Trailer Sailing Cruising Australia

[Grith]

Just to let lurkers and contributors here know that the Facebook page I created several years ago for those using trailer sailers as alternatives to cruising yachts has now become very active with nearly 4000 participants and daily posts, comments and updates.
Trailer Sailing Cruising Australia is focussed on precisely its name and precludes for sale adverts wishing to concentrate on trips, modifications, destinations and general trailerable yacht conversations and not become just yet another selling forum.
Personally I have finally had the Imexus 28 out again for a short three day cruise in company with the Trailer Sailer Association of South Australia as they conveniently started their latest short cruise from my retirement home's location in Wellington East.
Since purchasing again here last year our yacht has sat neglected on its trailer as we first completed a three month already booked camper tour of Tasmania ( too expensive to take the yacht on the ferry ) and then have been stuck extensively renovating our new "forever" waterfront home.
We are finally about to move in and just awaiting kitchen and laundry bench tops to complete everything but landscaping/gardens.
 Next planned cruise is for about 2 months on the Gippsland Lakes and surrounds in Victoria as our 3 month Kimberley's adventure plan has been delayed a year until 2026 as we have found a couple of other yachts with similar itinerary going then and plan to join up.
Picture 2 Was a TSASA members very clever bank boarding plank idea.
Picture 3 and 4 our new water front home with 50 metres of waterfrontage and our own boat ramp, jetty and pontoon. Surprisingly cheap by expensive Australian standards due to its a bit unknown and quirky location.
Trailer sailer owners heaven!

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[Norm L.]

It's nice to see you back. My friend who lives outside of Sydney has often talked about a favorite visit place in Tasmania, even sending me some photos of Port Davey. He would like it to be his retreat, but like me, at our age our minds are fine for wandering but our bodies want to stay near our physicians.

The first two photos remind me of cruising Holland canals and lakes. The mooring can be similar with water to soil, but there can be spots with bollards. Many boats carry large corkscrew mooring tools which get screwed into the ground to take mooring lines. The biggest difference is that inshore of the mooring area is always a dike topped with a bicycle or auto path.
There is no question that Holland has no such thing as out back. One is always only a few hours away from a pub or dunny.
Your timing is also good as Thursday is my Vegemite breakfast morn. 

[Grith]

After a gruelling 12 month renovate of hopefully our forever navigable waterfront retirement home we are back trailer sailer cruising on our semi liveaboard capable Imexus 28.
We are just coming off the water after 4 weeks cruising exploring the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria Australia.
Few still genuinely trailerable yachts are comfortable enough to act as mini cruising platforms with luxury's like stand out headroom at the galley, enclosed shower toilet, permanent dinette and two very large long double beds.
We have sailed when winds were appropriate and used our torqeedo 1103 auxiliary for significant lake and river transits in calm or near calm conditions.
The torqeedo doubles as our dingy outboard transferring from a remote throttle on our yacht's helm to a conventional tiller throttle when used for the inflatable dingy.
Despite the fuel consumption of our monster 115hp main outboard and four weeks cruising we are returning with over half our fuel unused and about a third of our potable water.
This trip was in part testing various systems for a planned 3/4 months without ability to resupply next year in the remote and challenging Kimberley's.
Trailer Sailer Cruising Australia my Facebook page continues to draw participants and is active with posts and comments on a daily basis.
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[Timm R Oday25]

Thank you for bringing us along . Would it be possible for you to show us on a map just where it is you hope to be cruising ? Thanks

[Grith]

Thank you for bringing us along . Would it be possible for you to show us on a map just where it is you hope to be cruising ? Thanks

Our big adventure planned for next year is in The Kimberley's in North West Western Australia. It is a very remote and difficult to access and challenging sailing location of outstanding beauty.
Invested in the inshore Mangrove's,rivers and creeks with prehistoric monster crocs and in many areas having 10 metre tides it's not an area to be tackled lightly.
It's been on my to do list for about 25 years now but an unplanned late life only child and subsequent separation from her mother kind of threw a spanner in the works.
New partner, again retired for a second time 19 years after the first attempt and after my daughter has flown the nest we are cruising by trailer sailer and finally kind of ready for the biggest of challenges not counting things like circumnavigating.
Likely launch point Derby WA after a several thousand mile tow to get there from south east South Australia. You cannot view this attachment.

[Norm L.]

I'll start with how good the food looked in that photo on the boat.
Your adventure up to the Derby area. My only knowledge of the upper west coast was in an Australian novel I read about 10 years ago and now forget the title. Although I would like to reread it. As I remember the main character starts around Perth and drives up the coast with the ending, I think somewhere near the coast north of Broome. And there is conflict, and an amazing cove cliff fight at the end.

I just finished helping present a course that had two Australian students. One was in an area near Perth and the other near Adelaide. Of course, their time was midnight to 0700. I saw the Jandakot guys face once in two days but the Pennington guy was visible a number of times and actually got involved on some discussions.

Information on your sailing will be amazing from those northern waters.

[Grith]

Hi Norm Yes regarding food on our yacht I am extremely fortunate the my repartnering just over 5 years ago with Clare not only scored me an excellent and highly adaptable cook but also a lady willing to undertake some real adventuring.
Clare had never even set foot on a boat prior to our meeting and is now an accomplished kayaker, beginner stand up paddle boarder and quickly learning about sailing.
It helps that Clare was already a very tough and capable wilderness explorer/backpacker and thinks living on our small 28 foot trailerable cruising yacht is luxury camping.
Now retired together for just over three years we have already lived on my yacht for over 6 months of this and about the same in our off-road slide on truck camper primarily remote area walking which is her passion.
Whilst we also backpack longer distances sleeping in our tent the slide on camper provides a similar level of comfort to our yacht.
Clare is a genius a dehydrating and turning excellent meals from what we catch or collect. The middle photo is a dish made with oysters we collected with around 40 oysters on each plate!
3/4 months without the ability to reprovision on our Kimberley's adventure will however really stretch both our skillsets.
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[Norm L.]

RFrance here has done some great adventures in a scale below yours, racing several sailboats open versions of the Hartley TS 16. And building an amazing camper that fits in the bed of his ute which is used to get a boat to a distant race or cruising camping tour.

My last boat was beautiful Hartley TS 16. I met up with a friend in the outback inland from Brisbane who has a TS 16.
That was almost the height of my water days in Oz.