3/31/2013 0 Comments Approaching Queenscliffe!Well it certainly paid off to pull into Portland Harbour and let the storm pass by yesterday. This morning the boys set off with a much calmer sea, grey skies but decent wind in the right direction.
They are currently sailing past Warnambool, and have passed by the pretty Port Fairy without stopping. During the later part of the evening and night they should be rounding Cape Otway, and they will and are looking forward to pulling into Port Philip Bay around mid day tomorrow and tying up at Queenscliffe marina. This next leg in their journey to Auckland has certainly been easier than their last and while I don't think they will be nearly as exhausted when they arrive in Queenscliffe as when they arrived in Robe, we hope that the surprise that will be awaiting them will be a little bit of a reward for their hard work so far. I do love surprises and as surprises go this certainly will be a good one - and tomorrow I should be able to say here what it is!
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3/30/2013 0 Comments Keeping out of the stormThe boys have had a good day today albeit a little frustrating. The engine has given them more problems but nothing they don't feel equal to, but with a storm bearing down on them, 2 mt chop on a 3 mt sea, which was pretty unpleasant, they decided to head into Portland Harbour and let the storm pass while they ate and slept! Oh and fixed the engine hic-cups again!
They intend to set off at first light and make their way in to Queenscliffe arriving sometime on Monday morning depending on the tides. Meanwhile a surprise, like the storm is building, growing and getting ready for them! But remember - it is a surprise! 3/28/2013 0 Comments March 28th, 2013 At 8 am this morning EST the boys untied the ropes and set off from Robe harbour bound first for Queenscliffe in Victoria, on Port Philip Bay and then non-stop to Auckland.
Robe was a good stop. After sailing through very difficult conditions crossing the Bight they arrived hungry and tired but happy. There were a number of jobs to be done on board, little things mostly plus the big task of getting the fuel to feed into the engine properly, and all was done. Parts ordered came quickly and even a para-anchor arrived from Albany in good time for them to leave after a good rest (thanks Jenny!). Today they have finally had some really good wind coming from the right direction. It’s pretty much the first time since they set off nearly three weeks ago. This afternoon they passed in close to Rivoli Bay in SA and Southend. Tomorrow they should pass in front of Portland and during the night, Port Fairy and then by Sunday be heading around Cape Otway and around and up into Port Philip Bay. Hopefully the wind will keep up going the way they need and this part of the trip won’t be hampered by strong head winds or wild storms. When the boys got into Robe and we could actually have a good chat on the phone, instead of the short exchanges we needed to have on the sat phone with its funny little delays leaving you saying the same things over and over, each time slightly more loudly!, we got to talk about the weather they had encountered in the Bight. They were shocked to hear that the storm that had lashed them as they sailed, had gone on to do so much damage in country Victoria. They were very appreciative that considering all it could have done that it had impacted them so little overall. They set off again this morning fairly raring to go, looking forwards to getting into Queenscliffe. A surprise will be awaiting them there, but shush! don’t breathe a word of it! 3/25/2013 0 Comments Robe Approaches!Well finally today I got the phone call with the news I have waited nearly a week to get - the boys are getting close to Robe! Yay! Despite low-ish winds today they have finally been able to get past Kangaroo Island and have Robe harbour firmly in their sights.
Today's winds were not what they hoped for but the seas had flattened out somewhat and the boys were able to spend a while working on the engine. The happy news is that they were able to get it going so that prospects of needing to sail into the marina have now faded and the boys are eagerly awaiting their own arrival. At the moment they are making around 6 NM per hour which should see them tying up around mid day tomorrow, Tuesday 26th March - 14 days since they left Esperance! Tomorrow I think will be taken up with three main activities - eating, sleeping and showering - in no particular order! Its been a tough journey for them, but I have no doubt that by mid day tomorrow all the hard parts will fade quickly from their memories and what they will remember will be the camaraderie, the challenge of crossing an often inhospitable stretch of water, and what they have accomplished by getting there! Good one Mark and Peter! Well today has seen the boys get considerably closer to Kangaroo Island and it is their hope that if the wind keeps up they will be approaching Robe by early Tuesday. By all reports the wind will continue to be favourable but then you just never really know. The BOM site suggests 15 - 20 knot of NNW wind dropping off late tonight, the site we find the most reliable, Buoy Weather also suggests a NNW wind of 15 - 20 knot dropping down to 11 - 15 on Monday. Some agreement gives us a little more confidence.
