Homeward Bound – The Final Stretch!

During the night, while anchored at Antechamber Bay on the east coast of Kangaroo Island, an annoying little roll developed, and so we were awake early. Unwilling to wait any longer in the uncomfortable conditions, we pulled our anchor and set off. We were headed to Robe, our last stop in South Australia. I had figured it would be about a 24 hour passage, and calculated that in order to arrive in daylight and with enough tide to enter the marina, that we should leave KI around midday.

And so it was a bit early when we left at 8.30 am, reasoning that if needed, we could just slow down a bit. And it turns out that is exactly what we needed to do. After motoring clear of the island for an hour, we set our sails and were soon flying along at seven to eight knots. The seas were smooth and the winds were perfect. It was the best sail we’d had in months. Even when the wind dropped out, we were still sailing along comfortably at four knots. This is what it’s all about. Champagne sailing. Well, champagne sailing, South Australian style; it was still a bit chilly!

Just on sunset, as we were still sailing along gently in the smooth seas, Matt looked at me and said, ‘What do you think about putting the drone up?’ ‘It’s about as good as it’ll ever get,’ I replied, ‘let’s do it!’ And so Matt prepared the drone and I pulled in the headsail in order to release the drone from the bow. It was a magical scene; silky smooth seas, sailing boat gliding along and a glowing sun dropping over the horizon, great streaks of colour splashing across the sky. Can you picture it? Pretty spectacular, huh?!

Unfortunately, our memory and imagination is all that we have, because almost as soon as the drone was up, it began to beep alarmingly and flash a ‘lost connection’ warning. Not ideal when it is flying around over kilometres of open sea. Matt panicked and called the attempt off, and although I was relieved when the drone was safely back on board, I was pretty disappointed too. It felt like we’d missed a one in a million chance for a pretty special photo.

But Matt did manage to pull his normal camera out later in the trip to capture the full moon laying a trail of moonlight over the smooth seas.

I went to bed from 6.30 pm to 1.30 am, although I didn’t get much sleep, and was then on watch throughout the night until 5.45 am. Matt had dropped the headsail and kept reefing the main in order to decrease our speed, but we still arrived early, and it was 9 am when we were approaching Guichen Bay. Contacting the harbour master, Matt got the go ahead to enter the marina and we carefully navigated the short, but very shallow channel into the marina and found our berth. By this time, the wind had picked up and was blowing fiercely. Adam, the harbour master and Bert, another yachtie were there to grab our lines, and a good thing too, as the strong wind was pushing us off our berth and the shallow water saw our keel stuck in the mud. Luckily, they were able to drag us in and soon we were tied up safely, enjoying proper showers for the first time in two weeks.

We had a lovely four night stay in Robe. It was a cute little town, and we enjoyed exploring. Each day we went for a walk, wandering through town and out to the Obelisk or the bird hide or along the coast. It was all very pretty and the water in the bay was super flat and still. I gazed out at it, hoping that we would have similar conditions when we left in a few days time.

We found the people of Robe to be extraordinarily friendly, especially the other yachties. When we first arrived, Ruth happened to be walking her dog in the area. She said hello and offered to drive me to do my laundry. She left before we exchanged details, but later I found her card on the mat, with another offer of help. I contacted her gratefully and she picked me up and took me back to her house to use her washing machine. I had a lovely chat over coffee with Ruth and her husband Jock while waiting for my load of washing. It was so kind of them and certainly made life a lot easier for me. They invited Matt and I over for dinner a couple of days later and Ruth gave us a tour of the town and surrounding areas beforehand. It is always interesting and enlightening to learn about a place from a local. Ruth served us a delicious dinner and we had a delightful evening swapping cruising tales. Although Ruth and Jock no longer had their boat, it turns out we had a lot in common and had cruised many of the same areas. They explicitly understood the challenges, frustrations and simple joys of the cruising life. It was nice to be able to share experiences with people who really understood what it was like.

We also met Mick and Verity, stalwarts of the local sailing club who dropped by for a chat, and then listened in some astonishment as Verity played the bagpipes, wandering up and down the docks. We had coffee and cake on Boundlass with Bert and Janet, who were also berthed in the marina. When they took their visiting relatives out for a sail, Matt put the drone up to capture some footage of their yacht out in the bay.

We had originally planned to stop in Portland, and then possibly Port Fairy on our way to Melbourne, however we were both keen to get home and there was a good looking weather window coming up that would allow us to go all the way. And so we decided to do a 3 day/2 night passage; one final push. I had thought it might come to this, that end of trip feeling when you just want to finish. No matter how long or short the journey, white line fever tends to hit towards the end. And it had hit us bad. We were ready to stop.

