reality or self-delusion

[paul anderson]

g,day all this is my first post and i thought i would outline the reasons for building a t26 in the not too distant future.as i have never married i have no ties to hold me on shore any longer.i find the phlosophy of j.w quite enchanting,a boat for everyman.considering that in australia now people are enslaved to massive morgages and all that goes with it,i reckon it was not what i signed up for.the t26 seems to be the boat for me at this stage.it will allow me to sail singlehandedly and not so large as to be massively costly and time consuming my aim is to sail and trade the remoter parts of the world,escapinng big brother and the beauracratic nightmare that has now raised its ugly head in many parts of the world.Hans klaar is definitely an inspiration as well as manny of you on this site who have been and done it.
cheers paul.

[paul anderson]

i reckon if my ship comes in it will probably still need an overhaul.Charlie i reckon i still would like to build one though,but you are right the time spent sanding could be used living the dream.wow i have been looking at some of the production cats over here in moloobah and man they have better gear and more of it than i have in my humble abode,i reckon to have enough coin for one of those you would need a flotilla of ships to come in.

[Lee Dilkes]

I hear you Paul my plan almost to the letter.........

I started my Tiki 26 build last weekend about 1800ks north of you.

Go for it!

[lukas]

hey paul, i agree with charlie mate, go for it. the sooner the better. and about all the production cats you see.. all that gear they carry might as well be an anchor. it just holds you back, in so many ways. you don't need much gear. live the dream

[paul anderson]

i have been reading a book by dallas murphy ''rounding the horn'' crikey those old salts went thru some stuff.the author writes about the yahgan indians who used to live on the tip of south america in the severe and freezing conditions,naked as the day they were born.they made canoes out of tree bark and caulked them with clay.(early stitch and glue perhaps;) it does seem that the more we devellop the more stuff we find has become ''essential''

[Dave Mellor]

MAAATE!!!!YOUR ON THE MONEY....K.I.S.IMPLE.....HAPPINESS SURE ISNT IN ''GETTING S...''
GO FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS AND WHAT A WAY ,WITH A WHARRAM.

[Geminidawn]

Fair winds to you. I pray safe passage from this bureaucratic nightmare people have now accepted as life. I'm right behind you mate! When I started my project I never really intended to liveaboard and sail the oceans blue but kindly enough my country, it's policies, tax hikes, corruption and utter waste of the tax payers hard earned cash made up my mind for me. I am just fortunate that while everyone else was investing in property I was investing in a Wharram.
Ironically enough everyone at the time told me I was mad, now with mass unemployment mortgage arrears and their property in negative equity I am now told they would kill to be me!
Keep us posted!

[paul anderson]

you know lemmings all jump off the cliff together as long as you conform you are just another joe doing it tough.the nanny state in australia was really what got me all fired up a few years ago.regulation for regulation sake and the enforcement nazis all feed out of thesame trough.have a google at what some people have gon through arriving by yacht here.google brutal customs

[Dave Mellor]

Right on Paul.All aboard ''The Wharram''for the trip of a lifetime YEEHAAA!!!!

[Galway Bay]

Launch the boat Paul.

You very kindly welcomed me to this site when I joined. Thank you. Now I hope you will allow me to stick my oar in -

Don Dodds in his book says that the most difficult part of cruising is the untying of the dockline. Simple as that.  One day you must just decide to go. It looks so simple but it is actually very difficult.

I finished a re-build 18 mts. ago. Strange, but as I loaded the trailer and prepared to leave the building-site I felt a strong sense of LOSS. The building process absorbs so much of our energy attention and perhaps even our soul that it is truly difficult to say stop. The project becomes so intertwined with our life that when it ends it is like the end of a marriage.

There are now many questions to which you need the answers. These questions are not about "systems" and the answers are not on this forum. The questions are about Paul and his boat and only the sea has the answers.

Set off quietly round the first bend that will hide you from all the well-wishers. Sling your hook and just sit there for 24 hours. Savour the moment. Just Paul and his boat. The luxury of it. The satisfaction of it.

Just do it. Dont let another southern summer slip past.

And dont forget to post lots of pictures for all your friends here !!!!!

[Ann and Neville Clement]

Paul, I lived on a 28 foot monohull for six years and 25,000 miles.  It was plastic and had lots of systems that broke or I did not understand them.  Most of my long passages (until Nev joined me) were with no electrics at all, but the mast stayed up, the sails were ok, the rudder and keel did their things and the water syayed out most of the time and I stayed in.  It was fantastic.   Single handing has its own magic.  When I found Nev, I was ready for the kind of magic we two find with each other and, after another trans Atlantic with him, we were ready for a bigger boat.  He wanted the Tiki 46 which is a huge boat and huge build and it has given Nev huge satisfaction.  I'm happy so long as the boat is moving and for me it can likely be any boat but Wharram has the right idea about multihulls - better than anybody else.  A GPS chart plotter is worth the money but still use paper charts alongside.  You need simple long life food and water and good rig and sails and lace those rudders on right.  You are gonna have a great time.

   Yes, I will always remember when Peace IV was finished and we left Bristol Harbor in England and went out of the lock and entered the River Avon heading out to the Bristol Channel and the ATlantic.  Our land friends and our boat building friends were waving good bye and we knew that we would not be sailing back that way.  Tears rolled down my cheeks because we truly loved those people.  But we kept in touch and the ATlantic was there with its salt water and immense horizons and zillions of harbors, new friends, many adventure and the glory of all that fantastic scenery....    Soon the boat was dancing in the waves, skimming along under her full sails all white and new, and we were back at sea navigating, grinning, and we slept aboard our ocean home and all was right again in my life. 

     Keep mixing glue, keep shaping the wood and putting on the fiberglass.  It is a wonderful dream and an even better reality.  

[Brandon Gamble]

So much love and support... The "Wharram" family is really the best. One I'm regularly reminded how proud I am to be apart of. So much good advice above this comment. I only have my favorite quotes to add from sailing mystic Bernard Moitessier. (My favorite writer of sailing books.)

"You do not ask a tame seagull why it needs to disappear from time to time toward the open sea. It goes, that's all."

and

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present. In this limitless nation, this nation of wind, light, and peace, there is no other ruler besides the sea."... (a Sea People motto if I ever heard one)

[paul anderson]

Moving stuff,guys. yes this site is a wonderful resource and the support shown to myself and others is touching. Ann in particular is a delight with her wisdom and experience.

paul.