I live in the world of slow boats. Now, we’ve all heard about slow food, a social movement not simply aimed at eating healthier meals but, more broadly, a metaphoric line in the sand, drawn in response to the frenetic pace of western rat-race societies like ours. Slow boats can be seen as an extension of this culinary ideal. Slow boats are built and operated with the clear understanding that life is primarily a journey, not simply a destination.

Unfortunately, slow boats are very much a rarity these days. The disappearance of reasonably priced, commercially manufactured, displacement cabin boats is probably the main reason why people like me build (or rebuild) our own.

My previous slow boat was a Hartley TS18 (actually a TS14 extended to 18ft), which I operated as a motor launch. It was light to tow, had a comfortable V-berth (thanks to my removing the keel box), and gave my wife and me about ten years of boating pleasure on Brisbane and Gold Coast waterways.

The Hartley was easy to store under the house, but the galley hand eventually began suggesting we upgrade to something with a little more living area. So I began looking around for the biggest boat I could comfortably fit under my home’s floorboards. This wasn’t easy. It took three years in all after starting my search to find the right vessel, and, while I had bought the Hartley from a neighbour, I had to drive to South Eastern NSW to collect this new one.

The plans were purchased from B & B Yacht Designs, with the boat built originally as a cantilever-masted (hinged tabernacle) ketch. The fellow who built her told me he had been having marital issues and thought the solution would be a common interest in a family-size boat. However, the time he spent building the boat turned out to be the last straw for the relationship, with his wife eventually leaving for greener pastures. As a result, he lost interest in the project, which subsequently spent a few years out in the weather. Still, he’d done a good job of it. The hull was dimensionally and structurally sound, and I was very pleased to take her over. Having been told the break-up story, I took the precaution of immediately renaming the boat after my long suffering better-half.

Unfortunately, both tabernacles needed to be removed to get the boat under the house, so she became a motor launch just like her predecessor. It took me another three years altogether, working in the evenings and on weekends, to re-model and re-finish the boat to my liking. I enjoyed the process, even though I am not one to build anything simply for the pleasure of the exercise. (There are blokes who want to build boats and blokes who want to use them. But sometimes the only way to get what you want is to do it yourself.)

The boat’s top speed is about 8.5 knots, and she does a comfortable 6 knots at 3400 rpm or 7 at 4300 rpm. Last September, we were invited to a function at RQYS Canaipa, and it took us just over three hours to get there from Runaway Bay Shopping Mall, mostly at 3000 rpm, with 4000 rpm for a negative tide running between Jumpinpin and Tipplers. It was a pleasant trip.

My wife seems to love this new boat. It may not be a super yacht, but compared to the Hartley, it’s a mansion. There is even room for doing yoga on the cabin roof!

by Arthur Marcel

The helm is on the left with offset cabin entry. There are three GPS systems (four, if you include a mobile phone), with five independent power supplies (counting their own battery systems). The VHF radio has Direct Selective Calling, displaying positional information (via NMEA interface) as well. When it comes to essential systems, I believe in redundancy, and none of this stuff was expensive.

The cabin has two quickly interchangeable configurations, one for day tripping with side benches, and the other for sleeping. The V-berth slats and self-inflating mattress stow under the helm when not in use.

I removed the centre board but kept the shallow full-length keel, including 180kgs of lead ballast for rough-water stability. I installed a bow roller system for a 15-kilo CQR anchor. (You can be confident you’ve got the right anchor when other people laugh at you for having too big an anchor!) I also built an adjustable aluminium trim tab to keep the nose down under power.

This rather idyllic photo was taken on 16 November 2008. About two hours later, the Brisbane suburb of The Gap was flattened by the mother of all storms, which also caught up with us as we motored back down the river. Virtually in the dark, we looked for shelter in vain, unable to go near the shore because of many huge tree branches crashing down into the water. Not a good experience.

The post MV Marie Laure: My Slow Boat appeared first on Boat Gold Coast.

For us, we just love the calming lifestyle of boating. It is the one place where we least talk about work. And as soon as we are on the water, we both feel it – the calm just washes over us.

Our favourite time is definitely the evenings. We make sure the back of the boat is facing west, so all we can see is the water, the trees and the sunset. One night, while we were anchored at Tipplers, enjoying the sunset with wine, cheese and crackers, the moment of truth came to us. We knew we had made the right decision in buying the boat. The next morning, while having our coffee, we were visited by dolphins. When you get that as a morning greeting, you know you have done the right thing.

