IAughtNaut's Australian Adventure

Air206 wrote: Donald80SN wrote: Does she play Ping Pong? Donald, you beat me to it - That's what I want to know!

Great minds think alike !

Adam Run 1. Nice and smooth had 6 in boat and the line was a bit short.


Adam Run 2. Not quite as smooth a start but he did put in a new butt glide move..

Ha, solid. Will need to get the info on that new move this weekend!

I told Mark my goal was butt to feet quicker, the first run felt great, the second was dicey but after watching if again,if I can perfect that backwards cut it will take my butt glide slalom game to a new level

Lookin good Aussie boy, you have officially been weaned off the boom now

just never know where Adam is gonna end up!



john

I've been a little dormant on this thread and have heard such from several different people, so here comes an update.

If you've been following this thread you know I'm moving. I chose Melbourne, which is one of the coolest cities I've ever been in.

Tuesday is the day. I fly out of CLE at 6pm for good. I got my visa approved this week, the movers were at my place this morning (my PR director was NOT happy about that), the boat is tucked away with its cousins in IA, and my apartment is almost ready to turn over to my cousin, who will be subletting from me.

I did something today I swore I would never do and joined facebook. I have no idea how to navigate that realm. Some of you may have seen friend requests come over, I don't really know how it works. If not, you should be able to find me out there, and eventually I may figure out how to use it.

In terms of the next chapter, I'll be cozying in to a hotel when I land on Thursday for probably the better part of a month. I have an appointment that afternoon with a relo consultant who is going to take me around to a bunch of apartments and hopefully help me find my home for the next couple years.

Its about to be a few hectic weeks for me, you probably won't see me online a whole lot with all the turmoil, but I will be back.

Seasons are opposite from here in the states, so my door will be open to any CCFans who want to sneak out in the winter time and do a little down under skiing. I found a PERFECT spot about 50 kilometers west of the city to drop the boat in. I don't know how long a kilometer is, so it could take me 10 minutes to get there, or it could take 3 hours. I'm too old to learn the metric system. In any case, its a private reservoir, run by these guys . They have a permanent slalom course, jump, and some wakeboard BS for me to dodge. The water itself is surrounded on all sides by 50-100 ft walls (depending on the water level), and I'm told its usually flat. They also have on site storage garages, for a fee of course, but that alleviates my problem of wanting to live in the city and have a boat. I'm really excited. I was nervous about moving there because everyone I talked to and asked if there was water said the nearest place was 3 hours away. That just wasn't happening.

They also have something really cool that I had never seen before, and that's an electric launch. These things are so whackadoo I can't even find a picture of them online. Because the walls around the reservoir are so steep and tall, there's no ramp. I'll see if I can describe it...there are two rails, like a train track, that run all the way down to the bottom of the lake. There's a metal platform that slides up and down the rails. You back the trailer on to the platform, unhook from the truck, and chain it down. Somebody gets in the boat and somebody stands by the uppey downey button. The platform, trailer, and boat slide down to the water, the platform and trailer are submerged, and the boat floats off. Send the platform back up, hook up the trailer, drive it off. Its a really ingenious solution to the beautiful problem of having high walls to shelter the water from the wind. Anybody ever seen one of these contraptions?

I want to again thank everyone who gave me counsel when I was struggling with this decision. Also a huge thank you to Chris Mars for offering to babysit, and then stepping up when I called his bluff. Also Chris Quinn for playing host to us for a couple days when we invaded his house for the handoff. Also Picture Pat and Maddox for the part they played in transport and any subsequent care. Also future thanks to any and everyone who helps me out in a few months when I'm dealing with the whole, getting a boat overseas thing.

This a very exciting and terrifying chapter I'm starting, but it should be one he11 of a ride. More to come.

Best wishes for a smooth transition and a GREAT NEW LIFE! Its exciting, and thanks for sharing with us! I will look to see you on Facebook! FB really is a good and easy way to keep in touch. You just have to be cautious not to get sucked in by the often political, religious or silly games presented.
Enjoy!!

Good luck Adam! We'll look forward to the updates on your adventure. Hopefully we might see u if we make it to a reunion that you can attend!
What boat did you end up shipping down under?
We'll try to keep your dad entertained in your absence!
John, Lisl and family.

Travel Safe Adam and have fun !!!!!!!!!!!

Ok CCFamily, its been a while since I updated this thread, today seems like as good a good time as any. I've been here just over 4 months and a lot has happened. When I first got here I was working all the time, 60+ hours a week, but that's boring, so that's all I'll say about that.

First of all, I got an apartment. Its not bad.





Fully furnished, which was nice. The pool table wasn't included, but I decided I needed it. And its got an alright view.





Although somehow it took me several weeks to realize I have a view of Port Philip Bay.



And sometimes I wake up at 5am and there are hot air balloons outside my window. More often than you would think. No idea what that's about.



