Spirits were high, the ocean was glassy and whale sightings were frequent with plenty of breaches and flashing of flukes. We sailed towards Lady Musgrave with hopes of the wind turning and providing us with some lovely champagne sailing. The weather however had other plans for us!

With a beam on swell and a wind angle that wouldn't allow us to sail easily to our destination, we quickly realised we'd have to change our plan. We made the decision to carry on past Lady Musgrave and head straight for Middle Percy Island. What was to initially be a relatively short passage had now turned into a 531 mile spicy passage through the Capricorn Channel.

The crew quickly learnt the importance of 'securing for sea' as fridges flew open, and unsecured items took flight. It was a challenging 3 days of sailing but exciting nonetheless with sightings of humpback whales, orca, sharks, dolphins, turtles and aircraft carriers. The Talisman Saber exercise was underway which we sailed through, observing helicopters and aircraft carriers, sometimes quite closely!

We finally reached our destination at 2.30pm on Thursday with a few dishevelled sailors ready to place their feet on solid ground. Middle Percy Yacht Club was something to behold with many shingles and mementos from past adventurers.

We reunited with the Silver Fern crew for a few drinks and a barbie on the beach. Everyone slept extremely well that night as we eagerly awaited tomorrow's exploration of the island.

Question? Will Sandie decide to start her new self sufficient life on Middle Percy Island? Or will she continue her circumnavigation of Australia?

All will be revealed in the next blog update!

Chief Mate

Jess

Join the crew for a sailing adventure

Whale of a Time

Island of Oz

The kiwis have invaded!