Last night the boat shuddered and shook in the gusts and leapt in the swell. Instead of the blow blowing through, the wind has stayed strong each day. In the bay, the water is no longer calm-the swell bounds and rebounds off the cliffs and we bounce.
On Monday we got confirmation that we could haul the boat out in Mackay and that the wind that day would be the lightest for the week at 20-25 knots. By the time we set out it was past noon-but with only 25 miles we thought it would be fine. Four days of strong wind and current has led to big boisterous seas and the sail to Mackay turned out to be more upwind than the weather report promised. Ten minutes in, we realized we wouldn't make it by dark.
We headed back to our anchorage and requested another weather report. More wind for more days. So now we're pondering options for plan 'B'. This morning we watched another boat leave for Mackay. For the first hour we watched him make no progress against the wind and current-slipping further and further downwind and closer to the shallow banks before disappearing in the swell. So that's out for now.
Heading downwind would be uncomfortable and quick-but we still need to haul out the boat to replace our cutless bearing, paint the bottom and get our insurance survey and after checking the alternatives Mackay is the best option (other than the bit about not being able to get there easily...).
Waiting does make the best sense. We're well provisioned. Our anchorage is beautiful and as protected and we're guessing everywhere in this region would be just as bouncy, breezy and uncomfortable. And while moving might get us internet we'd lose the turtles that visit us each day and would get further from Mackay--which is where we need to go if the wind ever drops…
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At 30/07/2014 11:49 PM (utc) our position was 21°39.21'S 150°14.61'E
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