We spent the rest of yesterday under sail, reefing the main and taking down the jib just before sunset as the wind built to 25 kts gusting 30 kts. Sailed through the night, then early this morning started the motor and are now motor sailing. We are so close now - with an ETA of around 2 pm into Fremantle Sailing Club.
What an adventure! There have been a few scary moments (for me anyway) but I am really proud to have made it the whole way. Craig and I would like to thank Peter and Phil for helping us bring Napea home, your guidance, knowledge and calmness was much appreciated. Also thank you for taking on longer night time shifts when I piked out!
To all of our Blog followers - a very big thank you xxx
Knowing that we had family and friends keeping an eye on our progress and watching out for us was wonderful. Sitting down and writing an account of our day was a much needed distraction and reading your comments back to us always made my day. We look forward to showing off and sharing Napea with all of you some time soon.
So for now, this is Napea signing off xxx
Sunday, 7 December 2014
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Our lovely 15+ knot southerly continued for most of yesterday, which meant we were able to sail for most of the day. The wind died out a little around 4 pm, motor started and we then motor sailed (jib down, main reefed) for the night. This morning brought light winds and sunshine, a lovely way to start our final full day at sea (hopefully!!) we continued to motor sail until 1:30 pm, when the jib was hoisted and motor turned off - it is still a beautiful day only now much quieter. As I write this post we are sailing past Cape Leeuwin, the sun is still shining and we again have a lovely 15+ knot southerly. We enjoyed a very nice glass (or 2) of Cape Clairault Chardonnay with lunch, which was ham, egg & lettuce sandwiches and toasted chicken & cheese sandwiches. I have already prepared the Tuna Pasta Bake for dinner so can enjoy the sunshine (it is the first day since we left Sydney that I have had my shorts back on!). This is the sort of cruising that I like!!
Friday, 5 December 2014
A hitchhiker last night
This little guy enjoyed a much needed rest from the wind last night. He stayed there until 4:30 am this morning, didn't like the commotion of the jib being put up!
I don't know why meteorologists bother giving us weather forecasts - they are so often completely wrong! Yesterday, what should have been a strong (but not too strong) easterly turned out to be a strong (25+) SW, which meant that we were once again punching into it under motor, and the sea was again washing machine like. I spent several hours sitting in the inside helm chair listening to Mamma Mia on headphones and aparantly singing badly! By late afternoon the wind had shifted around a little more to the south so we were able to turn the motor off and sail. We had pies for lunch and I managed to heat up the beef stroganoff that I had prepared the day before and some pasta for dinner, without it ending up on the floor in the very bumpy conditions! We sailed through the night on main only, then at around 4:30 am the boys put the jib up which meant our speed increased to 6-8 knots. We are now still sailing with jib and main with a nice 15 knot southerly breeze, and the sea has calmed a little, so a much more pleasant day (so far).
Thursday, 4 December 2014
We are on our way out of Esperance Bay, not much breeze so are motoring for now. Had a lovely dinner at the Pier Hotel last night and an OK nights sleep tied up to the Yacht Club jetty.
Didn't end up getting fuel at Bandy Creek, the entrance to the marina was looking a little shallow to us so decided not to risk bumping the bottom! We are not going to call into Albany, as we did enough provision shopping in Esperance to get us home and the fuel was more "to be sure to be sure", figure that we could motor the rest of the way to Fremantle on the fuel we have, and hopefully we wont have too, as we would like to sail some of it!!
So, we really are on the homeward stretch - although I wont quite believe that until we have turned the corner at Cape Leeuwin.
xxx
Didn't end up getting fuel at Bandy Creek, the entrance to the marina was looking a little shallow to us so decided not to risk bumping the bottom! We are not going to call into Albany, as we did enough provision shopping in Esperance to get us home and the fuel was more "to be sure to be sure", figure that we could motor the rest of the way to Fremantle on the fuel we have, and hopefully we wont have too, as we would like to sail some of it!!
So, we really are on the homeward stretch - although I wont quite believe that until we have turned the corner at Cape Leeuwin.
xxx
A "Where's Wally" style challenge!
I know we have more time on our hands than the rest of you, but we thought we would give you something to do in your "spare" time. The photos above have Maneki cat hiding somewhere - can anyone find him?
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Yay - we are back in WA!
What a week - I know I told you that it would take us 7 to 10 days to get across the bight from
Portland, but I didn't believe it - was sure we would do it quicker!!
