After a very close look at all available weather information and long think, I hesitantly decided to go! In a nutshell the facts appeared to be that we might have it a little tough with a light (10kts) headwind right on track for the bulk of the daylight but by mid afternoon things should improve with a swing to the NE. Alas – such was not the outcome but merely the interpretation of a meteorological optimist.
Early enroute we were pushing about 12 kts true wind (right on track naturally) and just barely making about 5 kts with a resultant apparent wind of around 17 kts across the deck. This of course meant motor sailing (again) and while the seas were not large, we did get stopped by about one in every dozen waves – the bigger cousins of the group. All of this found us working hard for every mile and at times, needing to brace against the motion of the boat. Not so bad really but as implied in the opening paragraph, this didn’t let up but went on all night and all morning without relent almost until we were in the river entrance at Bunndy.
Now don’t get me wrong, all in all the trip wasn’t bad, but having had some good ones to compare against, its true that this trip simply was not to be on that list! In fact, the trip was almost entirely without note but for a fabulous whale sighting just after sunrise, with spectacular leaps and bounds some 150 m off our port beam and this leads me to another story:
Given the number of sighting we have had, I have said several times of late that whales will soon become small ship navigation hazards if their numbers keep increasing. This view was upheld by a couple from Cronulla on a 38’ ‘Plastic’ when they told their story of hitting a whale just off Rosslyn Bay. Apparently, they just happened to be in the same bit of water as the inattentive whale and simply rammed it with their bow. The whale then rolled under the boat, scratched along underneath ( barnacles and all) and appeared on their port side with tail raised but then slipped away without incident. Lucky for the whale and even luckier for them as it could have done some real damage either on impact or after if it had gotten upset!
Anyway, once in Bunndy a shower and a sleep were the order of the day and the plan looks like a departure on Tuesday, whence we shall keep a good lookout for whales as harvey Bay abounds with them!
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