• Lucid posted
•
Boree Creek - Very warm and sunny with a light NE breeze at the moment ! I lied . It is pouring with rain and windy . GP is anchored next to us in Fame Cove . We both had to drop visitors off this morning which was challenging . Not sure when we will be heading home .
• Gypsy Princess - It ' s pretty obscene out on the bay - wind up to low 30s , drenching rain and very limited visibility . It ' s much better tucked up at the end of Fame Cove . I ' m hoping to get to Newcastle tomorrow and then Sydney on Friday .
• Albatross - Weather is shocking , 15-20kts , 50ml rain since early this morning at Soldiers Pointprobably not leaving PS until Friday - Thursday is a possibility . However , there are 2 different swell directions & 2mt seas . Friday looks better to sail ( or motor ) home or at least to Newcastle .
• Nirvana ’ s kitchen - Dinner tonight at the albion is cancelled have a safe night . Comment : For Leon to cancel the special trivia and Schnitty night at the Albion hotel you can assume that the rain was so heavy that we could not leave our boats to cross the road to the pub .
• Boree Creek - Lovely weather here in Fame Cove . Dinghy is now functioning as an auxiliary rain water tank .
• Gypsy Princess - The BoM has just updated their forecast . Looks like I ' ll be here in Fame Cove for another day and night .
Anyone reading this part of the cruise account will see that the rewards of cruising also require resilience , adaptability , and an intrepid character mixed in with a good sense of humour . Remember that all but one of the boats in this cruise were manned by only husband and wife teams and in one case single handed . The only boat with a crew of two couples was one where the skipper had only recently recovered from a heart attack and experienced sailor friends crewed to provide support .
One thing that is paramount in cruising is that we don ’ t challenge the weather . Especially when sailing offshore . Sometimes it catches us out but mostly we plan ahead to sail in optimal conditions and to stay in safe anchorages when foul weather is forecast . Foul weather anchoring periods are great for doing boat maintenance , watching a movie or reading a book . Normally it does not stop interaction between boat crews who are normally still able to catch up in one way or another . The cruising experience is no Sydney to Hobart . Our objective is maximum fun and minimum drama . We do have drama , but it is not an objective .
The Time Sitting it Out in Newcastle
This time was put to good use with the walkers , walking and the readers , reading and the tardy catching up with odd jobs arounds their boats that they had been putting off for some time . This was interspersed