We have had the full range of weather, some beautiful sailing days, a lot of motoring days and then yesterday I have to say was 24 hours I do not want to repeat, ever!
The day started nicely with a good breeze and we were sailing at 8 to 10 knots, then we were hit by a front which brought down the sails and started the motor, a short while later the front had passed and we were back sailing only to have another front do the same thing to us - both luckily short lived and not too threatening, apart from the dark skies and electrical storm! Unfortunately that was not the end of fronts for us, just after dinner last night a severe easterly gale hit us, luckily we had already taken down the jib, but we had to quickly reef the main all in 40+ knots of wind. The rest of the night I didn't sleep at all, and the boys tried to get sleep in between their shifts. The morning brought more of the same but from a different direction (SW a true southern ocean storm) which meant we were motoring into 30+ knots of breeze and a sea that resembled a washing machine. If there had been any way I could get off the boat I would of taken it! After spending the morning getting bashed around and only travelling at about 4 knots we decided to high tail it (it wasn't that quick!) to Goose Island from where we were, it was about eight hours of motoring.
Goose island bay is next to the larger Middle Island, just south of Cape Arid, they were named by Flinders and his crew who caught 25 geese on Goose Island in 1802. Apparently according to the WA Cruising guide a grave was discovered on Middle Island in 1999 which is believed to be the oldest marked grave site in WA, it is inscribed Charles Douglas HMS Investigator May 1803. Flinders commented the group of islands around Esperance, the Archipelago of the Recherché was an "extensive mass of dangers".
So we are now safely on anchor, have just finished dinner had a shower and getting ready for bed - looking forward to a very still night.
Tomorrow the weather looks better for us, so we will either call into Esperance to get some supplies or go on to Albany, then we are on the homeward stretch - yippee!
Saturday, 29 November 2014
Friday, 28 November 2014
Yippee! We have internet!!
We are about 60 nm from Coffin Bay, just finished dinner - left over spaghetti bolognaise.
We motored for most of yesterday but pulled the sails up at 4 pm in a close to easterly breeze, around 20 knots, and have been sailing since. Our speed is generally between 6 to 8 knots, which is apparently good! I was told today that we are now half way to Perth :( , I thought we were much closer!! It has been very cold, am glad Craig talked me into bringing the thermals.
Love to all. J xx
We are about 60 nm from Coffin Bay, just finished dinner - left over spaghetti bolognaise.
We motored for most of yesterday but pulled the sails up at 4 pm in a close to easterly breeze, around 20 knots, and have been sailing since. Our speed is generally between 6 to 8 knots, which is apparently good! I was told today that we are now half way to Perth :( , I thought we were much closer!! It has been very cold, am glad Craig talked me into bringing the thermals.
Love to all. J xx
Thursday, 27 November 2014
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
It is now 8 pm and we have just finished tidying up after dinner. We had slow cooked Portuguese lamb with potato and peas/corn. The lamb was from Who's Cooking in Edgecliff and was very nice.
While in Portland we discussed the fact that I am not enjoying the night watches on my own and the boys have offered to do 1 1/2 hour shifts so that I don't have to do them - thank you Peter, Phil and Craig xx. So I am now officially the chief cook and bottle washer on the boat!!
I believe the twilight is not going to be so nice in Perth tonight, hopefully next week will be better.
The sun is getting ready to set here, breeze has dropped a little so our speed a little less - still sailing though. Hopefully I will still be able to post tomorrow so until then, Goodnight!
While in Portland we discussed the fact that I am not enjoying the night watches on my own and the boys have offered to do 1 1/2 hour shifts so that I don't have to do them - thank you Peter, Phil and Craig xx. So I am now officially the chief cook and bottle washer on the boat!!
I believe the twilight is not going to be so nice in Perth tonight, hopefully next week will be better.
The sun is getting ready to set here, breeze has dropped a little so our speed a little less - still sailing though. Hopefully I will still be able to post tomorrow so until then, Goodnight!
Currently sailing about 15 NM from the coast heading West! The afternoon started with light rain and the breeze on the nose. Rain has now cleared and we have a nice 15-20 knt southerly breeze, so finally have the sails up and sailing between 6 to 9 knot speed. Hope the twilight is fun at South of Perth YC tonight - wish I was there!!
