And they're off!!
Well, the new crew of Gradiva have set sail from Noumea to Australia at last!! They cleared customs this morning and set sail for the high seas about midday local New Caledonian time (which was about 11am Australian EST). These photos are courtesy of the lovely Marc Arav, previous owner of Gradiva, who has devoted the past 2 weeks with Pete going over every last inch of the boat and making sure she is sound and ready for the Australian bound crossing and showing Pete everything he needs to know to take over as captain once and for all.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Marc and his family who have loved and looked after Gradiva for the past 21 years and to Marc's wife and daughters for allowing Marc to be away from them for so long, just to help my Pete these past two weeks. And I'd like to especially thank Marc for his complete and utter selflessness during this time where he has gone above and beyong anything we could ever have imagined to make sure Gradiva is not only seaworthy but so well equipped for the journey and for teaching Pete all the intricacies involved in sailing her home.
The new Gradiva Crew: (left to right) Les Rausz, Garth Watson and Captain my Captain Peter Buckley!
Marc Arav hands over the captaincy of Gradiva to Peter Buckley
And away they go, leaving Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia bound for Australian shores...
Is it apt that Ayla keeps playing Bound for Botany Bay on the clarinet??
So the below photo shows Gradiva's tracking position at 02.22 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) which is 10 hours behind us. So the last known point (until it gets updated - so watch this space!) was less than an hour and a half into their journey so they were only just leaving but looks like they're heading in the right direction!
The photo below shows their same position at 02.22 UTC and just how far they have to go until they hit Bundaberg, QLD (well, hopefully not "hit")...
And here are the favourable wind conditions - about 20-25 knots:
Bon Voyage my lovelies! Be safe xxx
