The way back
27 May 2022
• Melbourne
by Penni Singleton • Stormy
We set off early this morning so that we could get to Melbourne Harbor Marina before the rain was due this afternoon. The memories of anchoring outside Bimini in a strong thunderstorm are still so recent that any mention of thunderstorms takes me back to the V berth, huddled with Timmy as the wind howled and Solitude rocked viciously and swung relentlessly. The early start was hard - Timmy dragged himself out of bed only when he saw we were both up on deck. I only dragged myself out of bed when John started the engine and needed me to steer while he pulled the anchor up. We had not slept well - all of us hot and sticky even with a breezy night. The temperature only got down to 74 (23) by 6 in the morning. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our sail here. We made great time due to wind and tides. It went even quicker for Timmy and I as we accidentally drifted off to sleep halfway through the morning. The dockmaster here at Melbourne remembered us from on our way down and gave us a warm welcome. The entrance in here is shallow and he had told us to ‘favor the reds’ which means stay to the right of the channel. We had come in very slowly last time and I had been watching the depth tensely. This time we came in with more confidence. We both remembered the layout of the marina. It is a very different feeling to when you enter a marina for the first time- following verbal directions from the dockmaster and watching carefully for signs and the layout. We celebrated our arrival by taking Timmy for a walk and then having lunch on the boat. We have a long list of things to do that we created in the Bahamas. All the phone calls and appointments to schedule that would have required an international call. We started working our way through, but Friday before Memorial Day was not the best timing. It is now 8:30 and we are ready to sleep. The thunderstorms held off all afternoon. The first one just went over. Nothing like the Bimini storm, but Timmy was wondering if he should be concerned. I resisted the urge to give him a cuddle and tell him it is okay because we are in a marina. Instead, John and I played it cool. Timmy is now snoring happily by my side. We will stay here tomorrow night too, so relaxing day tomorrow as we get through some more admin. Photo of the reluctant early risers.
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