Living Contentedly

. Why do dolphins leap joyful from the sea? Why do the morning birds sing? Why does the earth dance in trees and reach forests to the sun? Why do children play? This is a recreational universe. When you remember the play that lifted your heart as a child, you will know the heart of God.                 -Ken Carey, The Third                Millennium I'm currently reading a book on how to love. No its not a dating book, it doesn't really even give out tips for grooming and make-up. It more a book about being loving rather than making love.  One, or .maybe the critical elements are to love yourself and to not be too timid in sharing that love with the universe. With nature and everything in it. Its kind of complex and simple at the same time - the author has made the topic his life's work.     One exercise he encouraged readers to undertake was to write a love letter to yourself . I d...

This week saw a major step forward in our progress towards a critical point in global warming. Perhaps in years to come, as a few remaining humans sit in their underground bunker of a sun ravaged planet and reflect, they might agree that glacial collapse in 2025 was "it". The straw that broke the camel's back.  Old Swiss village obliterated. Emissions Report by Australian Department of Climate Change .  The report shows emissions were 446.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO 2 -e) in the year to December 2024. This is essentially flat compared with the previous year, with national emissions estimated to have increased 0.05% (0.2 Mt CO 2 -e).  Across the sectors; industry and agriculture are down, electricity generation and transport sectors have increased. These figures, added to all the hot air from politicians and our new gas mining lease extension, it does not look good for our future. Mindful that Australia exports shiploads of coal to...

Thanks Paul Trammell, Dream Chasers and Eccentrics podcast for a great interview with Scott Grace, The Spiritual Dr Zeus's.  + his gig, in varied settings, is to improvise. (He has opened for Robyn Williams.) + he describes how children have a natural or instinctual drive to create funny songs, phrases and poems, and with practice and confidence that this is a good thing, he bought this talent into adulthood, indeed as a career. The clincher is that this instinct for playful, positive living, is extremely easily crushed:-  - you're no good as a poet. - you're a shit singer. - that's crap - get a real job. Each one of these, or similar, has a vast capacity to crush ones inner child, one's free spirit, one's inner muse. The way to repair this inner rift, to heal yourself, is to meditate, breathe, own it,  acknowledge any anxiety, fear or nervousness that you feel and use this to fuel your actions, moving towards a creative product. Say yes!  Disregard ...

Many months ago I began exercising to build tone. Like an automoton consumer, I scheduled weekends off.  But then I realised it detracted from my routine and focus. So I adopted a daily frequency and my results and attitude strengthened. Does this impact on our "working for the man" work lives? Creating confusion among workers.  Then, at times, being single, while taking beneficial rests between reps I hit upon doing brief housework tasks. When my breath has been restored and muscles relaxed, back to my routine. Just lately, sensing the days were flying by and my list of home repair jobs was only getting longer, I hit upon the idea of doing one repair each morning. So it looks like; 3x10 weights, gather tools, 50 x pushups, start dismantling. And so on.  So now as I finish my morning routine, I Aldo have an added high thatom knocking another job off your to do list.  All moving towards a future of sailing and bugger all else.  My new hero is Webb Chi...

Perseverance, endurance, resilience. You can get into semantics about these attributes, but in my head they're all sharing one core, grit. Putting the shoulder to the wheel and leaning in until the destination is attained.  In my senior years I'm now aware how the thing you're grinding away at alters over a lifetime. As a kid it was surfing more solidly, running faster or scoring more tries. (Interesting that commercial sports media is all about these achievements.)  But when your an; adult, student, parent or employee, the goals are set by others. They say jump, you jump. Then as a retiree you realise a lot of that jumping was just useless as far as your personal ideals are concerned. We got sidetracked somewhere, we forgot where we were going, we lost the habit of setting exciting challenges for ourselves.  So now, any remnant goals can become vague and distant. Faced with the daunting prospect of reinventing the wheel you can feel lazy and unmotivated. Just like y...

Its blowing a gale outside now. The kind of night I love doing what I'm doing, reading or writing beside the fire. But definitely not a night you want to be hanging off an anchor in gusty blasts of frigid air with the high chance of rain. All this on the back of a month of rain; daily rain with monthly totals between 200-300mm.  Cruising sailors don't normally go north before this time due to the risk of cyclones.  Down here we've had cyclone force winds, high seas & pelting rain, all quite cold for most of the month.  Talk about a rock and a hard place!  

