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Jus'Do It 3 - the last leg..



Saturday 9th August & Sunday 10th August

We’re up at dawn and motor out of the bay at 7.30am. There’s not a lot of wind but we hoist the sails and motor-sail on a broad reach. The wind is from the SW, 10-12 knots true and another sunny but cold day, not a cloud in the sky. Phil’s not feeling too well so Ian and Annie agree 3 hour on, 3 hour off single watches for the next 24 hours. We’re aiming to get to Broken Bay, just North of Sydney, before sunset tomorrow. Bruce, the weatherman, has advised us to get in close to shore before mid-afternoon tomorrow when there’s 30 knots plus forecasted for the area South of Port Stevens. It’s an enjoyable sail throughout the day. Dolphins come and play with the bow and there’s quite a bit of traffic, from huge container ships to fishing boats and creelers. We stay about 15 miles off the coast and keep a close eye out for whales - they’re common at this time of year and even the weatherman has warned us to look out for them. At 9pm, the wind starts to increase and we switch off the engine. Throughout the night we have steady 15-20 knots from the SW and we’re cruising along well at 8-10 knots for most of the night. At dawn, the wind drops for a while, and we put on the engine again  to keep up our speed. By mid-morning we’re making good time and realise that if we push on we may just make Sydney before the strong winds kick in. We hear the heavy weather warning from the coastguard on the VHF but decide to change course anyway and head for Sydney in the hope we can make it in time. If the poor weather holds we may get stuck in Broken Bay and we’re now pushing to get home. We email Alex, then she phones, and she agrees to try and find a berth for us somewhere in Sydney Harbour for the night.  As we’re approaching our waypoint just outside Sydney harbour at 1pm, the weather is starting to change and a squall hits us – it doesn’t last long but we’re glad we’re near our destination and not going to be out in it for long! By this time we’ve spoken to John Cowpe who has advised us where to tie up – we arrive at the Spit Bridge at 1.30am  where Alex is waiting to meet us. Ian and Annie are pretty exhausted by this stage but we manage to get the boat sorted then head into Manly for a few beers and a curry. After that we’re dead on our feet so head back to the boat to conk out – it’s freezing so it’s straight to bed with clothes on!




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