Position Report and other info UTC (+2 Hrs Athens 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 the Posts page. You can contact us by sending an SMS (via email) To Satellite Phone. Please Note SMS is a maximum of 160 Characters and you need to leave the subject or message header blank

Wednesday, 25 January 2017, 1100 Hrs

Ready to leave Siracusa, Just waiting on Fuel which we have had ordered for days and the “Frontier” Police to clear us out. Went to visit their office this morning as booked but was told they would come to us. Hopefully we will be underway in an hour or so.

Saturday, 21 January 2017, 1630 Hrs

37 03 N, 15 17.4 E, Marina Yachting, Siracusa. Tied up Now the search for internet begins again. All well

1330 Hrs

37 02 N, 15 41E We have 25-30 Kts S-SW wind and are making around 8 kts on average of boat speed. This should increase our low average since commencing on Tuesday. I should have known not to think everything had been checked before leaving, Of course the 3 gas bottles on board were not full as assumed so fortunately one had enough left for coffee this morning however the part full one we had been using till now is empty. Anyway this lack of gas, time restrictions and a fuel top up means a stop in Sicily is on the agenda. Currently heading for Siracusa on the South East corner of the island with an ETA of around 3 hrs.

Friday 20 January 2017, 1330 Hrs

36 49 N, 18 45 E, wind NW at less than 10 Kts so still under engine. Unfortunately a lot more motoring than expected according to the forecasts. At least our average is starting to build after effectively stopping overnight Wednesday / Thursday.

Thursday 19 January 2017, 1630 Hrs

36 35 N, 20 55 E, Wind at 7 Kts from the west. Have been expecting a reasonable SE all day but so far it has not materialised. Fortunately the SW wind started to abate from earlier this morning.

Wednesday, 18 January 2017, 2045 Hrs

36 24 N, 22 22 E, Wind has built from 25 Kts and now gusting up to 35 Kts from the SW, a little too much to handle so after attempting to sail on greatly reduced sail we are now basically holding ground under engine. Very slow progress. Plenty of rain and even hail so a big thank you to Frank Eagle for his wet weather jacket. It’s the first time I have been dry for 6 years

1030 Hrs, 36 27 N, 23 13 E, Rounding the Cape Akra Maleaus and about to be heading west. It’s been relatively slow into light to moderate headwinds (5-15 Kts) since leaving Athens. We are expecting however the wind to start filling in from the South in the next few hours and building up to 20-25 Kts through the day so we should be under sail soon. All well on board.

Tuesday, 17 January 2017, 1600 Hrs

Underway now. The Port Police forgot about us so had to remind them we were waiting, anyway all set for around 1100 NM to Gibraltar. Will update every 2 days or so once out of range on the “Posts” Page.

1100 Hrs

Leaving Zea Marina, All last minute tasks out of the way and we are finally underway. It’s unlikely I will update before our next stop off as there are a few set-up issues with my new systems that just take too long to do when trying to get going. Text messages can be sent to the sat phn if required (above)

Monday, 16 January 2017, 1600 Hrs

33.94 N, 23.65 E, Zea Marina, Piraeus Athens. Provisioned and CLEARED CUSTOMS and the PORT AUTHORITY and are ready to go! A delay in receiving official registration from Australia slowed down the Greek Authorities in granting us clearance. I did expect it would take several days to prepare anyway so a wait over the weekend meant that it can’t be possible that we have forgotten anything (fingers crossed). As it’s not too far from sunset now we will be leaving in the morning to make use of a full day to sail / motor tomorrow. Will update on departure and proposed course then after a final weather check. All of us are very keen to start our adventure.

Notes on Communication: – Please feel free to send SMS messages via your email
direct to the satellite phone on board. Simply click the “free” link shown on
the top of this page or type the address as 881631430767@msg.iridium.com
It’s only a maximum of 120 Characters and you need to leave the subject or
message header blank

Position Report and other info UTC +10 Hrs Sydney 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

Sunday, 7 August 2016, 1730 Hrs
33 39.4 S, 151 18.4 E, Princess St Marina, Newport. Venture’s new berth.
Better update with pictures in a few days

Tuesday, 2 August 2016, 1830 Hrs
32 43.1 S, 152 08.7 E, D’Albora Marina Port Stephens. What happened to the rocking?
1030 Hrs
32 08 S, 152 49 E, Around 7 Nm East of Cape Hawke. Only 120 Nm to Pittwater however
ETA unclear. May need to anchor at Port Stephens, Newcastle or Lake Macquarie
depending on timing of the weather and seas state. All going well

Monday, 1 August 2016, 1200 Hrs
Leave Coffs after refuelling and engine maintenance

Frantic

0800 Hrs
29 24 S, 153 29 E, 5 Nm Ne of Yamba, Making good time but will try to update
later as a bit bumpy and sun won’t let me see the computer screen. All is well

Sunday, 31 July 2016 1200 Hrs
27 27.5 S, 153 11.5 E, Departing East Coast Marina, Manly QLD for Sydney. First
stop fuel followed by a run down the channel to the Gold Coast. Update later
today and thence daily.

