New Blog, New Boat and new adventure about to begin.

Here is our new blog, for our impending trip to the tropics.

http://trekkingthesea.blogspot.com.au/

Too busy to blog and too tired to type!

The abominable snowman Mt Wellington Hobart

Mt Wellington after a day at the beach.

A winters day at the beach

Autumn leaves Jenster behind

Sorry, but we must apologise for our lack of blogging of late. We have decided to sit out the winter in Hobart. So that means that we aren't sailing much. At the moment you could call our blog the "Stationary Adventures of Crazy Lady".

Yes we are still living aboard and enjoying it.

As a matter of fact the advantages of living on a yacht are numerous.

To fill in our time we have decided to get jobs.

Actually that's not the real reason, we have run out of money!. (not surprising at all.)

It's amazing how much we spent living frugally in our 6 months of cruising.

Jen is working as an RN at a modern facility just up the road from Wrest Point Casino.

It's about 5 minutes walk from our berth at The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. (our membership is pending) Soon we will be very royal indeed.

I've been employed as an OHS consultant.

My 1st project is as Site Safety Manager on a $34 million upgrade of a commercial fish food factory. I feel really lucky to have scored a job with a company that has such high integrity and a very similar philosophy as myself when it comes to work site safety.

My philosophy is: "its got bugger all to do with work, its all about what you do on the weekends" This is why you have to stay safe at work.

Tasmania's weather is not as bad as I expected.

Yes it's cold, we have had snow, sleet and ice, but its bearable.

Jen would like to add that its only autumn, and thats just the conditions inside the boat.

In summary we are back on the chain gang.

Sorry to those who we worried by our lapses in blogging, and thanks so much for your concern and phone calls.

Jen & Glenn

Inspirational Jessica Watson.

Kevin says she's a hero to all young Australians and young women.

I say she should be a hero and inspiration to all Australians regardless of age.

NSW premier Christine Keneally's speech probably one of the best I ever heard from a politician, and I quote. "those that don't take risks never win"

Jess says she just a normal girl with a dream, that worked hard for it.

Do yourself a favour and watch this!!!

I loved this show, you can watch it online at SBS, link at the bottom of page.

Disable Bodied Sailors

One man, one boat and one motley crew, all with one mission: to complete the world’s most dangerous and deadly ocean race. This is the story of the Sailors with disabilities, a crew where broken backs and missing limbs present no obstacle.

Sailors with disabilities is committed to changing society's perception of people with disabilities (visit the website for more information and follow the show on Twitter here).

Setting out on their 17th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is one mighty crew; led by skipper David Pescud, they have twice won their division in the Hobart, and are World Record holders for circumnavigating Australia.

But this year there are going to be big changes onboard the so-called Cripple Express. David is missing key positions on his boat, and he wants them to be filled by new crew members who have never sailed before. And, they’ve got to be disabled.

In the months leading up to the dangerous Sydney to Hobart yacht David and his core crew of disabled sailors initiate a new group of keen but unaware contenders with a multitude of disabilities, including missing limbs, broken backs, degenerative diseases and stroke suffers to sailing.

They learn the ropes of sailing in a baptism of fire through storms and swells, and in wet and wild conditions. But there are just a few spots available on the boat.

In the end, only those who skipper David Pescud is convinced can handle the physical and mental torture of the world’s most dangerous open water yacht race, will get their ticket to Hobart.

Link to shows online.

http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/disablebodiedsailors/watchonline/page/i/1/h/Watch-Online/

The program makes great viewing, and Jen & I thought we did it tough.

Highly recommended.

Glenn

Crossing Bass Strait Again!!

Doing it tough again crossing Bass Strait

Loading on.

Well I promised this blog about a week ago, but I got a little excited over the perfect waves I've been riding down at Bruny Island.

Anyway, some say that crossing on the Spirit of Tasmania is really a cheat's way of doing the strait, but I have to say that this way it was much more comfortable and restful. We were loaded on at about 6pm: you drive through a boom gate where they give you your room key. Then you drive into the hull of the ferry and park, unload what you need for the night and go to your cabin. Too easy.

We left the dock at Melbourne at about 7.30pm. It took 2.5 hours before we got to the entrance of Port Phillip Bay. Travelling at 20knts that's a bloody big bay. After a couple of beers and an announcement from the captain that a gale warning had been issued for the strait that night, we went to bed. The next thing I remember was Jen waking me at 6.00am to say that we were docking in Devonport. So there Ken, it was almost like the crossing in Crazy Lady!!

Now back to my reference about the hoons.

What is your definition of a hoon?

A young guy with a baseball cap on backwards in a hot car?

Right?

Wrong!!!!.

After what I've witnessed it's a middle aged (50 or 60 something) bloke driving a rally car.(Blokes my age that should know better)

It all started in Melbourne while we were lining up to board the ferry. All these old blokes in hotted-up cars revving the guts out of them. I thought to myself perhaps these rally cars were all badly tuned, and that the constant revving was to keep them running while loading.

(I was trying to give these silly old buggers the benefit of my doubt)

Later when on board The Spirit of Tasmania I overheard that Targra Tasmania was on in the coming weeks: hence all the rally cars.

