We bought an old, unfinished, aluminum catamaran and are fixing her up as we sail the world.
Welcome aboard! We are Sam, Cait, and Charlie - the James Family! Sam has always been a FIFO worker (Fly in, Fly Out) which came with its own challenges and when our daughter Charlie came along we thought that the juice just wasn't worth the squeeze anymore, it was time for a change. It became more important to us than ever to take time out for family and we felt what better way to do this than by travelling the world and sharing unique experiences with each other. But most importantly, want to spend time together as a family during these formative years and create lasting memories with our beautiful daughter Charlie.
In 2022, we put our house on the market and traded suburban life in Airlie Beach, Australia for an adventure of a lifetime.
@@sailingwiththejamess Later noticed you've done many shorts, for some reason only been notified of the last 2. Googled how not to get notified about them, "apparently" it's a setting on your end 🤷♀
Oh wow! That's such a cool history! The place is in reasonable good condition, most of the structures look in pretty good condition, would be amazing to see it back up and running again - great location too, not too far from Airlie or Hamilton Island 😀 That's super neat about your Aunty and Uncle! -Cait
Thank you again for taking the time to share part of your life with us. So I take it you guys are staying on the boat on dry dock while you're working on her. I love the dog he was just laying there while they were blocking her up and could have cared less about anything. Can't wait to see what you're going to do to her. As always stay safe out there and God bless
Thank you so much Kris! Hope you are staying cool in Arizona! We've had a bit of a cold snap here in the tropics! Rusty is his name, he is such a sweetheart, very relaxed and chilled out dog - charlie loves him! We have a whole list of stuff that will be happening to the boat - really excited to get started! Stay safe and hope to see you next week!
Giday I'm back, sorry been off the planet for a while😁 Great to see ur all looking well and isn't Charlie growing up fast, she's nearly as tall as u Sam!!!! Really keen to see Emma's new upgrades. Are u going to give her a coat of paint? There's some awesome colours out now. Xx 🇦🇺 Cait i enjoy the history and u present it wonderfully. Thanks
Thank you so much! Glad to see you back! Charlie is sprouting like a weed these days, getting longer and longer legs! We will be doing a whole list of upgrades to her as well as a fresh coast of antifoul, she will be staying unpainted on the topsides though - we really love the look and maintenance of the unpainted alloy! Super east to take care of and no paint to worry about scratching :D -Cait
Will do that in the future! it was scary to see the drone flying away out to sea, thankfully able to stop return to home and just bring it in! It was Dollar signs flying away in the air 😆 -Cait
@sailingwiththejamess had butterflies when I lost connection while at barrenjoey headland , even tho I was at same homepoint and had recently learnt if this happens drone will still come home lol. Definitely can be nervewracking, frank
I prefer those lift trailers vs slings. Interesting to see diy blasting vs yard staff doing it. Guess we'll find out next vid, but interested if you can sleep in the yard
Really good lifting her up on the trailer, was super fun and Charlie enjoyed it alot. Yes we are able to sleep in this yard and work on our own boat - some key factors as why we picked this yard, we can work on our own boat. We are really enjoying it 😀 -Cait
Very! He is the yard owner/manager, they get in the water for every cat coming out to make sure the arms are positioned correctly, there's crocs around on the other banks but haven't had any issues with them around the yard🐊💚 -cait
SO is this where the saying "up the creek in a barbwire canoe without a paddle" came from? All those boats slowly dying.. is kinda sad.. Thanks for the video.
Must admit it looks a lot safer hauling out cats on a trailer than using a slings lift. Looking forward to seeing what your plans are that neccesitate a haul out. Hull wasnt too bad all considering.
Thank you for helping keep our boat afloat. See the 👍 button, please consider pressing it as you would be helping us out more than you know. Would you like to see more of Sailing with the James’s? Become a virtual crew member by becoming a patreon and get more of Sailing with the James's. You can check out what it’s all about here 👇come and join the fun. www.patreon.com/Sailingwiththejamess We hope to see you again next week ❤
Thank you! We searched all over when we were looking for a cat, we found her in the Gold Coast. The previous owners are the original owners who had her built (built in the Gold Coast in 2004, 2005 launch) and they sailed her to NZ, Vanuatu, New Cal, and up and down the east coast of Aus before retiring from boating life adn moving to land life. We fell in love with her and we really liked a lot of the features they custom did. We found her for sale by word of mouth, one of the agents looked at a few cats through, knew the family and knew they were looking at moving to land -Cait
I remember Dunk Island in the 80's, it was THE resort to go to. The joke was always, I'm going to Dunk, lay on the beach and wait for a falling coconut to wake me up for my next cocktail. It's a shame so many of the small resorts are gone now, South Molle was another great one. Which is where the figurehead race was thought up in 1976 by a bunch of drunken yachties together with the owner of South Molle resort who offered free accommodation to anyone who was too drunk to row back to their yacht HAHA. That race is now famous and continues to grow each year.
