Back at Airlie
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Position: 20 15.66 S 148 42.92 E Last night was a restless night, with the mooring buoy regularly bashing against Sylph's side when the tide was flowing in the opposite direction to the wind. I went on deck a couple of times to see what I could do but in the end the only remedial action I could take was to shorten the mooring line by a few meters thereby holding the buoy a little more snugly under the bow. As well as the buoy bumping against Sylph's side, bullets of wind would regularly drop down the steep mountain sides of Hook Island causing Sylph to swing and dance around in at times a rather lively fashion, none of which led to a peaceful night. Come morning the wind was still fresh from the SE and the bullets were worse than during the night. I did not feel at all like diving on Sylph's hull and I was not at all keen on staying in Stonehaven Anchorage thumping against that infernal buoy any longer than was absolutely necessary. So, after breakfast I started the engine and slipped the mooring. We motored clear of the bay then turned into the wind and set the main, then fell away to the SW and set the jib, close reaching on the port tack to the fresh breeze at a brisk six knots. I was undecided as to where I would head to next. As previously mentioned, I need to be back in Airlie Beach for a medical appointment on Thursday so I could have spent another night at anchor somewhere if I wanted to, but as things turned out a close reach had us heading comfortably for Pioneer Head, a short distance beyond lies Airlie Beach - the path of least resistance was to simply return to anchor off the township where I knew we would be relatively comfortable. So, at 1300 we dropped anchor back where we had left only two days ago. I will either attend to the barnacle growth when the wind drops off or when I find a comfortable anchorage when we continue on our way to Townsville. In the meantime we will just chill for a bit. All is well. |