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R & R Kimberley Adventure 2014 Week 39 FINAL BLOG Spending a few pleasant days in Bermagui while waiting for the weather to change, we all relaxed and caught up with some local friends. Once the gusting southerly winds had past, we departed Bermagui on Saturday morning at a respectable 10am start, and headed the 40nm to Eden; the most southern town of New South Wales. With only a small window of opportunity to avoid another brewing storm that had winds gusting up to 40 knots, we decided to travel through the night to prevent being caught in Eden for a few days. We departed Eden at 9:00pm, rounding Green Cape and passing Gabo Island, and although we had plenty of rain the conditions were much better than expected. In addition to the crew, Rob and Rose both managed a night-‐time watch, and overall it was a calm and enjoyable trip. We arrived at Lakes Entrance at approximately 6:00 am, and travelled some 12nm into the lakes and berthed at the Paynesville Yacht Club Marina, in the first rainy conditions we had experienced since leaving Melbourne 9 months ago. Skipper Mike decked out for the conditions upon arrival in the Gippsland Lakes-‐ Freezing! Situated in east Gippsland, Victoria, Paynesville is one of the many small towns located on the Gippsland lakes. The Gippsland Lakes is an expansive network of lakes, marshes and lagoons, and is the largest inland waterway in Australia. A boating haven, the Gippsland Lakes Once tied up for the day, Rob and Rose caught up with some old friends and headed over to Raymond Island where they spent the afternoon. Raymond Island is well known locally for its large koala population, and is one of the best places in Australia to see these furry creatures up close and in the wild. The Raymond Island Ferry is a chain ferry that links the island directly to Paynesville on the mainland, and carries visitors and locals across the water. That evening we enjoyed a great meal at the local pub before thankfully having a long nights sleep in the marina, after our nights run. One of the many resident koalas on Raymond Island The following day, we had lunch onboard with our long life friends, Phillip and Annemieke. Phillip was Rob’s early childhood friend, and Annemieke nursed with Rose when she first arrived in Australia 50 years ago. After lunch we had a short run further down the lakes to the town of Metung, where we spent a quiet night in the picturesque setting overlooking the Village Green and hotel. The idealic view from our berth directly in front of the Metung hotel After an enjoyable breakfast at a local café, we made our way 12nm down to Lakes Entrance to refuel the boat for the last time, and berthed in the middle of the town. Situated 320 km east of Melbourne, Lakes Entrance is predominantly a fishing and tourism-‐driven town, and is a very popular place for boating and camping. Lakes Entrance has a population of approximately 4200 residents, and made for a pleasant location to spend the afternoon relaxing before heading to a popular seafood restaurant for dinner. Rob and Rose at the local Seafood Restaurant in Lakes Entrance Waking at dawn and leaving Lakes Entrance behind us, we crossed the barred entrance without incident, dodging the dredging vessels. We travelled a further 110nm west to Refuge Cove, which is situated in Wilson’s Promontory and is the most south-‐eastern point of mainland Australia. After a full days run in near perfect conditions, we all enjoyed a few drinks on the back deck whilst skipper Mike fired up the BBQ for our final supper on anchor. After a beautiful meal, a nice red wine and some well-‐
Rob and Rose enjoying some final drinks on anchor in Refuge enjoyed Johnny Cash, we Cove, Wilson’s Promontory settled in for a calm and peaceful nights rest before setting homeward bound to Sandringham Yacht Club early the following day. Departing Refuge Cove at 3:30 am, we reached the Port Phillip Heads shortly after lunchtime. We were greeted by Glen, Rob and Rose’s son in law, and Alby, their four year old grandson, who had travelled out in their boat to wave hello and welcome us home. Unfortunately we could not get close enough for Rose to give little Alby a hug, as both boats were rolling alongside one another and we had to keep steaming to avoid the approaching 30 knot winds. Son in law Glen and grandson Alby greeted R & R at the Port Phillip Heads Welcome back to Sandringham Yacht Club!! Finally, after a ten-‐hour run in 20-‐
knot winds and overcast conditions, we pulled into the Sandringham Yacht Club at approximately 2:30pm. Rob, Rosemary and the crew enjoyed some champagne on arrival and reflected upon what has truly been the experience of a lifetime. We were warmly met by Commodore Kate and immediate past Commodore, Chris, as well as many other members who dropped by to welcome us back. Rosemary and I would like to extend a huge thankyou to all of our friends who shared this wonderful voyage with us over the last 273 days, and we sincerely hope that you enjoyed it as much as we have. The trip would not have been possible without our great skipper and friend Mike, whose knowledge and patience granted us access to many beautiful locations, whilst always ensuring that Mother Nature was working in our favour. A big thankyou also goes to our hostess Steph for all of her hard work, and our old hostess Ruby who joined for the last 1600nm of the trip, in addition to skipper/guide Matt, who guided our journey for 6 weeks through the Kimberley region. Although this is the end of the weekly blog for the R & R Kimberley Adventure 2014, watch this space for information regarding the publication of a beautiful coffee table book. Details will follow in due course. We would also like to thank the Sandringham Yacht Club for all their support and for publishing our weekly reports, and to all the members for reading it and giving us so much positive feedback. We are proud to be members. Our P72 Princess R & R performed magnificently over the journey, and ran like a small city-‐ making water, power, cooling our fridges and cabins, cooking our BBQ’s and getting us from A to B. She never missed a beat. Safe Boating, Rob Ungar and the R & R crew 21 October 2014 See statistics and map on the following pages Fuel Statistics - R.M.Y.C. to Bermagui
175 Nautical Miles
19 Hours
9.0 Litres per Nautical Mile 83 Litres per Hour
9.2 Average speed of Knots
Fuel Statistics- Bermagui to Lakes Entrance
186 Nautical Miles
25 Hours
14.5 Litres per Nautical Mile 158.64 Litres per Hour
10.9 Average Speed of Knots
Fuel Statistics - Lakes Entrance to S.Y.C
216 Nautical Miles
21 Hours
11.5 Litres per Nautical Mile 119 Litres per Hour
10.2 Average speed of Knots
Fuel Statistics - Trip to Date
8580 Nautical Miles
897 Hours
10.80 Litres per Nautical Mile 103.3 Litres per Hour
9.56 Average speed of Knots
Foot Note Re Fuel Statistics
Total Miles logged from ships sum log 8580
Total Hours Logged from ships hour metre 897
Total Generator Hours 1,178.2 Hours
*Total Litres Per Hour including Generator Use 103.3
Total Fuel Used 92 693L
Total Amount of Refuels 28
*Estimated Generator fuel usage is 7L per hour for this 27 KVA Onin Generator