4:20 pm Wednesday 26 November
4:20 pm Wednesday 26 November
Had another quite day in Portland yesterday. We refuelled Napea at the commercial wharf, Craig had organised a truck to meet us there with diesel, bringing the hose down from the parking area to us. After getting the boat back to the Marina, Craig then went for a swim to check the propeller, which I am happy to say is OK. Lunch on the boat, then a bit of provision shopping, then it was back to the Pub for a rematch of the Pool Competition, unfortunately the standard had gone down rather than improved! Dinner in the Bistro of the Pub, Garlic Prawns and Rice for me - very nice.
The weather looks good for us to leave this morning, a high pressure system is setting up in the Bight, which is just what we want. We will hopefully set off around 9 am today, Wednesday 26 November.
There may be limited coverage for me to blog over the next week or so, as we plan to leave Portland and head straight for Albany (7 to 10 days).
Our skipper Peter has a website that you can check regarding our position, if there are no new blogs. His web address is
crew.yachtdeliveries.com.au
Look for "Position Text File"
The weather looks good for us to leave this morning, a high pressure system is setting up in the Bight, which is just what we want. We will hopefully set off around 9 am today, Wednesday 26 November.
There may be limited coverage for me to blog over the next week or so, as we plan to leave Portland and head straight for Albany (7 to 10 days).
Our skipper Peter has a website that you can check regarding our position, if there are no new blogs. His web address is
crew.yachtdeliveries.com.au
Look for "Position Text File"
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
Yesterday began with bacon and eggs and then a walk into town. An electrician had come and taken a look at the furler, the motor had burnt out - so we are without the furler for the rest of the trip (this will have to be repaired/replaced under warranty in Fremantle). After having lunch at the Pub we spent the afternoon there playing pool, luckily there were not many people around as the standard of play was pretty dismal, we definitely got our money's worth out of the $1 game fee! Craig and I returned to the boat at about 5 to prepare dinner (chicken Kiev, potato bake and a beet root & goats cheese salad), Peter and Phil did a bit of a pub crawl, then back in time for dinner. This morning we are going over to the commercial wharf to refuel, the westerly was up to 30 knots last night but should be easing later in the day, so hopefully we will be back on our way by early evening.
Monday, 24 November 2014
Had a relaxing day yesterday. Phil and Peter went to the Pub for a few drinks in the afternoon and then the 4 of us had a drink at the Portland Yacht Club. The club had their weekend race that afternoon so we had a chat with a few of the local members. Went back to the boat, which is penned at the next door marina and cooked a BBQ for dinner. This morning we are hoping to get an electrician to look at the furler and hopefully find the problem and be able to repair it for us.
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Oh My God! This night time cruising is not for the faint hearted!,
The evening started beautifully watching the sun go down as we motored past the Twelve Apostles.
Not long after Craig and I had gone to bed for an hour or two of sleep before our watches, I heard an almighty thumping noise coming from the boat. Phil, who was on watch at the time, quickly put the motor into neutral and we all got up on deck. We had picked up a cray pot line and the noise we heard was the float bumping on the side of the boat. We were about 1 1/4 mile from the coast, with an on shore breeze and tide. Very luckily Craig was able to hook the line with a boat hook and we managed to set it loose....phew
But that's not all. After motoring for 5 minutes or so the engine stopped! We run dual fuel tanks and each tank has a 'fuel return line' this allows the unused fuel that passes the engine to be returned to the tank. It appears when we switched to the port tank at Wilsons Promontory the port tank started returning its unused fuel in the line to the starboard tank, effectively prematurely emptying the port tank - the engine was running from the port tank only and eventually the port tank became empty and the starboard full - we ran out of fuel ! Fortunately we were able to restart the engine without having to bleed the diesel once we switched to the now full starboard tank. All of this happening at 10 o'clock at night, in pitch black dark in the Southern Ocean - I am not sure I am cut out for this!!!
We are now safely tied up at the Portland Marina (which, by the way, is a very nice facility) having arrived around 8 am this morning and we plan to stay here until Tuesday when hopefully we will have some favourable wind to set off in. And although last night I did wonder if there would be a bus I could catch from here to Adelaide, then fly home, in the light of day I have decided to stay for a bit longer. Off to the Pub this afternoon!
The evening started beautifully watching the sun go down as we motored past the Twelve Apostles.
