All bases covered?

Cuppa · Guru

RE: All bases covered?

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

I come from a family intimately involved with setting up WAs iron ore industry from scratch. Koolan is operational again to my knowledge.
My Dad was a very senior exec involved in the original creation of Mt Newman/ BHP Iron having been sent there from NSW for initially supposedly two years to start it and ultimately dying in WA about 60 years later with many accolades and achievements to his credit.

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Thursday 27th of July 2023 08:15:49 PM

watsea · Guru

My wife and I knew a couple who met each other while working at Koolan Island. They worked at the island until a closure.
They regularly travelled in their larger motor boat with other Koolan folk in boats along the coast. They did some lengthy trips staying out a few days. They had great trips.

As for fuel for their boats, they often travelled part of their full intended journey and returned after stowing fuel stocks, obviously well hidden and the area being very isolated, so they could extend their range of travel. They carried their water with them. No reverse osmosis system for them smile

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Yes one of the advantages of trailerable yachts generally is sailing to save fuel and add tranquility. Our unusual craft the Imexus 28 combines yacht and powerboat ( sometimes to the distress of both of those groups!) with full sailing capability and full high speed motoring capability.
Today we have just sailed across The Whitsunday Passage and are parked out in the islands planning to be out here for a couple of months.
We have an old friend of mine sharing our first week and will then drop him back into Hamilton Island to catch his flight back to Perth.
I had chartered a yacht with him and his family in 2001 going out into the Islands ( and out of communication range back then) for two weeks with our first day going out being 9/11 and watching that on TV just before leaving the world behind to go sailing.

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

We have now been out in the Islands cruising for over two weeks and intend to be out here for a couple more months. Saves on caravan park fees, no overcrowding, perfect waterfront site everytime. Just some of the multiple advantages of grey nomading by trailer sailer instead of caravan or camper trailer!

Possum3 · Guru

Where do you store your truck and trailer for an extended period?

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

This time a friendly Whitsunday Yacht Club member is storing our slide on camper, truck and trailer on his hobby farm for the usual local currency. ( beer)

We have used all sorts of solutions from transport yards, down the back of caravan parks in their off season, self storage and caravan storage places, even once a police lockup yard.
I find local farmers often have somewhere out of the way but in sight secure and are often happy to oblige again for local favours currency.

Some country yacht clubs have reciprocal arrangements with clubs we are members of and other trailer sailer owners are also often happy to help if they have the space which we also offer in return and in advance of favours on our vacant block next to our house which is a short mast up drive from our local boat ramp.

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Wednesday 9th of August 2023 07:35:21 PM

Brodie Allen · Guru

Note to Trailer Sailor:

I have a Touareg and had to get remapping reversed. Bit of a technical story as to why,

Put Steinbauer modules in and 250,000 k later all pulling 3.5 tonne and still "Wallah".

Excellent article in one of the online mags last week - will see if I can find it and will
post link for both yours and others' information.

B

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

We have now been cruising/free camping out in The Whitsunday area for over a month. With the exception of a couple of nights in the Coral Sea Marina at the beginning of our trip and one expensive overnight berth in Hamilton Island Marina dropping my friend who joined us for the first week for his flight home we have camped free in paradise.
Our 28 foot floating caravan has had sufficient water and supplies that our first return to civilisation for resupply will be after over four weeks out here yet we had a superb steak dinner last night along with several glasses of red wine.
Yes the setup effort to turn a trailer sailer into a long range cruising yacht isnt insubstantial and a little boating experience is required but the experiences are priceless for less than the cost of a fancy new stuck on land caravan.
The fact that most camping spots are to die for and are free is a huge additional bonus making up for the occasional BOAT bring out another thousand expense moments.
We have now elderly pensioner friends who have been doing it for over 30 years who initially had little boating experience it is an entirely feasible and attractive alternative to land based grey nomading in my view.

Hard to beat free camping site.

Perfect sunsets
Free feed of oysters collected from nearby rocks.

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Wednesday 23rd of August 2023 06:16:11 AM

Possum3 · Guru

Stop it you're making me very envious.

