Living Off Grid During Covid - Episode 139

Thanks Leyton, for watching and the support. T&P

Thanks Vince. We do feel fortunate that our life has had only a few bumps during the COVID event. Feeling concerned for our families and being barred from the option of going to them was the most unpleasant but being able to contact them was a real blessing. Our best wishes to your family and everyone you care about, especially while this mess all shakes out.

Antics is a pretty good description for our episodes😄. We think there is a definite knack to living together smoothly in a Clansman yacht for so many years now but seeing Australia in all her wild moods has been well worth any inconvenience. Thanks for coming along Dean.

It's our first 'winter' since leaving Perth a few years ago. The tropics in Australia is hot or hotter and raining so we know how you feel.

We enjoy sharing what we experience and the knowledge we have gained, especially when we hear that people like you are finding it useful. You're right about that cabin top. A six two guy in a six foot space is just a backache waiting to happen. We should do a 'yoga with Pascy' episode to show how to avoid that!

And the rum dissertation above as well!

There is a very good reason those fritters are so popular wherever there are Abalone; even more-so when Pascale works her magic on them.

Haven't tried Haitian rum. Tell me more.

Mirrool's interior volume is such that no weakening on my part will create any extra room! I think we have also maxxed out on power as well as hit our weight limit. Having concrete boundaries on how much stuff we can own makes our decision making a lot easier in some respects.

We think the fish stocks here are quite well managed and the locals certainly enjoy getting out and catching their dinner but as you say, it is hard to compare with tropical regions for sheer numbers and variety of fish. Where here are upwellings and concentrations of plankton, there is a real party though with birds, dolphins and seals competing with fast pelagics to gobble up as many baitfish as possible. They are pretty ephemeral events though so a slow moving boat like ours doesn't come upon it very often. The lockdown has been very mild in Tasmania becase it was relatively easy to restrict access to the island. We had some trouble geting a few bits of film-making gear but everything we require for our refit- paint, varnish and timber was easily sourced. Breathing protection and industrial alcohol were a pain though...

That furler was the most expensive option but I bought it because it was made in Australia and had an excellent reputation. It hasn't let us down and is just about bomb proof. They really do make a difference on little boats where deck space to work is limited and the shifting around of crew has a more pronounced effect in trying conditions. We'll wait to see what system you decide to go with.

Further down the rabbit-hole is clarifying your own ghee! We don't as our stove isn't all that efficient but as hard as it is to imagine, there are definitely some ghees better than others. We're not sure that mayo is really food as it never goes off but we do love it;)

The synthetic bearings are a non-grease type. According to the manual, greasing can be detrimental to this unit. A little spray with some PTFE every other year.

We knew our Kiwi brothers and sisters would approve..

Glad you enjoyed it, thank you.