Winter Cruising on the Clarence River

Bushfire smoke encased the air as we turned off the Pacific Highway towards Maclean in our motorhome, and crossed the single lane timber and wrought iron bridge that spans South Arm of the Clarence River. “We’re going to sail this river one day”, my husband announced as we followed this enormous waterway alongside Woodford Island. Fast forward 18 months and on a clear morning last July we arrived at the Clarence River entrance in a 43-foot sailing yacht, named Jobey-Doh. You know the saying, “There are those who make things happen….”

McFarlane Bridge, crossing the South Arm near Maclean. 
Summer 2019

McFarlane Bridge from the Clarence River
July 2021

On water lockdown

A post-apocalyptic silence looms over the bay; a distant siren adds weight to the scenario. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration but there is a noticeable difference of activity for a weekend day. A COVID-19 lockdown has finally caught up with us, but instead of being in the thick of it we are floating around on the peripheral, literally.

A glass out, until the wind changes.

How much can one do in 6 months?

Someone wise once said, “Minutes are worth more than money. Spend them wisely." ¹ I think I can safely say I have done that over the last six months. With a combination of land and sea adventures it really has been Carpe Diem at its best.

A quick north Queensland road trip

After three months at sea, it was time for a road trip and another Delvy adventure. It was a relief to be on terra firma for a break: it didn’t take long at all to find our land legs. Travelling in the motorhome is very easy compared to the challenges of a large sailing vessel so we were happy to take a long drive north over a short space of time for a change of scenery and to catch up with friends.

Living small: motorhome versus yacht

You might have noticed that adventures in Delvy have currently been replaced with adventures on a big red yacht.  We’ve swapped one isolating lifestyle for another; a green landscape for blue. Living in a small space on land and water has similarities, but there are plenty of differences. Knowing how to sail is one of them!

Having spent a few years roaming the vast land of Australia in our Toyota Coaster motorhome, life on the water kept beckoning, so we have found ourselves a floating home once again. This sailing vessel is a little different to our previous yacht, Lady Katherine. We are now the proud owners of a 71-foot Pacific Proa. What’s that you ask? More on that later, but in the meantime let’s compare life on the road with life on the water.

Destination versus Journey

Travelling along National Highway 1 at 110 kilometres per hour is a bit of a novelty, but seeing as this trip was about getting to the destination as quickly as possible, then speed was essential and Delvy not the vehicle to do it in.

It’s two thousand kilometres from Airlie Beach to Church Point where we had to pick up a yacht, which amounts to about 24 hours of driving time. With two drivers swapping in and out and a pre packed picnic bag, plus overnight stops in the Sunshine Coast and Lake Macquarie, the mission was accomplished in two and a half days.

This was far quicker than we have ever done the Australian east coast road before, but we had an appropriate vehicle to do it in.  In contrast, it would take Delvy a week to travel that distance.

Which would I prefer, fast tracking or taking the slow lane? 

Road trip fun - always something to look at even in the boring bits.

Isolation continues

As COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease it hasn’t really changed much for us in rural Queensland. We’ve been here 6 weeks now and are happy living on the ‘farm’, still keeping busy with odd jobs like mowing, weeding, and shack maintenance, but enjoying the tranquillity and solitude of the Lethebrook district.

Our pot of gold iso spot.