Waking up in Lilah's favourite spot, to celebrate her birthday. It was filled with swims and all of her favourite treats, which is the way to her heart! Here home-sickness starts to kick in - being on the other side of the world to all of your friends & family will do that. However, some beautiful souls, like Tara from @SailingTheResponsibleChoice make days like this a little easier. The following morning we wake and head South to Sveti Stefan - a coastal town with stunning surrounds, and a chill local holiday spot vibe. On the trip down we do something really silly - if only we realised 30 seconds earlier! But it had Shane jumping in the water at 40m depth, which is DEFINITELY not something he would do voluntarily... Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

The sun would wake us early, and today there was some wind. We move Smile to a more protected area and had a final feast with our friends before they take off for Italy. We then move to Lilah's favourite swim spot to celebrate her birthday. Here we have our first proper catch up with a new boat - @SailingTheResponsibleChoice which is the start of another great friendship and who we end up travelling with quite a bit this season. Our time hre in Montenegro is coming to an end shortly, and we are very much looking forward to what's to come. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

We get the sails up for the wind to drop right off, head to Kotor to get two specific tasks done then are eerily waiting for a storm front to hit. We were warned of this wind in this anchorage so we don't know what to expect. Once it passes, first light the following morning we pull up anchor and embarrassingly wake our neighbours, take the scenic route, before getting back in the water. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

In this episode we rise first thing to hopefully get the Blue Caves to ourselves (which we almost do). The footage doesn't do it justice just how beautiful it was. We took turn manning big Smile, while we took the tender in with our friends. Sails up & it's not a race, until it's a race... Too bad for us rookies we had an issue with the head furling drum, which now reflecting on we could have sorted so much easier. Super proud of Hugh though who kept us into the wind as we resolved it. While we were out, we sailed just into Croatian waters to avoid an internet issue (which our friends had recently learnt).. Back in Boka Bay & we have had enough! We don't know how much longer we can last in this small corner of the world. I explain our visa, Shane contacts agents and we brain-storm ways we might be able to travel sooner. Quick duck in town, the electrician, who organised a roller for the chain, comes onboard and puts the exhaust fan with the batteries. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

While some days living on a boat can be stressful, dramatic & tiring, others can be slow, calm and wholesome. This week was the later. With nowhere to be, in a calm little cove, with a group of our buddies just swimming, coffee dating & chatting away. We do head into a new marina on the dinghy for some supplies, we start floating too close to the swimming lines for comfort and enjoy our final night here before (in our next episode) heading to the Blue Caves nice and early. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

With a fully set up boat, now we aren't confined to Boka Bay in Montenegro (side note of visa balancing days, but that's another story). We head seaside witht he intenetion of stopping at the Blue Caves. We were a little late in the morning by the time we got there so decided to leave it for another day, earlier before the day boats arrive. We continue on to find a beautiful little beach with turquiose waters in 4m depth, and sand much to Lilah's amazement. Our buddies boats joined us and we spent a few days here having a good ol' time. However, when we were on another friend's boat, three men swam up to Smile and boarded without our knowledge or consent, leaving us feeling uneasy. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

With the water maker install complete and jobs out of the way, it is time to kick back and enjoy ourselves. We have three other buddy boats anchored with us and we swim, the kids jump off the boat for the first time and venture into old town again and see more charm than what we initially did. Much to the family's dissapointment I am making them do the 'Ladder of Kotor' - a 2hr return hike, with an elevation of approx 250m and is roughly 4km long, or 1,400 steps high. The views were incredible and everybody enjoyed doing it, and very miuch looking forward to a swim after. We stock up on some fresh food then move on to a quieter anchorage. Shane fan-girls seeing the Virgin Cruise Ship up close. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

2025 was the biggest adventure of our lives. We'd sold everything we own and bought a boat on the other side of the world. Here I've put together a compilation of our year. We leave Sydney Australia, to meet our boat Smile, in Croatia. We got set up, fixed a whole lot of things, spent longer in the Marina than we hoped while our registration came through, road tripped and had slow days. Then we finally headed south to export our electrical goods before doing our upgrades. We were learning as we went and saw some beautiful sights along the way. While we were on our way to Montenegro we get stuck in terrible winds, our generator broke, batteries weren't holding power and was an all round a terrible week. Montenegro. Some of the most picturesque landscapes I've seen. The Marina, Porto Montenegro was one of the best we'd seen throughout the whole year and we found some hidden gems along the way. We didn't plan to do our upgrades here but given our battery and generator troubles at the time, this is where we had to. A quick road trip to Bosnia while the electrician changed over the batteries, had us see the famous Mostar bridge and the stunning Kravica Waterfalls. Back to Montenegro and we haf our boat upgrades complete. We had our eyes on Greece for summer, but had to wait longer due to Visa reasons. While this almost drove us mad at some points, we had a beautiful period of about a month where us and a few other boats spent most days together and this was our first little sense of the sailing community. Sadly with sailing everyone has their own itineraries and eventually we parted ways. Some we were lucky enough to see again down the track, others we haven't... but hope to next season. Now with the boat self sufficient we couldn't wait to leave Boka Bay and explore more of the Montengrian coastline when weather allowed. Morale got quite low so we made the call to leave early. We had our buddy boat (who are absolute legends) and we were heading South towards Greece. We did our first over night passage and it felt surreal, intimidating and blissful all at the same time. Greece. The country that has our hearts. This really was a turning point in our journey. 3 days in and we met just our 3rd family boat since starting out. Little did we know just how close we all were going to become. Next stop, following our new friends to meet the rest of the family boats in the Ionian. To see over a dozen children in similar situations, but different nationalities and languages, playing together and living their best boat life was something else. We had our first guest come and the kids were over the moon to see Nanny. We hopped around seeing some of the best little Greek towns & islands. A short stint in Albania to balance the visa then back to Greece. During this last month or so we discovered two of our favourite anchorages. We met back up with our friends from Montenegro and enjoyed the last month of warmth. Winter is approaching and we are heading back to Australia to chase Sumner's. Smile is hauled out ready for winter.  We Roadtripped to see Olympia & Acropolis before the journey home. Stop 1 Dubai. Some sand bashing, sight seeing then a little luxury at Atlantis. 2nd and final stop - Bali. Where we organised to meet some of our besties here and suprised the kids. Jet lagged and exhausted we enjoyed the sunshine, swims and company. Australia. Many hugs were had and tears shed. It was quite the adjustment but spending time with people we love made it easier. Camping, road trips, sand and waves saw out the end of the year. Let's see if 2026 can top this. If you're all up to date with out videos you've only seen up to the 14 minute mark. After this point will give you a little taster of what's to come for the rest of the season. Things are only on the up 🙌🩵 Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

