To Newcastle, Au
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Wed 2 Dec 2015 23:47
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To Newcastle,
Australia
 Although day one was only from seven
in the morning until midday, it made sense for me to call midday to the
following midday, day two. We never tire of this view, some would say endless blue, to us it’s our personal
motorway.
 Day Two. Wednesday.
25/11/15. No sooner than I had gone to bed at six than Bear had a chum going
south from Noumea to Sydney at a fast twenty four knots and another coming north
to Noumea, they passed in parallel some five miles off each side of
Beez. To my surprise when I got up at ten the skipper put in his
request for lunch. Usually it takes him three days before he selects from the
menu and he begins to feel the normal pangs of hunger and fancies anything other
than a biscuit washed down with water. He didn’t fancy anything hot but a
selection of titbits and the last of our French stick, easy.
I stuck my head out to a beautiful
sunny day, Beez enjoying five and a half knots on the Peaceful Pacific, today the
most glorious blue. Plenty of birds skimming the surface of the water showing
off their acrobatic prowess. It was smooth enough for a game of backgammon
and the skipper allowed me a five three win. Don’t upset
me. Lovely sunset
though.
152.2 miles in the last
twenty four hours.
  Day Three. Thursday.
26/11/15. Another beautiful day. Bear had another chum at eight o’clock, I missed it as I was asleep.........
Awake at ten, Captain ordered stew for two o’clock, rightee-oh then, things are
all settled into the rhythm of sea life. As soon as you get to this stage in a
passage you can keep going for weeks and weeks, four hours good sleep twice a
day and two shifts on duty. We had to gybe at eleven o’clock and sadly, we had
to put the engine on at thirteen forty five - just at very low revs, to keep the
sails from flapping. Beez was purring along at four point eight knots
in a gentle eleven knot breeze, not a bird in sight though. Again I was allowed
a backgammon win at five two. Don’t upset me –
again.
  During the afternoon Bear couldn’t
convince himself that the two Chitty Chitty Bang Bang side-ear solar panels were
doing their stuff. At higher revs the engine didn’t seem to be putting any
charge into topping up the batteries, so in a never-seen-at-sea-before, out came
the generator for a couple of hours. The Breaking Bad tidy whities look, or in
the skippers case, the
not-so-neat-and-slightly-faded-blacks is a vision not to be placed
in my brains Kardex System on a permanent basis.
134.6 miles.
  Day
Four. Friday. 27/11/15. One solitary sea bird at five thirty after
a lovely sunrise. I won five two at backgammon. I won’t tell you again that I don’t want to be
upset..........Grrr. During my evening
shift the fluxgate compass decided to go completely mad, the heading defied the
course over the ground and led Beez to looking like a crab, literally
sidling through the water.
108
miles.
 My fluxgate
experience. Heading 318 degrees with course over the ground at
235..........
 Sunrise on
Saturday.
Day Five. Saturday.
28/11/15. Happy Half Way Day. A stunning sunrise. At midday, accompanied by a
solo sea bird, we had completed 536.2 nautical miles with 522.4 to Sydney,
Yeeha, celebrated with a libation accompanying steak and kidney stew. We know
how to party like animals aboard the good ship Beez.... who was humming
along to five knots on a hot, sunny day. The only downer to the whole thing was
being smashed five nil on the backgammon field. Revenge was sought with many
dollars taken at Rummikub.
117.4 miles.
  Topping up the
tank from a jerry can. I liked the one eye against
the hole, it so reminded me of the toucan we watched in the Bronx Zoo as
he put his eye to a nest box.
  The sea became a bit sloppy this
afternoon and Bear needed to hold on with both hands.
I think this mode of taking my empty to refill could
indeed take on, especially in the swankier establishments.......
 Another pretty sunset lining up.
 It was in pretty
pinks.
Day Six. Sunday.
29/11/15. My lone sea bird made an appearance on the dot of five thirty, as I
went to bed I stuck my head in the office where the downstairs chart plotter
said 422.7 miles to go. As I settled in my darkened nest I’m now beginning to
think its the same sea bird chap who comes to check on me. Later, I lost five
four, I felt a sneaky roll on a wave was very unfair at the critical moment in
the last game, I had thought a sweet victory after yesterdays sham. Sham, Huh. At two thirty in the afternoon we both
heard the first of a far-off, but very deep rumble of thunder. As dusk fell the
high clouds had their own firework displays going on as lines of light lit above
them, then the first pats of rain becoming really heavy by sunset. Real
lightning and loud thunder cracks split the usual wave noises, thankfully
staying two miles away at its nearest but nevertheless, the IPad and Bad Elf –
our back-up GPS went to bed in the microwave. Never used much it has always been
the most excellent bread bin and occasional shelter in a storm.
110 miles.
   I don’t really remember exactly when
it was that Bear stopped going to bed after supper and choosing to sleep until
his shift at twenty two hundred in the cockpit, next to
me. I have to admit I have grown used to it. It used to drive me nuts
that if I wanted to lean out to the right he was there – in the way. His snoring
was at times and still is, like a Kango hammer. Now though, it is strangely
comforting. It is lovely that I get my two till six to myself as he scuttles off
to bed. It all feels........simply a nice pattern.
  Moving
along really well and Beez Neez is a dream.
 Day Seven. Monday.
