This is the home of every article written.

2018
  • May 15th - Leaving home
    We were always going to move somewhere warmer. We were never going to buy a boat, never even gave it a thought until I came back from that Vanuatu trip. We were going to buy a nice place in Peregian Beach on the Sunshine Coast. Shelley was going to practice her Chinese Medicine and I […]
  • August 15th - Pre-order options
    Why Options? The base boat does not come equipped with all you need to go bluewater cruising, not even an anchor; according to the opening paragraph of the contract appendix ‘Standard Equipment’, imaged immediately below. That is not a big inclusions list. To see what we added please read on…. You must fit out the […]
  • November 10th - The tender
    I saw an advertisement somewhere about a tender that was made in New Zealand. I saw the post and I wanted a tender just like that one. OCTenders are a New Zealand company located in the beautiful Bay of Islands. Each tender is made by hand to order. octenders.co.nz   Karin was wonderful to deal with, […]
  • December 30th - We Decide to Leave Earlier
    Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. We were at my daughters in West Footscray, there was no one there except us, my daughter had taken her family to Penang to meet other family members for Christmas and my son had wiped us […]
2019
  • January 16th - In The Water!
  • February 17th - On our way, almost
    It was a busy week in the countdown to flying out, we had colonised part of my daughter's house with our assorted bags and I had put off repacking because it was all too hard.
  • February 20th - We arrive at La Rochelle
    Oh the relief to finally arrive at our destination with every piece of luggage and our relationship intact. Our bodies, mine especially, was a bit battered and I was gallantly fighting off a case of changing climate flu.  We got off the train in La Rochelle jubilant that we had arrived, the joy was short […]
  • February 23rd - The city of boats
    Port de Minimes name is derived from the establishment of a convent of the Frères Minimes in this area during the 1550s. The Hermits of the Order of the Minimes was founded by St Frances of Paola in Italy in 1493. They were an order that not only adhered to the vows of chastity, poverty, […]
  • March 12th - The boats of La Rochelle from the Yelo ​Electric Seabus
    It was a bit of a windy and miserable day so we rugged up and went down to the Yelo Electro Seabus that goes from the old port to the marina at Les Minimes. It was a 20-minute trip and we could use our monthly ticket, otherwise, it is 2 Euros return. We alighted at […]
  • March 14th - Shelley’s bit of culture
    Requiem de Mozart in La Rochelle- Eglise Notre Dame de La Rochelle We arrived half an hour early under threat of our discounted seats being given to someone else. This gave us time to really explore the space from our smallish chairs, bound together at intervals of four chairs by long pieces of timber. I […]
  • March 16th - Eucalyptus leaves the factory
  • March 16th - She’s ready to leave FP
    We drove out to Aigrefuille the evening before the boat was to be transported to Les Minimes. It was important we knew where we were going so navigational arguments could be avoided on the big important day. The factory is easy to find but we were apprehensive about going in so contented ourselves with looking […]
  • March 17th - We follow the boat!
    The reason we wanted to come to La Rochelle early was to follow the boat on the truck to Les Minimes. It proved to be an exciting experience that was well worth the trouble. We hired a car from Rent A Car which is not far from La Rochelle railway station, it was much cheaper […]
  • March 17th - We arrive at Port Minimes
    The journey finished at Port Minimes where the boat was unloaded. We returned the next day to watch the stepping of the mast and finally the entry into the water. Fontaine Pajot will check all systems with the dealer, in this case, Multihull Solutions, who make sure everything is correct before accepting the handover from […]
  • March 20th - Looking for Eucalyptus
    It was a beautiful day so we headed down to Les Minimes port. We had seen other FP’s near the Captainerie and because it wasn’t at Uchimata’s pontoon, this was the only place it could be. Uchimata is the after factory fit-out person, he is French and his name is Pierre. His business is named […]
  • March 22nd - The Central Marche
    Sunday is not the busiest day at the market so it was an ideal day to do a quick video. Suffice to say it is another learning curve to film and edit these things. It’s a bit tricky to be unobtrusive but when I mention they will be famous in Australia, they smile! We shop […]
  • March 23rd - Gilets Jaune
    Photos Shelley Beer, Video Jill de Vos 23 Mar 19
  • April 14th - Eucalyptus gets her gear on!
