We were again back in current, this time it was flowing in the right direction for our journey, and we were making good time! As we rounded the bottom of Hunter island, we could see and feel the current pick up. The whirlpools and bubbling water was all around and then we received some advice over the radio about our next turn, past Bird Island. As there are rocks everywhere, but also shallow water, we needed to thread the needle ( as they say) but apparently there was a rip of current creating huge breaking waves. We needed to turn earlier to avoid this, gybing at the top of Bird Island “close but not too close” as the boat ahead of us warned, otherwise we’d be getting our decks washed. I was quickly sent down to close all the open hatches, and then came up to see some pretty big waves heading our way. We now know that we should have turned even earlier, but this would have meant going very close to the island with waves breaking….so Joel gybed as soon as he dared and into the washing machine we went. We didn’t wash the decks, but we certainly got my heart rate up, and I don’t ever want to face large standing waves in the yacht again! The photos below were taken after we’d been through the worst of the waves, I needed all my hands to hold on to little people!
Ella had napped during the afternoon, and was also not feeling very well in the large swell, so she stayed up on deck with Joel and I while the girls went off to bed. They managed to get off to sleep thank goodness, but as Isabelle reported the next day she had to hold on to her sheet to stop her sliding into Gracie. As the night got darker and the stars appeared, Ella and I squished together to try and fall asleep ( this does prove quite different when we’re both wearing life jackets and the ‘bed’ is a narrow cockpit seat).
By midnight, Ella was down in her bunk and it was my turn to take over. The engine was on, as the wind had dropped to less than 10 knots, and I just needed to make sure the boat kept course and the boats up ahead stayed their distance on the chart plotter. It has been a while since I’ve needed to be awake for three hours in the middle of the night, and let’s just say I managed two! Joel woke up to find me asleep, I thought I’d just dozed off…so I went to sleep for another hour and then took over from 3-5am, this time with a plan to listen to music to help keep me awake. It worked, and I managed to enjoy watching the stars and the moon for most of my watch. The seas were steady so it was more about keeping watch than sailing.
When everyone eventually woke, we could see it was going to be a gloriously beautiful sunny day, and with no wind a relatively easy entry into Hell’s Gate. The entrance here, is quite a narrow strip of water, with a sandbar and waves on one side to avoid. There is current and it’s always flowing out….apparently with all the rivers that feed into Macquarie Harbour it just constantly flows. And flow it certainly did. With 3.5 knots of current and rippling waves, it was roaring through in some places. It was great to have a knowledgeable boat ahead of us to follow their path, as one wrong move in here can see you stuck up on a sandbar very easily.
At the junction, we headed right, deeper into Macquarie Harbour, and then eventually the Gordon River. Left would take us to Strahan, where we will venture later in the week to reprovision and enjoy some civilisation.
We had made it, the west coast, an overnight passage and entry into Hell’s Gates - all big items to tick off for some Little Sailors.