The Last Big Leg

The last leg from Espiritou Santo to Majuro. 1500 nautical miles.

Brian looking nautical?

After Santo our last sight of land was Tikopia, an isolated lonely looking island on the very NE corner of Vanuatu. Then 9 days of open ocean until we glimpsed the top of a couple of tall buildings at Tarawa in Kirabati (obviously a bit taller than the unsighted palm trees). You could be forgiven for thinking that day after day on the open ocean could be monotonous but truly it is quite varied. Firstly in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) the weather is very changeable with squalls to calm to good sailing winds which meant lots of sail changes to keep up best sailing speed. From full plain sail with Yankee, Staysail and Mainsail, to wing and wing, to flying the big blue drifter.

For other entertainment there is spotting birds, whales and flying fish. We saw Sperm Whales (confirmed by our Whale book) and nearer Majuro we spotted Pilot Whales. Terns, White Tailed Tropic Birds and Red Footed Boobies were common. It was great to watch the development of tropical squalls and amazing looking vertical cloud formations which hopefully didn't pass over us. As we got nearer the Marshalls and Kiribati we saw quite a few Purse Seine fishing trawlers and their on-board helicopters. One particular day, not a boat in sight, we noticed a chopper making a bee-line for us....they flew really low across the water towards the boat, did a tight circuit, waved and saluted, then returned to wherever they had come from.

Purse Seine fishing trawler near Kiribati

Impellor repair on last leg

Ants retrieving a halyard on last leg

I found I relaxed into the sea journey and having Brian as crew enabled me to take to my bunk whenever I was uncomfortable with the motion. Brian was a gentleman throughout the trip and we both appreciated having him on board. Ants did the cooking as he seems almost bombproof towards the motion of the boat. Between the three of us plenty of books were read and lots of chat...and one movie night!

The equator crossing was celebrated late at night at 7 knots with a couple of glasses of port kindly donated by Don Duffy (KI friend) and a big feed of chocolate. Unfortunately I was bunk bound and waited for the following day to celebrate.

7 knots across the equator

Ants raising his glass of port after crossing the equator

We had plenty of time to look at the statistics of the trip so here are a few numbers for those who might be interested in that side of things:

A bad phone photo of a table from our Android tablet of trip stats

It seemed no time at all after this that we found ourselves sailing past Milli atoll, at 8 knots (favourable wind and current). this was our first view of the Republic of the Marshall islands. Milli looked tantilisingly tropical with tall palm trees perched on little motus (islands) with waves crashing on the reef.

One of the islands of  Milli atoll

An interesting way to sell a quad bike in Santo!

Kerry's last night in Santo

The dinghy landing in Santo

We arrived in Majuro in 11 days and 22.5 hours out of Santo. Ants had written a post it note before we left Sydney to say the last leg would take 11-12 days. Once again according to plan!!

A common equatorial cloud formation showing really high vertical development

A note from Ants. It is really unusual for us to cruise/sail to a timetable and it was amazing how this whole trip went almost exactly to plan. We met crew at the right time and place. The right weather arrived as if we had ordered it and Break Free performed at her best. Our breakages/ breakdowns were limited to a couple of impellors, a spinnaker block at the top of the mast and a CV joint needing lubrication. Trev the trim tab auto pilot was a great addition to the crew, he ate little (less than one amp), never complained and steered 95% of the way. On a personal note I have had psoriasis for forty years and by Sydney it was nearly gone and now in Majuro I have clear skin for the first time since my teens!! (I must be at my relaxed best when I'm sailing).

In our next post we will tell you about the joys of Majuro!
Cheers Ants and Jane

New Caledonia and Vanuatu

South Lagoon, New Caledonia

Brian with a Wahoo

Ile Ouen

Having a freshwater dip in New Caledonia

Hi Folks, just a small update before the last big leg of our journey to Majuro.

We left Noumea and had a lovely sail to Ile Maitre, a small island resort near Noumea. Ile Maitre is a conservation area and we found it was great for snorkling. The coral reef fish were abundant and incredibly varied even if the visibility isn't that good.  Then we sailed across the south end of the lagoon to what we are calling horseshoe bay....a quiet little nameless  bay where we anchored for the night which was on
our way. The following morning we moved to Ile Ouen, Bay Ouara...had a walk up the hill above the small village. The next day we moved nearer to Goro, one of the lagoon exits and had a great swim in a freshwater
pool up over a cascade....it was a lovely feeling to remove the saltiness from my skin just for a while.

