25th to 28th February 2020
Lovely passage – first 24 hours at a good pace in pretty much ideal sailing conditions, then SLOW but comfortable and quick enough to not use the motor until we were nearly in the bay when the wind died entirely. And then we didn’t mind too much as the whales were about 😊. Seeing a humpback repeatedly smashing the water with its tail was probably the best wildlife view we’ve had on our trip, and we had another six sightings just sailing into the bay. It’s amazing – we can see why so many people visit here at this time of year.
All the way along the kids were painting, playing, and generally acting like it is perfectly normal to not see land. Even though we didn’t plan on making the passage at this time, it worked out very well for us really and was quite nice to be back on a proper passage. Not quite long enough for us to settle into a routine, though, so I was a bit short of sleep despite Charlotte’s best efforts to take the first part of night watch. Arthur decided on the first morning at sea that 4am was a good wake-up time (he then delayed bedtime to 9pm that night, with no hint of a daytime nap), and on the 2nd morning came out to see how watch was going at 3:30am. That time I managed to persuade him that maybe he’d like a little more sleep – on the bench outside so he could see the stars. Loves being at sea at night, that one. As do I.