Reality Check

[ClarkeB]

Good Afternoon All,

New starter, cherry, greenskin, cleanskin (for wine lovers) reaching out to others who may not think I am barmy.
History:
I have been sailing on and off for most of my life (as I'm still here) Coastal, Island hopping, a little bluewater, NZ,Noumea, Vanuatu, Solomons. Sth Africian coast.
Settled in Nth Queensland, family commitments saw me digging holes in the ground (U/G mining) since came to the surface.
Now that I have kicked out the boys, all bar one( won't be long) I realise that I want to be on the water for good.
My loving wife is of two minds, one to stay the other wave me goodbye. We did have a yacht for a few years but with work I could not justify the time nor expence.
I made the mistake to sail from Sydney to Auckland on a tall ship (Picton Castle) and here I am readying my house for sale next year with a boat in mind.
A multihull (Leopard or a lagoon) coastal sailing(Ozzy is a big Island) but not ruled out a little blue.
I look forward to picking your brains and swapping yarns.

Regards

ClarkeB

[captain58sailin]

Welcome to the forum ClarkeB. You left out new fish, and FNG.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!

[socaldmax]

I was gonna say newb, but I don't own a boat, so I'm not gonna call anyone names, but welcome aboard!!


I like your taste in cats, I'm leaning toward a Leopard myself, just based on reading so far. I've also subscribed to the Leopard Yahoo Group, which really gives an unbiased look into what people are dealing with in terms of repairs, upgrades, things to look for, etc.

So far, it looks like they don't have any brand specific flaws or major issues, just the usual replacing worn out sails, repairing heads, replacing thruhulls, etc. that are normal for all sailboats.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy!
Welcome too.

I wish I could say I had sailed on the Picton Castle.

Leopards sure look nice to me. But I also like the Lagoon cats too.

Have fun!

[hellosailor]

Keep the house, sell the wife. Removes all the uncertainty that way. (VBG)

[Jim Cate]

Welcome aboard, Clarke.

Sounds like a later in life manifestation of earlier ideas. Sadly, this affliction is incurable, so you might as well be fatalistic and just do it!

If you are gonna stay in Qld, a cat is a great idea, so get cracking. We may be up that way in a few weeks, so keep an eye out for our half boat.

Cheers,

Jim

[barnakiel]

Yep.

OZ big beautiful island, well worth a life of cruising. Friendly people too.

A cat will do. You will love cruising Oz in a cat.

Cheers,
b.

[sapient sue]

Hi and welcome. As Jim said - go for it. We did and have not regretted our decision in all our years aboard. Sailing along the coast of Aus is rewarding as the scenery is so varied. We did just that for the first 5 years and then ventured further. Now we have over 80,000 nms under our belt and so many friends in locations too numerous to mention.

Sue

Currently re-engining in Sydney