Sailing round Russell Island with Peter

Day 3, Friday, our last day as we needed to get back to Steiglitz by the end of the day to pack up the following morning.



It was good to have Peter around and after a chinwag on his boat we agreed to sail round Russell Island and back down Main Channel to Steiglitz and Rudy Maas. At first there was a pleasant sailing breeze, maybe around 10 knots. There is plenty of room in Canaipa Passage to sail. We had a ball sailing up the eastern shore of Russell Island, although we still had to follow the channel markers. At last we felt we were on a sailing trip and it was good not to have the chug chug of our 2 stroke motor all the time.



When we reached the top of Russell Island the wind was rising somewhat alarmingly and we had to beat up the channel to the north of Karragarragarra Island. The tide was against us. Peter's Farr 6000 is faster than Little Dragon and he was well ahead. Suddenly the whipping I had done fastening the clew of the jib to the new jib sheet came undone. Luckily the jib rolled up on its furler (it didn't when we were in The Clarence last time).

I decided to anchor for us to put a reef in, sort out the jib and have lunch. Peter was out of sight ahead. I learnt later that he was worried about us and kept ringing me on his Optus mobile but I have Telstra and had no coverage. I am not at all surprised that Cleveland recorded gusts of 29 knots that afternoon. It was wild.



TJib fixed, reef in and fortified by lunch we set off again but this time under motor at least until we rounded the corner and turned south. The plan worked well, we took ages to motor against wind and tide to the corner but we made it. Once we were heading south we were able to hoist our reefed main and continue sailing. Another exhilarating sail.

All 3 days there was either too much or too little wind and by the time we got about three quarters of the way back to Rudy Maas it died away completely. We dropped the main and motored. Peter probably thinks we are wimps because a gentle breeze came up again and he managed to continue under sail the whole way. I was worried that we wouldn't get back before sunset without the motor and I don't have the experience to sail down the slalom course in the dark.

Thanks Nicky for being a great crew the whole time, without you I couldn't have done it. Thanks also Peter for your support and offering to make a little seat to fit over the transom of the new Zodiac.