Five years living on a boat: Much like life anywhere else 'only wobblier'

Tarci Verbeek and Sue Henderson have spent the last five years travelling around the coast of Australia on a self-built 38-foot (11.5 metres) Wharram Catamaran. With a passion for the open seas, the environment and exploration, this intrepid and hard working couple are living a life many of us can only dream of.

Jewellery maker and ex-resort manager Sue fell in love with stonemason Tarci after bonding over their mutual love of adventure.

“I had hot air ballooned my way across Australia and America prior to meeting Tarci, while he and his then partner brought up their two girls travelling around Australia on a double-decker bus!

“I guess you could say that both of us, although hard working, have always wanted to live simply, live differently and without debt. Neither of us own any property and deciding to live on board a boat together felt like something we would both enjoy.”

Their sailing adventure was not something that began overnight, it required plenty of hard graft and planning. They honed their sailing skills by taking a 17-foot (5.2m) vessel from Brisbane to Thursday Island while Tarci built their catamaran, lovingly named ‘Monkey Me’, over a period of four years from their then home in Brisbane.

Describing the basics of life on a boat Tarci says, “Monkey Me’s design is based on the Polynesian double canoe. It is simple but comfortable, definitely [a step] up from camping, we liken it to a combi-van on water!”

In five years, Sue and Tarci have sailed from Queensland down New South Wales to Tasmania, along the Victorian and South Australian coastline and from Port Lincoln across the Great Australian Bight to Western Australia. They stop intermittently to work and do any necessary repairs on Monkey Me as well as catch up with friends and family. As Tarci says: “we’ve sailed into so many beautiful places and some not so nice places, but we are essentially moving all the time. “

When stationed in one place, Tarci and Sue set to work fixing up Monkey Me by doing odd jobs.

“We offer our services to barter for items needed for Monkey Me, so I might build a rock wall for 50 pieces of plywood,” says Tarci. “I’m responsible for the cement mixer or ‘mix master’ as I like to call it,” chimes in Sue with a laugh.

The well cared for Monkey Me is no ordinary catamaran. Sue and Tarci have spent time and care ensuring she is environmentally friendly with a ‘Torqeedo’ electric motor, a composting toilet, two wind turbines, solar panels and multiple lithium batteries. Not only does it mean they barely need to use fuel (for their dingy only), they can use the electricity to motor along when necessary and to generate plenty of power for their television, laptop and their navigational chart plotter.

“Monkey Me is one-of-a-kind, in this sense,” says Tarci.

“There are not many boats using electricity in the way that we do as it is still only developing technology, but being as green as possible is important to us. We have even just installed a herb and salad garden on deck!”

With a desalinator to top up their fresh water supplies, access to fresh food and water is a luxury that Sue and Tarci enjoy most of the time they are at sea.

As Sue describes, “we have a good amount of cold storage so we cook fresh meals most nights. I can count on one hand the amount of tinned goods we have. I also do a bit of cooking in advance if we are stopped somewhere for a while, but generally we eat well. We store nuts and dried fruit and we do a lot of fishing although neither of us are too superb at it.”

While it is clear to see the benefits of living such an adventurous and romantic existence, long periods of life at sea is not all cocktails on deck at sunset. While Tarci misses nothing but his family, Sue laments that she does also miss her girlfriends and that bad weather can be very challenging.

“There have been a few hairy moments and we have dealt with some very strong winds. I think our record was in Tasmania with 52knot winds.  I occasionally suffer from seasickness but only when it is really rough. Of course there are moments when I want to see dry land, but really it’s all part of the adventure.”

Life on a catamaran is much like life anywhere else “only wobblier”, says Sue. They even stay fit on board by swimming, using hula-hoops and skipping ropes and storing their pushbikes for when they drop anchor and head on land for long cycles.

“We are not in any rush and we just take our time about things and I think that keeps us from being in any real danger. We are cruising around Australia, not racing!”

As they prepare to leave Perth’s Hilary Boat Yard for the next stage of their adventure, which will take them up the coast of WA and eventually on to Indonesia, Tarci and Sue plan to keep going “until they are old and grey.”

Sue has some advice for others who want to follow in their footsteps.

“It’s important to practice first,” says Sue, “and know that sailing makes you happy. Also you must be prepared for some scary moments but know that it is okay to be afraid, it is 100 per cent worth it in the end.”