Sailing Big Chief

09/03/2026

https://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/bruce-roberts-45-pilothouse-staysail-ketch/341828

Bruce Roberts 45 Pilothouse Staysail Ketch. Big Chief 45' Roberts Pilothouse Staysail Ketch - Launched in 1980 A True Off grid, solid fibreglass, blue-water cruiser...Find out more

06/03/2026

📣 Big News Announcement 📣

Almost 3 years ago, we purchased Big Chief with the idea of sailing around Australia on a shoestring budget, living minimally, off grid and seeing parts of Australia so few travel.

Tim always loved the idea of simple living, minimal emissions and Bec was all about the destination possibilities. Sid was just in it for the mutiny 🏴‍☠️ 😉

On the 7th April last year we set off on this journey having lived aboard for over a year at 35 South Marina. What an adventure it’s been with core memories etched in our minds forever. Amazing anchorages, some gnarly passages, interesting people and sea life aplenty.

Something that most people don’t see however, is the downtime; and there is certainly a lot of that whilst cruising. That downtime can be waiting for a weather window (sometimes weeks) so you are forced to stay put; this has its advantages as you get to know places really well. However, there are days on end where the wind can blow fiercely that you can’t get ashore to stretch your legs and explore; this is where you turn to card games, Netflix, snoozing, reading whilst constantly keeping an eye on the anchor app to see if you’re dragging⚓️ Good for a little while, but you soon tire of not using your brain (for us). We were beginning to find that the amazing/wow moments were costing us days and days of sitting and waiting.

Fast forward to today and we have lived all of the above with zero regrets. Our brains are just yearning for something new to learn/do.
As Tim said, there is a spike in learning and then the curve flattens off a bit and you need more to fill in your day.

We come away from this with a smile on our face having done what we set out to do. There will be no “I wish I’d done that when I was your age” from these two sea dogs (and sea cat?!) 🐈

So, next step… Big Chief will be going on the market in Brisbane and we will be returning to Adelaide to reset/ regroup. We miss our people.

Thankyou to all of you for always supporting us and our journey. We’ll keep you updated on the sale of Big Chief. 🐈 🏴‍☠️ 🌊 ⛵️

03/03/2026

Pretty special morning out here. 🎣 💪

14/02/2026

This project took a while to complete, along with about 84 trips back to the shops to get “the last couple of fittings”, but we’re now making beautiful fresh drinking water from sea water and solar power ☀️ 💦

02/02/2026

With Bec shipped off to Kiribati, I made my first singlehanded leg which was an overnight sail from Iluka to the Gold Coast.

100nm felt like a long time after almost 3 months safely tucked inside the protected waters of the Clarence River.

After departing at around 2:30pm, we had good winds and following seas. Had we not been pushing against the most challenging section of the East Australian Current, we would have made a very fast passage.

The strong southerly wind, southeasterly swell opposing the north-to-south current did make for some rough conditions. It was nice to do the worst of it in the dark so I couldn’t see it!
When morning came, the ocean looked angry and intimidating, but Big Chief trucked on and we entered the Gold Coast at around 10am local.

What a circus this joint is 🤡

09/01/2026

So Tim and I finally get beanbags for sitting up on deck….. 🤔 🐈

04/01/2026

A cool encounter just before the low tide with some Soldier Crabs 🦀

Sound on for this one 🔈

31/12/2025

What a year it’s been

⛵️ 🐈Sailing Big Chief 2025 🌊🐈

17/12/2025

Spreading the Christmas Cheer
Nautical Style
The music was pumping
🎅 ❄️ ⚓️😂