Sydney March – April 2025

March 2025 began in the Blue Mountains, known for its epic vistas, eucalyptus forests, waterfalls, and iconic hikes. We’d volunteered to marshal at an ultra race which was cancelled when Tropical Cyclone Alfred hit northern NSW. So instead, we braved the soggy tail end of Alfred, Parkran in Lithgow, and hiked the Leura Forest and Katooma Falls. Along the way we encountered a trio of liar birds with impressive repertoires, some bold sulphur-crested cockatoos and were ambushed by some very hungry leeches.

Back in Sydney, we grabbed our passports and crossed the Tasman Sea to Auckland, opting for the cheats option of flying and leaving Mowzer behind on her mooring in Balmain.

Visiting NZ was like a greatest hits tour of old friends and family; starring a school bestie whose friendship goes back over 40 years; clubbing partners in crime from the The Brixton Era; co-conspirators from when the Mowzer Odyssey was merely a whispered aspiration; Pacific buddies who have become friends for life; and my Kingston school gate bestie, Rose (and co.) who have since returned to their motherland.

The big tour kicked off with a reunion in Beachlands with the fabulous Donald/Elliot crew where highlights included learning to manu, the Museum of Transport and Technology, swimming in hot springs in nearby Waiwera, climbing Mount Wellington, running Ōrakei Parkrun and visiting the Auckland Museum.

Next up, we visited the Moselen posse in Waitakere. Here we visited the mighty Piha, did some cool trail runs through the Waitakeres, visited Muriwai headland; and the boys learnt to weld under the expert tutelage of Joolz, sculptress extraordinaire. Best of all though we got to hang out with Big Zennor and Gabe.

In the Bay of Islands we caught up with the crews of Wild Thing², Cerulean, Gambler, Cushla, Walrus and Chantey. Here we hiked the bush, explored Urupukapuka Island and visited the Museum of Waitangi.

Another Parkrun in Oairaka, Auckland where we caught up with family – Cris & Fi, who we’d last seen at Botallack mine four years ago.

Finally, a visit to Wellington to see Alexandra, Cliff and family, where we ran our final Kiwi Parkrun, biked the Island Bay cycleway, climbed Mount Victoria, ran into a seal colony at Red Rocks, and visited Te Papa, the National museum.

A minor ‘oversight’ on our part regarding our Australian visa led to a slightly sweaty pre-flight evening, whilst we catastrophised and contemplated a future, exiled from Sydney. Fortunately, we hashed a workaround and made it back to Mowzer.

Not for the first time in our travels, we reflected that it’s not really about the destinations, but about the people you meet along the way. We’ve been extraordinarily lucky to have shared our exploits with some gems and for this we are supremely grateful. X

April 2025

Back in Sydney, we had a brief stay aboard Mowzer before moving to Hunter’s Hill for a house sit. Fred, Frankie and Pearl, all eccentric rescue hounds, made for charming housemates.

Here we celebrated 12 years of Barnaby and Zennor, their 4th birthday as boat kids.

Having spent a third of their lives living aboard Mowzer, sailing 25,000+ nautical miles, visiting over 20 countries, across 5 continents, the boys have had many opportunities that most adults can only dream of. They’ve dived some of the best dive spots in the world, have swum with whales, sharks, manta rays and sealions; they’ve witnessed erupting volcanos, have travelled down the Amazon river, observed the most awe-inspiring sunsets, built fires on the remotest of beaches and have been immersed in many beautiful communities.

They’ve also faced the many challenges of this life with immense courage, good humour and resilience.

Travelling the world with little people has been a great privilege, and has enabled us parents to see the world through fresh eyes. We hope that the memories of this time together will remain strong and they’ll forgive us for the deprivations, discomfort, the tricky times and for the occasional rags lost.

Cheers to Barnaby and Zennor! We’re so excited to see what the next 12 years bring.

+7

Sydney, December 2024 – February 2025

Sydney, December 2024

Euphoric to be back in Sydney after the challenges of the past few months, we were soon back to our old routine, hanging out with our favourite Sydneysiders in our favourite city in the World.

We were back training with the Running Science crew – a talented, generous, and welcoming tribe who became our Sydney family. We were also back swimming with the Balance swim squad under the fabulous and enthusiastic instruction of swimmer extraordinaire, Josie.

Twice a week, I was out with Amy’s badass Goddesses, a team of inspiring women lifting heavy shit and winning at life all before breakfast. Saturday mornings were religiously about Greenway Parkrun followed by the best post-run breakfast at Orange Grove Farmers market.

