The Wind is Finally Going Our Way

Posted bymikeclarke01Posted inUncategorized

Friday 30 July 2021 

100 Miles North East of Gabo Island

WE DESERVE IT !! 

That’s the general feeling on board, as the much expected wind finally moved to the north at around 4:00pm, gaining in strength from around 5-10 knots, to what it is now … closer to 20 knots. 

When I say … “the wind moved” … in reality, it just appeared! After days of on-the-nose-winds and course-stopping seas, it all fell away this morning, leaving us with virtually no wind at all. In the end we simply pulled down the sails, hung a right turn and started driving, under motor, towards our goal – roughly Gabo Island at the far eastern corner of Victoria. 

Right now, we have the wind off our starboard side, Chimere is powering along at 7-9 knots and it’s as calm and stable as …, bro. Like a tennis court … nay … a carpet ride. It is clear from our track that we have finally broken out of our zig-zag recent past. With Gabo Island now just 120 miles on the bow, after 11 days at sea, we are really starting to feel like home is just around the corner. It’s hard to express just how perfect this wind … and this course … really are !! 

The zig zag track tells a story of strong winds and high seas – from he wrong direction. All we cold do is reduce sail, set a comfortable course and bide our time
Sun rise in the east, of our left side, can only mean we are still heading southwest-ish … Bass Strait on the bow
Every sunrise is special in its own way
With a wind shift to the north we could finally set a course in the right direction, it also meant the seas began to subside
Morning sun off our port stern quarter means we are now heading south west … Australia bound once more … much to Sam’s delight

At this rate, by mid-norming tomorrow we should be sighting land and early afternoon we’ll have Gabo Island off our starboard side, as we enter Bass Strait proper. Our current strategy is to stay relatively close to the Gippsland Coast, where we’ll benefit from the continuing offshore wind and low seas. It’ll be more “lawn bowls” and less “ice hockey”, if you know what I mean. 

You may be interested to hear that we peacefully resolved the … “toilet paper lock-out”… situation in the forward cabin (see yesterday’s blog) and that it is once again safe to visit the convenience. Taking advantage of the stable weather this morning, Harm and I went forward with the tool box to make an assault on the hatch from the outside. Placing weight – Harm’s boot – I was able to then rotate each of the three catch handles, with the assistance of multi-grips, to gain access.  

With the dinghy lashed above the hatch, we could lift the lid about 30-45mm – just enough for me to slide in … and down … using the old childhood adage … “once the head is through, the body will follow…” Once inside the cabin, the offending loose drawer was easily put in place. As a “risk reduction” strategy … we now tie the door open with a length of string and have taken to storing a few “emergency rolls” elsewhere on the boat! 

Having opened the deck hatch from the outside, Harm poked his camera inside to reveal the source of the problem … a draw had fallen behind the door, making it impossible to open
Opening the deck hatch from outside proved to be easier than expected
Once my head was through, the body followed … in and DOWN
The draw closed, we were once more able to open the forward cabin to gain access to the cupboard that contained the only supply of toilet paper onboard

While we chugged along doing 4-5 knots, the sun beat down from a very blue sky … and it was hard to believe this really was the middle of winter. There was a lot of lounging around, working on our Vitamin D, and even a chance to sling a lure over the side … with predictable results … no fish tonight! 

In other news … we expect to be within range of Aussie phone and internet communication towers tomorrow – at least along parts of the coast – which will hopefully assist us in sorting out the last of our official arrival procedures, authorities and documentation. Looks like we are almost there … with confirmation received today that I DO indeed have a berth to return to at the Westernport Marina in Hastings.  

Preparing for the new day ahead
The further south we got, the colder it became
Powering along to Bass Strait
The improved weather certainly set the scene for a more relaxed time in the cockpit
Once the wind shifted to the north, our course could be altered – directly for Gabo Island and the eastern entrance to Bass Strait
Heading south west towards Gabo Island, the sunset in the west was off on our right.

One of the last pieces to the puzzle, however, is permission from Australian Quarantine to clear in at Westernport. It’s NOT a problem for Border Force, but my application to Quarantine is separate – not the case at the airport of course. If they aren’t prepared to meet us at Westernport, then we’ll be required us to sail onto Port Phillip. Although in an email received yesterday, I was informed by an AQIS Officer that the Port of Melbourne and Geelong (in common with Westernport) are also NOT ports of first arrival … but, in the words of Maxwell Smart … “I find that very hard to believe …”  

Because Chimere has been out of the country for more than 12 months, as part of our return, I need to essentially “re-import” her. I’m assured it’s just a formality, but like everything, there’s a lot of paperwork involved, including an official “valuation” – but no customs duty to pay on account of Chimere being “Australian Registered”. 

Stay tuned till tomorrow – when hopefully I can also get a chance to upload a few photos from our voyage of the past 12 days 

Smooth seas, fair breeze and the wind is finally going our way 

Rob Latimer 

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