Easter is generally an opportunity for a small foray into Bass Strait. With it comes an internet detox: out there there is no phone contact, no email, no internet coverage. So a series of four posts about our Easter 2016 Cruise will be published on our return. Here is the first of the series.
It is Wednesday night, 23 March. We have escaped the city life and are on board Take It Easy, having taken an extra day on either side of Easter to give us more time for our getaway. Our friend Sue has joined us for the adventure. We spend the night on our Port Albert mooring then set sails for Waterloo Bay at Wilsons Promontory on Thursday. The weather is looking right for a brisk sail to Deal Island on Easter Friday and a return on Tuesday. Yippee!
But first, we are meeting recently launched Easy Catamaran “Outback Dreamer“. Christopher and partner Michelle have just completed their first passage and are waiting for us at Waterloo Bay after doing the hell trip from Hastings to the Prom in one very long day. We had advised them to break the journey and make an overnight stop at Bird Rock, Waratah Bay, but no, they motor-sailed in light conditions from 3.30 am to 9.30 pm. Crazy! Consequently they were exhausted, and skipper Christopher was a wee bit frazzled. Lots of firsts including sailing in darkness, not quite the ideal recipe for novices, but they did it: a great achievement! After 6½ years building the boat, it was an exciting endeavour to leave the safety of their mooring and venture out. We had to laugh though: we found them anchored in 20 meters of water in the middle of the bay, miles away from the shore. “Watcha doing in the middle of the ocean?” – “It was dark, I could hear the waves crashing, I wasn’t gonna go any closer!” Funnily enough if Chris was a bit flustered, Michelle appeared to cope very well. She was cool as cats. “Put your big girl’s pants on” she said to him!
It gets less tense with practice, Chris! But remember to make it easy for the two of you, not hard! One thing is certain, Outback Dreamer is looking beautiful. Well done, guys!
Sv-Anui 
Great looking boat! Pass on our best wishes to Chris G ….. worth the 6 years of toil! Once again nice pics. Might have to ‘unfriend’ you guys, feeling a bit too much sailing envy 😉
You can’t leave us, we need all the friends we can get! 😊😊
Thanks Elgar for your comments about outback Dreamer. Its encouraging to get compliments.
it was great to see Take It Easy appear around the northern point of Waterloo Bay and certainly enjoyed your brief company. Michelle and I did have a great time and enjoyed the location, beaches and walking with a less stressful motor sail back in two stages.
Good to hear! We enjoyed our time at Deal and Hogan – fast sail there, slow motor sail back! Where to for your next passage?
I have so much respect for anyone who builds (and finishes!) their own boat! Looks great as well!
Yes it is a mammoth job Matt! We went the easy way… Bought ours second hand so we could play straight away!
To complete a trip like this to a magic place makes the building project so worthwhile. The challenge now is to keep Outback Dreamer looking smart while it lives on the water year round.
To Chris G: Was great to meet you & Michelle and to see Outback Dreamer. You have done a fantastic job on the cat. You should be proud. How’s the bunny?