30/11/15. The lightning continued to light the early hours of my two till six
watch but as Bear came on, I was thrilled to announce that it was just us kids
and all was well. I went off to bed still musing it was the same chap who had
come to see me this morning, once again on the dot of five thirty. He always
appears just off the front left of Beez nose, great wide but slim brown
wings in a perfect arc before he dips to seemingly touch the surface of the
water, circles once and then heads off from her rear right. Hummmm. I got up to
sunshine and the girl bowling along at 6.8 knots in 18 knots of wind. After
sweet and sour chicken I had a sweet five three win at backgammon, the final bet
of eight bob taking me to the nicely rounded number of US$ 670, far surpassing
any monetary records of the past and I continued to take good money at rummikub.
Growling and a few bad words at this
point....... I saw two backs and tails of dolphins a long way off
but not a sniff after. Bear went down into the office to get the latest GRIB
files to check the weather. He came back to sit opposite me, laptop in hand.
Sydney is due to have a massive low hit at about nine in
the morning on Wednesday. Out came a bit of paper, if we motored and
raised Beez from six and a half knots to eight we
would get in at four in the morning. Shall we go for it. Let’s go for it. The thrill of it.
131.1 miles.
  A very special flag ceremony.
  Progress.
We can nearly fit Sydney on to the chart
plotter.
Day Eight. Tuesday.
1/12/15. I had no visit from my friend this morning but didn’t think much of it
– I certainly did later. Still going for it. The morning went by in a flash. The
day before we arrive anywhere on a long passage is spent cutting hair and beard,
nails, shower and tidy general up. After lunch another lovely win at five four.
I’m really getting cheesed off now. At a quarter past three the delightful flash of a
dolphin tail, then another and another until we had a tight formation of twenty
off Sugarloaf Head – as the chart plotter told us.
  Up I
jumped from the rummikub table to take pictures and videos of our smiling
escorts. Tucked in tight left and right, then fanning
out, watching for fish and tail slapping, moving as one to tuck in once
again.
 Putting on a solo
show.
  Expert at jumping and
swimming.
 This
little monkey suddenly peeled off, came up behind where I stood and did a
massive tail slap, flicking the water all over me, you can see the droplets falling in front of him. I am absolutely convinced
he did it on purpose.......All at nine miles an hour.
   They
were still with us as I went for an afternoon snooze
at four, no sleep as I giggled and listened to their constant excited squeaks
and clicks. They left us just before I went on duty at six, they had been with
us for just under twenty five miles. Why ??? Just having fun.
 Dusk.
I
actually had a chum of my own at eight o’clock as the skipper snored on. Just as
well my Lincoln Rhyme tale was so absorbing..........Then I saw the lights of
Newcastle, just sixty miles to Sydney, excitement really building now. Just the
thought of getting a picture through the rigging of Beez with the Opera
House in front. Wow, up there with sailing past the Statue of
Liberty.
155 miles.
 The 1000 nautical
mile mark and all is well.
Day Nine. Wednesday.
2/12/15. At one fifteen in the morning, in a deep sleep, I was suddenly slammed
against the side wall then a split second later was three quarters of the way
across the bed heading for the floor. The noise was unbelievable, full wash
cycle, nothing for it but to go out to see the skipper to see what I could do.
He was of course his calm self, everything under control once more. We had
been hit by a solid wall of oncoming wind
registering thirty five knots. Beez
had been all but stopped in her track. Darn, this was not due until we had snuck
inside the shelter of the biggest, most beautiful natural harbour in the
world...........at around four in the morning.
I went back to bed, everything
crossed that this had been nothing but a squall and we would sneak the thirty
miles left to do as planned. Bear came down and his dejected face said it all.
We have to turn and run for Newcastle, we are only doing
a knot and the sea is building at quite a rate. I went on at two,
instead of my usual quick just us kids,
there was a bit of chatter. Disappointment had flooded us both for a nanosecond,
but at the end of the day we were now facing the way we had come on a duck pond
doing four and a half knots. I have to admit to now feeling a bit cheated and
almost embarrassed to admit that I needed to see new GRIB files. I had naïvely
hoped that our thunder and lightning had been enough gritty edge for this whole
journey. Please may this latest stuff have just been a squall...........
 Doubting Thomas was put right just
looking at the amount of orange to red on the 06:00
forecast..........perfect sailing is yellow to two tails, three in red
can easily get quite nasty, quite quickly. As it happened, we had just got into
the fairway of Newcastle as the waves began to build and the gusts were over
twenty five.
  What a difference. A u-turn. What did we learn ???, the miles done began to go
backwards with us.............Fed up – no safe.
 We radioed Newcastle Harbour Patrol
to ask permission to enter and a pleasant man came on and told us to stand by. A
few minutes later he came back telling us no big ship movement until ten
o’clock. He gave us the lat and long of the yellow Quarantine Buoy and said he
would inform Border Patrol for us. Then our radio chirped and it was Steve of
Scott-Free. What a lovely surprise, we had thought they would be in
Pittwater by now but the low pressure system that had slammed us had kept them
snug in Newcastle. Steve would get hold of Howard the marina manager and sort us
out a slip as at the moment there is no VHF contact. Thank you, things are
beginning to feel happy again. I swung into the wind so Bear could drop the main
and no sooner than I had turned back to enter the fairway than David Allan was coming out – I’ll just hang on for a
minute then and enjoy looking at a splendid degaussing buoy........I waved
heartily as he passed us and I was thrilled when the skipper stepped out of his
nest and waved as heartily back. We are thoroughly going to enjoy the Pink
Island.
  I followed the channel, turned left
and ahead saw the yellow ‘Q’ buoy. Thrilled to see
a chap and his small friend eyeing our team
performance. Bear leaned over and got hold of the tether and there we were. Time
for a sandwich as we wait for Border Control.
ALL IN ALL PACIFIC OCEAN – TICK,
FANTASTIC
HUGE EXCITEMENT WITH SOME
RELIEF |