Mr Cool.

Could anyone be more relaxed than Mr. Tsoukaris?

The reason I'm saying this, is because, we have finally dropped anchor. It went completely without incident. PURELY because Mr. T was on board, guiding us, r e l a x i n g us, and generally being support team numero uno.

We are getting set to welcome in the new year. We have a brilliant vantage point from here in Double Bay, and are excited about tomorrow night.

Today however is a family affair - Dan has been coming and going with his mate Jake, Alex and Phoebe have just arrived for a couple of nights, and so Cooks and Roo are in HEAVEN with their big brothers on board.

Will take lots of pics tomorrow evening, and hopefully at least one will work out..... x


Double Bay


Xave checking the weather


Alex


Alex, Phoebe & Cooks

Mermaids

Everyone loves mermaids. No?

We definately do, so when visiting a local attraction recently, we gleefully noticed a 'mermaid appearance' about to begin.
Thrilled, we rushed with eager anticipation to the performance pool for some cool mermaid action.

Is it even possible to get a mermaid wrong?

Unfortunately, YES.

very, very, wrong....

There were 2 mermaids making an appearance that day. One was, to be fair, quite lovely - smiling prettily, swimming prettily, wet hair falling prettily. It was the other one who concerned me.... she firstly, spent most of her time flailing about on the surface of the pool, sticking her bum in the air trying to imitate a (mermaid?). It didn't work. Her tail was so full of air, that she couldn't submerge & each time she lifted her head out of the water, her face was covered with her sodden hair. Seriously, it was pretty funny. She also had the most enormous boobs which did NOT fit into her bikini top. Now, I can appreciate a great set of boobs as much as the next bloke, but has anyone ever seen a mermaid with tan marks? I think NOT - the falling out bits were flouro white and positively glowing.

So, back to the 'appearance'. One might assume that they would do a bit of a swim routine. Maybe dive into the pool at opposite ends, swim under water for a bit, then reappear together in the middle to perch on a rock, sing a luring song or the like.....that would be a fair assumption wouldn't it? Well, they swam a bit, for about 30 seconds, separately, then the 'host' asked if anyone had any questions. At this point, Xave (whose eyes I might say were glued to the mermaids) pipes up and asks the host to ask the mermaids where they'll be on New Years Eve? Classy. Every dad in the audience snickered, obviously thinking the same thoughts.... Xave then proceeded to practically harass Roo to ask exceptionally intelligent questions for a 5 year old in the hope of getting the girls to notice the clever kid's dad again...

Pathetic. And Roo didn't play the game anyway.

The worst bit (for Xave) tho' was realising after the appearance had finished, that there was an underwater viewing area.
Never mind dear. Next time.

um, where's the boat?

Yep. not kidding.

After spending the day off the boat today, we returned to the marina at 5 ish.

We parked the car.

We looked out towards the boat.

Xave: UM, AL, WHERE'S THE BOAT?

Panicked, we scanned the horizon to find Awaitea had dragged her mooring about 50 metres to the right, and was drifting dangerously close to another yacht. Xave high tailed it down to the water, whilst I kept the kids busy and out of the way. Thankfully a quick witted bloke from a neighbouring yacht had already called the water police who arrived just prior to Xave & the qw bloke who had offered to help.

The WP towed us back to our original spot where we picked up an alternative buoy.

Note. The wind was blowing like CRAZY from the west today. Apparently there were some serious gusts which were evidently strong enough to take Awaitea & her mooring (which is attached by rope & chain to a concrete block lodged in the mud!) on a bit of a joy ride. Joyous.

Alls well that ends well tho'. Just a bit of drama to keep us on our toes.

The wind has died down now and poses no serious threat, so hopefully we WILL be able to sleep tonight.

Hopefully.

'tis the season

.....to get on a party boat on Sydney Harbour apparently.

We must be moored on the party boat route. Increasingly our nights are spiked with the sounds of work Christmas parties.

Last night was no exception......

Last night we were treated to all sorts of tunes including:

Zorba
Jacko
Barnesy.

One catamaran hosted 15 big blokes (who were at the inebriated point of yelling rather than talking) huddled on the front left hull (that'll be the port bow) - the skipper was perched on the back right (trying to balance the vessel?) and looked like he was having the time of his life. Zorba rang out from that boat... I LOVE Zorba.