On Sunday mornings, my worship took place in Manly at the Bold and Beautiful swim – 2k open water through the Cabbage Tree Bay marine park. Meanwhile the boys had their bikes back so were happy cycling the Bay laps, and resumed swimming at Leichhardt where they were rapidly promoted to the swim squad.

Other December highlights included a tour of Sydney Observatory. We also had an awesome weekend in the Snowy Mountains where we hiked to Australia’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko.

December reached peak epic-ness when we were generously offered two housesits complete with hot water, washing machines, flushing toilets and best of all, pets! Over Christmas we were hosted in Rozelle by Hank and Yogi, hyperactive, affectionate, ball-obsessed Golden Retrievers.

Then over New Year we were hosted in Lilyfield by Marvin, an eccentric, comedic, sedate Labrador and his sidekick, Toffee.

On New Years Eve, we anchored Mowzer in front of the Opera House and joined the best New Year’s party in the World. It was good to be back.

January and February 2025, Sydney

January and February passed without much excitement or drama for which we were unusually grateful.

We caught up on ‘school’, recharged our mental batteries, and worked on recouping our lost fitness after 6 months at sea.

Boat jobs, a common theme in our posts, continued apace. Those of you who live ashore might suppose that surely by now we would have fixed everything as we’re forever wittering on about repairing stuff. Those who have sailed will understand – there is no end to fixing stuff. Like Russian dolls, we complete one task only to reveal another problem, which then discloses another and so on. There is no end to the dolls…

In February I swam in the Cole Classic, Australia’s most iconic ocean swim event held in Manly. Australia is a country of incredible swimmers unsurprising, if you consider the length of its coast and the number of 50m pools. From our mooring we were a 5-minute dinghy ride away from 3 x 50m pools with many others dotted nearby around Sydney.

We became Parkrun tourists, clocking up runs across Sydney, with Angus returning to his sub-18 mins form and the boys reaching 40ish runs or volunteer credits. We celebrated Chinese New Year in Sydney’s vibrant Chinatown, visited French markets, attended Robotics workshops, and explored submarines at the Maritime Museum. We had a few weekend visits to Quarantine Bay from where we explored the Northern Beaches (and where we were able to scrub Mowzer’s hull in less sharky waters).

We visited Sydney’s Olympic BMX track and also had an archery lesson at the Olympic Park.

We took Mowzer out into the Harbour to watch Sail GP – an international sailing race featuring super-speedy, hydrofoiling catamarans that reach speeds of 55 knots. For reference, Mowzer’s top speed is 7 knots!

In February, we also plotted our next overseas adventure…

Whitsundays to Sydney Harbour – November 2024

Airlie Beach, Whitsundays to Sydney Harbour – November 2024

From Chalkie’s Beach in the Whitsundays, it was a 48 hour sail to Lady Musgrave Island on the Great Barrier Reef. Lady Musgrave’s coral reef forms a navigable lagoon, home to diverse marine life including turtles, manta rays, stingrays, reef sharks and a lone 4m tiger shark called ‘Gatekeeper’. Here we spent a couple of days diving and exploring ashore. Our visit coincided with the Green turtle mating season, and we were witness to many enthusiastic, romantic rendez-vous. The island is also a breeding ground for a large colony of white capped noddies which nest on the island’s Pisonia trees.

At dusk one evening we watched as 20+ female Green turtles hauled themselves up the beach where, over a period of several hours, they first built body pits then, using their rear flippers, dug chambers nearly a meter deep before laying several dozen eggs. Such an epic experience…

Next stop was Bundaberg Marina where we hauled Mowzer out in order to scrub her bum and apply new antifouling. A week’s hard labour ensued – scraping, sanding, painting, polishing but mostly sweating… Our Pacific friends, Chezza and Richie of Serenity Now kept us sane and entertained with card tricks and beer.

We splashed Mowzer on 13th November to continue our passage South. An overnight stop at Susan River, River Heads, then a quick dip in the jacuzzi at the Kingfisher Resort on K’gari before heading onwards to Turkey Island for the night. At dawn, we continued southwards through the Great Sandy Strait before taking a beating as our staysail jammed in a squall as we approached Inskip Point. Meanwhile friends ran aground on a sandbar in their 60ft catamaran.

The following morning we headed out across Wide Bar Bay a notoriously tricky stretch of water due to shallow depths, shifting sandbanks and unpredictable currents.