Current Boat

Just a couple of months ago we upgraded our Riviera model from our old M370, to our new 40-foot M400, named Our Passion. We are relatively new boaties, having bought our first boat a couple of years ago, so we wanted to stick with the Riviera brand because they have such amazing after-sales service.

We just love the boat’s flat, open layout. The main cabin is where you spend most of you time, so you want it to be roomy enough that you are not always stepping around each other. We also went with the hard top instead of canvas because we are not really sun people. The hard top keeps it cooler in the sun, and it is always comfortable, even if it is blowing a gale outside. We could not be happier with our boat.

Favourite locations

We are still finding our feet on the Gold Coast so we have not ventured too far yet. But we absolutely love anchoring at Tipplers and Wave Break Island. Even though we have been to those spots plenty of times, it still feels like we have not seen all they have to offer.

For us, boating is not about constantly doing new things – it is about relaxing and fishing. We had our first real test with the boat last week when we took the kids to Couran Cove Island Resort at South Stradbroke Island, and it couldn’t have gone better. We had accommodation there but we barely used it – the boat was more than enough. The kids had a brilliant time fishing and relaxing with us.

Boat buying advice

If you want a bargain, you have to be prepared to travel. We did a lot of looking before we ended up buying in Newcastle. When it comes to price, obviously you want to negotiate it down as much as possible. But it is also essential to set aside 10% of the purchase price for initial fixes and maintenance. Even if the boat is in immaculate condition, there will be little things that need doing.

We also find that it really helps to buy through a reputable dealer. Even if you have to pay them for their time, a professional boat dealer is invaluable to come on board and do a separate check from initial survey.

Close call

The scariest moment we had on the water was when we were doing 18 knots. I turned to say something to Shauna and suddenly we were heading into dangerously shallow water, which could be really scary. No one had warned us about how quickly you could get off course. It really caught us by surprise.

Local thoughts

The main reason the Gold Coast is so popular is because of the great protection it offers the boaties. Obviously, the Broadwater provides a huge amount of protected water. But all the way up to Jacob’s Well and beyond provides so many scenic and safe waterways. That is why we moor the boat in Calypso Bay because it is so protected, even though we live up in Brisbane.

We find the Gold Coast to be really safe as well. The only thing we can say is watch out for the jet skis. We had one guy jumping his ski in front of us but then he came off the ski, and I had to power off because I could not see where he was under the water.

Some of the places in summer can get quite noisy with parties, especially when you are trying to relax. That is one reason we prefer boating in winter, as it is not as busy on the water.

Martial and Shauna both work in the financial services industry and are based in Clayfield, Brisbane.

Interview by Narayan Pattison

/Sep-Dec2017

The post Our Passion appeared first on Boat Gold Coast.

Like so many people, we fell in love with all things boating even before we had set foot on a sailboat. We were having lunch overlooking a marina and taking in the ambience, and we started talking about how lovely it would be to own a boat. We were living in South Africa at the time. After selling Gary’s road-surfacing business, we decided to make that dream a reality and sail the world.

Following extensive research, we opted for a sailing catamaran and commissioned Rayvin Yachts to build a 30-foot catamaran for us, which we took delivery of in 2007. After sailing the Rayvin to Australia, we lived in Adelaide for two years, before relocating to the Gold Coast, where we decided to upgrade to a larger catamaran, which had more room for living aboard.

Present boat

We found our new dreamboat, a Fusion 40 built in 2008, at Multihull Solutions, after scouring the internet for a long time. We renamed her Jamesby after the island where we became engaged on the voyage over from South Africa.

Our new home on the water was built to survey and had hardly been used with only 350 hours on the motors and 100 hours on the generator. The Fusions are very stable and have lots of space on board, boasting a 7.2-metre beam. This model also has a galley down, which allows an extra-large saloon area. Other features include a large enclosed stand-up shower, two air air-conditioning units, a 5kva generator, a fully automatic washing machine, and all the required equipment aboard for long-term cruising. They are also fast; they can achieve more than 20 knots in ideal conditions, which is exhilarating.

We live aboard Jamesby at the Hope Harbour Marina on the Gold Coast. But we go out most weekends anchoring at the local anchorages and sometimes further north in Moreton Bay when time allows.

