We arrived at the Customs and Quarantine dock at 11:30am local time. The first 7 days of our passage were smooth and easy – watching movies, reading books. The Pacific Ocean decided to give us one last reminder of “who’s boss” – and the last 24 hours were some of the most challenging we have seen in the entire voyage. We saw it coming. The grib file we got in Fiji before we left forecast a system developed from South AUS and would bring 20 kt wind along AUS east cost. We knew it would be bad, but thought we can deal with it. Well, it was ROUGH. For 15-20 hr, wind blew out of N NW, with confused sea up to 3 m, short interval. We changed heading a couple times to avoid aggressive rolls. But still, we had 30 degree roll every 20 min, and a couple times 40-45 deg. And once 50 deg! Guess it is good to know the boat can take it, and no damage to the boat or the crew,
After a LONG day and night, it finally calmed down … We arrive Mereton bay in beautiful sunset and cruised in Brisbane river before noon. We are here resting up at Rivergate marine, and it is a beautiful evening on the Brisbane River.
We’ll post a bit later on the perspectives from spending 9 months exploring the Pacific, no question arriving in Brisbane is bittersweet: we accomplished our goal, but sad to make a temporary end to our great adventure.
