Avoiding the Void

We had a whirlwind trip in Albany where we got to meet up with the Fernies (as we call them) for dinner and check out the quaint town of Albany. Having arrived a few hours after Silver Fern as usual we were left to peruse the town on foot for the few hours we had before dinner. This didn’t stop Melissa and Aaron who were determined to buy out the entire contents of the sweet shop they found (no complaints here).

With a sleep in the next morning, one last proper shower and some french bakery goodies for brekky, we were ready to go. I yet again got to practise my helming skills as we moved Salt Lines to the fuel dock for a refuel. It may have taken a few attempts but my crew were poised and ready to throw/catch lines and tie us up. I won’t go into the gory details of driving us off the dock but let’s just say each time I do it I’m sure it will get better (hopefully for the boats sake!…….and Matt’s stress levels).

And we were off! Next stop Port Lincoln. Looking at the weather models we decided the best course was to head quite far south to avoid the void which was a big high pressures system with no wind in the middle. If we could stay on the edge of this and in the wind then the next 800nm would hopefully be easy.

With the first day or 2 being a little lumpy, some of us (including myself) took a little adjustment period to let our stomach’s settle. We are now on day 4, and with the conditions becoming fairly benign for the infamous bight everyone has settled nicely into their watch routine. With a mixture of down wind sailing and motoring it’s all been pretty civilised so far!

The breeze is expected to fill in later this afternoon so we should make some good progress as we start heading due East towards Port Lincoln.

We’re lucky enough to have our Ocean Sailing Expeditions photographer and videographer Christopher Howe with us onboard, who has been providing some great snaps for us during the trip. He is also an avid sailor and trained chef, so he’s certainly been a handy person to have onboard! At this point in the trip we haven’t seen land for a few days and conditions have been fairly similar for a while so I’ll share some photos below so you can see our story through Cristopher’s lens.

Till next time,

Jess :)