Living Contentedly

If I ever write a book this is where it may begin  I have about ten weeks to go before I leave Australian shores and head for Spain to begin the Cinp Francēs.  This particular Camino (path) is the most common route though not everyone walks from St Jean Pied de Port at the French base of the Pyrenees. That distance is just shy of 900 kilometres so I'm not getting ahead of myself. Many pilgrims, religious walkers, will begin closer to Santiago de Compostela or take a bike, taxi or bus at times. Some will die too. Others will just hook a left and exit.  So why walk? This evolves and depending on my thinking, varies around a central theme. My first awareness of the idea of pilgrimage was piqued in early primary when I learned of people with illness or disease making their way to Fatima  or  Lourdes to be receive a blessing and potentially healed. I vaguely recall images of people being physically assisted to attend a holy grotto. An arduous journey to ...

For some days meteorologists have basically been predicting Marine Mayhem for this week. They are referring to the event as a "Bomb Cyclone". The Bomb sounded a bit hysterical, but it seems accurate as it describes the formation of a drop of more than 15 millibars as an intense Low Pressure System, or Cyclone, forms in less than 24hrs. Bomb is a short version of Bombogenesis, the process described above. The BC forming off the NSW coast will drop 25 points and effect waters from Qld, the whole NSW coast as well as eastern Victoria. Swell mapping. The system is south moving. For sailors, that can mean 125kph (60 knot) winds and seas from 7-10m. Gust may exceed this forecast. And for vessels seeking shelter in river ports like  Newcastle, Port Stephens, Forster, Yamba, Ballina and Tweed, there is a risk of flooding.  My question is whether the average sailors relying on the more basic weather forecasting methods, or indeed their crossing from New Zealand, Lord How...

Kicked off cancelling my shopping cart with an acrylic dome. I baulked at the $140 postage slug. But you know, there could be $60+ in tolls plus $40 in fuel plus vehicle wear & tear. I might still buy it.  Junking my Tiki. Well its a decision I don't regret. While towing the starboard hull the bow broke out of it, so as i suspected the hull integrity is dodgy. I could sell it, but someone might drown! But, its not burning well and its still tough watching a dream (and money spent) smoulder away in a paddock. On the plus side, the yard space is better, I don't have to feel guilt every time I see it and I set out this morning getting set to "move on", and I've certainly begun that.  Get gas bottle refilled. Whenever I take it to the "service station" the old do am anxious sidestep acringvreally prickly. Today was no exception, I thought once I'd paid for it they'd be locked in. But no, "come back tomorrow [somebody that's not me] will ...

Funny how persistent fear becomes. In mindful moments it is easily dealt with by application of logic and reasoning. But in the depth of night when the mindful mind is at rest the shadow visits and tries to gain a foothold.  In The Mission Walker , which I completed reading this morning, the author describes how fear is overcome by movement .  We just need to keep moving towards our goal, small steps, faltering steps, hesitating steps, we merely need to keep walking. One more hour, one more day, whatever. Late in the deal, despite injury, exhaustion or another obstacle on the path, you become fearless. Not wreckless, but fearless. You lnpw, you have confidence that you can beat the fear. Then you become your own hero, the best you can be.   

Its unusual to have "visitors" at my place. The driveway is hidden from the road and is in really poor condition, definitely not accessible for 2WD or low vehicles. So this morning I was surprised to have two visitors to claimed to be "from the police". They said they wanted a fellow seen looking around on a nearby property & showed me a CCTV image.  I told them I'd seen nothing, so they encouraged me to look out.  Not until after they left did I twig: I've never heard of plain clothes detectives looking for people that loiter, especially on rural properties, & one of the detectives was Asian. They sounded pretty motivated to nab this fellow. I could be wrong, but I believe he may be a suspect, or Person Of Interest in the disappearance of a local (Asian) resident.   I had new hiking boots, a desire to make at least some effort to look for May & a curiosity about this fellow, so I grabbed my best dog, walking pole & boots, & camel back, y...

