Wednesday Wanderings with ARR authors.
Today we’re on the high seas with Helene Young
Roobinesque
Hello to you all from the wonderful Whitsunday Islands. As some of you may know I’m a writer who’s taken time out from my day job as an airline pilot to live aboard a catamaran called Roobinesque with my husband, Capt G. Our plan is to spend at least the next twelve months cruising the Australian coast – if I have my way it will be a whole lot longer than that!
It’s a dream that took eighteen years to turn into reality. There were times when I didn’t think we’d make it, but here we are, bobbing at anchor while a strong wind warning rages outside.
One of the things I love about this sort of travel is the pace. Roobi sails along at around 5 to 8 knots, which is about 8 to 12 km per hour. We don’t go anywhere in a hurry and when we do get somewhere we tend to put down the anchor for a few days or even weeks. That gives us plenty of time to explore the small communities that dot our coastline. Places like Maryborough, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Town of 1770, Airlie Beach (although it’s grown since our last visit!) Bowen, Sarina, and all the way north to Cooktown. Later this year we’ll head south to New South Wales and Victoria.
I was in a shop the other day, listening to the conversations around me, as you do when you’re a writer, and the hot topic was the lack of services. The schools were being amalgamated, the local council was under pressure to allow developments on the foreshore and the post office had closed and moved to the next town. Yesterday I read Fiona Palmer’s wonderful new release ‘The Saddler Boys’ and it reminded me that small communities Australia wide are facing the same pressures, whether they’re in the wheat belt, cattle country, dairy lands or a fishing village.
Australia’s population is still centred in the cities and the government resources flow to those areas. Until I moved to Cairns I couldn’t understand why North Queensland kept agitating to form a separate state. It didn’t take me long to work it out after the first wet season saw the main highway cut for two weeks. There wasn’t much left on the supermarket shelves…
I think that’s why I love reading and writing stories based in rural and regional areas. It’s not that all the guys are gorgeous farmers, (although nothing wrong with a fantasy) nor is it that the characters live charmed lives, because many of them don’t. I love the stories because they are about real people dealing with everyday problems with laconic humour, with roll-up-their-sleeves hard work, and with an enormous sense of community. Maybe they have to make their own fun, but that goes a long way to keeping them connected with each other in a way social media and city living doesn’t.
Cooktown - Endeavour River
My latest story, Northern Heat, focuses on Cooktown, a community at the end of the sealed road that heads north to the very tip of Australia. It has a wonderful diverse history starting with the Guugu Ymithirr tribe and blending in European settlement after Captain Cook spent time there repairing the Endeavour, Chinese gold miners in the 1870s Gold Rush, and a host of other nationalities who came seeking their fortune. With a district population of a little over 2,000 it’s the largest centre north of Cairns, but you can still drive down the main street and not pass another moving car. It was one of my favourite places to visit for a weekend, despite the six-hour drive from Cairns.
Capt G and Helene Young
We did a lot of exploring in the eighteen years we lived in Cairns, but it was always in short trips. We now have a whole lot more time to stop for a chat and to learn about a town or a district.
One day we’ll move back to dry land and swap our Roobi for a caravan so we can go and explore the interior, somewhere that Capt G hasn’t had the chance to visit much. For now we’re enjoying this cruising life, meeting extraordinary people, and watching the sun go down in some truly awesome places.
Happy reading,
Helene
Sometimes love is the only thing worth living for.
In remote northern Australia, Conor Stein is living under an assumed name and rebuilding his shattered life. Working at Cooktown’s youth centre has given him the chance to make a difference again, and a chance to flirt with Kristy Dark. When he finds himself dragged into a murder investigation, with more lives at risk, he fights to the death to protect those he loves.
Northern Heat is available in eBook and paperback from all good retailers.
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Read more about Helene and her books on MEET HELENE YOUNG
i will probably know a good looking caravan you can buy in a few years or so!!!!!