what do I do on these long… Read More »
Lady Musgrave … where do I start? We left GKI with Easy Tiger at daybreak in order to make the high tide at the shallow crossing in The Narrows – Gladstone (you can’t get through without the high tide). With an ambitious thought overriding the sensible one which was staying the night at Gladstone, we… Read More »
We arrived at Great Keppel Island a week ago and we have been fortunate enough to enjoy calm winds and sunny days here, even though the constant northerlies have somewhat restricted our choice of anchorage each night. Did someone flick the switch?! GKI is part of the Keppel Island Group. The aboriginal people called Great… Read More »
We have left The Whitsundays. We are officially heading south … home! After dropping Tim at Hamilton Island for his flight home, we were eagerly waiting for that ‘N’ to appear in the wind forecast. Eventually it came. A week of northerly and easterly winds. Time to head south. We provisioned in Airlie Beach (the… Read More »
The sunsets all the way up the coast and now in The Whitsunday’s have been beautiful. Here’s a few of my favourites … (Don’t forget you can ‘touch’ each photo to get the full size version.)
We have been away now for 20 weeks, reaching The Whitsunday’s 10 weeks ago. While we haven’t planned every stopover and how long we were going to stay at each, we have surprised ourselves that we have stayed here for this long. But, this is truly a beautiful part of Australia and sharing it with… Read More »
Or, go directly to the Track Us page and you will find the same “Comment” section at the bottom of the page. I haven’t written much about our snorkeling here. With friends and family on board we have been keen to show them the good snorkeling spots. We have just spent a day in Blue… Read More »
When we met Easy Tiger way back in March in Paynesville we had no idea they would become our sailing buddies during our trip north. We were heavily in to preparing our boat for our trip in between finishing our new house back in Somers. We unfortunately didn’t have much time to give them in… Read More »
We were lucky enough to pick up a mooring in Stonehaven on Hook Island yesterday lunchtime before the school holiday ‘crowds’ swamped the anchorage. Gentle breeze, clear water and an approaching low tide meant we were feeling pretty good. (The sun we have found is always shining so no need to mention this yet again.)… Read More »
I’ve mentioned many times “it’s all about the weather”, but the temperature really hasn’t changed for weeks, usually around 25-28 degrees (sorry you Melbournians), so it’s really all about the wind. When we visited the Whitsunday’s the first time way back in ’87 we had little help and little knowledge. We were in our twenties… Read More »
We have reached our northern most destination for our 2015 trip north – Gloucester Passage. So another four days at Gloucester Passage, the home of the SICYC – Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club. As mentioned in an earlier post we enjoyed this year’s SICYC Rendezvous, particularly it’s location, so we always thought we’d return. We… Read More »
When we “arrived” at The Whitsunday’s with Lynn and Greg on board some 5/6 weeks ago we revisited old places that we four had visited in 1987 on our first trailer sailer. The last week or so, we have done the same with daughter Abbey and sister Joanne. Both have been here before on our… Read More »
Has been a while since I visited this space. Been too busy! We returned home for 12 days. A few commitments and an opportunity to catch up with family and friends. We left our boat in Mackay. Great service with a lift to the airport included. Thank you Cameron. Even our ‘Wilson’ survived our absence… Read More »
Just anchored off Thomas Island on our temporary journey south. (We are heading home for a short period). Lovely sandy beach. 3 metres of depth. Neville loves the shallow anchorages, less anchor chain to put out. This is a short post … wanted to add these pics of the whales that came close to 50… Read More »
Well, back to time on our own! We have been cruising around the islands with our friends Lynn and Greg for the last week … visiting the usual Whitsunday haunts. After 14 days of fun, laughter, card playing, fishing, swimming and conversation … and sailing … we dropped them at Airlie to reluctantly return to… Read More »
We are now feeling a sense of ‘achievement’! We are tied up at Hamilton Island, the Whitsunday’s. We made it! 1,704 Nautical miles. Lakes Entrance to Hamilton Island. Departed May 23rd July. Arrived 27th July. 3 years building our Bossa Nova (not to mention the many years of convincing me to take on the building… Read More »
We have our son Tim on board for a week! Selfie photos, Go Pros, iPad tweeks and dinghy bursts! One of the things we have really enjoyed about this trip are the passages. Creeping our way up the coast has been very different to the sailing we have done in the past. While we have… Read More »
What a great day! Time to reflect on a busy few days in the Sandy Straits and Fraser Island. We motored up the (very muddy) Mary River with the tide to Maryborough early in the week. A very old town that was once thought likely to be the Queensland capitol. A busy port once upon… Read More »
We did manage to leave the Manly marina okay. We have noted that we need to clarify a few points when we book a marina berth. It’s not just fitting in to a berth, it’s also about whether we can get in and then get out. Fortunately or unfortunately, the trimaran opposite our berth at… Read More »
We woke the usual time this morning. Looked through the hatch, yes blue sky. It’s always a great start to the day on a boat seeing sunshine. “It’s Sunday”, announces Neville. This means eggs for brekky. Neville has mastered the art of poaching eggs. So at anchor in a calm Lazarette Gutter we enjoy our… Read More »