Too Funny!! Parts of the resort are in good standing condition and look amazing, and sadly some parts are deteriorating and rotting away, but it looks like it would have been magnificent in its day. We are very impressed with the caretakers and how well they we taking care of the grounds and keeping the grounds nice. Sam used to work in the whitsundays and take passengers to South Molle Island overnight and has some awesomeeee stories from there! -Cait
@@sailingwiththejamess South Molle was the best party island haha The only island resort at the time that truly welcomes yachties. I can still remember the tables with pyramids of empty beer cans and it was tables, plural! Many yachties woke up in their dinghies the next morning, didn't quite make it back to their boat the night before! Hmmmm yes there's lots of great stories!
@@sailingwiththejamess I can tell you how the figured head race began actually. It was from a drunken conversation between a yachties named Bob Cockren, he'd be dead now for sure, who sailed an old H28 up from coolangatta and the owner of South Molle resort. It started as a joke, let's all have a race tomorrow, see who can start with a hangover lol, then it took on a world of its own and other things got thrown in like, we are not all fast yachts so let's break it up, let's have some challenges where everyone needs to jump in their dinghy while sailing, row to the shore and get a cowrie shell from a particular beach, something else from another beach etc etc It got more outrageous with each round of beers. By the end of the night it was forgotten. Just another drunken conversation. But Bob remembered the next day and talked again with the resort owner who agreed to put on dinner and drinks for every yacht that participated. At the time there were 73 yachts in total around the Whitsundays, this was 1976. For memory we had more than 50 yachts participate and a yacht called Chebucto, owned by 2 brothers from Perth, here for a good time not a long time, had their 2 crew members, girls they had picked up from airline beach, go topless at the bow of their boat. This was by no means planned but it has become tradition for that race ever since. Thanks to 2 young Perth guys who loved their girls which they changed almost monthly hahaha It's a real shame that place has gone, with it so has the carefree lifestyle to some degree. Ask your friend if he/she remembers old Jock, the old silver haired guy who lived alone on his old yacht and was best dressed in his jocks, that's all he wore or nothing at all if he for some strange reason felt like a shower up on deck. Genuinely nice old guy, would help anyone with pretty much anything. No idea what his real name was but we all knew him as old Jock. Great time to be alive!
Sounds like it was an awesome island from your stories and Sam's stories! The jetty is new, hopefully someone comes along and wants to reopen a resort there, great location near Airlie 👍 -Cait
@@sailingwiththejamess You're right it really was. It was such a fun place one night, drunken night, while anchored in Cid harbour (Whitsunday island) we decided to row the dinghy to South Molle to buy more grog (beer for the non-Aussies). Now that seemed like a good idea at the time. But hours later, still rowing, doubts and soberness started creeping in haha. We got there and we're met by a bemused security guy who simply said "You did what?" He opened the bar for us, let us buy 2 cartons of VB and we drank and rowed our way back. I'd never do it again, it's a bloody long way in a dinghy and 1m swells are not uncomfortable in a yacht but in a dinghy you gotta hold on to your beer! Hahaha I'm sure there are thousands of such stories, South Molle would welcome everyone and do their best to ensure a good time. It was a rare gem of a place.
The caretakers are doing an amazing job at taking care of the place, the pools are in great condition with nice clean water and the lawns mowed, etc but a lot of the buildings are deteriorating - cyclone Yasi in 2011 was the final cyclone that ended the resort but there have been talks and rumours about some investor rebuilding it - that would be awesome if it was back to its glory days, would be beautiful! -Cait
what the camera doesn't see, no one else will ;) how was the hot water lol ( just after i tyoed this, i saw you had found the fence open ;) Frank from Sydney
SHHHH! HAHA yes, just popped in to have a look, didn't take a shower or look around for too long. It's really gorgeous inside the camp area - definitely worth a stop again! 🚿⛵️🤍 -Cait
@@sailingwiththejamess love your work, I'd do the same :). what amazes me more so is the fact that you take the time or make the time, to reply to so many comments, even mine. aside from obvious youtube benefits, persay, having someone like yourselves respond really makes us viewers feel close to you and your adventures. since stumbling upon your channel, i feel a part of your family and aside from learning lots about living aboard , i so look fwd every week or fortnight to your new adventures. Frank
@@djmini2numpty141 Thank you! We've have had the pleasure of getting to know some very cool people through youtube and the comments and getting to know people every week. And we really enjoy reading everyones comments. You said you were moving from Sydney - have you found a place yet? -Cait
What a beautiful island. Why would you have a calendar. That limits you from being able to change your plans. Take your time, when you get there, you get there, ENJOY yourselves. Charlie sure wasn't having yhat frog, lol she's just so dang gone cute. Ehat a beautiful life your giving her. Ad always stay safe and God bless
@krisnace thank you so much! We have a date in Cairns we are aiming for Cairns because we have a date set there we have to make 😍 all very exciting! Charlie really really wanted to be friends with the frog but didn't want to touch him 🥰🤣 She is having the best time ans we are really blessed to be able to give her hopefully a childhood to remember 💜 Thank you so much -Cait
Just wanted to Say thank you so much, we really enjoy reading your comments every week Kris! Hope the weather in Arizona isn't too hot! We have never been to Arizona, hopefully one day we will have the opportunity to see Arizona! -Cait
Im always ammazed that people and buisness developers in these places insist on building such vunerable buildings in Hurricane, Cyclone and tornado areas ... Let alone flooding and fire risk areas. Big flat walls and windows with flat or pitched roofs are not generally going to stand up to seasonal and climactic extreem weather events. Yet the location clearly could support a community and a range of visitors, explorers or people supporting scientific work. 🤷🏻 I thought Charlie was chasing small fiddler crabs at first. If she wants a friend see if you can set up a container with some sea water rocks etc for a hermit crab or two... Youl need a lid mind you incase you get some choppy sea conditions.
