Looking for the weather windows along the coast

Those photos in the previous post surely turned out weird.  If Phil and Chris take me somewhere with a good internet connection perhaps I can fix them.  Today I won't try to deal with photos...just a little update.

Two Rocks was an enjoyable stop, but we had a little window of sailing weather so we departed Two Rocks on Friday morning and had a fairly uncomfortable sail up to Lancelin.  We anchored just behind the little island at Lancelin for the night and it was so rolly we were happy to depart early Saturday and sail north.  We arrived in the little marina at Jurien Bay in the late afternoon on Saturday...just in time to catch a lift into the pub for dinner with our friends from Tigress Too.

Sunday was sunny and very pleasant...the calm before the storm and we got a number of jobs done on the boat before the winds and rain arrived that night.  Monday was a rainy day but we intrepid yachties walked into town for fish and chips and a couple of errands.  Today, Tuesday, the weather was sunny and warm again, so we'll head out and continue north again tomorrow.  We plan to make the approximately 260 mile sail up to Steep Point.  Sadly, we'll miss catching some fish at the Abrolhos Islands, but we've been told to throw a lure in the water north of Geraldton.  Hopefully in my next post I can sort out the photography problems AND post a photo of a recently landed fish.  Talk to you later...Buster.

Underway...cruising begins

The months of preparations finally culminated in a quiet departure from Fremantle Sailing Club on Sunday afternoon and a leisurely motor sail up to Hillarys Marina.  We took a few photos for the archives and started to work out some of the new electronic goodies on board. 

 

We took turns at the wheel before engaging our autopilot which we had to learn how to do through the new plotter at the helm.

Wonder when we'll see this landmark again??

Phil has made a Lumberjack cake already which we enjoyed with our cruising buddies aboard Tigress Too.

We spent a couple of nights enjoying the hospitality of Hillarys Yacht Club, where they have great views and good happy hour prices in the club bar.

Tuesday morning the weather was perfect for a sail.  We departed HYC and sailed up to Two Rocks Marina in perfect conditions.  Once again the crews of Basanti and Tigress Too explored the little town for a couple of days while we wait for the weather to take us north.  Boat jobs keep us busy for part of the days, walks and reading occupy a bit more and we've enjoyed happy hours, cards and a few meals with our friends from Tigress Too.

Note:  I'm having some problems with the photo uploads and will check again (another day) to see if they are here.  Be patient...Buster is out of practice.

Preparations for our next adventure

Hello again!  Phil and Chris have been keen for me to do some work on the blog, but life has been very busy and chaotic lately.  New cruising equipment has been added to Basanti, the boat has been out of the water for new bottom paint and a few thru hull fittings and things were really stressful for a while.

Chris painted the propeller and polished the hull.

Phil doing some wiring for our wind generator.

Lots and lots of work has been done on the boat, the crew are all fairly exhausted and ready to sail away.  Last week the weather was terrible...not at all suitable for cruising, so we had a few extra days to do some last minute jobs and shopping.  We still probably don't have everything, but Basanti is full.  Today we have a break in the weather and plan to sail up to another marina north of the city for tonight.

We hope to ease ourselves into the cruising lifestyle with some daysails up the coast, but the weather has to cooperate and we'll try and let everyone know where we are when we can get internet.

Ready or not...here we go.

LIfe in Fremantle

Just thought we'd check in...

I've managed to escape the polishing by promising to update the blog.  I also thought that if I sat close to the bar, someone would take pity on a poor and dirty bear and provide alcoholic beverage.  No luck thus far.

Perth has such terrific weather.  I mentioned this in our previous post, but every day is so pleasant here.  Obviously if you are a plant, you'd be best adapted to longish periods of drought, but the sun just keeps on shining.  Yesterday we went to Dwellingup to find a few more things in the shed and give the young fruit trees a drink.  It hasn't rained since we've been home, just over a month now.

Speaking of plants, Chris is attempting to garden on Basanti.  Not the Bonsai this time, he is being well looked after by Phil's mum.  We now have basil, corriander, dill and parsley growing, and the basil is doing so well that it is a frequent addition to our meals.  Perhaps she should try something really useful, like grapes or sugar cane.

We are still all in a state of shock at Perth prices.  A couple of friends from Melbourne visited this week, and they too commented on how expensive everything is here.  Much to my chagrin, Chris and Phil are limiting my red wine consumption...citing not only a few embarassing incidents with a tipsy bear, but the cost of my favourite vice as well.  Gone are the good old days...

We have spent a couple of weeks over at Rottnest Island which is just brilliant.  Crystal clear water, lots of sun (of course) and some like minded friends made for interesting morning teas, animated happy hours and some intense card games late into the evenings.  We are really happy to be back on our boat.  Thought I had some photos but they seem to be currently unavailable...will have to add them at a later time.

