A Little Reflection & A Whole Lot of Gratitude | 2019

Looking back, our first sailing season seemed a little short lived. Everything happened so fast as we learnt how to keep our home afloat! But we made it!!

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2019. WHAT A YEAR. But where the hell did it go???

Two land-dwelling scallywags moved onto a sailboat and begun the biggest learning curve of their lives thus far. Oh man there were times we sat on our newly purchased vessel in Pittwater, looking at each other… “We saved for 3 years for THIS??” “What the hell were we thinking?!”.

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Nothing about the last year was easy, but if it were, it wouldn’t have been anywhere near as rewarding.

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We were expecting the sailing life to be full of extreme highs and lows and boy it did not disappoint! Sometimes you don’t quite realise what you have achieved until you look back.

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We sailed our first boat from Sydney to the Whitsundays this year!!! Wowzas!

We have been excited, nervous, scared, sick, overwhelmed, happy, relieved and fulfilled. What I think we forget to be, is grateful. Yes, we worked super hard to get to where we are now but I am so grateful we took this leap of faith. Grateful for all our adventures, safety and support.

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THINGS WE HAVE LEARNT ABOUT OURSELVES

We absolutely love a challenge.

A pharmacy degree provides zero practical experience for cruising.

Our relationship can withstand the open ocean.

Trying to be self-sufficient and only taking what we need is important to us.

I can cook fish in any way you can think of.

Travelling and exploring new destinations still excites us more than settling down.

Shoes are an annoying barrier between you and the earth.

Land luxuries were a habit, rather than a necessity.

If something needs fixing, Nathan can fit into spaces no normal human can.

Arriving to a destination under your own steam or by harnessing something in nature is a feeling like no other.

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Boy oh boy what a learning experience it has been.

For now, Merri is still our home and will hopefully take us on many more adventures in the year to come!

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In 2019 we actually made it up to around the Whitsundays in September to finish off our sailing season. It is no secret the islands are beautiful and we had a couple of visitors of course.

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Trishie the Menace made a solo return to enjoy a week of boat life in the land of white sand, giant oysters and sunshine drenched days.

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Then to top it all off my parents paid a visit and came along for their maiden voyage. We headed up around Gloucester Island to introduce them to sailing.

Even though we had a bit of a bumpy ending I don’t think it scared them off for good!

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2019 was a year of finding our feet and learning what the hell we were doing! We have a lot of places on the list to visit this year and want to head further north to explore some new territory.

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I have a good feeling about 2020 that’s for sure.

Cyclones are still around so for now we have a bit more work to do, followed by a sneaky overseas trip then back to Merri to take the seas once more. Sounds like a good plan to me!

Until next time.

Xx