Cairns north day 4

Rob Lydon

A bit (OK, a LOT) more windy than forecast. Built to 22-25knots with gusts to 40. Reefed early and then reefed again. Then took down the main and “sailed” with triple reefed jib. At one point, we were making 8 knots under that triple reefed jib alone! The top speed we saw was 9.5-10 sustained, surfing up to 12.5 knots! (And that was with double reefed main and triple reefed jib, sailing dead down wind which is OCEAN’s slowest point of sail!) It was blowing 25-30 knots coming into the passage between Horn and Thursday Islands. (The forecasts all showed 12-18 with gusts to 22, 😂) I wish I could be wrong as frequently as weather predictors and still have a job🤣. The theme of this run north was “dodge the tankers and container ships” => not quite chicken, but close. We were passing ships closely, in a tight channel with reefs on both sides, at night, with force 6-7 wind was a bit nerve wracking , to say the least. Thankfully, OCEAN is a very solid boat, and she handled it easily and with minimal concern on the part of her crew. Now, in the anchorage on the lee side of Horn Island, we have 8 knots of wind, flat sea and beautiful sunshine ☀️ We depart for Darwin tomorrow with the tide.