No, I won’t bang on about weather forecasts, there is so much else to be grateful for.
What I will say, and any vessels with a stick and a hanky will agree, the wind direction and consistency is pretty important. It is one of *Life’s Free Gifts.
We wait all day for what’s expected it to kick in. It’s nice to trickle down the coastline on magical flat waters but we would like to reach our destination today!😜
Yet again the sun sets and all coast guards clock off….and the elements decide to pick up with gusto!
So, night sailing with no moonlight, put simply 🤔let me see …imagine driving an unlit back road…over the speed limit without headlights.
Our electronic instruments say we have 25-30knts💨and travelling 7-8 knts, AGAINST the tide, so the occasional rogue waves join in. They dump on the decks, exactly like the big bucket at the water park…. nothing… nothing…nothing …then kaboom! 🧟‍♀️ There is no traffic out here according to our radar. I’m now counting our blessings all the container ships off Mackay were passed in the light of day! 🙌🏻
No observing from any wing-back captain’s chair from upon any bridge for us! We are in the saddle, down and dirty, as Condesa begins to race like a wild brumby through dense scrub. The adrenaline heightened a bit more by a warning light in the near distance, indicating rocks in the middle nowhere. We double, triple check our heading (set for Middle Percy anchorage) is going to miss them.
9pm rolls around, approximately one hour before we can drop anchor to complete today’s 14 hour sunny day out on what WAS *Placid aqua seas before this sea state broke loose.
He Who’s gruff is not happy with this unexpected rough up, but I remind him, it is water + wind, so what do you expect from those two elements combined?💁🏻‍♀️ Personally I’m loving the *enforced exercise, after two weeks of island time.
Yes, I’ve heard it all before, there’s a lot to be said terra firma and being in control of your surrounds at home. But you know, when you take whatever comes, it has you in the game, keeps you thinking, awake, alert and being outside of the comfort zone is a tad humbling especially out here. But the good news is, it makes for a *euphoric nights sleep.
Whoooow, let me back up a bit! As we near the island we cut our speed drastically by dropping all the sails. We motor in very close to eyeball the pitch black anchorage. The only thing visible are 20 mast lights rocking and rolling with the swell. Peering into the void, unable to identify boats let alone a space big enough to set our anchor. I thought to myself, this could be a bit of a shit show. Right then, He Who Hums returns from the front deck with his anchor remote in hand and suggests Rescue Bay would be better! Great idea, let’s hope Rescue Bay lives up to its name and through the pass we continue.
Next minute it’s 11.30pm 💁🏻‍♀️and we have ourselves a beautiful *mirror flat bay, only a few mast lights at the far end of this salvation. I was navigating this new anchorage with all my trust in the navionics screen to position us in close enough for protection and far enough away for change of tide for Condesa to swing. No vessels nearby to avoid, just aware there is a rocky point at this end of the bay not physically visible due to black on black., but I have it in my radar and in my gps map clearly. (PS spot lights only light up the air in front of you not the landscape.)😵‍💫
When all was said and done, we sat perfectly on the ⚓️ zone indicated with 30mtrs of chain out. Condesa shimmied in 25ft of water nodding off to a complete halt and all was set for that good nights sleep I mentioned.
He Who Hums of course gets up hours later to check on things and did a double take at the rocky point’s silhouette he first thought he could almost touch. 🤣No close but safe distance.
In the light of a new day we actually see what we have around us. 🌈 It was like a gift from heaven. So incredibly beautiful in fact He Who Hums even promised to return one day to *swim and *walk the sand dunes. The setting, glistening and twinkling to keep our attention, but “THE PLAN” is to keep moving south whilst we can, and I guess it is looking pretty good to go. 😑
I turn back to my position at the helm after trying to capture every sparkle in one last pano shot before I have to pull away.
As Edie and Lulu like to recite ever so wisely. “You get what you get and you don’t get upset!!”😆👍
So now, I wonder what this sweet and innocent new day will bring us, destination - Pearl Bay.🔮