Up at the crack of dawn for a long day's trip and to get what sailing we could with the anticipated weather. After leaving the harbour entrance we crossed the Spirit of Tasmania and a freighter coming into Devonport. Not long after we set course for Rocky Cape as the first significant waypoint. Motor sailing was the order of the day with a light but helpful breeze. However, as we came closer to Rocky Cape the wind swung more to straight on the nose and increased in speed until abeam the Cape we had to take in the sail and just motor. Around the same time the seas increased with a particular short pattern of threes that at times that almost stopped Tegwen in her tracks. Increased engine speed helped ameliorate this, as did the change of course after Rocky Cape towards Stanley but it was not comfortable progress. Closing in on "The Nut" the seas abated but the wind held up and was still on the nose.
12 hours after leaving Devonport we were safely into Stanley Harbour around 6:00pm. One of the fisherman, Matthew, gestured for us to raft up alongside his boat. An offer which we gratefully accepted. The tides here range over 3.5 metres and being able to securely raft up against a bigger boat makes for a far more secure berth. His boat is undergoing a gearbox repair and so it is unlikely Tegwen will have to be moved while in Stanley. After a long chat with Matthew, we walked up to the Stanley Hotel for an evening meal on the deck at their bistro and enjoyed looking at some of the lit up older buildings on the way back to Tegwen.
