Back To Boating Life At Last! Back To Boating Life At Last!

We trust you all had a lovely beginning to the 2023 year. Now that Covid restrictions are finally gone, life feels a little more like normal. The past 8 months or so found our lifestyle put on hold as we assisted family on shore. There was retaining, grassing, and tree removal work done around the […]

Returned To Europe At Last! Returned To Europe At Last!

After two and a half long Covid years we have returned to our beautiful old girl, Gratis. It’s just a short six week trip this time. Enough to clean her up, then back to Oz until the 2023 European season. Amid bouts of cold, rain and the occasional thunderstorms, lots of elbow grease later, our […]

First Sail in 18 Months! First Sail in 18 Months!

Covid lockdowns put a stop on our cruising life for 18 months. At long, long last lockdowns in NSW came to an end, the weather was right, and Australis 1 could finally set sail. The weather was perfect and although wind was light, meaning mostly a motor, when the sails were up it was divine […]

The Week That Was 12 The Week That Was 12

Christmas 2020 Is it really a month since the last post? What a mad December it has been! Appointments, visits with family and friends and Christmas preparations and working on that backlog of Blog posts. Now that the mad season is over, I should be able to get on track once more. There was also […]

The Week That Was 11 The Week That Was 11

And an interesting week it has been……..   A Covid outbreak resulted from a worker in a quarantine hotel breaking protocol. Another person lied and the state was put into lockdown when it appeared the virus had mutated into a 24 hour or less cycle. For us, lockdown was not bad. a swim here and […]

Admiral Karyle Admiral Karyle

Also Known As: chief cook, photographer, writer and blogger   First sailed at the age of 13. The priority of getting an education took over. 2010: started learning to sail with the intention of buying my own yacht.   Dinghy Sailing: Levels 1 & 2 MF-HF Marine Radio Certificate Boat License SA Competent Crew Helming […]

Captain Bob Captain Bob

Otherwise Known As: Mr Fix It   Captain Bob has been sailing since the age of 14. Yacht Master’s Certificate: Offshore and Ocean Going

The Week That Was 10 The Week That Was 10

It’s been a hectic few weeks as we work around appointments and so forth. The long and the short of it is there isn’t a great deal of news to write about. The result is that I am running a few days behind with Monday’s posting. There has been time to fit in the uploading […]

The Week That Was 9 The Week That Was 9

On the Road Again Outings With final pack up completed life became a continuous outings as we slowly make our way home. Bob and I can’t remember the last time we saw the landscape so green. Driving through regions decimated by bush fire, most were well on the way to recovery. It was only a […]

The Perfect Fish and Chips The Perfect Fish and Chips

Ingredients For the Chips Chipping potatoes as required Salt to taste Garlic clove skinned and halved   For the Fish 1 cup Glutinous rice four Salt to taste Chives Garlic clove skinned and halved   Other Olive oil    Process Day Before Chips The day before cooking the meal, peel, slice and rinse the potatoes. […]

The Week That Was 8 The Week That Was 8

Packing Up and Finishing off for the 2020 Season   Outings No outings this week, since pack up is well underway and Bob is madly working on completing numerous small jobs he wants done.   Work It’s incredible how often the weather bypasses the Newcastle area. First off was a new door handle to our […]

Sautéed Mushrooms Sautéed Mushrooms

500 grams different varieties of mushrooms, diced Salt to taste 1 tablespoon chives 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon turmeric ¼ teaspoon chili   Heat pan and oil Add mushrooms, salt, chives, turmeric and chili Cook to your preferred taste   Note: Mushrooms soak in the oil. You may find additional oil is required.

What Does BOAT Really Mean? What Does BOAT Really Mean?
The Week That Was 7 The Week That Was 7

Boat Work Coming to an End for 2020 Our time on Australis 1 in 202o is rapidly coming to an end. Bob and I are working at pace to complete the jobs on the list for this season.   Boat Work The new main sheet was installed. With the rope on a large drum, it […]

Marinated Chicken in Honey Marinated Chicken in Honey

500g chicken sliced Salt to taste 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard 6 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon Golden Syrup 3 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons dried chives or 1 ½ tablespoons fresh chives finely chopped ¼ leek washed and diced   Place all ingredients in a bowl. Stir until well combined. Place in fridge (24 hours for […]

The Week That Was 7 The Week That Was 7

Port Macquarie, Calais and more……. Weekly Outing On awaking last Sunday, Bob’s first words were, ‘I think we’ll take a trip to Port Macquarie…..’ A two hour trip, we passed through country that had been decimated by last summer’s bushfires, but more on that later. Arriving in beautiful Port Macquarie in time for lunch, a […]

Cattai Wetlands, NSW Cattai Wetlands, NSW

Currently closed as a result of the bushfire damage and COVID, it’s worth keeping an eye on the website for notification of the reopening date.   Click the link below for more information Cattai Wetlands  

Rum and Raisin Icecream: Dairy Free, Gluten Free Rum and Raisin Icecream: Dairy Free, Gluten Free

The original recipe, ‘Purely Vanilla Icecream’ comes from ‘Go Dairy Free’by Alisa Fleming Bob and I being chocoholics, I had a play with the recipe.   3 cups unsweetened dairy free milk alternative. (I use pea milk – known as ‘Like Milk’ in Australia) ¾ cup sugar (I use raw) 10 tablespoons cocoa (I use […]

Beaufort Scale Beaufort Scale

The Beaufort Scale is used by sailors as a guide to estimate wind speed without the use of instruments. They do this by looking at the effects the wind has upon the waves. For example, 0 denotes calm seas and 12 cyclone strength winds.   Link For an easy read about the history of the […]

The Week That Was 6 The Week That Was 6

The Traveller Continued, France Revisited and more…. Work This week, work on the traveller was slow and tedious for Bob. Despite it all, some progress was made. He had to bight the bullet and purchase a plane for levelling the base upon which the traveller is to sit. Then it was time to drill. Hidden […]