First day of Summer & instead of early morning swims, he head straight for Kotor Marina to meet our electrician to complete the final touches on our water maker! Hughie gets on the job, Shane learns he made a mistake prior and I am humbled once again by the weight of the boat. Once done, we wander the streets of Kotor and get some street food. The following morning we leave the marina and drop anchor a stones throw away, where we plan to spend a few days enkoying what Kotor has to offer, we our three other boat buddies.

Unpredicted wind unsetting our anchor meant we have to move quick as we got too shallow & close to land. One more night of wind watching and then we move positions, friends join us and we are all smiling once again. This little period and following weeks were definitely our fondest in Montenegro, while we have to wait out our visa time. I am excited to share whats to come after this point =) Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

Christmas came early to our little ocean loving family this year! We surprised the kids with the Sublue MixPro - an underwater sea scooter - and it did not disappoint! It is compact and portable and has us beach hopping along the Australian East Coast zooming through the water. We can't wait to take it back to Smile and explore the Mediterranean with it, but we love the adventures that are ahead over the Aussie Summer and are excited to share the experience with our friends and family. This would be the perfect gift for an ocean lover this festive season, and for a limited time you can get a huge discount with our code SAILINGSMILE - jump over to https://store.sublue.com/products/mixpro?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=mixpro&utm_id=Sailing+Smile and check it out.

In this episode we spend some time with friends and are bounced back and forth in direction with the wind and inaccurate weather forecasts. While it didn't scare us like other weather fronts have, it of course had to hit when it was dark instead of during daylight hours. It is also the start of our era of four boat buddies in Montenegro that hold a place in our heart. We get a few hangs in between the wind. This is also around the time Shane makes a start on the water maker install - there will be a dedicated video for the install though.

We've left the hustle and bustle of Kotor and find ourselves back in one of our favourite quieter corners of the bay. Our two friend Boats; Melusina & Joey meet up with us and we enjoy some lazy beach and boat days and take them to our favourite lunch spot (that was already on their radar).

In this episode we travel to a new corner we haven't been before; the picturesque Kotor. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and must stop in Montenegro is this 2,000+ year old town, set up the steep hillside. We were lucky enough to drop anchor on a day when there weren't any cruise ships in town. We head in for a wander around the old town and enjoy it's charm. Even the view from anchorage of an evening was something special. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

A typical week living aboard - how we get groceries, local events, making the boat more homey, plus finding a safe anchorage from some upcoming winds. Shane also jumped on our friends boat to help them as their windlass broke when trying to hide from the upcoming winds. Join us next week as we get on the more and travel to the amazing town of Kotor - an old town and walls built up a mountainside, set amongst a picture perfect backdrop - a must stop when in Montenegro.

In this episode we side dock outside the marina to finish reinforcing the solar arch frame. In the chaos of it all, we forget about our package that we needed to collect from the customs agent - a critical safety device to have onboard. We are SO excited to get the solar panels connected and to finally be able to charge our boat from the sun. However, the dark clouds are rolling in and we are in for some big thunderstorms.

As I'm so far behind on videos, I thought it was best I give a real time update of how we spent the European summer, where we have travelled and what the plan is over the European Winter (Aussie summer ☀️). Hang in there with the videos, it wasn't exactly what we had on our vision boards! but was pur reality nonetheless. BUT we are about to turn a corner and we start to see more places and have more adventures 🩵🇬🇷

Following the install of our Victron battery upgrades and stormy weather, after two weeks we finally leave the marina, which happens to fall on the Captain's birthday. With a bit of a mad dash back to the boat, we enjoy being back on anchor and a slow pace of life.

After living on Smile, a Lagoon 450f Catamaran, for 7 months and getting very familiar with her, we thought it was time to do a full boat tour. We cover just about everything both inside and out, except maybe the internet (which is Starlink by the way). This would have to be our most requested video. We hope you enjoy having a little insight of what it is like living on a boat. Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)

We return back to Smile after spending a few nights away. We get straight into unpacking what we collected from Croatia. We have 4 days left in the marina and to get our electrical system upgrades complete. Will we get it all done? It is a rush right until the end, when a storm keeps us from leaving. If you haven't already hit 'Subscribe' as our next video will be our most requested one; a full boat tour! Want early access to our videos? We now have Patreon... - https://www.patreon.com/c/SailingSmile If not, a simple Like, Comment on Subscribe is greatly appreciated! =)