Wednesday November 1st, 2000
Latitude 22 degrees 16 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 166 degrees 26 minutes 03 seconds East
Port Moselle Anchorage, New Caledonia
Today when I awoke I was terribly sick, nothing too serious, but a temperature of 102 is certainly slowing me down. The weather is still really bad so at least we wont being trying to set sail today. We are really low on water so we lifted anchor and went into the visitor dock to get some more water and see if we can beg for a spot on the dock. No such luck, they said as soon as we were filled with water we had to go anchor. The winds are now blowing strongly out of the west and so the anchorage we came from is no longer a safe place to be. We saw that they opened up the anchorage in the northwest corner of the harbor so that is where we will move. We got anchored and then I collapsed and spent the rest of the day resting. John and David are already bored with this weather and anchor watching are reading. Not a very exciting day. Tonight we talked to Shiriri on the radio; they are getting totally slammed by these lows and are still hove to. We plotted their point on the chart and they have actually been blown backward! Ouch! I’m so glad we haven’t left yet.
Thursday November 2nd , 2000
Latitude 22 degrees 16 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 166 degrees 26 minutes 03 seconds East
Port Moselle Anchorage, New Caledonia
This morning we awoke to the same blustery conditions. The weather is really sucking big time. We listened to the radio net this morning to hear about the boats underway to Australia already. Most are really getting slammed. Several have blown out their main sails and one lost their autopilot while another lost their forestay. They are very luck they didn’t loose their mast. They have alerted the Australian coast guard to their bad luck. Being that boats are dragging in the anchorage including us, David decided it best to have someone stay on the boat. So he said John and I should at least go in and try to have some fun. We made it in to the marina surfing down some big waves in the dinghy. We made our way to the library to catch some singing and dancing. Today they had set up for a small rap group from New Zealand, but as soon as they began it started pouring rain, so everyone rain for cover in the library. They soon had reestablished themselves on the library steps and preformed in the rain. They were really good and did a rap version of the haka, a traditional chant of the Maori. After they finished the sun had come out and so did the group from Fiji. They were the same performers we had seen a few days ago, but we had much better seats today. Front row! John wanted to check his email so we found the Internet café and got down to business. We thought we would try to make it to the village where there was to be some more dancing, we headed towards the bus stop only to get caught in another rainstorm. So we found shelter in a café and waited out the storm. By now its getting too late to go to the village so we picked up a few groceries and headed back to the boat to see how David was doing. He did put out the second anchor while we were gone and just sat on the boat all day watching our boat and other boats. We made a nice pot of soup tonight to baby all our colds and hang out in this blustery weather. Tonight when we talked to Shiriri they were still hove to and were hoping to get moving again by morning. Wow, what an ugly trip for those poor souls. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better conditions for everyone.
Friday November 3rd , 2000
Latitude 22 degrees 16 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 166 degrees 26 minutes 03 seconds East
Port Moselle Anchorage, New Caledonia
Not much new today, still the same crappy conditions. We listened to the net this morning and the boats underway are not having a good time. But they are slowly making progress. Even Shiriri is now going again. Well the wind is still blowing 25 –30 knots out of the west and northwest here in the anchorage and around New Caledonia, so still not a good weather window to leave. No boats have left since last Sunday, so that should be a sign, even though I’m sure over half the anchorage is checked out the country already. There are lots of boats chomping at the bit to get going, but waiting for a weather window. We went into town this morning to get some more groceries and check the weather faxes. We might be able to get going on sat. So just wanted to be prepared. With the 3 of us in the dinghy and all the groceries we had a one wet ride back against the waves and the wind. I was totally soaked from head to toe. After everything was unpacked and everyone was dried out again, john and I decided to brave the conditions one more time with a trip back into town to see the village on last time. We found a bus to get on and arrived at the village only to find that it was totally closed up. Today was the final day of the festival and the closing ceremony was to begin at 4:00 so we walked around waiting for something to happen. Finally around 5:00 all the participating countries paraded out of the village for the last time and paraded down the main street to a crowd of thousands. There we cheered and as they went by and we were entertained on last time with some dancing and sings as they walked by. Well it was big day for me, being that I want feeling to well so john and I caught the last bus and headed back to the marina. On the way we stopped and picked up some Chinese food to take back to David for dinner. Another wonderful day in this windy rainy city. Seems like were back in Seattle. I guess john brought all this lovely weather with him!