Michael Jackson glided past singing about not stopping 'til you get enough and that particular boat bounced. It was a massive thing, strung up with fairy lights, with a top deck crowded with 'talkers' whilst the inside bore the sweaty bouncers. That one looked FUN.

and then Barnesy. Good ol' Barnesy - the Barnsey whose songs fell out of the Aussie pubs in London, or the backpackers in Bangkok with the anthem Khe Sanh. That was a medium sized boat, with purple lighs, and carried - I imagine - a hundred or so 40 somethings being transported back to London or Bangkok and their early 20's. They knew all the words.

That was 3 of many who rock & rolled past us last night. It's festive. I love it.... and sends me on a trip down memory lane. I wonder what the boats will have in store for us tonight....

excuse me, oops, hang on, sorry, MOVE!

The war cry of our boat.

We are home. 3 weeks away is apparently enough to make oneself have to re-develop a tolerance to the rolling of the boat. Last night I felt quite sick, but today I'm fine. (don't think it had anything to do with the g & t's but I may be wrong...)

We also have to readjust to the lack of space. Hence last night's war cry, and Roo has to readjust to being on the top bunk - he fell out of the bed for the first time last night. This morning he thinks I'm a liar - 'no I didn't' (said with much dude 'tude).

The boat has survived our absence with only a handful of leaks - Xave is beginning the onerous task of finding out why and from where. The spiders have made good use of our absence, apparently spinning webs like maniacs and making new homes in all the nooks and crannies.

I'm scared to move things.

It used to do my head in, wondering how on earth our boat could keep filling up with these 8 legged creatures, until someone told me that the incy wincy little spider babies, clinging to their webs for dear life, fly through the air on gusts of wind and get caught on the stays.. . Beauty. Thrilled with that.

Below are a handful of recent pics.



The beautiful harbour at Nelson Bay.


Looking out over Port Stephens.


Cookie's spider pet (collected from my neck thankyou very much).


Roo at Wellington Point, Brisbane.


All the QLD cousins at Wellington Point.

Boob Tubes.

(40 year old women who have big boobs and have breast fed 2 children should NOT wear boob tubes.)

yeah, sorry about that Xave...

Bloggerblock. .

Well, it's been a while.

This unintentional hiatus, is the result of a few weeks off the boat.

Since being in Sydney, we've spent more time OFF the boat than on it. Not because we're over it, on the contrary, we really miss the old girl, it's just that we've had a few land lubbing things to attend to.

We're also currently having a quick trip up to Brissy (by car - 'quick' and 'trip' with regards to our sailboat is an oxymoron), and are going to scope out a couple of ports & anchorages on the way back down to Sydney... get our bearings, check out the sandbars, entrances, etc... just to get our heads around what we might be in for next year...

Christmas is frighteningly close, so we'll have to lash a lit twig to the mast somehow, fling a bit of tinsel round the joint, upload a very funky Christmas to the music system and [hopefully] it will make up for at least a skerrick of missed family..

We have been spending a lot of time whilst in Brissy in deep water pools, and I'm very relieved to say, that finally Roo can hold his own in the deep water. Thank God. Cooks is also the proud owner of a good old pair of floaties, which seem to out perform any fandangle new buoyancy thingo that is on the market now. Go the Floaties.

The next two weeks we will be getting Awaitea ready for my Mum and Dad to visit, completing the shade structures, and fixing a nagging battery problem. Just the usual suspects.

Can't wait to get back on Awaitea next week, and for the hilarity of our lives to recommence.

Look out. x

'Anchorphobic'.

Hello, my name is Al and I am anchorphobe.

We have never dropped Awaitea's anchor.

For this reason our overnight destinations are very limited in this harbour, with only a few pinkies* available to pick up. I was soon to discover that all my ugly traits would rear their heads again whilst attempting to anchor -

swearing
panic
yelling
panic

(not to mention the look of complete and total fear).

You see, the last time we anchored was on a 31 ft fibreglass charter boat in the Whitsundays.The first few times I convinced myself that we were still moving whilst at anchor, and obsessed about watching the distances between other yachts and ourselves -

(all night).

We got it in the end, and ended up sleeping (a bit), but a 31ft glassy is a LOT lighter than a 50ft steely.