Not long after Craig and I had gone to bed for an hour or two of sleep before our watches, I heard an almighty thumping noise coming from the boat. Phil, who was on watch at the time, quickly put the motor into neutral and we all got up on deck. We had picked up a cray pot line and the noise we heard was the float bumping on the side of the boat. We were about 1 1/4 mile from the coast, with an on shore breeze and tide. Very luckily Craig was able to hook the line with a boat hook and we managed to set it loose....phew
But that's not all. After motoring for 5 minutes or so the engine stopped! We run dual fuel tanks and each tank has a 'fuel return line' this allows the unused fuel that passes the engine to be returned to the tank. It appears when we switched to the port tank at Wilsons Promontory the port tank started returning its unused fuel in the line to the starboard tank, effectively prematurely emptying the port tank - the engine was running from the port tank only and eventually the port tank became empty and the starboard full - we ran out of fuel ! Fortunately we were able to restart the engine without having to bleed the diesel once we switched to the now full starboard tank. All of this happening at 10 o'clock at night, in pitch black dark in the Southern Ocean - I am not sure I am cut out for this!!!
We are now safely tied up at the Portland Marina (which, by the way, is a very nice facility) having arrived around 8 am this morning and we plan to stay here until Tuesday when hopefully we will have some favourable wind to set off in. And although last night I did wonder if there would be a bus I could catch from here to Adelaide, then fly home, in the light of day I have decided to stay for a bit longer. Off to the Pub this afternoon!
Saturday, 22 November 2014
Happy Birthday Gran - hope you have a lovely day and enjoy your lunch xx
Have not been able to update for most of today because of no internet coverage and then a problem with my iPad (now fixed after power cycling the boats wifi). We left Refuge Cove at 8:30 pm last night, not a lot of breeze (10 to 15 knots) but the sea was quite bumpy. I had developed a head cold and was not feeling the best so the boys very kindly did longer shifts for the night to cover mine. The start of the day saw some light rain which cleared by around 11am. We spent the day motoring, sailing and then motor/sailing and are now motoring into a 20 to 25 knot NW breeze about to go past the Cape Otway Lighthouse.
Have not been able to update for most of today because of no internet coverage and then a problem with my iPad (now fixed after power cycling the boats wifi). We left Refuge Cove at 8:30 pm last night, not a lot of breeze (10 to 15 knots) but the sea was quite bumpy. I had developed a head cold and was not feeling the best so the boys very kindly did longer shifts for the night to cover mine. The start of the day saw some light rain which cleared by around 11am. We spent the day motoring, sailing and then motor/sailing and are now motoring into a 20 to 25 knot NW breeze about to go past the Cape Otway Lighthouse.
Friday, 21 November 2014
We have had a very relaxing day in Refuge Cove (not Bay as earlier mentioned), waiting for the 25 to 30 knot SW breeze to ease.. The attempts to repair the headsail furler have failed, although we can now manually furl, and so have unfurled the sail and taken it down. Craig and I got the dinghy out and Craig rowed us to shore (the outboard was in too difficult a place to get out). We walked up to a spot on the hill where we could see the boat and took lots of photos of Napea, these are on Craig's camera so will have to wait until he puts them on his computer so that I can use them on the blog. While there we enjoyed a nice glass of Chardonnay! Craig had a swim (water was 16 C), but I chose to look after the dinghy. Another couple were on their yacht in the cove, they are heading back to their home in Melbourne, having sailed the boat from New Caledonia. We plan to have some dinner and will then leave Refuge Cove heading to Portland.
Thursday, 20 November 2014
What a day! We started the day with no breeze and a calm sea so continued motoring until around 1pm. The wind filled in from the North so we hoisted the sails and began sailing slowly SW (travelling between 5 and 7 knots) with the sea still calm. As the wind strengthened late afternoon we began shortening sails, unfortunately the head sail furler had an issue and stopped working! We had to cut the sheet to the sail to enable us to furl the sail manually. Having already furled the main we are now motoring into a SW breeze heading to Refuge Bay, which is on the east side of Wilsons Promontory.
We will arrive at Refuge Bay around 2 am tomorrow morning and plan to stay there until mid afternoon which is hopefully when the SW will swing to a more favourable direction. When in Refuge Bay, I may be out of contact, so don't be alarmed if I don't update the blog until late tomorrow.
By the way, I have noticed that some of my posts are coming up with the previous days date! Not sure why this is. I need my boys to help figure that one out :)
Thursday 20 November (7:30pm)
We will arrive at Refuge Bay around 2 am tomorrow morning and plan to stay there until mid afternoon which is hopefully when the SW will swing to a more favourable direction. When in Refuge Bay, I may be out of contact, so don't be alarmed if I don't update the blog until late tomorrow.