Saturday November 4th, 2000
Latitude 22 degrees 16 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 166 degrees 26 minutes 03 seconds East
Port Moselle Anchorage, New Caledonia
This morning we awoke to dead clam anchorage, no white caps, no dragging boats and sunny sky. Could things finally be turning around? Yes, for the worse! 15 minutes after we awoke the wind picked up to the strongest it’s been since we moved here. Huge white caps between here and the marina and the boat was bobbing up and down. We heard cries for help on the vhf radio as boats were starting to drag and some had already hit other boats and anchors were tangled. Guess we are pretty lucky so far. We listened on the net this morning and seems like conditions are getting better for those boats underway, the low that bothered them is now in New Caledonia and hopefully will be gone in the next day. We listened in for Shiriri and plotted their point; they are finally back to where they were 4 days ago! How agonizing! They are certainly a tough bunch. Today we let David go in the dinghy, while John and I stayed on anchor watch. David went to the French weather media service and got a 7-day forecast for between here in Australia. It’s actually looking pretty good so we think we will leave on Monday. Finally. We are anxious to get going, but not under the conditions that everyone just had. I think there will be about 80 boats leaving in the next few days if these conditions are true. John and I hung and watched a couple of movies and then read the rest of the day. Tonight when we talked to Shiriri they were still beating into west winds, but hopefully that will change for them soon. They have been out for 6 days now and have only made 300 miles. They still have around 500 to go. This to trip to oz is a duzey!
Sunday November 5th, 2000
Latitude 22 degrees 16 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 166 degrees 26 minutes 03 seconds East
Port Moselle Anchorage, New Caledonia
This morning it was a calm anchorage so we lifted anchor and went to the visitor dock to fill up the water tanks and then off to the fuel dock to fill up the jerry jugs with some diesel. Its looking like the weather has clamed down and we may have to motor for a few days to get out of here. We reanchored and then went to town to get the last of the provisions for the trip, hopefully this will be the last trip to the grocery store. After a short nap David, John, Ed and I hiked up to the French meteorology service to get a final forecast for the next 5 days. They had all kinds of great computers there with satellite imagery and weather modeling software. The weather looks good for the next 5 days, light winds and then a low coming off the Australian coast sometime next weekend. So if we are fast, we won’t get slammed! That would be nice. We took our last hot showers and said our good byes at the dock and headed back to the boat to prepare to leave. If all goes well we will finally be leaving Monday morning with a 5-6 day passage to the land of OZ. Hopefully the wizard will be there waiting for us to show us the yellow brick road to a safe harbor. We are planning on going to Coffs Harbor, but well see where the wind blows us. Could be Brisbane or Bundaburg. So if you don’t here from us for a week you know we are at last sailing across the Coral Sea.
Monday November 6th, 2000
Latitude 22 degrees 16 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 166 degrees 26 minutes 03 seconds East
Port Moselle Anchorage, New Caledonia
Beginning of Day One
This morning we were up at sunrise and preparing the boat for departure. The weather finally looked good, in fact now we may have to motor for a few days. But that is better then being slammed by bad weather. At 6:50 am we pulled up the hook and motored out of the harbor. Two hours later we exited Dumbea Pass and we were officially out of New Caledonia. Around noon we had some wind so we put up the spinnaker and were cruising along between 6-7 knots. John is feeling a little bit of seasickness so I hope is going to be all right! Around 6:00 PM the fishing rod went singe and there was a big fish!