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Possum3 wrote:
Stop it you're making me very envious.

Nope, Sorry but you just need to find a way to get out here yourself! :)

We were forced by Covid lockdowns to retire a little early, sold up in NSW significantly downsized and moved to very cheap home in SA and buggered off to go travelling much of the time on the difference in house prices proceeds.
Very lucky we know to have been where post Covid prices went completely stupid in NSW and to have purchased a little in advance of our sales just before lagging SA prices took off!
Quitting jobs and moving states to a very cheap and relatively remote but unique location is a really big call but its been worth it!

We also purchased our package from the RV market before it went completely post Covid lockdowns crazy!
Covid was bad for so many people but some of us managed to catch a rogue wave during the mess despite the odds being stacked against us. All bases covered and trying to hit a home run!

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Wednesday 23rd of August 2023 03:09:30 PM

Trailer Sailer · Senior Member

Well we were out in The Whitsundays cruising in our trailer sailer for over 8 weeks but have returned home to South Australia arriving last night. We have had the holiday of a lifetime combining a 10 day walk of part of The Larapinta Trail near Alice Springs on the way up with them our extended cruise of the Whitsundays including a three night stay on the Outer Reef. (rarely ever reached by a trailer sailer).
It was also a shake down trip for our planned 3 months exploring in The Kimberleys by trailer sailer next year.
I did manage to find and buy a secondhand Reverse Osmosis Watermaker secondhand and we picked it up in Bundaberg on the drive back to SA.
Twice we went four weeks between needing to resupply with running out of wine being the primary cause of needing to return to the mainland from the islands!
12 weeks is going to be a big challenge to carry enough supplys for next year!
Between some new water saving and water carrying systems I have developed along with the Katadyn 40e watermaker, water wont be a limiting factor.
Food also we have pretty well covered between Clares extensive drying processes and our hunter gathering live off the ocean we should be fine for enough food. Despite our 8 weeks out in the islands we still didnt use about a third of our food supplys and learnt some lessons about what to bring more and less of.
We ate so many free oysters I am sure I will never be able to purchase these again given their generally prohibitive purchase price. We consumed hundreds during our eight weeks out sailing/cruising!
We made some new friends, did so amazing stuff and generally had a great time.
We had intended a leisurely return tow including several stops for shorter cruises on the way home but the opportunity to buy another water front home on a large block here in our unknown little corner of SA on The Murray River has seen us drag the yacht back here in double quick time arriving last night.
We have already agreed the purchase sight unseen (Again!) and exchanged contracts. We actually get our first look at what we have agreed to buy today!
Whilst already owning a piece of paradise here along with its adjoining vacant also waterfront block, this old tired home is on nearly twice the size of both of those combined and has its own boat ramp as well as jetty.
The home is old and tired but the floor plan is workable and the extra room for Clares self sufficiency gardening and our collection of water craft and their ease of use with our own boat ramp in the back yard made the choice worthwhile we feel.
Looks like a rebuilt type renovation ahead of us rather than the new build I was trying to squeeze onto our current small vacant block.
It still amazes me how cheap our little marina canal development is being completely unknown to most here in SA never mind the rest of Australia!
Trading out of two mid range NSW homes ( Clares in Sydney and mine in Kangaroo Valley) to move here to retire has freed extravagant amounts of capital to do crazy things like this recent purchase along with developing our travelling rig. Somewhere Nowhere Clare calls it but it is making a great base for our grey nomading and hopefully now with the new purchase being a modest 3bed 1 bath single level home which should allow us to live here well into our dotage! All three properties combined still cost less than one of the two homes we sold in ridiculously expensive NSW!

We stopped at the free campsite provided by The Leap pub in outback Queensland which was most appreciated. Despite being a little noisy close to the highway the food and drinks were both great and excellent value and we recommend a stop there.

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Thursday 28th of September 2023 05:01:52 AM

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Thursday 28th of September 2023 05:04:49 AM

-- Edited by Trailer Sailer on Thursday 28th of September 2023 05:07:10 AM