Position Report and other info UTC +12 Hrs (Auckland 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

Wednesday, 13 July 2016, 1600 Hrs
36 48.6 S, 174 38.9 West Park Marina, Auckland NZ We are here, thank you to
all on board and back home for your help.

Tuesday, 12 July 2016, 1000 Hrs
Ready for the last leg from Opua to Auckland in the next few minutes. Down to 3
of us now as Phil and Peter bailed due to time restrictions. The Southerlies are
predicted to die off today and start moving East then to the North over the next
day or so. Expecting to arrive in Auckland at lunch time Wednesday. Will update
tomorrow and again some time after arrival.

Saturday, 9 July 2016, 0800 Hrs

35 18.8 S, 174 07.3 E, Opua Marina New Zealand. Well done all crew both on board and a big thank you to Duane the weatherman back on shore. Sorry for the late update as spent the whole Saturday looking for an internet connection after device failure. Will be updating the log summary with photo’s etc throughout Monday.

Friday, 8 July 2016, 1030 Hrs

34 22 S, 172 41 E, Yea Ha, 4 Nm due North of Cape Reinga. Currently a light Easterly slowing our motoring down to 4 Kts. After the low passed the wind started falling away to nothing overnight as Duane predicted. Hopefully he is wrong this time but doubt it when on the last forecast strong Southerlies / Easterlies are heading our way. Looks like we will need to change plans and clear customs at Opua and wait for improvement before completing the final leg.

Thursday, 7 July 2016, 1200 Hrs

Having difficulty sending and receiving Sat phn messages due to the heavy cloud cover. Will try again next break in the sky

1030 Hrs

34 23 S, 170 23 E, Still 120 Nm to the first Cape. It’s been a long night and looks like a long day ahead. Winds were up 30-40 Kts overnight and calmed a bit to 20-30 Kts this morning as the centre of the low reached us. Hopefully it will move away from us quicker than it approached. Talk about pissing down. DONT EVER BUY GILL WET WEATHER GEAR! Load of shit leaked since new, has the unique ability to suck the water straight to the bone. Add that to leaving the best pair of wet weather pants ever owned (Agile) on board the last boat and you could say I’m f@#!*&#g pissed off!

Wednesday, 6 July 2016, 1030 Hrs

33 26 S, 168 20 E, Wind NNE at 15 Kts, Course of 95 Degree M at 5.5 Kts. Expecting the wind to build through the day which may build our speed a little however the speed humps are currently slowing us down. All well on board looking forward to rounding the Cape probably by Friday afternoon / evening.

Tuesday, 5 July 2016, 0930 Hrs

32 43 S, 165 54 E, Another 370 Nm to the North Cape. Enjoying another day of drying out before things get hectic again. The barometer is still steady at the moment so taking advantage of pre preparing food and tying down loose stuff. Thanks for another few updates Duane. Tough call however to stay above 32 Degree South for more favourable winds in front of the change. Currently 30 Nm above the Rhumbline so another 40 Nm north will make it another 12 hours ish in the SW storm in order to get to shelter. Given our distance out it may be hard to call at this stage but any updates on the timing and the strengths of the East and NE wind and the strength and timing of the SW front will assist in determining just how far North we should stay.

Mackerel sky and mare’s tails make tall ships carry low sails

“This weather proverb originates from a nautical background when different cloud types were used to determine whether sails needed to be lowered. Also referred to as just a ‘mackerel sky’, it is associated with altocumulus clouds while ‘mare’s tails’ refer to cirrus clouds. Both could develop before the instance of a storm which would lead to the lowering of the ships sails. Altocumulus clouds appear when there is a certain level of moisture in the air suggesting rainfall is approaching. The term “mackerel sky” comes from the clouds resemblance to the the scales of the mackerel.” (UK Met Office)

Monday, 4 July 2016, 1030 Hrs

32 10 S, 163 29 E, Around 240 Nm from Lord Howe with 480 Nm to Cape Reinga ahead of us. We have been making good progress with 175 nm or an average of over 7 Kts in the last 24 hrs. Although this average will drop whilst under engine as we are for the next day and a bit, I expect we should be able to pass the cape sometime Thursday and hopefully beat the next front coming through. Thanks Duane for your detailed forecasts, we have been following the wind as suggested with a bit of Northing and a bit of Southing depending on the wind direction and strength to maximise our speed. All is well although the boat looks a bit like a Chinese laundry whilst all our cloths soaked from the dinghy ride are our airing. A couple of mobile phones are drowning in bags of rice hoping for a second life when we arrive in NZ

Sunday, 3 July 2016, 1030 Hrs

32 11 S, 160 23 E, Have made some 90 miles now from Lord Howe. Was quite difficult getting out of the lagoon with the seas still high but after some hours we were back in deep water. More interesting were the dinghy trips out to the boat trying to get on board. No one managed to get on board without being totally drenched. At least we know one of the life jackets self inflates when wet! All well now and settling in to routine as we run for NZ. By the way does anyone know who the Australian Prime minister is? Also Duane no the pic didn’t come through just an empty message, The phones mailbox was full so only rec’d your messages this morning when I deleted old messages. Will update in 24 hrs ish

Saturday, 2 July 2016, 1600 Hrs
Leaving Lord Howe on the evening tide. Earlier than expected but we need to get
ahead of the next low that’s about to form of the NSW Coast. Will update by
Midday our position each day from now.

