Category: Sailing Australian East Coast (Page 2 of 3)

Sailing from Sydney to Bowen and back to Brisbane on Australia’s east coast

Losing Sight of Land

August 25, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Adrian

We are often asked if we lose sight of land. This morning we got up at first light and set sail away from land at Seventeen Seventy and headed to the Bunker Group of Islands off the coast. As the land dissolves into the distance it changes from coastline to islands, to floating blobs and eventually disappears. I find it quite relaxing with open ocean all around and no land to avoid, except…

‘Yes that’s very interesting Fi, but there is a block of flats coming towards us that we need to deal with…’ First it appeared as a small white fishing boat, then turned into a block of flats, then suddenly it was apparent a small suburb was on a collision course with us. I mention this to Fi who points out that we are in the middle of a shipping lane…hmmm… of course I knew that as I am navigating (note to self: wearing reading glasses reveals lots of exciting detail on the chart). Let’s make a small course deviation so the suburb passes a safe distance away.

Friends had told us Lady Musgrave was the highlight of their trip up the coast so we were excited to have a weather window to experience the reef. Lady Musgrave is a circular reef with a narrow passage into the centre and an island at one end. First the masts of 20+ anchored boats appeared on the horizon and then the island and finally the markers for the entry passage. After navigating the entry channel we found a sandy spot to anchor. The next morning we awoke to perfect glassy conditions. It was our first visit but other cruisers told us its not always perfectly glassy no wind no wave conditions here in the middle of the ocean.

After a few days at Lady Musgrave paddle boarding, investigating the island and catching up with other cruisers we headed North to Fitzroy Reef. Fitzroy is similar to Musgrave but without any land. There were only 4 yachts at Fitzroy but at dusk 30+ small fishing boats appeared to shelter for the night only to disappear at dawn to the nearby reefs. Perhaps this explains why we saw lots of small fish but very few larger ones around the reef.

A morning of South East winds prompted us to leave Fitzroy as soon as the sun was high enough to see the bommies and the tide was not racing through the entrance channel. The wind on the beam and small waves pushed us to the narrow channel by Heron Island resort. Turtles popped up to say hello as helicopters landed and we wondered if we could anchor and pop in for the degustation lunch. Admitting that Addictive was not a 60ft Riviera and so likely not welcome, we heated some left over risotto and kept heading north to the cleverly named North West Island.

Another learning opportunity was coming our way: forecast for maximum of 4 knots wind, spinning around from the North… we will sleep well tonight. Sunset produced pink and blue over the white sand island. As soon as we went to bed the winds increased to 10 then 15 and eventually 20 knots onshore. The shore was easy to pick out as the waves were now breaking a few boat lengths away on the reef. I had not been sea sick since we left Sydney but wedged in the saloon, rolling from side to side, waiting for dawn, and watching the anchor alarm I felt more than a bit green.

Dawn threw another curve ball as it became clear the anchor chain was caught on a coral bommie. Fi explained I needed an early morning dip to understand how to free ourselves. Wouldn’t a coffee and a sleep in suffice? Sure enough a quick survey with mask and snorkel revealed how to unwrap the anchor and we set sail for the coast. Hot showers, dry land and dog walks… almost within reach.

Perfect sailing conditions prevailed as the coast gradually came into view. I noticed a large ship leaving Gladstone and heading into the shipping lane we were crossing. This time I am ready… except a quick check through the binoculars suggested the massive cargo ship I was seeing, was actually a fast moving island called Hammock Island… hmmm, it can be so deceptive out on the ocean, islands look like they float and move, and ships look like flats… its time Addictive and its crew spent a few nights in a marina. Rosslyn Bay was our next stop for a few days of land time, dog walks, swimming and paddleboarding before our next leg north inching closer to the Whitsundays.

R&R&R (Rest, Relaxation and Repairs)

August 20, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Fi

We left Tin Can Bay on a sunny morning heading for Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Straights. First stop, Garry’s anchorage on the eastern side of Fraser Island, for a relaxing couple of evenings enjoying the serenity. We did some (unsuccessful) fishing, and a little run around in the dingy. With Bernie on the boat, we can’t go to National Parks, plus I wasn’t keen in any case as we spotted some of the local dingoes running on the beach so we didn’t go ashore this time. The dingoes are beautiful creatures, and from what I’ve read, the Fraser Island dingoes are the most “pure” form of the species in existence as they have had no opportunity to breed with any domestic dogs.

Alas, our looming boat repair was calling, and so we needed to head out of Garry’s anchorage before dawn to get up to the marina at Hervey Bay where we had a haul out booking. It was eerie leaving in the moonlight, slowly weaving our way through the sleeping boats in the anchorage towards the Great Sandy Straights. We navigated fine in the dark, but were happy to have the sunrise on our starboard side as we continued along the shallow straights. A little while later, we misstepped a little and ended up with our keel about 20cm in the muddy sand material on the bottom – it is not a fun feeling to experience a normally free floating boat suddenly stop and bounce a little on the hard bottom. Fortunately we had left on a rising tide, so it was a matter of waiting a little while to lift off, greatly helped by a small tinny who’s wake helped bump us off. We learned that while traversing the Sandy Straights in a keel boat, the Navionics (our electronic chart system) recommended route is pretty accurate – we’ll make sure we stick to that to the letter next time!

