Australian would-be nomad

[Lawler]

Hi everyone!

I’m a techie living in Melbourne and I don’t yet own a boat. My wife and I have three cats, zero kids.

I like the idea of getting a liveaboard and moving our lives onto it, but there are obviously a few things to learn and try, before we go buying a boat.

I’m joining this forum because it’s fascinating, and I have SO MANY QUESTIONS.

So yeah. Howdy!

[dlj]

Welcome.

Have you ever sailed or spent time on boats?

dj

[Lawler]

Yes, but not a lot. I’ve stent quite a few days on my uncle’s (freshwater) fishing boat. I’ve spent a couple of months of my life on cruise ships. I’ve spent a week long holiday on a houseboat on a lake. I’ve sailed little Fairy Penguin dinghies on a lake. I’ve seized every opportunity to do tours or ferry trips.
I know my wife and I both like the sea and both enjoy boat travel.


..and I think I know where the question is going.- I’m all too aware that we need to
- try time on a small boat at sea and find out if we like it.
- take our cats out on a charter boat for a day and see if *they* like it.
- learn (with actual training) to sail, navigate, maintain a boat, etc. and find out if we like that too.

I have a whole other question thread I’m putting together about how much experience is ‘enough’ for various activities.

Thanks for the welcome! Hi!

[dlj]

Originally Posted by Lawler

Yes, but not a lot. I’ve stent quite a few days on my uncle’s (freshwater) fishing boat. I’ve spent a couple of months of my life on cruise ships. I’ve spent a week long holiday on a houseboat on a lake. I’ve sailed little Fairy Penguin dinghies on a lake. I’ve seized every opportunity to do tours or ferry trips.
I know my wife and I both like the sea and both enjoy boat travel.


..and I think I know where the question is going.- I’m all too aware that we need to
- try time on a small boat at sea and find out if we like it.
- take our cats out on a charter boat for a day and see if *they* like it.
- learn (with actual training) to sail, navigate, maintain a boat, etc. and find out if we like that too.

I have a whole other question thread I’m putting together about how much experience is ‘enough’ for various activities.

Thanks for the welcome! Hi!

Actually the question was simply informational - at least from my side. Hard to know if I'm talking to a seasoned mariner of one form or another, or complete newbie that has never set foot on a boat.


dj

[JPA Cate]

Welcome aboard CF, Lawler.

Cats, like people, vary in their susceptibility to seasickness. For the learning phases of sailing, it may be a better deal for you guys to leave them home, till you're competent to take your own boat out. Thus you could avoid having to clean up cat barf from someone else's boat.

Ann

[Lawler]

JPA Cate,

The whole point of that exercise would be to assess how well the cats cope with being on the water because, if they’re not going to cope at all then that’s a red flag on buying a boat at all.

Yes- that may well mean taking them out on a trawler or whatever is industrial enough that nobody cares if we have to wipe some cat vomit off it.

[Trippin]

Excellent mudcrab bait... nobody will judge you.

[ChrisJHC]

Hey, Lawler, I’m also in the tech industry and live in Melbourne.

FYI there are a number of good sailing schools in Melbourne that can teach you the basics and some can then continue up to offshore or ocean qualifications.
If you’re going down the training path, then I would look at the RYA schools rather than the Australian Sailing ones as AS really stops at the basic crew level.
(Disclaimer - I teach part-time at one of the RYA schools).

Once you’ve got some skills then look at chartering on the Gippsland Lakes.
Even a short (3-day?) charter will give you a feel for whether this is something you might be interested in doing more permanently.
Check whether they’re okay with taking your cats with you - I’d guess there will be some additional conditions around it.
There’s not really anyone in Melbourne doing bareboat charters.

Also, if doing training in Melbourne, make sure you do some of it in the middle of winter so you don’t get the impression that it’s all fair winds and tropical sunsets!

Anyway, feel free to hit me up for more local info.

Chris

[Adelie]

Welcome to CruisersForum!

I would suggest updating your profile with your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.