In the early hours of the morning the north-westerlies kicked in about six hours ahead of the forecast which resulted in us having to alter course before reaching our preferred position. We weren't too far off though, in the grand scheme of things, passing just 30NM to the south of our theoretical "mooring ball". This earlier course change brought with it the stronger winds and higher seas as expected, given that we were sailing around the tail end of a front.

While the skies remained sunny all day, the conditions were a total contrast to those we experienced yesterday. Today we were sailing with a third reefed main and a double reefed headsail in anything from15 to 23 Kts of wind and in at least a 2.5 to 3 metre swell. The good news is that these conditions were forecast to moderate and subside overnight into tomorrow, as we approach the Australian coastline, which they have. We're now sailing on a double reefed mainsail with a full genoa. We'll probably be back to motor-sailing by tomorrow, no doubt.

The "feast or famine" weather conditions have continued unabated this sailing season, as they did last season, which is definitely something we are looking forward to taking a little break from. In the interim, we still have a few cargo ships for company and we're trying to get as much rest as possible, but definitely looking forward to "land ahoy".