CLIENT: Wamberal SLSC
VOYAGE NUMBER: 20220105
FROM: Manly to Manly
DATE: 5 January 2022
POSITION: Blakesley, North Stradbroke Is
REPORT BY: Blue Watch
This morning we had an early start, slightly overcast weather was reported, slow winds in the harbour, we set off at approximately 8:50 am, and once out of the harbour began to raise the sails. Once out of the harbour, winds were high, however swells were only approximately 1.5/2 metres in height, wind speeds were up to around 25-30 knots.
We were slightly shorthanded, so all the watches needed to contribute to raising each sail, the main sail was raised first, but the second reefing point tore almost immediately, and so we had to drop the sail quickly. The foresail was raised without any issues, however the jib was still tied down, and so one of the voyagers had to equip a harness and untie the sail in heavy winds.
The weather quickly changed, rain came sporadically in heavy bursts, and we began our watch rotations. Each watch still required help from the other watches, and we began tacking. We tacked a total of approximately 15-20 times over the course of the day throughout the changing weather.
We anchored the ship at around 4:00 pm, the swell was flat, winds speeds were low, but rain continued to arrive at different times of the afternoon.