Southen Ocean

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Saturday Feb 26, 2011

The Great Bight of Australia

Latitude 35 degrees 25 minutes’ south- Longitude 129 degrees 14 minutes' east

Cruising through the Great Southern Ocean can be an ordeal that most mariners want to avoid. We have heard the stories from the local sailors that this stretch of water has a very unique sub-sea bottom configuration that makes for unpredictable conditions and treacherous cruising. I guess it would make our story more dramatic to say that we have pounded our way across the southern part of Australia. In truth, however, once we passed Tasmania and continued west the seas have been mostly in our favor. The run NW into Adelaide was before the wind and our arrival was early, uneventful and stress free. The welcome we received from the people of South Australia was wonderful. A volunteer committee of locals was waiting at the dock with welcoming smiles and helpful information. A free shuttle took us from the Port of Adelaide into the town proper about 30 minutes away. Everywhere we roamed in the clean, well organized town the people went out of their way to answer our questions and give us pointers on things to see and do. The Botanical Gardens were gorgeous, the wines at the National Wine Center were excellent and the large open air Historic Shopping District along Rumble Street was filled with neat shops and cute cafes. Our time in Adelaide was short, but well worth the stop.
Now, we are continuing west and will soon leave the Bight and enter the Indian Ocean proper. Two more Australian Ports lie ahead before we go to Indonesia. The relaxing pace of this cruise is very nice. Intense activity ashore while exploring new ports is alternated with one or more idle days at sea. Of course, the sea days are not really idle, but filled with lectures and activities onboard. The camaraderie of all the other passengers is very pleasant and not really something we had anticipated.

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Comments

[Machelle]

Hey, post a picture of the ship that you are on. M

[anonymous]

At the end of the day I lay in bed and check your blog to see where you are. It's like reading a good book can't wait to see what's next. Jane you look so happy. A wonderful adventure. Thanks for letting us see it thru your eyes. Love. Ya. Pam

[Linda Smith]

Hey you two.
Dear Jane and Michael, Wow. The botanical garden must be amazing. That is some huge tree there ( oak?). Spring has finally spring here. The daffodils are up, forsythia, mahonias, prunus mumes, and magnolia soulangias all are in bloom. The blue birds are sweetly calling and the daphene odora is waxing on the wind,a heaven scent jasmine fragrance. Meanwhile, I am taking an international bible study which is focused on Isaiah. It is superb, and am learning so much about the character of God: gracious, loving, caring, committed to his people. It is fascinating. Meredith and Greg leave this weekend to go dive with the manatees in Florida for her check out dive for scuba certification. Lots of love, LInda