Now we have a race

As you might of noticed we have been following that aussie sheilah Jessica Watson, who is hoping to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe. And so far she has just past the half way mark and is doing a bloody beaut job, but now out of the blue another young sheilah has joined the race. She's a yank by the name Abby Sunderland who has just left (seven days ago) Del Rey Yacht Club in Los Angeles, on her yacht named Wild Eyes which has just passed Catalina Island and is heading due south.





This is a photo of Wild Eyes leaving the Del Rey Yacht Club on it's way around the world, but getting away from the boat who is this young All-American Girl. Well she was born and bread a Thousand Oaks girl, which is just up the road from the Yacht club that she left from. She's now 16 and if she beats Jessica's record (if she get's the record) she will become the youngest person to do the trip, and that trip isn't just a walk in the park. Fairdinkum can you imagine being in this little boat in the middle of so much friggin' water!








Now as for the yacht that Abby has chosen to do this mad trip, it's known as a Open 40, solo sailboat which was built in 2001. Wild Eyes was specifically designed for single-handed sailing in the Southern Ocean, it has the benefit of both speed and safety necessary to navigate the conditions Abby will experience in the Southern Ocean. The Designer was a mob called Jutson Yacht Design and guess what, it was built in the land down under that's right it's a friggin' Aussie. So if she does beat our Jessica in the race, at least we can feel a bit better knowing that her boat was beaten by an aussie.



I'll say one thing but.... what is going on with our young sheilahs these days! When I was a boy of 16 (here we go) I received a commodore 64 computer and I was in heaven, but somehow I can't see how that can compare with a sailing trip around the friggin' WORLD! Strewth what's in the bloody water these days, but fairdinkum these sheilahs must have balls hay. Can you imagine the waves down below south America and of cause Cape Town in Africa, bugger that Jessica just went threw there and had four friggin' Knock Downs. Now for those who don't really know sailing nautical talk, a knockdown is when your boat is turned upside down... strewth! Of cause I know all this because i'm an old salt of the sea and yes I have been over seas.... once I took the Stockton Ferry, and believe me that Hunter river can be bloody rough at times! But good luck to these sheilahs and you can see where Abby's going by just having a gander at Jessica's map on our blog, her route is the one in yellow (yellow boat yellow map route.... join the dot's will ya). And let's just hope both sheilahs get back to there home port.

Australia Day Bushwalk

Well this Australia Day I decided to take the fellas for a bushwalk, and we picked one of the Mundaring walk trails up in the mountains. This bushwalk was the Paten's Brook campsite trail which if ya took the whole trip was gonna be just over eight kilometres, but it was hot and we only had two water bottles so we only walked to the campsite which still took us almost three kilometres. And of cause another three kilometres back so it was still a big walk for the little fella Oscar, but fairdinkum he did it in his stride. He drank a fair bit of water but never stopped, which was lucky as we would of probably left him there! But this Post is gonna be a little bit different as this one is a 'Interactive Post' with some video of the walk! So you too can come on a bushwalk with your's truly and the nevilles, there short videos so you wont get to bored with us.... like this one










As you can see the trail was a fairdinkum bush track, no Poncey girly walk way for us tough fellas.






As we walked we passed a fair few old trees that have seen a better day and have fallen to bits, here are Jacko, Harry and Oscar at the end. Fairdinkum they have more fun climbing these trees then the swings in our local Park, but at least they out in the bush roughing' it getting dirty instead of sitting in frount of the telly watching the cricket..... and with the aircon going on high..... with a nice beer in the hand..... strewth what the hell am I doing out here! Nah just joking I know it's better for the nevilles to be out active instead of sitting around indoors..... but still the aircon sounds nice!


Talking about old trees getting near there used-by date, heres one that if it gets to the end of the year it's doing great. Now some of the track is along the world famous (okay maybe in Perth) Bibbulmun Track, then as it runs of to the right we pick up the Paten's Brook Trail. Which run's few this ripper aussie scrub until we came to the place that we were after, the Paten's Brook Campsite which as you can see is your everyday bread n' butter campsite which comes with it's very own outback dunny. But fairdinkum it's a little beauty of a site, and I can see us one day coming back with the old tent.









Just hanging out on a stump!










But all good things have to come to an end, and as you can see all the nevilles will be sleeping good tonight. Crikey they were stuffed we had just walked a little bit short of six kilometres, over hills and down threw gulley's to have a gander at a friggin' shitty little campsite. Fairdinkum it was hard work but you never know we might just be seeing the beginning of the NEW Leyland Brothers!

First day at the beach in 2010

Well it was time again to get all the little beachcombers together and hit the sea, and this was gonna be the first time at the beach for 2010. So because it was a special day we went for a drive down to the sandy beaches of Rockingham, just away from where we went to Penguin Island that time. The area is known as the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, which isn't to far from our favourite fish n' chip shop.











Harrison doing his impersonation of a Starfish! Okay it needs some work but you can give him some points for trying.










Oscar is getting closer as he gets older but still he's not that sure about this water stuff, but as for the other little shark biscuits it's no problem.








Little princess Sarah with two dopey Dugong's in the background.








The Park promotes that 'Picturesque submerged reefs and shipwrecks abound throughout the Park, the islands of Shoalwater Bay abound with seabirds, Penguins, sea lions and dolphins'. But they all must of been having some Long service leave, as not even a friggin' seagull came along to bother us. Fairdinkum but yes it was a real beaut spot for having a swim, or as my little nevilles like doing splashing about. But all good things have to come to an end, and as the temp was just hitting around 39 we didn't stop for long. But having to leave does have one good thing in it's favor..... Fish n' chip time!!!

Harry's second bike ride

Well here's the mob going for Harry's second ever bike ride (without training wheels), now the first ride was just around the local carpark so you could say this was his first proper ride. And so we picked Whitemans Park dirt tracks around there bush train station, so as not to ride into any poor sod out for a walk.






And it was about three minutes into his second ride that he came a gutser, and went straight over the handlebars.... ha,ha you just never get tried at watching kiddies fall off ha,ha. And talk about working bloody hard just to stay on his bike, he's little frount wheel was 'all over the place like a centipede on a hotplate' just to stay on the track.






Then after about seven minutes we came to our first stop, the bush train station of Kangaroo Flats, it's just a siding but i think it's the name that the kiddies love. So we stopped and our first drink and a little snack, and the water went down real quick as it was 41 in the shade! Not the best day to pick for his first track on his bike, but it's not like you can pick the weather hay.





As we jumped back on our bikes we heard a noise coming from the bush, then out of the sticks came the old Whitemans train. So the little nevilles loved watching it go by, giving them a nice little wave.










Then out of the blue the big fella Jacko went in a spin and over he went ha,ha, (sorry) but when one of the older billy lid's get the collywobbles and stack it (bloody amateurs) it's just so funny! But he got a bit cheesed off then like all good blokes blamed a bulldust filled hole for falling off, and then dusted himself off and was back on the bike before you could say 'Bob's ya uncle'. Then out of nowhere over went the little fella as he kissed the dirt, but he couldn't get up quick enough to explane that it was a 'bulldust filled hole in the track dad'.... strewth there quick to pick up everything that's said around them. I just said 'Tell your story walking pal... like it or lump it you fell off sport'! Sucker.







But before you could say 'It was all over' It was all over, as I didn't want to go along the cement cycleway. See Harry's a bit rough as gut's right now, and I didn't want walkers running for cover into the bush as he rode by. And also it was friggin' hot and we had run out of water, so it was time to ride back to the commodore and hit the road home.