Today I paid CMA for radio license ($89). I already paid ABB $100 on top of course fees for the exam !? Checked Clancy's VHF for a MMSI number and confirmed it doesn't have one.  Updated EPIRB details per Clancy. Removed Trangia from boat to begin making gimballed stands.  Recontacted the local mooring guys asking them to inspect my new mooring gear.  Identified local services that fit HIN plates. LTP marina.

My gutful of pre-exam jitters had me wondering whether I'd actually pass this exam. Even logging on to Zoom and a second bloody app was giving me the heebie jeebies. I am a minimalist & am inherently avoidant to new technologies due to my serious misgivings about corporations' insistence on mining our minds and pockets.  By close of business today, I got a new take on the tech thing. Namely that knowing as much as possible about new tech can save me bucks and keep me safer.  Anyway,  thankfully the Invigilator flicked me a link and I got to sit the written part of the test. Barely ten minutes later I had not only passed is: "Satisfactory", I had achieved 98%. And the two questions  I got wrong were easily corrected. I was a bitblown away there.  Next, Neil Driscoll of ABB asked me what devices my boat had with regard to applying for an MMSI - that's a unique code for the boat and those devices that transmit Distress messages. As a result, I am now considerin...

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...

" We can never be grateful enough to LNP senator Matt Canavan for putting on the public record that the Coalition's support for nuclear power was only ever designed to get them out of a tight spot on emissions reductions while it continued to support coal-fired power ." Thank you ABC Chief Political Correspondent  Laura Tingle for clearly articulating what I've known for decades (not so much the shift to nuclear, but) the Coalition's unceasing support for those corporations mining fossil fuels. Its notable that Queen Elizabeth II was a massive shareholder in one of those corps, while her son King Charles is a self professed "green".            -   -   -   -   - On the weekend I watched a nature documentary of sorts, presented by a traditional resident of The Kimberly region in northwest Australia. We were flooded with images of the great beauty of the place and the cultural embededness of its local indigenous pe...

Today marks the first clear aimmy day for probably a month or more. Although the earth is spongy or outright boggy, the air wet and clammy, its a day that will be hard not to enjoy immensely.  But there is work to do, to restock food and firewood, dry things out and pack them away, to work on laundry and so on. Mostly non boaty stuff, but it will be a welcome change.  I'm pleased to see my boat hoops, made from plastic irrigation pipe are shedding rainwater strongly. The Nessy's cover sits proud and dry. That saves an amount of stress, the physical demand of baling her out and worry about rot, from my mind. It was a daily chore for a while, and meant the boat could not be left for any length of time.  A stitch in time ...

Wednesday 21May'25 : I baled water off the Ness Boat's covers yesterday only to have to repeat of again today. And not a all amount either, 45 x2 gallon buckets worth. That's 180 litres or so on one night, and not unusual of late.  We're flooded on today and the coming few days will see water thats currently falling on Barrington Tops swell the river systems even further.  Taree, on the coast 200k away received its worst flood ever on record overnight as the weather systems,  High and Low working together, drift north. They are also expecting delayed flows from the Tops.  Anyway, it has given is some respite so I took the chance to put some hoops under the boat tarp. I banged three pairs of galvanised water pipes into the earth along both sides. Then I slid 50mm ag pipe over them to make three hoops over the boat. The tarp was them lashed down over the hoops. It certainly looks better and should help shed water without it settling.  As a huge coincidence my Comp...

These images by the local newspaper are of flooding that has occurred in recent days. I am currently fly isolated in place due to swlen rivers I u dating roadways. There have been evacuations, but thankfullyno casualties. Closer to home, my driveway is a mess. Badly designed, the 400m long dirt trail has become rutted  and,if rains continue,may oollapseata washout. Yesterday managed to tow Clancy out and back using my Land Rover  ut it was harrowing. I had a vision of Clancy toppling off the driveway.  Now, as the adrenaline passes, I am wondering if keeping a mooring maybe the nest option. Its .of only the potential loss or damage to Clancy that concerns me, there's the strain on traileramd my Subaru. 