Favourite destinations

Our favourite local destination is Tangalooma, a place we love to visit at least once a year. But due to work constraints we mainly anchor at Tipplers. We love boating on the Gold Coast. We also visit other anchorages like Paradise Point and Wave Break, depending on the weather. The protected Broadwater allows us to go out most weekends because there are so many places to anchor in the lee. There are also so many restaurants and shops to stop off along the way, which help make the Gold Coast an even more enjoyable boating destination. However, safety-wise, there is a need to keep a sharp lookout because there are so many boats and jet-skis out every weekend.

We rate the facilities here on the Gold Coast as good, although a few extra mooring buoys at Tipplers would not go amiss. Additional Water Police would also be great to make sure everyone does the right thing.

Most of the time we go out by ourselves, but occasionally we invite friends and their overseas visitors. Last year we had the privilege of taking out the Springbok rugby team, which was a fun experience – check out the pic!

Cruising plans

Long-term, we plan to cruise New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji, and then head west into Southeast Asia, and onto the Mediterranean and back to the Caribbean.

We are in the process of adding more solar panels and will buy a water-maker and upgrade the navigational equipment before we leave. In terms of gadgets we love right now, top of the list is our Poly Cool ice-making machine, which makes ice in only 12 minutes, and the seasick-preventing Relief Band, which Joey discovered after trying many other seasickness remedies without success.

Special moments

The stand-out scary moment for us in our sailing to date was undoubtedly on the way to Cape Town when we hit a low just north of Port Elizabeth, and had waves coming at us taller than our mast. But it did not last long, and experiences like that make the good times seem even more special by comparison.

When we are anchored, and sitting back looking at a beautiful sunset, there is nowhere we would rather be. Probably our only regret about the boating lifestyle is that it took us so long to discover it.

Interview by Caroline Strainig 

(May-Aug2017)

The post Jamesby, The Dream Boat appeared first on Boat Gold Coast.

Play by the rules

The first thing you must decide is where you will actually live when you are not travelling – at a marina, on a mooring, or at anchor.

While several marinas allow for liveaboards and provide facilities for their use, there is unfortunately very limited space available across the Gold Coast. Further, it is no longer possible to obtain one of the very few moorings that remain, though this situation may change if moorings that were removed and due to be relocated are returned to the water. Living at anchor then becomes the most viable option for those considering a liveaboard life.

There is no national or state legislative restriction on people living aboard a boat. It must be noted, however, that local councils have jurisdiction to apply locally appropriate rules. On the Gold Coast, the Gold Coast Waterways Authority currently has the task of monitoring all boating activity and has the mandate for enforcing all relevant rules and restrictions relating to the waterways use. It is imperative that liveaboards be well informed about their local rules and comply with them.

On the Broadwater, there are several anchoring zones and a requirement that vessels anchor for certain periods, and then move. Some anchorages have a limit of no more than 24 consecutive hours in any 30-day period, and others no more than 7 consecutive days in any 60-day period. Moving between anchorages is permitted to allow access to anchorages for all. So long as you are moving around as required, you will not incur any wrath.

Complying with other rules like the proper wastewater disposal is also mandatory. Pump-out facilities are available at Southport Yacht Club, Mariner’s Cove, Runaway Bay, and several of the Hope Island marinas. Composting toilets are becoming very popular with liveaboards making it easier to avoid pollution.

Be self-reliant

You have to be pretty resourceful to manage a life on board a boat. Things break and must be repaired or replaced. But, unlike in a house where nothing is going to happen while you wait for the plumber, you may find yourself needing to figure out a quick temporary fix so your home does not sink while you wait!

On a more day-to-day level, if you are halfway through cooking a meal, for example, and realise you do not have enough flour, you cannot just pop out to the car and run down to the shop. It is a much bigger ordeal, and often too big an ordeal! However, the boating community very closely resembles the old-fashioned village that many of our parents grew up knowing: you can drop by a neighbouring boat to see if you can borrow a cup of flour to complete the recipe! Still it’s true that, on the whole, liveaboard boating is going to require a little more resilience and creativity than living in a regular bricks-and-mortar property.

Be self-managing

Liveaboards need to be more independent and managing of their own lives. One of the things people often do not realise about liveaboards who live at anchor is how much they must do for themselves. There is no water supply, electricity supply, garbage collection or postal delivery. All these things must be arranged by and for themselves.