Today the engine went completely and so they face the prospect of needing to dock at Robe under sail. This will be an interesting venture for them considering that Robe harbour has a fairly narrow channel but they have both got a lot of experience docking in this harbour and know exactly where they need to go. So here's hoping! Though if the wind simply won't allow them to do that they can drop anchor just outside the town and swim in! I think that when they make it to Robe nothing would stop them getting themselves into town to get some decent food! I have updated their position on the map so you can see where they were at 5.30 this evening EST. 3/23/2013 1 Comment Why we do this!Its day 11 since the boys left Esperance. They are making a course for Robe and each day they make some progress. This evening I have been reading the blogs of others who have crossed the Bight, reminding myself of the challenges of this particular stretch of water. I read the account by Jack and Jude Binder on board Bandanyah when they crossed the Bight one time a few years ago. They called the article, Bandanyah's feisty crossing of the Great Australian Bight and documented a crossing which sounds a great deal like the one Peter and Mark are currently experiencing. After very careful consideration was given to the weather patterns prevalent at the time of year they were preparing to leave, Jack and Jude set off with a good five day weather window of good conditions. The seas were considerably bigger than anticipated and from the outset they experienced conditions quite unlike what had been anticipated. But they continued expecting the seas to calm down. They did not. Infact over the following ten days the seas built, the winds grew considerably stronger and Jack and Jude had a difficult crossing. They had storms and huge seas and on the whole, very unpleasant conditions. They had intended to sail to Tasmania but the winds would not permit them – instead they eventually made for Portland, Victoria and happily arrived there ten days later. Upon their arrival in port after the sail Jack wrote, ‘Yes, we had our butts kicked good and proper by the sea. And know what? We’re buggered and sick of being knocked about, but we’re also feeling sort of lucky. Lucky to have survived, lucky not to have broken bones, and lucky to have witnessed the impressive power of nature and know we are a team who can overcome great difficulties. Will we do it again? Sure, while we can. At our age when something’s gone, it’s gone forever. And besides, the world has just gone on and on doing its same old thing while Jude and I have had a grand adventure that we’ll never forget.’ When I read that tonight I was reminded why we all do this. Yes we could choose a more comfortable life, an easier stay-at-home-in-the–safety-of-our-lounge kind of life – but as Jack said so eloquently – the world keeps going and they get to have a grand adventure! I was also encouraged to appreciate that when we did this crossing ourselves a year ago, we had a very fast crossing. The eleven days the boys have spent is in no way unusual and they are doing fine. So many thanks to Cap’n Jack, and if you want to read the entire article you can find it here: http://www.sail-world.com/Cruising/index.cfm?SEID=0&Nid=82600&SRCID=0&ntid=0&tickeruid=0&tickerCID=0 3/22/2013 0 Comments A better day!Well today has definitely been a better day for the boys, with wind that is actually taking them where they want to go and at a reasonable speed. They are once again approaching Kangaroo Island and nearer their immediate destination of Robe.
Once they arrive in Robe I think they will sleep and eat and do little else for a while apart perhaps from savour the accomplishment of having crossed the Bight safely despite horrible winds and storms. They will still have work to do before they can set off again for Queenscliffe and Auckland, but not until they have got some much needed and well-earned rest and recouperation 3/21/2013 0 Comments Confusion Reigns!Well tonight I've had two phone calls and two different sets of lat and long co-ordinates and rather than having the position of Kwela made more clear I am simply confused!
Today has been a hard one for the fellas. Yesterday BOM forecast winds of 20 - 25 knots. The wind was supposed to strengthen around early morning to 30 knots. Instead the boys were slammed with winds gusting at up to 50 knots early this morning, taken completely by surprise. Now I know that weather forecasting is not an exact science but please, can't we get something a little more accurate than this to pass on to the boys? It is so frustrating to call and pass on to them what is predicted only to have something so markedly different actually happen. So far on this trip I have been able to find no weather information that is close to reliable and am soundly frustrated with it all. On a brighter note, the boys are doing okay despite what is happening. Its taking much longer than expected to cross the Bight and I hope they have enough food and are not down to rations of hard tack - but the one thing the weather sites all agree on is that for the next few days the winds should continue to be westerly and there is plenty of reason to think that they will make the most of this wind to get them across to Robe and some well-earned and much needed rest. I have posted the last position I was given today but I am struggling to see how they could have got to this place today considering the conditions - so all I can really say is watch this space for some clarification! 3/20/2013 0 Comments Plodding OnToday is day 8 since leaving Esperance and I am pretty sure the boys are a little weary and wondering what it is exactly that they are doing out there! Not that they are struggling but it does seem to be a long journey across the Bight and longer than anticipated. At the rate they are progressing, over the last couple of days at least, they should be in Robe early Saturday morning.
The wind today has swung around to the west and with a following sea they are at last getting conditions that are more favourable. Today the boys were able to spend some time working on the issues they have had with the fuel tanks feeding into the engine and the inner parts of a ballpoint pen have made some major contribution to things working at last! Ah improvisation! When out at sea the ability to think outside the square is indispensable and to be able to find some everyday item and make it work - well that's priceless! I think that when the boys get in to Robe they might be a little weary but they will be feeling very happy with their endurance. Hopefully they will upload some pics then too so that I can brighten this record with something new! |
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September 2017
Our life aboard Argos has been seriously challenged this year with the surprise departure of our skipper. As a writer, diesel mechanics and the complexities of many aspects of Argos’ on-going maintenance are way beyond me! We would like to see Argos continue to sail and eventually hope to use her to offer support, encouragement and a break to people who are struggling in their lives. Any on-going help towards maintaining Argos would be greatly appreciated and enable us to achieve this goal.
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