Blogs from Tasman Sea, Pacific, Oceans and Seas

Today was an easier day, much more leisurely! There was land outside our deck when we awoke, and soon after we were heading into Milford Sound, somewhat earlier than expected (Captain Leadfoot, as the amusing naturalist narrator referred to the ship’s captain). We dressed into some warm gear and went upstairs to the cafe for breakfast. It was very busy with everyone wanting to see the views of Milford Sound. It was very very cold out on deck, which is where we were whilst enjoying our brekky and mimosas. After that we took ourselves to the sky lounge where I made us a coffee each and got the bartender to put a shot of Jamison’s in it (that was allowed in our package) to make it an Irish coffee - that warmed us up! We enjoyed ... read more

Well, what a great day we had today! With Edwin’s assistance we were able to solve some issues - he brought in a tool to fasten the divider on our balcony. It was opening during the heavy seas last night and crashing against the deck furniture (until Tom jammed all the furniture against it), and we didn’t want our neighbours wandering around on our deck! He also removed the heavy doona and left us with three sheets on our bed, so much cooler. The last problem he helped solve was the safe, which had been locked in the open position - a special little man with a special little machine had to come along and fix it, so we can stop carrying around our wallets, passports, jewellery and all of our currency, and put them in ... read more

We've spent the last 3 days at Barrier Landing just taking in the tranquility of this area. There has been a few boats come & go during our stay here, a few of the yachts that will be doing the Marley Point Overnight Race over the weekend, left this morning to start their two day journey to Marley Point. Yesterday we walked along 90 Mile Beach to the Entrance - the bar. A good walk on very soft sand that took about 3 hours in all. The sea was flat, just prefect for a jet ski to come out through the Entrance for a fast ride on the sea. The dredger remained doing its thing & the internal dredgers at the crossing of the entrance were also busy as we could see the sand being pumped ... read more

QCYC to Refuge CoveWe were up at 3.45 (Tuesday 27th Feb) & all ready to leave dockside by about 4.30. Following some kaos on the wharf from a Brighton boat, behind us we were able to be on our way.Only 4 of the 13 Brighton boats left (stating weather as the reason) & sadly one of our yachts pulled out last night. Richard was disappointed but was the right decision for he and Ruth. Our group's catamaran joined "Kate" & "Imagine" from Queenscliff marina. We joined the convoy of Brighton & QCYC yachts proceeding out through the heads, tootaling via 4 Fingers West Channel. Going at those 5 knots was interesting, however thankfully John decided almost at the washing machine that Imagine needed a few more revs so we quietly slipped passed one the yachts for ... read more

well after sitting waiting for 3 days now for the weather to change it looks like tomorrow we will venture through the heads to Refuge Cove. The last 3 days have been long, windy and at times boring. We have 6 boats in our group, one yacht left Friday night from Westernport to beat the weather, they've been at Refuge Cove since Saturday waiting for us all to arrive. The other sports cruiser will leave from Port Albert on Thursday and we'll meet them "on the way, somewhere to Deal Island". The catamaran is berthed in Queenscliff marina whilst the other two yachts arrive here at QCYC on Friday. Certainly the few days we've had with them has been terrific, getting to know them and lots of laughs. Should be a good cruise. The plans are ... read more