The cruise ship Carnival Spirit docked this morning in Sydney Australia after being held offshore for a day due to high winds and seas which closed the port. The ship had been on a 12 day cruise. A serious storm closed four ports between Newcastle and Wollongong, including Sydney Harbor, where swell of 13 meters were reported. One passenger described the motion of the ship while off Sydney Heads as like that of a ‘a giant washing machine on a spin cycle‘

On shore, three people died as more than a foot of rain led to flash flooding. More than 200,000 homes and businesses lost power. There were no injuries reported aboard the cruise ship. Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to this post.