We anchored overnight at Deception Point in Morton Bay before continuing up the Brisbane River for a few nights’ R&R. In Brissy we hit the Museum of Queensland, the Maritime Museum, The Cube at the University of Technology, and the Paediatric Emergency Department…

Next up was Paradise Point, Gold Coast for a Parkrun, then on to ‘Bum Bay’ (an anchorage full of liveaboard vessels in a varying state of seaworthiness).

Our penultimate stop was in Yamba/Iluka which requires that you cross a sandbar to enter the Clarence River – smooth sailing on the way in but pretty terrifying on the way out a day later when the increased wind and swell made for an ‘exciting’ exit.

Two days later in thick fog, we sailed through Sydney Heads – 71 days and 3577 nautical miles sailed since leaving Darwin.

Nhulunbuy to the East Coast October 2024

Nhulunbuy to Seisia, Gulf of Carpentaria – October 2024

On the 6th October we departed Nhulunbuy, with the forecasts alluding to a potential let-up in the force of the wind funnelling through the Torres Strait.

Revisiting our ship’s logbook eight months on, neither Angus nor I can believe that our crossing of the Gulf of Carpentaria took only 3.5 days. Sailing into the fierce trades, currents and horrific sea state, time slowed down and every nautical mile’s progress was hard fought. Progress was pitifully slow, often averaging only 2 knots made good. Even with our engine, we couldn’t penetrate the powerful chop with wave intervals of 3-4 seconds that stalled our momentum. We obsessed over the 12-hourly weather forecasts and tidal charts, looking for potential breaks in the conditions that would never materialise. Life aboard felt pretty intolerable, as Mowzer pitched, rolled and slammed into the swell. I’ve rarely felt more anxious or more guilty at what I was subjecting my family to.

Late in the evening of 8th October, we made it to the other side of the Gulf, though further South than our goal of Seisia, as we hadn’t been able to make the wind angle. We anchored off Vrilya Point, for the night, and waited for the powerful current to switch in our favour. At dawn we weighed anchor and sailed the final approach to Seisia. We were a bit battered but immensely relieved that we’d never have to cross the Gulf again.

Seisia and beyond, October 2024

Seisia, the most northerly mainland community in Australia has a population of 250-ish, most of whom identify as Torres Strait Islanders. Torres Strait Islanders are culturally and ethnically distinct from Aboriginal Australians, with closer ties to the people of Papua New Guinea. The community in Seisia was established in 1948 by a family from Saibai Island in the Torres Strait, after their home was devastated by abnormally high tides and their water supply became contaminated.

Today, the community consists of a campsite, a petrol station, a small grocery store, a wharf and a monument to a man who was eaten by a crocodile.

We spent 4 days amongst this community while waiting for a let up in the trade winds. We mostly foraged for coconuts, refueled, had some pre-dawn runs, and got acquainted with the local hounds.

From Seisia we headed North and rounded the tip of the peninsula, anchoring briefly at Cape York, and running ashore to photograph the bullet hole riddled sign that marks the northernmost point on the Australian continent. Back aboard we pushed on to Shallow Bay in Albany Pass and waited until midnight when the current was set to turn in our favour. The passage southwards was pretty brutal, again sailing in to the full force of the trades. After 24 hours we stopped in Margaret Bay just for a moment’s respite from the violent motion, and to be able to make pancakes to cheer up the crew before heading out again. The following morning, we anchored briefly off Portland Road where we got a few hours sleep, before anchoring for the night in the appropriately named Night Island anchorage. 24 hours later we arrived at Flinders Island where we went ashore to visit some of the world’s oldest cave art.

The following morning, we weighed anchor pre-dawn in order to make the most of a temporary lull in the wind to clear Cape Melville. Conditions were pretty dreadful, but morale aboard was beginning to improve as we neared the end of the worst of this crazy passage. We spent a further night anchored behind Noble Island, where we saw the first other yacht since Darwin (sensibly they were sailing in the opposite direction, with the trades behind them). 30-odd hours later we arrived in Cairns where we refueled, showered, and ate pizza before heading out to sea again that evening, conscious of the looming cyclone season and our need to get south.

Two days later we arrived back in the Whitsundays where for a week the wind conspired against us halting further progress southwards. There are certainly worse places to be ‘stuck’ than the Whitsundays. Here, we dug out our trainers, dived, drank fancy coffees, Parkran, caught up with some ‘school’, met up with the boys’ friend Benji, and just enjoyed being stationary.

Back To Darwin and Onwards

September 2024, Back to Darwin, and back to the drawing board.

