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Daily Log Page 15 |
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Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006
Since we haven't written any log in a while thought we would write a
catch up even though we are not on a full on passage. Finally left Yamba
today to head south down the New South Wales coast. Our first stop will
be Coff's harbor.
Will arrive there at appx. 16:00 hrs. today. Have had a good sail today
with wind at 25 -30 knots from the rear. It has been a little rolly but
bearable. Feels good to be moving again. Saw a good size whale cross
about 20 feet in front of us. He came up out of nowhere and we just
missed him. That would have been a bit of a jolt. |
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19 May 2007 Caw!!! We're finally underway! Departed Magnetic Island near Townsville, Australia at 21:30 UTC. I haven't been doing daily logs since we arrived in Australia 1 1/2 years ago and will resume on most passages from here back to Hawaii. We had been watching Cyclone "Pierre" for the last few days which was located in the Louisiade Islands where we are headed. It was forecast to deepen to 980mb but only got down to 995 so far and is moving off to the west. It's quite late in the season
for a maned storm so it took us by surprise. Our position at 23:00Z is: 19deg 0'S, 146deg 55'E. We've got 560 miles to go until we arrive at Kokoluba Island, Duchateau Group our first anchorage. We're expecting to arrive in 4 days give or take. There are a few obstacles as we make out way through Magnetic Passage and the Barrier Reef, but nothing narrow. The reef is really a series of many small reefs which stretch along the Queensland coast in a long line. Conditions are mellow this morning
and the gribs only show 15 knots most of the way north. Glad to have you all "back on board". Caw! Capt. R |
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20 May 2007 Position at 00:00Z 17deg 13'S, 148deg 26'E. We covered 130 miles in the first 24 hours which isn't too bad considering the light winds. We made our way out of the Barrier Reef at sunset yesterday, and a nicely colored one at that! Winds picked up a bit over night and we sailed with full main, jib and staysail in 12-14 knots of SE wind. The crescent moon had Venus just above it so we're hoping for them to be very close to each other tonight. We're close reaching with an apparent
wind angle of 65 degrees and trying to get in some Easting as the gribs show the wind backing from SE to East tomorrow. Our current course is 047 deg true. 423 miles to Duchateau WP. More tomorrow, Caw! |
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21 May 2007 Position at 00:00 15deg 25'S, 149deg 22'E. Well all has changed since yesterday. We've been sailing through an area of squalls, mugginess, strong adverse currents and short choppy seas. The official term for this condition is "crap"! We did manage to squeak out 126 miles in the last 24 hours but they've been hard earned. We're beating with double reefed main and partial jib into 20 knot+ Easterlies with a course of 032. 304 miles to go and it's starting to look like we may have
to spend an extra night at sea if we can't make the first anchorage by dark on Wednesday. The current has been against us at about 1 1/2 knots which is killing our boat speed. This morning it appears to be letting up a bit as we get further north, so that's positive. The gribs show a veering of the wind to SE later today, so we'll take advantage of that with more easting. Never did get to see that conjunction of Venus and the moon last night as it was overcast with squalls. Found a small flying
fish stuck to the deck this AM~hitch~hiker. We'll keep truckin' and have an update tomorrow. Capt. |
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22 May 2007 No worries mates! The winds and seas have decided to cooperate and the squalls are gone for now. The current is still a factor, but is on and off. Position at 00:00~~ 13deg 45S, 150deg 40E. Seas are about one meter~down from 2 meters. Wind in the last 24 hrs. has been about 15-18 knots mostly East, so we're sheeted in tight on a course of 015. We had been sailing 040 yesterday, but had a wind shift this morning at 5AM. 128 miles in last 24 hrs. which is still slow, but very
comfortable. We plan on arriving Thursday morning. This will give us good light to navigate the pass and look for the best anchorage. The air is still quite humid and the fresh feeling after a shower doesn't last too long. We've got our cloth hatch covers on to block out the sun and fans around the cabin are humming. Time for all you lurkers to send us an email!! Caw! R |
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23 May 2007 00:00Z 12deg 15'S, 151deg 34'E Course 038 T, Boat Speed 5 knots, wind 10-12 kn East. Well folks, it's been very smooth sailing for the last 24 hours. We've only done 106 miles, but the comfort level makes up for it big time. Very few squalls and short lived when we get 'em. The stars, planets, and meteorites last night were superb. This northern/equatorial route we've chosen to get home to Hawaii was decided upon for the lighter winds to have to close reach in, and it sure beats
bashing into strong trades further south. We'll see how it goes for the rest of the season. Found some small dark colored objects (1/8 to 1/4") on deck which were splashed up overnight. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that they were small fragments of pumice with mini goose~neck barnacles attached! We assume they've drifted west from Tonga where a new submarine volcano has been erupting. We've always used the 3 hour on, 3 hour off watch schedule, but our pals Harry and Jane on the yacht
"Cormorant" convinced us that 4 hours gives you better rest so we've been trying it for the last couple of months. The verdict is that we like it better and feel more rested. The late night stints on watch are brutal, but all in all think we'll stick with it for now. Many Caws! R |
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