Day 4 was blown out. Some of the fleet gave it best and went home, but
the weather report for day 5 (Tuesday) was auspicious, and so the
remainder gathered before 7 am to hoist sail. The promised northerly
breeze turned out to be a northerly zephyr - so those sails didn't have
much to do for a while, and oars were more effective. Martin and Deb
caused some mirth by maintaining a reef - their Lazy E must be VERY
twitchy - but the rest of us did little better with all our canvas set.
Somewhere between Middleton and Gordon we gave up and took a tow past
the Gordon Corner, where a beautiful southeasterly sea breeze kicked
in. We rollocked along past Arch Rock, Huon Island and then Garden
Island when a decision had to be made about whether or not to stop at
Randall's Bay. We had the sun on our backs and the sailing bit between
our teeth, and chose to push on. It was a good decision - even the
slowest of the boats (Swiftsure) maintained a steady five knots all the
way to Port Huon and beyond. In an audacious attempt to steal a march
Swiftsure took the eastern channel to the Egg Island canal, but it
turned out to be a scenic 'longcut', and she arrived back at the wharf a
little after the other boats. A great day's sailing. |
Tawe Nunnugah 2014 > TN14 News >