Having a beer for an old mate!

Bic should have stuck to making Biro’s and Lighters

Thursday, 30 June 2016, 1600 Hrs
Anchored in the North Passage of the Lagoon. Expecting to depart again on
Sunday morning.
1000 Hrs
31 31 S, 159 00 E, Drifting off Lord Howe Island North Passage. Awaiting a
rising tide for entry into the lagoon. Police will be advising us on entry
time into the Northern passage as the Southern one could be susceptible to
swell with the next front coming.

Wednesday, 29 June 2016, 1000 Hrs
31 13 S, 157 02 E, Approx 100 Nm West of Lord Howe Island. Got underway at
around 2300 Hrs last night when the wind and seas had eased off to around
25 Kts. Currently close hauled and making East but having difficulty getting
south. Hopefully will get more south as the wind eases more. Thanks Dinah
and Philippa for your message this morning. We didn’t actually play any cards
but managed some rest whilst waiting.

Tuesday, 28 June 2016, 1200 Hrs
32 14 S, 156 10 E, POSITION UPDATE! To make dead reckoning easier for the
weatherman we are LYING AHULL from this position until the weather improves.
Drifting at around 4kts at 020 Degree M, wind at 30-40Kts from the South. We
were having difficulty making any Eastward progress so in the interest of boat
and crew safety have decided to reach for a pack of cards. Hopefully you can
update us from time to time on the position and direction of the low and or
trough.

0800 Hrs
32 44 S, 155 56 E, Course of 020 M. Wind Southerly at around 30kts.
Currently running downwind at around 8 Kts. Will try to put more east in our
course once over the northern end of the seamounts to our east in an hour’s time.
This will slow us down quite a bit as we have minimal sail up currently. Thanks
for the weather update Duane, unfortunately we will be unable to put much South
in our course probably until the worst of this weather blows through, I think
the best we can hope for until then is to go slow until it passes. All on board
are doing well however. Thanks Kevin for your message. Will update again tomorrow
weather and conditions permitting.

Sunday, 26 June 2016
1230 Hrs, Leaving Sydney for Auckland

Notes on Communication: – Please feel free to send SMS messages via your email
direct to the satellite phone on board. Simply click the “free” link shown on
the top of this page or type the address as 881631430767@msg.iridium.com
Its only a maximum of 120 Characters and you need to leave the subject or
message header blank

Brisbane QLD to Mandurah WA

“Solur ” Roberts 57 Ft

Log Record

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

Thursday, 24 March 2016, 1000 Hrs

32 36.5 S, 115 38.9 E, Mandura. Thank you very much to all crew on this trip. Very much appreciated.

Wednesday, 23 March 2016, 1100 Hrs

34 05 S, 114 48 E, 10Nm East of Cape Freycinet. Just under 100Nm to the entrance of the Dawsville Channel. Not too far to go so not expecting to update again till well after landing. Power still low but a little sunlight helped to flush the (literally) crap out of the head this morning. Very tiring and cold overnight but well done to the crew hand steering and making repairs as we go. Strong winds forecast tonight so hoping to keep a good course and slow enough to have a daylight arrival in case we need assistance entering the channel

Tuesday, 22 March 2016, 1130 Hrs

35 13 S, 116 38 S, 10 Nm South of Point Nuyts. Around 190 Nm from Busselton or 260 Nm to Mandurah. Murphy is still doing his best! Only just managed to get passed Albany but the engine decided to dramatically increase oil consumption. So out of oil pretty much as well as  power (fridge, water pump, toilet, navigation and communication, not  to mention auto pilot now severely restricted) Bugga! Will try to update when able tomorrow. Hope for some clear skies for the solar panels tomorrow.

Monday, 21 March 2016, 1430 Hrs

35 09 S, 118 30 E, Currently 30Nm due East of Albany. Under engine with following winds until an expected front in a few hours. Hopefully wont slow us too much as we start to turn west for Cape Leeuwin

Sunday, 20 March 2016, 1000 Hrs

Left Esperance, will try to fill in the gaps over the next few days. Sorry for the lack of updates but things have been a bit hectic.

Thursday, 17th March, 1530 Hrs

33 52 S, 121 54 E, Esperance, sorry Phil you will have to get the updates from Dinah until I update tomorrow !

Wednesday, 16 March 2016, 1200 Hrs

35 01 S, 120 15 E, Drifting 120 Nm East of Albany. Waiting for the current SW winds to back around to the south so as to make our way to Albany. We had saved around 20 hrs of fuel to continue around the Cape however shortly after deciding to head for Albany to top up on fuel our engine cut out. Some “Fuel suction air chamber” (whatever that is) had worked its way loose letting the remainder of our fuel in the tank to flood the bilge. ETA in Albany unknown until we have a change in wind direction as have made no headway since 2100 yesterday. Communications, lighting etc all restricted due to limited battery supply.

Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 1100 Hrs

34 52 S, 122 13 E, Now we are 65 Nm due South of Esperance. Was expecting to be here at least 24 Hrs ago but thing aren’t moving as fast as hoped. Have had to slow considerably overnight as the nights have been very dark and steering is very tiring. We have the predicted NE winds but as that forecast is now a few days old, we can’t be sure when the change to SW then Southerlies will occur. I’m sure Duane will have an update for us soon and his forecasts have been very accurate for this trip so far. Still only Sat

Phn updates for now. PS thanks for the NRL update Dinah we were wondering if the world was still existing on shore!

Sunday, 13 March 2016, 1200 Hrs

34 41 S, 126 46 E, Currently 250 Nm East of Esperance. Waiting on the Easterly winds forecast to arrive by this evening. Have motored all but around 4 hrs since Adelaide so fuel is getting down to a little on the critical side. Hopefully the wind will come soon enough so that we do not need to make a re-fuelling stop. Next update hopefully by regular internet if close enough to reception.

Friday, 11 March 2016, 1100 Hrs

34 50 S, 131 59 E, Three days into the crossing and no sign of Cabin fever YET. Currently 205 Nm South of the “Head of the Bight” Have only managed 2 Hours of sailing so the rest under engine since Adelaide. Still looks like another 3 days before finally getting some useable wind. Thank you Kevin for you well wishes via the Sat phone and to Duane for his weather updates.

Wednesday, 9 March 2016, 2000 Hrs

35 08 S, 136 06 E, Due South of Port Lincoln getting the last weather update before entering the Bight. Light winds and have motored all day so fingers crossed on some favourable sailing conditions over the next week. All is well

Wednesday, 9 March 2016, 1130 Hrs

35 24 S, 136 57 E, Around 6 Nm south of Cape Spencer in investigator strait. Still 60 Nm from Port Lincoln after slow progress into last night’s sea breeze. Will not be stopping in Port Lincoln but continuing on into the Bight. Hopefully will do one last update with regular internet tonight as we near the Peninsular.

Thank you Duane for your comprehensive forecast for the next few weeks, hopefully the weather will stay as predicted for a slow but favourable run to WA

Tuesday, 8 March 2016, 1430 Hrs
Leaving Adelaide. All provisioned and fueled for the big stretch across the Bight. Will probably be able to do a regular update tomorrow but once past Port Lincoln we will be out of phone range for around 1 week. Will probably only update every second day as this will be via the Sat phone so fairly expensive. Weather is looking favorable for the entire crossing at this stage. Don”t forget the updates will be on the text file page http://www.boatdeliveries.net/position.txt

Saturday, 5 March 2016, 1130 Hrs
35 02 S, 138 22 E, Now just 18 Nm from the CYC Adelaide, Its starting to really get hot here after very cool nights for the last week. Will update on departure time probably tomorrow after relaxing ashore this afternoon.

Happy Birthday Kezia

Friday, 4 March 2016, 2300 Hrs
35 47 S, 138 27 E, Entering Backstairs Passage. Finally back in phone range. Appears to be a hiccup with the Sat phone update. Will fix in Adelaide. ETA around lunchtime. All well.
1500 Hrs
36 08, 139 09 E, Satellite phone test. Update when regular internet available

Thursday, 3 March 2016, 1130 Hrs
38 07 S, 140 47 E, In South Australia, 4 Nm south of Port McDonald near Mount Gambia. A little under 300 Nm to Adelaide so expecting to arrive sometime on Saturday. Currently light South Easterlies which will hopefully build through the day. Slowly making way under sails alone whilst giving the engine a rest and saving fuel. All well with a little warmer weather than we had in Bass Strait.

Wednesday, 2 March 2016, 1030 Hrs
38 53 S, 143 20 E 8 Nm West of Cape Otway in light offshore winds under engine. Expecting a 20 Kt Southerly in the next few hours until this evening so may get some sailing in to conserve fuel. Still debating on whether to head straight for Port Lincoln or Adelaide from here as a crew change at Port Lincoln as well as refuelling and provisioning may be a bit more difficult there.

Tuesday, 1 March 2016, 0900 Hrs
39 09 S, 146 22 E, Passing Wilsons Prom, Will be out of reception for 24 hrs in about 10 mins so quick update. Slow progress unfortunately as seas were bit oversized for the autopilot so hand steered most of the long night. Update sometime tomorrow.

Monday, 29 February 2016, 0830 Hrs
38 03 S, 148 56 E, around 25 Nm from the first of the Bass Strait oil rigs. Slow motoring since leaving Eden but expecting a strong easterly to build through the day to pick the pace up a bit. May run out of phone and internet connection through the day so could be 24 hrs or more before the next update.

Sunday, 28 February 2016, 1100 Hrs
Leaving Eden. Glad to finally be underway again. Thank you for your help Doug, unfortunate that you ran out of time with the delays we have had. Currently we have a 15 Kt Southerly so it’s a little slow going under engine and the forecast looks like we will probably be under engine most of the way to Adelaide.

