Living Contentedly

Huh, I got married on this date in 1991. Thirty five years ago and have been  ecstatically separated for the last nine years. But the social worker in me says its useful to acknowledge these things.     Of course, I focus little upon those years beyond the happy times parenting. But there are also reflections of years missed; fitness goals, sailing miles, and so on.     But today I am prepping the most expensive sail boat Ive ever owned, for a sail early tomorrow morning. For me, there is nothing better than stopping midsail on a smooth anchorage for a snack, coffee and a book. Perhaps there will be a beach walk and swim? Bliss.   Clancy, LBG While I was visiting my daughter last week, my son was left to "care" for the cats, chooks and house. Sadly he did a lousy job and part of that was leaving a fate open to let the goats graze my garden. I lost 20 lettuce, raddish, cabbage, book choy, beans, onions, tomatoes and the last of the...

This bike (2017 Classic 500) got me back into motorbiking after giving it away when my children were born. Actually my son got a bike and I thought it was probably OK for me to have a crack.  I immediately loved it's styling, simple build, ease of repair and with a smaller muffler, her sound. Over time I moved on to a Honda Shadow and after a while letcmy son ride The Royal. Initially he loved it, but lost interest when he graduated to a Honda 650 which he bought new.  So I got my Royal back andxits become my daily rider; Honda is being chopped and Himalayan is now for sail. I am still in love with The Royal, her note, nimbleness and knowledge of the fact that if she goes  down I can pick it up again. 

Sunday for me can be a restful day. After yesterday's Gravaleur ride, including a wrong that added 10k and a tumble off my bike in the main street while trying to unclip, I'm feeling a little tender but mostly denourished. So today was ways going to be a slow one.    Fortunately the weather is majestic autumn at its best; no T-shirt and shorts!    Job One: get Yamaha outboard running. This was provided as ballast when I bought Ilona 2years ago with apologies. I had a try some time ago without luck.    It actually looks in perfect condition, but as Ive learned, engines hate sitting idle. I gave her a wash before  consultinf some Yamaha online tutorials then: renewed fuel, checked the plug, checked spark, made sure choke, gear and throttle settings were right. But even using Start Ya Bastard I had no feedback of any kind. Back to the shed.     Selling Ilona : Ive had a query about her rig type from someone wanting the yawl. Its clear in the ad,...

Getting up at 04:30, shovelingy oats and driving 90k is not the ideal start.     But the Gravaleur event was not super just, so I sosmt have to worry about people on my face. There was a big  mix of riders and the early mood was uptight but positive. On the road we quickly settled into their paces. I fell into a rhyrhm of passing two women on the flats and they passed me on climbs. They ultimately led me astray, rising an extra 10-15k. My highlight was meeting a Brisbane rider who had ridden the Tassie Gift twice. Wow. With 6k to go I was feeling a bit yuk due to hettinv lost and feeling depleted. But seeing the aftermath of a road accident put things right. Someone's dream retirement, to tow a caravan around Australia had ended upside down on a steep embankment. Even if the occupants survived tje rollover, the heartache and condition of the wreckage would be devastating.  So my little issue was quickly put into perspective.       

I've kind of developed a plan. Its actually imposing a restraint on me against going big on another boat.  I already have three sailboats; a 15' clinker, 19' dory that I put up for sale today, and my 18' NIS boat. So, I first need to sell two of them because i know if I was to get another boat, these others would languish away.  My other fear is, and this is going to sound weird, that unless I am forced on board say by selling my house, its possible that whatever boat I have will be underused. The fact is, I am very comfortable here at home. Its quiet, cheap living, and everyday I make progress on projects like repairing vehicles, boats and the house and keeping fit, like jogging or cycling every second day. I also like to bugger off to the beach, weather permitting.     So, what I should do is to make cruising my NIS boat a major priority. Get it out on the nay, lake or coast and sail and camp cruise every week. Show myself that this dream is really valid, that...

Writing this is; an act in procrastination from today's list, counter to my usual decision making which is mostly "organic", discounts the prospect that my NIS boat might be it, and a skip too far ahead. But hey its always delicious to think about possibilities. The topic will be my choice of a larger live aboard boat. I am in the troubling position of loving being on the water and having a broad and unstructured experience of boats.  My Love of Being on The Water :  My love of "sailing" is really a love of being in or on the water. So, not just ocean or coastal sailing, but lakes and backwaters as well as creeks and rivers. The outcome of this is that this doesn't provide a clear direction on boat choice and alternatively steers me toward a " pocket knife " type boat. One that's not specialised towards any single discipline and one that's flexible in application eg: collapsible rig, centreboard or shoal draft, able to be manhandled by one ...