The awesome foresome: Merv, Wade & wiggly Bengie, and Mike
This is it, the Take It Easy crew has left the Gippsland Lakes, bound for Tin Can Bay in Queensland, some 900 nautical miles North! For Wade it is an exciting mission. For crew, Mike & Merv, it will be a thrilling experience, as for Bengie the ship’s cat…well, it’s better than “jail”!
This is not a leisurely cruise, but a delivery trip… which means the team will be sailing hard day and night, 2 hours on, 4 hours off, non stop unless they get contrary weather. In winter, the predominant winds are SE along the East Coast, so it is the ideal time to head up North. We are all praying for steady tail winds all the way – nothing too strong or scary, with maybe a couple of short bouts of northerlies for a small rest along the way.
Here is the overall map of the trip. 
But first things first: crossing the infamous Lakes Entrance bar! The swell was heavy on Friday afternoon with breakers all the way across. The bar was not passable so an overnight stay at the Flagstaff Jetty, just next to the Entrance, was called for. We all had to wait until 11.30am on a very cold Saturday morning and still it was a very lumpy exit.
It did not take them long to raise Big Red, the spinnaker! They should get a steady sail, initially in 10-15 Westerlies, then WSW as they turn the corner and start heading north. It’s always good to “get around the corner!” But they will probably get stuck in Bermagui for a while since Northerlies are forecast to blow for a few days from Sunday night. At least they are now underway as evidenced by the Marine Traffic tracking at 7.00pm on Saturday just past Cape Conran!
Just past Cape Conran at 7pm Saturday!
I will keep you posted on their progress every few days, and relay some of their experiences. Don’t expect photos, that’s not Wade’s forte, but there are sure to be a few tales to relate!
For those interested, you can follow the boat on http://www.marinetraffic.com You have to set up an account (which is free and just means providing your email). You can then set up your ‘fleet’ so you only track the boats you want and enter our vessel’s name in upper case – you guessed it: TAKE IT EASY! After that, the guys can’t hide; we know where they are, whether they are moving, at what speed and in which direction!
Fair winds, gentle seas and starry nights Take It Easy!
Sv-Anui 
How did it feel watching her sail off without you? I’m looking forward to following SV-takeiteasy’s voyage.
I had butterflies in the stomach as they crossed the bar! After that I was so frozen I was glad to get in the car with the heater on! They are going to be so cold at night!
It was fun seeing them sail past under spinnaker as I watched them from a lookout! We don’t have many pictures of TIE sailing!
good luck Wade 😊
vero and didier
Merci! A bientôt!
Wow!!!! Great to see them heading out!!!! Have been watching the marine traffic ALL DAY!!!!! Thanks so much for the update Chris….the family are all watching their progress too…thats a good start to the trip, hope it continues for them…very exciting! Fantastic photos!!!
Hi Jan! Thought that might be the case:) It was a long wait this morning for the bar to be safely passable! It was SO cold: 3•! But they looked good in the sunshine under spinnaker!
Happy sailing will be following your posts with great interest
Henry and Brenda
Thanks guys!
And they’re off! Very exciting. Thanks for the post and I’m eagerly waiting updates. In the meantime, I’ll be watching the Tracker app.
Hi Robin – all eyes on that Marine Traffic app I can tell you 🙂 It’s a bit like Big Brother!
Marine traffic has ’em in Eden four hours ago (about 11am Sunday 21/6).
Yap, we all get the notification! They are staying put there – too far to get to Bermagui before the northerly change.
Cool. That looked a bit cat and mouse with dodging the surf sets going through the bar. I’m sure Wady’s surfing skills helped him time it. Fair winds and following seas!
Hi Craig – it was a bit daunting – always a challenge to get out, this time especially… The wind was perfect from Friday morning but the waves were breaking all the way through the entrance every 30 seconds inside the walls as well as outside! But once out they looked pretty cool with Big Red out! And would you believe a whale and dolphins were playing at the entrance! Now that has to be a good sign.
Good to see they are heading nth to warmer spots, sorry you are not with them, may be fly up for the return trip. I will keep an eye out for them. They may call in to Manly marina,I live just up the road from it.I will be watching for news of them.
Hi Terry, yes it was odd seeing the boat sail away. I will join them in 3 weeks, don’t you worry, to enjoy the Southern Reef for a little while. They had a very cold first night, sailing all the way, and now enjoying the sunshine, so de-thawing 🙂
Smart move let them do all the hard freezing part, you can then be like the whales arriving here in the warm time. After all your stressing on the photo work it is time to relax ,and no one telling you what you should be doing, so go for it.
Hi Terry – you made me laugh out loud! Yes I figured I could give the freezing sailing weather and night watches a miss! I will fly up for the fun part! Still felt odd seeing them sail away without me! I’m Wadie-less, cat-less – woody one and furry one – and a bit lonely!
Safe travels! Love the red kite. That bar looked scary!
Yes it was still closing out at times, but nothing like the previous day😊
Love the Milky Way photo!!
Thanks Rich – these are going back a bit, you should look at the more recent ones!