We are coming up on 1 year of being “boatless”, so we’re all getting a bit anxious to go sailing again! Construction on Wildling is going really well, but the waiting is still a bit difficult. In the meantime, there are a few projects we’ve been working on so we’re ready to go sailing as soon as Wildling is finished.

Australian registration and flag

I submitted our application to register Wildling as an Australian vessel. The process involves many forms and is a bit mysterious, but I managed to “mostly” get it correct the first go. The good news is that we now have an official registered number with Australian Maritime Services, and we have secured our boat name, which is good, because coming up with a new name at this point would be a bummer.

The things I got wrong were not using my full middle name on two of the forms, and not having the correct construction type designation on the builder’s certificate. I had put “fiberglass layup” and they needed “molded”. They also need the original copy of the builder’s certificate, which is on it’s way over from France right now.

François at Outremer, was a big help with all of this! Australian shipping requires a bunch of measurements of the boat to figure out molded depth and tonnage, so he had to collect all the details for us, fill out a complicated form, get it certified and then send over to Australia. Thanks François!

The two remaining details to complete are to provide Australian Shipping with a “Certificate of Handover” in June when we take possession of Wildling. They also need us to mark the name and registration details on the boat in accordance with the “Marking Note” that they sent me. Once that’s done we will be fully registered and can voyage internationally under the Australian flag.

Wildling wear

We worked with Jess at Musto clothing to get custom logos printed on T-shirts, sunshirts, hats and jackets. Musto make really nice clothing for sailors and they did a great job on the clothes for our last boat, so we decided to use them again for Wildling. The sunshirts and jackets won’t be ready until next month, but we have the T-shirts and hats. Here are some pictures of Lindsay modeling our shirts!

Linens

Robin is getting started on our bed linens and towels. These are very important details, and thankfully she has the expertise and motivation necessary to make sure everything is done correctly!