WWSA Spotlight

Name: Justine Porter

Vessel name and type: Shima. Mumby 48 catamaran.

How long have you been sailing and what lead you to start?

We have always been on water in small fishing boats but got thinking about sailing to see Australia rather than doing it by road as the price of diesel was high we thought sailing using free air would be a cheaper way.

We started saving and looking at boats and then thought we should probably see if we liked sailing so did a week’s course (coastal skipper and competent crew) which was fulltime on a monohull. I liked the freedom but hated the lean and my hubby just loved it all. So, we ticked that box and continued working towards financing the dream.

Where have you sailed?

We picked up Shima after she was built in the Philippines and our maiden voyage was back to Australia six years ago a huge steep learning curve. By then we had played on a hobie cat a half dozen times, and probably did about 10 hours sailing on a small van de Stadt monohull that was our entire sailing experience apart from the sailing course about five years before. We had lots of transferable skills though and we didn’t die.

We then sailed mostly around Gove, the Wessels, and then the west coast of Queensland before jumping to the east coast and making it as far south as Port Stephens (NSW). But we always end up back in the tropics. We just sail where the wind takes us!

Who do you sail with (family/pets)?

I sail with my hubby, no pets or kids. We occasionally have family and friends on board but not often as we are usually too remote to be found.

Favourite location(s):

The Wessel Island group in northern Australia for sure is my favourite, we spent four months sailing and exploring there. We were very lucky to get full permission from the Traditional Owner and were given the locations of many hidden artworks, freshwater safe holes, and historic spots.

What do you find the most challenging about sailing/cruising?

Most challenging is figuring out where and how to reprovision easily. We walk everywhere but often we find ourselves in locations that it’s a very long walk to shops the best we have done was seven kilometres but we cheated and got lift back.

Weather can also be challenging, especially when we stay in the cyclone belt for cyclone season it is the best weather for sailing with the odd nuisance you have to deal with.

What do you find the most rewarding?

Wildlife is the most rewarding for me. I love finding critters, making friends with birds, and sharing locations with amazing creatures. The history of an area is a close second, I love all things old and love to discover hidden secrets or the true story of what was there before, hunting for remnants of life gone past is very exciting

Best wildlife encounter you’ve had on the water:

Red, the bat that got exhausted and stayed for the day on our sail bag. We contacted wildlife carers who realised he was in trouble, being miles out to sea, likely blown over by the storm the previous night. We fed him up, giving him the energy he needed to head back to mainland at dusk. He was intriguing and so trusting of us! (you can read this story in the March issue of SisterShip Magazine).

Most essential item (other than safety equipment) on board:

My most essential item is my husband, we make a great team, he makes me laugh. I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to do this without his support. Sometimes he annoys me and I threaten him with “plip plop” that usually is enough of a threat!

Funniest thing that has happened to you while cruising/sailing:

Funniest thing was losing a bet with the crew on a monohull. The last to the anchorage had to do a nudie run! We are a fast catamaran and they have a smallish mono. They did have a head start to try even the odds, but they beat us! I stripped off and did the nudie run around the boat with them making a raucous noise to alert every boat in the anchorage to have a good look at my wobbly bits!

What do you enjoy or find helpful about being a member of WWSA?

WWSA was my absolute lifeline. I joined a few months before our maiden sail, there were only 180 members in the group back then. I asked lots of dumb questions and got so much support, love, and encouragement to get through.

During the scary stuff sailing on the way back I felt supported and they bolstered me up and gave me confidence in myself that I could truly do it. And I did! I look back now with so much more knowledge and think what we did was crazy!

The kind sharing ethos of the group hasn’t changed. I like to give up every little scrap of knowledge I have learned along the way to others just as they did for me. The learning hasn’t stopped and as I learn something new, I often discover it could have made life so much easier if I had known earlier.

We were so green but full of enthusiasm and WWSA helped us mature into safe sailors. I have made so many wonderful friendships from the group and sailed to places we would never have considered going and had fabulous journeys because of it!