The winds of change are blowing again. It’s official – our Mottle 33 Rigel is for sale. Here’s an article that was published on this wonderful sturdy and comfortably, yet also great performing family sailing boat that appeared recently in Australia’s #1 cruising magazine, The Cruising Helmsman.

Last time I blogged about the winds of change putting our then home off three years, the Moody 425 Happy Dancer up for sale, the first person who contacted me through this very blog ended up enjoying her over the next few years in the Med. Now she’s back in the trusted hands of another Australian family whose intermittent updates we love. Most boats that we have owned have somewhat become part of our family – they stay in touch even long after we have gone.

Like back in 2015, it’s still a bit early to line out all the details of the changes the wind is blowing our way – some we can’t even quite fathom ourselves yet. But we know deep inside, through deep shamanic callings and thorough soul searching, that moving on is what we have to do. A supposedly ecological community north of Sydney that turned all sour, a builder who robbed us of ridiculous sums, a country that’s burning and screaming while the prime minister is holidaying in Hawai, one health threat after another after decades of close to no doctors visits… Australia is no longer a healthy thriving place for us to grow and play in.

It’s day three now on our two-week vacation on Rigy. And it’s the third time we have had to turn back. The day we wanted to leave, there was a catastrophic heat wave, smoke hazard warning to stay inside and 48C. The next attempt, it was blowing a gale of 45 kts whilst we were shivering in our winter gear. Third time round, our house battery gave up i12 hrs into the sail.

For some reason we are not meant to escape quite yet. It’s impossible to anyway. It’s all too close. Every breath filled with smoke and ash is a testimony to radical change. So we try and surrender to the flow, and keep learning and growing whilst also appreciating every little moment and joy of our little family. That growth on the back of my heart, screaming and burning like the fires themselves, just reminds me how precious and short our human experience is. Let’s make the best out of it and enjoy what we can. May this solstice just passed be a turning point for good.