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Take 2...Deja Vu?

Sitting on the boat at Fisheries, Pete and I kept pondering the weather maps, wind direction and strength and the tides. We had to keep comparing what would be happening when we left Eden, when we got down to Gabo Island as we started to change direction around the point, when we got about half way at Point Hicks, changing direction again, as well as what the tides were doing and what it would be like at Lakes Entrance when we crossed the bar...

At 5.30pm on Friday 15th January (still my Mum's birthday!!) we decided it was as good a time as any to leave so we secured all the cupboards, got Gradiva ready to go and pulled up anchor by 6pm. It was four hours shy of 9 days after we left Eden for home the last time! With just the 3 of us on board this time, it was smooth going as we left Eden Harbour.

See? All smiles and calm water...

Stormy skies over Boyd's Tower as we went past though...but we were leaving that behind...

And even a rainbow for my Mum on her birthday - we were hopeful it was a good sign for our journey ahead...

But as we turned south to head down towards Green Cape the wind picked up and so did the swell. We were prepared for it to be a little rough but if we got through this first bit, it all looked better for our approach to Lakes Entrance the following day. But it WAS rough. Heading, as we so often seemed to, straight into a head wind, Gradiva was pushing herself beautifully through the swell but the bell was dinging often which meant we were dealing with some big seas. Well, big compared to what we were used to, especially with our prized cargo on board - Ayla!

It was getting rougher as we headed past Green Cape Lighthouse:

And by about 8pm, Gradiva was riding up 3m waves, slamming back down and water was pouring over her bow. We had to close the front windows or we'd be drenched and Pete and I donned our wet weather gear for the night. It was getting exciting and we were ready for some fun as it got darker.

What we weren't prepared for was the look of sheer terror on Ayla's face. The colour had drained from her cheeks and she looked so worried. I'd never seen that look on her face before. I asked her if she felt sick and needed the bucket but she said she wasn't sick. And then she burst into tears saying she just wanted to go home. It was awful.

I told her that getting her home was exactly what we were trying to do but I felt extremely guilty. I had us both booked on a bus just a few days before and had cancelled it due to my own selfishness not wanting to miss out on this last leg home. I think she was worried we would hit another storm, something would happen to the engine and we'd spend another couple of days out here, only to return back to Eden again...she was desperately missing Nelson and Bobby.

Then I looked over at Pete and could totally see what was going through his own head. He had bought this boat to realise his own dream and had subjected her to this. His beautiful daughter, the girl he has sworn to protect no matter what, and he was the one putting her through this terrifying time. I knew he was contemplating turning back! I just knew it. It was breaking his heart to see her like this.

Ayla kept asking if it was going to get worse. We couldn't lie. We had no idea what Mother Nature was going to dish up. All we could do was to assure her that we would keep her safe no matter what. I took her downstairs and tucked her in with a couple of warm fluffy blankets at about 9pm and thankfully it wasn't long before she was fast asleep and she didn't get up out of that bed until probably 11am the next day! Fear and denial (I think she preferred not to know what was happening around her!) had made her sleep for a solid 14 hours!!

Pete and I kept pushing through the swell all night. We both stayed up on deck til about 3am, both of us drifting off to moments of sleep here and there. But at about 3am Pete asked me how I was and I admitted I was freezing. He told me to go downstairs and have a proper sleep out of the cold. I didn't want to leave him up there all on his own but never a sweeter statement had left his lips! I grabbed my pillow and a blanket, took off my shoes and lay down on the lounge bed, still with wet weather gear and my life jacket on, too tired to remove them! The boat was still tossing and turning and I remember trying to hold on to the mattress as I slept...

I woke at 4.20am, it was still dark but the seas seemed to be calming. I thought about getting up but must have drifted off to sleep again and woke at first light, about 5.30am. Thankfully Ayla was still fast asleep in her bunk bed. I went back up on deck and I think Pete was pretty happy to see me resurface. I checked out where we were on the MaxSea computer and then had a look on Maps. Yay! We had come further than our last attempt! The red pin is Point Hicks, pretty much where we got to last time, and we were finally past it!!

After a bit of a chat, Pete decided to have a little sleep up on deck as I took a watchful eye over the auto helm. It was such a peaceful early morning sunrise and the seas had calmed down at last. Refreshed after my couple of hours sleep and with the promise of a beautiful day ahead, I was quite happy alone at the helm so Pete went below to have a proper sleep. Good morning sunrise:

And what a beautiful day it turned out to be!


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