Island time. The Tropics. Whooppee....what was not to love? Well, the solid all night rolling at the Hummocky Island anchorage for starters! The Bloke and I tolerated the conditions until barely 02:30. We were both wide awake in the middle of the night and decided that we'd sooner be at sea than stay another minute! The trouble would be that we were in a sea that had hundreds of scattered islands all over the place and our next destination was only about 15nm away and arriving before dawn was not a good idea. We decided we were leaving anyway but would sail as slowly as possible so as not to arrive before dawn and the headsail was set with not a lot more than the UV strip to collect the wind - the proverbial "frilly knickers" configuration! The plan worked. We raised the anchor at 03:00 leaving the anchor lights of our traveling companions waiving about behind us as we left and we reached GKI at dawn. Job done and sanity saved. The others left at dawn, sailed normally and were soon joining us.
An example of island obstacles better passed during the day
Great Keppel Island
Great Keppel Island (or GKI as it is often known) has many anchorages and they are all reputedly subject to a bit of wrap around swell. Wind directions can change suddenly at night too, according to the cruising guides, but there seems to be a good spot to be found for any condition. We began at Svendsens Beach but soon popped around the corner to the Western side opposite the old resort after we'd let SV Starship know of our arrival. Goergi and Ross are old hands and know exactly where to position themselves relative to the wind. Their excellent advice was gratefully received and we were happy to be able to catch up on some sleep out of the wind and swell.
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