With a poorly relative in Europe, we decided it was not the time to disappear into the depths of Asia, with long passages of isolation away from international airports. And as much as we enjoyed Darwin, staying was not an option as cyclone season was nearly upon us. With so many friends in Sydney, we decided to retreat there whilst we worked on our Plan B.

Much angst and research ensued as we planned our return journey. We contemplated sailing the 4000+ nautical miles anticlockwise around Australia – sailing first to the Kimberly region, then South to Perth, and onwards across the Great Australian Bight – a super tricky passage that invariably requires taking a beating in the Southern Ocean where ports of safety are few.

The alternative, to retrace our steps 2400 nautical miles and sail back through the Torres Strait and down the East coast, was equally unappealing. Beating into powerful trade winds consistently pumping at 25+ knots and strong counter-currents would make for slow, uncomfortable passages. Mowzer is great at sailing downwind, but because of her wide beam (fat middle) and ancient saggy sails, does not sail well into the wind.

Local advice, to wait until the trade winds eased off in November, required that we hang around well into the cyclone season, invalidating our insurance which required that we were south of Bundaberg by 1st November.

We had a couple of weeks in Darwin, catching up with friends, running and exploring whilst we weighed up our options and waited for a viable weather window to leave. We eventually left Darwin on 20th September, opting for the clockwise option, retracing our route through the Torres Strait.

Just reaching Cape Don, 100 nautical miles away required a couple of stops as counter currents running at 6 knots halted progress.

From Cape Don, we made slow progress, tacking our way to Danger Point and then to David Point on Crocker Island. Progress made good over 24hrs was sometimes as little as 40 nautical miles (75km).

Hugging the coast where the wind was less fierce, took us along Arnhem Land, a vast wilderness area in the Northern Territory. It’s difficult for Europeans to comprehend just how isolated and remote this region is. Arnham Land is very approximately half the size of the UK but has a population of only 16000 mostly Aboriginal Yolngu people. With no cities and minimal infrastructure, this region inspired both awe and fear – fear that if something broke, or if we needed any assistance we were very alone. During this period we saw just one cargo vessel, no settlements, no VHF chatter, just vast expanses of silent, parched land and sandy beaches.

Our next milestone was the Gulgari Rip, also known as the Hole in the Wall, a narrow waterway between Guluwuru Island and Raragala Island where the tidal flow can reach over 10 knots. We anchored on the western approach overnight to wait for slack water, and explored ashore, a vast expanse of scorched rocky land with an idyllic beach covered in turtle tracks.

The following morning we entered the Gulgari Rip, and were rapidly spat out the other side. Later that day, we arrived in Nhulunbuy, 10 days after leaving Darwin.

October 2024, Nhulunbuy, Gove Peninsula

Nhulunbuy, in Arnham Land, has been home to the Yolngu people for at least 40,000 years. In the 1960s it was developed as a bauxite mine and refinery and now has a population of approximately 3000. Here we reprovisioned, scrubbed Mowzer’s bum, swam, hitch-hiked, did some Science projects for ‘school’. Mostly though, we obsessively watched the weather forecasts as we planned our next passage back across the Gulf of Carpentaria, our most challenging passage of the past 3 years.

Darwin and Indonesia August 2024

Horn Island – Darwin, August 2024

The 750 nautical miles passage from Horn Island to Darwin, crossing the super shallow Gulf of Carpentaria, ranked as one of our most unpleasant, with a hideously confused sea state making life aboard fairly miserable. Sailing mostly dead downwind, we covered the distance in 5 days, with a very brief stop at Cape Don to time our entry into the Dundas Strait. The region experiences strong tidal streams that can run at over 5 knots, making for turbulent waters and tricky navigation. We were therefore delighted to be spat out of the strait into the sanctuary of Darwin’s main anchorage at Fannie Bay.

In contrast to our joyless passage to Darwin, we loved the city; highlights included a music festival, night markets, some cool museums, galleries, croc encounters on the Adelaide River, Litchfield National Park, and a very sweaty Parkrun.

As one of the main ports of clearance for yachts departing Australia for Asia, we got to hang out with lots of the sailing families we’ve met along the way, some of whom we’ve travelled with for over 2 years. Sadly, this meant that we also had to say farewell as our onward paths diverge. We were especially sad to say goodbye to the gorgeous Miles Aways, and the Salty Gingers.

Beer Can Regatta, Darwin, August 2024

Such was the epic-ness of this event, that it deserves its very own post.

As many of you will know, Angus is a talented and competitive athlete. Over the years he has completed some impressive sporting feats, including Ironman events, marathons, sub 17-minute 5ks, and was (briefly) the World record holder for the half marathon whilst pushing a double buggy.

