We came out of the lagoon at New Cal with another yacht
‘Perla Alba’ and took the rhum (straight) line. We knew when we got close to
Aus that we would have to alter course due to currents, and the storms off
Coffs Harbour might require us to divert to Brisbane.
The wind was steady, and as it was our last leg to Aus, we
kept plenty of sail out to keep us going along with the swell. Now the wind
built over the next couple of days, as did the seas,……and then, the wind
disappeared. This was unfortunate; the boat was going well, we were making good
time, but we were forced to down sails and motor for 10 hours.
This turned out to be good! There was a noticeable decrease in
the swell, and we took the time to rest and have some good meals.
The wind came back, steady, so we got the sail out again to
keep going with the swell as before. And as before, the wind built over the
next couple of days, as did the seas,……and then, the wind disappeared. This was
unfortunate, the boat was going well, we were making good time, but we were
forced to down sails and motor for another 10 hours.
However, this was good! We couldn’t believe our luck, the
swell decreased, and we rested.
Yep, the wind came back…..etc, etc,
until we reached the coast of Aus, just North of Coffs.
Marion woke me when the sun rose and she could see the land.
Up I rushed, eyes welled, and I took a deep breath, “can you smell it, can you
smell it?” I yelled, “take a deep breath”. Marion’s eyes lit up in amazement like
a young girl in a candy store, “I can smell it!”. On the last deep breath you
could smell the eucalyptus oils being carried east down off the Great Dividing
Range and across the ocean to where we were gently sailing, almost ghosting,
along. The fresh cool mist was amazing. Tunes of being ‘home among the gum
trees’ were sung and we settled into breakfast while being in awe of where we
actually were, on the other side of the Pacific at last.
Our last couple of hours saw the wind decrease, seas
becalmed, and us wondering how it was all going to be. Would Marion be allowed
into the country following all her bother with Visas….other tunes came to mind
like Jimmy Barnes ‘Cryin like a refugee’.
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| What a journey! |
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| Now THAT was a long way..... |
We arrived safely in the harbour, dropped anchor, and ate
all we could that we knew was not allowed into Aus. Formalities done and the marina informed us we could stay at
our berth. Boat cleaned up, walk ashore, and shopping to replenish our
supplies. Where we could not manage to eat everything the customs guys relieved
us of the rest.
We spent a couple of weeks in Coffs; shopping, phones, IT,
banks, walking, bike rides, restaurants & pubs. I think we were in a bit of
shock of being there, but we were not yet at our destination of sailing through
Sydney Heads. The weather had not been nice along the coast and by all accounts
no one could believe the great crossing we had. Perla Alba came in 24 hours after us.
The trip down the coast to Sydney was awful; confused seas
and no wind brought on feelings of seasickness. But as we approached the heads
we got a feisty wind from the stern quarter that picked us up and shot us to
the entrance of Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour.
The phone rang, it was ‘Marine Rescue Sydney’ as they had
been trying to radio us to see if we were okay….we told them we were nearly
there. Then another phone call, brother David, to see where we were and to tell
us that Sydney was in ‘lock down’. Now we are not used to getting so many phone
calls, and were not sure what this ‘lock down’ was all about. (this was the morning
of the devastating Lindt café siege)
How calm the Pacific all seems now!
Despite the awful passage and terrible news our spirits rose
as we entered through the heads. Here we were, journeys end……or journeys
beginning! What will be next.
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| and through the heads we go! |
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| time to raise our colours |
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| Australian Pride |
There was no fanfare. We motored through a calm and eerie
Sydney Harbour with the sun only glancing off the Sydney Opera House at one
stage. There certainly was not a lot of activity going on anywhere. We
continued up the river and took a berth at Gladesville Bridge Marina.
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| the only sun, on the Opera House |
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| ........we can only guess what is happening in town. |
The next week we got our bearings, all before Christmas shopping and enjoying events on the harbour. Its good to spend some time with family after our 6 year trip and wondering what, or where we will be next……….
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