    The culmination of 12 months work designing a boat name logo finally came to fruition today. Naming a boat is a traumatic ordeal, especially when you rarely agree with your partner. Compromise is always the outcome and while neither of you are completely happy you are both relatively happy. And so Eucalyptus came into being. […]
  • April 17th - Gumnut arrives
    Gumnut arrives all the way from the Bay of Islands in beautiful New Zealand, to La Rochelle, France. Import and customs were taken care of behind the scenes by OC tenders and Uchimata Sailing Service. This video is about Gumnut, our tender, being unpacked in La Rochelle. It was an exciting reveal. The launch followed […]
  • April 20th - Tender lessons
    Yacht-master Veronique Claus takes us on our first tender lesson It was so good to finally have “Gumnut” united with Eucalyptus. Our Yacht-master instructor, Veronique Claus was keen to see us competent to use this means of transport, so our first lesson began. Shelley (who is writing this) was needing instruction from scratch. An early […]
  • April 30th - The magnificent La Rochelle skyline
    There are so many spires, tall narrow structures and clocktowers in La Rochelle that I’m perpetually looking upward. Firstly, there are well-known clocks, such as the Grand Horlage at a major opening archway, the clock at Gare SNCF (Railway station), the clock tower at the Town Hall and the clock tower at the end of […]
  • May 4th - We cross the Bay of Biscay
    The maiden voyage of SV Eucalyptus Our plan was to sail from La Rochelle, France across the Bay of Biscay to A Coruna, Spain. It would be the maiden voyage of SV Eucalyptus. Finally the day arrives. Veronique Claus had been training us in La Rochelle over a number of days, and after many exercises, […]
  • June 10th - Don’t cry for me A Coruna
    “Don’t cry for me A Coruna” refers to us finally leaving after 5 weeks, having enjoyed very much the hospitality found there. Before we sail on, I will fill you in on our time there. Personal guide Mercedes Villar Lopez, our graphic designer lives here and looked after us when we first arrived. She introduced […]
  • June 15th - Another Day another Ria
    Rias Baixas, Spain The Rias of Spain are best known for the lower rias that come after the rounding of Cape Finisterre. They are a series of four estuaries located on the southwestern coast of Galicia, Spain. These are Ria de Muros e Noia, Ria de Arousa, Ria de Pontevedra and Ria de Vigo. Overview […]
  • June 20th - We Leave Arousa and head for Vigo
    The anchoring away that just preceded the video… It was time to leave Arousa but that proved to be more difficult than usual. It is such a shame that we never remember to film at these times because there is always a varying degree of stress involved in the moving process. This time the anchor […]
  • July 2nd - Moaña to Portugal
    Moaña to Leixões We had picked up our newly ordered Atlas for the detailed maps south of Vigo while we were in Moaña. Therefore, we were now ready to plan our onward journey. From Ria de Vigo, Spain we were finally heading for Portugal. Planning On this leg, we would be heading to Portugal where […]
  • July 11th - No Portugese Tarts
    I quite like Portuguese tarts but Jill is not so fond of them, hence the name of this video. The Journey We wanted to leave at first light so we put the alarm on to get an early start. It was a 60 nautical mile sail to Figuera da Foz and we expected a 12 […]
  • July 21st - From Peniche via Oeiras to Sines
    Oops ! no video We cast off the lines early at Peniche and set off down the coast. It was a good feeling to be on the move again, and leaving the busy little marina was a relief. We would not miss the wake of the fishing boats every morning and afternoon. I would still […]
  • July 23rd - Dave & Patsy are here! (Here? with us, on Eucalyptus)
    Who are Dave & Patsy? When Jill went on the crossing from Vanuatu to Bundaberg in October 2017, while crewing for Ron & Toni Borret on SV Cruising Kitty, she met Dave & Patsy Mitchell. Dave & Patsy are very experienced sailors. As a young family, they had circumnavigated the world on a 32 ft […]
  • July 26th - The Gennaker
    1. How to set up the Gennaker First, tie the top of the sail using a bowline, or use a shackle to clip to the Gennaker halyard. Attach the bottom of the sail furler to the bowsprit, ensuring the direction for the furler is counterclockwise ( Note the arrow). Clip the endless furler lines to […]
  • August 12th - Improvements to thread webbing straps on factory clears.
    FP Factory clears are not so easy to tie when rolled up. We compared a better product, then mimicked its feature
  • August 12th - The Algarve to Gibraltar and Morocco
    Portimao to Culatra Our previous day together had gone well, getting us from Sines on the Altlantic to Portimao anchorage in the Algarve, with our last post. We continue our adventure into the Algarve with experienced sailors by our side. Patsy and Dave are relaxed enough to let us find our own feet. They were […]
  • November 5th - Tangiers to Gibraltar
    This post covers the very end of our time in Morocco, initially shot in Tanja Marina Bay. Jill’s niece Nicole, her husband Simon and the children – Jess, Patrick and Sebastian are coming back to Gibralatar with us. Before we leave, Jill decides to take the children for a spin in the dinghy. So the […]
  • November 23rd - ‘Airmar Smart Multi tri-sensor’: Cleaning & Maintenance
    Purpose of the tri-sensor The ‘Airmar smart multi tri-sensor’ measures three things: boat speed, water temperature and depth. We notice that we need to clean it when the apparent wind and true wind readings were the same value when seen at the helm wind display. Although this device reads the depth and water temperature, we […]
  • November 27th - Improvements to Fender handling
    the 'fastfender' .Complete instructions from scratch plus a video after the device is loaded with the fender
2020
  • November 20th - Post covid lockdown dash from Spain to Turkey! 2020
    Post covid lockdown dash to Turkey! 2020 The Purpose of this overview Jill was approached by The Local, a Central highlands Victorian, Australian magazine that had featured us leaving the district during 2018, to see if we wanted to update our travels, given the Covid lockdowns. They knew we had been in Europe. Could we […]
2021
  • March 11th - Cappadocia/Kapadokya
    Preparations Before we can leave the marina, someone needs to take care of the cats. Someone is our good friend Marina. And so she took the opportunity to stay on our boat for a change from her smaller Halberg Rassy mono-hull that pitched in the marina whenever there was a swell. Marina knows at least […]
  • August 24th - Caretta caretta (Loggerhead turtle) in Turkey
    Morning hatchlings are assisted by volunteers, then protected from interference by wire cages
  • December 18th - Air Conditioner maintenance-sea strainer & evaporative filter
    So why do we have to maintain the aircon? A/C Sea_Strainer_Evaporative_Filter. This video shows anyone who owns Dometic Air con, how to keep it working optimally. The unit uses seawater to keep the motor cool. Hence cleaning the seawater strainer is one of the monthly jobs you will need to schedule as a new boat […]
2022
  • July 20th - How to set up the Parasailor for use in light winds
    How to set up the Parasailor for use in light winds The parasailor loves light winds. If you take care to set it up properly, you will enjoy using it. According to ISTEC, the manufacturer, this sail can even cope with very strong winds. They claim 10 knots higher than usual spinnakers. So unlike the […]
2024