They often have to go to elaborate lengths to set up things like wireless Internet connections and have greatly limited access even then for Internet use and of course higher rates for the access they do have. “Home” delivery service can be quite a problem as many shops struggle with the idea of delivering to anything other than a house with a clearly visible number.

Those who choose this lifestyle must also be unfazed by the occasional difficulties that this life might throw at them, such as arriving at a jetty in the evening and finding that your dinghy’s outboard has been stolen.

To make this life work, it is important to maintain a high degree of self-sufficiency and a sense of humour!

Be not scared of bad weather

When you live in a house, bad weather impacts very little. For the liveaboard, this is not the case. Sometimes when the weather is bad, it is not possible to get off the boat for days at a time. Other times it is necessary to remain on board to manage the vessel during these conditions, and sometimes to protect your boat from neighbouring unattended vessels. All these things must be considered if the weather is less than blissful!

Many liveaboards also work on the land and must face difficult weather to get to work. Taking a change of clothes in a dry bag is often the solution, but it’s not a lot of fun arriving at work soaked through even if a dry set of clothes is at hand!

Be open to solitude and isolation

Here is an interesting contrast. On the one hand, living on board a boat is more physically isolating than living in a house with actual neighbours, where you have a sense of proximity with others. Yet, on the other hand, the reality is that you will likely have a stronger sense of community than in a suburban setting. The boating community is a lot like an old fashioned village. It’s not at all uncommon for others to drop by and say hi on their way home, or for friends to call past on their way out. There is (almost) always the camaraderie of the boating community. It is the other liveaboards who are most likely to hop on board their own dinghy to help other boaties in need. During bad weather, the liveaboards usually prevent unattended boats from causing damage to themselves or others, or fish floating debris from the waterways, or rescue stranded jetskiers who have come to grief.

If you are thinking of making a boat your home, then it would be true to say that, while it is not all a bed of roses – especially when the weather is difficult – the liveaboard lifestyle appeals to many and is still reasonably manageable on the Gold Coast.

Sue Parry-Jones has lived on board and sailed her boat for close to six years. She has made the Gold Coast her home while her son completes his training as a marine electrician.

Gold Coast marinas that allow liveaboards (LAs):

• Southport Yacht Club (Operates a live-aboard quota and can only accept new LAs if and when other LAs leave)
• Mariners Cove (Primarily operates for commercial vessels; has some LA but needs to limit numbers)
• Marina Mirage
• Runaway Bay Marina
• Hope Harbour Marina (This is managed by a percentage of LA to other users and ratio is strictly monitored; welcomes LAs as being excellent for marina security)
• Hope Island Marina
• Horizon Shores (Jacobs Well)

(Feb-Apr2017)

The post 5 Tips for a Liveaboard Life appeared first on Boat Gold Coast.

When we finally hit the Aussie coast again at Newcastle, the harbour was closed. The swell was too big for ships to enter. The captain decided to go in anyway. He had had enough. Navigating about 100 anchored ships, we caught a wave on the breakwater and surfed into the harbour. There were surfers on their board beside us cheering us on. If i had known then what i do now, I would never have gone on that boat.

After spending another six months on the Tassie Trier, heading north in much calmer conditions, I jumped ship in the Whitsundays and worked on cruise boats, including Gretel, Apollo and Trusan. Over the next many years, I sailed on Supercat to New Guinea, Palau and the Philippines, the Greek islands, Corfu, along the French Rivera, and a few years ago, at the amazing Kimberly’s on Mick Vaudrey’s boat, the Graymac.

Let me introduce Wild Goose

My then husband and I purchased the Wild Goose in 2008 and moved on board. I had searched the world for the right boat and I found her on the Gold Coast. We did a bit of a refit then sailed north as far as Hervey Bay. He lasted less than 12 months. “It’s not for everyone,” he said. I kept the boat.

The Wild Goose is a 65ft aluminium Crowther catamaran. She was built in South Africa in 1998 to Australian survey standards (most likely by an Australian, but I have no history of her). In my eyes, she is the perfect long-haul sailing vessel. She’s 30ft wide for maximum stability, has six crash bulkheads, separate engine rooms, and an enclosed helm. (No more white water for me!) Powered by twin 120hp Yanmar diesel engines, she turns on her length and has plenty of sail area producing a reasonable speed for such a large heavy boat. The Goose averages 6 to 10 knots, or half-wind speed under sail (although I have recorded 17.9 knots in 30 knots of breeze).

