Re-routed
12 September 2012 | Coral Sea
John and Shauna
As we got further across the Coral Sea towards East Coast Australia, the GRIB weather files showed that what had a week ago shown as a weak low-pressure interlude between two high pressure systems was in fact developing a mind of its own and wanted to be noticed when it grew up. And so it came to pass - directly on our rhum line the cold front was whipping up the coast from below Tasmania and was slated to cause 35 to 40 knot average wind strength (that is gale force) and very confused seas - and worse, the 40 knots were going to come from precisely the direction we were planning to head.. Mindful of the fact that nobody is paying us to do this, and life is probably more fun if it's fun, we convened a meeting of our Cowardly Cruising Sailors Association branch and elected, after a conversation lasting all of three seconds, to divert north to Brisbane - where, other than a change in wind direction, little evidence of the front was expected. So this morning, Thursday 13 September at 06:00 hours local time, here we are pleasantly sailing on a beam reach to the north tip of Bribie Island, from where we will sail down the relatively sheltered waterway of Moreton Bay, inside Bribie, Moreton and Stradbroke Islands. Customs clearance in Brisbane is done at the Rivergate Marina, a good 6 miles up the Brisbane River - so it's quite a hike going north to enter the bay then south inside it then several miles upriver to the Quarantine dock at Rivergate. We could see this as time-wasting, but almost anything's better than a gale from dead ahead. We'll be in the Bay at about 02:00 tonight and should dock at about 11:00; as we'll then officially be in Internet Land, we'll put up some more pics. Cheers from us