We had been hoping the wind would switch from the west to the south, to enable us to sail North from Preservation Island. But as often happens the SE was forecast to arrive in the middle of the night and Preservation is exposed in a southerly breeze. So to get some protection, we had to first sail south, to Clarke Island’s Kangaroo Bay and wait there!
Finally on Sunday morning we had the conditions we needed to make the 40 mile jump to Roydon Island, at the other end of the Furneaux Group.
We enjoyed a real mix of sailing conditions and sea states: a spinnaker run for a bit, then as the wind changed, Big O was replaced by main and jib. We finished the passage motor sailing in light head winds. For the whole trip we lolled about in the nets, enjoying the sunshine, light conditions and scenery.
Lolling about
Roydon Island is an absolute favourite anchorage, which we normally have to ourselves. But for the first time in the entire trip, we had to share it with two other yachts! The setting is wonderful though: aqua lagoon in front of the conical shape of the island, crystal clear and shallow water. Being on a catamaran has its advantages. You get to throw the pick in a couple of meters whilst keel boats have the back stalls! The water here was very comfortable. We have acclimatised to the point where we were swimming around the boat without wetsuit. We walked ashore, watched the little penguins coming ashore on dark, and admired the brilliant Milky Way. Just magic!
Today it is a different day: overcast, windy, with a change on the way. We are going to try moving on to Killiecrankie Bay to weather another blow from, you guessed it, the west! But if things get too rough, we will turn tail and come back to Roydon. And then on Wednesday we are hoping to head across Bass Strait for the big 120 miles sail to Lakes Entrance. But we will tell you about this in another post.
Here is a gallery of the last passage.
Sv-Anui 
Great sailing and again lovely scenery. Have a safe trip home and am hoping for good winds for the trip. Good that the water is a little warmer eh, what fun
Hi Sue – we are getting all sorts of conditions and the guys are loving it. We will be at Killiecrankie shortly -another experience and another beautiful spot for us to finish the Furneaux exploration and sit out another gale!
Fingers crossed you make it to Killicrankie Bay. I am so enjoying following along on this trip with you x
Thanks Susan – we made it! Now we can sit out the gale tonight and tomorrow!
Hi guys, we had a rough trip from Sealers Cove to Cleeland Bight but the rest was pretty good. Tied up at home 9.30pm last night, back at work today which is a bit of a shock. Hope the weather window appears soon for your passage home. I noticed in one of your pics that Wade has the same fish cutting board that I have. It fits in the top of a bucket but I haven’t found a bucket that fits. What type of bucket are you using?
Hi you two. Yes we saw through Marine Traffic that you got home. Good job!
Re the bucket, steal one off a tradie (well just ask for one of their plaster or render buckets), or go to a hardware shop. That’s where we got both ours.
We made it to Killiecrankie today in light conditions, and the change is upon us now. Looks like we will make the passage to the Gippsland Lakes on Wednesday. No other opportunity if we want to get back to work next week! And we so want to make it! ☹️