We have all the important things for ocean crossing, including radar. And just in case one fails, there are two GPS systems. The auto pilot, wind and depth instruments are all Simrad. They are all a bit old but easy to use and reliable. When at sea we use the radar to set an alarm that notifies us if any ships come into our perimeter. It is possible to connect the auto pilot to the GPS to plot a course and let the boat steer herself, but I prefer to keep a watch. Safety first!

Wild Goose has a large battery bank run by a 6kva generator and 8 solar panels. In summer, there is not much need for the generator as the panels provide about 40-amp hours. The inverter gives us 240-volt power. We have a water maker for fresh water when in other countries. The Goose has four double cabins, a large saloon and an enclosed cockpit. There are three bathrooms and three heads. Two of these heads are macerators to tank with pump-out or at-sea release. The other is a day head that can be used at sea but not in port. The most important for an aluminium boat are sacrificial anodes (metals attached to the hull). Without anodes, electrolysis (corrosion) would gradually eat the boat away. Unlike other construction materials, antifouling is not really necessary on aluminium. Although growth will attach to the boat, they cannot do any harm and can be easily scraped off.

It’s hard to say when my passion for the ocean began. I don’t think I have ever been any different. Maybe it is in my genes. There are pirates in my ancestry! Arhhh! As a child I have memories of waiting for the tide to come in so I could launch the dingy. I don’t think I chose this lifestyle. To me, the ocean is my home. Every time I leave a seaway, I get a tear in my eye and an overwhelming feeling of belonging. My happy place is doing the Titanic over the bow of the Wild Goose.

Adventures with Wild Goose begins

It took me a couple of years to get my footing again before heading to New Caledonia and Vanuatu in 2014 with my son, Taylor, and his girlfriend, and my now partner, Troy, on board. After clearing customs in Australia, we spent seven days at sea before entering Port Bourail, about half way up the New Caledonia coast. We made a slight miscalculation as we were heading for Noumea, but ended up safe and sound nonetheless.

We spent quite a few months in New Caledonia. The country is an absolute paradise for sailors once you leave the city of Noumea. There are wonderful surfing breaks everywhere, amazing islands to explore and no people. Best of all, the country is boat-friendly. Customs check—in and out—is easy with very minimal fees.

As for other future adventures, I would leave tomorrow. I’m 52 now and getting itchy feet again. Anywhere is good. I can live in Asia and probably will in the next few years.

There is much media hype about pirates in Asia, and I have no doubt they are out there. But I have never seen any. One of the smartest safety devices I have seen is 12-volt electric handrails, like a horse fence, enough of a deterrent if you were being boarded to at least make them think twice. In my experience, if you show respect for the country, their religion and their politics, you are safer than crossing the road at Surfers Paradise. (Although there was times In New Guinea, I did feel like i could have been on the lunch menu!)

Most of the time, the locals are excited to see you. In the Philippines, I even met the mayor of Dinagat escorted by about 50 children from the local school. They had never seen a white woman. I was treated like a princess given special gifts of orchids and local shells.

Money is always the main problem for extended journeys. It costs very little to live aboard at anchor. No rates or taxes, water or electricity. Diesel and maintenance are the only real expenses. But to travel overseas, you need funds to get you there and back—mishaps included. You are always at the mercy of the weather and time frames are unpredictable.

The Wild Goose is a big boat, plenty of room for crew, family and friends. I’m not into solo sailing—sounds boring to me. Good company and good times make for a happy life. We do not go to sea in rough weather. We pick the weather carefully. These days, we have all the tools we need to do so. Only fools challenge Neptune! In any case, I’m a small person, so I need crew if something goes wrong. I don’t have the strength to pull down a torn sail or pull up the anchor if the winch fails. So when i go off shore I need the right people with me. Patience and calm in an emergency is vital on board. When you are heading for a reef and your steering has failed, panicking doesn’t help.

Except for getting in the tender to go to shore, living aboard the Wild Goose is much like living in a four-bedroom house. Best of all, you can travel without packing a suitcase. And you can take the kitchen sink!

On buying a sailboat: “Hire one first. Sail to sea on any boat you can crew on before you commit to the purchase. Learn the ropes—don’t trip over them. After all, a wise woman once said, ‘Better than a boat is a friend with a boat.’”

