Departure for Australia
Friday 7th August. Distance to go 1008nm (1800km)
We finally dropped the mooring at Aore resort at 0930 and
sped down the channel with the outgoing tide. Once outside we settled down to a
close reach with 2 reefs and No.3 headsail in fairly bumpy seas of 2-4 metres
with a SSE of 20 to 25 knots
Saturday 8th August. (0930 distance to go 830nm) During
the night we reduced sail to 3 reefs in the main. About midnight Pacific Dream
(a 47ft cat) called us on the VHF. They could see us on their AIS receiver and
were 8 miles in front. By dawn they were abeam and we sailed all day in sight
of one another. The day turned out sunny with much smoother seas and we managed
to shake out all of the reefs and spent the day on a close reach. Very pleasant
sailing.
Not long after nightfall Pacific Dream called again to say
they had a mainsail problem and were continuing on under headsails alone at
about 5 knots. As we were doing 7 to 8 knots we soon lost reception with their
VHF.
Sunday 9th August. (0930 Distance to go 678nm)
During the night the wind picked up again to 25 knots at times. We reduced sail
to 3 reefs again and the boat trundled along happily all night without any sail
adjustments necessary. Di managed to sleep all night and I did a check every
few hours then retired again. This part of the ocean is empty of all commercial
shipping and in the first 3 days we only saw one fishing boat on the AIS. The
wind dropped again for a while after dawn then puffed in whenever the rain
showers were close. After about 3 reef changes we settled for 2 reefs for the
rest of the morning. The rain clouds disappeared during the afternoon and we
had a steady sail with only one reef in and mostly smooth seas. Motored for a
while in a 2 hour lull to pull the fridge down and to make hot water for
showers. All good on board!
Monday 10th August. (0930 Distance to go 508nm) Allusive
sailed all night in a steady 15-20 knot SSE with 2 reefs and half No3. Very
comfortable with plenty of sleep.
We were planning to
stop at the Chesterfield reef group but we now have a forecast for SW winds
(headwinds!) developing early Thursday and if we stop at the Chesterfields we
will be there for 4 days in a constantly changing wind direction. We have
decided to press on and if we can average 7 knots for the rest of the trip we
should arrive at Bundaberg about the time the SW is due.
We are staying in touch on the SSB radio (4483) with another
yacht, Argonaut who left a day behind us and is tracking to Gladstone. Haven
111 is leaving tomorrow and will track to Bundaberg.
During the day the SSE winds continued with near calm seas.
Only 1 reef and full no3 required to keep our speed between 7 and 8 knots
Tuesday 11th August (0930 Distance to go 311nm).
During the night the wind slowly died and we have now been motoring since
midnight.
The 5 knot breeze is slowly backing into the East and is due
to go into the North before freshening then moving into the NW 25-30 knots by
Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday it is forecast to move into the SW. In the
meantime we are enjoying the quiet conditions with full main and No.3. We are
enjoying the cloudless skies while they last and Di has done the food prep for
the next day or so. We won’t be hungry!
Wednesday 11th August.( 0930 Distance to go
140nm)
The wind did as forecast, backing through North to West and
increased during the day with an extra reef going into the main every 3 to 4
hours. About 100nm from the coast there is a North/South traffic separation
area for the commercial shipping and at times we had up to 6 ships on the AIS.
We had better keep a good lookout from here to Bundaberg.
Thursday 12th August.
The 30+ knot SW front got us just as we were between
Breaksea Spit and the reefs to the North. We had some very heavy rain with it
plus some thunder and lightning. Not very pleasant for the guy on deck. As we passed into the shallow waters of Hervey
Bay the wind waves became very short and steep due partly to the wind over tide
effect. We had to tack for the last 40 miles into the SW and slow the boat down
as the pounding was horrific at times. The skies cleared by 0900 and the local
VMR issued a cancellation of the gale warning……. Just as we were experiencing
some 40+ knot gusts. It’s a good thing he couldn’t hear what I was saying!!!
We finally arrived at the Port Bundaberg marina at 11.30am
and had cleared customs and quarantine (BORDER FORCE) by 2.30pm. This was very
quick and efficient BUT t there was a lot of confusion about the way we were to
pay the GST on the items we reimported. The GST on these new items had been
claimed under the TRS scheme on the way out of Australia. The local Bundaberg
Customs officer informed us we would need to employ the services of a Customs
Agent in Brisbane to complete the necessary paperwork. It took two days to sort
this out and Customs finally worked out it was their job to calculate the GST!
In the meantime Allusive was restricted to port. No doubt in the old days we
would have had a notice nailed to the mast! A stupid fiasco caused, I suspect,
by a lack of training in the TRS area for relatively new staff which caused us
a great deal of consternation for 24 hours.
After a pleasant 4 days in and around Bundaberg
we finally flew home for 3 weeks to catch up with family and house/ work
commitments
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