Easy Tiger - Sailing Around Australia Adventures blog: Sailing Around Australia

24^th June 2014 - Lincoln Cove Marina, Port Lincoln South Australia

The Holiday from Our Holiday

Our sailing around Australia Adventures aboard our catamaran “Easy Tiger” brought us to Port Lincoln South Australia. From here went on our “holiday from our holiday”.

Easy Tiger’s sailing around Australia Adventures began in November 2013, which is when we left from Mandurah Marina. Our ports of call have included, Bunbury, Quindalup, Albany, Bremer Bay, Hopetoun, Esperance, Duke of Orleans, Streaky bay, Sceale bay and Coffin bay.

For the past six months we have been studying every intricate detail of the weather, the sea conditions, the next anchorage and calculating fuel consumption, watching the fresh water, while carefully managing our budget to the last dollar.

Maintenance and repairs have been on our daily program, with a never-ending list waiting for the next port of call. Local boat supply shops have been known to lick their lips when we arrive and shed a tear when we depart their town.

Socializing has been an important part of our “routine”. For getting to know the “locals”, learning information from passing yachts and other cruisers, or planning discussions within our own group, sundowners are held every three or four days. There is also a blog and emails to write, plus friends and family to keep in touch with.

We were in quite a routine and all this had become, well, “normal”, by the time we arrived in Port Lincoln in April. We had all booked an extended stay, to take holidays from our adventures. This would allow us to fly home to visit family and friends.

Some time before we left on our adventures, Leanne’s family had booked a trip to Europe to celebrate her sister’s 50^th Birthday. So, our five weeks at “home” included a trip to France and Italy and a cruise through southern Italy and Greece.

This meant that during our five weeks at home we had 8 airplane trips, 10 train trips and slept in 22 different beds.

Now back in Port Lincoln aboard “Easy Tiger” we have suffered a severe case of jet lag. It has been a struggle to get up in the mornings and long periods of the day are spent aimlessly.

Somehow though, we have managed to get into some major jobs on the boat, included sorting out the new anchor winch and its new mounting brackets, Sail bag repairs, head sail sewn up, a trampoline repaired and hatches resealed.

Our plan was to restart our Sailing Around Australia Adventures from 30^th June, so our routine of weather study and discussion has been restarted. However the weather report was all about a “megablizzard” bringing huge amounts of wind, snow and hail to South Eastern Australia, our next destination. So another week in the safety of the Lincoln Cove Marina.

I think actually, our real holiday from our holiday has arrived. The weather and conditions in Port Lincoln mean there isn’t anywhere to go and “normal” activities can’t be resumed. With that in mind I think I will roll over, pull the doona up and rest while the wind and rain howl outside. After all who says you can’t sleep in until 9.00am on a holiday?

Leanne swimming with the tuna in Port Lincoln.