Joe signs off
03 July 2017 | Port Moselle Noumea
Bernie
Joe on First Light III
Joe leaves us today to return back to Australia. He joined us in Fiji to get some blue water sailing experience on the passage to Noumea. Well, he certainly got a taste of sailing on the high seas and has come away with an appreciation of the highs and occasional lows of this lifestyle. The passage ended up being just over 700nm and took four nights at sea, there were no real challenges with the weather or seastate, but there is always the challenge of adjusting to the motion of the boat and getting over the queasiness and nerves in the first few days. In the end Joe was doing watches on his own and eating and sleeping well.
Damien and I are waiting for a suitable weather window for the passage back to Australia. Our intended destination is Newcastle on the NSW coast a bit over 1000nm away. This passage is expected to be the most challenging in a long time, plunging south into the predominantly SW headwinds. First Light III is up to it but the crew are a bit apprehensive at the prospect of over a week of bashing to windward.