According to Ants we had the best ever sail onto the atoll of Ouvea, 100 miles
downwind in flat water and fast. We anchored in the lagoon near the "church with the two spires".
 Oh yes, we spotted a Sperm Whale on the way...a characteristic 45 degree blow and rounded dorsal fin also they are frequently seen on the edge of a deep drop off in the sea.
We had a little walk ashore just to stretch our legs after the overnighter and met the local Gendarme who pointed us in the right direction for a walk around. We found the people quite  friendly. Six hours later we were on our way again.











What I haven't really talked about yet is while at sea, in between the ports/stopovers we use a 24 hour watch system. So someone is always on watch, which involves watching for other boats/ships, tweaking the sails, changing the sails according to the changes in the weather. Most of the time its been 2 hours on during the day and 3 hours on during the night. Ants, Brian and Kerry have covered the night watches with 3  on and 6 off. I help during the day.

The sail to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu was again fast. At first the sea  was a bit rolly but conditions got more comfortable on the second day. We anchored near customs in Luganville and eventually
managed to get everything sorted. We have to go back to immigration
tomorrow as they shut at 3pm. The local vegetable market which seems to
be open 24 hours a day was one of those places I could have spent ages in. Lots of sweet potatoes wrapped in banana leaf baskets, chillies, a huge variety of bananas, taro, spinach, tomatoes and really friendly helpful people.
We are over halfway now from Sydney and two thirds from Kangaroo Island.....just 1420 nm to go.

Life on the High Seas

The Yellow Fin King Fish we caught near Elizabeth Reef

Crew (part II) Kerry, Me & Brian

   The  few days in Sydney were great and a welcome bit of land time.  Departure saw us loaded up with  all sorts of delectable goodies from Ants cousin & family, Kristine & John. They came to visit us aboard Breakfree for the day with young Isabel and Conor and left us with lovely real butter, King Island cheddar and  lots of other treats.

A small bit of a downer was the fact that all dairy and fresh foods will be taken by customs in New Caledonia....but we really enjoyed the process of having to consume all the goodies before we arrived. The morning of arrival in Noumea we treated ourselves to a gourmet version Emmental omelette and freshly squeezed orange juice. And then they let us keep the last of the cheese anyway!

The first long leg was Sydney to Elizabeth Reef. We had a nor'westerly when we left, by that night it had gone SW and we had thirty knots plus so we were screaming along downwind with our staysail up alone. I spent quite a bit of time on my bunk the first few days as it was too rough for me. To get East from Australia we could not have chosen a better mix of winds (so the boys say). 520 nautical miles in three and a half days at 6.2 knots.

But I must say my condition has slightly improved compared to other trips. I haven't been actually sick once since leaving Kangaroo Island which is a first for me. Its been great having Brian and Kerry as crew as I'm not worried about not being able to do my share of the watches.

Kerry on watch with a cuppa

Kerry in his bunk using the lee cloth to its best advantage

?A Cape Petrel

Brian on the helm looking quizzical

Being at sea absolutely miles from anywhere can be a bit daunting but life seemed to settle down to watches, sail changes, food preparation, reading and even watching a movie from the hard drive with the digital telly....when its not too rough. We only spotted one solitary ship for the whole of the ten days, it still amazes me about the vastness and space on the ocean.

We also saw a constant stream of Shearwaters migrating south along the way. We all spent a while trying to identify what we thought was a Cape Petrel, when we're stuck with the bird identification, taking a photo and zooming in quite often helps.

Elizabeth Reef was a welcome stopover....on our approach we caught a 25kg, 1.3m Yellow Tail King Fish. It lasted well and tasted delicious....actually a bit like chicken! The reef is truly in the middle of nowhere....90 miles north of Lord Howe Island. The anchorage is just in the lagoon entrance and once we anchored we noticed quite a few small reef sharks..(Ants was gutting the King Fish!) ...swimming around the boat.

