Homeward Bound

After a lovely four weeks in Vanuatu, we finally left on 26^th August. We cleared customs and immigration which involved a fair bit of messing about and scurrying between different offices around town, which was a little annoying. Once cleared we headed back to the boat, deflated the dinghy and, at about midday, we set off.

Our first night went well. Although neither of us had much sleep, the weather was kind and we had 15-20 knot winds on the beam so made good progress at around 7 knots. We had a couple of Chinese fishing vessels to keep us company in the middle of the night which we are pretty sure that we saw on the way to Vanuatu as well. They seem to get everywhere.

The idyllic weather continued into the second day giving us a gentle but fast trip. We covered a total of 313nm in the first two days, which was great progress. This took us to just to the north of New Caledonia, where we had to start picking our way through the reefs in the area. We passed through what is known as “the Grand Passage” in the company of the cruise ship “Pacific Aria”. They were also heading to Brisbane, but travelling at about three times our speed.

Flying along at 7 knots in ideal conditions

The miles just disappearing behind us

By the fourth day out we intercepted the trough, which was forecasted, and passed through some heavy rain and choppy seas. Initially this was tolerable as the wind stayed consistent and we were making good progress. However, overnight, it turned a bit wild, with a wind shift to the south, gusts to 30 knots and very heavy rain. It got so grim at one stage that we had a Sooty Tern sheltering on the deck. A beautifully delicate looking bird, but obviously tougher than it looks.

Having passed through the trough and cleared all the rain we were looking forward to getting back to some sailing in the forecasted 15-20 knots. Unfortunately, the only thing that was right about the forecast was that the wind would be a southerly! For about eight hours overnight we had consistent southerly winds over 30 knots, gusting 37 knots. We had a heavily reefed main and no headsail and were going nowhere fast. Having been sailing for five days in pretty much a straight line to Brisbane we should have known it wouldn’t last.

The strong winds and big seas brought us another visitor, this time a Red Footed Booby. It somehow managed to balance on the polished stainless steel rail next to the cockpit and stayed there all night. Remember it was blowing over the 30 knots, with the boat pitching and rolling and this thing has webbed feet!  It was totally unfazed by us coming into the cockpit – obviously needed the rest.

An impressive balancing act from the Red Footed Booby

As we approached Fraser Island the wind eased but was changeable in direction and our wobbly track reflects these changes as we continued to try to progress south. We had lots of traffic to avoid as we approached within 30 miles of the coast with cargo ships and tankers heading up and down the coast. We finally spotted land, Fraser Island, at 0730 on the 2^nd September. With the wind still preventing us heading south we decided to take the easy option and furl the sails and put the engine on. We had the EAC (East Australia Current) to help us progress.

Lots of traffic to avoid as we approached the Australian coast

The final night at sea was slow going and, as we approached Moreton Bay, the weather deteriorated again, so we waited for daylight before negotiating the channels. Then it was a slog across the bay and five miles up the river through the commercial shipping port to get to the marina where we had to clear customs.

Motoring through the commercial port in Brisbane

After exactly eight days at sea and 1134 nm, we tied up at the fuel dock, which doubled as the quarantine dock, at Rivergate Marina at midday on 3^rd September. 

Tied up at Rivergate Marina awaiting customs clearance

On arrival we asked the dockhand how to contact customs to let them know we had arrived. His answer was interesting. He said “Oh don’t worry they know you are here. They have been following you on AIS and there are surveillance cameras throughout the port!” Sure enough, within the hour they showed up. Welcome back to modern society.

Despite all the rumours to the contrary, the customs and quarantine people were a delight to deal with. They were very friendly and courteous and very efficient. The quarantine process was very thorough, examining not just for banned foods etc. but also for insects and infestations. He pulled the boat apart but thankfully didn’t find anything nasty.

The whole process was over by 1630 after which we left the marina and headed back through the port and once more out into Moreton Bay towards Newport Marina, our final destination. By the time we got there at 2000hrs the tide was too low to get into the marina and so we anchored outside, in what felt like the middle of the bay, waiting for the tide. The champagne came out and disappeared fairly quickly and we had a very sound sleep.

The champagne just seemed to evaporate

All clean and tied up in Newport Marina for a few months

After getting tied up in the marina yesterday we had a busy day cleaning the boat and getting everything neat and tidy. We had a nice meal out last night at the Moreton Bay Boat Club and today we are locking up X-Pat and departing for home. We will be back in November.