It's now or never.........

Tomorrow is the day. Twenty years of dreams, over twelve months of preparation, it's all coming together for the climax of our departure tomorrow.

This morning Captain Bligh, SasSea and I went over to see Marina and Sea-Dog and to make the final preparations for our departure. Captain Bligh seemed well pleased with our preparation, which was a bit of a relief for me. After working so hard for so long, it was good to know that at least we were heading in the right direction.

Captain Bligh - Image by Navman

We spent a couple of hours orienting Captain Bligh with the boat, loading provisions, topping up water tanks, and securing the vessel for a long sea passage.

After this we all went up for a lunch to celebrate our forthcoming departure. It was a jovial affair with a bit of story telling and much laughter. Eventually we needed to get away so that we could complete the last couple of items on our preparation list. The first of these tasks was to log Endless Summer on at our local Marine Rescue.

After this we went  to do the shopping for the fresh fruit and vegetables for the trip. We supplemented these with fresh produce from the garden, so that we shall have fresh and nutritious food for at least the first part of our journey. Our garden yielded up the last of its summer bounty, with tomatoes, leeks, eggplant, chillies, coriander, parsley, pumpkin, celery and tarragon.

We were back in time for sundowners down on the beach, then a simple dinner with some nice wine and stimulating conversation to complete the evening. Now it is just the blog to do, then off to bed for some rest before rising early tomorrow. We will be up at 0515, having coffee and toast, then going across to   meet Sea-Dog and Marina at 0600, load the fresh food, then be ready for an 0630 departure.

This is the dawn we are hoping for tomorrow - Image by Navman

The weather forecast is good for tomorrow all the way up to Port Stephens. We are taking a route which will see us follow the coast north to a point just off Sydney Harbour.

Here we will do a fuel tank dip to check our consumption before heading in a more seaward direction to reach Port Stephens.

You should be able to watch us go up the coast on this url:  http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/. If you search for Endless Summer or look on the map for south coast NSW, you should see us.

It's time to go now, I need my beauty sleep before the morning.

Bye now and sweet dreams,

Navman