But that is what we own, and we NEED to be confident anchorers. So, with our sailor savy friends on board last Sunday, we were (rightly) told to suck it up and give it a go! Which we did.

On Sydney Harbour.

On a Sunday.

The busiest bloody boating day of the week.

And at a very crowded spot beneath the zoo.

It all happened so quickly, Nick said 'righto', xave flicked the switch, and suddenly the anchorage was filled with the sounds of an almighty PIGGERY!!! The anchor gear hadn't been used for such a long time that it squealed excruciatingly loudly. We don't know how much chain we let out as our chain is new and we haven't marked the metres yet. Anyway, I was told to take the helm whilst Xave and Nick frigged around trying to unjam the jammed something or other. (This is when I learnt of my ugly traits resurfacing). We were floating very close to the boat behind us, the boat beside us, indeed all the boats were edging in on us, so typically I started FREAKING OUT.

Of course I'm over exaggerating (really?!), but you get the gist.

In the meantime, about 3 other boats had anchored heartbreakingly simply and beautifully (without fanfare, without fear, without raised voices from panic stricken wives) in the spot where we had intended to 'end up' and a pinkie had suddenly become available anyway so we hauled anchor and took it.

We did however have a wonderful afternoon despite all my hysteria, but WE STILL HAVE NOT SUCCESSFULLY ANCHORED OUR GIRL.

As they say, practice makes perfect. Just not on a Sunday, beneath the zoo, in Sydney harbour.


*public mooring.

Shady Lady.

Unless we intend to roast our childerbeasts, we need to get this steel girl under wraps....

Our comprehensive search only turned up one [helpful & personable] bloke who was able to provide shade prior to 2027 (!?). Unfortunately his quote sent us into an apoplectic state, and has prompted us to take matters into our own - so so - sewing hands.

Shopping List:

Sewing machine, UV resistant thread, waterproof canvas, steel or aluminium bars, clear plastic, tracks, giant zips, etc etc etc..

incidentally, when we bought the fabric, the seller laughed his head off (in joke?) at how much colourful language would be flying around the boat whilst we sewed. Humph, he has NO IDEA. We are sailors after all.

and we swear like them.

- that is, Cookie & I do. (On more than one occasion, I have heard her muttering 'frickin' hell' under her breath as she tries to tuck some toy into some too small space. I know I know, BAD MOTHER.. God it's funny tho.)

So watch this space. We'll show you our 'handy work' as it progresses, in our quest to make our lady shady.

Fulminology.

The study or science of lightning.

Last night, a fierce electrical storm hit Sydney, bringing with it a spectacular lightning display.

Now, don't get me wrong, from the confines of one's 'house' - I love a good electrical storm. It's fearsome and thrilling.

..it's just that, when you're on water, um, with a dirty great metal ROD sticking up into the sky practically inviting the strike, one tends to become, um, slightly nervous....

Travelling into the dusty crevices of my mind, I recall water and metal (and people!) being excellent conductors of electricity - a pretty shit combination for us seeing as though or boat is metal. and is floating. on water.

But, in this morning's study of fulminology, it appears that being in a metal yacht - as opposed to a timber or fibreglass one - is actually better in a lightning strike. Apparently, the metal, being such a good conductor, acts as a 'faraday cage' so that the electricity (typically a billion volts per strike) travels down the mast and around the hull to the 'ground' (in our case, the water), leaving us safe and calm inside. (?!)

Good to know.

Roo turns 5 aboard Awaitea!

Our precious Roo, happily turned 5 today, - and as is the custom, I like to fill their worlds with balloons to wake up to...


a haircut may be in order...


check out the angle of the balloons!: welcome to every hour or so in Balmain due to ferry wake - rolly polly!


our destination through the ferry window.




aboard the ferris wheel.




Luna park was followed by 'high tea' at Nanny Renee's..






76 years old and her skin is better than mine.. no wonder everyone thinks Xave is my toyboy - look at the genes he's inherited!


8pm, back on the boat and EXHAUSTED..

We had such a wonderful day.

Our ENORMOUS thanks for all the parcels, emails, phonecalls, texts, and whatsApp video messages.

Technology is a blessing when one is away!

Deep breath, we do it all again tomorrow for Xave's birthday.... x

Happy snaps.

The last couple of weeks have been spent exploring Sydney. We've caught up with friends, eaten out, and are generally endulging in everything that this spectacular city has to offer.