This morning its bucketing down with rain, again. My firm belief was that this is a record wet month, that it has rained nearly every day blah blah blah.  But, notwithstanding us getting high rainfall in the next 48hours, we're actuallybang on average, so far. We're 19 days into May which has 31 days, and the average rainfall for May is for 68mm falling on 11 days. With 12 days to go, we're actually bang on to a fraction of millimeter. We will probably go over the average, but my perception was that we've had unprecedented falls. Not true. Unfortunately, today is pretty extreme with the possible formation of an "East Coast Low" offshore. If we were located in a lower latitude (ie: closer to the equator) we'd be referring to the suswtem as a potential cyclone. So 30knots, 3m seas and lots of rain. Not ideal sailing weather even though when I was a younger sailor, the period after Easter was considered the time to head north. Its getting into the time when t...

This is not meant to be a whiny post, i just want to make note of all the little issues that came up so i can fix them.  1. Subaru copying black smoke.  On the way to the dam she was sluggish and belching black smoke. On the way home she ran well: downhill but still on curving, bumpy, lumpy country roads. Mind i could not see sit because it was dark. Im wondering if she been doing this all along and it's worse under load. Apparently the DPF , I think the Diesel Particulate Filter can go shit. But i don't know enough and frankly I'm not worried. 2. Lazy Jack's on mizzen snagging When the mizzen may was raised the book remained canted up because these lines snagged on the boom. They could just be a pain in the butt and i just need to lookout. Another remedy could be fitting an elastic tie forward around the mast.  NB,: fitting one to each sail could also limit incidents of full battens snagging the lazy jacks as the sail is being set.  3. Launching difficult  Esse...

Putin invades Ukraine, kills thousands of civilians, evades justice.  Jenkins helps defend Ukraine and is gaoled.  Is this right?  Who made these rules? Who polices politicians?  

Robert Ayliffe, builder of Clancy, plans agent with a history of design collaboration with designer Bruce Kirby, suggested I modifiy the centreboard winching system.  The current system has a cable going forward from the 'board, through a block, running aft to a block which directs the cable  onto a winch nounted on the mizzen tabernacle. Robert's issue is with the winch position, just below the mainsheet tackle.  The new system directs the cable vertically through the deck, through a block directly to the halyard winch.  The only wrinkle is that a compression post is needed to withstand the compression strain.  This evening I bought some dyneema, a halyard exit block and rope clutch. I have the compression post already underway, using a section of a Mirror dinghy boom. See how we go ')  

State requirements only apply to vessels over 5.5m, with >5kw engine, or are usually moored.  None of this applies to Clancy. Yipee !

The rain continues. The fifteenth day in a row of rain with more coming. The worst is that at this time of year (still autumn), nothing dries out.  All the hard surfaces inside feel cold and clammy, the ground outside is boggy and the chicken coup smells to high heavens. Its just plain  miserable.     But I'm feeling great. My daughter is visiting soon and we're off to a concert (US country band - The Red Clay Strays) and hopefully will get time to hang out. There's a home game Friday night and I know when this weather stops I'm going sailing my NIS18 ketch. Hopefully for a few days, just getting lost on the water. I won't care if its rainy once I'm on the water. I'll just hang out reading and drinking coffee until there's a,break in the weather. I'll be seeking out calm anchorages which at this time of year will be free of crowds. Those that do come through the port are likely to be cruising yachts, heading either to Queensland or further afield. Ho...

   In my head for some years I've dwelled over the goal of sailing into Sydney Harbour.    Now I m beginning to sharpen up on the idea. Mainly because the NISs biggest wheel, Robert Ayliffe is sailing the race to Hobart on Boxing Day on his NIS29. This boat is currently at his shed on Adelaide 1500k west of Sydney, undergoing a refit. For the race, she will be named the Bruce Kirby. Bruce designed the NIS boats as well as the Laser dinghy and a few of Canada's America's Cup challengers. He passed fairly recently, and having enjoyed the design and its heavy weather skills, Robert wants to pay a small tribute: by entering a NIS in what many call " the worlds toughest ocean race ". I liked Robert from the first, he's a romantic old guy, loves an F bomb, and who talks about little else than boats, mostly NISs. He makes his income selling plans and supplies and until recent decades, making boats. My boat Clancy was the last boat  Robert built, and he confirmed wit...

