This is the continuation from my last blog post.    My cruising philosophy is to get the best weather forecast possible, then come up with an itinerary that maximizes the …

After sailing up and down the Queensland Coast 4 times in Logic, I realized that spending the cyclone season (start of November to end of April) out of the cyclone …

I sailed from Brisbane to Cairns in June 2022, with the intention of going house hunting, when I got there. After not having a land home for 8 years, I …

The weather pattern in northern Australia was transitioning from the winter easterly trade winds to the summer monsoonal. Resulting in breaks in the 10-20kt Easterlies blowing from the direction I …

So, where are The Wessels Islands (the western loop in my tracker) This is my satellite tracker for the 10 days we spent in the Wessels But before I could …

In March this year, after an ultrasound confirmation that there was another baby coming with a heartbeat   My Precious Eldest Daughter (PED) Kate and Jackson, excitedly informed me that …

As I wrote in my last blog, Plan A of spending a few months cruising the islands in the Torres Straight, had a realty check. Plan B was to go …

My plan for this year’s cruising season was to spend a month (July/August) cruising from Cairns up to the Torres Straight, to then spend a few months cruising around the …

The weather forecast for the next week was light southerlies. Ideal weather for me to show Barry, my favorite spots in The WhitsundaysThe wind was 10kts from dead astern, so …

4 years ago, my good friend Barry and I were “bachelor” sailing around New Caledonia. An adventure I covered in 2 previous blog posts Iles Loyaute (The Loyalty Islands, New …

(Rather than my usual homogenate of my blog posts been a multitude of topics, I felt that my experience sailing north with Barry needed to be a stand alone, so …

My blogging has evolved from being a record of my sailing experiences, too including my on-land travels and my family photos to share with family and friends. I had a …

This is the second part of my blogging of Logic‘s sail down from Cairns to Brisbane. The first part has us at day 3 of a 5 day stay in …

The cyclone season is approaching, time to sail Logic south, to get away from the cyclones. Via this blog site, a few months previously I was approached by Len, who …

A priority for me sailing north, is to get to Lizard Island. It can be a “lobster trap”, very easy to get to with the prevailing South Easterlies tradewind, blowing …

The Pandemic has been a significant positive for me. Instead of cruising the South Pacific Islands, I have been able to watch my grandson Louis (Lou-ie) grow up. I sailed …

Firstly a bit of geography. The depth of the water for 30-100 miles off most of the Queensland Coast is 30-50mts, then it comes to the edge of the continental …

I flew back from Poland in early March 2020, full of anticipation about sailing back to Vanuatu in May. The standing rigging (wires that hold the mast up) had reached …

On the 3rd of August 2020, my Precious Eldest Daughter (PED for short) Kate and her husband Jackson, become the proud parents of Louis Rupert Bradshaw (Pronounced Louie) The same …

Apologies for the delay in getting around to writing up my time in Poland, there was a lot of boat jobs that needed doing before I could put Logic back …

My father spent a lot of time working on our family tree. He found a couple of the obligatory convicts, in every multi-generational Australian family tree. Plus, three generations of …

I had a very pleasant 8 days in Torquay, The 5 weeks prior were very full-on and I needed some “cave time”. Torquay is endeavoring to sell itself as the …

Our itinerary (apart from Riga for New Years and taking Santa home) has been very much decided by what others have recommended. Our travel agent recommended Tallinn, the boys in …

Next stop on our Eastern Europe Odyssey was Vilnius in Lithuania. As a break from airplanes and airports we used the local buses for the 600 km transit south, from …

The next stop on our Eastern Europe Odyssey, was to fly 1,200kms south from Lapland to Tallinn, Estonia The 4 star hotels we have been staying in have been to …

The aurora borealis (northern lights) form when charged particles emitted from the sun during a solar flare penetrate the earth’s magnetic shield and collide with atoms and molecules in our …

When I was in full-on “South Seas Vagabond” mode, my beard decided to get in on the act, growing itself to Santa Claus proportionswhen Lisa suggested we go to Lapland, …

In my reading prior to departure, I discovered that Ice Hockey was the nearest thing to a national sport up here. So of course, I felt a need to see …

The initial plan was to go to Vienna for New Years, but everything was either booked or as dear as poison. Lisa has a friend from Latvia, Liene, who she …

Christmas is only a few days away I’m at Lisa’s, in Penryn, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom the Christmas tree is upTime to pick up Lisa’s grandson Oliver and drive down …

The vast majority of people would question the sanity of me swapping a summer solstice, for a winter solstice . The cyclone season in the southern hemisphere is from the …

At my daughter Kate and Jackson’s wedding last year, I gave them a gift certificate to visit Logic this year. We were now at the time when they cashed their …

 9 years ago, suffering from serious work related burn-out, I decided I needed a scuba diving holiday break, away from work. The only one that I could find online for …

