HIT BY A CATAMARAN!!

March 15th, 2024 📍Williamstown, Melbourne

Zia and I are currently hanging around Williamstown, Melbourne, after a boat crashed into Windfola’s transom and did nearly AUD $20,000 in damage — including crushing our precious windvane autopilot!

After sailing all the way here from Bundaberg, we are still planning on going south of Australia to reach the Indian Ocean… but our timeline has blown out and we’ve missed the appropriate season to cross the Great Australian Bight (February/March) and to cross the Indian Ocean (May/June). Next week, our boat is slated to haul out with Penfold Marine for repairs, and hopefully we’ll be on our way west just a few weeks later.

Now that we aren’t rushing to make it to the Indian Ocean by May 1st, we can take our time exploring South Australia. I’m really looking forward to this off-the-beaten track sailing through the St Vincent and Spencer Gulfs, despite the fact that we’ll be on the edge of the Southern Ocean in Winter! 😱 Maybe it’s finally time to install a heater…

Best of all, with more time in just one state, I’ll be able to apply for a “working with children” card, which means I may finally be able to connect with youth in Australia, rather than just fundraising and interacting with adults. It will be awesome to have more time and reach to make a bigger positive impact as we sail on!

I'm trying to make lemonade out of lemons in my mind, anyway...

Update: 9th of March, 2024 📍Dromana Bay, Port Philip, Melbourne, AUS

After a longer-than-anticipated stay in Melbourne, we are on our way again! Our next planned stop is Apollo Bay, approximately 15 hours of sailing away… so I’m departing this afternoon to catch the slack tide at The Rip (Port Phillip Heads) and carry on overnight for a daylight arrival.

Our stay in Melbourne was much longer than planned because I arrived rather exhausted after our passages (from Sydney around the southeast capes), and Windfola’s engine was in need of some serious love. While in Melbourne, I also had the opportunity to travel north by train and visit some friends in New South Wales that I’d had to speed past to catch weather windows down the coast. Zia and I even got to do some camping! I also came down with a bad bug and spent a week very sick in bed… I haven’t done the best job of balancing passage making and rest, so it was a big reminder to me that I need to take better care of the skipper in future. 😅

I gave a talk and taught an Intro to Inboard Diesel Engine Workshop for women aboard Windfola for members of RMYS, all to raise money for their upcoming program to get care-experienced young people out on the water! So stoked they’ve taken our message to heart and are finding a way to provide more opportunities for these young folks in their own community.

As we sail westward, I am always looking for opportunities to connect with state care-related or at-risk youth-supporting charities and their young people. If you know any people or organizations working in those spaces, please reach out to me!

Next up: Apollo Bay on March 10th, 2024

GOAL: West Australia by 1 April, 2024 ⛵️