do what you love

"Find what you love & let it kill you".

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a new boat - Norwalk Islands Sharpie 18 "Clancy"

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Photo is not Clancy, drawing below shows ketch rig. * photos of building, and possible handover ceremony from professional builder Robert Ayliffe of Straydog  Boatworks to the current  owner John of Canberra in 2009. * An 1880 report by the U.S. Census Bureau characterized the sharpie as "so good a fishing boat and so fast a yacht that it has been adopted in a great many other localities throughout the United States * Clancy  is the first ever ketch rigged NIS18 in Australia, has attended several wooden boat festivals, raced successfully at the large Marlay Point overnight fixture and locally on Lake Burley Griffin where she has also cruised. 
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trip west pt 2

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Its the day I leave my daughters place with some sadness & begin a solo drive 100+ kilometres south west. I'll skirt desert lands, seek off piste roads if possible & dawdle at cool places. I know that the main highways will not provide. Let's go! But first some exercise & oats.  1000: my daughter pops in for morning tea (her) & breakfast (me). While we sat talking my son called to report that he had scored a full time position with a local fire management mob. This is huge, his first independent job since finishing homeschooling some years earlier. This news buoys my mood for the day; having him at home will lessen my responsibilities feeding pets & remaining close to home. After I motored almost across the state, my daughter calls to report that her seniors have asked her to apply for several positions on Council that she might prefer. Wonderful to hear my children beingvrewarded.  After sunset I find a lake in the middle of nowhere, known only...
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Radio Operator's Licence

26 May 2025: This morning I sit a Radio Operator's exam with Above Beyond Boating. They have a delegation from the Australian Communications Authority (ACMA)'to conduct exams.  They also have as many as you want to do sample written exams as part of their online training module. After the written component there is a practical element where the student demonstrates how to make various types of calls eg: contact a coastal station, transmit Mayday Call.   It should go OK but I haven't had an exam in years and I'm flashing back to crap experiences I had at uni - I passed OK but the competitive atmosphere was crippling. I know Neil is a much more supportive lecturer, but I can't seem to will away the strain I feel. I know they say a little tension is good.   There will be many benefits of having a radio licence. I can register Clancy & her various electronic items with an MMSI.  Its funny because six months ago DSC & MMSI & even the current radio ne...
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