104. Australia

This is written in an anchorage off the island of Flores, Indonesia. The Flores that recently had a volcanic eruption and the Flores that lies just next to Komodo with its famous dragons. It is also written as I’m sitting right next to the outlet from my new air conditioning unit which is fighting an uphill battle trying to keep the temperature and humidity at reasonable levels. Truth be told though, it’s the dry season here and it’s not that bad actually. I understand it gets a lot worse in the wet season.

But enough about Indonesia for now. I thought that I should try to sum up my experiences from living on a boat in Australia for a little over seven months. And from sailing over 5,000 nautical miles from Bundaberg in Queensland down to Tasmania and back up to Darwin in Northern Territory. Further than I’ve sailed in any other country, excluding Sweden. Hardly surprising as the country is huge and very far from anything. It is roughly the same size at as the US and I recall that when an American director from my former company was picked up by colleagues at the airport in Melbourne he allegedly greeted them saying ‘there are planets closer than this f**king place’!

I never really planned to go to Australia. My Pacific Ocean ‘first world’ stop was always going to be New Zealand, a country that I’ve always wanted to visit. The original plan was to go from there to Fiji and Vanuatu and then strait to Indonesia. But all the work I had done on Saoirse in New Zealand and a late visit to Sweden meant that I was a little late leaving and would have ended up in Indonesia during the wet season. So I diverted and went to Australia for a seven month pit stop, something that I certainly don’t regret.

So what’s Australia like as a sailing destination and for a live aboard? Let’s start with the fact that it is a heavily urbanised country with two thirds of the population living in one of the five largest cities. This means that huge areas, particularly inland and in the north are almost totally empty. When I say empty, I mean there are almost no humans around. I hardly saw a soul during my 1,500 nautical mile sail from Cairns to Darwin. That doesn’t mean that I was alone though. There is plenty of wildlife all along the North Queensland and Northern Territory coastlines, much of it capable of killing a human. My guidebook had a ton of pages dedicated to warning me of everything from bull sharks to venomous jellyfish and saltwater crocodiles. And in the very north there are sign posts on beaches simply telling you not to swim in the ocean. I found the landscape very beautiful and would argue that northern Australia feels a lot more remote than any other small island nation that I’ve sailed to. For a solo sailor though, It could feel a little lonely at times and I found it a little frustrating not to be able to snorkel parts of the Great Barrier Reef.

I actually preferred the cities. I spent several weeks anchored right in the middle of both Brisbane and Sydney. And I really mean downtown. In front of Storey Bridge in Brisbane and the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in Sydney. I‘ve sailed into several large cities but never to places where you could anchor like this. And it’s all encouraged. There are dinghy docks with fresh water provided at strategic locations all along the water fronts and it’s all totally free of charge. It took me a long time to realise that I’m not going to be woken up one morning by someone in uniform asking me what the hell I was thinking when anchoring in their main waterway rather than checking into a hot and expensive marina in some remote suburb. It was fantastic to have a whole city on my doorstep. To be able to choose between taking part in all that happened ashore or just pour myself a drink and watch it all from the comfort of my floating lounge. I loved both cities. Possibly Brisbane the most as I had no expectations on this gem.

Australia claims to have just over 10,000 beaches and that you can visit a new beach every day of your life. If you want to join the 27-club. Most of these beaches are spectacular with waves that started their lives somewhere in South America. Waves that grow exponentially as they approach the shallow waters outside the east coast. Creating ideal conditions for surfers. Not so much for sailors though. We tend to look for natural harbours. Coves that protect you from wind and swell. There is a distinct lack of natural harbours along the Australian east coast. Sydney Bay is an exception (apparently the largest natural harbour in the world). You often find yourself having to look for a river estuary for protection from the elements. These rivers often have a sand bar or bank towards the ocean that can create very dangerous conditions if you don’t time your crossing right. The general advice is to pass at or near high tide and in no more that 15 knots of wind or 1.5 m in wave height. It can be a little hard to time it right as there can be strong currents all along the coast so with time you learn that you need a Plan A, B and C for your next port of call. If anything, sailing in New South Wales reminded me of the Atlantic coast of Portugal. Another paradise for surfers.

I’ve saved the best part for last. Tasmania. With rainforests, vineyards, waterfalls and a landscape inspired by the Iron Islands in Game of Thrones (probably the other way around), this gem has it all. I don’t know what I expected but this was more. Actually, I expected an aging population on an island in gradual decline but was met by a young and vibrant population, highly artistic, that had moved there. I don’t blame them. This was one of the absolute highlights of my travels so far!

So here is a list of my favourite stops in Australia. I know that I’ve only scratched the surface during my seven months. I’ll have to save the rest for my next lap.