Grace & Munro Bought a Boat
Interview Alice Armitage Photography Hugh Dawson
Cape Adieu, the boat charter based out of Darwin, has been running for twenty years. Now its legacy is being reinvented by the boat’s new stewards, Grace McLeod and Munro Hardy.
A – What was going on for you guys when you first thought about buying a boat?
M – A few things happened in the lead up to this decision I suppose. Prior to purchasing the boat, we’d spent two years in Katherine. When we first started there the intention was to be working on a business, producing pelletised stock feed. Growing hay that would then be processed into pellets. A few things went wrong and we ended up stepping into a management role on the property. It turned into a great opportunity for us to sink our teeth into a new kind of project. Redeveloping a lot of country that had been let go, bringing much of the place back into full production.
Ultimately it wasn’t for us but at its peak we were doing fourteen tons a hectare, which was phenomenal for that country and I was stoked to be able to hand things over to the incoming manager in such a great state.
G – We knew it was time to move onto something new and Munro had this dream to sail the world.
M – In 2019 I actually got my skipper’s and engineering ticket to be able to do that or to run a business like this one. This boat came up and it felt like the right time. It was a very long process, getting financed and all of the things. And then it snowballed, all of a sudden we were on a boat running a sunset cruise in the middle of June.
A – It all kicked off for you both in the middle of peak season?
G – We didn’t know our arms from our elbows! Originally we’d hoped to get everything sorted in early April before the season really kicked off so we could get a feel for the boat and whatnot but it wasn’t to be, we got thrown in the deep end!
A – Tell me a little more about the boat and what’s on offer.
M – We inherited the boat from Shane, who had been running it for twenty years. Ten of those years, offering sunset cruises which is what we’re doing now. A four course dinner that focuses on local produce while sailing around picturesque Darwin. Everything is wild caught seafood, from Cotton Bay oysters to local prawns and barramundi. Shane was a prawn fisherman for many years and he was really passionate about setting up the dinner cruise to offer the best seafood in the territory and we endeavor to continue that legacy. There was even a running joke when we bought the boat that we weren’t paying for the boat but his legendary smoked mackerel recipe!
A – I get the feeling that you have some big ideas for the boat that will expand the business beyond the foundational sunset cruise?
M – I suppose with a bit of youth and energy that we can inject, we’re going to offer a few new things this year. There is a lot of opportunity for us to make the most of the shoulder season, extend our operating season and do some more adventurous tours, we’re calling them safaris. It’s the best time of year to see something totally unique and there are fewer boats around. To me it’s all about the adventure, I’ve loved it my entire life. I get itchy feet sitting still so getting out and doing some of these things in my absolute dream. I’ve been in the territory for twenty years now. I just fell in love with the work, the country, the lifestyle. I’ve spent years flying around with nothing but a swag, a bag and a fishing rod. Exploring places all around the territory. Now we get an opportunity to share that with people and make a living doing that.
G – We love the dinner cruises, it’s our expertise but doing these charters are so real and raw. That’s what we love and being able to offer cruises, short charters and longer safaris is a great mix for us. Safaris give us a chance to get back to basics and to really connect. To experience a place where you think, gosh am I the only one out here? Who was the last one here before me? It’s priceless.
A – Explain the mechanics of the safaris to me, how do they run?
M – They’re a bit weather dependent and will be based around the runoff [the beginning and the end of the dry season]. The boat is very well equipped for longer trips so these trips will be customisable and flexible depending on where everyone wants to go. Usually for around five days and we have room for ten people on the boat. We’ve got all the amenities on board to stay out there for as long as we need. We’ve got 11,000 litres of diesel, a water maker, all the fridge space in the world, airconditioned cabins, so we could be out on the water for weeks!
A – Similarly to you both, I feel like I’ve lived a few different lives up to this point. The boat feels like a new life for you both but do you miss your previous lives?
G – That’s a great question. In simple terms yes. Not in the way that I crave that previous life everyday, I’ll always miss being on the land but I think with what we’re doing now, it’s been so wonderful. Every now and then I remind myself of what I would be doing if I was on the farm. Imagining if I was in the middle of harvest, greasing up gear and trying to fix a break down. I don’t miss those days!
But I know that when we get out of town, stretch the legs and get into the bush, it almost feels like home. You catch your breath. Now it’s also the feeling I have on the boat when we’re out by ourselves. It’s a missing that’s not painful, it’s a loving.
M – I would say the opposite, I don’t miss it. I love the bush, I love the land – Absolutely. And in every era of my life I’ve always been striving for something more everywhere I’ve been. So I feel like in every role, and everywhere I’ve worked, you get to a point where you fill your cup and start to wonder what’s next?
To create that peace, that space and that sense of meaning is what I’m striving for now. You know, while we’re not quite there yet, I think this step for us is where we can create it because we’ve got the opportunity for freedom.
A – You’ve both been strong advocates for agriculture throughout the years and to some, this move to buy a boat might seem like you’re stepping away from the industry a bit, how do you feel about that?
G – It’s something we talk about all the time. How do we keep telling our story while we’re doing what we’re doing now and for me it comes through on the food side of things. Throughout each dinner cruise we have such an big opportunity to share with people the knowledge and understanding we have around food production. We get to talk to people about where our fish comes from, about farm raised barramundi versus wild caught. It gives us so many chances to broaden people’s perspectives.
M – It’s about showcasing local producers as well. People don’t realise how productive the territory is. It’s not just about cattle, all sorts of things are being grown up here and we get to highlight what is made and produced locally. Agriculture is fundamental to human society and whether we like it or not, everyone’s connected to agriculture somehow – we’ve all got to eat.
There is a place for everyone to contribute to agriculture. When I was working for a tech company in Sydney that was ag focused, I worked with so many incredible people all the way through the supply chain and I think what we’re doing now is part of showing that you don’t have to be growing produce on a farm to play a role in the industry.
A – I bet that a lot of people would be watching on as you both continue to evolve and would be thinking that everything you guys turn your hands to turns to gold.
G – It’s always easy to think that when you’re observing someone else’s life from afar but you’ve just got to take the bull by the horns in life. Do what you can to be a good human, lean into life, take on the opportunities that present themselves and throw yourself in.
We’re still human and we all have our bad days but you also have to try and give way to doubt and keep doing the best you can. Everyday something will come up that tests you, whether it’s mechanical, logistical or managing people. It keeps you on your toes and some days you just have to turn shit into glitter to get through!
M – It’s all hard yakka and you’ve got to have a certain constitution for it too. You’ve got to love a challenge I think. We’re both positive people, when things go to shit it’s never doom and gloom. We ask, how do we fix it? At this time of the year, it’s the end of the season and we’re feeling quite exhausted and all of those things but we’re still so fulfilled, proud of what we’ve achieved and looking ahead to the future and that makes it all worth it.
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