March 2023

• I buy Jett a basketball hoop for the rear lane to help him break his screen addition with some outdoor activities. Hugo helps us build it.
• Nanny get s a new roof and I do a final inspection
• Fun and games at royal park.
• Jett tries out for the Collingwood All Stars  
• I manage to revers the boat down the lane and we pack for our Tasmania trip with the boat.
• We head to Geelong and catch up with the Hunts for dinner on Cunningham pier. There is an original DARKON profile still hanging up in there for 2010!
• We stay the night in a cabin so we can get up at 4am to catch the 6:30am ferry. When I get up, I realise the itinerary isn’t in 24hour clock and we don’t depart till 6:30pm! We spend the day in Geelong and visit MOPA the Museum of Play and ART. Then we hit little creatures brewery for Lunch.
• When we get to the Ferry I’m told I’ve made a mistake on my booking. When I booked the trailer I put down 8 metres in length but was supposed to included the car length as well! They make us wait till the very end to see if there is enough room as the boat is fully booked.
• DARKON celebrates international women’s day.

TASMANIA

• The boat departs and im unsure of what to expect. Tanya asks the service desk and were told to be asleep before 10pm. When Tanya asks why she is told ‘because it will get progressively worse’ (her new favourite catch phrase)! Were headed for 5-meter swell that ends up being 10-meter swell!! The food on board is really good and the boys hit the cinema. Tanya has a deluxe cabin to share with HUGO and LEO while Jett and I have a double bunk room on the deck below. Jett goes wild and starts running away from me outside in the Dark with wages crashing over the side.  I have a sleeper and enjoy being rocked to sleep while everyone else is up all night feeling sick.
• We arrive in Davenport at 6:30am. We hit the road heading straight for Freycinet National Park. Everyone has a sleep while I tackle the 3hour drive.
• We arrive to find ourselves in a beautiful spot called Coles Bay. We have rented a house called the lookout. Its not ready till 3pm so we unhitch and do some exploring.  
• When we get the code to the keys at 2:59 I quickly unpack and re-hitch to get out on the water with Leo and check out the boat ramp / waterway. I’ve only got 3 days of good weather before a heavy easterly blows in.
• The next day I’m up 5am and drag Leo out of bed. The sunrise is beautiful.
• We come across a massive school of blue Mackerel bait fish. I’ve got a 5-hook bait chaser rig left over from Portland and we drop it over the side. BAG instant hook up with all hooks loaded. We take about 20 baits and LEO is having a ball.
• We get out onto the East Coast and the westerly wind creates a beautiful flat sea. I set up the big rigs and trawl for tuna while Leo has a sleep in the cabin.  No activity so I ask Leo if he wants to switch to bottom bash fishing and were on. Within no time I’ve hooked Tasmania’s prize possessions the stripped trumpeter. Its 80cms long and weighs in at 7kgs. We throw everything else back and head home.
• Were back by midday and head out for lunch too Freycinet Marine Farm. Yum its so good. Close to the best fish n chips I’ve ever had.
• We hit the local beach, fill up the boat and call it a day with fresh fish for dinner.
• The next day I take Jett out for a fish. We trawl for a bit then decide to bottom bash. Similar to yesterday fish galore. We throw them all back apart from a trio of Jack ass.
• On the way back we come across a massive pod of dolphins I circle around and cruze with them. There so playful jumping high out of the water right next to the boat. What a way to end what looks like the last day of boating in Tasmania.
• We then set up Tanyas shade tent on the beach and chill out. Were super lucky to have dry warm weather in Tasmania.
• I’m using the induction cook top from the boat as the old school electric stove is slow and can’t cook my fish properly. Unfortunately, it blows up and trips the breaker.
• As the wind has turned easterly, we decided to give the boat a miss and do a hike instead. In hindsight we should have put the boat t in as the Coles Bay side of the coastline was glass flat and everyone was catching flat head. It’s the daily standard for Coles Bay fishing.
• We hike to the lookout in Freycinet National Park with HUGO on our backs. It truly is a beautiful place. If we ever come back with the boat id love to boat into the bay and spend a day picnicking.
• Leo helps my clean the boat and we pack up ready to leave tomorrow morning.
• We get up and head for Devonport. Were staying the night so we can catch the ferry tomorrow morning. Don’t worry I got it right this time. Day trip leaves at 10am. Nothing is open as it the labour day public holiday. Tan and I have a quick fish out the front and we order pizza for dinner.
• The next morning we get to the check in booth and I explain ive under booked my length. At that exact time there is a cancellation and we grab the extra spot just as some guy in the lane opposite us is trying to get on with no ticket. We beat him by 10 seconds and were ON!
• Today’s day sail is perfect. 1 meter swell is a bout as smooth as it gets. We have a deluxe cabin for Tanya and Hugo to sleep in. The boys and I hit the movies and we Cruse for 10 smooth hours all the way back to Geelong. We even time it to pass through the rip right on slack tide.  We had a great Trip, and I can’t wait to come back in January with our new caravan.

• We get in late, drive straight to DARKON, drop off the boat then home to Keele by 11pm. I have to get up at 5am to catch the 7am flight to Sydney as Matty and I have taken over all sales in NSW.
• We smash through our meets and I give Matty a treat and take him to Machiavelli for Lunch. Rick pops to visit that night and we chill out watching the footy.
• We fly back Friday afternoon and I race back to Darkon for Jies farwell. He almost made it to 10 years at DARKON. Farwell my friend.
• Leo and his friends have a bake sale and I decide to throw a laneway party the following Sunday.  
• We have some Junkies try and break into to Keele St while Tanyas in the bath and im on the toilet. In my undies I ask them to leave. They wont stop yelling so I start yelling and wake up the neighbourhood!
• I take Adrian Sterritt out fishing and do a Heper demonstration while I’m at it. We catch a variety of stuff but I have a disaster. The anchor drops free while driving at top speed and I loose while doing a fair bit of damage to the bow sprit.
• MiMi and Denis join us for dinner and I cook up some Stripped trumpeter.
• Jacquie’s last day at DARKON. Its very sad for me. I cry and cant even do a speech. Tanya, Leo and Hugo come to see her off. Ill miss you Jacqui.
• Tanya and I have our wedding anniversary at Smith St Bistro. I try escargot!
• Laneway party is a hit.
• Paul does the Melbourne Flower and Garden Show with Christian Jenkins again. Unfortunately he only wins silver this year.
• I drop the boat back to Moose Marine for more warranty work and an upgrade to a 1kw depth sounder.
• Down to Nungurner for excavation works with Lee Krammes. This is future works for the garage and so I can turn the boat or caravan around while I wait for a garage.
• It’s a huge 3 days of excavation works and we get it done. Thank you, Lee. Love your work mate.