None of these feats however, come close to the scale of the victory he achieved in Darwin in the Beer Can Regatta, a triathlon comprised of a swim, kayak and run.

With fellow ‘athlete’ Marcus, he rocked up 5 minutes before the start only reluctantly entering against a field of strapping young Aussie blokes in budgie smugglers. Remarkably, he dominated the field from the gun, storming home to take the Gold medal. Bringing it home for the middle-aged, British man and winning an embarrassment of prizes. I’ve never been more proud.

Darwin to Indonesia, August 2024

With the clock ticking on our Aussie visa, it was time to reprovision, fill up our water and diesel tanks, have a final flat white and head for a new continent.

With the situation deteriorating in the Middle East, our onward plans were uncertain. Reluctant to travel through the Suez canal via a war zone, and yet also not keen on the extra miles/ additional year a trip around South Africa would demand. Another option was to sell up in Asia, though the demand there for second-hand monohulls is pretty moribund. So, in true Mowzer fashion, we opted to wing it and head to Indonesia and make it up as we went along.

Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is composed of over 17,000 islands and is home to 280 million people. The country spans the equator, with diverse landscapes, cultures and ecosystems.

The nearest clearance port to Australia is Saumlaki on Tanimbar Island, 300 nautical miles hard on the wind north of Darwin. Another rough passage over a couple of days saw us anchoring off the fishing port alongside stilt houses and an impressive mosque. The call to prayer made for atmospheric welcome.

Bureaucracy in Indonesia is riddled with baffling obstacles, so it is not surprising that sailing there requires that you jump through multiple hoops, ones that frequently change in form without notice or explanation. Obtaining a visa prior to arrival requires IT mastery, immense patience, and a large dose of luck. Similarly, checking into Saumlaki was a day long challenge, requiring visits to the Quarantine team, Harbour Master, Customs, and Immigration. All of whom had offices in different locations, some of whom were sleeping, all requiring copies of passports, crew lists, boat ID etc in triplicate. Much stamping of documents ensued.

Once checked in we went to explore, hitch-hiking on the back of a pick-up with a gorgeous family eager to show us the sights.

The local pasars or markets were immensely vibrant, with colourful mounds of spices and fruit, unrecognisable fried things, buckets of tofu and exotic leafy veggies. Cheerful hawkers were keen to get selfies with the boys and to know where we’d come from. Semi-feral cats, chickens and the occasional obese rat further enhanced the sense of foreignness. Woolworths in Darwin felt a long way away…

Another startling observation was the amount of plastic waste – the gutters, alleys, rivers and beaches all clogged with single use plastic bags, water bottles, instant noodle wrappers and nappies. Indonesia is drowning in plastic waste – each year producing 8 million tonnes of plastic, much of which is being dumped into the ocean. Worryingly, Indonesia also imports hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste from Europe North America and Australia.

From Saumlaki, it was an overnight sail to the neighbouring island of Tual. Here we met with Hans and Lisbeth aboard DanceMe who we first met in Spain in 2021. Despite being robbed at gunpoint in Colombia and dismasted in the Pacific Ocean, their enthusiasm and positivity remains undinted as they continue their voyage back to Europe.

Just as we were acclimatising to cruising life in Indonesia, we received some worrying news from home, potentially requiring an emergency visit back to Europe. With no international airport nearby, we had no option but to leave immediately for Darwin.

A significant hazard in the seas around Indonesia are the fishing boats many of which operate at night with no navigation lights making them hard to detect. As we left Tual that night, we had two very near misses with fishing boats. The first we knew about it was the sound of an engine and under the beam of our torches, we were suddenly confronted with a wooden boat almost upon us. We took avoiding action and luckily no harm was done but it made for an unsettling passage.

Back in Darwin, we cleared customs, caught up with friends with whom we’d had a teary goodbye only a few weeks previously, and set about planning for a different future.

Australia June -July 2024

Given our prolonged radio silence, you might be forgiven for thinking that Mowzer and her crew had sailed off the end of the Earth.

In truth, we’ve just been a bit crap at writing updates, plus, we’ve been busy quietly putting in the nautical miles, schooling, fixing (always fixing…), and exploring new shores.

June 2024

Since our last update, there have been some significant life changes, but more on that later. For now, I’ll pick up where we left off, in Pittwater, New South Wales in June 2024.

With our new rigging installed, we departed Careel Bay and headed North with a brief stop in the Gold Coast (where we had a near miss with a couple of migrating humpback whales!), through the seaway with a quick stop in Raby Bay where we completed our first Parkrun in Queensland, had a trip into Brissy, and waited for a weather window for Moreton Island.

