Australia
October 5, 2005
Position: 22 38.5 S 164 17.4 E
0600 hours: We sailed from Noumea yesterday at 1330 hours bound for Bundaberg. The weather forecast is less than ideal but we think "doable". Right now the sun is rising over our stern and we have about 669 miles to go. The weather is clear with light winds. All well on board.
October 6, 2005
Position: 22 39.0 S 161 09.0 E
By yesterday noon, the winds had dropped away as we cross the northern edge of the pressure that has been dominating our weather. We first motor sailed and then later in the day, the wind died even more, the sails were put away and we motored on through the night. We have known several cruisers who keep no watch at night. When it gets dark, they just go to bed and the autopilot steers the boat. We however, are not fatalists and since we haven't seen our grandchildren yet, we keep alternate watches. Just after I came on watch at 0200 hours and Annette went to bed, I noticed a radar blip on a "collision course" at 12 mile range. The Pacific Ocean had been entirely empty, as it usually is in the deeps. We are a long way from shipping routes, or so I thought. As I watched the radar blip approach, it was not moving particularly rapidly and I assumed it was a sailing vessel on a reciprocal course. A second larger blip appeared, 10 miles off to port. It too was on a collision course. With binoculars, I identified the first "blip" as a large fishing boat and saw a row of strobe lights stretched across our path indicating deployed nets. The second blip was identified as a large freighter or container ship and it looked as though all three of us, would arrive at the same point in the ocean, at the same time. I altered course to pass clear of the strobe lights and watched as we passed the bow of the huge oncoming freighter. This I could see by the two range lights on the big ship appeared to change direction as we crossed and the green navigation light changed to red. The size and speed of this ship at night were frightening and we increased engine rpm to maximum to scurry out of it's way. We in fact passed just over a mile from the fishing vessel and it's nets and then the freighter began to pass our stern between us and the fishing vessel. Up to this point it had not made any course change and I was watching it carefully with the binoculars. As feared, when it was on top of the nets, it slowed and swerved away from the fishing nets and towards us. It in fact was just over two miles away when it finally passed us and tore off across the ocean wastes. We resumed course.
Annette came on watch at 0500 hours and a second freighter approached. This turned out to be an ocean going tug towing a barge at the end of a long cable. It passed perhaps five miles away. The ocean here seems a busy place and although we are still 500 miles from the Australian coast we shall have to be watchful. At 0700 hours local time we were at position 22 39 S 161 09 E.
(Logged later that day...)
The very light wind continued throughout the day and the sea was almost calm with just a long period two foot swell. As we motored on, we passed through a sea surface that was covered in jellyfish. Sometimes they plastered the surface of the water with jellyfish every few feet. We entertained ourselves with trying to scoop one up with a fish landing net and eventually succeeded. The victim was deposited in a bucket of sea water and then thoroughly photographed before being dumped unceremoniously back over the side. This variety of jellyfish raises a clear plastic sail to be driven across the seas by the wind. The body was blue with short, fine tentacles. We were told later that the specie is quite toxic.
Around 1600 hours the wind direction switched 180 degrees and by 2000 hours we were back under sail, close hauled, with the sliver of the new moon that began Ramadan and Rosh Hashanah, beginning to set on the horizon ahead.
October 7, 2005
Position: 23 04.0 S 158 13.0 E.
0800 hours local time: Close hauled approx 330 miles form Bundaberg. Conditions are forecast to deteriorate through Saturday night. High winds and big seas. We will be looking forwards to writing about this in the past tense. All well on board.
(Logged later that day...)
During our third day at sea, the wind increased all day and remained resolutely just off the bow - meaning we were as close hauled as tight as we could get. This is not a comfortable point of sail and the boat plunges over and through the building waves, as well as being heeled by 15 to 20 degrees. Living is miserable - nothing can be set down, even for an instance. All activity such as eating, sleeping or using the head, requires care and planning regarding which hand you let go with or where you will end up! The act of typing any kind of e-mail is a challenge. It is now necessary to hold tightly onto the navigation table for support - without letting go of the mouse etc. (which would take off across the boat) and at the same time trying to hit keys with letters on them, that keep trying to dodge as the finger descends.
October 8, 2005
Position: 23 26.1 S 156 48.0 E
1130 hours: Yesterday we listened to strong wind warnings broadcast by the Australian Coast Guard on the VHF radio. As the day wore on, these warnings were upgraded to a full gale -winds gusting to 50K and waves up to 20 feet. The center of the gale lies directly across our course. We "heaved to" last night at sunset and spent the rest of the night bobbing up and down and creeping slowly towards Bundaberg. By noon today we will attempt to sail again. The winds are forecast to increase this afternoon and then begin to die away around mid-night. If we can sail in this without too much discomfort, we should arrive at Bundaberg on Monday morning.
October 9, 2005
Position: 23 56.5 S 154 23.0 E
0815 hours local time. Yesterday we were heaved to until noon. Then I reluctantly reversed the sheets on the backed Genoa and we took off sailing again. I say reluctantly, as we were reasonably comfortable before we resumed sailing. We sailed for the next 14 hours with seas that were in the 8 to 10 foot range when we left and in the 10 to 12 feet range by midnight. All day long the winds gradually increased and we reduced sail correspondingly, until we were close reaching on a heavily reefed Genoa and reefed mizzen at 8 knots. Around 0300 hours this morning, the wind shifted about 30 degrees and dropped to the 15 - 20 knot range. This was too tight for us to sail and we motor sailed with main and mizzen - close hauled into the large and confused seas. After a few hours of this, the wind went back to its original direction and we were under sail again with "only" 20 knots or so of wind.
It has clouded over now and dawn brought to view just an angry sea although in the distance I could see hundreds of sea birds circling something. Dead whale?? We are now about 115 miles from Bundaberg, Australia and will of course arrive in the middle of the night. We shall have to heave to off the river entrance for daylight, because neither Australian Customs nor the marina we intend to stay at opens before 0800 hours. The good news is we wont have to pay the overtime. We would have incurred if we had arrived on the week-end!
Australia!!!
October 10, 2005
Position: 24 32.5 S 152 43.9 E
0130 hours: Yesterday's weather forecast showed a slackening of the winds following Saturday's gale. We experienced little sign of this throughout the morning. By 1130 hours the wind had again increased, gusting to 35 knots. Seas still in the 10 to 12 foot range. We again "heaved to", while Annette scrambled eggs for lunch - which were eaten with the last of the French bread from New Caledonia. This was delicious and a wonderful change from the processed food ("microwave ready...") we have been subsisting on. We decided we would take a nap, as the winds had begun to drop and we would be arriving too early anyway. 25 minutes later, the radar alarm went off. It seemed like I had just closed my eyes. The radar showed two targets approaching, both identified visually as freighters. One passed within a mile of us and the other was perhaps five miles off our stern as we maneuvered away. I have known folks just "heave to" and go to bed, leaving no watch. Not for us!
The wind had indeed dropped and we motor-sailed on towards Australia, into a near headwind. Just before sunset we passed through several pods of dolphins who splashed and leapt from the water as though to welcome us. As I write this, we are some 20 miles off Bundaberg and are motoring at low speed towards the port, in calm seas. We expect to arrive just after dawn.
.....later that day.......
Position: 24 45.6 S 152 23.3 E
0800 hours local time: Arrived safely at Bundaberg marina, cleared customs - we're here! No broken bones .......yet.
