22/06/2020
At ten o’clock in the morning, the main sail was raised, the mooring was loosened, and the voyage was officially launched. Jamie whispered a quote from a sailor writer, the idea was that the moment the anchor was loosened, I felt free and thrilled…
Out of the Brisbane River, it can be said that the sailing was smooth and the waves were smooth. When going out of the bay, we had to choose whether to go a reliable route a little further or a shorter way that the charts in the GPS navigation software showed. After comparing the charts in the two different systems, Jamie finally took the risk and choose the shorter approach. Sailing steadily down the wind, not long after we said “it’s very pleasant” almost at the same time, the sonar system started to make alarm music, and then the boat stopped. We had to start the engine and slowly motor out of the sand. In fact, we have seen light-colored waters and strange waves, but the software still shows a water depth of 5-10m. It seems that the software cannot be blindly believed (the data in that area may not have been updated for a long time), and it depends on experience and intuition. It didn’t take long before we were relieved, but then we got stuck again, we hadn’t had time to start the engine yet, the wind pushed us through the sandbar. I said that these two hiccups should give me something to write in my journal tonight. After that we steadily entered the ocean in the deeper water.
The weather condition was very good. We decided to sail at night. In fact, night sailing is more comfortable. There are not so many ships and the beacon lights can be seen more clearly.
I made beef noodles and cabbage for dinner. They were made with the sweetened beef from the Korean-style beef don that was left over last night. It tastes good with a little spicy sauce. It’s very warming after eating it. J said it was a hearty meal. After whole day sailing, it’s nice to have a bowl of hot noodles.
Tonight we take turns keeping watch, Jamie is sleeping now, so he could replace me later and I can rug up and sleep:)
PS Jamie later found the original text he wanted to quote at the beginning: an exceptionally experienced English writer-sailor, Maurice Griffiths, who laid out his feelings upon heading out in a small cruising boat in these words:I found my pulse beating with suppressed excitement as I threw the mooring buoy overboard. It seemed as if that simple action had severed my connection with the life on shore; that I had thereby cut adrift the ties of convention, the unrealities and illusions of cities and crowds; that I was free now, free to go where I chose, to do and to live and to conquer as I liked, to play the game wherein a man’s qualities count for more than his appearance…
Sea Journal 