Things were quiet for a while. A couple weeks ago I finally got out on the water. Every guy at the boat club I told I was a skiier and barefooter told me I had to meet this guy Charles, he was like the club footer. So I got in touch with him and once he got his boat in we hit the water. I didn't have a vehicle yet so he picked me up on Saturday morning at 5:30 cause he's serious about getting the water before the wakeboarders. Which is fine by me.

I was rusty.



Real rusty.



I cleaned up the next one...until I decided to try to cross the wake, which its high time I learned how to do.



So yeah I took a beating. You can see why I like the water. Narrow, flat, high walls. Big fan.

Then my buddy who was shipping my boat told me about two weeks ago that it was in and he was going to start working on it. Customs, converting the trailer to tandem, etc. That's all well and good, but I needed something to tow it with. Its not much, but it'll do.



Mostly cause it has this



So unlike at home, you have to have a marine license to be the master of a watercraft. And that has to be scheduled in advance. So I called the vicroads people, and the soonest appointment anywhere near me was 3 weeks away. They had one 3 days later in east bumble, so I booked that. Took a train for over an hour to a suburb I had never heard of and promptly failed the exam. 30 questions, you have to get 26. I did not. So I asked the girl at the desk if she would just let me take it again real quick and she said I needed to book another appointment. I explained that it had taken me over an hour to get there, and she told me I needed to book another appointment. So I got a ticket from the girl at the front, she told me they would call me to the desk. The same girl I took the test from the first time called me up 10 minutes later and said, sure, we can probably get you in today, I'll call you within the hour. 10 minutes later she let me take the test again and I got 27. In my defense, everything's backwards here. Red right returning? Nope. Red left returning. And they didn't have a version of the exam that wasn't in kilograms and meters...which really may as well be leprechaun tears and unicorn farts to me. Its hard to remember how many leprechaun tears your fire extinguisher has to hold if you're on a vessel thats 4.8 unicorn farts long. But I figured it out on the second try.

A couple days after I got the Jeep and marine license, there was a fight within walking distance of my apartment.



There are a lot of things I don't like about this country, but there is one thing that they have figured out- stadium concessions. If you've been to a US sporting event in the past 10 years you know the pain of trying to get a beer. Instead of waiting in a line here to be told you can only buy two beers at a time, you walk into a room where they have a counter of full beers, grab a little plastic cup caddy, take as many as you want, and then go to the cashiers (which there are enough of) to pay. No waiting, no questions, no limit. Big fan.



Then today I went to check out the boat. I didn't take a lot of pictures because it needs a serious cleaning after shipping, but otherwise it looks great.



I was shocked at how much smaller the 206 is than my pro air. Much lower profile too. I know, I know, different hull, different year, whatever, it still surprised me.







And I had to take pictures of this. I'm sure it will work fine, but that hitch just looks goofy.



And this little box? I had never seen one before, that's the control unit for the electric brakes. There is a similar one with a resistance dial that I had to get mounted in the jeep. These fancy newfangled trailers, what will they think of next...



Ok, that's all for now, I hope to have it all cleaned up and out on the water next weekend. The trailer is getting registered Monday, which is apparently a thing you have to do here. Honestly, I'm super lucky I met the guy who shipped it when I did, because he's basically taken care of everything. Anybody who asks me what goes in to shipping a boat internationally will be sadly disappointed with the lack of information I will be able to provide. I'll be home for a few weeks over the holidays, but I know the rules, I'll be sure to keep the pics and videos coming during my summer.

Cheers.

Way to go Adam,good to hear things are working out. Had you pegged as a ping pong pro though boat looks great too.

Beer isn't warm? After pours and sitting?
The boat looks GREAT. Where will you run it? I have the rc model! I will either surprise you and ship, or leave it in my will for you.
I am glad you seem like you are doing well and having fun! The apartment is slick and impressive! What an adventure!!

Hope to see you SJRR

Smithfamily wrote: Beer isn't warm? After pours and sitting? The boat looks GREAT. Where will you run it? I have the rc model! I will either surprise you and ship, or leave it in my will for you. I am glad you seem like you are doing well and having fun! The apartment is slick and impressive! What an adventure!! Hope to see you SJRR

It doesn't get cold at the concession stand because people can just walk up and grab them after they've been poured. I think you may be drinking wrong if your beers are getting warm after you open them.

IAughtNaut wrote: I found a PERFECT spot about 50 kilometers west of the city to drop the boat in. I don't know how long a kilometer is, so it could take me 10 minutes to get there, or it could take 3 hours. I'm too old to learn the metric system. In any case, its a private reservoir, run by these guys . They have a permanent slalom course, jump, and some wakeboard BS for me to dodge. The water itself is surrounded on all sides by 50-100 ft walls (depending on the water level), and I'm told its usually flat. They also have on site storage garages, for a fee of course, but that alleviates my problem of wanting to live in the city and have a boat. I'm really excited. I was nervous about moving there because everyone I talked to and asked if there was water said the nearest place was 3 hours away. That just wasn't happening.

Adam, looks great stop crying!! Would be super if some of us can come for a mini down across the big lake and how many cups are you holding ??