Australia - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 434

move in, providing a steady flow of southeasterlies so that we could make the trip in one
six-day run.
It was a beautiful plan - except it didn't work. Once we had our weather window, we set
off, confident in our logic. But the forecast southeast wind had a lot more east than south
in it. So much, in fact, that at times it even tended ENE - not a good thing along this
northeast tending section of the Australian coast. Combined with an adverse two knot cur-
rent, the wind was such that all Namani could manage over ground was a two knot crawl
of a close reach. Blue skies gave way to gray and the swell grew throughout the day, inch-
ing toward the three-meter mark. The only good news was that our stomachs were hand-
ling the transition back to blue water well.
Several frustrating hours later, we had to admit that another great plan had gone to the
dogs. We were neither inside nor outside the EAC: we were smack in the teeth of the beast
with easterly winds blocking any prospect of making it to the other side. That's when we
decided to call it quits and head to Port Stephens, ninety miles north of Sydney, where we
could mentally regroup and form a new plan. By this point in our sailing careers, we'd
learned that flexibility comes ahead of stubbornness every time. We still had a frustrating
night of tacking and cursing ahead of us as we dodged one ship after another. The main
obstacle was the shipping off Newcastle, a bustling coal harbor. Little good our AIS re-
ceiver did us with a dozen ships in close quarters! A handful were anchored, while others
drifted, awaiting the harbormaster's summons, and still others steamed to and fro. At one
point, I was forced to put Namani on a port tack and head 195° to avoid one. That meant
heading away from our destination at a clip of four knots, well above our speed made
good in the desired direction!