So as much as I had grown to dislike the overnight passages, I signed up for one more. Just one more and then I would have a big rest from the boat. After a last shower, we motored out of the marina at 7 am, breathing a sigh of relief as we passed over the super shallow patches and out into the safety of the deep water. Calm seas greeted us, with a gentle one and a half metre swell rolling through. It was quite comfortable.

We only managed about a half hour of sailing before the wind dropped right out and our speed rapidly dwindled. And so it was on with the motor, which as it turned out, was to be our constant companion for the remainder of the trip. And what a trip it was. The seas were smooth and the swell moved gently underneath us. With very little wind, it wasn’t even that cold. It was surprisingly pleasant.

After an early dinner on the first night, I went to bed at 7 pm. Back on watch at midnight, my night shift passed uneventfully and was quite ok. It wasn’t too cold and I sat downstairs in the cabin comfortably. We crossed over the border into Victoria on my watch, so it was 5 am Victorian time when I woke Matt up for his shift and then crawled straight into bed.

Since we’d been using the motor constantly, Matt was concerned about our fuel supply and so decided to pull into Portland and get some extra diesel. While I was sleeping he contacted the VMR in Portland and arranged for us to tie up to the visitor’s berth. I emerged at about 10 am to find us just outside Portland Harbour and was still waking up as Matt maneuvered us into the large and sheltered harbour.

Once again, the generosity and support of the yachting community was on full display, with Shirley waiting on the dock to grab our lines and then drive us to the service station. We loaded four jerries into her ute and piled in. It was Good Friday and the town was buzzing. On our way back from the servo we passed the roadside charity collectors shaking tins for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Shirley slowed as we passed, greeting them by name. ‘Hey Shirl, did you pick up the yachties?’ one of the ladies asked. ‘Yes, I’ve got them right here,’ she grinned, and introduced us to the VMR volunteer Matt had spoken to earlier on the phone and who had organised the visitor’s berth for us. ‘Thanks so much,’ we said, pushing our donation into her tin. ‘Don’t mention it,’ she waved, ‘safe travels!’

Shirley asked if we wanted a proper coffee and took us into town. The only coffee shop that was open was doing a roaring trade and there was a long queue so we sat and chatted with Shirley and two of her friends while we waited for our drinks. Wendy and Tammy were fascinated by our story and so we invited them back to see Cool Change. After thanking Shirley, we lugged our jerries back to the yacht and gave Wendy and Tammy a tour. What a friendly and welcoming place Portland had turned out to be. It would have been a great place to stop and explore for a few days, but we were now on a mission to get home.

Farewelling the ladies, we motored out of Portland at 11.30 am and set our sights on home. Matt spent the afternoon in bed and then I slept from 6.30 pm to 11.30 pm. It was another uneventful night shift, and would be the last one in a long time. At 4.30 am we swapped over and when I woke up at 8.30 am it was to a heavy fog blanketing the boat. Fortunately the fog lifted and we had smooth seas for most of the remainder of the trip. There was a large swell, but it rolled through gently from behind and didn’t cause me any problems. The water was crystal clear and we were often visited by large pods of dolphins. We both spent ages standing on the bow, staring mesmerised at the dolphins swimming back and forth and playing in our bow wave. No matter how many times we see them it never gets old; watching dolphins at sea is always a special experience and one we both sincerely appreciate.

The day passed peacefully, every hour drawing us closer to the finish. Finally, we could see Seal Rocks and the Nobbies, rising up from the ocean and marking our entrance into Westernport Bay. We approached the bay just as the sun was about to set. Our last sunset of this epic adventure was to be a spectacular one. Behind us we watched the iridescent red orb of the sun descend towards the horizon, the bright light glowing golden and filtering out through the clouds. In front of us was a full moon rising, dull and pale at first, then slowly glowing a stronger white as it gradually rose into the twilight sky.

We were riding waves of swell into the bay, the boat being picked up and pushed along every so often. It was cold and we could smell the nearby seals, their scent wafting strongly over the boat. This was it. We had done it. We had come full circle. Our circumnavigation of the mainland of Australia was now complete. We gave each other a big hug. I was so proud of us.

Instead of negotiating the long channel into Hastings in the dark, we opted to drop anchor at Cowes for the night. It took a few attempts to find appropriate water for our anchor, but finally we were secure. There was a mixture of feelings running through us. Relief to be almost home; satisfaction and pride for our achievements; sadness for the end of an incredible journey.