By the way, I have noticed that some of my posts are coming up with the previous days date! Not sure why this is. I need my boys to help figure that one out :)
Thursday 20 November (7:30pm)
Had a lovely calm night, sails came down at around 4am and the motor on (electric winches coming on scared the cr.. out of me, port winch directly over my head). Breeze is 10 to 15 from the North. Still motoring but beautiful conditions, so not complaining! A bit overcast, but we are in Victoria now!!
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Because the conditions were lovely, almost glassed off for the morning, we decided to have our main meal for lunch. Phil cooked up a very nice Beef Bourguignon, which his wife had made for us. The sails went up this afternoon at around 2 pm and we had a beautiful sail in an 18 to 22 knot NE breeze. We are heading toward Gabo island , which is where we begin the turn to head West. Wind has picked up to 20 to 25 from the North and the sea is a bit lumpy, so we have shortened the sails for the night.
A disconcerting event happened yesterday. Craig, Phil and I where in the cockpit and we heard what sounded like a gun going off then a washer fell to the cockpit floor! So after a very thorough look around we decided that it looked like a washer from one of the rigging securing bolts. This morning we motored into Batemans Bay and Phil very kindly offered to go up the mast to take a look. After a phone call to the rigger to determine if we were good to keep going, Phil wrapped duct tape and gaffer tape around the offending fitting (bolted from top,locking screw missing from bottom) and we were back on our way. As you can imagine - Craig and I are "not happy Jan". Boats ...
The wind today is in a much more preferable direction, a northerly, but at present it is glassed off, which means that we are still motoring! Hoping to get a bit stronger breeze later this morning so we can reach down the coast.
0900 Wednesday 19 November
The wind today is in a much more preferable direction, a northerly, but at present it is glassed off, which means that we are still motoring! Hoping to get a bit stronger breeze later this morning so we can reach down the coast.
0900 Wednesday 19 November
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Sydney Harbour - Provisioning at CYCA
Wow, what a crazy couple of days...
Sunday morning saw torrential rain (while we were refuelling), then we set off from Pittwater heading to Sydney Harbour. About half way there the BOM issued a revised weather report - a gale warning! So we shortened sails and arrived in the harbour with gusts of 35+ knots. Deciding not to attempt putting the boat in an unknown pen we anchored in Taylor's Bay to have lunch and wait for the wind to ease. This is when we discovered we had an "issue" with our inverters. So, yesterday we had the tech on the boat sorting that out while we tried to go through the boat with our skipper and crew, then off to the shops for provisioning.
It is now 6:15 am on Tuesday morning, there is a light drizzle and light winds. Craig and I will spend a couple of hours tidying the boat, getting last minute provisions and the plan is to head off around 10:30 this morning. But first, our last opportunity for a walk so we are going for one around Rushcutters Bay.
Sunday morning saw torrential rain (while we were refuelling), then we set off from Pittwater heading to Sydney Harbour. About half way there the BOM issued a revised weather report - a gale warning! So we shortened sails and arrived in the harbour with gusts of 35+ knots. Deciding not to attempt putting the boat in an unknown pen we anchored in Taylor's Bay to have lunch and wait for the wind to ease. This is when we discovered we had an "issue" with our inverters. So, yesterday we had the tech on the boat sorting that out while we tried to go through the boat with our skipper and crew, then off to the shops for provisioning.
It is now 6:15 am on Tuesday morning, there is a light drizzle and light winds. Craig and I will spend a couple of hours tidying the boat, getting last minute provisions and the plan is to head off around 10:30 this morning. But first, our last opportunity for a walk so we are going for one around Rushcutters Bay.
Saturday, 15 November 2014
Saturday 15/11
We had a busy day yesterday catching up with the electronics guys, buying the last of the tools/safety equipment (which hopefully we won't need), food for the weekend and dropping off the hire car. The traffic in Sydney is awful so everything takes so much longer to do! After deciding not to cook, we walked to the a Newport Hotel for dinner then back to the boat. Tonight we are having dinner with Steve (boat builder) and his wife. We hope to leave Pittwater in the morning heading down to Sydney Harbour where we will stay at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia for a couple days to provision for the trip and pick up our skipper and crew.
Friday, 14 November 2014
Monday, 27 October 2014
Test Video!
This footage was taken as we sailed through the Sydney Harbour Heads, from Pittwater, back in September.
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
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