It usually starts with a quiet little drink and culminates in a simple barbeque in one of the world's best locations. Andrea and David McKay on Diomedea were there and here is their report:
Hi All,
Diomedea has now returned from her sojourn to Lord Howe. We departed North head at 1140hrs on Wednesday 8th and were off the island at 2400hr Friday night. 
Our route was up the coast to Point Stephens in a mild southerly. We then had a wet and wild beam reach overnight in confused seas (had many of us inspecting the gunwales) with 20-30 knots. The wind eased and then eventually died forcing us to motor for about 19hours in a lumpy left over swell. Northerly winds eventually came to our rescue and we scorched the final miles very quickly. 430nm in 60 hours outbound. We were finally admitted to the lagoon via the North passage at about 1100hrs on Saturday, once the tide was sufficiently risen. A total of 10 yachts made it to the island. A further yacht made it only to come to grief on the bricks.
The Classic Yacht BBQ was excellent. Particularly poignant was the award made to the skipper of "Etosha" who is now virtually blind as a result of shrapnel sustained in one of the Bali bomb blasts. The island was very pleasant but was too windy to allow scuba diving, trips to Balls pyramid or climbing Mt Gower. We had to settle for easier walks, snorkelling in the lagoon, surfing at Blinkys beach and microballasting. Two cold fronts prevented our planned departure(including the one that brought 30cm snow to Victoria).
We finally cleared the lagoon on Friday 17th at 1700hr through a ferocious steep sea in the passage. The SSW breeze forced us into a westerly course at 250ºM. The northerly eddie of the EAC pushed us north of the island for a while. Once passed the sea mounts the breeze came around and we could sail south. Once again a day of calm had the iron mainsail on. On Sunday the breeze came in from the north, light at first giving us a lovely run with the assy. Dusk heralded another night of 20-30 on the beam. We clocked 100nm in 12 hours courtesy of the EAC running at 2 knots. On Monday we glided down the coast under symmetrical kite and passed North head at 1300hrs. 450nm in 68 hours on the way back. Fish caught included 8kg yellowfin tuna, 2kg stripey tuna, 6-8 foot long marlin - yes he was on the line for about 30 seconds before cutting the trace. Fishing tackle to the value of $200-00 donated to Neptune.
This trip would not have been possible without the combined efforts of our magnificent crew. Adam Carpenter, Peter Webber, Rob Jude, Ken and Ginni Manley. Many thanks from Andrea and myself. Also special thanks to David Seaton who came to our rescue with a swipe card at the diesel pump.
David McKay
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