Waking up the following morning, we realised we’d made the wrong decision in staying out for the night. The wind had swung to the north and was rapidly gaining strength. We quickly pulled anchor and motored towards Hastings. With twenty to twenty-five knots on the nose, it was a bumpy ride in. But I didn’t care. We were almost there!! I rang my Mum to let her know we were on our way in.

Berthing the boat in such strong winds was extremely difficult and getting into our assigned spot was almost impossible. Luckily the berth next to us was empty and much easier to manoeuvre into. After several attempts and with the help of some other yachties grabbing our lines, Matt managed to back Cool Change in safely. Phew! It was probably one of the most difficult and challenging berthing scenarios we’d faced in the entire journey. But we were in now. And we wouldn’t be moving her again for quite a while.

My Mum came down to meet us and took us to the marina café for breakfast while we tried to absorb the fact that we had finished. Matt was quite emotional, much more so than me, actually. There was a boat in the marina called Sea Snake, and the guys onboard had apparently been following our trip for the whole circumnavigation. We’d met them briefly before we left and then they had followed us on the Marine Traffic app for two and a bit years. When they saw us approaching Westernport Bay, they had realised we were coming home and had a bottle of bubbles on ice to welcome us in. We had had no idea of this and had anchored out at Cowes, but if we had known we would definitely have come in the night before. When they congratulated Matt and welcomed him home, he got quite emotional and a bit teary.

It was all a bit surreal for a while as we got used to being back in Melbourne and living on land again. We spent the first week taking car loads of stuff off the yacht; washing, cleaning, sorting and carrying out repairs. Within two weeks I was back working at my old school. Although I was just casual at first, I was still working five days a week, and I am now back on a full time basis. We moved back in to Matt’s parents house and Matt started a four month accounting contract at the start of May.

We have been back almost three months now and it has been a whirlwind of settling back into work and catching up with family and friends. About three weeks after we arrived back, Matt’s mum, Anne came home from rehab. She has continued to go from strength to strength and is now walking. Her determination, courage and perseverance is incredibly inspiring.

It is with lots of mixed feelings that I write this final blog. While I was ready for a break from the boat, and I am enjoying spending time with family and friends, I do miss the freedom and adventure of the cruising life. We have both struggled a bit with the reality of life in the suburbs of Melbourne during winter. But it will not be forever. We have not finished with Cool Change yet.

One cannot complete a circumnavigation of Australia and leave out Tasmania. We have plans to sail around the island state next summer. How long will it take us? Who knows. What will we do after that? We have a few ideas, but who knows what fate has in store for us. We will see.

But for now, it is time to buckle down and earn some money. To finish the repairs and jobs on the yacht in order to have her ship shape for the Tasmanian adventure. To spend quality time with family and friends. To appreciate life on land.

Before I sign off this final blog, I thought I’d just jot down a statistic or two. Our circumnavigation of the mainland of Australia took us almost exactly two years and three months. We departed Westernport Marina in Hastings on 18th January 2020 and we arrived back into Hastings on 17th April 2022.

Stage One was Hastings to Cairns; ten and a half months in which 133 nights were spent on anchor, 89 nights on a mooring, 34 nights in a free berth, 57 nights in a marina and just 5 nights out at sea on an overnight passage.

Stage Two was five months living on Cool Change in the marina at Yorkey’s Knob, Cairns, with the occasional overnight trip out to Fitzroy Island or Michaelmas Cay.

Stage Three was Cairns back to Hastings; eleven and a half months in which we were at anchor for 162 nights, were on a mooring for 30 nights and tied to a public jetty for 1 night. Contrasting with the first year, 136 nights were spent in a marina, although this includes the times when we left the yacht; the week of our inland road trip from Fremantle, our Christmas road trip to Esperance and the three and a half weeks that we were home in Melbourne.

The other significant difference is nights spent at sea. In the first year we did 5 overnight passages, all single nights. But in the second year, we spent 19 nights at sea on overnight passages, many of which were multiple night journeys. It is this statistic that really rams home to me how far we have come and just how much we have pushed the boundaries of our comfort zone.

When we started this adventure, we had minimal sailing experience. But gradually, as we began to experience more and more situations and scenarios, our knowledge, skills and confidence has developed. Our belief in our own abilities, as well as in each other’s has continued to grow. I am so proud of us and so grateful that we have been able to live this incredible life and experience this amazing journey. Here’s to the next one!!!!!!!

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

Dr Seuss