‘I think everything we have ever wanted is waiting for us behind those hills, Mama.’

‘I hope you are right, my girl. I hope you are right.’

Annie looked once more to the hills and felt the warm breeze on her face. She felt the wind drop and above her the sails slackened and fluttered fitfully. From behind them an officer yelled an order and sailors poured into the rigging to make adjustments. The ship lost headway until she wallowed in the troughs, pitching and rolling so that Annie and her mother had to grasp the rail to keep their feet.

‘What is happening?’ Maree asked as she stared aghast at the flurry of activity.

‘It appears your coming on deck was a good omen for us, Mama. The wind is shifting at last.’

They returned down the pitching deck to where Frank and Betty watched the sailors at work. They seemed to be getting a grip on the ship. The sails snapped taut and the vessel let out an almost mortal groan as the masts and rigging took the strain. The deck surged beneath their feet as the Charlotte Elizabeth gained headway. Annie was delighted to see the bow swing towards those distant hills.

The Hocking family stood together at the rail for an hour or more and watched their progress along the shoreline. Soon they were close enough to see waves crashing onto a white beach. Looking ahead, Annie could see a rocky headland, steep-sided with stunted vegetation clinging to the heights.

‘That must be Point Nepean,’ she said, remembering the name of the eastern headland that guarded the bay. ‘We are nearly there.’ She felt the excitement building inside her.

‘Begging your pardon, sir, ladies.’ A sailor Annie knew as Bosun Miggins addressed them from the port rail. ‘Cap’n says there’s enough light left in the day to attempt the bar. He’d like all passengers below decks until we make the bay.’

‘Certainly,’ Frank said. He spread his arms wide and herded his family towards the companionway.

They found the way to their berth and Annie climbed onto the bunk she shared with her sister. There were no portholes, so she sat in silence and imagined their progress by the motion of the ship. The bow rose and plunged as they beat into a heavy swell. From forward came a steady slap and splash as the ship cut through the waves. Some time later she heard orders shouted on the deck above her and the familiar creak from the rigging as they changed tack. The Charlotte Elizabeth moved with a new motion now, rolling and surging, as if the waves came from all directions at once. Betty let out a shriek of delight as they were lifted high on a crest, then plunged suddenly into a trough. The sound of retching came from the next berth and the stench of bile filled the air. Soon, others were vomiting as well, but Annie and Betty just smiled and hugged each other in the gloom. Nothing would spoil their mood. They were nearly there.