Tuesday 14th February
The cyclone hit full force in the pitch black of last night. The wind was howling though the trees on the cliff and the storm surge waves were rocking us around. Not all the trees survived the night. Every now and then we heard the crashing of trees and the splintering of branches as they slid down the cliff into the Bay. In places the cliff has given way and poured tons of mud into the Bay.
Andrew and Sue took turns at staying awake to monitor our tracking position. B didn’t get much sleep either with the waves pounding Imagine and the occasional log/tree hitting the hull on its way out to sea. We were sheltered from most of the wind, with only gusts to contend with.
The little cell phone coverage we had yesterday is no more and the VHF marine weather channel is no longer transmitting (can’t tell what the wind was or is out of the bay). Thank goodness we bought the Starlink Sattelite internet. We haven’t had time to mount it but it works while tied to the deck.
This morning revealed a very muddy bay with the swell still coming in despite most of the whitecap waves passing the bay’s entrance. Nobody was interested in going for a swim this morning.
The wind is predicted to swing more south westerly today. The two power cats have hauled anchor and headed out into the waves, so we have moved into Mansion House bay for more protection from the west. By midnight it’s predicted that the winds will drop off. This means we may be able to make a run for the Bay of Islands on Wednesday.