So there I was yesterday afternoon, yes we'd had a boisterous sail earlier, but a reef had served is well. Then the wind eased, tied to this little wharf, not a care on the world.  But just after dinner suspicious gusts kept hitting from our port quarter. The forecast told of a ninety degree windshift and strong winds persisting for three days. So we loaded up on the dark on the lee of barge near the boatramp.We did well two get away unscathed. Overnight the wind increased. Its sunny, but cold and blustery. I get to the boat early and put her heavy cover on just in case. At 1300 I was surprosed to see that the wind had forced the parked boat to move. Here she is, normally facing the camera, the wind gusts have pushed her bow a good twelve feet to the right. Glad I'm not still moored by the wharf.  

Honesty, the weather was lousy! A man finally gets out sailing, launched in pissing rain pulled out in the dark to avoid three days of strong winds which were already building.  Sailed around Wangi Wangi a place where my brothers and I had our first long sail in a VJ dinghy. Off the wind with full sail was pretty boistrous but felt solid. Hard on the wind coming back, she was stiff and fast, so needed a reef. First time reefing was easy with good results, and no need to go forward.  On the way home I witnessed a road fatality, a B double striking a pedestrian on a highway.  Possibly a road worker, in the dark, not paying attention?   Regardless of what happened  it was shocking, very sad, &  humbling to see a recently live person laying on the road covered with a blanket.  these guys liked Clancy, I think.

I love cats, my cats especially, but I know my 18' would be overloaded with them & the three dogs. Sorry sootie & pat, you'll have your days. So, with three dogs aboard the selection of a launch ramp is made difficult.  Parameters : No national parks.(n) Avoid built up shorelines (b) Avoid heavy foot traffic (f) Plus: The usual needs of the hull, re depth & slope of the ramp (t) Forecast winds, W-SE (w) Finger wharf for loading (l)   Possibles: (being inclusive X Tocal  = n, b, f,  X Morpeth = n. , b, f, w X Tea Gardens = t, w, l X  Marmong = n t w  √ Catalina = n b f t w l

Just prior to the weekend I considered fitting a battery isolator & a solar power controller.  On Saturday I fitted both. I had wanted to fit an Andreson plug for the PV cell, but the plug was too large, or the wires for the PV cell, too small. Anyway, I was happy not the little 10 watt PV cell would feed the battery & that when I was away from the boat, the battery would be inoperative.  Now I can go cruising. But my daughter was visiting until this afternoon. Tomorrow, I hope to sneak out on the water very soon. 

For lots of people the movie " The Way " either opened their eyes PR tur.ed them on to walking The Way. Camino, is I understand Spanish for "the way". There are stacks of caminos many leading to the city of Santiago de Compostela in north western Spain.  This is where the remains of Saint James, or Sant Iago, lie.  Other caminos across the world are set on ground made sacred by Jesus, Mary or Amy other saints. I first heard of the concept of pilgrimage as a catholic kid, when Lourdes was mentioned. I learned that Catholics, especially those with illnesses or special need, travelled to the place where am image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared nearly two hundred years ago. There was said to be a grotto there, and being a kid I thought it soundied very special and cool.  Of course Lourdes came up a lot over the years whether in church or religious studies, and the fascination never really waned. I guess, for one thing it was a real place on earth that held links to ...

Woth new boots and three dogs on leads,  i walked 8k over two hours. From re. park at  Paterson to the big chicken farm on Webbers Creek Road. The boots felt great. My left knee developed a twinge if i walked on the right side of the road. I also realised i over pronate, I think that means the outside of my feet hit first, and my foot rolls onwards as the weight settles. Im not sure what that means.  ... 

Today I headed to my least favorite outdoors chain store to getao.ideas on boot sizes  I did try some salomons but they were too narrow for my feet. Even standard the merrels were no good, but the wide merrels were just right.  I was happy   that   I had gone to that shop to try on some real shoes in the real world. I had been considering how ," the merrels I have are too tight  So if i add a size I'll be good".  B ut no no no! In the store I followed the recipe broadcast by Nancy on " You   on the camino" podcast ;  buy wool blend hiking socks, try on shoes, with laces lose tap your toes and check there is a finger width space behind the heel, lace up with light but even pressure.  Doing it properly I ended up buying 1.5 oversize. Also, I reconfirmed that I did need a "wide" sizing. I had effectively saved myself from buying another unsuitable pair of boots and had bought boots that felt " just right" on.  Even now, air tick...

