The Biggest Reef System of the World
Miss Molly 4
Bob & Peggy Wilkerson/Geoff & Merel Pettifer
Mon 21 Jun 2010 22:40
153:04.25 E
Hello all,
No more buses since the last one we had. Someone must have been talking to the stars for us. The seas however, have not eased off. They have been building up over the last 24 hours and trying to lie still in your bunk is just not possible without waking up with cramps in the weirdest places as we've been trying to hold on in our sleep to stay put. Miss Molly is flying and surfing. We have had speeds up to 10.5 kts as she came rushing down the waves. And that under headsail alone, sometimes even furled, as the winds have been up and above 40 kts. It does not even feel too bad as the sun is out during the day and the temperature is mild. The moon is growing so we get to see more of him too.
We are only 25 Nm away from our waypoint, which means another great distance run from Molly Girl. It feels quite special that we are about to sail into the biggest reef system of the world - the Great Barrier Reef. We are just getting our first readings on the echo sounder, which means that the seas are getting shallower. Hopefully once inside the reef as we start heading North we will get some protection from the big South-easterly swell. All this heavy weather stuff means that we have not been fishing - way to rolly!
At least the wind seems to be slowly dying off so in time the seas will follow. We can almost start counting down for the 200 Nm to go to Mackay, where we will be clearing customs. Quite looking forward to getting there, we are ready for a good night's sleep!
Cheers from us,
Geoff, Merel & James