Nelson Bay to Newcastle
All is well aboard Hydroquest once again. Many days of rest in Nelson Bay did the trick, and now we are back to normal activity level. Hydroquest was starting to grow roots onto the jetty dock, so early one morning we woke up and said “Let’s go!” The forecast was for light easterly winds, but in … Continue reading Nelson Bay to Newcastle
Bad Birthday Surprise
Poor Will, his 33rd birthday surprise turned out to be an emergency 000 call in the middle of the night, rather than something fun like a party. Will’s birthday was last Saturday (Nov 2) and in the wee hours of the morning we were dodging freighters off Seal Rocks as we sailed south towards Port Stephens. … Continue reading Bad Birthday Surprise
Trial Bay
Happy Halloween to everyone at home! We celebrated yesterday with some Halloween candies on the 30nm motorsail from Coffs Harbour to Trial Bay. Along the coast we saw three sets of humpack whales and were visited by dolphins every hour. Wonderful! Trial bay turned out to be a perfect place for Halloween with an old prison out on the … Continue reading Trial Bay
Coffs and Kangaroos
Thank you for your comments on the last post! We really appreciate your thoughts and we’ve loved sharing this voyage with you via the web. The blog is far from being over… we have many more cruising and sailing adventures ahead of us on Australia’s east coast. We’ve had a wonderful first week in Coffs Harbour, … Continue reading Coffs and Kangaroos
Landfall AUSTRALIA
We did it!!! It feels incredible to be safely berthed in the Coffs Harbour Marina in AUSTRALIA after sailing across the biggest ocean in the world to get here. After I posted ‘Frustrating Day’, we had the most wonderful sailing conditions. The wind was soft but enough to keep us moving at 7 knots (HQ loves her light … Continue reading Landfall AUSTRALIA
Final night at sea
Tonight will be the final night of our Pacific ocean crossing. We've covered 7,000 nautical miles in the past seven months since we left Mexico, and now there's only 130 to go. 130!! It seems ridiculous. We've spent 47 nights at sea, and tonight will be the last one (on this trip 😉 ). The … Continue reading Final night at sea
Frustrating Day
This passage has given us a very mixed bag of conditions. Yesterday afternoon's wind blew itself out by 7pm so the engine went back on and has been running ever since. This morning an E swell came up from behind us, but without any wind to help us sail. Frustrating, motoring in lumpy seas. Right … Continue reading Frustrating Day
Sailing at its finest
Last night we entered a cloud bank and line of rain squalls. Not the scary kind, thank goodness, just the annoying kind. The rain washed all the salt water off Hydroquest's decks but meant that we were stuck down below on watch once again. The wind continued to drop throughout the night and by 7am … Continue reading Sailing at its finest
25 20S, 161 12E
Hello everyone on land! The seas here have started to flatten out a bit and the wind has dropped enough that we are far more comfortable today than yesterday. With the current help we're moving extra fast and have been doing about 8 knots all day. Unfortunately I've had a bad headache since the morning … Continue reading 25 20S, 161 12E
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