Going Home! (April 2014)

Vessel Name: Nirvana
Vessel Make/Model: 37' Irwin Ketch
Hailing Port: St. John US VI
Crew: Marc and Eric
Social:
29 September 2013 | Near Redland City Marina, Australia
06 September 2013 | Brisbane Australia
05 September 2013 | 103 miles ENE of Brisbane
04 September 2013 | 236 miles ENE of Brisbane
03 September 2013 | 353 miles ENE of Brisbane
02 September 2013 | 474 miles ENE of Brisbane
01 September 2013 | 601 miles NE of Brisbane
31 August 2013 | New Caledonia
30 August 2013 | 8 Miles from pass into New Caledonia
29 August 2013 | 128 Miles NNE of New Caledonia
28 August 2013 | 250 miles NNE of New Caledonia
27 August 2013 | Luganville, Vanuatu
24 August 2013 | Luganville, Vanuatu
22 August 2013 | Ambrym Island, Vanuatu
19 August 2013 | Port Vila,Vanuatu
16 August 2013 | Tanna, Vanuata
15 August 2013 | Waisisi Bay, Tanna, Vanuatu
15 August 2013 | 83 miles ENE of Tanna Vanuatu
14 August 2013 | 223 miles ENE of Tanna
13 August 2013 | 376 miles ENE of Tanna Vanuatu
Recent Blog Posts
29 September 2013 | Near Redland City Marina, Australia

Last night on Nirvana at anchor

We left the mooring in Brisbane this morning about 10am. We had a very good last night in Brisbane as there was a huge festival called Riverfire. Brisbane set up barges full of fireworks all along the river in the city. At 7pm they had the most spectacular fireworks I have ever seen. All around us [...]

06 September 2013 | Brisbane Australia

Arrived in Brisbane

We arrived yesterday morning in Brisbane after sailing 1163 miles from Vanuatu. The last day was very pleasant as the wind slowly backed off and turned more east as we approached Brisbane. We caught two big mahi, 50 pounds and 35 pounds just at sunset so we will have fish for some time here. The weather [...]

05 September 2013 | 103 miles ENE of Brisbane

Day 5 to Australia

We sailed 134 miles yesterday with an average speed of 5.58 knots. Wind was still up yesterday gusty 20-30 knots and we still have the third reef in the main adjusting the genoa according to conditions. Seas calmed a little don to 8-10 feet and not quite so angry. Winds are about 20 knots this morning [...]

04 September 2013 | 236 miles ENE of Brisbane

Day 4 to Australia

We sailed 118 miles yesterday with an average speed of 4.92 knots. As predicted, conditions have been very poor with 25-30 knots of wind, higher gust around squalls, and 12 foot seas. Not the worst conditions we have been in but close. The beam reach makes these conditions very wet and uncomfortable. [...]

03 September 2013 | 353 miles ENE of Brisbane

Day 3 to Australia

We sailed 129 miles in the last 22 hours with an average speed of 5.86 knots. I am writing this update a couple of hours early as I am up and the weather has calmed some for the moment. The heavy weather arrived yesterday about 5pm with winds up to 30 knots. It is still dark but I would guess seas [...]

02 September 2013 | 474 miles ENE of Brisbane

Day 2 to Australia, calm before the storm

We sailed 141 miles yesterday averaging 5.88 knots. Wind started to die off last night as predicted and turn south so Eric started the motor last night. We are motoring now in about 5 knots of wind out of the south in calm seas. We have continued on our course of about 200 degrees and have a 230 degree [...]

Arrived in Brisbane

06 September 2013 | Brisbane Australia
Marc
We arrived yesterday morning in Brisbane after sailing 1163 miles from Vanuatu. The last day was very pleasant as the wind slowly backed off and turned more east as we approached Brisbane. We caught two big mahi, 50 pounds and 35 pounds just at sunset so we will have fish for some time here. The weather turned VERY cold after the sun went down, I would guess in the upper 50's. No matter how many clothes you put on the cold still got through.

We pulled up to the quarantine dock at Riverport Marina at 6:30am. There was another catamaran there when we arrived who also said they had a rough passage. They had already spoken to customs and said they would arrive between 7 and 8am. Customs showed up just a little after 7am and we cleared through with them in minutes. We then had to wait for about an hour for biosecurity to come. Four men showed up and two came to out boat first and two to the cat. They spent an hour digging through everything on the boat and then were joined by the other two. They only threw out a few items, two eggs, some onions and sushi rice they found a weevil and took a sample for further investigation. They checked everywhere for termites, thankfully none were found. Our experience was very pleasant with customs as they were extremely friendly and nice.

We then washed Nirvana at the dock as she was covered in salt. We then motored farther up the river and took a mooring off the Botanical Gardens. It is $70 a week here and is located right in the heart of downtown. I went in bought a phone and dongle for laptop internet. I called my boat broker and set up an appointment for Monday for her to due a customs evaluation and help me get started with importation. I plan to try to buy a cheap car today and find a storage unit to off load a bunch of stuff I plan to ship back to Florida. The list of things to due is long but I am sure it will go quickly. My experience of Australia thus far is very positive and look forward to spending some time here.
Comments

About & Links

SailBlogs Groups
SailBlogs Friends
Gitanos
hlamff sailmaker - China