Year 2 –16 January 2024 -Sydney

After supper on the 15th, the day we arrived we were at anchor and the storm we had hoped to miss came in with a vengeance. The rain came down extremely strongly and then there was thunder and lightning and the wind increased dramatically and the noise level increased dramatically.

A number of us went into the cockpit and visibility was very poor and Stormbird was healing over and I put on the instruments and we saw the wind rose from the 30 kt region to 40 kts and then to 50.5 kts at its height and at that level you cannot hear anything. This continued for some time and thank god the anchor held and then it began to calm down a little bit the sky continued with thunder and lightning all around at regular intervals. We could see other boats at anchor at different angles than before and we were not sure whether they had dragged or not.

We were eventually satisfied we were ok and went back to bed and the wind howled and rain fell overnight. In the morning it was still raining and it raised most of the morning until the afternoon. We had a leisurely breakfast and then Trevor had to change his shower pump and Mark and I changed the fresh water filters and tried to stop a small leak.

The dinghy was full of water so when the rain stopped I bailed it out. We had a light lunch and then when the rain stopped by mid afternoon I took Tom and Grant ashore with their bags as they were moving on. Tom has a number of months of his sabbatical left and wishes to make the best of it. Grant has to return home and to his butter company business. It has been great to have two enthusiastic youngsters on board and they have really contributed to the trip. I think they really enjoyed the experience and now know what offshore sailing is like.

Kevin, Trevor, Mark and I headed ashore and I found a barber and had a haircut which felt really good as I was beginning to feel like the wild man of Borneo. The guys went to the Sports Bar and I joined them later.

Once we had a drink we went across to the Italian called Mangia and Beve (Food and Drink) and had an enjoyable meal. It felt good to be off the boat after the weather and as we returned to the boat the weather did not seem too bad. However, on returning to Stormbird the wind increased and we were into 28kt plus. The weather is due to continue like this for a few days.  

The picture of the day is the sort of lookout we had in the heavy rain last night.

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