With no more dramas, we entered the marina at Hervey Bay ready for our lift out, and got ourselves a fabulous pet friendly townhouse to stop in for a few nights for some land time, relaxation, provisioning and exploring. In Hervey Bay we enjoyed walking north along the beaches, the markets and some local cafes. Bernie got to pick his own toy out at the pet shop and chose this little echidna. He adores it and we’ve been having a great time playing with him. He enjoys having some space to run around and was prancing around the townhouse when we arrived. It was so cute to see him so happy to have a break! As we all were!

Repairs were simple enough. You may remember from our previous posts that we managed to wrap the anchor rope around the keel in some bad conditions at Double Island Point, and actually seemed to have dug the rope right in to the join of the keel and the hull. This was confirmed as we hauled out the boat. A little encouragement from a hammer and chisel, then some fibre glassing and epoxy work and we were back in the water! We have plans to get a lot more chain from here on in to mitigate this risk in the future. We also took the opportunity to fix up the rudder leak that is spurting seawater into the engine bay when we are in rough seas, so that’s also a relief! The idea is the water stays OUT of the boat! We have other leaks, but they will have to be fixed later, such as our front hatch…

Feeling rested, and more confident now our repairs are done, we planned to begin the few more hops north. We started by travelling from Hervey Bay (pictured is the huge Urangan Pier at Hervey Bay) on the 9th of August up to Bundaberg. We’d left mid morning, and arrived in Bundaberg around 5PM and dropped the anchor near the mouth of the Burnett River with some other vessels. It was a quiet night and we got some good rest as it had been a big day of sailing and motoring up the coast and we knew there was more to come as we had plans to catch some good weather windows to head to the southern end of The Great Barrier Reef.

Early the next morning, we lifted anchor with no trouble, and got going north again. Our aim this time was to get to a small inlet called “Pancake Creek”, said to be one of the loveliest and protected places! We had some good sailing winds on and off throughout the day. There was a lot of sail trimming as the wind picked up, then dropped off a little and we did manage to sail most of the way which was nice although we were close hauled most of the time and heeled over. It is a lot faster and more comfortable when we can sail, rather than having the motor on which causes us to bash through waves and is hot and very loud.

As we were getting towards Pancake Creek, we realised we would be manoeuvring and anchoring in the dark, in a new anchorage, and decided to change our plans and pop into an ocean anchorage (!) just outside of a town called “1770”. We reviewed the weather thoroughly, and felt confident it would be a safe and reasonably comfortable night. It is possible to head through an inlet at this anchorage and head towards the township of 1770, however again we erred on the side of being conservative as we weren’t confident that our draft would be able to get through the shallow entrance at low tide. As it were, the evening was very comfortable, we slept well, and were ready the next day for our third big sail toward the Great Barrier Reef, and more specifically Lady Musgrave Island. More to come on that spectacular sail and the week or so we spent at the reef next time!

Anchoring in open ocean…

August 10, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Adrian

We enjoyed the celebrity of being the only boat in the bay at Noosa. Swimmers would say G’day as they passed on their morning exercise across the bay. Bernie enjoyed a run on the sand and we indulged in a coffee and ice cream. It was easy to explain “we are the people on the boat”.

Noosa is open to the North and West and with unsettled weather coming it was time to head North. It was a learning day: 1.5m swell on a 6 second period that turns out to be closer to 2m with occasional breaking crests crashing on our hull are quite uncomfortable. Add some rain and it was a big relief to round Double Island Point after 10 hours of rolling and find a spot out of the swell for the night.

We considered heading across the infamous Wide Bay Bar the next day but a call to the coast guard reported 2m breaking waves on the bar. We are sure Addictive would handle these conditions but we would likely need a change of under garments so we decided to stay put. It was a gamble as unsettled weather might mean pleasant conditions or 30 knots onshore at Double Island Point in the days ahead.

Double Island Point is a Mecca for 4WDs arriving for fishing, surfing, boating, or just sitting on the lounge with the eski on the back of the ute. There is a sheltered lagoon that we tried to enter, but some back-of-envelope calculations suggested Addictive would be aground when the tide went out. We settled for a spot mostly out of the swell at the lagoon entrance.

The next few days saw increased swells with waves across the bay big enough for foil borders to surf past us. We kept anchor watch at night and one evening a grinding sound alerted us to the anchor rode wrapping around the keel. Suddenly we were side on to 3 knots of tidal current putting massive pressure on the anchor and anchor rope dug into the keel. Add some rain and we had a challenging few hours in the dark cutting out the rope now securely embedded in the keel and re-anchoring on a very short rode. Another night of anchor watch ensued.

