Mobile Barcode
Category Archive: Travel
Subcategories: No categories
Sail fail
We’re at the Basin which is about 2km north of our starting location. It’s a lovely place but I think the Australian land mass us moving north faster then us. The winds weren’t favourable and the East Australian Current (the underwater highway in Finding Nemo) wanted to go south. After a trip to the 360 degree liquid horizon we had only traveled only 5 were north and the crew were mostly green. With this in mind the decision was made to cut our losses and wait for the winds to agree with our travel plans.
It definitely could be worse 
Sails set for Brisbane
The Laura Court has set sails for the trip to Brisbane. Alan (skipper), Gaten, John, helan, and myself onboard. First scheduled stop is Port Stephens which with current winds should be in our sights by early tomorrow morning.
Tagged Sailing
Cross Coffee
Recently I moved to the Kings Cross area and have noticed a big difference in the quality of coffee so I’ve started rating the shops on coffee quality alone (my drink of choice is a latte with honey on the side). Then I pushed the info into a Google Map that you can access from your mobile by clicking here or if technology doesn’t fail me, it should appear embedded below. Green is good (4 or 5), yellow is alright (3), and red isn’t great (1 or 2).
View Gregology’s Guide to Cross Coffee in a larger map or on a mobile device
If you would like to make your own coffee map please feel free to use my images traffic light images found here
Islands to start a new country
Have you ever wanted to start your own country on some island? Here is a list of possible territories to conquer.
Kermadec Islands
Population: Uninhabited except for the permanently manned Raoul Island Station
Currently claimed by: New Zealand
Climate: Sub tropical
Area: 33km^2
Location: Pacific Ocean, near New Zealand, 29°16′37″S 177°55′24″W
Conquering may be difficult. Although the islands have a small population, they are government funded so they will have reinforcements. The Island some sort of sanctuary for birds but so was New Zealand at one stage.
Tetepare Island
Population: Uninhabited
Currently claimed by: Solomon Islands
Climate: Tropical
Area: 118km^2
Location: Pacific Ocean, near Solomon Islands, 8°43′00″S 157°33′00″E
This island is the largest uninhabited island in the Pacific and some conservationists believe that makes it special and worth protecting. There are traditional owners also which may have something to say about you claiming their land. There were scared off by head hunters a century ago so the same trick might work again
Blasket Islands
Population: Uninhabited
Currently claimed by: Ireland
Climate: Mild, moist and changeable
Area: ~20km^2
Location: Atlantic Ocean, near Ireland, 52°05′21″N 10°32′49″W
This island was occupied until the mid 20th century. It is very close to Ireland and there are some archaeological sites on the island which the locals may want protected.
Antipodes Islands
Population: Uninhabited
Currently claimed by: New Zealand
Climate: Cold and yucky
Area: 20km^2
Location: South Pacific, south of New Zealand, 49°40′0.12″S 178°46′0″E
These islands are not very friendly, in the middle of nowhere and cold. Also these islands are again some sort of nature reserve.
Palmyra Atoll
Population: 4-20 scientists
Currently claimed by: the United States
Climate: Tropical
Area: 12km^2
Location: Pacific Ocean, South of Hawaii, 5°53′N 162°5′W
Nomans Land
Population: Uninhabited
Currently claimed by: the United States
Climate: Humid continental climate
Area: 2.5km^2
Location: Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Massachusetts, USA, 41°15′18.00″N 70°48′54.00″W
No Man’s Land, pfft, this island was used as a practice bombing range for 50 odd years so there might be some unexploded ordnance, other than that it seems like a good candidate.
Acteon Group
Population: Uninhabited
Currently claimed by: France
Climate: Temperate
Area: ~4km^2 spread over 4 atolls
Location: 21°22′59″S 136°34′59″W
These atolls would be perfect for setting up a new country if they weren’t 230km away from the French nuclear testing site 
Ducie Island
Population: Uninhabited
Currently claimed by: Pitcairn Islands, kind of part of the Commonwealth.
