Got up at 6.30am. We left Bundaberg towards The Great Sandy Straight. Wind was weak at first but picked up in the morning. The only thing I knew about Bundaberg was its ginger beer. Later I found out that it is a sister city to Nanning. The whole town was very flat with no hills, so if the sea level continued to rise, the city would disappear.
By noon we were heading DDW (Dead Downwind). Red goose wings up, we roamed between the blue sky and sea.
The plan was to enter the Great Sandy Strait at 2pm at the beginning of low tide, and it was exactly 2pm when we reached the entrance marker. Good timing J!
We passed one of the four boats in front of us. Downwind we reached a top speed of at 10 knots, making a record!
Arrived at the Big Woody Island in the strait at 4:30pm. 9.5 hours and 49 nautical miles today. Went almost in a straight line.
In the evening J made bread in a frying pan. We had it together with tomato soup.
29/10/2020
Hungry sailors needed protein, so J made two big breakfasts.
The morning was windy from the northwest, sailing smoothly and maintaining a speed of 6-7 knots.
Entered Bundaberg river at 2pm. It was rather windy. We dropped the jib and sailing only with the main. there were beacon lights on both sides of the river, and were pretty close to each other, so it was a bit nerve-wracking to sail in with a new and unfamiliar boat. Fortunately, J methodically anchored the boat beautifully and ended the 31 hour voyage with a straight distance of 140 nautical miles. We moved on to lunch and nap sections and I slept until evening.
28/10/2020
Last night I dreamt of my grandma. She was still very skinny, but she’s able to talk and walk. I took her out to the street to search for a sort of delicious street food, the name I can’t remember now. We were all excited. But while we were waiting for the bus, I leaped into another dream.
We left the Great Keppel island at 7a.m. It start with southwest wind, then a southeast wind, which was blowing from the direction we were heading towards, so we had to tack around and wait for it to become an east one or better from northeast, but it was very steady at the moment. The merit of the southeast wind is it is cold and dry and can blew away all those damp clouds.
It turned easterly in the afternoon, making it easier or us to move to the southeast. Dark clouds were forming behind us but it’s still clear ahead. Wondered if our Mustang can outrun the overcast clouds.
The wind turned northeast around 3pm, making it more favorable for us. We dodged the storm for now.
At 4-5pm another storm formed behind us while wind weakened a lot. Only 2-3 knots of speed. Luckily it was only the tail end of the storm that caught up with us. When it passed by, it only languidly scattering a few drops of rain and left an orange mist. The sky reappeared with the setting sun and double rainbows. Wind picked up too. After a perfect escape from the storm, Mustang took off again.
I made Singapore noodles for dinner. I was too hungry to take pictures.
After dinner the last gust of strong wind blew over and then almost stopped. Distance lightning kept flashing, although the bright moon was still above our head. Before 10pm we dropped all sails and drifted in the water. Only the current carried us slowly towards southeast. Wind picked up a bit around 11pm, we raised the sails and moved again at 4 knots.
Mercury moonbeams scattered through clouds to the sea from time to time. Later the sky was mostly clear. The waves reflecting moonlight looked like silver wheels trod by giants. Tonight I was not sleepy at all, even feeling too excited, probably because I was still in the aftermath from the previous stormy night, and the lightning was still striking high up in front. Plus clouds that looked ordinary during the day could look a bit scary at night… At 3:30am the moon was sinking, like an orange lantern missing one corner. Sky would be brighter in about an hour as sunrise was scheduled at around 5am.
I went to sleep at 4am and woke up at 7am. Turned out to be a beautiful day, only the wind was a little too moderate and the boat was moving slowly, so we changed our plans, not heading to Rooney Point but redirected towards Bundaburg instead.
Night sailing was not always easy, but it makes you face the darkness and the unknown directly. Being through the darkest moment you embrace the dawn, and you become a braver and more determined human being.
Sea Journal 