Moreton Island, one of Australia’s largest sand islands, is famous for its towering dunes, it’s crazy soldier crabs and the Tangalooma wrecks, a cluster of ships scuttled by the Queensland authorities.

From the anchorage, we explored inland, through immense waves of soldier crabs, to the summit of Mount Tempest, the highest coastal sand dune in the world, with mega 360⁰ views of the island. The return journey down the dunes, on boogie boards at sunset, was especially magnificent.

Next up, we sailed northwards for an overnight at Rainbow Beach, then through the tricksy Wide Bar Bay, a brief stop at the Kingfisher Resort on K’gari, some challenging navigation to Hervey Bay, then onto the Duck Pond in Bundaberg, Port Clinton and onwards to the Whitsundays.

The 74 mostly uninhabited Whitsunday Islands form a massive stretch of coral teeming with marine life. Inland, the islands are mostly dense rainforest, ringed by epic white sandy beaches.

We had some pretty spectacular hikes, encountered some awesome wildlife, ran a couple of Parkruns and the boys did some dinghy sailing. Best of all though, in the Whitsundays we caught up with our sailing pals on SV Miles Away.

July 2024

July 2024 saw Mowzer continuing to push northwards, approximately 1000nm from the Whitsundays to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.

Our route took us via Horsehoe Bay in Magnetic Island from where we hiked all over the island, spotting kangaroos, rock wallabies and our first Koalas.

Our next stop was Cairns. Highlights here included the cool markets, art galleries, festivals, museums, botanical gardens, a ferris wheel and awesome cruising buddies, Julie and Graham on Salty Ginger and Chezza and Richie aboard Serenity Now. The lowlight was a dose of Covid which knocked us out for a few days.

The trade winds were now very well established, consistently gusting into the 30s, occasionally reaching the low 40s. Sailing downwind, in the calms of the Great Barrier Reef, we made rapid progress northwards with overnight stops in Low Islet, Hope Island, Cooktown, Lizard Island, Flinders and Margaret Bay.

As anyone who has ever sailed long-term will tell you, the emotional spectrum is INTENSE. The highs of this lifestyle are of epic proportions – the freedom and sense of adventure; immersing ourselves in new cultures; the challenge and sense of achievement as we navigate from one beautiful anchorage to another whilst travelling only under the power of the wind; connecting with nature and being truly present as our kids grow; belonging to an awesome community of like minded folk; witnessing mega sunrises and enjoying a slower pace of life. Conversely, the price we pay is soul shattering periods of despair, when the weather goes to shite, everything breaks, the boat feels claustrophobically small, you momentarily loathe your crew mates, then something else breaks and you long for the ease of life ashore with flushing toilets, hot water, a washing machine, a functional kitchen, a bed free of mould and sand, personal space, decent coffee, Sainsbury’s, and a regular steady income.

Unfortunately, circumstances conspired against us in Margaret Bay, and we experienced one of our lowest lows. Several hundred miles from anywhere, with gear failure and sick family back in Europe, we were unable to return to Cairns because the trades were pumping hard. We felt utterly defeated and had it been an option, would have happily given Mowzer away there and then and never sailed again. Our only option however was to push on another 1000+nm to he nearest city, Darwin.

What saved us from abject misery during this period was the company of fellow Island Packet sailors, Julie and Graham aboard Salty Ginger. Always calm, super-knowledgeable and upbeat, the Gingers generously held our hands as we sailed onwards.

Morale partially restored, we progressed onwards to Horn Island in the Torres Strait. Sitting approximately 20nm north of Australia’s Cape York and only 80nm South of Papua New Guinea. The strait links the Coral Sea to the east with the Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria in the west. An important international sea lane, it is very shallow with water depths of only 7 to 15 m, with crazy strong currents which made for wet and terrifying dinghy trips to neighbouring Thursday Island.

The islands’ indigenous inhabitants are the Torres Strait Islanders, an ethnically distinct groups of Indigenous Australian people. Highlights of the islands included a cool museum on Horn Island, the Torres Strait Islander’s cultural centre and some old forts with fab views of the Gulf of Carpentaria, our next challenge.

Sydney April – May 2024

April 2024 in Sydney

With the weather clock ticking, the time was approaching for us to wrench ourselves away from the comforts and the innumerable joys of Sydney life. Reluctantly we ran our last Greenway Parkrun, had our final Running Science session, and did a last Goddess training camp. The boys had their final swimming lessons, skate session and robotics workshop.

