- Get time to finishing unpacking the trailer and set up the purple drum kit upstairs at Bells Track. Hugo and I play the drums together.
- Mini Golf at Lake Entrance
- Radford and I fix my CCTV cameras and install my Octopussy in the treehouse.
- I meet the new neighbor’s at Redwood when I return their dog that’s been missing al night. Then we head off back to Melbourne.
- On the way back to Melbourne I stop at Get Wet Traralgon and pick up all the fishing gear that’s been on layby. It’s a new financial year…… Lets do this.
- I buy a Piedmontite’s platter and picnic gear in preparation of the big reveal of the new boat to the wife and Kids.
- Next Day I meet Moose and Jason from 38 south and Moose Marine for the hand over / training / dealer delivery of the new boat at Patterson lakes. It goes really and I hitch up and head for St Kilda marina.
- I’ve got the boat ready to launch waiting to surprise the kids. Tan has never seen it either. There all blown away and so surprised. We head out of St Kilda Marina which is being dredged and anchor nearby while we enjoy the new boat. 1st thing Jett and Leo do is christen the toilet! Hugo has a sleeping the cabin while Adz gets wet on the trip back. What a great day!!
- Next day I put it in at Mordialloc and take Chewy and Pauly out for a cruise. There’s dolphins surfing our bow wave and the weather is amazing. Another great day.
- Next day is the DARKON quarterly BBQ with all the staff. Radford has the place set up ready for a big one and that it was. Jett and I party all night and sleep on the boat.
- Next day I have a massive hangover so we take a day out then head for Nungurner on Sunday for his 3rd week of school holidays with the new boat. We stop at JT’s then launch the boat at Metung.
- I have grand plans to go out the heads and fish the 6-mile reef however the dredger has been out of action for 3 months and the entrance is almost closed at 1.5 meters deep and breaking waves all the way across. As we come into dock, I lose all POWER! Did I leave the fridge on? I use the power on the jetty from the winter solstice last year and charge the batteries overnight.
- Tim helps me retrieve the car and trailer from Metung so I can check if I can turn it around at the end of bells track. Not a chance!
- I have another complete power failure and get stuck into the boat manual only to discover the boats needs 3 batteries not 2! I get nuts at the supplier and organise to take the boat back on the way home.
- I come up with the comic book story and theme for our new marketing campaign and get Jett involved to story book the slides.
- Jett and I are loving our daily shopping trips into Lakes to get Big Bear doughnuts with the new boat.
- Tim helps me pull the boat out then we have a street party playing B Ball while I wash the boat down.
- Back to Melbourne for my induction into Sandringham Yacht club, Drew and his dad Brian join me and we have lunch for the occasion (I’m not yet ratified!)
- I help Pauly move house and nearly break my foot!
- Radford fault finds the power drain on the boat. Its just a lose neutral! Oh well I’ve booked a rewiring with 38 south / Moose marine anyway.
- I give Jett a mullet hair cut and order a plaster to fix all the holes we made after renovating the new kitchen
- I fly to Brisbane to meet the new US owners of Lumascape
- We hold the Annual General Meeting for all DARKON agents after 2 years of COVID and go for dinner at Boiler Maker House.
- I take Tanya and the Kids to SYC for the 1st time.
- Jett pulls out of the Collingwood / Essendon game, so I take Adz. It turns out to be the best last QTR of foot I’ve seen in years. We kick a goal while the siren sounds to take the win by 4 points!
- Eddy base comes and does a caulking class for my crew.
- AJ returns my bench seat for the boat that has now been modified into a Kill box for the boat. Nice work dude.
- We hit the road for Portland on a fishing trip with a detour past the 12 apostles.
- Up at 5am for tuna fishing. Rough seas and we turn around to drop back Tanya, Hugo and Leo. Jett and I head back out to the continental shelf. It takes 1.5 hours and when we get there the fish are ON. Birds, bait and jumping tuna. I love it! But we don’t hook up. Adventure was worth it.
- Next day we head to South Australia to go for a BARREL out of Port MacDonnell. A heavy Northerly blow in so we head back with a few launch and retrieve disasters that cause damage to the new boat.
- Get back to Darkon and were to tired to clean the boat!
