PIRATE LIFE

By Bec Schofield (of The Nomadics)

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SWAPPING LIFE ON THE ROAD FOR LIFE ON THE SEA

When Dave and I, (now THE NOMADICS – folk musical duo ) met fourteen years ago in the Northern Territory it was pivotal. Our union propelled us to forge our own sustainable paradigm as touring artists (with a growing family) on the road, and creating a low cost off-grid lifestyle has been the key. 

Our truck runs on solar power and waste veggie oil (WVO) and as these resources are usually free we’ve dramatically reduced our costs, emissions and pressure of a mortgage. This tiny house off-grid lifestyle with now a family of five would certainly not be for everyone, however it has enabled us to thrive as artists, taking our projects and music to remote places all around Australia.

After a decade or so you do get weary of the dusty old road and getting covered in veggie oil though ( a messy business ) so sail power beckoned and has become a wonderful way to take our off-grid nomadic way to the next level. Transitioning onto the sea has been smooth in some ways, as we’re used to a small space and making provisions last, in other ways we are faced with a whole new set of challenges to overcome like how to weave seasonal, wind and tidal patterns into our touring logistics! We’re on a dramatic learning curve which already has inspired a lot of adventures, boat concerts, learning and songs (including the title track to our new album). It is really our deep drive to connect through story and song that fuels The Nomadics whether we’re on the road or at sea.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR

A few years back ( before we had the boat) we wrote the song – ‘Peace Pirates’ which sings up the fantasy of a low-footprint life on the sea as a family. They say, ‘be careful what you pray for’ and I reckon there’s power in that too.

For now, after many many gigs to save up, several WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil) powered trips to Arnhem land with our three children (major voyages in themselves), false starts, broken hearts, steep learnings, challenges and delays from COVID, distance, inexperience (especially my own), we find ourselves here … living inside this fantasy in our very own Polynesian boat – 1979 Solomon Island built – ‘Tangaroa’. Procured in QLD with a plan to sail all the way across the top of Australia back to W.A. where we call home. 

STRETCHING THE COMFORT ZONE

To be honest this whole sailing adventure, is not something I ever thought I’d end up doing. In fact, it’s an understatement to say that this trip is stretching my comfort zone. Five years ago, when Dave first planted the sailing seed I could not even relate! I had it in my head that sailing was something reserved for the elite; white shoes ‘n all that and not my thing at all. 

Then, with the help of some inspiring sailing friends (along with a good dose of the children’s film ‘Moana’ :-) the Polynesian history of sailing came alive in my imagination. I began to appreciate a different sailing story, one of deep connection to nature which really appealed to me. Nature Connection is one of our core family values, along with compassion and creativity.

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UP THE QUEENSLAND COAST

So, we’ve managed to sail up the QLD coast from Tin Can Bay and it’s been pretty forgiving so far. Anchored deep in the Dickson Inlet of Port Douglas with all of its old salty characters, amber eyes (crocs) and sandflies we were able to connect with my parents for the first time in nearly two years and relish re-provisioning with freshness from the amazing tropical local fruit and veggies market.

We’ve been catching our breath in ways more than that though, reassessing our whole plan to sail to Darwin this year. The costs associated with pulling our boat out there are prohibitive and also impact what projects we’ll be available for next year. The idea has arisen to sail even further on to Broome W.A.which is more affordable and allows us to say yes to a regional arts project early next year. It’s all a balance of jostling needs and it is the first time we’ve needed to consider the the weather a year from now in order to make our work decisions :-)

We’ve been catching our breath in ways more than that though, reassessing our whole plan to sail to Darwin this year. The costs associated with pulling our boat out there are prohibitive and also impact what projects we’ll be available for next year. The idea has arisen to sail even further on to Broome W.A.which is more affordable and allows us to say yes to a regional arts project early next year. It’s all a balance of jostling needs and it is the first time we’ve needed to consider the the weather a year from now in order to make our work decisions :-)

RIDING THE WAVES 

Sometimes my children are struggling, missing friends or battling with each other and there really is a lot to worry about if you let yourself (such as having an asthmatic on board). However, in this moment moored at the Low Isles Great Barrier Reef there is a magical glass off and it’s like tasting the fruits of our labours, our stretches outside our comfort zones, the moving through doubts and all the myriad of things it takes to bring a dream to life. This afternoon snorkelling among families of clown fish and 400 year old giant clams and last night sleeping in a swag on deck with a universe full of stars my heart is swollen. All of the little steps do culminate.

DESTINATION: BROOME

The big decision to sail all the way to Broome by the end of September has upped the anti, significantly… an extra 800 NM with no extra time to do it in … will definitely stretch us all. We are already kept on our toes with the steep learning curve of sailing and the constant juggle of homeschooling, sail planning, repairs, provisioning for five in remote places and trying to keep our musical work going with patchy reception.

How will we go through those infamous ten metre tides (inner and outer) of the mighty Kimberly with all of these challenges to contend with? Are we mad ?

All I know is that once we reach Broome we will have gone through a major rite of passage … and we will be different people no doubt with a whole swag of new songs brewing inside us. 

TO CONNECT WITH THE NOMADICS VISIT:

https://www.thenomadics.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/thenomadicsmob

https://www.instagram.com/thenomadicsmob/

https://thenomadicsmob.bandcamp.com/releases

They will be touring their new album, ‘Green Shoots from Dead Wood’ in late 2021 through WA. 

Their track, ‘Wadandi Boodja’ was nominated for this year’s WAM song of the year award. Here’s a final pic of Dave climbing up a mast in order to get enough signal to pull off an impromptu song release.