Debonnaire

Left Sandringham at 0755. Thanks to all the well-wishers at the marina, breakwater and Picnic Point who waved us goodbye. Good trip down to The Rip, arrived an hour early. Safely through and into Bass Strait. Waves mostly 2-3m, some larger. All well, some crew having a snooze on deck.

After months of preparation, our final task is to check the weather forecasts and decide when to depart on our adventure.

Of course, there is never really a final task. When this project started, there were countless items on our checklist and, despite many months preparing, there are still many things we would have liked to complete. But they can wait for another day because now it’s time to go.  All the mission-critical items are finished: the boat has been checked, all the safety equipment is ready, we have done our training and the food is cooked and frozen.

We have been watching the weather forecasts for the past week, particularly for any after-effects of Cyclone Debbie.  A window of good weather has opened up and we have decided to leave a day earlier than originally planned. Tomorrow we cast off at 0800.