E21 – STANLEY ISLAND TO ADOLPHUS ISLAND
Departing Stanley Island.
I checked the rudder post which I figured was the cause of the loud noise that had developed the day before after leaving Lizard Island and found a small amount of play at the top of the post, but it was only a very small amount. I decided we’d just have to nurse it to Thursday Island where hopefully someone could help sort it out as it was increasingly worrying me.
We departed Stanley Island with a light to moderate SE trade wind and calm seas but with the forecast for strong SE winds coming soon, I decided to make a direct run all the way to the Torres Strait, a distance of at least 280nm. So, while I got going with navigating and sailing Starlight, Tan and Kate (our crew from Cairns to Torres Strait) got going with a macramé lesson!
Sunset at sea and on passage is always a special moment. It seems life kinda switches gear onboard and we ran beautifully through the night clocking more and more miles as we ran north in 20-25kts of wind. The next day we continued the run north in winds about 20kts and even getting the company of a small pod of dolphins for a while.
We continued running north through the day and as another sunset came upon us, still underway, we had started to settle in to a routine although I admit I was tired. Our ETA was about 2200 that night but as the navigation in that area of Far North Queensland, with reef literally everywhere, requires constant vigilance and I was the only one who could provide that onboard, I knew I wasn’t going to get much more rest than I already had.