Friday, 26 February 2016 1300 Hrs
Engine and electrics have been checked. The engine is in fine shape despite the oil leaks. Apparently this is quite common for this type and age of engine so some time has been lost but better safe than sorry as they say. Planning to leave Sunday morning now with a week of calm weather in front of us. Depending on the updated forecasts may be able to leave on Saturday should the Southerly winds ease earlier. Fuelled and provisioned and ready to go.

Wednesday, 24 February 2016, 1530 Hrs
Arrived safely at Eden. Mechanics and electricians will be on board tomorrow morning.
0100 Hrs
37 47 S, 150 04 E, South of Mallacoota, An excessive amount of oil is in the bilge so returning to Eden to have it looked at. Unfortunately it’s too risky to try to outrun the next front should there be any major problems.

Tuesday, 23 February 2016, 1200 Hrs
36 28 S, 150 14 E, Approximately 9 Nm SE of Bermagui NSW. Making fairly good progress with winds dying off early but back to 15-20 Kts Northerly now. Current forecast looks like we may be able to make it all the way to Apollo Bay before the SW change on Thursday morning. Will update tomorrow depending on internet availability in Bass Strait

Monday, 22 February 2016, 1100 Hrs
Leaving the CYCA Marina finally after lengthy delays waiting on parts. All well with a pod of Dolphins to escort us past Bondi Beach. Updates daily from now

Monday 25th January
Arrived Sydney, updates to follow

Sunday, 24 January 2016, 1400 Hrs
32 44 S, 152 16 E, Abeam of Port Stephens. The Southerly winds have slowed us considerably making our ETA blow out to possibly Monday Lunchtime. Forecast of an easterly by now has changed to later in the afternoon but hoping it will arrive sooner so an earlier arrival is possible.

Saturday, 23 January 2016, 1115 Hrs
30 44 S, 153 13 E, Approximately 12 Nm North of Smokey Cape. Under engine as the wind has started to move South Expecting to slow down as a southerly moves through although not expecting too much wind this far north of the wind warnings. All well as we get to learn about how all the boat systems work.

Friday, 22 January 2016, 1145 Hrs
27 58 S, 153 28 E, Off the Gold Coast, Surfers paradise. Left anchor at 6 am, through the shallows at 8 am and stopped for a coffee at the other end for 45 mins before we were back underway. A pleasant little stop but the parking fees were steep. Will update again tomorrow but heading south finally and in clear water.

Thursday, 21 January 2016, 1850 Hrs
27 37.9 S, 153 20.2 E, Anchored across from Redland bay. Will be up early to make the shallows at Jacobs Well for high tide before heading offshore tomorrow lunch time. Kezia busy on cooking duties tonight. Carbonara Yum! Finally got away from Manly at 1445 hrs today
1100 Hrs
27 27 S, 153 11 E, Manly East Coast Marina. Awaiting electricians to install new house Batteries before we depart for Sydney via Cape Morton.

Notes on Communication: – Please feel free to send SMS messages via your email
direct to the satellite phone on board. Simply click the “free” link shown on
the top of this page or type the address as 881631430767@msg.iridium.com
Its only a maximum of 160 Characters and you need to leave the subject or
message header blank

Hamilton Island to Sydney

“Antipodes Australis” Beneteau Oceanis 58ft

Commenced October 18, 2015

Thursday, 29 October 2015, 1100 Hrs
32 00 S, 152 54 E, Around 12 Nm South of Crowdy Head. Under engine and making good progress towards Sydney with a current ETA of early Friday. Apart from a bit of mainsail it looks unlikely we will be sailing unassisted for the rest of the duration as light easterlies are fore cast to continue for the duration. All is well.

Wednesday 28 October 2015-10-29
Leave Coffs Harbour, Managed to make it ashore for a short period for a few supplies and a catch up with Mike and Monique who recently moved here from Sydney. Also it was great to catch up with Richard who grew up one street away from me in Yagoona. I can’t believe it’s been so many years. Anyway it’s good to be underway on our last leg of this trip.

Tuesday, 27 October 2015, 0530 Hrs
30 15 S, 153 08 E, Anchored in Coffs Harbour outer Harbour. Wild night of storms ashore. We had lots of wind and rain for around an hour and a half and heaps of lightning but all went calm for the motor into port. Now for a wait for the conditions to ease before heading off again. Hopefully we will be able to get ashore for a top up of provisions and a break beforehand.

Monday, 26 October 2015, 1000 Hrs
28 08 S, 153 37 E, Nearing point Danger, Tweed Heads. Left Southport at 0700 Hrs Sydney time (note time change) Forecast weather is for a southerly front to move in from early Tuesday morning by which time we hope to be safely tied up in Coffs Harbour. After this front moves through we expect to continue on for the final leg to Sydney. Welcome aboard to Liz and glad to have Phil back on board for the final leg home.

Sunday, 25 October 2015, 1030 Hrs
Tied up at Southport Yacht Club. Thank you for the interim crew, Tracy, Jose and Erin. Well done thanks very much for being available at such short notice was great to have you all on board.

