Back in Queensland

(A very shaky picture of the full moon rising at the start of the night watch when the seas have laid down to a comfortable roll)




  Being a less than diligent blogger, I left you poor readers in Eden on the SE corner of Australia a long time ago. To catch up: We had a rough trip from Eden up to Pittwater (just north of Sydney). We stopped for overnights at Bateman's Bay, Jervis Bay, and Port Hacking.
The run from Batemen's to Jervis was a bit on the ugly side. The winds were on the high end of the forecast at around 30kts. The real issue was the seas. Usually we can adjust our course to get at least a little bit comfortable with the wave train, but it's hard when the seas are coming from multiple directions. A typical marine forecast from the Australian Met service for the area always has more than one sea:
Seas 1 to 1.5 m increasing to 2 m in the afternoon
Swell #1  1.5 to 2m from the NE
Swell #2  1.5 to 2m from the S
Then to add a little fun the East Australian Current comes in close near shore heading southbound around Jervis Bay.  You put all these together and it is closer to a washing machine than an organized wave train.

Once in Pittwater, we hooked up with fellow Outbound owners Chris and Susann, who we'd met first in Tasmania, and had a very enjoyable visit at their beautiful Pittwater home overlooking the bay.

The trip north from Pittwater was easy. We needed this to remind us that sailing can be pleasant.  We stopped overnight in Port Stephens. Then sailed for a 2 day passage to Southport in the Gold Coast. The trip was all small seas with light winds. Nice sailing during the daytime and motoring overnight.

We headed up the Coomera River where we have a berth for 6 weeks. First week was getting the boat ready and doing a few boat projects. We got the crew from Bay Marine to start on our new dodger and bimini canvas.

Now we are doing a week of inland travel before heading back to Bellingham (Washington) to get a grandkid fix.

Paul