SATURDAY 3rd July 2010
07.30 hrs , The customs & immigration guys were tramping around the deck of " A Lady "
We gave them Daniels passport and within 5 minutes we had all our clearences, ready to roll whenever.
08.30 We took down all the bunting, and started filling the water tank from the marina.
09..00 We said good bye to the Ruud's ( Ronja ) as they are off to NZ to do a bit of travelling and some one else from the fleet will sail their boat to Mackay, where they will rejoin the fleet. "Dreamcatcher" has also dropped out, you will remember they had a lot of trouble with their HR boat.
10.00hrs we pulled out of our space on the marina , turned right for a few meters to the fuel dock, where we took on 387 Lts of deisel, and then settled our account. However, all this took time and we missed the start of the next leg to " Tanna " in Vanuatu , by 45 minutes, We nibbled our way out through the reefs and once outside, set a course for Tanna. A total distance of 450 miles,
We could see the fleet well out there in front of us on the horizon, 45 minutes is a good start for them. The weather was beautifull, but we had 25 / 30 knots on our beam, port side, so we were clipping along niclely at 9 / 10 knots, and that was with 2 reefs in the Main and Genny.
2 miles out, it got very rough, the sea was just all white horses. luckily , we had everything well battoned down. We chatted with Daniel for most of the afternoon , Bonding ?
19.00hrs We had a light dinner, Lasaigne with caggage , it tasted good, not bad in these conditions, Aileen was not feeling well, so did not eat a dinner, and went to sleep in the cockpit, where she spent the night.
Watches :- 21.00hrs / 00.00hrs Skipper
00.00hrs / 03.00hrs Scotty
03.00hrs / 06.00hrs Daniel
06.oohrs / 09,00hrs Skipper
Signed :- Stephen Hyde (Skipper)