Took 3 hour shifts thru the night as we sailed south to Brisbane. Several other cruisers and rally boats were on the water with us. Most of them going faster than us. We seemed to keep up pretty well. The ocean was rough. The wind was from behind, thankfully. At times the wind was on the port side and then on the starboard side which caused us to gybe. We sailed with jib only and saw speeds over 9 knots. Mark dropped the main sail as it was blocking the jib when the wind was from behind. At one point I could see several boats coming towards me. I steered away from them. I woke up Mark as I was not sure if they were coming towards me. It turned out to be cargo ships that were anchored off, waiting to get a dock at the port area. Mark changed our rhumb line and we passed by them safely. I got to sleep, but my hands were so cold. I had two big sweaters on, but that strong breeze was very cold. Mark also put on more clothes, plus shoes and socks. The waves continued thru my 2nd helm shift. Big winds too. Apparently, the high wind registered was 34 knots. Not sure when that happened. Each of us did a lot of hand steering as the strong wind and current took us off course. I was following a couple of sailboats on the channel, when a large cargo ship came thru. I was off to the right side of the channel, but they were not. Just glad that they stayed clear of each other. I continued to follow them around and did a lot of the steering as I cut some corners. When Mark woke up, he changed some of the route to make it easier. I didn't sleep well on my 1st sleep. Mark and I ate a ripe mango and my stomach really hurt. It wasn't seasickness, it was something else. I took a stugeron and eventually the pain went away. We got to the Brisbane River during day light hours. It took until 2pm to arrive at the Rivergate Marina. We had huge seas and winds behind us. We passed a huge port area. Thankfully, at the end, we did not have to pass any more cargo ships. There was one ferry motor cat and one huge power boat, but they stayed on their side of the channel. The marina is not far enough up the river to get a break on the big waves. We finally got close and Mark was getting our lines and fenders on for our stop at the fuel dock. He put one of the fenders on the deck and it got blown overboard. We turned around. I grabbed the fender and Mark secured it on deck. Then we headed to the marina and on the first attempt to dock the current took us past the dock. I was kneeling on the deck and ripped some skin off my knee. It was blowing so hard and the current was rushing. Mark called the marina and told them we would just anchor off. He convinced us to make another try. We were successful, but it was not an easy task. We got tied up and walked up to the office to check in. They had a slip allocated for us, but it was too rough to get into it. We asked about the distance from the marina to downtown and was told it was a 30 minute drive. So, we are not close to downtown as they led us to believe. We should have done more research. If we stay here, we will have to rent a car as there is not even any bus service out here. The marina has a haul out yard. There are many different marine and service shops. We walked past them to the only café in the area, which was almost closed. They open at 5 am each day. So, we were able to get a late lunch before they locked the doors. We headed back to the boat and the marina staff asked us to move one dock over. The wind was blowing and the current was still high. He helped us by taking an extra line on the bow, to keep us from getting blown too far over. Mark did an amazing job getting us off the dock and then onto the next one. The lines were once again secured. They were expecting a huge sailing vessel that needed the full gas dock. Mark was ready for a nap, but I wanted to walk up and shower first. We did have a very needed rest. I woke up first and started cooking dinner. I had to wake Mark for dinner. He was dead asleep. After dinner, the skies opened up and it started raining. Saw some lightning, too. The wind calmed down, thankfully. The marina is very close to a high bridge that is lit up just like the Acosta bridge in Jacksonville. We can hear some of the traffic noises. There is an airport close by too, so we can hear planes taking off. We will wait until tomorrow to decide if we stay or figure out another place to go. There is an anchorage past the high bridge but not sure where we would land a dinghy, as there is nothing around. Thanks for the emails and messages. You made the night helm shift go by faster. Just glad to be off that rough ocean. Also, happy that the huge winds have tapered off.