Up until a generation ago, by now I would be a grandfather, getting to enjoy grandchildren, but not in the 21st century. Luckily I have been adopted by a Ni-Vanuatu …

This is part 3 of my write up of the 4th Vanuatu National Arts Festival, it will probably make more sense if you start from Part 1. By now I …

Day 1 was big, but Day 2 was bigger (probably because the Prime Minister came for the day)and then these amazing masks started walking in a lot of chickens have …

I had an uneventful sail over from Ambrym to Uri Island on Malekula to anchor up for the 5 day Vanuatu National Arts Festival, that was been held at Lakatorothis …

on the top of Ambrym, is a village called Olal (Ol-Al)The anchorage was a gap in the reef, right on the top of the island, beam on to the trade …

off the north eastern corner of Malekula  there is a lovely little Island called Vao (vow)with an anchorage on the western side, giving protection from the SEly trade windsI endeavor …

I was thinking of giving you a break from village blog posts in Vanuatu (and me, a break from posting), but then I went back through my photos from the …

At the top of Esperito Santo there is big bay, with the unoriginal name of Big Bay My genome has programed me to wonder what’s over the next hill, Big …

The ideal weather was forecast to come to an end, so reluctantly we left Ureparapara First stop was an easy 15miles south, to a place halfway down the west coast …

It was a week of crossing things of my bucket list, first a VILLAGE FEEDER, then Ureparapara (Ura-para-para). The island is an old volcanic cone that has been breached by …

One of the items on my bucket list for this year’s cruising season was to catch a fish, big enough to feed the next village I sailed too, a “VILLAGE …

On my last trip to Vanuatu, I formed a strong friendship with Karl, his wife Nora, and their 3 daughters, Elizabeth (8yo) Jeanie (6yo) and Dorthey (3yo). When Karl saw …

One of the major reasons I fast-tracked getting to Vanuatu in May, was to watch the Land Diving on Pentecost Island, which is only done on Saturdays in May and …

    As the weather forecast predicted, the weather front came over Lord Howe Island in the morning, with gusts of 50kts. When it swung to the west, the only …

We did the Australian customs clearance at Coffs Harbour and left Australia at 3pm on Thursday the 2nd of MayIt was great to be back in passage making mode, sailing …

The last week, has been the perfect preparation for Logic and her crew for the passage, back into the South Pacific. (Miriam and Nick, will have been onboard for a …

It feels like years ago that I left Vanuatu, to escape the approaching cyclone season, but it was less than 6mts ago. The amazing experiences I shared with Lisa on …

All things must come to an end, including this phase of ROAD TRIP, time to start heading south. First stop on our journey south was a couple of nights in …

After 2 glorious days on the Isle of Skye, it was time to continue our journey north, up the west coast of Scotlandto our night’s accommodation at Ullapoolthe scenery we drove …

We crossed the England/Scotland border on the east coastheading for a overnighter in Edinburghwith a couple of delightful coastal fishing villages to explore on the way there, and St. Abbs …

Driving east from North Wales, our first major city was Chester Lisa spent her childhood growing up in Cheshire, so a visit to Chester was like coming home for her and …

Excitedly we loaded up the car and headed off for Wales. Our first hotel was in Crickhowell, 4hrs awaytemperature was 5C, wet and foggy Lisa was doing a Lisa, putting more …

After only having 15nights off Logic in the last 3 years, it was important that I did something land based for a few months.  So in early January I left …

Karl and I left Port Stanley, for the second time, with a light westerly, coming off Malekula (No white caps this time) 26 miles down the coast to Banam Baya …

The wind was from the South East at 15-25kts for 6 days, making it silly for me to leave my anchorage in Post Stanley, half way down the eastern side …

The prevailing wind in Vanuatu at this time of the year is from the South Eastwhich makes it easy to sail from the south to the north, going back to …

After a very enjoyable time in Gaua, it was time to leave and catch up with Daniel and Andrea on Rehab, who had moved round to Vureas Bay on Vanua …

Cruising around the South Pacific is never boring, full of the unexpected, like being asked to take some kids back to boarding school, on the other side of the island …

Our journey north continues. A map will give you a better idea of what I am doingThis is the tracker for my last 4 months, this blog post covers my …

Daniel and I had a great sail from  Leman Bay, on Upi,  to The Maskelyne Islands off the south eastern corner of MalekulaHe pulled out his screecher, while I went more …

  Staying in the Marina in  Port Vila was great for fruits and vegetables provisioning at  the market 250mts down the road The gas bottle was filled as was the …

We left Erromango at first light, endeavouring to cover the 80 miles to the anchorage in Efate in time to drop the anchor while the sun was still up Last …

We left Aneityum with a 10kt following breeze to overnight at Port Resolution on Tanna (44miles) then Erromango the following day (62 miles) the volcano did a smoke and ash show …

