Sailing with A Family

Some of our most wonderful memories are sailing in this RL24 off the coast of Queensland, around Bribie island and through Deception Bay and on up the coast. We had three young children on board to spend our annual holidays exploring the beautiful Queensland Coast. Most of our sailing aside from this were on inland waterways racing against other sea salts in their craft, but our holidays were cruising out in the big blue ocean. All the home comforts which had been taken out for racing were put back in for the holiday. It was always an exciting trip for ourselves and our young crew. The boat was well equipped with all we needed for the holiday of a lifetime. On one of these holidays we set out from Southport to sail north along the Queensland coast. Once through Deception Bay, we began to enjoy the expedition. Deception Bay lived up to its name , the sea was very choppy and it was not long before everyone of us had emptied completely the contents of our stomachs. We questioned whether this was what the rest of the trip was going to be like and if so we should abandon it now. However things settled down as we moved further up the coast. We would sail a few hours each day and pull the boat up on a quiet beach somewhere each night. It was the most idyllic of holidays. The children would clamber off the boat before we had even put the anchor out, rushing on to our new found island to explore with all the enthusiasm of the very first explorers.

They were so excited and so were we seeing the very infectious delight in them. As a family holiday it doesn't get any better. Once we had secured the boat the children would gather firewood to make a little campfire. Everyone ditched in to help prepare a delicious dinner cooked in a camp oven. For a treat the kids would toast marshmallows over the coals. We all went to bed when the sun went down and up again when the sun came up. No TV , no ipods, or computers, just each other and a new place to explore each day . It was simply wonderful,. and so were all the family holidays we had with our boat .

However, as it happens, children grow up and start families of their own. We became busier and had less time to spend with the boat. The farming business was growing and at the same time our lives became more frantic. The boat was stowed away in the shed and there it has stayed for 15 years.

Now we are reevaluating our lives, wondering what has happened to all those years and questioning whether or not our decisions to continue growing the business really paid off. Now we have teenage grandchildren, and before it is too late we want to introduce them to the joys of sailing. Thus the boat has been pulled out of the shed, washed down and checked over. It all looks good and it seems to have survived 15 years of dust and possibly even a few inhabitants of the rodent kind. The real test will come when we put it back in the water.

I will write another hub when that happens and it should be very soon, as the kids can't wait. They are actually looking forward to a trip where they will be away from their computers and wi fis' to sail in the ocean with their pa. There is a big wide world out their to explore and Nana and Pa are keen to share the journey with the next generation.

About 40 years ago a boat builder from Queensland wanted to build a yacht that was fast, fun and affordable and safe and would sleep comfortably 4 people. He was based at Southport on the Gold Coast. After a few years of playing around with various designs he came up with the RL24. It is sleek, light, and easy to rig and trailerable. This meant it didn't have to b moored in any one place but could be towed to different destinations for people to explore very different waterways. It was also designed to be a family racing yacht and for the serious sailor all the internal cruising gear could be easily removed to reduce the weight on board.

The name of the boat relates to its initial builder and designer, Rob Legg . The first RL24 came out of the factory in 1973 and it soon became one of the most popular trailerable yachts in the world. There have been several new models after various modifications to the initial design but it is still a very popular family yacht even though production ceased following decline of the business after Robs retirement.