Well this was the first big day. with the aim of getting to Jervis Bay. We set off from Spring Cove, Sydney harbour at 0615 hrs, a bit later than planned in light rain and no wind. So we motored south for a few hours until we started to see some wind and then motor sailed. By 1100 hrs the engine was off and we had idyllic downwind sailing doing 7-8 knots and sometime 9 knots. We even had a brief view of a dolphin following us as we passed by Bondi beach.
By 1700 hrs we had sight of Point Perpendicular, the entrance to Jervis Bay, and we were pretty much going to schedule. As we entered the bay we decided to motor sail in but then the dreaded southerly change occurred. Quite staggering how quickly we went from idyllic conditions as shown in the photos below to in excess of 30 knots on the nose. The main came down very quickly and the poor engine struggled to make headway. At one point we were down to 1 knot and it was gusting to 37 knots! After two hours of battling we came into our planned sheltered anchorage at Darling Roads, to find four other yachts and a very unexpected free mooring. Despite the conditions, Debi did a text book job of steering us to the mooring and suddenly things seemed a lot calmer. I doubt this will be the last time we get caught by a southerly change on this trip, but next time we should be a bit more on our toes!
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| Rounding Pt. Perpendicular, Jervis Bay |
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| Pt. Perpendicular, Jervis Bay |
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| The most welcomed mooring in the world! |
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