We squeezed in a couple more of Sydney’s cultural gems; a tour of the White Bay Power Station which was showcasing the Ten Thousand Suns art installation; and immersed ourselves in a little corner of France at the fantastique Le Marché in Surry Hills.

The boys turned 11! We celebrated with a weekend building technical Lego in our favourite anchorage at Quarantine Bay and had dinner at Pocket Pizza in Manly.

One of my oldest pals, Julie came to visit from Auckland. We had the best time catching up whilst hiking Spit to Manly and touring the Gallery of NSW.

Another old friend, Gary, visited from Tokyo. Gary joined Angus for a long run to North Head and a quick sail past the Opera House and under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Sydney – The kindness of strangers

Cyclone season came to an end and so the time came for us to resume our travels northwards. Sydney had become to feel very much like home, and we had found a tribe where we all felt we belonged. In our little corner of Sydney we’d happened across a gang of up-for-it, inspiring, enthusiastic, kind, and funny Sydneysiders who were generous enough to take us under their collective wing. We were loaned cars by complete strangers, offered houses to sit, and gifted bikes. We were driven to far flung events, loaned camping gear, regularly offered washing machines, showers and were fed many amazing meals. We were humbled by the kindness of these strangers who very quickly became great friends. Its thanks to these gorgeous people that our time in Sydney was so memorable. Thank you Phil & Chris, Jocie and Geoff, Lily, Nigel & the RS crew, Romy and Will, Emily and family, Amy and the Goddesses, Sammy and family.

May 2024 – Sydney to Brissy

In contrast to our magical time in Sydney the following few months in Australia were beset with challenges; major gear failure, illness, delays, bad weather and bad luck.

It began just a few hours out of Sydney on a moonless night in squally weather with an especially nauseating sea state. We heard a huge bang and quickly realised that our forestay (a wire that helps hold the mast up) had failed. We made an emergency pit stop in Pittwater, where we then got stuck for a month. It transpired that our UK rigger had ‘accidentally’ undersized our forestay, installing 8mm wire (hidden by the foil) rather than the 10mm we had specified and paid for. Our Aussie rigger also identified 3 other broken strands/bulges elsewhere and so the only safe option was to replace all of the 3-year-old standing rigging. And so began the frustrating and ultimately unsuccessful negotiations with our insurer and rigger. Our insurer not willing to pay out for poor workmanship; the UK rigger refusing to accept any responsibility.

And then our outboard broke… We were anchored 1km offshore with a tender that doesn’t row well. And it rained incessantly – proper monsoon-like, fat rain for hours at a time. We knew no one and the boys had no kids to hang out with. Mowzer suddenly began to feel very small. Thankfully, the silver lining in this particular cloud came in the form of Sammy, a local who ran the cafe at the dinghy dock. He befriended us, made us amazing coffee, entertained the boys, and fed us banana cake when we needed a morale boost. Also coming to our rescue was Lily, our Sydney neighbour, who generously loaned us the ‘Trash Car’ that she’d bought for AUD$1 but which proved invaluable to us.

Meanwhile, we explored Pittwater, regularly swam in the Avalon ocean pool, ran a lot, chased a lot of Geocaches, and made it to Curl Curl for a family Parkrun.

Also in May, very excitingly, Zoe, Barnaby, and Zennor became French citizens! Angus now just needs to pass a language exam and he too will regain his status as a European!!! Fantastique!

At the end of the month, with our new rigging installed, we made it to Cleveland in Brisbane ready for a few more mishaps.

Sydney January – March 2024

January 2024 in Sydney, Australia

January saw us heading inland to camp in the Blue Mountains National Park. Here we hiked through epic eucalyptus forests, enormous waterfalls and spectacular cliffs with mega views. We had an extraordinary encounter with a tuneful lyrebird, were stalked by a curious water dragon, and were ambushed by some hungry leeches. We also explored the subterranean Jenolan caves, a UNESCO World Heritage listed labyrinth dating back 340 million years.

Back in Sydney, we visited the Raging Waters aqua park, biked Centennial Park, swam in the Sydney Olympic pool, took an architectural tour of the Opera House, visited Rhodes Parkrun, hiked from Spit to Manly and attended a kids Animation Festival. We visited Cockatoo Island, another UNESCO World Heritage site, where we learnt about it’s history as a shipyard and penal colony, and watched an outdoor movie with our pals from SV Miles Away.

