Sailing Around Australia; Routine Change

Saturday, 12 December 2015

Sailing Around Australia; Routine Change

Manly marina, Brisbane

13/12/2015 Routine Change.

It does seem a bit crazy to me that we have really enjoyed our sailing adventures being “parked” for the last week.

The crazy part is that our normal routine for the past 2 years has been anything but normal and really has only small parts that could be considered routine.

Our sailing adventure routine is all about the weather, what the weather is doing, what the weather is predicted to do and what the weather might do.

Once we are reasonably comfortable that we know what weather to expect, it’s on to planning our next destination, calculating departure points thinking about the route and determining the best anchorage point.

Then we are usually looking in to a plan B. Then I have breakfast.

Once we are anchored somewhere we have anchor alarms set, keep a close eye on the wind direction and strength and most of all watch out for other boats in case they anchor too close or if they drift towards us.

We are also constantly checking that our anchor is holding and keeping an eye on our surroundings as the boat swings around while tides and currents change.

All this constant vigilance probably doesn’t sound much, but it is really the most important part of our daily sailing adventures. I would say the constant vigilance is really the most routine that we have.

Christmas, New Year and the festive season is the time that most people get a break from their routine.

We thought that this would be a good time to have Easy Tiger secured in a marina. Normally I don’t favour using marinas as there is a cost involved, plus it means too much easy access to shops, cafes and other “treats” that whack our budget.

Being tied securely to a marina berth means that we can also break our routine. We don’t have to watch the weather, we don’t have to look for secure, protected anchorages and we don’t have to watch out for other boats.

Since parking Easy Tiger in the marina, Brisbane has turned on some pretty inclement weather, including a couple of thunderstorms. This would have called for extra vigilance if we were anchored somewhere and also would have meant we would be very reluctant to get off the boat for excursions.

It was a huge relief that we were in the marina during this weather, even though it’s meant we are a bit boat bound. Already we have started a routine of exercise in the mornings then chores, then lunch and every day so far we have been socializing in the afternoons or evenings.

At the moment we are both feeling a bit refreshed from the change in routine being “parked” has given us. I don’t think I have logged on to weather sites more than once this week and that is normally three times a day.

With family coming for Christmas, friends for new year and then a trip back to WA planned in the next few months, I don’t think we will have time to get into a routine.