One door closes, and four others open… Another year has gone by—these blog posts seem to have gone from monthly to annually, and each year, I wonder where the time has gone. Once again, I’ve felt less than inspired to write over the past twelve months, even though there was no point at which I needed hindsight to know how…
Category: Posts
Highlights from a year we’d all rather forget
It’s been over a year since I last posted to this blog. There have been multiple reasons for the delay; I was busy finishing my PhD and launching a new publishing company (more on that below). But mainly, it didn’t feel like there was a lot to say. With the benefit of hindsight, I can now see that’s not the…
Canal Cruising Capers
It all started with an opportunity to attend an academic writing workshop in Prato for 3 days. It’s now mid-August and we’ve been in Europe for three and a half months. Life on a canal boat is both very similar and very different compared to life on a catamaran in coastal and open waters. The boat itself is everything we…
When your dream has become your new reality…
What do you do when your dream, which you spent years working towards, has become your new, every-day, run-of-the-mill reality? It’s been two and a half years since Richard and I moved on board our 12m catamaran, Persistent Shift. At that time, we’d been actively planning for our blue-nomad sea-change for two years, and vaguely envisaging it for most of our lives,…
When your dream adventure becomes your new reality
It’s been just over a year since I published the last post on OziYoti.com. It’s difficult to know where to begin to describe what’s happened between then and now. This time last year, we had just finished our first cruising season, completing a passage circuit of over 5,000 nautical miles in 5 months. We were wondering if we would do…
The Maiden Circuit is Complete!
5 countries, 5,000nm and 6 months later, we returned to Opua NZ on 28th November with so many memories and experiences from our first season as live-aboard Blue Nomad cruisers in the south-west Pacific. After the difficult passage down from Fiji last year, we weren’t sure if passage-making was really going to be our thing, but we had to give it…
Boat Anniversary and Bucket List Ticks
A whole year’s gone by In the blink of an eye Bringing so much joy and success We always knew How much we’d go through But it’s been worth every bit of expense. More than fears that we’d perish We’ve had moments to cherish, Memories we’ll call cheap at the price Life is for living, For sharing and giving; We’d…
Fifty and Feeling Fabulous!
It’s been 1,130 days since I started this blog; just over three years since I made the decision that I wanted to bring forward my retirement plans of becoming a Blue Nomad. Before that day, I never in my wildest dreams envisaged being able to make the transition before I retired (if ever). I certainly never thought I’d be celebrating my 50th…
Old Habits Die Hard
When I decided I wanted to become a Blue Nomad, a large part of the attraction was converting to a lifestyle that didn’t involve the daily 9 to 5 (or 8 to 6, or longer) office-bound routine. I’ve never thought of myself as being a nature lover as such. I am most at peace being on the water, sure; but…
Teach a man to fish…
One of the delightful parts of our New Zealand sojourn which I’m disappointed I can’t enjoy is the ready availability of rock oysters, almost everywhere we go. Richard has been delighting in evening trips to shore at low tide to help himself to entree; I’ve tried tasting them (again) but still can’t get my head (or my taste buds) around…