Gosh today really feels like holidays. The temperature is warm, supposed to get up to 26 today, The sun is out and the water is inviting. This morning Evan got the outboard motor working again (after the engine seized up from being dunked in the ocean at Deal Island) and dingied over to Sea Echo to give it a run and catch up with Greg and Judy. The outboard still sounds a little rattly but it is running!
Sea Echo team has decided to head across to the other side of Schouten passage this morning as a Northerly is predicted to hit tonight and there would be better protection on the Northern side.. We followed a little later in the morning. Going slowly across the passage we saw dolphin circling with graceful arching out of the water and back down again, rounding up food no doubt. We haven’t seen many fish so I wonder what they have found that they are rounding up.
We motored past Passage beach then to Bryans corner where we stopped near Sea Echo for the day. Evan and I changed our head sail for our smaller one preparing for the journey home. Hopefully catching southerly winds as they develop to push us up the coast. I did a bit of laundry and we packed a backpack, jumped in the dinghy, headed for shore.
There is a national park sign with an arrow to Cooks beach, 3 km average time 1 hour. That’s us for the morning. The trail was hot and dry.
Looked much like NSW bush with so many dried dead branches littering the ground. Would not want to be here if a forest fire started.
We made Cooks beach in exactly 1 hour. Good average timing! On the beach the wind was really pumping a NW.
It made us realise how well Bryans Corner was sheltering us after all. We hoofed it back to Nashira but took a bit longer than an hour to get back. Our general fitness level was letting us down a bit. It is so good to get out here and look around. Our legs will thank us later.
Back at Bryans Corner, Greg met us onshore telling us that a boat load of guys caught a shark and killed and gutted in onshore right where we were. Kinda sad, I hope they caught it to eat not just for sport. There was no sight of the gruesome ordeal. We did see HUGE Rays float by. Way Cool.
Back on Nashira it was time to brave the water and go for a swim. I went for a good dunk (brrr….COLD) but didn’t stay in too long. Evan on the other hand stayed in for ages. He cleaned the sides of Nashira and snorkeled around. 3 Rays actually swam under the boat and under Evan. He tried to get videos with the GoPro and was finally lucky the third time.
Tonight Greg and Judy came over for dinner. Both bringing dinner we shared a Vegetarian pasta, green curried chicken and stuffed mushrooms and salad and finally for desert we had fruit cake (thank you Dot!). A veritable feast. Tomorrow they head south for home while we stay around for another day awaiting a Southerly to push us north.
It has been a great day.
Day 26 – Bryans Corner
Evan and I are staying here another day. It is so nice.
We went for walks on the beach, Evan had to work for several hours so I busied myself with minor chores. We swam! Yes the water is very cold but once your in and the capillaries close down it really is quite pleasant.
It was just a pleasant day all around.
We checked and double checked weather forecasts and our plan is to leave here tomorrow morning about 5am and head North. A Southerly change of wind is due tonight at 7pm so we will make the trek back to the southern side of Schouten. Probably to Crocketts bay. The southerly will stick around until Wednesday afternoon which gives us the opportunity to cruise slowly up the coast (if its not too rough) and see places like Binalong Bay and Bay of Fires in the daytime. Our goal is to reach Spike Bay on Clarke Island before the winds change Northerly mid Wednesday. This will afford us some protection and give us a chance to regroup, wait for a weather window to head across Bass Strait and in the meantime explore Clarke Island and perhaps more of Flinders weather depending of course.
By 6pm 3 of the 6 sailing vessels have headed across Schouten to the other side and we are getting ready to do the same. As we leave several of the power boats are doing the same. by the time we dropped anchor most of the 12 boats have come across with the last 4 coming withing the next 30 minutes. Everyone was safely across and anchored just as the Southerly hit, smack on at 7pm.
Wow that is precise weather forecasting!
Tonight I get to catch up on our blog and Evan has more work to do. Just before the Southerly hit we did spent some time marveling at the clarity of the water and how clearly we can see our anchor chain. Evan spotted a shark and I a skate and something that looks like a flounder we think. Actually I thought it looked like a skate with a fancy tail.
The sunset was stunning.
I’m looking forward to the morning and moving again. Have a great day everyone!
xoxoxo