Saturday, 24 October 2015, 1645 Hrs
Leaving Mooloolaba, Welcome aboard to Tracy, Erin and Jose. Thanks for coming along to help get the boat to Southport where we will be met by the crew who will be doing the Sydney leg. The SE winds have eased and turned more to the east so expecting to motor most of the way down the coast.

Friday, 23 October 2015, 0900 Hrs
Tied up in Mooloolaba, sorry for the late update. Ended up catching quite a bit of current down off Fraser Island giving us great speed in Northerly winds. Was expecting to have to wait for the tide to rise before entering the Harbour however the early arrival allowed us to enter just after the wind turned to a strong South Easterly. Unfortunately John has to leave us early due to some issues at home but would like to thank him for a great first half of this trip, hopefully he will be able to join me again soon..

Thursday, 22 October 2015, 1630 Hrs
24 48 S, 153 18 E, Approaching Waddy Point, Fraser island. Good following winds but just a little behind our planned time. Will be arriving in Mooloolaba tomorrow as a South Easterly blow arrives. It shows as being short lived so will be able to start moving again on Saturday to pick up crew in Southport.

Wednesday, 21 October 2015, 1030 Hrs
22 41 S 150 56 E, Under sail finally as the SE winds have eased and we can now make a more southerly course. Will post this when reception arrives. Currently plan to make it either through to Southport or may need to make it Mooloolaba as a short lasting front moves through. I have had a last minute crew drop out so f you can meet us in say Southport / Mooloolaba let me know ASAP. Note reception could delay my response but leave a message anyway

Tuesday, 20 October 2015, 0700 Hrs
21 19 S, 149 37 E, Around 30 Nm SE of Mackay. Travelled quite slowly for the first 24 Hrs with strong SE winds hindering our progress. Fortunately the wind has now dropped down to 15 Kts and the forecast shows it should stay there and hopefully go a little more east, expecting the pace to increase significantly through the day. Next update will depend on regular internet availability.

Monday, 19 October 2015, 0745 Hrs
Underway from Hamilton Island. Forecast is showing the current winds should start dropping off a bit today and more tomorrow particularly the further south we travel. Currently slowly making our way South under engine whilst we wait for the improved conditions promised. All is well, stayed an extra night as the conditions did not seem to abate yesterday.

Sunday, 18 October 2015, 1600 Hrs
Hamilton Island Marina, The wind has finally dropped right off after having
it blow through here at around 25-30 Kts today. All ready now to leave after
spending the day re-familiarising myself and crew with the boat. Now planning
to leave at first light to slowly make our way South for better forecast wind
speed and direction over the coming days. Welcome aboard John Jones! Great to
finally have you on board, its a long time now since being flatmates back in
Canberra in the Eighties!
OOps spoke too soon as the wind is back again

John very impressed with the ice maker

Notes on Communication: – Please feel free to send SMS messages via your email
direct to the satellite phone on board. Simply click the “free” link shown on
the top of this page or type the address as 881631430767@msg.iridium.com
Its only a maximum of 160 Characters and you need to leave the subject or
message header blank

Pittwater to Manly (Brisbane)

“Herdis” Oceanis 411

Commenced October 6, 2015

Sunday, 11 October 2015,1400 Hrs

Arrived in Manly

0730 Hrs
Leave anchorage, Current ETA 1400 Hrs at the Trailer Boat Club Manly

Saturday, 10 October 2015, 2115 Hrs
27 40 S, 153 27.7 E, Anchored at Couran Island, The Broadwater Gold Coast
0830 Hrs
28 44 S, 153 41 E. 6 Nm South of Cape Byron. Wind is currently easterly so back under sail. A frustrating night with wind being favourable then changing the moment sails were set. Getting closer will be reviewing whether to go around Morton island or the Southport passage as we get nearer, depends on conditions today and if we need to top up fuel or get enough sailing in. All well on board.

Saturday, 10 October 2015, 0830 Hrs
28 44 S, 153 41 E. 6 Nm South of Cape Byron. Wind is currently easterly so back under sail. A frustrating night with wind being favourable then changing the moment sails were set. Getting closer will be reviewing whether to go around Morton island or the Southport passage as we get nearer, depends on conditions today and if we need to top up fuel or get enough sailing in. All well on board.

Friday, 9 October 2015, 1030 Hrs,
3015 S, 153 17 E 3 Nm South of South Solitary Island near Coffs Harbour. A little over half way now, had a slower afternoon and night as the East Australian Current took its course near Tacking Point and Crowdy Head. The wind also dropped off a lot so engine use overnight was again required. At least the seas have settled a bit more. Currently motor sailing again with less than 10 Kts of wind but hoping to be far enough North to get away from the NE winds forecast for this area.

Thursday, 8 October 2015, 1130 Hrs
31 57 S, 152 43 E, 6 Nm south of Crowdy Head. Under sail after motor sailing
since leaving, sea was quite bumpy all yesterday and overnight so a few green
looking bodies on board but everything starting to settle down now. Making
good speed at 6 plus knots. Dolphins were around at sunrise and even a whale
slow to be heading south.