By Lyndell James, a passionate sailor whose love for ocean sailing is as natural as the ocean itself. She takes us with her on her journey before Wild Goose, and then beyond.

The post No chasing for Wild Goose appeared first on Boat Gold Coast.

While living on board I have been giving my children the most amazing education about this amazing country of ours and have been fortunate to be able to pursue my own interests—namely, establishing an on-going support organisation for victims and survivors of abuse.

Everywhere we go, people tell us what an amazing choice we have made, marvel at the well-roundedness of our kids, remark about how respectful and open they are. And yet, despite the fact that we have contributed in a very significant way to something as important as assisting people to recover from abuse, and despite the fact that as we travel we contribute to every town we spend time in, apparently, the very fact of living on board a yacht makes us ‘freeloaders’.

Well, I would like to tell you about some of the amazing ‘freeloaders’ my family and I have been privileged to meet over the last four years—including now, right here on the Gold Coast.
The people I meet

There have been a great many retired teachers—one a former woodwork teacher and his wife—lovely people who, in retirement, had decided to move aboard their weekend recreational vessel and give themselves a well-earned break, exploring more of our great landscape by sea.

Then, there is a special education teacher who spent years of her life trying to assist disabled children to reach their potential.

There is the retired ferry builder whose passion for boats has filled his whole life. What better way to spend his well-earned retirement days than afloat on a boat of his own design and making!

Early on in my ‘freeloading’ live-aboard days, I met Pete, the local school bus driver who called his boat his home, after splitting with his wife and leaving the house to her. And then there are the pilots who wanted a life that would leave a smaller carbon footprint on the planet and who chose to forego the trappings of the yuppie lifestyle and instead live a simple life without many luxuries aboard their small yacht, while flying sea planes for a charter company.

There are the fly-in fly-out miners who found a place to call home on a catamaran that they could relax in on their few days off a month.

We have met students, businessmen and their families, doctors, nurses, former public servants and policemen, men who have served in our armed services at great cost to their personal lives, journalists and writers who continue to eke out a living with their pen in the comforts of their floating abodes.

A life choice

People choose to live aboard their vessels for as many different reasons as they choose to live in houses and drive cars. There is no one ‘type’ and at least half are self-funded retirees or age pensioners, while the other half is made up of a multitude of workers of various sorts, seasonal workers, part-time workers, workers from home, and writers. In the four and a half years we have lived on board, we have come across half a dozen people who live on board because they do not want to work or be contributing members of society.

The label ‘freeloader’ is levelled at us because of a perception that we live for nothing in places where others are charged a hefty system of taxes and duties. But what is rarely acknowledged is that most live-aboards have made this choice later in life after having led meaningful lives where they have made contributions like everyone else.

Folks who live aboard here on the Gold Coast are still members of the local community. We shop in the same shops as our land-neighbours, eat in the same cafes and restaurants, drive our cars, fill them with the same fuel, pay our various taxes—GST, income tax—for work we do, and happen to go home at night to a boat that floats rather than a house that remains firmly planted on the ground.

Many of us volunteer in a variety for ways—as bush firemen, as VMR and Coastguard members, as JP’s and counsellors. Our children attend schools and universities. We pay our way in the community in so many ways.

But do not worry—it is not all a bed of roses. When the wind howls and you are safely tucked up in your solid and stable house, the ‘freeloader’ has a slightly more active time of it. Watching out for other boats that might drift with the gusty wind—especially those that have been abandoned or left unattended—making sure our own boats hold fast.  We might have sleepless nights and restless days when we are watching and monitoring the weather waiting for it to ease. When it rains and we have to get to work, we might have an added layer of difficulty in needing to hop into a wet dinghy and drive it in the rain to the shore. And when the weather is really closing in, we might be stuck on the boat for days at a time—needing to make do with what stores we have until the weather changes.

It is not always an easy choice. But please do not make the mistake so many do and think we are all a bunch of “dole-bludging ne’er do wells”. We are simply people who love boats enough to make them our homes. You will see us out and about—often in the evenings or early mornings cleaning up after other visitors have long since driven away, removing the bottles and cans left behind—or out on the water helping stranded jet skiers or paddle-boarders who have misjudged the tide.

We choose a simple life, but I don’t think that necessarily makes us all ‘freeloaders’.

By Sue Parry-Jones

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