Welcome

 Welcome to Adventure Sailing Australia. This blog details in chronological order the adventures of a lone 70+ year old lone sailer’s adventures cruising coastal and inland Australian waters. 

I took delivery of Jabiru, a 1993 Windward 7 trailer sailer in May 2025 from the seller located in Yamba, New South Wales The boat had spent much of her life outdoors either moored or on her trailer. She showed some signs of age, but was generally sound. She needed new sails and quite a bit of tender loving care. She is a solid glass reinforced plastic (fibreglass) boat with a gel coat rather than being painted. 

She had a small lead acid house battery and 100W solar panel. Her wiring was partly original and heavily modified in a manner that was quite dangerous. Her circuit breaker panel was located in an area that was open to salt water ingress should the cockpit locker became flooded. 

Her instruments were old and not working and she did not have a chart plotter. The storage compartment covers were varnished on only one side and were somewhat warped. Her steel centreplate was rusted onto the pivot pin and would not drop down. All of the running and standard rigging need to be replaced as it was old and worn. The port lights were crazed and leaking. The cockpit drains were old and the 4 through holes needed to be replaced as did the connecting flexible tubing. Mast and boom hardware needed attention and maintenance.   The cabin was covered in a felt style carpet and was full of dust and mold. 

The repairs and upgrades have now been completed and this blog is a detailed account of the cruising Jabiru and I are undertaking.