Meet Nandji, a 40ft Bruce Roberts Cutter with one mast, one main sail, two head sails, and two humans who call her home. Jarred Laver, also known as Yosh, and Bonita Herewane live their lives aboard the Nandji with plans to see the world from the deck of the beloved sailing yacht. Cruising along with their dog, Marley, the couple enjoy Nandji’s high sides, large flat deck, and three quarter length keel which makes for smooth and comfortable sailing. Hailing from Australia, Yosh and Bonita are no strangers to a life on the go, having previously lived on a bus before trading in their wheels for sea legs. Nandji’s cabin features two large couches, a queen size bed, clothing storage, and a galley. There is space to hold over 400 Litres of fresh water hidden beneath the furniture. #Sealife means small spaces, long stretches between restocking supplies, and being ready for anything.

Yosh and Bonita have learned to maintain their vessel and their engine while navigating the waters, the weather, and anything else life throws at them. Living close to nature and being home no matter where in the world they travel is a reward they never want to leave behind. Yosh likes to jump in the ocean every morning and Bonita loves to explore new worlds, cultures, and landscapes. Nandji is an older yacht, but has all the essentials that Yosh and Bonita need to feel right at home. The bathroom sports a shower and a Dometic Masterflush 7160, which can use sea water to flush and is compact to fit in the small space. The toilet flush requires very little energy so using it doesn’t drain their precious battery supply aboard the yacht. Making sure there is a space for all the necessities and ample power to keep them running strong is important and one of the biggest challenges in mobile living. 

Staying healthy, happy, and well-fed on their adventures from one port to the next is a crucial aspect of life aboard Nandji. The galley is equipped with a gas cooker and stove, a sink, cupboards for storing food and essentials, and two refrigerators. The Dometic Coolmatic CRX 80 can function as a refrigerator, freezer, or both. The game changer, their Dometic Coolmatic CD30 drawer fridge can fit anywhere, tucked away for easy access. With these tools, the couple can bring dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, and meats on their journeys from one location to the next and keep things fresh much longer than they could with a cooler. The ability to freeze the fish they catch has also been a huge lifestyle improvement for the sailing duo. 

Bonita says the biggest challenge to #sealife is finding a place for everything in their small living space. However, the rewards outweigh the hardships and she and Yosh do not ever plan to give up on their mobile lifestyle. Bonita says she loves “the feeling of untying the lines, sailing for a while and arriving to a new country with a different culture, a different religion.” She says that seeing a new place for the first time and discovering the differences in the people and traditions make every destination a unique and awe inspiring experience.

Yosh and Bonita live by their motto: love to live, live to froth! They have earned their sealegs through trial and error, learned to sleep on a rolling sea, and have surfed all alone on remote waters. Their bucket list includes circumnavigating the globe, crossing the Indian Ocean, and finding a way to weather the more extreme climates so there is no place they cannot go.

From their starting point in Queensland, Australia, their journey has taken them around the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Malaysia. Currently, they have arrived in Thailand where they will cruise and explore the area before heading into the boatyard to do some more work to get Nandji ready for her biggest adventure to date: crossing the Indian Ocean to Africa.