 So, my last attempt to get an inspection done on Clancy's trailer, ended as we got floodwater and had to turn back. I made a courtesy call to the mechanics office and was advised that they'd gone cold on the idea. As they were probably at risk of their own flooding risk at the time to i can kind of understand. I had my own cleanup, applying 4t of blue metal to my driveway to replace what was washed away. I can report that it worked fine, with no scraping or the threatening gutters. Woop! So today i went to see Old Mate; "i used to do them but they asked me to retain at great expense". He has a mate that does them and the mate aged to do the inspection today but remotely. Fast forward, to the gov process and i purposefully avoided acknowledging the price gouging BS and grabbed the new rego plate and danced away.  I shouted myself a bachelor bag ( bbq chicken), coleslaw and fresh wholemeal rolls. For all the fancy coming the world offers, for a hungry sailor nothing be...

* The completed galley box was introduced to Clancy this afternoon. The vertical clearance is a big of an issue, but its workable. * Tidied VHF wiring. * Hinged the centreboard cover. This fixes it in place against my concern for losing tools or other stuff down the chute.  Coming up:  1. fix Captains Chair in place.  2. get the trailer registered. Following the storm I ordered 4 tonnes of gravel and have been repairing the driveway. Woohoo.  3. Go cruising and try things out on the water.  Big Adventure Ahead On Thursday this week I bought a return air ticket to Madrid, Spain. I plan to walk the Camino. de Santiago , 850k over about 8 weeks Everything I've read indicates that walking the Camino Frances opens up new possibility for big adventures as personal confidence soars.  Returning mid-November, late spring I hope to get onto cruising, culminating in a send off sail to Sydney to watch the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. If all goes to plan, a larger Norwa...

A 30 day trial of a warm from Victoria is coming go a close and here is what the prosecution has put before the jury. Death Cap mushrooms were foraged in the months before. Phone tracking shows the Accused in areas where the location of DC mushrooms was posted on Facebook just days before.  Acc. prepared separate pies I'm place of one large pie, as the dish is commonly served. Separate servings allowed the Acc. to have four pies with poison, one without. The Acc. swapped SIM cards and done various factory resets on various phones that Prosecutor says were used to research the sourcing and lethal use of the DCMs. The Defence has denied this, though has admitted some foraging took place. Though there is no evidence of general foraging other than these occasions. Its alleged the DC mushrooms were dried in powder form, to secrete their presence in meals provided to the victims. Further that  Defence denies this. P has footage of Accused dumping the food dehydratorin days after....

I am not sure if it was the excitement about signing up for Spain, the sunshine or just being reckless and wanting to run with the dogs. But about midday I chucked my swimmers in the wagon and gathered the muts for a dip in the sea.  Boat Harbour, normally very calm, was almost storm tossed. Although the sky was clear blue and sunny, albeit quite cool and a keen southerly blowing, the cove was filled with swell.  Thankfully the beach was pretty clear of people and other dogs. We had a lovely walk, Brandi found a red ball, so immediately the dogs were shooting off competing at the hunt. It was perfectly what I'd hoped. All our home balls were shredded, so to have a ball to play with was really cool.  After I exhausted the dogs a little, a put my swimmers on and hit the water. Brandi showed some interest and had to be turned back when she got too far out. I then timidly got deeper as the waves tinkled about my ears spraying me with a cold shower as they passed. Then, a snor...

12/6/2025:  I booked retwirn flights with British Airways to Madrid!  Mid September I will bus to St Jean de Pied de Port to begin walking as a pilgrim along the Camino Frances 890k to Santiago de Compostela. I've wanted to do this since I first learned about the culture of Camino; pilgrim meals, comraderie, shared dorms, bathing and kitchen areas, history, spirituality and beautiful scenery. Essentially, everything that modern life is not, except for modole phones. Phones area common concession to maintain links with friends back home and travel companies.  Eight weeks of the simple life.  

This morning, the brightest most beautiful day this winter of only two weeks, I checked in with Sven Yrvind. Nearly every day on Utoob he posts the progress on his small boat build in Sweden. After each post, he narrates the story of building Bris 20' x 5' in the basement of his mother's home  before sailing around Cape Horn. Sven offers me much more than heroic tales, he offers his logic on the supremacy of small boats. His early life, beset by (undiagnosed) dyslexia, labelling as stupid by teachers and bullied in the military services, allowed him to develop an iron clad logic and unique individualism. Although aged 86 years and having sailed more sea miles than most, he still has detractors, but his iron will prevails, as does his faith in small boats.  This is Bris , built under his mother's home I'm Sweden and later sailed atoimd the Horn. 20', unstayed rig, not unlike Clancy.  More recently a Frenchman, Yann Quenet in the radically different 4m...

