Port Macquarie
I am guilty once again of not keeping up with this journal, so here is a bit of an update for the past few days. Saturday and Sunday, back in Coffs Harbour where not as good for the ship as they could have been, only due to the weather I suspect keeping people at home. Saturday was a little miserable, the southerly gale still blowing with a lot of rain coming through in showers and the number of visitors was predictably low. I am surprised we got anyone at all, it is a measure once again of the interest this ship generates that we were able to tempt people out of their homes to come and have a look. Sunday was better, the weather had eased a little, although the showers continued in the morning, and the visitor numbers were better. Sailing time on Monday morning was 0800 and we had a full crew aboard. I was a little nervous about getting her out, the breeze is still fresh out of the south, pushing me on to the berth and there is not a lot of room to manoeuvre. In the end it goes all right, I spring off, and with Greg in the rescue boat pushing up on the lee bow, we come astern into the basin, swing and line up with the narrow gap through the breakwaters. Once out in the outer harbour, we lift the boat back aboard and stand to sea. Quite a swell fetching in to the harbour and we are rolling and pitching before we even get outside the breakwaters and a few of the voyage crew are already looking a little uncomfortable. Once clear, we get sail on her, courses and topsails at half hoist, the breeze out of the south by west at about force 5. I am hoping to get out and find that south going current and try to beat south - the forecast is not good, freshening SE'ly winds tomorrow. About 15 miles offshore, our friendly current is there and we begin to gain ground again. Wondering how far to go out before going about and standing inshore again, the decision is suddenly made for me. I wrote in this journal a short while ago how well all the 16th century gear was working in comparison to the problems we have had with the modern equipment. Well, I spoke too soon. Greg calls me, the weather after main shroud has come slack, we suspect the lanyard has carried away - a for'd one was replaced in Coffs after being seen to be all but parted. However the lanyard looks fine and looking aloft we see that the shroud itself has parted up at the crosstress - a few words come to mind that probably should not be printed here. I call all hands and we wear ship immediately to take the weight off that side of the rigging, and take in the main topsail to reduce the tension aloft.(the fore topsail was already in with the freshening breeze). Greg goes aloft and I get him to set up a purchase on to to broken shroud just to hold it in positon - we have the Sat C aerial and the breather pipe from the sullage tank seized to that shroud. Shaun goes aloft also to pass over the burton clear of the catharpins and give it a clear lead - I am going to set that up as a preventer shroud. Andrea goes over on to the channels to get a strop on the chain plate - I make sure she has a harness on with the ship rolling and pitching considerably at times. The burton is set up as tight as possible and that should be adequate to get us to Port Macquarie, I will have to be careful to nurse the rig a little though in case of problems with the other rigging. We stand inshore until we begin to lose the set and wear ship at 1900 with both watches on deck. Again at 2400 we wear again, all hands on deck, the new crew getting a real taste of working a little square rigger in somewhat difficult conditions. By this stage we are in 30 41S 153 23E and making reasonable progress to windward although having an uncomfortable night. Tuesday brought more of the same, working slowly south and trying to keep as much as possible in the current. We wear at 0400 when I come on watch, about 5 miles east of Smoky Cape, the weather SE x S force 6 with the mod-heavy swell continuing. Still just under the 2 courses and we wear again at 0800, 1100 and 1800, slowly working south. It had become apparent that we would not make our ETA of 1600 at the bar at Port Macquarie and I decide to carry on and heave to later in the night and time our arrival for first light tomorrow morning. I could have pushed on under power, but that would have put more strain on the rig and even then there was no guarantee of getting there before dark. I have not been in to Port Macquarie before and there was no way I was going to attempt the entry over the bar at night. All the river ports along this coast have a bar at the entrance and in the wrong conditions can be quite dangerous. So now of course we are going too fast for a daylight arrival and at 1900 we hand the mainsail and leave her just headreaching slowly under the foresail, first on one tack then the other. She sits pretty well like this, with the helm hard down, although the swell continues to make her roll and pitch heavily at times. I don't think anyone got a great deal of sleep, and the seasick ones are not having the time of their life. I come on watch again at 0400 this morning as Andrea has her squared away a little and standing in towards the entrance. We are still going too fast though, the breeze has shifted to the NNE (typical, where was this 48 hours ago!) and we have to heave to again about 9 miles out to wait for daylight. As we sit there, the breeze drops right away and shifts to the west. I think we have done pretty well to sail as far as we have and I get the watch to hand the foresail, the engines come on and we head in. Right on time, we are off the breakwaters just before 0700, the breakers along the beach raising clouds of spray and the 2 escort boats come out to guide us in. The Waterways boat and the Coast Guard rescue RIB take up position and we follow them in. I am a little apprehensive as they tell me that the entrance is breaking on the leads and they will guide me in to the north, everyone is up on deck watching and I have all hatches closed tight as a precaution. I think my tension shows a little as Duyfken starts to surf on the swells and I snap my orders sharply at Nic on the helm. She does well though and we go racing in, suddenly we are past the breakwaters into smoother water, we give a long blast on the whistle to the crowd gathered there and I let out my held breathe in relief. We turn to starboard up the Hastings river and have a pleasant run in now perfectly still water with birdlife all around. Past the vehicle ferry, we tie up at the little berth at Jordans Boating Services - Bruce Jordan has already been busy promoting our arrival and can't do enough for us. The crew set up for museum mode and then get stuck in to fix up the damaged rigging. We send down the broken shroud - I intend to use the disused mizzen stay as a main shroud until we can get a proper replacement. Rupert sets to making new futtock staves which also had snapped, and the main topsail is sent down to be repaired, somehow we had managed to get a tear in that as well and it needs a patch. Although we are a little way out of town, word of our arrival has got around and we have quite a busy day, including a few school groups. People are as interested to see the work going on as they are in the ship itself, standing for ages to watch the crew sew sails, plane timber and splice, seize and tar rigging. I don't intend to damage the ship too often though just for public exhibition, I can do without that. Gary Wilson Master
Gary Wilson
Master