1. VJ racing dinghy "Falcon" Dad bought this for us boys to learn go sail, by trial and error. 2. Princess 18 t/s "Princess" The first I bought, sailed hard.  3. Top Hat 25 "Nikita" Fitted her out, moored to resolve solo mast raising block. 4. 10' dinghy  Bought at 12', shortened for use as a dinghy. 5. 8' Inflatable dinghy Cruising tender to Nikita 6. 10' Surf Cat A bit of easy fun post marriage 7. B Line kayak Quick easy afloat during marriage. 8. 14' Maricat catamaran Easy fun, more sailing kudos. 9. 23' Daydream type, "Tramp" Donated bycMark Salter 10. Coleman 18' canoe Fly fishing platform, used in Tax. 11. Hunter 19' t/s "Misty" Took kids sailing.  12. Dinghy 8' "Listy" Tender to Misty 13. Clinker dinghy  Easier to get afloat, first dinghy cruising boat.  14. Melanesia 15' Outrigger Self build, clumsy, but pretty 15. Folkboat 26' Trying to get serious, until separation 16. Tiki...

Sorry to discuss po early in the morning, but I've been dealing with it for hours already and it's my blog. Although the smell of it in the night turns my guts for the next twelve hours, i actually feel sorry for the dog. It's clear when you see it that thec propellant dog has tried hard to hold it in. There's a small patch of liquid shit a blurt. The dog is staying to hold it in but can't, hence the blurt. the disgust on the dog's behalf is exaggerated soon after as the dam wall collapses and what is deposited is perhaps the largest poo that dog will ever do.  This too is surrounded by a poo sauce and unfortunately for the cleaner upper, me, some splatter. An overall ghastly seen and horror smell.  Last night i actually dreamed i was passing on long grass in a forest, i can't recall a stream but it's my dream so there probably was a thinking stream nearby, with trout. I woke from my snooze by a small assaulting my nostrils, i began to sit up smiling wea...

A few thoughts about self interest.  I'll take it to mean prioritising yourself over everyone else, even during heard times.  Yesterday my interest in this subject was piqued by an Irish author. Her nationality is only of relevance because she described her childhood as growing up in a crowded multigenerational house where "conversation was a short". I think rowdy and playful, where winning came second fiddle to having a good explain of the topic at hand. Phew! How rare is that!  Anyway she also described an event when's a close aunty was telling her sisters that she had resigned her job. Immediately the sisters told her she had made a mistake and that she should go back and apologise and hopefully get her old job back. It appeared the sisters were ticked off because their supply of free makeup and perfumes would evaporate. The author highlighted the fact that the sisters were expressing gross self interest, they were not interested in the reasons their sister wanted ...

I know i have no read apart from Russian or Chinese 'bots, if I am to believe my government zombie warning. That's my government zombie, after years of working in public service& even more of being on the receiving end of those"services" i am convinced that the latest versions of public servants are so programmed and controlled that are effectively zombies. Sometimes i call them zombie apparatchics but i suspect they don't even have that much insight.  So, anyway, I'm now using this as a daily log. It will still involve boats as a key element, but now that nobody actually has the attention span or desire to read, i think it's safe to expose myself to the net.  A brief about me and where I'm heading.  * I grew up Catholic, got abused in Catholic schools and even had a classmate suicide. Decades later several of my old teachers were gaoled for paedophilia, but i still find solace in the moral codes and some religious practices. For example, I'd l...

Yesterday your pigheaded author ignored history & towed his Sharpie out to get its trailer inspected. Sometimes called a Blue Slip Inspection (blue form), or AUVIS (unregistered vehicle inspection). The trailer however registered, just not in "The Premier State" (our bureaucrats are bigger wankers than yours).  Anyway, as it turns out all mechanics are busy for a while:- Harken ? 19/5 ( booked) Nelsons Plains 19/5 guy in Bali Gary's 19/5 no parking available Iveco (5 weeks plus) Medowie (15/5 but required trailer without boat to be weighed ... ) I'd like to say there was a positive to emerge from today's circus, but I cannot.  

.This is the login site for the Radio Bureau  NB password is L...   ##? Go well! 

Over recent weeks, especially during all this wet weather, I've been working at achieving my radio licence for VHF & HF.  I hold a licence of over forty years, but this newer one will modernise & refresh any knowledge I still hold.  Today I completed all the required prerequisite studies & booked an examination. The exam will be mostly written, but with a practical component included. All this will be live over Zoom. I've never been on a Zoom call before so this will be an added stress.  Due to rain again today veryvlittle boat work was possible though I did raise the mast under the tarp on the Ness Boat to help it shed Rainwater's.

