I’m just about over online events… I’m craving reality. I’m done with “virtual” for the moment…. However, If you’re going to have an online event you might as well do it properly.

We just said to family and friends, that we would contact them in about a month when we arrived. “We'll see you when we see you”.

“We’re totally thrilled to have the participation of our Australian mates, but there are ethical protocols within the field of archaeology that everyone should respect.”

The Kettering Wooden Boat Rally 2022 – if you didn’t happen to make it, here’s what you missed. Welcome to a place where you can smell the wood shavings. Here varnish is thick, history alive and passion is real. Old boats are and always have been, a way of life in Tasmania. Old boats don’t come to Kettering to die, they come here to thrive.

A Photographic Essay-450NM, five friends, a 66 year old boat, a home made tender, a double rip swimmer, a mainsail with 12,000NM on the clock…(time for a new one!)

“She was a beautiful boat, and what made it good for my wife Rhona and me was that we were the first to fish at Sandy Cape with a decent boat. We learnt to catch crayfish there before they ever knew there were crayfish off the continental shelf.”

Despite most major sports events being cancelled in New Zealand, the Mahurangi Classic Yacht Regatta took place on Saturday in picturesque Mahurangi Harbour - about two hours sail north of Auckland.

For the next year I was a bit aimless and couldn’t help thinking about how I missed sailing. As a mental health professional I know the importance of having activity, hobbies, time outside, exercise, and human connection.

The vessel has long held a place in the imagination of Shute fans who embarked on a search for the yacht several years ago, tracking it down to a harbour in Newcastle where its owner lived on board with his parrot.

With the 100th Australian 18 footers Championship scheduled to be sailed on Sydney Harbour from February 5 to 13, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on its history and acknowledge the contributions of designers, builders and competitors from NSW, Queensland and Western Australia since the first event at Perth in 1912

Three well known books came across my desk this week, rescued from years of likely abandonment on an Op Shop shelf. They are all acknowledged as historical classics in the Sailing genre, but it’s interesting to see how much of the content remains relevant today and how much becomes just quaint outdated anecdotes.

Maritime experts are convinced they have confirmed the final resting place of Captain James Cook's ship, Endeavour, after 22 years of searching.

This day was different. There was a current tsunami warning

as a result of the enormous volcanic explosion and eruption in Tonga.

People were advised to keep clear of the shoreline and be aware that

there could be strong currents and unexpected eddies.

In 1941, the ashes of a master mariner from Massachusetts were scattered at sea over the shipwreck of his schooner in Port Phillip Bay. The site is the mile wide reef extending off Point Cook just 7NM from Williamstown. He had sailed from Cape Cod to Sydney arriving in 1938.

It seems to me that wooden boat owners, perhaps more than others seem to understand that rushing is not always good, and that good preparation provides rewards that aren’t available to those who stick to the shiny marinas springing up around our coasts.

“If you love and cherish her you can learn to draw sweet melodies from her and she will carry you through all the scale (Beaufort scale) of gales and calms, for she is based on well proven principles”

The Ocean Cruising Club exists to encourage long-distance sailing in small boats. A Full Member of the OCC must have completed a qualifying voyage of a non-stop port-to-port ocean passage, where the distance between the two ports is not less than 1,000 nautical miles.

Sailing the southern Pacific Ocean in 1769, two of history’s greatest navigators drafted a remarkable map. One was the British explorer Captain James Cook. The other was Tupaia, an aristocratic high priest from the island of Ra'iātea, who had joined Cook’s expedition in Tahiti.

The ARGUS began taking on water. Seeing our strife, a neighbouring vessel, also crossing Lake Alexandrina, homeward bound,  began following, collecting our cargo, just as quickly as it was being jettisoned.

For generations teak has been the gold standard for boat decks. But mounting concerns about the over-harvest of old-growth forests and advances in recyclable synthetic alternatives have given today’s boat buyers legitimate options and plenty to think about.