According to plan

Amazingly enough it really has all gone according to plan....so far

A select group of Strawbridge Pointers wish the Breakfree crew  'Bon Voyage'!

The mirror calm waters of American River on our departure

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We left American River pontoon at 9.20 am on a beautiful sunny mirror calm morning. The date, to my amazement, had been selected months previously was 9am on the 10th of September (we had to wait the 20 minutes for a couriered packet). Aboard, joining us as crew for the Sydney leg, is the now proven very able seaman Greg Roberts aka unofficial Commodore of the Strawbridge Pointers. On the pontoon, to very kindly wave us off, were three keen "Pointers" John, Leslie and Robert of American River.

Leading up to our departure we had a couple of incredibly hectic days, enjoying a campfire cheerio with friends, packing up our belongings, deciding what to take, selling our old reliable "Fred the Ford", packing all of the boxes of stuff onto what appeared to be a increasingly smaller boat the list seemed endless.  We must add without the help of family and our Kangaroo Island friends it would have been even more arduous, thanks guys. Incredible as it still seems to us all our bits and pieces did fit on the yacht easily! (its a miracle)

The first sunset of the voyage

Greg one of the Motley Crew....not looking very motley here in the new red jacket!

Our first stop was lovely historic Port Fairy where we enjoyed two nights after the 300 nm passage. With a bit of time to read all the info boards we gained some insight into the early history and the truth about the name change from Belfast to Port Fairy. A birthday dinner for my 52nd at The Star of the West Hotel was enjoyed by all.

Griffith Island, Port Fairy

Breakfree and Skipper at Port Fairy Itinerant berth

One of Port Fairys'  many National Trust houses

OK so Ants has said that the sailors amongst you might be interested in the vital statistics of the weather and winds we have had of the first part of our journey.
Kangaroo Island to Port Fairy:
           *Light winds then increasing northerlies, good fast sailing 20 minutes of rain in the last 20 mins. Altogether 300 nautical miles at 5.5knots average.
Stayed in Port Fairy two nights
Port Fairy to Refuge Cove, Wilsons Promontory:
           * Rough 25-30kts south westerlies, moderating 2nd day and we eventually motored into anchor after 36 hours for 200nms.
Wilsons' Prom to Lakes Entrance:
          * Very gentle 3-10kts aft of the beam with lovely flat seas for 100nms (this is BASS STRAIT!)
 Lakes Entrance to Paynesville/ Raymond Island. 2 hours easy motoring.

Oh I have forgotten to mention the new chap onboard, Tommy, he spends hours on the helm....a thankless task. Tommy is our new autohelmed trim tab that cannot be faulted. The selfsteerer is a trim tab attached to the back of the rudder with a linkage direct to an electric autopilot on top of the tiller....really does work a treat! Tommy can take light winds, heavy winds, motoring and sailing and draws a short ration! He actually hogged the helm and the other crew only had 40 minutes steering in all the passages.

   

A few photos of the voyage so far for your perusal:

Greg in his new inflatable lifejacket

Griffith Island Lighthouse

Is this White Flag?....found near Refuge cove

Refuge Cove, a truly  magnificent spot

The boys with "Little Fart" at Refuge Cove

One of the joys of cruising is meeting up with like-minded yachty folk. Here we are at Raymond Island, Gippsland Lakes where we have been spoiled by the hospitality of cruising friends Peter, Coralie, Jim & Linda. They have showered, fed, entertained and transported us around this beautiful spot....heartfelt thanks.
Where to now...we have the next few days to appreciate the lakes while we wait for the weather window, gentlemen don't sail to windward do they.... Breakfree can, but does not choose to unless incredibly important.
Keep you posted XX