Day 167: Home

Around 4am, it all started to go downhill. I was just passing Hat Head, south of Trial Bay, and the seas started picking up. A distinct chop on the nose started to build up. At first I thought it was a tidal run around the headland but, as I kept going south clearing the point, conditions worsened. It started to rain and the wind started to rise. Turns out I had run straight into an unforecast storm. I had noticed lightning to the south earlier but didn’t think it was anywhere near where I was going.

The early morning turned into an exercise in hanging on. The wind peaked at 30 knots with waves up to 2.5m. I slowed the boat down to reduce slamming but it was very uncomfortable. At one point I took a wave right over the cabin top. Not sure whether it was just an excessive wave or I buried the front.

After about 3 hours it started to drop. The storm passed over and, with dawn breaking, I was able to look around. It was a lot more comfortable. My next problem was going to be crossing the bar. My predicted time was now near the end of the window and I really didn’t want to miss it and have to spend another 9 hour’s waiting for the next window. I was able to put the speed up and do the final leg at 6 - 7 knots. I made the bar.

Once in, I had to prep the boat for the mooring. I drove it up the river on autopilot and set up a couple of lines as a bridle. I also ran a temporary line from the roller to the cockpit, the plan being to clip the temporary line to the mooring with the props at idle from the cockpit, and then hand haul the boat over the mooring.

Picking up the mooring worked very well and I attached the bridle lines. These will need a shackle in the next few days. It was then a matter of bagging up the stuff that was coming off the boat, packing the cats in their carrier, and dinghying over to the jetty where my love was waiting.

Off I stepped.

Location

Paradise Point