While cruising this week we were caught in the Westly Gale on Lake Macquarie.

On Wednesday afternoon we were at anchor settling in for the night, when I noticed black clouds forming so I knew we were going to get wet. A mini tornado (water spout) appeared and travelled toward us hitting us on our beam. It turned over our inflatable dingy, threw the boat around but the anchor did not let go and it was over in seconds.

The boat always felt safe and gained my appreciation of what a beautiful craft she is. We sailed in 35knots wind and it felt stable and powered.

Regards Leigh