Two Months Into Our Sailing Adventure Around the World and Here's What We've Learned Episode 135

Hi and welcome aboard @SailingAstridTheWombat We are Gav and Shezz and two and a half years ago we bought our Beneteau Oceanis 430 sailboat with absolutely no sailing experience and jumped straight into the deep end of liveaboard sailing. Our very first passage was just over 700 nautical miles, launching us headfirst into the world of bluewater cruising, learning to sail, and real life at sea. Since that moment, we’ve been fully immersed in boat life, documenting the journey of turning a production cruising sailboat into a capable, self-sufficient home for full-time liveaboard life. From major sailboat upgrades and off-grid power systems to everyday maintenance and skills building, we have been learning what it truly takes to own, sail, and live on a boat while preparing to sail around the world. We have now left the dock and our adventure has begun so hit subscribe to come along on the journey of a lifetime. If you’re into sailing adventures, beginner sailing, sailboat ownership, cruising lifestyle, and traveling the world by sailboat, our journey is all about real-time learning, ocean freedom, and realising our dream of world cruising under sail...Let's go! Two months ago, we finally left the dock and began the adventure we had been dreaming about — living aboard our sailboat and sailing around the world. In this episode, we take a moment to reflect on our first two months of liveaboard sailing, the challenges we’ve faced, the lessons we’ve learned and what life at sea has really been like. Leaving the marina and setting off on a long-term sailing adventure sounds romantic, but the reality of liveaboard sailing is a mixture of incredible experiences, unpredictable weather, boat maintenance, navigation, repairs, decision-making and learning something new every day. Our first two months have taken us along the Queensland coast of Australia, visiting islands, finding anchorages, dealing with changing weather and discovering what it really takes to live aboard a sailboat while travelling from place to place. We've experienced some amazing sailing, but we've also had our share of challenges. We talk about what surprised us most about living on a sailboat, what has been harder than expected, what we've learned about cruising and whether life aboard a boat is actually what we imagined it would be. And, of course, no sailing adventure would be complete without boat problems! During our journey we ended up in Rosslyn Bay Marina after escaping bad weather from Great Keppel Island. While in the marina, we began experiencing problems with our boat's power and electrical system, eventually discovering that our inverter needed to be replaced. These are the realities of boat life and liveaboard cruising. Repairs, maintenance and unexpected expenses are all part of owning and living aboard a sailboat — but they're also part of the adventure. As we continue heading north through Queensland towards Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef, Torres Strait and eventually Indonesia, we're documenting the journey honestly — the beautiful moments, the difficult decisions, the boat repairs, the sailing adventures and everything in between. If you're interested in liveaboard sailing, sailing around the world, sailboat cruising, boat life, coastal cruising, sailing Australia, Queensland sailing, sailboat maintenance, beginner sailing, ocean sailing or travelling the world by sailboat, we'd love you to join us. Subscribe and follow along as we continue our journey to discover what life is really like when you untie the lines and start sailing around the world. Boat: Beneteau Oceanis 430 Mission: Sailing Around the World Lifestyle: Full-Time Liveaboard Sailing Route: Honest Thoughts after Two Months Sailing Don't forget to subscribe and follow along as we navigate Australia's coastline and continue our quest to explore the world by sailboat. You can also become part of our crew over at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/sailingastridthewombat/posts Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:36 Why Did We Leave? 04:03 Cruising Expectations vs Reality 09:09 Hardest Part of Sailing Life 13:43 Favourite Liveaboard Moment 15:02 Biggest Mistake 17:23 Favourite Beach 19:12 Fuel Costs 20:27 What Have We Broken? 22:24 What Sailing Apps Do We Use? 26:22 Future Sailing Plans Please leave a comment, like and subscribe to follow our journey. Join us now as we head off up the coast of Queensland to explore the world by sailboat. We promise you will have a laugh! Welcome aboard Astrid The Wombat Gav and Shezz You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook: Sailing Astrid the Wombat #sailing #liveaboard #sailingaustralia #sailingadventures #sailboat