We always check the weather before leaving port and our GRIB files predicted E to SE prevailing winds, averaging 25 knots. Perfect sailing weather for Amelie and our route to Mackay. We had heard that local bad weather was expected in Vanuatu on Wednesday, so at 14.30 hours on Monday afternoon we set off in a moderate sea to arrive in Mackay for the 23rd of July for Amelie’s annual antifouling, replacement of anodes and new batteries.
Our route planning took into account the number of natural hazards we needed to avoid; apart from one rock there were various reefs in the middle of nowhere, most of them charted on the paper charts and the Navionic charts.
The first 24 hours, Amelie was sailing towards her first waypoint - D’Entrecasteaux Reefs after passing Petrie Rock hours before. The wind and sea were building but not impeding Amelie. She covered a healthy 187nm in the first 24 hours.
By the second day we were aware through the SSB radio call that the wind was likely to increase, which it did over the following daylight hours, gusting up to 44 knots at one stage, with Amelie’s speed over the ground peaking at 14 knots, which far exceeds her hull speed. Amelie became a 53 foot surfboard. Feelings of exhilaration, tiredness and for Debbie, some fear prevailed.
By nightfall the wind had dropped to around 30knots and the rough sea abated. We achieved another record of 203nm travelled in 24 hours - hardly surprising. During this epic sail we passed the unchartered Sandy Island and headed for waypoint 3 - Bampton Reefs -243nm away.
The third day involved the wind gently dying and it was necessary to motor overnight.The sails went up on the fourth day and we had a warm, slower but enjoyable sail, passing the Bampton Reefs during the early evening. The warmth was further increased by a fiery Moroccan Beef Curry which nearly blew Stephen’s head off. He was calmed down by homemade Rhubarb Crumble with cream and a cold beer. Stephen’s taste buds have changed on this trip, he adores curry but generally the milder Korma varieties.
We are travelling towards the winter months in Australia and it is noticeable on board. Nights are colder, we are wearing warmer clothes sometimes with jackets. It feels very constrained to be wearing lots of clothes.
We are busily eating our supplies as it is not clear what the authorities will allow us to take into their country. We generally eat well on our trips, taking it in turns to cook but this time we are being more liberal with our ingredients, i.e; Korma became a Vindaloo!
Fifth day was sunny, warm and the wind had dropped to 15 - 20 knots in a E/SE direction.We had a visitor the night before - a large, strange looking, bewildered, scraggy bird with a huge sharp beak, sitting on the bimini (protective cover over the cockpit). Stephen hates birds getting too close to him so he shouted and thumped the bimini to frighten the bird from the boat.The bird stayed for another 4 hours depositing the contents of it’s bowels on the deck, ropes and cockpit seat. Truly hilarious watching Stephen in his extra large, green marigolds using hot, soapy water to clean up the mess the bird caused. Living at such close quarters for days on end can make us cranky with one another but overall Stephen still makes Debbie roar with laughter at his antics and sayings.
We passed Marion Reefs that morning heading towards the Hydrographers Passage into the Great Barrier Reef, our final leg of the trip.
Sleep deprivation has been the monster on this passage. It makes you emotional, grumpy and at it’s worst, poor decision making and potential personal injury. As a team, we ensure the other is safe at all times and most decisions are discussed before putting them into action. The skipper, of course, is always right but the first mate does challenge at times. This took some getting used too but we’ve had to adapt as the rally proceeds and it is better to have a double checker (the nurse coming out in Debbie). How many times has Stephen heard “ prevention is better than a cure”? Yes, decisions and actions sometimes need to be immediate according to the situation on Amelie but most can be delayed to reach a healthy and rational outcome. A full night’s sleep will be delicious.
We are missing a family wedding during this trip so congratulations are sent over the oceans to Ben and Beth on what will be a fabulous day. We will toast the happy couple as the sun goes down over the Southern Pacific on the sixth evening at sea.
The wind dropped considerably and went directly behind us. Time to get the twin headsails up. We take about an hour to drop and hoist the sails; get the spinnaker pole adjusted; make the boom into a makeshift spinnaker pole; put the soft shackles on; rethread the various sheets and then hey presto we fly both sails. The wind died and after an hour we abandoned our efforts and cranked up the iron sail (engine).
Sunday means roasting a ham which Stephen painstakingly soaked over the previous day and boiled in a homemade stock. The aroma in the galley was divine. Stephen’s famous roast potatoes cooked in goose fat and hopefully some vegetables.......but Stephen doesn’t do vegetables!
We entered the Maritime National Park zone during the late afternoon and our efforts had paid off, we were going to enter the Hydrographer’s Passage into the Great Barrier Reef on a flood tide in a moonlit night. The passage is used by all shipping so is well buoyed and lit. The watch system changed for this passage as we both needed to be alert and awake on deck. The initial stage is quite shallow with the reef all around and there are various tidal gates to navigate through. Eventually we hit a foul tide but as the wind was light the transit was not a problem. Our concern was for our fellow OWR fleet several days behind us who are predicted to have 25 knots of wind against tide in the passage. It will be a bumpy ride for them!
We were very excited to arrive in Mackay mid Monday afternoon to a warm welcome from Debbie and Eddie. We were bubbling over about the fact that as a couple we had sailed all the way to Australia - what an achievement!
Customs, Immigration and Quarantine personnel quickly arrived and spent over an hour processing us. They were respectful, cheery and visibly sad to throw some of our frozen meat away but they allowed us to keep the Kava. We still haven’t tried it but some of the youngsters on the rally maybe using it for their parties.
Mackay is a mining town with a marina and boatyard 6.5 km away. Amelie was lifted out of the water two days later in 26 kts of wind and with the help of Proteus’s crew with their rib, family from Dreams Come True plus Nelius, Stephen successfully reversed Amelie into the slings.
During the 10 days that she was out various jobs were done including redoing the gooseneck that was done in Antigua. The whole experience was stressful and we both had a sense of humour failure at times but Brad, Tim, Jim and Rob looked after us well. Amelie now has a new bank of batteries (replaced in 3 hours with minimal disruption to life aboard) and new guardrails as well as a squeaky clean bottom.
We had planned a break in Sydney during this time and flew from tiny Mackay airport to the international one in Sydney. We had booked a serviced apartment which felt like a mansion after spending the last 9 months on board. We spent four days catching up with a friend, eating in fabulous restaurants, having a ‘decent‘ haircut and obviously some retail therapy. The two highlights of the trip was the bridge walk which was fascinating and the unexpected chance to go to the opera at the famous Sydney Opera House. If this is normality, then we need it once in a while but we wouldn’t want it for long. The freedom and adventure of sailing plus taking your home to some of the most stunning places in the world does not encourage us to become land based. For us this is our dream come true and we are going to live the dream for as long as our health allows us to.
Going back to Amelie meant leaving Mackay and heading for Hamilton Island before exploring the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef.