words of wisdom.
CASE STUDY ONE
Robert Rowan of fixed address:Night
Moves, a 42ft aluminium Crowther
catamaran, built in Tasmania in 1996.
After 25 years being all-at-sea, Robert
Rowan says his lifestyle is unbeatable.
“I haven’t mowed a lawn for 25 years
and I am not about to start,” he said.
“My first boat was a steel ketch and
I sailed that to Sydney where I lived
aboard on anchor,” Robert recalls.
“The best thing about my lifestyle is
being able to be an individual without
having to be worried about what other
people think.”
Five-years ago, Robert boughtNight
Movesfor $195,000. He moors her in a
berth at Airlie Beach and when not at
work goes sailing to any one of the 74
sub-tropical islands that make up the
Whitsundays.
Robert says marina life is far more
convenient than living out on anchor,
particularly given the long hours he
works as a building-site manager.
“If you are in a professional job like
I am you need to live in a marina,” he
said.
CASE STUDY TWO
Mike Blenkinsop of fixed address:
Pelikan, Lawrence Giles design, LOA
14.5m, western red cedar epoxy and
glass sheathed, built in Australia in the
mid-1990s.
Mike Blenkinsop loves to share
his yachting lifestyle with friends,
turning his bluewater cruiserPelikan
into a holiday home during racing
regattas. I caught up with Mike at the
Audi Hamilton Island Race Week back
in August. He agrees the lifestyle is
unbeatable and says he has always
felt confident the boat would see him
through even the roughest weather.
“We recently sailedPelikanfrom
Melbourne to the Whitsundays. Myself
and my crew have never felt at risk,
even in the worst of weather,” says Mike
of the bluewater ketch that completed
a 45,000nm circumnavigation with the
previous owner and is built for long-
distance cruising in comfort.
As for the costs of a cruising lifestyle,
Mike says it’s all about finding a
balance.
“You just need to find a balance
between having a nice time and not
spending much money, with being on
anchor and spending no money at all –
short of shopping,” he explains. “But I
have to say, these days the marinas are
an expensive way to go.”
A favourite haunt for the crew of
Pelikanis Gulnare Inlet off Whitsunday
Island.
It’s an all-weather anchorage with
its upper reaches used by some localLiving AboardMAIN Dropping anchor where and when you want is a major drawcard for most
ABOVE MIke Blenkinsop (rear) and crew of Pelikan finds marinas too costly to stay
long.skippers as a cyclone anchorage. It is
close to Hamilton Island and is often
used by boaties who work on the
island.CASE STUDY THREE
Geoff and Cathy Cashman of fixed
address: Sensation, a 38ft fibreglass
Admiral catamaran, built in South
Africa in 2003.
Unfortunately living aboard boats
doesn’t come without heartbreak, as
Geoff and Cathy Cashman know all
too well. They lost their first boat, a
catamaran called Simply, in a severe
storm at Airlie Beach two years ago. The
tempest claimed more than 60 vessels
in one tragic night.
But Cathy says even the terrible loss
of Simply would not dissuade her from
the liveaboard lifestyle.
The Cashmans say they have the
best of both worlds, spending four
months of the year at their home in
Adelaide and the other eight months on
Sensation, either on their mooring at
Airlie Beach or out sailing.
Geoff said one of the best things
about living aboard is that life becomes
an adventure, plus he no longer gets
speeding or parking fines. And cruising
is a very cheap way to live.
“Our favourite spots would have to
be Dunk Island, Low Isles, Michaelmas
Cay and Port Douglas,” Geoff says.
Incidentally, Michaelmas Cay is a
highly sensitive, major seabird-nesting
island in the northern Great Barrier
Reef that is often home to more than
20,000 migratory seabirds.
As for Cathy, she says the best thing
about being on boats is, “meeting lots
of really interesting people who have
the same love of being outside and
want to talk about boats”.
“And I love seeing all the fish,
dolphins, whales and turtles,” she
revealed.
Cathy, who had breast cancer, says
she wanted to inspire others to take the
leap of faith and start living life.
“I can’t think of a downside really
when it comes to living aboard,” she
says. “I think living aboard is about
moving, meeting new people and
seeing beautiful sights that we wouldn’t
normally see.”CASE STUDY FOUR
Grant Devlin, Raylene McCullum, son
Jordan, 9, and daughter Theresa, 17, of
fixed address: Virtu, a 38ft Roberts steeltradeboats.com.au 45