Our wonderful winds have died and now we’re motoring our final way to Australia. We should go through Curtis Channel through the Great Barrier Reef tonight. Then it’s another 43 miles to the bouys that mark the entrance to Bundy. The night before last Susan and Gerard had rainy watches. Last night it was my turn. It’s been raining since about 4:00, about 5 hours now. It doesn’t show any sign of stopping. It’s a light rain and the temperature has warmed significantly, so it’s not so uncomfortable.
The bioluminesence in the water last night was magical. There was a lot in the waves we create as the bow pushes through the water. With the engine running there is a long stream behind us too. New to me though was a kind of bioluminesence that glowed for a few seconds after I shined a light on them. I sat in the cock
pit with my headlamp on, turning it on and off; on and off. Each time the round circle where my light hit the ocean lit up and drifted away as moved. One time there was a red eyeball in the mix. Not too big and for some reason I think it was a squid. Just a guess.
I baked bread yesterday and we’re doing our very best to eat everything we think the Aussies will confiscate. Our fruit and veggie net is almost bare. The meat is almost all gone. Susan says no other cruisers eat this well, which I find hard to believe. There has to be a few anyway. When the seas are big it’s a particular challenge to not have everything flying around the galley, but it can be done. A few nights ago I had a couple of bowls of salad go flying. I’m still finding dried up pieces of shredded carrot around. A few weeks ago there was an unfortunate incident with uncooked rice. I’m sure Susan will find it in nooks and crannies for years to come.
As it stands now we should be pulling into Bundaberg at first light tomorrow. Not a bad passage for such a long distance. We had two 135 mile days and one 150 mile day. It certainly makes me envy those catamarans that can have 200 or even 300 mile days. That certainly would make passages tolerable. My last night watch is tonight. Yee haw!