Wednesday, 7 October 2015, 1200 Hrs
Leaving Prince Alfred Club and underway. The wind blew through as expected at 0530 Hrs at up to 40 Kts, its now settled down a bit so with a southerly behind us we are expecting a good few days run up the coast. All in order!

Tuesday, 6 October 2015, 1700 Hrs
Royal Prince Alfred Motor Yacht Club Pittwater. All provisioned and fuelled up ready to leave early tomorrow morning. Great forecast for a northern route although it may be a bit windy early.
Welcome aboard again to Marcus and Vince. Updates daily at this stage.

Saturday, 20 January 2018, 1300 Hrs

Port Macquarrie Marina. Thank you to VMR Port Macquarrie for the Tow!

1030 hrs

31 30 S, 152 56 E Oops engine alarm is on, 2 Nm South of Taking Point

Friday, 19 January 2018, 1300 Hrs

32 53 S, 152 07 E, around 10 Nm South of Port Stephens under engine as expected. Currently the sea breese is very much N-NE but with a bit of luck may go East to give us a little push along in the afternoon / Evening. Approximately 100 NM to Port Macquarrie, all is well. Update again on approach to the entrance of Port Macquarrie.

Thursday, 18 January 2018, 2200 Hrs

Left the CYCA, unfortunately D’Abora Marina no longer supplies fuel after 1730 Hrs despite being a swipe card self service for some reason. That meant a quick walk up the road to the 24 hr petrol station to top up our fuel containers. Anyway finally underway.

0700 Hrs

About to head off in the next hour for Port Macquarie. Minor hitch just before the chandlers closed required a fuse so have packed several spares and about to down a meal. Update in the morning.

Wednesday, 17 January 2018,

Delivery from Sydney to Port Macquarrie, Short notice due to the weather window. Hope to depart on Thursday January 18^th.

Position Report and other info UTC (+11 Hrs Sydney 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 the Posts page. You can contact us by sending an SMS (via email) To Satellite Phone. Please Note SMS is a maximum of 160 Characters and you need to leave the subject or message header blank

Thursday, 21 December 2017, 1600 Hrs

Ransa Sailing Club, Rushcutters Bay

0800 Hrs

34 31 S, 150 58 E, 4 Nm East of Port Kembla, making good speed again under sail after waiting for 10 Hours for the current Southerly to kick back in. Unfortunate for the crew who had some arrangements in place on arrival in Sydney but that’s how it is with the weather only being a forecast so timing can not be relied upon. Current ETA APPROXIMATELY 1500 Hrs

Wednesday, 20 December 2017, 1900 Hrs

35 26 S, 150 33 E, 5 Nm East of Ulladulla which gives us around 100 Nm to the heads, currently in light northerlies but expecting the southerly winds to kick in again in around 3-4 hours.

0700 Hrs

Leaving Bermagui. Current forecasts show Southerlies all the way to Sydney, expecting to arrive sometime before lunch tomorrow.

Tuesday, 19 December 2017, 1000 Hrs

36 25 S, 150 04 E, arrived at Bermagui. Expect to leave again first thing Wednesday morning on a forecasted Southerly. Bit of boat cleaning, a long awaited shower and not much happening in town.

Monday, 18 December 2017, 2230 Hrs

Leaving Eden for Bermagui

1500 Hrs

Eden, Parked and arranging fuel. Will leave in a few hours for Bermagui to wait for Tuesday’s northerly to blow through before continuing on Wednesday.

0700 Hrs

37 27 S, 150 00 E, 4 Nm North of Cape Howe. Rounded Gabo Island at around 5 am, currently motoring into 15 Kts of Northerly wind. Have just added the last of our spare fuel to the tanks so should be sufficient to make it slowly to Eden with an ETA of around 1500 Hrs. On the current forecast it looks like the wind will change to the South on Wednesday Morning and it should hold long enough for the last 200 Nm to Sydney from then. Will update on arrival in Eden

Saturday, 16 December 2017, 1500Hrs

39 10 S, 146 20 E, 3 Nm South of Wilson’s Promontory with 10 Kts SW wind. Motor sailing still and about to do a fuel check, Reasonable speeds of 6-7 Kts and hoping not to have to back off to insure enough fuel for the rest of Bass Straight depending on what wind assistance we end up getting. Next phone reception in at probably 24 Hrs so contact only via sms to the sat phn if required.

0530 Hrs

38 43 S, 145 16 E, 10 Nm South of Phillip Island. Variable wind as predicted so still under engines, hoping for a little bit of wind assistance to save fuel for the Bass strait crossing. Will update later today when reception returns off Wilson’s Prom.

Friday, 15 December 2017, 1100 Hrs

Leaving Fuel dock at St Kilda Marina. Slight problem with one engines gear selection. Resolved with a spare part for the second engine in tow. Good to have a shipwright (Brandon) on board sorting out any teething issues.

0830 Hrs

Leave the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron. Finally found a troublesome fuse on the auto pilot.

