Captain’s Log: A Return to Busselton

The Cyclone

The end of March came with a bit of excitement as Tropical Cyclone Narelle made its way across the northern coast and threatened to make landfall anywhere between Exmouth and Busselton.

Meanwhile, the ship was preparing to depart Albany on a delivery voyage to Busselton with a small contingent of volunteer crew. With winds mounting and a range of possible forecasts, we made the decision to sail to Hamelin Bay as the most sheltered option in the forecast.

It was an exciting sail, with strong easterlies allowing us to make 8-10 knots throughout the night, and as wind calmed we made anchorage at Hamelin Bay the following evening. Cyclones are an amazing thing, completely upending the usual weather patterns of land and sea breeze we get so used to.

We spent two days hiding from the rain while light winds blew from every point of the compass, until eventually the wind settled to the southwest, allowing us to sail the rest of the way to Busselton. The rest of the voyage was uneventful, but full of good training opportunities for sail handling and emergency drills.

A Return to the South West

We arrived at Busselton on a flat calm morning just before the Easter Weekend, and enjoyed the hospitality of Busselton Jetty, always great supporters whenever we’re in town.

Thanks to everyone who visited and showed support throughout that time – we ran an open day and a fully booked Day Sail that made for an amazing autumn sail with clear skies and light winds. It was great to reconnect with the Geographe Bay community.

Voyage Home

Our last sail was a full charter voyage with Scouts WA, from Busselton to Fremantle. Travelling north often feels like the downhill run, with easterly winds making for a gentle and straightforward sail up to Rottnest Island overnight. We then made the most of a south westerly change that allowed us to charge into our usual Bathurst Point anchorage under full sail (except for the squares).

We spent the rest of the voyage sailing around Fremantle waters in gentle conditions, with the Scouts learning the ship well and taking over the watches for the final day of sailing, setting, tacking and handing sail to get the ship to Cottesloe Anchorage. At the end of the voyage, we had sailed the ship 192 nautical miles, and motored for eight, a very peaceful and rewarding passage for all on board.

We had a great roster of volunteers to help us out on this final voyage, with plenty of Trainee Watch Leaders and newly developing crew, working their way towards being our next generation of Watch Leaders. It was extremely gratifying to rate our first Watch Leader, Bella, since the accident in 2024 and we hope to rate many more as we continue sailing.

ANZAC Day

Finally, it was a delight sailing with you all on our final daysail of the season, with 22 crew and 120 passengers joining us for ANZAC Day. Seeing lots of old and new faces in our volunteer crew gives us confidence for the future as we build out our sailing calendar, which we hope to share with you all soon!

Fair winds and following seas,
Captain James