Anchored at Deal
Log reads 518NM (about 950Km).
We were up at 0530 on Thursday morning. A quick breakfast and we upped-anchor at 0620 with just enough light to get out of Bittangabee Creek. It was an easier exit than entry as the swell had turned around and we no longer had breaking surf on all sides.
We were close hauled (ie as close to the wind as you can sail) with a single reef until South of Gabo Island. Unfortunately, there was current against us. This does not seem to happen to the Sydney-Hobart race fleet. At 1.6kts, it seriously reduced our 5.5 to 3.9kts. There was nothing much to be done about it other than to realise, even at that early stage, that an arrival in the day was almost out of the question.
Huge numbers of dolphins came to visit us, synchronised in rows and columns. They stayed for a brief while and then departed to be replaced by a couple of seals.
We had steady but light rain for six hours, but fortunately once it stopped, there was no more for the rest of the passage.
As the wind came around, we got romping along nicely at about 7.5kts.
The seas were quite big (3metres on two swells from two directions). The current made the waves steep so things were a bit rough.
During the afternoon, Penny lay down for a rest but was uncomfortable and when she got up, mal de mer struck. She was then uncomfortable for the remainder of the trip and indeed stayed awake the whole 42hrs. Fortunately, on the second day here health was much better but she stayed above decks.
We heated up the stew for dinner but only David partook.
We only had one problem during the night. The oar came off Flinders (our Cape Horn wind steering system). It is only meant to come off when you hit something. It might have been the rough seas or more likely, the shock-cord which is part of the mechanism might have lost some strength. Putting it back on involves heaving-to then David going out onto the transom (back) of the boat and re-attaching it. This activity caused the loss of dinner for Dave, but it was only a brief affair and he was okay a few hours later. At first light, we replaced the piece of shock cord and had no further problems (and have never had any previously).
We sighted Deal, Erith and Dover islands before sunset but it was pitch black so we came in slowly and sussed out the anchorage. Our first attempt had us too close to the cliffs so we did it again and were happy. The time was 2300. We had sailed an extra 23NM due to the current. We had some with us but it was, perversely, mostly against us.
After a brief tidy up, it was straight into bed for a solid sleep.
Our weather window was only just sufficient. As we anchored, the wind started to come in from the West.
We will stay here exploring for a few days before heading off to Launceston.
Best Regds, Dave & Penny
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