Arrived in Norfolk Island
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Fri 17 Oct 2008 13:45
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29:01.164S 167:58.363E
What a difference a day makes. The pleasant
start to our two and a half day sail from the Isle of Pines to Norfolk Island
didn't necessarily hold for the entire trip. We made it to Norfolk Island,
but not Friday afternoon as anticipated. Instead, we experienced one of
the longest 50 mile sails in Harmonie history as we battled the wind after it
shifted from the northeast to the southeast during one of Don's watches last
night. Not a bad thing unless southeast is indeed the direction in which
one would like to sail (which it was). We checked in with our three rally
drop-out companions this morning at eleven on the radio and told them we had
only fifty miles to go and so would be in the Norfolk Island anchorage waiting
for them by nightfall. Wrong. We zig-zagged our way against the wind
far more than fifty miles and finally gave it up and turned on the engine about
twenty miles out. After that we had a bumpy ride in arriving at
10:30pm. Eleven and half hours to go fifty miles - a new, sad
record. And yes, in case you were wondering, as we sailed into the wind
and waves, there were plenty of angry-teenage-sister-door-slamming-bow-blams to
keep us wondering if and when the boat was going to split open and spill all its
guts (and us) out into the sea. But, as usual the boat held
together and we are just fine (except for the still plugged toilet and small
salt water puddles in the cabin that accumulated as a result of waves
pounding up over the bow, sliding down the deck and finding crevices along
the way to creep down into). Overall, not our best sail, not our worst,
not the ugliest or scariest, but maybe the more annoying.
We are not sure how long we will stay in Norfolk
Island, it depends on the weather forecast for the rest of our trip to New
Zealand (about 435 more miles). We'll review the weather tonight and
tomorrow and decide what to do at that point. In the meantime, Southern
Princess and Lady Kay are here with us and Storyteller will hopefully arrive
before daylight. (Storyteller experienced a problem with their head
sail and as a result, were not able to use it so they are running behind.
We are hoping we can help them repair the sail here before we all set off on the
next leg.)
More later after we've decided what the plan is for
the rest of the trip.
It's cold here.
Anne
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