I heard some type of  technologies professor talking on the radio. ( I always listen to a non-commercial ABC station.) Prof explained that even though we think "they" want us to see their ads while we're on our phones, what they really eamt is our  screen time.      They (ie: phone designers, marketers and sellers) are no longer happy with just our money, they want our minds!   Why do you think they build on all those hook? Funny animal videos, random snippets of our favorite topics etc.? Its as though, they see us drifting off interest and will toss in something on topic to drag is back in.     But that's only part of it. What's the first thing you see now when you search G00gle? Yes, that's right an AI offering. So very quickly people soak that up as gospel truth even though its often wrong. I searched for information about "The May '74 Storm" that many older Novocastrians will remember. AI suggested that "600 people died .... and 600 ship...

8 Jun '25:  As the crisp winters morning  snaps at our heels I throw a  new winter jacket on the puppy. She goes stiff, semi-paralyzed and loses her all her animation and exuberance. A normally bouncy to the point of being annoying young dog has been rendered immovable. Like giving a child Ritalin I suppose.  Despite the strong winds and bighting chill, I plan to continie witj Clamcy's little refit; sanding back the old radio hutch, rehanging the VHF in its new bracket.  From there I hope to ponder further, his I might install a seat to be used underway, at sea. Last night I watched a Japanese woman camp surfing ftom her tiny van. It was literally packed with appliances (electric water pump, led festoon lights, movie projector amf screen, rice cooker and waffle maker to name a few.  One thing that caught my eye was a mattress/seat. It laid flat and folded up to make a reclining seat. It then folded in half for storage. Could this be something I could use? -...

* Today I plugged the old VHF radio hole in the main bulkhead.  * I then shaped a plywood bracket to hang that radio just by companionway.  * I have an idea to make a simple " sea seat " to port below the hatch. Just a hinged plywood backrest. This will offer storage behind (eg. lifejacket, harness, oilskins), as well as below (eg. 5l water jugs). * Early on I progressed by Online Day Skipper studies by completing the Anchoring study unit.  Feeling good about leaving Clancy unregistered ie: not necessary due to short length and is not being moored. 

I Loan Mia Money to Buy Her First Home To fifteen to make one eighty.  I feel lighter, freer, more carefree. What a brilliant idea. Mia's happy, I'm happy, the only loser is the bank that she would have borrowed the full amount from.  Bliss.  Day Skipper Course Moved into this course. First few topics; ropes, knots, mooring, parts of a boat, docking under power. These were easily skipped through, however ahead I see Navigation exercises including; tides, magnetic variation &  deviation, route planning, and more.  Enjoyable. Application for MMSI Undertook this just now. I needed my licence to begin this process.  I did find the website initially very confusing. Persistence pays. I needed to remove the VHF radio to discover its serial number. I will mount it below & fill the hole in the bulkhead. 

What's my quirkiest? Keeping Clancy unregistered &:-    - sailing offshore.    - avoiding annual fees.    - below authority's radar. Being stealthy, keeping her hidden in the bush then hitting out for long targeted cruises. Randomly showing up in different cruising grounds. 

Isn't it just a sign of the times that a two year old log in for government services has been completely overhauled. The old mygov, which was a pita to get set up and required a unique pass code each time you logged on, to complete a tax return or some such thing, was pretty onerous. If like to say it for easier with familiarity, but no.  Then i get pushed into a completely new system. Can it use my old log in info? Not on your Nelly! Re-enter drivers licence "deets" and passport " deets". That's not enough, a photo ... then a unique one time pass code. After jumping all these hoops, the site is entered but it's a needle in a haystack search for the taxation department. I find it, but am redirected to Centrelink, the social welfare department. What! My browser needs updating. I cant select to go ahead, no options, just a piss off and update message.  Three quarters of a frustrating hour later, the government has a photo of me and duplicate deets, and i h...