The next leg to Noumea of 600 nms was notable for light winds and too much diesel. Of note were 2 mechanical problems. The first was a broken impeller which caused a small overheat but Ants fixed it fairly quickly. More worrying was a prop/gearbox/shaft rumble that gradually became loud. But an hour bum up in the engine space at midnight and Ants found a dry CV joint and some grease had it quiet and no further concerns.Five and a half days later we had a lovely sail up to Dumbea Passage and a midnight motor into the Noumea anchorage. We are now past the half way point.1900 miles to go!

We were all looking forward to a few days ashore by the time we arrived. And very French it is with coffee French sticks(baguettes really) and pardon, au revoir, merci.

Brian treated us to a delicious meal in this eatery in Noumea

Non photos s'il vous plait

Breakfree in Port Moselle marina, Noumea

We berthed at Port Moselle marina which is right in the centre of things. Copious showers, a big dose of shopping and a big feed at Monsieur Boeuf (Mr Beef) and I feel like a landlubber again.  We managed to catch up with cruising friend Marie Lise from S.V. Pied de Lune who we last saw in Sydney last year. They have their yacht berthed in another yacht marina CNC. Ants has been busy with a bit of boat maintanence.

Noumea

Noumea

Cafe au Lait avec croissants

Note the SMALL coffee

The Cruise Liner Pacific Jewel in Noumea

Noumea was a welcome stopover but I'm looking forward to Vanuatu and our final arrival at Majuro. We are still trying to keep to schedule and make the Republic of the Marshall Islands for October 29th so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for fair winds....and none of that upwind stuff....

Ants in the galley

The Lakes and our trip around the corner

The Blue Drifter with a pinch of sky...

Just a small section of the Gippsland Lakes

Amazing aeronautical feat me thinks!

In the last post I had mentioned our stopover in Refuge cove. I was thinking to myself what an apt name as it is a true refuge from the ravages of Bass Strait. I had been concerned about how rough the seas of the Strait would be as I am, as most of you are probably aware, a fair weather sailor and take to my bunk feeling green around the gills when the boat starts rolling. All that water funneling through a fairly narrow, relatively shallow Bass Strait gap, in the overall scheme of the big southern ocean quite often means a confused sea. But this, I am pleased to say, has been my best Bass Strait crossing yet.

A few of these public jetties would suit American River!!

Chinamans Creek near Metung

A few days spent around the Lakes was really enjoyable. Jim and Peter, our cruising friends, who are well experienced local sailors, had pointed us in the right direction and after being thoroughly spoiled by them we headed over to Ocean Grange where we tied up to one of the many the public jetties. Had a great chat to a recently married American gentleman living in the beautifully located Grange overlooking the Ocean. Next day we sailed to the small town of Metung and discovered the quiet backwaters of Chinamans Creek where we tied up to another handy public jetty and spent a lazy few hours. The following morning we motored to Lakes Entrance, quite a busy one street town with a great selection of Op shops.


Dawn on Friday saw us with a light wind in a confused sea waiting for the expected change in wind direction and a trough  to pass through.  Thankfully, as the wind gradually built up from the south west the SE swell was knocked down and we had an excellent sail. Ants and Greg saw a Humpback Whale fully breach...an amazing sight. Once we had gone past Gabo Island and rounded the corner into New South Wales the winds eased to a light westerly.  This sail included a 24 hour run of 155nms which for coastal sailing is a record for Ants. "Breakfree" does like a good wind on or aft of the beam.

The lookout for Narooma bar

On Saturday we made the decision to make port at Narooma as the Adelaide Crows were playing Hawthorn in the AFL prelim. final and we couldn't concentrate on sailing in those conditions. Unfortunately for all on board we lost....but they put up an admirable fight and it was a close match....next year.

One of the locals!

Greg enjoying Breakfree's outdoor shower

Narooma is a pretty little seaside town on a hill by a bend in the river (sounds like a song?). There is a great fish co-op by the bridge where we treated ourselves to flake & mullet fillets. Greg braved the elements by having an outdoor cold shower down by the beach. Ants went for a cool swim off the back of the boat. We were there on Market day and had great fun rummaging the stalls for fishing lures etc. I got some "happy pants" light weight cotton, quite colourful, trousers which, I think, will be ideal for the Marshall Islands....even though they look a little like pyjamas!


