As cruisers, our dinghies are a lifeline. So when we heard from our friends on Ceilydh this morning that yesterday’s beautiful day had ended on a sour note when their dinghy was stolen, we had an inkling of the kind of gut punch it probably felt like. Better days in the tender to Ceilydh As […]
When bad things happen to good dinghies
Australia Day!
Somewhere a little past midsummer is a good time for national holidays, right? And there’s often a good historical date cooperating to line up with good weather. Niall on the M/V Furthur, waving a flag to celebrate Australia Day in Sydney Harbour, 2011 For Australia, that’s the 26th of January, and the commemorative event is the 1788 […]
Sydney to Brisbane: the weather always wins
We had looked forward to getting off the dock and being underway for months. Free under sail again, listening to the whoosh of water against the hull while we worked our way north. Taking the time to discover a few pretty bays, as our route would keep us near the shore to avoid the big […]
Celebrating near the leading edge of the New Year
New Year’s Eve was probably our last night aboard Totem in Sydney Harbour. We’re heading north to Brisbane now, but couldn’t miss out on what must be one of the world’s most stunning fireworks displays. Experience told us to arrive a day early, so we staked out our prime spot in a rapidly filling anchorage […]
Aussieisms: Cherries are for Christmas
We plunked ourselves down around the community tables in the marina last Friday for our weekly barbecue. The informal “it’s going to happen anyway” gathering is comforting in its unplanned simplicity…we love this regular reconnection with our boaty neighbors. Plates of munchies were around. Jacqui brought out a bowl full of fresh cherries, sighed, and […]
Aussieisms: the sausage sizzle
Anyone remember the Tourism Australia campaign from way back where Paul (Crocodile Dundee) Hogan said he’d put “another shrimp on the barbie” for you? Aussies would never use the word shrimp: here they are prawns, thankyouverymuch. But they do love their barbies, and what you’ll find most often on an Aussie barbie is a sausage (also […]
Aussieisms: the queue
The orderliness of queuing for public transportation in Sydney almost equally charming and puzzling. I cannot imagine this happening in… SO many places, I get a giggle out of it pretty much every time. Even the little bus stops with 3 people waiting in our residential corner of Sydney, people line up. It’s sweet, but […]
Camping! Cricket! Kangaroos!
A few weekends ago, we were included with a group of families who get together for camping fun a few times a year. What a treat! We knew from last our failed attempt at camping (we were rained out after one night) last January that the kids loved it, but hadn’t had the right impetus […]