In my adolescence I had fantasies of going to exotic sounds place names, for adventure, names like Katmandu and Timbuctoo. A few years ago, I first saw Aneityum on a …

Twocan and Logic, returned to Noumea, were we met up with Daniel and Andrea on Rehab Now there were 3 Mumby cats anchored togetherThe anchorage in Noumea harbour was getting …

One of the joyous things about the cruising life, is the amazing friendships I have made along the way. This time last year I motored into Musket Cove in Fiji, …

At the end of the last blog post Barry on his boat Twocan and I on Logic, had just arrived at Drueulu, on Lifou Island (the middle of the 3 Loyalty Island)We took …

My crew from 1st of August, cannot now make it, so I am now looking for crew from then on. Barry and I will be bachelor cruising, until the end …

After successfully escaping Oz, before winter had had a chance to start, it was time to start enjoying the delights of South Pacific Islands cruising. I had caught up with …

    The cyclone season in the tropical South Pacific Ocean, officially ends on 30th of April, so we left Australia for New Caledonia on the 1st of May. Last …

The stitchers are out of my calf, so there is nothing hold me back from starting the journey back up the east Coast of Australia. Kevin who sailed with me …

I know, this blog is suppose to be a sailing blog, but I had such a great time in Melbourne, that I decided to break that rule. At the end …

We were running out of time, if Lisa was to be in Melbourne for her flight back to UK in a fortnight. The weather forecast was 3 days of northerly, …

  Unlike the life I use to live, where the weather did not impact my day to day decisions, weather is an important variable in a cruising yachtys life. Strong …

The “splash” from The Boatworks was uneventful, all the necessary equipment on board worked perfectly. Time to start our journey south, how far we get over Lisa’s month in Oz …

My good friend Lisa (who sailed with me in New Zealand, last year) was getting winter cabin fever in her home port of Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, and has a …

Blog catch up time!! I have been back in my home town of Brisbane, Australia for 2mts now. Christmas was very enjoyable with my daughters. There was a plethora of …

It is only 280miles for Port Vila (Vanuatu) to the bottom of the 200mile long main Island of New Caledonia, but it is still a blue water passage and so …

  Due to our limited available time in Vanuatu, it was time to move on from the Maskelynes. The narrow entry into the anchorage necessitated good light, to make visually …

The Maskelyne Islands are a group of small islands on the south east corner of Malekula Island The island itself is only a few miles wide at the widest places, …

In addition to partying the evenings at the bar, behind Logic‘s marina berth at the Yachting World Marina, Port Vila, VanuatuWe also provisioned the boat for 3-4 weeks cruising around Vanuatu. Fruit and …

Clearing Fiji Customs and Immigration on the morning of Thursday 21st September 2017, was the usual frustrations dealing with bureaucracy in Fiji, taking lots of deep breaths and keep on …

I am leaving Fiji with strong mixed emotions.  If I use a cursory over view, these last 4 months have flown, but if I slow down and look back through the …

Summer (November to April) is the Cyclone season in the South Pacific. In February 2016 Cyclone Winston hit Fiji, it was the strongest cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. There was plenty …

I’ve been in Fiji for a month now….. time to go through all the photos and videos and put together a blog post. I’m on the western side of Viti …

As you can see on the above satellite image, the Minerva Reefs are on a major under ocean ridge line. They are a couple of coral lagoon with almost nothing …

The passage from New Zealand to the Minerva reefs was a lot more challenging than the run over from Australia to New Zealand. In hindsight, I would have probably waited …

So far we have had to cancel  3 departure date over the last 16days. Two when late cyclones suddenly appeared in what was looking like  ideal weather windows. Two days …

The evening prior to departure all the yachts waiting for a weather window to depart, had a meeting. A number of them had some concerns about (yet another late cyclone), …

Cyclone Donna, has finally moved on. It turned into a low pressure system that joined the next front coming across the Tasman Sea.  The remnants of Donna gave New Zealand …

The tropical waters of the South Pacific have an official cyclone season, over summer, from 1st November to 30th April (in the northern hemisphere they are called hurricanes and typhoons, …

        I now have a crew member for the next 4wks of my time in New Zealand. Lisa works at the harbour in Falmouth on the south western English …

  Logic and I have sailed over to New Zealand to escape from the heat of a Queensland summer. Now we are here it is time to explore this amazing country, and it’s …

In this series of videos hopefully I can share with you what if feels like to sail Logic at an average of 9kts for two and a half days. The …

After successfully hiding out from the 35kt headwind front, it was time to leave our mooring in Lord Howe Island’s lagoon (LHI). The weather forecast was light winds (motoring) for …

  For the 1,200mile crossing of the Tasman Sea, I have 2 competent crew members Andre (in centre) and Kevin (on right). I did a quick snorkel on the new …

The Francis/Logic journey continues. Off to New Zealand today. 1,100miles across the Tasman Sea then 100 miles down the east coast of the North Island to Opua. I’ve got 2 …