We’re here: just over 48 hours from Surfers Paradise to Barrenjoey Head. A little low pressure system at Port Stephens slowed us down to a crawl at about midnight, but we’re still over the moon with the passage. It doesn’t get much better than this!
Tag Archives: Southport
Southport – Sydney, 20/09/2008
We’re still flying along, making 9 to 10 knots SoG (speed over the ground) on average. The current is between 2.5 and 3 knots behind us, 20 miles offshore!
I decided to put the kite up this morning. What a drama! Sarah, Vicky and George had packed it beautifully with rubber bands in July, and it went up just perfectly. We sheeted on, the rubber bands snapped and we were flying. All good, until Sebastian inadvertently disengaged the Autohelm… Got it wrapped round the forestay then got knocked flat just as Sebastian and Bobby got it untangled. Threw the after guy off and just blew it off…
With the genoa set I ordered the kite re-packed, complete with rubber bands. This time I stood on the helm while they popped it. Sheet on and suddenly I have bucking wild animal in my hands! She’s surfing at 11 knots boat speed! That’s 4 knots over hull speed! I managed half an hour of this before terror overcame exhiliration… Blew her off, hauled the kite in, set the poled out genoa again and Bobby and Sebastian packed the kite like pros this time!
Southport – Sydney, 19/09/2008
If you have to sail from Southport to Sydney, and you’re in a hurry, what would you wish for: 25 knot northerlies and a 3 knot current behind you? That’s exactly what we’ve got! In just over 10 hours since leaving the Gold Coast Seaway we’ve done 90 miles directly towards our target: Broken Bay, Sydney. At this rate we’ll do the 400 mile trip in less than 48 hours, even allowing for loss of the current around Port Macquarie!
