Recap!

So we switched things up a bit this year. After last year’s cruising season was spent sans Aquabat in the US and PNG, we wanted to be sure that we got some cruising in especially since we knew that this year wouldn’t involve much sailing either (more on that later). So we sailed around the Whitsundays over the summer. It was a different place then it is in the winter. 

The hot northerly winds meant that we had access to anchorages that we didn’t have access to in the winter (cruising season here), it was definitely a lot cooler being at anchor (most days) than being stuck in a marina and there was lots of rain which made for some fun walks and swims, waterfalls, kept our decks clean and ensured we didn’t run out of fresh water. But there was also the downside of cruising in the summer: it was hot, we had to worry about cyclones and stingers, it rained a lot (closed up boat = hot), there were march flies and did I mention it was hot?! But we were glad we did it! 

By now I’m sure your question is “Alissa, why aren’t you cruising this season?” To answer, a couple of months ago, we gained a crew member. She’s currently rather useless as crew but always good for morale with endless smiles and giggles. That’s right another girl in Bryce’s life to join myself and Aquabat. At the risk of giving birth whilst at sea and in the interest of making our lives easier after the fact, we decided to attach ourselves to land for several months. We were fortunate enough to have several stints housesitting in the area thanks to very generous family and friends, mixed in with some time on the boat in a marina. We have been back on the boat now for about three weeks and it’s been a fairly easy adjustment (made slightly more difficult by a heatwave that came through). 

As the cruising season rapidly comes to an end, we are hoping to get out for just a little bit to explore some nearby islands. We will even be happy just to explore our island. The northerlies have been set in for the last few weeks (source of said heatwave), but we are hopeful that we will get some southerlies and cooler weather soon. 

So stayed tuned! The adventures of the Aquabats continue!

P.S. We won’t be sharing information about our daughter on the blog or other social media sites for many reasons, but you can know that she will be experiencing all the joys of being a boat kid! Thank you for respecting that!!!