@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665 We've thought the same, getting an enclosure for hermit Crabs 🦀 and having a wee little pet onboard, we haven't done it yet but we have discussed it- they're pretty neat animals especially really neat to see them change shells 😍🦀 -Cait
We love Dunk we have stop there twice now in our travels a year ago and last month. Our favourite part is the beach around the north corner called muggy muggy beach. Definitely worth the look. 🙌🏼
So beautiful hey! Loved Muggy Muggy beach that is where we found all the little frogs 🐸 everywhere - so many hopping all over the place. We will definitely be back one day for the showers 🚿 🙌 -Cait
Yes! Looking forward to getting back there one day and having a shower in the facilities one day. Really awesome that there's 2 GBRMPA moorings 👌 Hope you catch up with you guys one day! -Cait
Well, that was an enjoyable visit despite the limitations. Lovely beaches, tropical flora, interesting places to explore. Discoveries for Charlie. A real bummer though about the closure! Hope you'll get that amazing shower soon.
Thank you for helping keep our boat afloat. See the 👍 button, please consider pressing it as you would be helping us out more than you know. Would you like to see more of Sailing with the James’s? Become a virtual crew member by becoming a patreon and get more of Sailing with the James's. You can check out what it’s all about here 👇come and join the fun. www.patreon.com/Sailingwiththejamess We hope to see you again next week ❤
I Luv this place , i holidayed on this island in the 70s with my family. My dad & i went to the look out point through 7 ft high yellow grass to apear up the ass of a bily goat. Evening the Golf COurse totally covered in toads & we brang back a grreen tree snake into the resort. Theres only 2 types of smakes on this island & their not poisonous. Done a daytrip to i think was Green ISland with Goanas on the beach & sand that squeks as you walk on it. Back then i would swim in a smalll pool although i cant see it in any of these footages. The only spot i could recognise was the wood bridge walkways to the rooms that we had stayed in. This place has surely changed so much when i was probably 12 yo when i was there. I sometimes dream that i live there my paradise home that i long for that i miss so much. If i had the money i would buy just to live there. Only other Island i had seen i would like to see , Great Keppel Island with such beautiful rainforrests.
Hey Rob! Sam and I were discussing the whole time we were at Lindelman about how much fun it would be to be the caretaker there - they have their own tennis courts, airplane runway, golf course, pool, etc etx. Would be awesome to be the caretaker and live there, 100% agree! The pool in the video is the one up the hill next to the golf course, a but hidden and off the track -Cait
In South Australia you can go "fishing" for Gar with a torch and a dab net and just cruise along slow and grab a few. They are very tasty if you get ones that are a decent size. I am not a fan of crocs, I'll leave them to their space and I'll keep my space away from them..lol . Thanks for the video.
Can in WA as well, get the right nights and it looks like the sea is boiling, smelly buggers.. had a mate who used to eat em, I asked, “really?” Apparently he cooks em in cold saltwater and lemon after gutting and eats them like sardines, (never actually tried them myself)
@@sailingwiththejamess hmmmm yes interesting is a word I probably wouldn't use .. I guess your lucky that the croc's haven't been trained/ get used to leaping up out of the water for a chicken on a rope ... just for the tourists ( yeah like that's not going to have consequences at some point..) . You seemed quite in control of what you were doing and I would call it thrilling to be in such close quarters with an apex predator. Really appreciate your video's of your adventures. Thanks.
If we didn't have the tinny we wouldn't have attempted scooting around the creeks in this area. All hands, arms, fingers and stuffed animals inside thr tinny at all times 🐊👍 We've been to Hartley's in Cairns and Australia Zoo and croc can jump HIGH! Quite impressive creators and dangerously high patience levels 👌 😀 -Cait
@@sailingwiththejamess I hope you haven't read me wrong .. Hey I want to swim with great white sharks , so yeah I am probably classified "nuts" I have crossed one bucket list item off .. that was walking with tigers (over 200kg male) in Thailand. Thanks for the replies. Love your channel.
Fun wilderness expedition. Hinchinbrook must be a healthy ecosystem to host giant predators like the crocs. Looks easy to get lost in that labyrinth? Some awesome videography here, especially the 12:33 - 14:06 stretch. I see that wind is welcomed there, lol.
Thank you so much! It was a lot of fun flying the drone here and chasing the tender around all the creeks - had a so much fun! Lots of wildlife m, the island is untouched wilderness. So many croc, fish, and crabs in these waters! -Cait
