3 months in a (not so leaky) boat

So, on the first of February we ran out of friends' houses to live in and moved on board Meander in her pen at HBYC. Today, three months later, on the first of May we find ourselves enjoying beautiful weather and uncrowded and idyllic cruising in the Gippsland Lakes. 

Yes, we are still a lot closer to home than we had expected to be, and some parts of this adventure have been a lot more challenging than we expected, however the ship's log reads 720 nautical miles (about 1300 km) since leaving Hobson's Bay and we've learned something with each of those miles.

Some things are getting a little easier, like the routine of 5 of us living in the area of a typical double bedroom which occasionally gets tipped on its side and shaken,  however other things don't seem to be getting any easier (I managed to clip my first jetty with the boat this afternoon - and knocked a small chunk of it with the anchor).

Getting the kids to accept responsibility for chores or even show an interest in where we are or where we're going is far more challenging than we (I) would like. Except sometimes it isn't. Sometimes they switch on and engage. Why is that? How do you encourage it? Does it matter? These are the questions we're really here to answer and pushing ourselves to sail hundreds of miles up the coast of Australia doesn't seem like it will help. That just will just serve to stress and tire us parents, and that certainly won't help us work on the family dynamics. 

No, a change in plan is clearly required. We're considering our options but we aren't in any hurry, the lakes are fantastic this time of year. 

Back to you on this when we've figured it out...

Dawn this morning found us tied up to the jetty at Sperm Whale Head.

 

Where the sand was awesome!

This evening found us tied up to the (very slightly damaged) jetty at Steamer Landing

The family patiently wait for Dad (and EV) to produce dinner...

Good morning Mum and Dad!