How lucky we have been. We have just said a sad goodbye to our ‘new’ friends on Easy Tiger. Easy Tiger has been hauled out for two weeks of maintenance. Rather than give them a hand (it was suggested … but we declined) we are continuing to head north. Last night at our ‘goodbye’ dinner… Read More »
We arrived at the Gold Coast this morning at 12.30 am. A long sail from the Clarence River. 15 hours at sea. The sun is setting here so early. Dark by 5.30. So lots of hours sailing in darkness. No moon, cloudy sky, pitch black. We crossed the Gold Coast Seaway bar in darkness and… Read More »
We have been anchored here in the Clarence River – Iluka for three nights now. Beautiful! It’s such a great place to stop before reaching Qld. The facilities for the yachties are great. Mostly the flat water! And we were ready for some quiet times. A few days earlier, we had pulled up anchor at… Read More »
We arrived in Camden Haven yesterday afternoon after a long motor. Easy Tiger also sailing with us. Lovely sunny day so no one was complaining about no wind. We dropped anchor just off the Laurieston public jetty in flat but tidal waters. Cruising can be a lonely experience. Out at sea during the day and… Read More »
Time to catch our breath. After a few days in the picturesque Hawkesbury River area, we sailed on to Newcastle, then to Port Stephens the following day. Caught up with brother Brad then an early morning departure for Forster-Tuncurry this morning. Forster-Tuncurry is a pretty spot. So good that we think we’ll stay a few… Read More »
We have spent two nights in the Hawkesbury River and Cowan Creek. How cold those nights have been! It was freezing this morning. The little bay we were in was beautiful and cosy. Steep embankments covered with gums and rock, the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, but no early sun! Thank god for our terracotta pot!… Read More »
Here we are at the CYC (Cruising Yacht Club) in Sydney … again! Way way way back in 1985 we were here on our first yacht, a 23 foot trailer-sailer. Many memories. I ‘flash backed’ today to a few memorable moments … Singing along to a new Pretenders tape (yes a cassette tape in my… Read More »
Bossa Nova crossed the Lakes Entrance bar at 11.45 am today. Excitement and nerves all rolled in to one. With crew on board – Steve and John – we have headed for Sydney. Making 6.5 – 7 knots with main and jib.
Those long long days of grinding, sanding and building our catamaran have well and truly been forgotten but the jobs never really end. We still adding and changing things, but we are on the water! We spent most of January around Port Phillip Bay, between Docklands in Melbourne and Martha Cove on the Mornington Peninsula. … Read More »
It’s been a while since our last post. Apart from enjoying Bossa Nova (& cleaning up the 3 years of boat building in our paddock), we have had to squeeze in selling a house & packing to move and selling a business. Hence, we haven’t been on the water as much as we would have… Read More »
Nothing could equal the excitement of the launch but it was still great to fit the mast, all 17.6 metres of it. As the base is about 1.8 metres above water we are going to need some pretty high bridges in order to fit under! The first fitting allowed the rigging to be marked for… Read More »
Here’s some pics … (video soon … when we catch our breath!) Shortly after 6 pm Thursday 7/11/13, Bossa Nova was launched. What a journey. The weather was kind, our last-minute helpers out in full force (thankyou John, Tim, Tony and Chris) and Mick our crane drive gently lowered Bossa Nova in to the water… Read More »
We can’t believe it, the day has finally come when we launch Bossa Nova. Fingers crossed and our rig will be on as well. After a few false starts this week beyond our control, our crane man is booked for late this afternoon. What a journey this has been and while keeping this blog up… Read More »
Well the day finally came, after almost 3 years, Bossa Nova had to finally leave it’s nest in our paddock and journey down the road to the Yaringa Marina, ready for its launch in a few days…
A few pics … Neville is still on a high from the buzz of this morning (and now organising the tender), so his thoughts will follow.
Wow … a few BIG days … intra-protect (can someone please spill that tin) seemed t go on forever, then we did three coats of anti-foul . What better way to pass the time with songs that captured the mood!! Thank you Andree, JA & Tim who helped.
After some fairly ordinary weather, the sun was shining, and our truck came.
Waiting for the truck … write a post, visit the dentist … we are ready.
After rain last week we decided to postpone the launch. Main concern was getting the intraprotect & antifoul on in the dry. Not to be. Gives is breathing space to do all those little things … and even oil the cockpit teak? Two thoughts on this, we will see!
Last Sunday we had 30 degrees here. Come Monday, it had all changed. Rain, wind, hail and cold! Delaying things by a week isn’t really that bad in a 3 year project. So, the countdown is on! We have days of sunny forecast late next week (at last) which is just what we need to… Read More »
So close now. Spent the weekend pulling out all the old boat gear, sorting new boat gear, and all those jobs that just don’t seem to go away. Great weather, ground dry and great for washing the decks. Our new rib arrived. No one was allowed to touch it, Tim’s job. Set it up on… Read More »
Lots of things to do but the list is shrinking and not too fat now. Today was spent ‘tweeking’ the cupboard doors, polishing & cleaning inside AND watching our boat finally be given its name!! Very exciting. After a false start on Friday our signwriter Shane revisited this morning. (Thousands of trips up and down… Read More »
The weather …. we have had rain, then hail, then sunshine today. We don’t want rain … our paddock exit is near!