Yvonne and Anna arrived late on 5 September and we went off to town to do a bit more provisioning.

We couldn’t get everything though, so this morning I did another trip into Mackay. My greatest need was for another ice box to carry extra ice as we could be out off port for up to 7 days. I also needed some swimwear – left at home!

I was up early and fitted the liferaft to the foredeck (an ill-advised decision, I later realized).

I returned around 11AM with my purchases. Yvonne and Anna had filled the diesel tanks and jerry cans and we set off before noon, fully stocked with food, drink, water, diesel and ice.

I was initially going to head south-east, but a lot of factors mitigated against this:

• we only had half a day left and both girls were looking a bit green as soon as we got out the marina;
• the wind was blowing from the south-east, so it would be hard work; and
• we only had half a day of sunlight left and an overnight sail on the first day with two sea-sick crew seemed a bit cruel…

So, we made for Scawfell Island, an anchorage I knew from our previous stay there would be protected in a south-easterly breeze. Everyone was relieved once the pick was set and we were just in time to enjoy happy hour with some whales blowing in the distance.