The galley revamp is completed and we caught our weather window back to Port Phillip Bay.

The last of the finishing touches in the galley were tackled last Friday and Saturday. Tim did the big push at the end to make sure we would be able to leave. We were impressed with his eye for detail. For instance he colour-matched the caulking to the Laminex, the paint for the fridge vents to the cedar panel, the pattern for the inset bin lid to the rest of the bench top. It is this craftsmanship which makes a marked difference to the overall finish of the work.

A very big shoutout to the Frecheville Heaney Boats team who had the skills and flexibility to work with us. And thank you to Gippsland Ports for cutting us some slack with extended stays at the floating jetties in Paynesville. It helped to do this out of season and school holiday. So here is how it all looks:

We are finally done! Do we hear you say ‘till next time’? Yeah – we know all too well! Maintaining a boat feels like an uphill battle. It’s hard yakka, it’s endless, it’s insanely expensive, it’s exhausting and after years of it, it has brought us close to burnout. Despite it all, after this major round of maintenance, we have fingers, toes, eyes crossed, hoping our sense of satisfaction will last just a little bit, but let’s not jinx ourselves!

Last Days in the Gippsland Lakes

We left Paynesville on Saturday afternoon and anchored off Sperm Whale Head for a quiet celebratory evening. The next morning was chilly but we still managed a fly and a walk ashore.

On Sunday, we motored to Lakes Entrance where we picked up a public mooring in front of town, ready for an easy departure the next day. It was mirror calm in the Cunningham Arm, cloudy when we first arrived, but by evening the sky was clear.

Passage home

Most cruisers go north to the tropics at this time of year to avoid a cold Winter. But this year we are going contrary to the flow and staying in Victoria. We have medical follow ups due for both of us, we have work to finish off at Jan Juc and would like to experience a Winter here, as part of deciding where we will eventually settle.

We have also decided to defer our visit to the Bass Strait Islands till later in the year as we have run out of time on this trip. Bengie’s ashes are still on board, we don’t need to rush this emotional step.

So back to Port Phillip Bay we went. At 4.15am Monday morning we crossed the benign bar into Bass Strait and started our passage home with very light easterlies, flat seas and the beautiful Milky Way. It was cccooold!

The first hop was the longest: 115nm to Oberon Bay, at Wilson’s Promontory, all of it under engines as the wind was non existent: boring, but easy.

The second hop was 75nm to Flynn’s Beach on Phillip Island. We sailed some of the way early in the morning till it lightened too much. Although Wade has often surfed at Flynn’s, it was a new anchorage for us, quite protected in easterly conditions.

And finally the third hop was a short 50nm, but in fog and nil wind! It was quite eerie and particularly thick as we entered Port Phillip Bay. We managed to get through the Rip without bumping into anything, the prospect of meeting a big fat ship or a little fishing tinny in the pea soup keeping us both on watch till noon. We made it to Wyndham Harbour in sunshine by 2pm. The marina crew was expecting us and helped us thread the needle into our berth.

We burnt a lot of fuel but we got back! Here are a few photos taken along the way.

As far as cruising, this trip was a flop. Very little sailing, lots of hanging around either hiding from rough weather or waiting for work to be done. But we got some important upgrades done that should give us extra comfort on board for a few more years and without compromising Anui’s finish.

So folks, we have made it back to our home port and land base, therefore you guess it, this is the last post for a while. We are pausing the blog again until we sail somewhere: be it north to a new abode, or south for a play in Tasmanian waters. We will keep you updated on how things develop. Stay tuned!