I was going to finish off this post with some examples of Perth prices for things, but maybe I should compile a better list...or maybe I just shouldn't.  Don't want to discourage visitors...

Return to Fremantle

By this time you probably know that we made our way back to Fremantle on January 11.

What an epic adventure we've had in the US and a little bit of Canada thrown in as well.  We drove 34,000 miles through 38 states and 2 provinces and I am so glad we posted this blog if for no other reason than having an ongoing pictoral record of our many activities.

Since our previous post in December, we spent Christmas with friends and family in Florida.  Next we drove up to Annapolis, Maryland and stayed in our friend's beach house which was a real treat.  We celebrated the New Year with family and friends there and then headed back to Culpeper, Virginia.

Our last week in Culpeper was hectic.  We were trying to sell our lovely RV, phone or visit people for last minute catch ups and pack all our things for the flights home.  Where did all that stuff come from??!   When we were packed up and ready to fly home in June 2012, our four checked bags were all under 50 lbs each (50 lbs or 23 kg is the limit).  This time we had two additional bags and when we first weighed them all, several needed lightening.  Believe it or not, we even left quite a bit of stuff behind, kindly being stored by Pat.  There seemed to be some questions regarding me!  Was I even going to be included in the trip home??  Eventually they stuffed me into my little bag with some cutlery and odd items and honestly, I guess I was kind of relieved.  Uncomfortable as hell, but relieved.

At Dulles airport, we loaded our 6 bags totalling 300 lbs (138 kg) of checked baggage onto the scale at the Emirates check in.  Chris explained to the ticketing agent that we had some difficulty choosing our seats (economy) on the website.  When we were through with all the formalities, and she handed our boarding passes to us, she'd upgraded Phil and Chris to Business Class for the flight from Washington DC to Dubai.  Thirteen hours of pure bliss...pass the Moet please. 

We arrived at Perth airport and artfully arranged all those bags in the small rental car and then drove to our boat, Basanti.  Good to be home...really nice in fact.  Fremantle is blessed with awesome weather...hot, sunny and dry and we are lapping it up.  We've caught up with so many friends and family.  We spent a couple of days with family near Busselton and we've sailed over to Rottnest Island for week.

Basanti was surprisingly clean and tidy but needs some TLC.  Already we've spent hours polishing stainless steel, varnishing, cleaning out storage lockers and polishing the deck and topsides, but now she is looking sharp and when she gets her new dodger and mainsail cover fitted she'll glow.  We'll keep you all up to date on our plans and our next adventure.

It has taken me a while to recover from my remarkably uncomfortable flights home.  I seemed to have a fork digging into my thigh most of the time and someones huge Samsonite settled on my neck there in the baggage section.  Glad Phil and Chris enjoyed their fully reclining seats, pillows and mattresses for 13 hours.  I have a few more posts from our last travels along the east coast of the US, and if they ever stop using me to polish the boat, I'll get those done.

Merry Christmas

We wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas!  We hope Santa is good to everyone, and cherish the time you get to spend with your loved ones.

Boston

Boston was a great town to visit.  We took the train into the city, leaving the van out at the train station.  The city is very tourist friendly.  There is a red brick path to follow through town, which takes you near all the historical sights.

We stopped at the location of the Boston Massacre.

We liked this shirt with Franklin's quote "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy".

The Union Oyster House opened in 1826...the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the US.

The Bell in Hand Tavern was established in 1795, making it one of the oldest pubs in the US.  This one was closed during prohibition.

 

There are a number of these swinging bridges in Boston.  We walked across a couple of them but didn't find one that turns.

The USS Constitution is part of a maritime museum here.

 This WWII Destroyer is part of the museum too, located in the dry dock.  This is the first dry dock built in New England, completed in 1833 and a significant piece of US history.

  Note how narrow the Destroyer is!  No weird camera tricks were used for this photo...the boat is really skinny.

 Atop Bunker Hill is this monument reminiscent of the Washington Monument. This is a bit smaller, and simply known as the Bunker Hill Monument, commemorating the first major military confrontation of the Revolutionary War in 1775.

 After following the walking trail for a few hours it was time for lunch.  We checked out the Barking Crab, suggested in the Lonely Planet guide book.

The Lonely Planet also indicated that this bakery was worth a stop...here is Phil trying to pick a delicacy.

 Water, water, water...as we drove out of town we were lucky to capture this image of teh harbour at sunset.

 

 

These last two photos aren't from Boston, but weren't far from the city.  We visited a cranberry bog, and this was shortly before Thanksgiving, making it a seasonal visit.

 Near the bog were these geese.  We think they were too far north and if I was a goose I'd be somewhere a lot warmer.