Position Report and other info UTC +8 Hrs (Perth time)
Cut and paste the GPS location below into Google earth, you can place mark this position and follow our Progress. Should this page not be updating then updates may be occurring via Satellite phone on a text file
Saturday, 31 January 2015, 2330 Hrs
32 40 S, 115 45 E, Fremantle Sailing Club Collector Jetty! Well Done to all
safely in Fremantle
1130 Hrs
33 06 S, 114 54 E, Only 80 Nm to go, a little slow going last night as the
Leeuwin current and moderate seas kept us slower than hoped. Current ETA is
around 2200 hrs tonight so will update our arrival probably on Sunday after
preliminary celebrations. Thank you so much David and Mary for your kind
comments, much appreciated by all of us. See you sometime on the big Blue Highway!
Friday, 30 January 2015, 1700 Hrs
34 17 S, 114 57 E, We are on the final leg now, have passed Cape Leeuwin and are
5 Nm off Cape Hamelin so just under 150 Nm to go. All is well but getting up to
40Kts at time from behind so the sea is up. Hopefully with this SSE the land will
start to shelter us from the currently big seas. Thanks to Kevin for your well
wishes yesterday as well.
Thursday, 29 January 2015, 1600 Hrs
35 14 S, 117 34 E, Around 5 Nm SW of West Cape Howe travelling well whilst motor
sailing towards Chatham Island. We left at 0930 Hrs this morning a little later
than planned but had visitors for Philippa and celebrations for Dinah’s birthday.
Thank you Jane and Duane for Dinah’s birthday messages, she is having a great day
and excited about cooking tuna tonight! PS messages can be sent to
881631430767@msg.iridium.com (SMS size only please)
Wednesday, 28 January 2015, 0930 Hrs
35 02 S, 117 53 E, Albany Marina, well done crew just under 8 days and 1030 Nm,
Philippa now also qualifies for nomination to the Ocean Cruising Club. Thank you
as well Duane, the weather was exactly as expected with no surprises which over
8 days is quite rare. Will have Daryl joining us this afternoon and we should
be underway again in the morning for the final leg to Fremantle.
Tuesday, 27 January 2015, 1400 Hrs
34 51 S, 119 56 E, Now only 100 Nm from Albany, Just getting the signs of regular
internet and phone service. Sorry for no update yesterday as I thought we would
have communications off Esperance but not so. I hope everyone enjoyed Australia
Day as we did! Have had the engine off for 24 hrs now with good following winds,
lightening off a bit now but hoping the updated forecast has not changed from
my download of last week.
Australia Day
Sunday, 25 January 2015, 1300 Hrs
33 45 S, 125 47 E, Now we are 200 Nm from Esperance and back under engine as the
wind is again light which will be the case for 24 Hrs probably. As forecast the
wind yesterday started off light from the west before building to around 30 Kts
from the SW at 1500Hrs before lightening off at sunset and going to the South.
Had a good sail overnight until it dropped to 10 Kts again this morning. The
swell was up to 3m and still around 2m now (sorry for all this weather talk but
Duane the weatherman likes feedback on his forecasts). Anyway all is well and
looking forward to some phone reception in the next day or so to catch up on what’s
been happening whilst out of range. This will be the last Sat phn update as will
wait for reception since we are almost across the bight, for some reason the Sat
network has been terribly slow and hence expensive the last few days. Expecting
to bypass Esperance and weather permitting possibly Albany as plenty of supplies
still on hand, also the crew have some time restraints so if needed I will hang
around in Fremantle a few days to run through the working of the boat with the owner.
Saturday, 24 January 2015, 1100 Hrs
33 19 S, 128 23 E, 340 Nm as the crow fly’s to Esperance, not that we can steer
that direction at the moment. Currently winds are 15-20 Kts from the WSW and
expect they will go to the south by this evening after increasing a bit through
the day. Finally however we are under sail as the light winds of the last few
days have gone. Still unsure of whether we will be stopping at Esperance,
Albany or neither at this stage. Will be leaving the Sat Phn on today and this
evening to discuss or message with Daryl alternatives as the weather should
improve and stay good for at least a week after tomorrow. (SMS details at the
bottom of this page)
Friday, 23 January 2015, 0800 Hrs
33 30 S, 131 20 E, Due south of the “Head of the Bight” (120 Nm) still under engine with light winds again. We had a 10 hour spell of up to 20kts south wind overnight which kicked the seas up making it a tad uncomfortable and it’s currently still a bit bumpy but at least we are still making good progress. An attempt at fishing yesterday saw us loose one of our 2 lures within 30 seconds of it hitting the water. The official crew story is that a great white took it with the size of the shark growing each time the story is recounted. The weatherman’s forecast will see the wind gradually turn more west in the next 24 hrs before increasing on Saturday to probable over 20 Kts on the nose for Saturday evening. All is well, we are however looking forward to Sunday morning when we should see the wind lighten and start turning to a favourable sailing angle. Current ETA is now for the 27th in Esperance OR late on the 29th in Albany due to the expected headwinds.
Thursday, 22 January 2015, 0500 Hrs
34 38 S, 134 24 E, Into the Bight now, 50 Nm west of Coffin Bay and heading on a course of around 300 Degree T in order to stay north of the worst of the winds expected in a few days. Plenty of fuel on board at the moment as we will be needing it for the next few days until the weather settles. (Note to owner, most places in WA require a “Baileys” fuel card if you haven’t already organised one?) For the weatherman, currently winds are light NE around 5 Kts, seas calm and the swell hard to guess but probably 1-1.5m at the moment. Settling in well as under engine allows the crew to get into a regular watch pattern. Next updates will be daily via the Sat ph probably by midday our time.
Wednesday, 21 January 2015, 1030 Hrs
Leaving Port Lincoln, note the time zone change in order to keep from changing
watch times too frequently. The weather is still expected to be a bit unsettled
until Sunday when easterly flows should prevail for the rest of the voyage.
ETA currently for Esperance is 5 days or to Albany is 7 days. Hopefully Daryl
will join us in Esperance on Australia day or perhaps Albany a few days later.
Will try to update ETA as we go or you can estimate yourself using the
Cruiseaider website (see link on “Current Delivery” page)
Monday, 19 January 2015, 1235 Hrs
34 44.5 S, 135 52.5 E Port Lincoln Marina. All went well with the first leg
getting to know the boat and its systems. Expecting a SW change for Tuesday Morning
which looks like it will drop off early Wednesday so should be underway by then.
Will update on leaving with some rough ETA predictions for Esperance or Albany.
Sunday, 18 January 2015, 1200 Hrs
34 47 S, 138 29 E, Leaving North Haven, Adelaide. Will be heading for Port Lincoln
to wait out a brief SW change before heading off again on Wednesday
The crew are all smiles now and seem quite innocent. I have however heard rumors of a mutiny so have hidden all the cable ties just in case!
Adelaide to Fremantle WA
“BlueWater II”, Adams 42ft Sloop
Commenced January 15th 2015
To Estimate passage times try this website using our current position from the “Text File” position update page. This website is provided by one of my previous crew and has been popular with friends following our progress
Welcome aboard Dinah, Phillipa, Daryl will hopefully be joining us in Esperance or perhaps Albany
Note:- Dinah has just completed her 7th Sydney to Hobart race last year on board “Wax Lyrical” an X 50ft Yacht where they recorded 5th position in PHS division. Well done!
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