Departed Adelaide
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 10 Dec 2016 03:28
Noon Position: 35 40.3 S 137 58.8 E
Course: NNE Speed: 3.5 knots
Wind: ESE, F3 - Gentle Breeze
Sea: slight Swell: SE 0.5 meter
Weather: warm and sunny
Day’s Run: 80 nm
Yesterday afternoon we departed the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron Marina to start making our way back to New South Wales – exactly where I am, at this stage, not entirely sure. During our stay in Adelaide I managed to catch up with all of my siblings bar one who unfortunately could not make it to John’s 60th birthday celebrations due to other commitments. It was great to be able to celebrate John’s birthday and to introduce my friend Kate to my family for the first time.
The weather yesterday was a fresh headwind but not so fresh as to deter me from getting away. As it was we had been held up in port for two days while a near gale blew up St Vincent Gulf making any thought of departure simply silly. During the afternoon the conditions got a little bouncy and the fresh breeze require a reef in the mainsail, but after sunset the wind eased a little and as we got further south the seas became less boisterous, most likely because of lee provided by Kangaroo Island. At 2200 I shook the reef out of the main and from there we enjoyed a peaceful overnight sail.
After a patch of light winds which saw me set the drifter for about half an hour, and another half hour of motoring after that when the breeze failed us altogether, the wind picked up and backed into the south east – once again a headwind. The headwinds are forecast to remain until late Sunday/early Monday and I have been umming and arring about whether to press on or to pull into Penneshaw for a couple of days, but the winds are supposed to remain below fifteen knots and I figure it is better to be at sea waiting for a change then bottled up in harbour potentially missing a fair breeze so, for now, we press on. I can always turn around and head back for Penneshaw if things become too unpleasant.
Before signing off, I just want to say thank you very much to my friend, Mark Sinclair, who let me use his berth at the RSAYS for the duration of my stay in Adelaide. Mark will be competing in the Golden Globe 50th Anniversary Race, a retro-technology race competing in small boats similar to those sailed in the original race and with no modern aids apart from a few concessions to modern safety standards. It starts from Falmouth in June 2018. In the original race there were nine starters and only one, Sir Robin Knox-Johnstone, finished. In this race there will be thirty starters. I shall be following Mark’s campaign in 'Coconut' with great interest.
All is well.