John tired with all his might to reel him in, it was by the far the biggest fish David and I had ever seen! John worked for a while reeling him in, but the fish finally escaped, too bad, but it was probably too big for us to eat anyway. We settled into our night shifts only to find John pretty sick. Around 8:00 pm he became the first person to throw up over the side of Francis. He says he feels lots better though. That’s good, we still have 5 days to go.
Tuesday November 7th, 2000
Latitude 23 degrees 20 minutes 04 seconds South
Longitude: 163 degrees 55 minutes 50 seconds East
Some Where in the Coral Sea
End of Day One – 155 nautical miles traveled
We took the spinnaker down around sunset and turned on the motor last night and continued to motor all through the night. The sea was becoming fairly flat. These kinds of things always scare me. It just doesn’t feel right when it’s so calm out. Maybe because I always fear the clam before the storm. When I came on watch at 10 in the evening there was a thick fog and drizzle so I turned on the radar to watch for oncoming ships. By 1:oo am the ocean was so flat and clam it was erie! It was like we were sitting at anchor on a big lake. By morning we had light rain and fog. John is still feeling a little queasy and David and I are still battling the flu, so we are struggling to get as much sleep as possible. It’s a good thing we have John, even if he is a little seasick.
Wednesday November 8th, 2000
Latitude 24 degrees 28 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 161 degrees 34 minutes 7 seconds East
Some Where in the Coral Sea
End of Day Two – 145 nautical miles traveled
At 9:00 am this morning we finally got some wind and were able to put the sails back up and give the engine a rest and our ears! We were sailing along at 8 knots but the wind was from the south so it was hard for us to get south this day. So we went west thinking and hoping the wind would change and let us get south later on in the day. Around noon Johns fishing line was zinging away. This time he was determined to get this fish. He worked on it for a while and then David took a turn at reeling him in. when the fish got close it was obviously a Dorado. Yea! Something beside tuna, we were all very happy with the catch. John measured the fish to be 3 and half feet. Its such a beautiful fish I couldn’t stand to watch it be killed so I went below decks while the guys filleted the magnificent creature. Unfortunately we were all too sick to think about eating fish today so we sacked it up and slipped it in the freezer for a better day. We were making great time with this strong wind averaging 8 knots most of the day. By 6 at night it was becoming fairly ruff so we rolled in the jenny and reefed the main. So hopefully that will keep things quite through the night. We are pretty sure we went through a front and while I was on watch I counted 39 lightening strikes. We had variable winds most of the night, but they remained strong.
Thursday November 9th, 2000
Latitude 24 degrees 16 minutes 01 seconds South
Longitude: 158 degrees 41 minutes 09 seconds East
Some Where in the Coral Sea
End of Day Three – 170 nautical miles traveled
We are really making good time with this strong wind, but we are afraid we won’t be able to get enough southing to make it to Coffs Harbor, our original destination. At 9:00 this morning we see another sailboat to the north of us and we are pretty sure it is Kamal from the check in on the net this morning. We called them on the vhf radio and gave them a good surprise for they had not yet seen us. Later in the morning while I was on watch I heard a big snap and then the preventer came around and swung in front of me. The poor thing finally gave out and broke. So we quickly rigged up a new one and were on our way again. By mid afternoon we are fighting a good storm and David has decided to hand steer for awhile giving the autopilot a break in these tough winds. By mid afternoon we are pretty sure we won’t make Coffs Harbour and are putting in waypoints for Brisbane, which is further up the coast. This wind is pushing us west fast and we won’t have enough ocean left to get south. By nighttime we are beginning to wonder if we can even make it to Brisbane and put in waypoints for Bundaburg. Lots of boats are getting blown there; there will be a big check in there in a few days if some of us can’t get south. We spent a very lumpy night on the high seas. Oddly enough John is feeling better in these bigger seas.