Climate: Not too yucky
Area: 2km^2
Location: Middle of the Pacific Ocean, 24°41′S 124°47′W
This island is my favourite for conquering, it’s in the middle of nowhere and no one visits it. It has a lagoon to harbour ships and hopefully fresh water though a Ghyben-Herzberg Lens.
Although not an island Bir Tawil is also worth a mention.
Population: Uninhabited
Currently claimed by: Nobody
Climate: Desert with rocks
Area: 2,060 km^2
Location: Border between Egypt and Sudan, 21°52′14″N 33°44′14″E
Neither country wants this land because it means giving up some other land. For a decent explanation check out StrangeMaps.
There are many possibilities, Wikipedia has a page on uninhabited regions which makes creating your own countries easier then ever! My country will be based on information anarchism; individuals will transcended their physical bodies and live forever through their works, much as Leonardo da Vinci has lived on though Lisa’s smile.
Some other interesting blogs which may be useful in creating a country
8 More Strange Places on Planet Earth
If you find any other useful links, please let me know
Tagged conquering, islands, Leonardo da Vinci, Philosophy, world domination
Greg Verse Poseidon and Aeolus
I’m back on dry land after 4 days battling Poseidon and Aeolus. My father and I had planned to sail to Lord Howe Island, spend a few days, and then return. The voyage began at noon on Tuesday after some boat maintenance. Before we had left sheltered Pittwater Aeolus was blowing 20 knot nor’easters. This was unfortunate because Lord Howe Island lay 412 nautical miles north east of our current position. Soon after rounding the heads Poseidon attacked. I had taken sea sickness tables and eaten ginger but these measures were no match for his wrath and I soon turned green. Once we left the heads we were forced to drop the main sail and continue on just the jib on account of the strong winds. This seriously reduced our steering capabilities and the boat swam perpendicular to our desired path. To help quell my tummy I spent most of the first day below deck lying on my bunk. Having my head horizontal kept in lunch. After 8 hours of 5 metre swells my fathers tummy gave in. He called me up and retired to his bunk for some rest and bucket time. The sun was gone and land was distant orange lights that disappeared behind waves. This made it impossible to keep my eyes on anything solid. Thankfully by this stage there was nothing left in my tummy to bring up but that didn’t make me feel any better, it just meant less cleaning up. The stormy night ocean was beautiful. Green sea stars appeared in our wake and the boat climbed up and tumbled down monster waves. A quick study of the GPS showed that we were not making any head way in the current conditions but we kept on waiting for a forecast change in wind direction, it never came. I spent most of the night below deck in my bunk, returning to deck (with harness) to check for other ships and see if we had made any progress on the GPS. Even with just one sail up the wind took us at 5 knots. It was ghostly seeing the steering wheel turning under the glow of the red compass as the ship cut through the waves. By 8 the next morning we’d still not made any head way towards our intended target. I’d had very little sleep and we’d being unable to consume any food or water for 18 hours. My father was out of the game so after remembering a promise to my mum I turned the boat around and continued my light watch duties. By this stage we were about 35 nautical miles off the coast and the liquid horizon was broken only by the Sydney cityscape. My father rose 5 nautical miles from the heads and discovered the engine wouldn’t start because of battery issues. He skilfully sailed the ship into the calm waters of Pittwater. We anchored, had our first meal in 30 hours, and slept really well. In the morning we were jump started by one of my fathers friend. We decided to make the most of our sailing trip and spend some time in Pittwater fishing and sailing. One night at the Basin was enough. The winds picked up to 30 + knots over night which caused some damage to the boat including the loss of our oars (we keep a spare pair ). The boat struggled through the strong winds but she finally got us to our mooring. We then got a phone call from a constable on Lord Howe informing us that the lagoon we were planning on mooring at was closed due to bad weather. A return trip to Lord Howe Island with no break would have been a real struggle. On returning to civilisation and looking at the current forecasts I am very glad we are not out there now, the winds are up to 60 knots :s and it feels more like movie weather then sailing weather right now.
