navigation

Most boat engine problems do not happen suddenly. They develop slowly through missed servicing, worn components, corrosion, blocked cooling systems, and fuel contamination. Over time, small issues become major failures. Transport for NSW has released an updated outboard motor maintenance checklist as part of its End of Life Vessels program. The goal is simple: help […]

If your idea of sailing romance involves hand steering for hours, you probably sail short passages. I enjoy steering too, briefly. Out of the harbour, for example. Once clear of land, Roy takes over. Roy is our Aries windvane. He is named after my dad, who helped Noel strip decades of salt from the unit,

Modern marine electronics are remarkable. Chart plotters, GPS, and digital charts have transformed how people navigate. Used well, they add safety and clarity. The problem is not electronics failing completely. The problem is how often they are misunderstood, misread, or trusted without enough context. That is when fundamentals matter. What usually fails is not the

When people first start boating, confidence often feels like something that will arrive later. Once the boat is bigger. Once the electronics are better. Once there are more backups on board. Once they have “grown into it.” That confidence rarely arrives the way people expect. In reality, confidence on the water comes from understanding, not

How the core skills work together on the water For many people, boating safety feels overwhelming before they even begin. There is so much information, so many opinions, and no clear place to start. The result is often hesitation, delay, or the feeling that safety is something to worry about later. In reality, it does

This piece was written by Noel and is a short excerpt from a longer chapter in our first memoir, Of Foreign Build. What follows is a pared-back version of the story, shared as a taste rather than the whole meal. The full account, with all its detours and details, lives in the book. A Tender

Many cruising dreams do not fail because people lack courage. They fail because the intention was never clear. Buying a boat, living aboard, and downsizing a life on land all demand trade-offs. Space, comfort, income, routines, and certainty are exchanged for freedom and movement. Without a clear reason for making that exchange, every difficulty feels

Most boating problems do not begin with storms or mechanical failures. They begin quietly, with small gaps in understanding that go unnoticed for years. People are usually doing their best. The trouble is that certain patterns repeat themselves again and again, and over time those patterns quietly stack risk. When something finally goes wrong, it

Navigation is one of those skills that feels reassuring once you understand it, but intimidating before you do. Many new skippers worry that they need to learn everything at once, when in reality a small number of core skills carry most of the load. That is why the navigation training is split into two courses.

Online learning has made it easier than ever to access boating courses. There are thousands of options available, covering almost every topic imaginable. At first glance, more choice seems like a good thing. In practice, many boaters discover that broad, generic courses do not give them what they actually need on the water. Short, focused