Friday November 10th, 2000
Latitude 25 degrees 01 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 155 degrees 49 minutes 06 seconds East
Some Where in the Coral Sea
End of Day Four – 169 nautical miles traveled
Around 6:00 this morning the wind finally began to calm down and let us have a break. We were able to take the double reef out of the main and put the jenny out again. Now were sailing comfortably through the day. John is feeling lots better and is back on solid food again. I was beginning to think I was going to have to force-feed him pretty soon. By Friday night it is a nice ride and we were actually able to get some southing into today. So it looks like we will give Bundaburg a skip and see if we can make Coffs harbor. Tonight we are all feeling pretty good and know we will be to land soon. We cooked a feast of fresh beans, mashed potatoes and John’s Dorado. It was a meal fit for a king, and pretty good being that we hadn’t really had a full meal like this since we left. Tonight on watch I saw several big ships go by. One came within a half mile of us and I tried to hale it, but it didn’t answer back, so I shinned our million-candlepower flashlight on it to make sure he saw us. It has become painfully clear that we will not make Coffs harbor anymore so we will make landfall in Australia in Brisbane. Which is just fine with me. John’s friend Bill has already arrived in Australia to meet him and it could possibly take another two days to make it Coffs harbor if the conditions were right. So Brisbane it will be.
Saturday November 11th, 2000
Latitude 26 degrees 47 minutes 04 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 45 minutes East
Entering Moreton Bay Australia
End of Day Five – 168 nautical miles traveled
Around 6:15 this morning we see the land of OZ! It’s hard to believe after all this time that we are finally here. We get out the binoculars to look for the entrance buoys to Moreton Bay, which is the entrance to the Brisbane area. We found out through the radio net this morning that you actually check into the county in a little town called Scarborough, so that is where we will head. We spent the next 5 hours motoring through Moreton Bay making our way to Scarborough. We were trying to eat up all our fresh veggies, fruits and cheese along the way for we know these are items that quarantine will take away from us. Finally by 3:oo PM we are safely tied to the quarantine dock at the Scarborough harbor marina and are welcomed to Australia.
Final Land Fall
Latitude 27 degrees 11 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 06 minutes 03 seconds East
Scarborough Harbor Marina
End of Passage – 863 nautical miles traveled
We spent the next few hours tied up to the quarantine dock. They take this very seriously in Australia for there is no way we could have gotten on land. There was a huge locked gate at the dock that we could not get by. First customs and immigration came and that all went very smoothly, passports stamped and a nice welcome to Australia. We then began to get all our food out of storage and on the table for the arrival of the quarantine inspector. When quarantine arrived he brought a huge garbage sack with him so we knew he meant business. He first took all our fresh fruits, veggies, cheese, milk and egg products, then he went through all the stuff we had on the table and my sea shells. He took away some of sea shells, but I got to keep the majority of them. When he was done there was a nice $242.00 bill to be paid for this service. So they come and take away all your food and then charge you for it! Nice. Well we are now cleared for walking around in the land of Oz. We got a slip assignment at the marina and got settled in. John was trying to contact Bill so they could get connected and David and I got showers. John, David and I went out for a well-deserved dinner at a nice restaurant in the harbor. After a good strong Auzzie beer we were ready for a good nights sleep. It’s hard to believe we are finally in Australia. We have traveled 9,187 miles to get here in 14 ½ months. We have crossed 75 degrees 35 minutes of latitude and 85 degrees 21 minutes of longitude. Crossed 7 time zones, the international dateline, the equator and visited 13 islands and 7 different countries! That’s a lot of sailing and we are very proud of our accomplishment. It hasn’t all been easy or fun, but it has definitely been an adventure and we have met many wonderful people along the way and seen many beautiful islands. We will stay in Australia for 5 to 6 months and wait out hurricane season. We weren’t planning on staying in Scarborough, but it seems to be a very nice place, so we will hang out here for while.
