Jack & Jude: Voyage planning rules our lives
by Jack and Jude 7 Apr 2020 12:59 BST
Sail through Hells Gate © Jack and Jude
250 Nautical miles in less than two days, from 10 AM Monday to 3AM Wednesday, plus another hour to sail through Hells Gate after daylight.
Starting with fast currents sweeping us out the Tamar River and finding strengthening northeast winds that took us to Tasmania's NW corner. From there, a gentle north wind carried us down the coast to the "Gate." Arriving before dawn we hove-to.
These light breezes freshened after daybreak to send us through the Gate flying just a reefed mainsail. Fabulous! We might need a day or two to recover, meanwhile, our broad smiles remind us of how fortunate we have been.
Voyage planning rules our lives
As I write, we're in the midst of an intense decision. No telling what we'll do. It's getting colder down here at 43 south, and when the virus alarm bells first rang, we made bookings on a Jetstar flight back to our shack in the Northern Rivers of NSW, where our kids and little ones live. In less than a day, we madly packed the boat for its winter stay. Then, just as we finished, our flight was cancelled. That put us in a pickle as no future flights were offered.
First, we looked at returning home in a campervan as the Spirit of Tasmania was still crossing the Bass Strait. But then the borders started closing. Staying the winter in Macquarie Harbour, where water can freeze in July and August, would risk pneumonia or something just as deadly, so we reckoned that shifting somewhere warmer and drier would fall under the essential travel exemption.
Around midweek, we had the choice of sailing a thousand miles home to Ballina or sailing five hundred northwest to Adelaide, where we have a berth at a quiet yacht club.
Of those options, Jude favoured sailing home, so we made a few calls only to learn our neighbour's jetty was unavailable. With no other safe moorings, we decided sailing home was not such a good idea.
Then a weather window appeared for a four-day journey nor' west to the Adelaide Gulf, and we have been watching it while our thoughts have switched between staying here to freeze through winter and taking our chances across the seas. This weekend is the decider. A big front is passing over, bringing a juicy big high-pressure cell lingering behind. But it's still too far away to see if we can cover all the miles to South Australia with it. Meanwhile, both of us are prevaricating over what's best to do. Tasmania has the lowest exposure to the deadly virus. But, it gets mighty wet and grey and cold in Strahan.
Adding extra spice to this mix is the fact that Jetstar has just reinstated flights from Hobart to Sydney, completing the first. So, is Australia getting on top of this pandemic? Could air travel be restored before the onset of freezing weather? To see what we do, you'll have to check our yellow-brick tracker.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of jackandjude.com.