Recently we were so happy to be able to catch up with my mate Anna for the day in Pittwater, and then today, we were again in 7th heaven hanging with the Quayle family in Bronte & Tamarama. Roo & Louis in particular had such a wonderful time together - and it's written all over their faces.

Happy snaps.....


with Louis at Bronte.


Relaxing with the Browns at Towlers Bay.


Cookie in her element!


the beautiful AB


Rope swings - nothing better.


Quayles & Robinsons in Bronte.


Friendship personified - Roo & Louis.


Al, Eddie & Anna

being a manta ray...


and now a turtle..

Sailing the harbour.

Eastern suburbs waterscape..


Parsley (!) Bay


Sculpture or lighthouse?




Cooks resembling a gumnut baby in the stay sail cover.


YAY!


and...


under we go!

4.45 disco inferno.

Never underestimate the effect of music on a leaden atmosphere.

If you want to know what it's like living on a yacht, then move your family into the bathroom for the weekend.

I'm serious.

... our solution for those times is to pop on our "4.45 disco inferno" cd:

I start it off slowly,
Cooks' shoulders start rising to the beat,
Roo turns away from whatever he's doing,
I start tapping my feet,
Cooks' runs to turn it up,
Xave's hips start swingin'
Roo commands the starboard couch position,
and then IT'S ON FOR YOUNG AND OLD!

our playlist:

We are Family - Sister Sledge
Love Train - Keb' Mo'
California Gurls - Katy Perry
Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
I Gotta Feelin - Black Eyed Peas
It's Your Thing - The Isley Brothers
I Wanna Be The Only One - Eternal
More Than A Woman - Bee Gees
Would I Lie To You - Charles & Eddie
Express Yourself - Charles Wright

Result:

an exhausted and happy boathold.

Lets Get Physical!

Enough said.

Evacuation.

Yesterday, the alternator on the generator cracked it, and caused one of our batteries to boil thus emitting the most DISGUSTING, REVOLTING smell of sulphur, which then proceeded to infiltrate every little nook and cranny of Awaitea.

It hit our nostrils like a blow to the face -and so we putted over to the marina to breathe fresh air.

Xave spoke to every man and his dog about the cause / solution, then returned to the boat with instructions to remove the boiling battery carefully whilst Roo Cooks and I waited it out on the dock. (Cooks being Cooks announced proudly to all the blokes that our boat smells like 'egg farts'.)

Nice one Cooks.

Today, the battery has been replaced, and some bloke has got the alternator and may or may not be able to look at it today.

So, we are on the boat with no 240 volts, which means no hot water or fridges, probably at least until Tuesday.
Fun and games...

Change of scenery...

This morning we sailed down to Sydney Harbour for my very fist 'ocean sail'.

Now before you correct me, I know it's a 'sea' not an 'ocean', and then if Xave's putting his two cents in it's 'only coastal cruising', which sounds even more lightweight. But, for me, it was a HUGE step as I've been freaking out about going through the Heads -

out into the deep, blue, yonder

where the rogue waves lurk....

... and jaws of course.

Cookie: Do sharks have teeth?
Me: Yep.
Cookie: Do they bite?
Me: Uh huh.
Cookie: Do they eat bones?
Me: Yep....

All fears aside, it was an easy sail - not quite enough wind, and a bit too rolly, but event free WHICH IS GOOD!
Xave saw whales, and we were treated with dolphins riding the bow wave. Unfortunately there was some pretty toxic looking ochre coloured 'stuff' on the surface of the water in places, (which the dolphins didn't want to swim through) - I later googled it to discover it is algal bloom.

We arrived 3 hours later, then had to hang around for an hour to wait for the spit bridge to open. That was pretty exciting, and the kids were mesmerised.

(It's also nice to know when you're 40 and little bit fat that you can STILL stop traffic!).

Tonight we are in Cammeray Bay, in a very crowded anchorage (welcome to Sydney Harbour) and we're looking forward to exploring the harbour over the coming weeks...


leaving the calm waters of Pittwater, for the, ... calm waters of the Tasman.


Farewelling Barrenjoey Head (for now).


algal bloom


Yuk




Playing in the bow wave.


Middle Harbour's Spit Bridge. The traffic is stopped at certain times throughout the day, to let tall masted vessels through.


.. and through the other side.