Sunday November 12th, 2000
Latitude 27 degrees 11 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 06 minutes 03 seconds East
Scarborough Harbor Marina
We slept a good 11 hours last night and felt like we had awoken out of a coma. I guess the relief of finally making it here and being tied up to a dock let us get a good night sleep. David, John and I hit the pavement to do a little exploring of our new surroundings. We found a wonderful little café to have lunch at called the Café FRANCIS, so naturally it was wonderful. We picked up a few groceries and then made out way back to the boat. John went into Brisbane to meet up with Bill, while David and I relaxed and settled in to our new home. There are many familiar faces here at this marina so we will have some friends to hang out with for awhile. Later this evening John and Bill both showed up in a rental car and were ready to hit the town. I went out to dinner with them and then let them get down to exploring the Brisbane nightlife on their own. It seems very strange to be here in Australia and have two of my friends here when I arrived.
Monday November 13th, 2000
Latitude 27 degrees 11 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 06 minutes 03 seconds East
Scarborough Harbor Marina
David and I got officially signed into the marina today and signed up to stay here for another 4 weeks. Then we decided to figure out the bus system and go to the neighboring town of Kippering and visit the giant mall we’ve been hearing about. We hadn’t seen a mall like that since we left Seattle. It was quite a treat. We found a bank and opened an Australian account. Our money instantly doubled with the great exchange rate the American dollar now gets. Yippee! Then we found a mobile phone so we could make phone calls and people can now call us. The phone system here is very competitive and we were able to buy a phone with 25 minutes of time for $49.50 American. So we are feeling very civilized again. So now we have an address and phone number if anyone would like to contact us here is the information:
Mailing address:
David Peck/ Lisa Britzman
C/O Sv/Francis
Scarborough Marina
28 Thurecht PDE
Scarborough, Queensland 4020
Australia
Phone number:
Overseas calls use:
00-612-0409-643-256
Local calls use:
0409-643-256
Tuesday November 14th - Thursday November 23rd, 2000
Latitude 27 degrees 11 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 06 minutes 03 seconds East
Scarborough Harbor Marina
We haven’t done too much exciting yet. We decided that we would work hard on some boat projects for a few days in between rainstorms. We have been cleaning and sanding all the exterior wood and are getting ready to oil it, if and when it ever quits raining. I got my bike out and went exploring the wonderful trails they have here. They have all kinds of wonderful bike trails that go along the waterfront all the way to Brisbane. I’ve had several nice rides so far. David has started running again, so all we need to do now is find a swimming pool and we will be set. We have done some exploring by bus. The buses here are incredible. They are all made by Mercedes Benz and are very luxurious. Quite a change from the buses we have grown accustom to in the south pacific. Our slip in the marina is fairly close to the customs dock where boats have to go when they first check into the county. We have had a lot if entertainment this week watching sailboats pour into the country. One day there were 15 boats that all came in. There is only room on the dock for 3 at a time so many of them had to wait out in the harbor at anchor, while others too tired and frustrated just came in and rafted up to the boats that were at the dock. At one point they were rafted out 4 deep! Glad we got here when we did. The marina is full and they are sending people to other marinas now. On Saturday a bunch of us American boats got together to celebrate Thanks Giving. David baked a turkey and I made mashed potatoes and a cheesecake pie. We had a nice get together in the park across from the marina. Someone even found a can a cranberry sauce in thier bilge! We had quite a feast and several people commented that this was the best meal they had since they left the Untied States. There were several pumpkin pies, berry pie and cheesecake for desert. We did invite an Australian couple who had never heard of thanks giving before; he went back to the table of food 4 times! Lee told him that he was very good at thanks giving! We all went back to our boats stuffed and happy.
