SV SEAKA: CRUISING AUSTRALIA IN 2019.

Well things haven't been going to plan. It's now the 18th of January and we still haven't got to Sydney!

Since we came off the hard at the Marmong Point Marina, things have also not been going to plan.

I planned to stay on the seaward side of the Swansea Bridge on the night of Wednesday the 16th. Everything had gone well, I meet Greg [Felicity] at the Lake Macquarie Sailing Club where we moored Seaka while Greg took me up to the shops to get vegetables, meat, milk, bread and ice. Back at the sailing club we checked the weather to find that it was perfect for the run down to Pittwater on the 17th.

I then cast off and proceeded to the Swansea Channel which, with the ebbing tide, took us about half an hour to transverse before we came to the bridge. There we hooked onto one of the mooring buoys and during that process got a rope over the top of the rudder, luckily it came away and we safely completed mooring up.

About four minutes before the bridge was due to open the operator demanded that I drop the mooring which I did. I now had to circle around in front of the bridge with the current pushing me towards it. As I tried to circle, the bridge went up but nothing happened, the lights were still red! Next thing I found that Seaka and I were being swept onto the southern piles at the entrance to the bridge. We sort of run up and around the pile just as the lights turned green. Well I was going through green or red, we had no option as the current pushed us through.

Shit! As I went under the raised bridge an SMS was received. Out the other side of the bridge a quick check for structure damage was done, luckily none was found. I then grabbed a mooring and settled Seaka down before looking more intensively at the damage. All I could find was scratches and considering what we had just done not too bad at all. A more detailed examination today shows that we have a total length of about 15cm of scratch that goes through to the fibreglass below. The rest of the scratches are only in the duco.

But back to that SMS. Greg had just heard that there was a weather update that predicted 30 knot winds and 2-3 metre waves tomorrow [17th]! So I contacted the Lake Macquarie Marine Rescue and booked the bridge for the 0700 hour opening on the 17th. So on Thursday we returned through the bridge, with no dramas, taking one hour against the ebbing tide to get back into Lake Macquarie.

Once in the lake we headed for Croudace Bay to shelter from the 30 knot NE,er. After settling in for a hot day and sorting out the gear I decided that a review of what I was doing was in order.

After considering the weather patterns [which are not normal] money already spent, time lost due to weather and repairs, the damaged duco and most importantly my moral, I have decided to call Tasmania off for this year.

Shaun, who has got down to Sydney while I was doing repairs, later rang and said he has to start his return home. So I will wait for Shaun to get here sometime on Sunday. We may get a weather window on Monday to get us to New Castle otherwise we will have one that will get us to Port Stephens around Wednesday or Thursday next week. After that we will have to see what the weather gives us.

It's 38c here already today and blowing hard before the southerly comes through tonight. I've just had Bear [Egret II] deliver me supplies which included ICE!

I really don't know what I would have done without Greg and Bear while I have been in Lake Macquarie. Thanks Guys. I am feeling a lot better now that we are returning home to regroup and hopfully next years weather will be a lot kinder when we try again to sail towards Tasmania.

Phillip.