Noon Position: 14 46.6 S 145 24.1 E
Course: SSW Speed: 4 knots
Wind: SE, F4 - moderate breeze
Sea: slight Swell: SE 1 meter
Weather: overcast with sunny patches, passing showers, warm
Day's run: 8 nm

Last night intermittent showers set in and were still prevailing this morning. The wind had abated a little though still from the SE. I thought this might be a good sign that the winds would remain relatively light for the next 24 hours or so, especially as the morning forecast indicated ten to fifteen knots for tomorrow (still SE - ie headwinds). I rowed across to my new sailing mate, Mick, another single-hander who I met in Cairns at Erica's birthday party, to consult is in-depth local knowledge. He concurred that lighter winds were likely to be the case given the consistent showers. So after a short chat in the way of saying farewell, I rowed back to Sylph to get secured for sea.

At 1020 the dinghy was lashed on deck, the forehatch dogged down and all was secured below. We weighed anchor, motored out of Watsons Bay, then turned into the wind, set the main with one reef, bore away to the SW to clear the SW headland of Lizard Island, and set the jib with a couple of turns on the furler just to keep things comfortable. Once past the hazards, in particular a reef lying off Palfrey Island, we came onto the wind and settled down for a long bash to windward.

Since noon, the wind has eased a fraction so I have shaken the reef out of the main and unrolled the jib. My plan is to continue south as far as we can get before the winds freshen again. The further south we get then the likelihood of the wind remaining moderate or easing further increases, and the breeze might back into the east allowing a more comfortable and faster passage. We will see what the morrow brings.

All is well.