The rest of the week David and I continued to work on boat projects in-between rainstorms and we began the process of looking for a car. After a couple of days of searching in a rental car we finally found our car. It’s a light purple- gray Holden commodore, which is an Australian made car. David commented how funny, I used to live at the commodore apartments in Bellevue and a commodore is the guy in charge of the yacht club, so it all seems fitting that we have this car. We feel we got a very good deal on the car and then proceeded to get car insurance. Car insurance in Australia for the two of us is $15.00 American dollars/ month. Quite a switch from the 158.00 per month I was paying just for myself in Seattle! Now we just have to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road! So far its been pretty interesting, no accidents yet, but a few near misses when we accidentally turned on to the wrong side of the road. The steering wheel is also on the right side making the whole thing very confusing and interesting. We will see how we do. After we learn how to drive on the wrong side of the road we will have to learn to talk to Australian. Everyone here is your “mate”! If you do something stupid you are a blowk? We are slowly learning the lingo while everyone comments on what lovely accents we have! I will try to keep track of the funnier observation of Australia life and customs to share with you. Thursday night little 7 year old Kate from the boat Voyager came over to perform a play for us that she and her father wrote. They even had a part for David to play. It was very cute and well preformed. Kate and her family are form Portland Oregon and going home in a few days for Christmas. We have enjoyed spending time with them since we first met them in American Samoa.
Friday November 24th – Sunday November 26th, 2000
Latitude 27 degrees 11 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 06 minutes 03 seconds East
Scarborough Harbor Marina
Today Kate and some of the other cruising kids have organized a sailboat race. The catch is you have to make the boat yourself and it cant be more than 1 meter long. It can be made from anything except fiberglass. Sounds like there will be at least 3 entries. When the big race started there were only two official entries, the kids and the dads. Of course the kids won. It was a very cute sailboat race. David and I went into Brisbane on Saturday to explore some of that city. It is only a 20-minute drive from the marina. We found a lovely outdoor mall area to hang out and then had a great lunch and beer at an Irish pub. We spent the next few days preparing the boat for the arrival of David’s sister Carolyn and husband Richard. They will be staying with us for a few days to explore some of Australia.
Monday November 27th – Thursday November 30th, 2000
Latitude 27 degrees 11 minutes 06 seconds South
Longitude: 153 degrees 06 minutes 03 seconds East
Scarborough Harbor Marina
David and I left for Sydney today in our new car. We think we have this driving on the wrong side of the road thing down so we are going to try it out in the big city. We drove through some lovely countryside with views of mountains and beaches along the way. I saw a few new road signs I had never seen before, like koala bear and kangaroo crossing. We drove for about 9 hours before we came to the town of Coffs Harbor. Coffs Harbor was our original sailing destination so we wanted to check the place out. We went down to the marina and found only one other cruiser that we knew. The marina was ok, but not nearly as nice as Scarborough and is actually more expensive so we are very glad the wind decided to blow us where it did. We spent the night in a funky hotel in Coffs Harbor and then set off for Sydney early the next morning. It was mid Tuesday afternoon when we landed in Sydney, we called the quarantine where Dewey was being detained to see if we could visit, but were told we couldn’t make it there before visiting hours were over. Well that wasn’t good news, so we looked for a hotel to get settled into. We drove around for 3 hours looking for a place to stay. It wasn’t a lot of fun except when we got lost by the Olympic Stadium and got to drive around the grounds of the 2000 games. We finally found a place to rest. Wednesday David and I spent the day exploring Sydney, what a huge city it is. It has tons of fantastic architecture, parks, galleries, museums and gardens. Thursday we drove the hour and half drive to the quarantine station to visit Dewey. He was so so so happy to see us. We had to laugh when we saw that he was the only cat that had the word “caution” on his door. Apparently Dewey doesn’t like his new friends very well and will not let any of them near him. The gal taking care of him says he always perks up at mealtime though. We were allowed to spend 2 and half-hours with him, so we gave him lots of TLC and then it was time to go. His time is half up and we were informed that he would be released on Christmas day! That will be a nice Christmas present. We drove back into Sydney to meet up with David’s sister Carolyn and husband Richard. We found a good pub to hang out in and then had a nice dinner over looking Darling Harbor and the famous opera house. It was a banner day; we got to see Dewey, Carolyn and Richard all in the same day!