A tough day on Clancy yesterday due to weather & well just shit. Taking the cover off induced showers. I shipped her 4kg Manson to a cockpit locker & found a warp with a tennis ball hoop. I think its used for setting the anchor from the cockpit, the donut around the anchor rode is then hauled to the bow.  Tidied the stern; refitted rego plate, lashed & locked the outboard, tidied the mizzen traveller system.  Onto the companionway, I fitted a locking latch. Bringing the drill out again induces rain.  After removal from the Ness Boat, I stowed the EPIRB, flares, handheld vhf & v sheet in a handy place. I recently found my unused handheld compass from my old Folkboat, & mounted that below.  Most of today's work is done to satisfy state regs.  I need to set up the washboards for lashing, but she's looking shippy. Its the first time ever, or at least in ages, that I've been contemplating fitting out for solid cruising, perhaps for years. It feels...

Just days back from visiting my darling daughter 450k away, & already I'm planning a return trip. I think its stemming from my desire to escape. Two days ago a Zombie Apparatchik droned at me yo have my boat trailer reinspected for the second time in a month, at great expense. Then last night, neatly a week into his first job, and having showed symptoms of actual maturity, had a meltdown leaving me emotionally fried.  I really should hitch Clancy onto my Subaru & hang out a sign "Gone Sailing" but I know the weather is due to remain wet for days. Put on a raincoat! Yes, quite. 

Western (mis)leaders are apt to criticise political officials from communist nations, but we have our share of government zombies here at home.  I bought my boat (& trailer) from the Australian Capital Territory which is completely landlocked by New South Wales. There is no appreciable border apart from a roadside sign, and people of Queenbeyan, literally an out suburb on NSW land, are allowed to move freely about.  Anyway, I return with the boat & trailer, despite the fact that the trailer is in very good condition, currently registered in ACT & was recently checked over by am ACT motormechanic, my local roads authority have demanded I have its road-worthiness verified by a NSW mechanic. No amount of fact stating swayed our local zombie apparatchiks, they stood, madevup, uniformed & fix stared repeating the mantra associated with this particular policy. So now I must book in with a suitable mechanic, some distance away, pay $90+ (regardless of vehicle type ie:...

I wake at home for the first time in years, perhaps forever with a seaworthy small boat in my possession & my driveway.  It is common, after buying a new boat to feel overwhelmed as you consider what work is ahead. What work is needed to either get the boat ready to sail, & ready to go to sea. But Clancy being very ready   evokes no such feelings or thoughts.  All I need do is to equip her with safety equipment necessary for offshore sailing & put miles on her keel. One thing which will emerge from further sailing & cruising will be self steering & whether I need: a air vane, turntable & tiller lines; a tiller pilot; or a clutch mounted on the tiller. Certainly I will err on the side of simplicity.  Needed gear :  Life raft Sea anchor & warps Gimballed stove Solar cell, larger battery Wide band radio receiver GPS  Mod's to Boat Swinging bracket for nav tablet Tiller clutch Affix storage bin lids "Captain's chair" Seal, attach hat...

This evening Clancy arrives at her new home after a roadtrip of about 700k without a hiccup.  After two sails, give nights aboard and those 700k on the road, I have absolutely no complaints her condition or her design. In effect she is everything  I could want in a bluewater capable pocket cruiser.  There is a god!  Docked for a brew by the Australian Museum, Canberra. 

Tomorrow's Sail. Get fuel from vehicle. Sail for museum to see old boat. Return and go ashore. Modifications Hooks. Are needed on the rear bulkhead for binos, headtorch etc.. Lantern(s). To warm & light the cabin.  Stove. Single burner gimballed. Chandlery Coffee Metho BBQ matches  Lanterns Pillow / inflatable csmping

Initial reaction Presents well loved and excellent condition.  Basic fitout, but roomy and good usable space. Has blue water potential.  No changes needed, just add safety and hours on the helm. May not move ahead with mooring???? history : john attended goolwa to do menial jobs completing the build. Has been shown at goolwa, Melbourne & Sydney wooden boat festivals, cruised pittwater & offshore, Jervis bay, raced burley griffin and Gippsland lakes ( marlay point overnight race). No major issues, broken keen block mount.  Under sail Wow, I felt totally bamboozled. I think it was the twin masts, mast in cockpit and two mains!?  Otherwise she moved well. Enjoys sailing on tilt and easily self steers, even for a novice.  Engine simple air cooled.  currently hanging off finger wharf, lotus bay, lake burley griffin, Canberra.  Trangia coffee, fish & chips from Canberra Yacht Club, = heaven.