Another week of great progress on our mission north: solid sails with 70 to 100nm runs, we keep going while we can and are now much further along our delivery trip, with the end in sight.

After two weeks underway since leaving the Gippsland Lakes, going whenever we could, which has turned out to be 10 out of 14 days, we consider we have made great progress but it comes at a cost. A delivery trip with a deadline makes for a demanding voyage. Weather dependency means we are prioritising the use of safe weather windows over enjoyment! And now we really are starting to feel it: broken sleep, lack of exercise, tension, exhaustion, dare we say boredom. When it is not the changing forecasts, there is the risk of collision with whales, the massive thunderstorms, the shearwaters hitting the rigging… Are we having fun yet? But the end is near as you can see from the chart below!

Our first run since our last post was from Jibbon Beach on Sunday. There were a few surprises that day. First, we saw one of those rare roll clouds again, complete with Qantas planes coming to land every few minutes at Botany Bay. We sailed well and much further than hoped. We passed the possible shelters of Swansea then Newcastle, but kept going, finally pulling in at Fingal Bay, just outside Port Stephens. It was a satisfying 100nm passage in 14 hours. Not bad considering we have had to bash against the East Australian Current (EAC) which typically flows at 2 to 3 knots!

From Fingal Bay the next morning we only had a short 16nm run to Broughton Island where we were intending to hide from the northerlies for a couple of days. As we exited Fingal Bay, focused on avoiding the entrance rocks, we just about glided over a humpback whale who was also obviously enjoying the calm of the bay! It appeared a few meters behind our stern and we were instantly back on watch! It might have been the last of the stragglers, but as Wade puts it, “it only takes one to ruin your day!” Thankfully, it was just a reminder whale season is not all over yet.

We had quite a mix of weather at Coal Shaft Bay, Broughton Island. It was calm, gentle, sunny on the Monday, when we could fly the drone, relax and line up a few jobs for our haulout. But on Tuesday, it was stormy, and very unsettling as most of the coast from Sydney to southern Queensland was a mass of violent thunderstorms, rain and 30 knot winds from every direction. Spectacular but stressful as a green tinge develops in the towering clouds, heralding trouble. There is not much you can do in thunderstorms except pray you stay out of the impact zone!

And there is another disturbing thing about anchoring at Broughton Island at this time of year, which on reflection we knew about: the number of shearwaters hitting the rigging during the night. It is a classic, albeit jarring encounter with the island’s massive breeding colony of wedge tailed shearwaters. Over 60,000 breeding pairs call this island home and November is a critical month when the birds have returned to their burrows to court, lay their single egg, and defend their nesting sites. This creates major aerial traffic at night directly above coves like Coal Shaft Bay, as thousands of birds return on masse from ocean foraging to their burrows.

While incredibly graceful and masters of dynamic soaring at sea, shearwaters are notoriously clumsy on land and in tight spaces. They literally stall their long slender wings and crash-land into vegetation or whatever is in their path, Anui for instance! The anchor light and cabin lights probably don’t help, as we suspect they can be blinded or disoriented by them. Both nights we were there, some were flying directly toward our vessel, colliding with the mast, shrouds and stays at a distressing rate. We dimmed the cabin lights and helped a few which had ended up on deck or in the cockpit to take off again, but we felt bad.

The Southerly wind was forecast to return in the middle of the night, and although we had considered moving earlier to Providence Beach, the northern cove, we decided to stay put at Cole Shaft Bay, stern to the beach until it got too uncomfortable. By 3.30am on Wednesday, both awake and with the southerly building, we figured we might as well pick up anchor and go.

It was another long run against the EAC. After our horribly early start, we passed Seal Rocks just after dawn, a glorious sight with the distinctive Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse and all the soaring shearwaters.

Although we had to switch an engine on for a few hours when the breeze got too light, we mainly sailed and we covered the 84nm to Port Macquarie. We crossed the very calm bar and picked up a public mooring inside the entrance, all settled by 5.00pm. We were exhausted and felt a bit beaten up. The lack of physical activity, broken sleep, stress with the thunderstorms and long passages are all taking their toll. It feels like the improvements in health we achieved during our months on land are evaporating! So we crashed for the night, with no energy to catch up in person with our local friends.

Thursday, you guessed it, with favourable conditions still with us and a strong wind warning, we headed off early again. Would you believe it was another big 70mn run – this time to Coffs Harbour? We were full of confidence we’d sail, but the strong wind did not happen until much later. We ended up burning fuel and bobbing about in a sloppy sea.

We spotted two whales along the way, so there are still a few about! We reached Coffs just in time for the wind to pick up! “You can only work with what you’ve got” says Wade. And no, Chris did not jump ship and go home, but it was tempting. It certainly felt weird being so close to Sandy Beach!

Today as we post this, we are heading to Yamba. It will likely be a motor-sail in very light conditions. We are planning to get through the bar by mid afternoon, just before the northerlies return and stop us for a few days… a well-earned forced rest. Stay Tuned!