Year 2 –11 January 2024 -New Zealand to Sydney- Day 5

Kevin and I were on the 11.00am to 2.00am watch and sailed for the first two hours but unfortunately the wind died so we decided to turn on the engine. We need to keep the distance going in order to get into Sydney by the later afternoon of the 15th at the latest. There are strong winds that evening and overnight on the 16th which we would like to avoid.

We were on again at 8.00am but I got up early and made banana pancakes which everyone seemed to enjoy. This is a recipe brought to Stormbird by Carolyn Brown (who has crewed twice) so thank you again and it is delicious. It was quite a grey morning and started to drizzle. The sea was not bad just a little lumpy and it looked a sort of dark green. There was no one around and all we saw from time to time was the odd bird including a single albatross.

We set about our daily checks and then Kevin and Mark sorted out some fishing gear. They fished all day but lost two lures and did not catch any fish. The wind was so light we had to motor all day but as the day wore on the sun came out and it was warm and pleasant but the wind refused to nudge up above 10 kts and was often 5-7 kts, not fast enough for us to get to Sydney on time.

We chatted, read and enjoyed being in the moment .There are times like this when you feel you are the only one alive and we are in our own world which is quite nice in its own way. The day passed quite quickly and I had to do some more admin and customs work. I know it was a little early but I took down the NZ flag and put up the Australian flag and the Q flag (“Yellow duster as it is called- it effectively says that we have not cleared customs). Once you have checked in with customs of a country you can take it down. I wondered whether I will ever fly the NZ flag again?  Shorty after I had done this we passed a dotted line on our chart which demarcated NZ from Australian waters so perhaps I was not too early and got it out about the right time.

The 24 hour run to 12.00 noon was 170nm but this included the two extra hours in the time change. We should get to the waypoint not far from Lord Howe Island by about midday tomorrow. This is where Bruce our weather man suggested we head to and he emails every day with the wind speed and direction and is keeping an eye out for us on the strong winds 15/16th. He advises we get in on the 15th.

The afternoon passed by with lovely warm weather, high pressure clouds and a blue sea with some white from the white horses. I cooked bangers and mash with broccoli which seemed to go down well. The sunset was quite nice but there was a rain cloud next to it so we may be in for some rain.

We then had the 8.00pm –11.00pm watch and when motoring there is not a lot to do but what and keep an eye out. Poor engine – it is having to work hard and I am grateful it just keeps going. We hope the wind will fill in tomorrow but it looks like probably not until the evening. The wind has now come round from the Southwest to Southeast and is now East and on Monday 13th will move to the Northeast.  

The picture of the day is the sunset.

Need/Opportunity Year Two

I am in need of more crew from April to September so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com