At anchor

Miss Molly 4
Bob & Peggy Wilkerson/Geoff & Merel Pettifer
Mon 28 Mar 2011 10:54
35:02.19 S
150:46.74 E

Last night was great with lighthouses flashing at us and motoring past the lit up towns. Clear, star studded skies above and phosphorescents in the water. The weather forecasts have been off so we did not know what we could expect. But around 11 a.m. we got some wind from the West-Northwest and were able to sail! Geoff has been seeing some debris in the water, blaming it on the recent floods in the Eastern Australian states. Geoff pointed out another tree in the water but when Merel came over to have a look at it, it moved! It was a seal with a fin up in the air, just dozing in the water. Not that much debris then! Although we did see some serious branches in the water, but not as bad as the logs you see in the Pacific Northwest.

The wind changed to East Northeast and in the afternoon we could sail on the other tack. Just to keep us well balanced. Later in the day we needed the assistance of the engine otherwise we would now still be on our way. On dusk we arrived at the entrance to Jervis Bay where we had anchored months before on the way South. It was dark when we felt our way to the anchorage, all systems going including the radar. We thought we caught a little fishing boat on the radar, but then it seemed to stick behind us, keeping its distance just 3/4 of a mile distance, following the boat. It was too dark to look back and see who or what was there. Whatever it was, it had no lights. Since we were next to a navy base we suspected it might be a navy patrol boat or some sort of exercise. Had this been in Indonesia, a blip on the radar like that would have made us feel very uncomfortable. But this is Australia so no worries, mate!

It turned out that we were the only ones in the anchorage we had in mind. It is very, very peaceful here and we toasted on another successful passage. All in all a non stop trip from Schouten Island in Tasmania to Jervis Bay in NSW of 453 Nm. Glad to be still and not moving and happy to have made it within the available weather window.

Now it is time to deal with tidying up the boat, wash her down, get through a pile of laundry.... the usual. That will take us a few days, so with this knowledge we will sign off for now.

Cheers from your crew,

Geoff & Merel