We quickly check out a cool little town Vasiliki that we would like to spend more time in one day. But for now, we are continuing on to meet up with our new friends' friends; more family boats! A four or so passage between islands we pull into the bay. We start with four family boats lined up and by the end of the week there are almost a dozen! We are in the middle of a heat wave. We swim all day, get to know one-another, have movie nights, sun-downers and make some great memories together. This week filled the kids' (and our) cups up more than we can say. We are thankful for the friendships we made this week, that last well beyond just this period. 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 leave the stunning Lakka, Paxos before the swell increases, with Vasiliki in sight. About 12 nautical miles from land the fishing line starts singing & the excitement on the boat is high when Hugh lands the biggest fish of his life! You could not wipe the smile of this kids face. This mixed in with some unbelievable drone imagery, a windy destination & travelling with friends, this was a day to remember.

First light and we are on the move to the well-known Paxos which is famous for its stunning waters & atmospheric little village. Being very popular, we are leaving early to hopefully get a spot, with Anti Paxos as our back-up destination. We arrive and although busy, we find a good spot to med moor - our first time! We pull it off pretty well and enjoy what med mooring has to offer. We swim, wander town and get dinner with our newly made friends. We spend a few days here, later joined by another boat friend before heading to our next location & catching Hugh's fish of a lifetime... 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 check in complete, we are now free to roam and enjoy what Greece has to offer. After a 3 hour motor-sail we arrive at a relaxing little area called Notos. We drop anchor in just a few metres of water and head to the beach. Our buddy boat The Responsible Choice join us here and we have dinner at.a local restaurant trying traditional Greek dishes and admiring the view. Here we meet new boat friends who also have children onboard and he kids hit it off. It was so nice to see them playing and happy. Following this we merge plans and spend the following weeks together. 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! =)

Last episode we commenced our overnight passage from Montenegro to Greece. Along the way we saw some stunning scenes and were joined by wildlife which was a dream of Hugh's. In this episode we are in Greek waters. We have to change course form the initial plan of Preveza and head towards Corfu to find a protected anchorage ahead of some upcoming winds. Due to limited anchorages where you don't have to be Med-moored, Shane goes to the chandlery gets floating line so that we don't get caught out where we can safely stay again. While he is out customs/police stop by Smile & want to see paperwork. We were given struct instructions that to check in at Corfu now (not Preveza) and by 12pm. We engage an agent and get it done, although not a quick process - or cheap. Back to our initial anchorage, Shane replaces our dinghy propella & now we can all relax and enjoy the Greek waters. 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! =)

This would have to be one of the most memorable moments during our first season; something new and unknown met with beautiful scenes, ocean life and a lot of quiet time to reflect. We leave the Southernmost checkout point of Montenegro, Bar and begin the journey south, following our Buddy Boat @SailingTheResponsibleChoice sailing throughout the night and into the next day. Greece was the main goal for us this season and to be finally getting there feels both amazing and a sigh of relief. From this point on our sailing journey really looks up and we can't wait to share with you what is still yet 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! =)

After 12 weeks of boat upgrades and waiting out our visa time in Montenegro, it is finally time to leave - and we need this! We head South and have about a 6 hour sail to get to Bar, the Southern-most checkout point in Montenegro. Here we spend the night, stumble across a carnival and get a good nights rest before we begin our overnight passage the following morning. 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 are spending one final night at Porto Montenegro Marina to get everything in order before we depart for Greece. Shane is doing engine checks, we finally get the front roller replaced now that we aren't on anchor, the electric winch button fixed, we provision and of course, get ice-cream. I had a visitor from home and we are wondering whether our AIS will arrive in time or not... 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! =)

As the time for our departure to Greece approaches, we do some last fine-tuning to Smile & knock some jobs off the list, which involves Shane's head in the toilet, a bildge pump and smaller little prep things. 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 arrive at this anchorage that has a great atmosphere - it feels like a holiday destination for the locals. This stunning old town which we couldn't access, was perched on the end of the breakwall that had a walking track over the headland. Family friendly with parks, restaurants along the shore line and beautiful red pebbled beaches. The kids made friends with a local boy which helped fill their cups, and ease the home-sickness. Sveti Stefan holds lovely family memories for us here. 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! =)

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! =)