A very lovely running club pal, Emily, entrusted us with her beautiful home for a week. We luxuriated in the space and stillness, and enjoyed the company of Toffee, Midnight and Cuddles.

Back in the water, Zoe, with friends Jocie and Meg, competed in her first big swim event for several years; a 3km choppy open water swim from Palm Beach to Whale Beach.

February in Australia saw us all travelling away from Mowzer.

First off we took an 11 hour overnight, very scenic train ride to Melbourne. We picnicked in Edinburgh Gardens with old friends and the next generation of gems to emerge from the city.

Other Melbourne highlights included the National Gallery of Victoria (painting robotic dogs) and breakfast at Higher Ground (Aussies excel at all things breakfast related).

We all did Maribyrnong Parkrun – easier to run than pronounce, and then took in Pride March in St Kilda.

Thank you Dan, Bec and Soph for your Melburnian hospitality.

Angus had an unplanned return to Europe to visit family in hospital. Meanwhile Zoe and the boys were back aboard Mowzer, taking in Chinese New Year, the Botanical Gardens the Sydney’s awesome National Library.

Just back from Europe, Angus joined us in Huskisson for a Triathlon Festival, where we cheered on our much fitter triathlete friends and raced as a family in a 5k event. Congrats and thanks to Chris and Philip Sloss, Jocie and Geoff for the encouragement and hospitality.

Next up was a tour of Canberra where we visited the Parliament of Australia for Prime Minister’s Question Time and visited the Australian War Memorial museum and observed the very moving Last Post Ceremony. Best of all though was was Questacon, Australia’s ultimate science museum- a huge hit with the junior Mowzer crew who have infinite curiosity, zest and enthusiasm for interactive displays, buttons, levers and switches!

March highlights in Sydney

Quarantine Bay, a 90 minute sail from our mooring in Balmain, is a peaceful anchorage with a fascinating history. Between 1828 and 1984 it was the first port of call for all quarantined ships and their foreign passengers. Scattered in the bush nearby are the carvings by visiting sailors of old and the cemeteries of the victims of smallpox, bubonic plague, influenza, and scarlet fever.

Whilst out exploring this area we had an extraordinary encounter with a man named Jim . We met him on a dirt track in the middle of nowhere outside an unprepossessing metal shed. He told us a story so incongruous that we assumed he must be a fantasist. But incredibly, it transpired that Jim really was the sole Royal Coach Builder for the British Royal family. He generously showed us around his workshop where he was putting the finishing touches to his latest creation – a golden, bullet-proof king’s carriage which will soon be flown to London. Such serendipitous encounters and unexpected connections enrich our travels beyond measure. Thank you, Jim.

Other March highlights included an Easter egg hunt at Bantry Bay; Holi Festival with friends; a flying visit from Uncle Bob; a tour of Allankay, Sea Shepherd’s marine conservation vessel; a night at the Sydney Observatory; Rose Bay aboard Miles Away with the Running Science crew; and skate lessons at Frankie’s Wheels.

A March lowlight – Zoe’s broken toe.

Sydney November – December 2023

On 26th November, 2023, we sailed past North Head and into Sydney Harbour, which was to be our home for the next five months.

Ecstatic to witness the iconic views of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was emotional….

On arrival in Sydney, we rented a mooring ball in Balmain with the intention of staying for a month but loved the city so much that we didn’t leave until May!

December in Sydney had us exploring the Powerhouse Museum, Maritime Museum, swimming at the iconic Iceberg pool, visiting the Opera House, hiking the Hermitage Foreshore and the coast from Cronulla to Kurnell. We visited the Botanical Gardens, took in the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the spectacular Australian Museum.

We became regulars at the Greenway Parkrun, joined the Running Science crew for early training sessions around the Bay and Zoe became a Goddess (fitness training crew). We swam with the Bold and Beautiful in Manly, and became regulars at the Orange Grove farmers market. The boys did a dinghy sailing camp, started swimming lessons and joined some robotics and coding sessions at the Darling Square library.

For Christmas, our very lovely and generous friends, Chris and Phil, allowed us to squat in their beautiful home whilst they were away. It was heavenly having limitless hot showers, flushing toilets, a washing machine and mould-free walls!

On Christmas Day we all ran Parkrun in the morning, hit Bondi beach in the arvo, had our first roast dinner in 3 years, and had the compulsory BBQ. Boxing Day saw us out at the Hornby Lighthouse cheering on the Sydney-Hobart race crews. For New Years Eve, we were hosted by our lovely friends on SV Miles Away, to see in the New Year, anchored in a prime spot in the harbour. It was epic!