The next morning at Devonport it was the same bbrrrmmmm, brrmmmm, brrmmmmmm, as we were unloading. after having a lovely nights sleep this was starting to give me the sh*ts.

So I thought it's my turn to return the favour. As we were driving out of the terminal, I noticed to my delight that there were at least 4 rally cars behind me. I was proudly driving the Hi-Lux Ute, which believe it or not is no speed machine, and like the law abiding citizen I am, I decided that being under the speed limit was my best course of action. Four loudly revving rally cars with impatient aging hoons trying to get around me in a built up area= Great fun!!

Unfortunately the highway appeared, and they all overtook us in quick succession.In the next 25kms, we were to have many more old hoons in hotted-up rally cars overtake us.

We were feeling coffee & breakfast deprived and to our luck came across a bakery road house. Unfortunately the carpark was full of: you guessed it, hotted up rally cars. After finding a carpark space between 2 of the above cars, we rushed into the cafe to get our caffeine fixes. It was full of blokes my age and older wearing tight black leather pants and matching jackets.

An unexplained hush fell over the cafe as Jen and I entered. We were feeling a bit under-dressed in our board- shorts and T-shirts at 6.45am. I did have my beanie on and those in the know can attest to how good I look in it. We quickly ordered our breakfast as the tempo of conversation gradually returned to normal. We devoured the coffee & brekkie.

We left the cafe eager to resume our journey to Hobart. The carpark was full of even more middle aged hoons , standing around discussing the up coming rally and admiring the sounds of revving cars whilst happily inhaling the noxious fumes. As I walked past the group I mumbled "bloody old enough to know better". We hopped into the Ute, and I wound the window down to overhear the snide remarks from the assembled "hoonage". I quote "spose he thinks he can enter The Rally in that heap of shit". I quickly reversed out pointing the exhaust in their direction, then put my foot on the clutch and started to loudly rev the thumping 2.8ltr diesel. The "hoonage" erupted in a loud cheering mob, and I quickly and bravely made my rocketing exit.

Jen slunk further below the dashboard in utter shame.

Still in Kettering, Hobart Friday.

Brunny Island again!

The left looks good, you should have seen the rights

in my secret spot.

Lines of groundswell.

Waves, waves and more waves, we sat out the low pressure system the other day in the marina, with some gusts reading 52 knts . The result a beautiful groundswell pumping into cloudy bay.

These pics show you the swell but not where I surfed. I wished I took my camera, but its a 1 klm walk thru the bush, a paddle across a lagoon, walk again around the headland and half klm to paddle out. Look at the sandbar on the map and you will see what I mean. I was lonely surfing it by myself.

The Lost Weeks

2 houses with views, The Great Ocean Road.


The 12 Apostles


Glenn with Casper.

A school of fish, Torquay Surf Shop.

We are now back in Kettering Tasmania, and looking forward to spending the next 10 to 11 months in Tassie exploring. We are now packing Crazy with more books, DVD's, warmer clothes etc: that we salvaged from our house.

So the last few weeks have been lost in a swirl of organising, getting rid of things, travelling and having adventures.

I sold our old Merc (1982 300D Merc in imaculate condition, Gormsby was his name) on Ebay, the guy who purchased her lived in Melbourne and was going to fly up to Tabourie to pick her up. I offered to deliver Gormsby to Melb for him. This gave me one last great road trip in poor old Gormsby, I was sorry to see him drive off into the sunset in Melbourne.

We have purchased another vehicle for getting to the inland and out of the way places in Tassie, a 1996 Toyota Ute 4x4 extended cab 2.8D off our friends Dave & Gerti who have given us a great warranty 5 years or 500,000klms. Not bad for a 14 year old car. So Jen drove the ute (truck Jen's word for it) down to Melb.

Someone told me there was no need to book on the Spirit of Tasmania, because it is the off season, so I didn't book. Imagine my surprise last week when I rang and tried to get on, sorry no vacancy's until Sat night. No one told me their was a hoon rally, Targra Tasmania on this week, so trailer loads of hoon vehicles were being transported down to Devonport. No room for sensible 4x4's. More about Targra Tasmania later.

So we had about 6 days in Melbourne, after 2 days of eating myself silly at the Queen Victoria Markets, we decided to take a 3 day drive down The Great Ocean Road. This was a good move, as I hired a surfboard and had some great surf on the way. I also brought a 4/3 wetsuit on sale in Torquay to help keep me in the water through the tough Tassie winter. Now if you don't know, Torquay is the capital of surfing in Australia, not only do they have miles of great surf beaches, the whole town economy is driven by surfing. Fortysix years ago, when I started surfing who could of imagined that!

As usual we loved our trip along The Great Ocean Road, someone commented to me, that Jen & I love everywhere, I guess we love the adventure of travelling and seeing new places, although I have been down the GOR a few times, this was Jen's 1st trip. Yes and she loved it too, especially our visit to the 12 Apostles.

Next Blog: Our next trip across Bass Strait in 40 knts plus, or how to do it the easy way, and our drive down through central Tasmania.

Glenn