Leaving Narooma we crossed the bar and motored in a sloppy confused sea for the cold front to arrive. We could see the clouds approaching from  the south and finally the southerly buster arrived with gusto at 35 knots. For a few hours we were sailing with only the small staysail at 7 plus knots and a maximum of 9 knots! After 30 hours and 160nm we sailed in past Sydney Heads at 22.00hrs. Greg was particularly impressed with the vista of the lights of Sydney. We anchored quite comfortably on the southern side of the harbour in Rose Bay.

Our thanks go to Brian & Ros for use of their washing machine, the feel of clean salt free sheets is most enjoyable. We also appreciated a lovely Thai meal with them at Randwick, its always great to catch up. Thanks also go to Greg, our departing crew who has jumped ship to fly home to Trudy & the twins on Kangaroo Island. A more able, willing, considerate and good humoured crew we couldn't have wished for. We are hoping to catch up with Kristine & John (Ants's cousin and family) Thursday. Also tomorrow we will be joined by the new crew Brian MacArthur and Kerry Hall for the next leg of our journey.

The forecast for Saturday and a few days beyond is for a mild westerly change so an excellent way to leave Australia for Noumea, possibly an 8 day voyage. We have booked in with Customs for clearance on Friday and than dawn Saturday should see us away.

Oh yeah, even Ants has some trepidation. It is a big trip from here on.
The next time we email/blog may be a couple of weeks from now and it will be from foreign lands!
Salutations, Jane & Ants

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

This is the BIG but ROUGH plan....

Time is truly flying. We have just arrived back from a busy three day Australian Volunteers International (AVI) pre-departure briefing in Melbourne. It was great to meet the other North Pacific volunteers and find we all have similar hopes and a few concerns.  Thanks to AVI changing the assignment start date I am now able to sail all the way with Ants. This will be my biggest/longest sailing voyage ever. Ants, in thirty five years sailing, has never done a leg as long as 1500 nautical miles (2700 km) either.  By the end of the conference we officially knew we had the assignment....phew.

Melbourne was really enjoyable, nice motel, Lygon Streets amazin' selection of Italian restaurants and good weather! When we walked along Lygon Street we were offered from a free glass of wine to a bottle of wine, bruschetta and coffee if we would dine in that particular establishment. We opted for a bottle of wine with a spectacular seafood special, yum. It was fun each morning to walk along the Fitzroy/ Carlton streets and admire the incredible Street Art and the mix of old and new buildings. We had a lovely evening catching up with friends Julie and Royce where we got a great recipe for an alternative choc dessert made with creamed avocado and coco. It may help Ants to survive the two years choc free in the Marshalls.

Lots of farewell dinners with family and friends makes leaving for the Marshall Islands seem more real. Ants's daughter, Kimberley, has been over visiting this week. Also Adelaide friends Kerry and Jenni were over for the weekend and helped scrub and partially anti-foul Breakfrees' bottom....gosh the water was a tad chilly!! (Oz translation: Bloody freezing). Its true that tide and time waits for no man.

Avocados for lunch?

Sailing in the Whitsundays October 2011

So our plan is ROUGHLY to leave Kangaroo Island for Sydney. About 1000 nautical miles

September 10th: KI; possible stops: Robe; Portland; Port Fairy; Lakes Entrance; Eden; Sydney

Crew: Ants; Jane; Greg Roberts

Arriving Sydney September 26th (Greg goes home to Trudy & the twins)
Leaving around 29th:
Sydney; Lord Howe/Elizabeth Reef; New Caledonia possible 8 day leg, about 1100nm

Crew: Ants; Jane; Kerry Hall; Brian McArthur

Arriving New Caledonia/ Noumea October 10th/17th 
onto Vanuatu (about 300nm) where Kerry will abandon ship
Leaving around October 17th for  Majuro, Marshall Islands, the longest leg, about 1500nm non stop!!
Crew: Ants; Jane; Brian Mc.
We will crack open a bottle of bubbly as we cross the equator....or spend weeks stuck in the doldrums!

Proposed arrival date 28th October.......As is apparent this is all very approximate and weather dependent. Also, as is obvious to the mathematically minded, the days don't quite add up....that's sailing for you.

When we leave  home next Monday we will still have both mobile phones and internet so communication through text and email is probably the best. Also excuse the occasional grammatical/spelling errors cuz this is a very casual blog. Chat soon. Jane & Ants XX

P.S. Ants helped to edit this post