Year 2 – 8 March 2025 -Brisbane –Cyclone Alfred Arrives
If anyone reading this and is free from now and all or some of April to mid July 2025 to come to Australia then do contact me as I am short of crew during this period at present.
I went to be about 10.00am and read and it was still wet and raining with the rain hitting the windows. I was woken about 11.45pm as Stormbird was moving around quite a bit and I could sense an increased wind. I went up into the cockpit and put on the wind instruments. We were rocking about from side to side and the wind was howling and whistling through the rigging and all of the boats. The rain was pattering hard on the cockpit tent which was moving in the wind. I watched the wind instrument in the gusts and saw at one point 43.5 kts. I saw the skipper on Reliance – the large yacht on the hammerhead out with his torch checking the lines and fenders. They told me later that they had seen 46kts on their wind instrument.
It was like being in a storm but there was lots of ambient light from the buildings and some boats. It was grey and wet and windy but not yet the conditions expected from a category 2 cyclone. I then checked the Bureau of Meteorology and their most recent report was that Alfred was now coming across Moreton Island (about 30nm to our East) and would hit the mainland in a few hours slightly to the North of us. All of the boats were moving around on their moorings and canopies were flapping. I stayed watching the situation and the wind for about an hour and thought we are well moored; we are coping and there is nothing I need to do and so thought I should return to bed.
It took a while to get back to sleep with the wind and pattering of the rain but somehow I managed it and I woke about 6.30am and the wind seemed to have died a little but it was still very wet. I went back to sleep having felt as if I had had a disturbed night.
When I woke it was raining hard and then it would ease off a bit with fine wet rain and it was like this on and off all day. The sail cover over the doghouse window had worked job and the cockpit was dry and the cockpit tent had done a good job. We can sit out here and watch what is going on feeling dry and yet air comes in. We had a light breakfast and when we went to get something out of the freezer it was frozen shut. We had to get it open and clear out the ice and repair the handle which opened it. I looked at flights home as I can now see a window to go home and it takes hours to sort out flights.
I did a number of emails and finished my book. Trevor and I then talked about our leaving here and we planned that more thoroughly and where we will go. I am wondering following Storm Alfred whether depths and bars will have changed due to the strong waves and we will need to check this. We had a brunch of scrambled egg, bacon and the leftovers of mashed potato from last night with some of Trevor’s new loaf and it was delicious and warning in the wet wintery type conditions.
Alfred has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression which means the winds are now no longer so strong but that does not affect the rain. I think during the day we were sort of in the eye of the storm as there was little wind but lots of rain. I went for a walk and there was lots of debris and water running in the streets and on the paths. I think they have just opened the large bridges near us, which had been closed, as I began to hear a little traffic noise again. There is hardly anyone about.
The afternoon continued with heavy rain and then by about 4.30pm the wind began to increase. I thought this is the twirling effect of Alfred as the wind is now coming from the Southeast and the outer part of the storm after the eye has passed through. When I checked with the Bureau of Meteorology it seems like Alfred has stalled over Bribie Island about 25nm away and is hanging around. The wind is now coming more into the East and should force it/push it in inland when it should fade away. It looks like on Predict Wind that we will have this wind until about midday tomorrow. It will be another windy night but we are safe and sound so far and have not had winds of the potential of what could have been possible of 70-80kts. Alfred seems to want to hang around as long as possible.
The day drew to a close with the wind howling again and rain washing over us. We are warm and dry and safe for which we are thankful. We hope by close of play tomorrow that Alfred will be dissipating away and our long wait for this to pass will be over. In the meantime, we live our life on Stormbird and apart from bits in the cockpit we seem to be leak free and there are no drips from our hatches and windows. I spoke to one of the crew of Reliance who said they had 2 leaking windows in the cockpit and one in his cabin. I thought good we are not alone!!
Trevor cooked a spaghetti bolognaise for supper which was great and we eat it whilst we are listening to one side a little due to the wind. We are now reading and listening to the wind and rain.
The photo of the day is my looking out of the cockpit tent window about 12.30am last night in about 43kts of wind and the rain pouring.
Need/Opportunity Year Two
I am in need of more crew from late April to Mid-July 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