Covid 19

Thurs 7/5/20

Well I think it might nearly be a year since I have updated the blog, I'm not sure if I even wrote about Tonga it was that long ago, I just lost touch with it all as I'm over the blogging writing about the same stuff always over again but I do miss writing about the sailing which is why we are here for.
So let me just say Tonga was great, Minerva Reef was brilliant, passage to NZ uneventful, New Zealand absolutely fantastic and Covid 19 sucks balls.
We were fortunate enough to be in one of the best places in the world for the Corona virus, New Zealand an isolated modern 1st world country that loves sailors, so very lucky. Then there is the town Whangarei that we spent the lockdown in, absolute gem of a place the friendliest locals and a good handful of our really good sailing friends that we have known some since the Caribbean, we were so lucky to be there I tell you.
The only deterrent was it is getting bloody cold, real cold especially with those southerlies. Just before the 5 weeks NZ covid lockdown finished I had been contacting ABF, Australian Customs to see if it was possible for me and Julie to sail for Aus, after a fair amount of paperwork we were both allowed as I'm an Australian citizen and Julie got an exemption being my immediate family so we got the ball rolling and went ahead contacting NZ customs and filled out another heap of paperwork and then they determine if we are allowed to go. I think we may be one of the first yachts to actually leave, if not the first. When I first contacted them there wasn't much in place and then the forms started and it evolved from there, all parties really great to deal with but they are very understandably very cautious of letting first anyone in to Australia but then also NZ have to have their worries about endangering their workers or us sailing off and needing assistance if we get into trouble out there, fair enough.
Anyway after waiting for a half decent forecast we decided to leave and here we are just over 24 hours out and past the North Cape into the Tasman/South Pacific on a course heading for around Norfolk Island then heading more west up towards Sunny Bundaberg the land of the worlds worst rum!!
We left on the back of a big shitty weather system with freezing cold southerlies, heading out the heads we were wondering what the hell we were doing trying to motor sail out of the channel into 25+kts with the tide against waves and the bow burying into the waves and me soaked to the bone, also with the harbour master in his little boat behind us wandering what the fuck we were doing as he was probably copping it worse than us! Anyway it was enough excitement and after we rounded the heads we had the 25 behind us and we were rushing off with a just a double reefed main doing 7kts, happy days and time for a celebrated beer.
As predicted the wind died and by midnight we were motor sailing for a few hours but then some beautiful sailing in just enough breeze but then with a big cloud that died at lunch today as we neared the Cape and are motor sailing once again, forecast has light winds for the next few days so I predict it will be much the same until we get up to Norfolk Island and soon after there is a bit of a trough coming through and then wind after then, let's see

Fri 8/5/20
Sailed nicely yesterday afternoon until nearly midnight when we lost all the wind and had to start the engine. From the Cape and up until this morning we had a strong current against us but this morning we finally lost it and may even have a touch with us let's hope it lasts. At daylight there was just enough wind to sail so we poled out the genoa but the wind comes and goes so with a big side swell our fully battened mainsail was bashing around so we put in the second reef and poled out the staysail and have been going along alright, at least nice and quietly without the engine.
12to12 run 120nm made good for Bundaberg, 1138nm to go.
Hey and it warming up a bit!! Really amazed how quick it has changed but it is still far from tropical
Pos @ 1230= 33*02s 171*23e. 21 hours on the engine since leaving Marsden