April 28, 2001
It was crisp and clear this morning as we motorsailed out of the Sydney Heads, destined for Lord Howe Island, about 420 miles northeast. A ferry penguin noisily chased us as if to say a final goodbye to Moonshadow after her summer in Sydney.
One of the few bad things about cruising is moving on and saying goodbye to all the friends we make along the way. We were especially fond of Sydney, and made lots of friends in addition to people whom we already knew who have migrated there.
Last night, tired after our final day of preparation, we attended a small get-together on Millenium USA to say “so long” to all our cruising friends in the marina who are either hanging around or heading for different destinations. We also had visits by Cate’s brother Matt, good friend Trish and my college fraternity brother Rob Salisbury. It’s always bitterweet to have to say goodbye to good friends and family, but exciting to be on the move again and headed back to all the beauty and tranquility of the tropical islands in the South Pacific.
After about a half-hour of motorsailing, the breeze picked up and we have been sailing in a cool 10 to 15 southerly knot breeze just forward of the beam, averaging better than eight knots of boatspeed all day. The seas, lumpy along the New South Wales coastline have been calming down a bit, making it easier to get our sea legs (and paws).
In addtion to Cate, MaiTai and I, our crew for the trip is Tim Prior, a friend and frequent crew aboard Bossanova, who are cruising friends of ours. Tim is a marine biologist, surfer, and seasoned traveler.
As of this writing, we were approximately 150 miles northeast of Sydney in very good sailing conditions. We had a “swim by” earlier today from a pod of very large dolphins who choreographed a couple of nice synchronized jumps in our bow wake.
With a waxing moon, lots of bioluminescence in the water and a bright display of stars, sailing at night just doesn’t get much better.
April 29
After six months of being “dock potatoes,” doing just a bit of coastal and harbor cruising, it’s taking us awhile to get our sea legs.
The good news is that the sailing has been fast and easy and Moonshadow has been pretty much looking after herself. In the first 24 hours after leaving Sydney, we effortlessly covered 210 miles, just about half the distance to Lord Howe Island.
Over the course of a beautiful, warm, sunny day, the wind has slowly eased and in the early evening we found ourself motorsailing in eight knots of breeze. At this rate, we should make landfall at Lord Howe some time late tomorrow morning, with the sun high enough to help us see our way in through the reef pass into the lagoon.
The day has been uneventful-bland meals, easy sailing, a variety of sea birds, lots of naps and NO FISH! The only thing close was a small squid that had washed up on deck this morning. MaiTai turned her nose up to it and looked at us as if to demand a fresh tuna or mahi. Our new fishing outfit is still a virgin!
Our 2000 hours local time position was 32 degrees 14.6 minutes south latitude by 157 degrees 00.8 minues east longitude.
April 30
The sun rising behind Lord Howe Island’s dramatic peaks was quite a sight this morning. I spotted Mts. Lidgbird and Gower from more than 40 miles off at about 0500. These two dramatic 2000+ foot peaks are as impressive as anything we’ve seen in the South Pacific.
As the sun rose and we motorsailed closer in the light breeze, we could see the rest of Lord Howe Island, as well as Ball’s Pyramid, a single pointed rock jutting out of the ocean, about 13 miles south of Lord Howe. All in all, it was a beautiful morning, accentuated by a spectacular and exotic landfall. (Piccies will follow)
We were met at the southern entrance to The Lagoon by Clive Wilson and his grandson in a sturdy looking twin-engine launch. Clive must know the “bottom-ography” of the waters around Lord Howe like the back of his hand. He guided us through the shallow pass with a series of turns until we were through the reefs awash in the southwest swell. With depth nary a foot or two deeper than “Moonshadow’s” keel, the “pucker factor” was high.
We anchored for a couple of hours just inside the pass, awaiting the high tide when Clive returned from a bit of fishing with his grandson. He then led us to a mooring area near the center of The Lagoon and closer to “town.” With depths showing just inches under our keel, the pucker factor was raised a notch or two. Our faith in Clive was warranted, as we didn’t touch the sand and coral bottom and made it safely to a very heavy duty mooring inside the protection of the barrier reef.
The island itself is quite lush, completely covered in a variety of greenery ranging from grass to eucalypt bush and palm trees to Norfolk Island pines.
With beaches, hiking trails and the world’s southernmost coral reef, there is plenty to see and do here. Tim pulled out his surfboard and waxed it up in anticipation of a strong sou-westerly that should bring some nice waves tomorrow. We plan to spend at least a few days exploring the island, depending on the arrival of weather that will suit our passage northeast to Noumea.
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