After running the Melbourne Marathon 10 times a runner has the option to join the "Spartans." The Spartans wear various colored shirts indicating that they have run the race 10, 15, 20... times. There are currently nine runners who have completed all 38 marathons. They wear gold and are known as the Legends. Alex wears the blue of a 10-year runner. In another year or two he graduates to the green of a 15-year runner. I have nine races to go to wear the blue. In the meantime I have joined the Sydney Striders, a long distance running club. It was fun to cheer on and be cheered by people in matching singlets.
After the race Alex and I drove back to Sydney via Eden, packed the boat, and waited for a weather window to head south. While waiting another year snuck up on me and Hilary (Alex's partner) made a German chocolate cake for me for my 28th birthday.
Once the weather was favorable, Alex and I sailed south on October 29th. It took two days and one night to sail the Might Miss Berri (www.berrimilla.com/wordpress) to Eden. It was an extremely mild 40 hours on board and we motored nearly the entire way. Wind picked up in the last 12 hours or so and made for a gentle sail into Eden at Twofold Bay.
Wildlife: The only seals I have ever seen look like giant baked potatoes basking in the sun on the sea ice in Alaska. I don't know what type they were, but on the boat trip south a group of three or four seals followed behind and alongside the boat swimming like dolphins through the waves. It was incredible to see baked potatoes demonstrating their agility.
We moored in Eden for a few days and waited for another weather window to sprint south to Hobart in Tasmania. Good northerly winds are not regular in south-east Australia so we worked with what we could get. We left on a gray morning and motored directly into the wind and rolling swells for three hours before we decided to turn back and wait for more comfortable seas. The next afternoon we tried again. We motored directly into the wind for about four hours with very little ocean swell, so the ride was much smoother. Off of Green cape the wind change that we expected finally arrived and we were able to put up the sails and turn off the engine. Green cape mildly protrudes as a rocky point, visible and easily avoidable -when traveling from the north. When approaching from the coast line from the south, Green cape is a deep lip to a bowl known as Disaster Bay. Early square-rigger ships could only sail 90 degrees off the wind, while modern sailboats can sail at 45 degrees. So for a old ship to be following the coastline with the wind at at least a right angle, there are very few option for evasive action in when a massive coastline and an hooked point block any escape. There is a memorial grave yard with the names of ships and sailors in the National Park boarding the bay.
We sailed for a few more hours, all the while the seas building, the wind and waves coming at us straight from the east at 25+ knots, and me with a aching head from being pitched head-first into the window above the galley. No bruising, but very tender. Alex stayed on concussion watch for a few days after. With everything going wrong and the seas and winds getting stronger, we turned back again. It was a full 14 hour round trip and neither of us got any sleep. It was late and pouring rain when we got back to Eden. After that we gave up on the idea of Hobart. Another day or two of waiting and we caught the next southerly back to Sydney.
The trip north took two full days and nights. We did our best to avoid the southern-flowing East Australia Current, sailed on much rougher seas than the trip south, and stayed close to the coastline for favorable tides. Hugging the coast took more navigating. My first night watch on the way back involved passing between the coast and an island in the pitch black of a cloudy night. It was eerie. The electronic chart gave our currently location, but all I could see of any sign of land was the lighthouse of the island and a few house lights along the coast. I am discovering that it is nearly impossible to determine distance of a light in the dark. Light houses miles away look like half a mile. In daylight the three or four mile gap between the coast and island would have been of no concern. Not being able to see either forces trust on an electronic that has not been 100% reliable. The chart program runs on laptop in the cabin and the computer has been known to crash or take a nap on occasion. Not so good.
By the next day the sea swell was building and the wind was picking up. By mid day we had 20+ knots and swells that seemed impossibly big for so close to shore. Over the next 24 hours we changed sail size several times, went back and forth on the different auto pilots, and did some hand-steering. Alex estimated the biggest swells were between six and eight meters. Most were in the three to four meter range. The boat would drop to the trough of a wave and all I could see of the world around was a wave in front and wave behind. When we rose back to the top I could see breaking waves for miles around on all sides. Some of the breaking waves were a little scary. Berrimilla is a good boat and has been through some incredible weather. I know she can handle the waves, but the newbie Alaskan is always a little on edge. 25+ knot winds for the rest of the trip to Sydney. Off of Point Perpendicular the waves were steeper and choppier than most places, but that was short-lived. We passed by the South Head lighthouse around 7am on November 8th and we tied up to the dock just a few minutes before 8am.
The ground was rocking for the rest of the day. Another good night's sleep and we are back to cleaning out the boat and figuring out what to do and where to go next.
