Sailing around the World, ( Presently about to leave Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach, Australia, )
A Lady
Stephen Hyde
Wed 11 Aug 2010 18:21
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WEDNESDAY 11th
AUGUST 2010
Gosh, what a night, It lashed rain all night and
there were some gusts if wind which were violant in the extreme,,
We were glad we were not at sea,
However, there was water everywhere, We left the
galley window open so there were ponds
of water on the countertops and in the presses,
Holy Moses, what a bunch of idiots we
were,
The galley was like a big duck pond.
Outside on the quarter deck. we had 2 buckets tied
onto the rails, and both had 9" of water in them, Thats how much rain
fell.
The shore power had tripped off, Later we
discovered that one of our trip switches was faulty and had to be
replaced,
Mary and Niall took off to the supermarket to get
some last minute fruit and veg, as our Phil had arrived with the Chart card for
the
plotter. Jack returned a few minutes later to tidy
up a small leak in the watermaker,
11.00hrs, skipper returned the gate keys to
the marina office and settled the accounts, and we were ready to
roll.
We looked over the grib file, and the weather was
going to be windy for the next few days, geeting more windy
as we travel north, but it will be light
untill late tonight..
We checked all port holes were closed, heated up
the engine, hatches closed, electrical cables stowed away , and eventually
at 12.30 hrs, we slipped out of port and set a
course north towards Cairns,
Distance...........254 n. miles
Weather...........cloudy and overcast,
Wind, ..............light, 3 knots E
Sea state, ......flat
We passed through the Islands on the northern side
of the Whit Sunday's and waved at all the boats heading
to Abel point for race week at Airlie
Beach,
We were happy to be at sea again, and especially
knowing that most things on board were working properly again,
We checked the port saloon windows, and fount the
mastic on the outside had just perished. we will do a job on that
the next time we are anchored.
18.00hrs, skipper stuck a roast chicken into the
oven for dinner, along with brussel sprouts and creamed potatoes.
20.oohrs, we had the dinner on deck in the
Starlight restaurant, and it was a beautifull starry night. but brrrrrr blooody
cool. and no wind,
Things never stay the same,
22.00hrs, the wind was blowing WSW 25
knots,
23.00hrs, the wind was blowing WSW
32knots,
At this stage, with the wind on our port quarter,
we had 2 reefs in the mainsail and one reef in the staysail, and still
clipping along at 8.5 knots. the sea was
still flat, but that wont last too long, so make the best of
it......
The tide is strong along this part of the coast,
running either north when ebbing or southerly when flooding at a rate
of 1.5 knots.
The night watches :-
21.00hrs /
00.00hrs ................................Mary
00.00hrs
/ 03.00hrs.................................Niall
03.00hrs /
06.00hrs..................................Skipper
06.00hrs /
09.00hrs.................................Aileen
Thats it for now,
Bloody hell, I am beggining to feel
queezy,, hope I dont get the gawks,
Signed :- Stephen
Hyde ( Skipper )
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