Notes on Communication: – Please feel free to send SMS messages via your email direct to the satellite phone on board. Simply click the “free” link shown on the top of this page or type the address as 881631430767@msg.iridium.com
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message header blank

Friday, 20 October 2017, 1545 Hrs

Arrived in Townsville, all well. Thank you to Steve and George for your help

1100 Hrs

18 52 S, 146 42 E, Still out here! As the crow fly’s its 25 Nm to Townsville but do you think we are able to draw a straight line? We have now travelled 100 Nm more than needed due to the SE winds and the need to shelter behind the reef during Wednesdays storm. Anyway I’m not giving any ETA because every time I do the time doubles, suffice to say ‘we get there when we get there’.

Sorry I missed your call yesterday Duane but was taking one of half a dozen hours sleep that I have managed in the last few days.

Thursday, 19 October 2017, 1100 Hrs

17 38 S, 146 19 E, Just 100 Nm to go to Townsville, A very long day and night yesterday but now motoring inside the Barrier Reef in less than 10 Kts of wind, the torrential rain has turned to drizzle. Customs have now been advised of an ETA of 5 AM tomorrow.

Wednesday, 18 October 2017, 1600 Hrs

17 14 S, 146 45 E, main down and course changed for Flora Passage. Winds ESE 35-40 Kts, seas 5 + Meters. We have a bit on, looks like a long day / Night

1300 Hrs

16 46 S, 147 32 E, Winds SE 30-40Kts, Course changed for a better angle to the waves.

1100 Hrs

16 31 S, 147 36 E, Still 100 Nm to Palm Passage, another night of rain and thunder squalls making it difficult to keep east enough to enter the reef far enough South. Murphy’s law, as soon as I update Customs on our ETA shit happens. Will see how we go today, hoping the wind may go more East and maybe a bit North but looks like it wont be until Friday morning when we can get clearance now. Currently we are getting 25-30 Kt SE winds and the seas are up to 2.5 M Mainsail up and engine off to assist our course.

Tuesday, 17 October 2017, 1100 Hrs

15 08 S, 147 38 E, Now 130 Nm NNE of Cooktown. Wild elactrical storms last night saw gusts of up to 45 Kts from all compass directions and buckets of rain. Ended up with 10 Kts ESE wind this morning so motor sailing back on course now. Just 250 Nm to go so looking like landing in Townsville on Thursday afternoon.

Monday, 16 October 2017, 1100 Hrs

13 29 S, 147 31 E, Almost half way to Townsville, around 60Nm NE of Osprey reef. Currently having rain squalls which is making it a little difficult to maintain easterly bias in our course which has been reasonable till now. Duane’s weather reports are telling us it could drop off from around 15 Kts to under 10 Kts of wind so will use those lighter winds to motor a bit more on an easterly course. Looking to make our passage through the reef at “Palm Passage” hopefully by Wednesday to bypass Cairns and head straight to Townsville. The stronger SE winds are expected back again on Wednesday.

Saturday, 14 October 2017, 0730 Hrs

Leaving Beagle Bay, the plan is to make as much SE distance today as able under engine before turning South and sailing Towards Townsville. The wind is forecast to drop off by Sunday to 10-15 Kts and turn a bit more Easterly hopefully giving us a better angle. After a busy day navigating through the reef it was great to have a decent meal (meat tray won at the Yacht Club) and a full nights sleep.

Friday, 13 October 2017, 1930 Hrs

10 03.5 S, 147 42 E, Anchored in Beagle Bay PNG, Started off nice and calm as we motored inside the reef along the Coast. The wind as forecast, gradually built through the day until we were bashing into 25-30 Kts S-Easterlies.

0645 Hrs

Leaving Port Moresby, Currently motoring down the coast in the Lee of the land, expecting or hoping the trade winds will ease off for the first time in weeks over the weekend so as to make a reasonable course towards Townsville. Update in around two days.

Tuesday, 10 October 2017, 1700Hrs

Still in Moresby but should be able to clear customs tomorrow and leave towards the end of the week. George will be arriving tomorrow as well for the trip so a big welcome aboard. Updates soon, thanks Duane for the detailed forecast, nothing more to say a few days ago but “the weather is shit for days” or words to that effect.

Monday, 9 October 2017, 1700 Hrs

Still waiting on customs clearance, looks like a couple more days whilst paperwork is issued. Oh well at least the wind looks like dropping off a bit as the week progresses anyway so should give us a better run when we finally set off.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Royal Papua Yacht Club

Waiting for Customs Clearance. Looks like they wont be showing up today.

Friday, 22 September 2017 0930Hrs

33 51S, 151 13E, RSYS Pond. Thank you Tubby for your help on such short notice. Happy Birthday as well!

0800 Hrs

33 53S, 151 29E, 3 Nm from Sydney heads after making good progress with the assistance of a few knots of Current. Expected to be tied up in around 1.5 Hours

Thursday, 21 September 2017, 1000 Hrs

31 55 S, 153 00 E, 13 Nm SE of Crowdy Head. Making good progress under engine since leaving, around 100 Nm behind us with 150 Nm to Sydney. All is well.

Wednesday, September 20, 1600 Hrs

All set to leave Coffs Harbour

Tuesday, 19 September, Coffs Harbour Marina

Euphoria! Will be welcoming Tubby aboard soon.