The next day at high tide we moved to deeper water. We knew it would be rolly but at least we could relax in an onshore wind being 1000m off the beach, and make an easy exit in the morning. Mother nature had one more curve ball to throw with a long line of electrical storms passing through. Fi quickly wrapped all the sensitive electrical devices in aluminium foil, and I suspect Bernie was next if our foil had not run out.

Next morning lower swells and a good coastguard report (‘you wont even notice the bar’) were all we needed to get the engine running, set the auto helm and aim for a high tide bar crossing. The bar was flat as forecast, although the 10-15 knot winds turned out to be 20+ so there was plenty of wind slop and spray to keep us cool.

Tin Can Bay marina promised a haul out facility to fix the keel, and a much needed respite from rolly nights and anchor watches. They came out to help us dock due to the ‘strong winds’ but we weren’t going to argue and were relieved to step ashore again.

Unfortunately, Tin Can Bay Marina couldn’t help with our extra decorative rope wrapped around the keel, so from here we will head to Hervey Bay where we can haul poor Addictive out, remove the rope and patch up any damage (via a little stop in a cute anchorage in Fraser).

Gold Coast, Moreton Bay & Noosa

August 6, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Adrian

On the Gold Coast, the Hope Island marina gave us a base for a few days to catch up with friends and family in the area before heading north. At the end of longer or overnight passages we have booked marina’s to avoid the stress of finding safe anchorage in the dark after an exhausting trip. Anchorages are invariably more peaceful, beautiful and enjoyable so we expect less marina visits as we head North.

From the Gold Coast there are a number of narrow, shallow channels snaking their way North to Moreton Bay and Brisbane. Navigating them just before high tide can help avoid a long and embarrassing wait on the sand for the next high tide to float you off. We nudged the sandy bottom at the shallowest point, but otherwise kept water under the keel.

An electrical fault that shut down the auto helm, chart plotter, GPS, fridges etc reminded us how much we rely on the boats electrical system. We purchased some additional fuses in Brisbane.

We spent a night on anchor at Peel Island in Moreton Bay where I expected a narrow sheltered cove. On closer inspection of the chart, the cove was under water except at low tide (see photo), so it was more like an open water anchorage and we were thankful for light winds. Manly marina gave us a convenient base to spend a day off the boat with my Brother’s family and stock up at the local markets.

We joined the hundreds of boats leaving Manly for a Sunday sail on the beautiful calm Moreton Bay. The wind soon filled in and we headed across the Brisbane shipping lanes. The wind dies every time we cross the shipping lanes which we suspect is the deeper colder water causing local weather interference (or increased levels of anxiety?). We passed the line of anchored yachts at Scarborough and found our own anchorage in Deception Bay with only Dugongs and turtles for company.

Getting used to constantly changing plans has been a big adjustment. We were planning to wait a day or two for better winds to head to Mooloolaba, but that evening the forecast had good sailing winds the next day and several days of light SE winds that would allow us to stay at Noosa. New plan: up at dawn for a sail up the coast to Noosa.

Dawn broke, coffee made, winds picking up…we sailed off the anchor and up the coast in calm seas. We were catching two larger yachts about 15 minutes ahead of us until the winds lightened and they sped away. The ‘friendly’ Mooloolaba coast guard radioed us about an accidental AIS person overboard alarm we set off and we ended up chatting to the water police who had installed similar devices the day before. They were interested in our experience with them.

We approached Noosa at dusk with a little help from the motor over the last few miles. We snuggled in to the anchorage just off the beach and watched the last of surf skiers and swimmers finishing their training. Pretty happy to be here in this gorgeous place!

The next day was bright and sunny, and so we popped into Hastings Street for a little bit of coffee and retail therapy, and a great big run for the dog.

With some weather predicted that we need to be careful of in such an exposed anchorage, our plans from here are to head to the Wide Bay Bar and Fraser Island very soon. We will stop at Double Island Point. More to come.

Sunny Yamba/Iluka, and on to the Sunshine State

July 21, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Fi

After arriving in Yamba, we took some time to explore the town. With the Queensland border still closed, we were in no rush and spent a few nights here. There is a great market on Wednesday mornings from 07:00 near the headland that sells local meat and veges, cured meats, gin, sushi, cheese and dairy, and so we stocked up on some yummy produce and groceries. Here is Adrian and Bernie enjoying a walk at the beach after visiting the markets.

We’d heard some stories as we travelled up the coast that Iluka was “packed full of boats waiting on the border” so we had been a little dubious about adding to the numbers, but on a sunny morning, we decided to pop over and have a look, and there was plenty of space for us to drop our anchor and visit one of NSW coastal town gems. This gorgeous beach is along one side of the anchorage. Behind me is the dock where we set our dingy to go ashore.

Iluka is a small coastal town, and the bay where we anchored is right next to the pub and the fish coop. Iluka prawns are some of the best we have tasted. We went for some walks around town, and out to the surf beach where Bernie got to play with his bumper things. Spotted this little guy eating at the side of the road too (Echidna). Iluka was a great town to keep us stocked up, and we also leaned a little on the Post Office in town as we needed to get a few things ordered for the inevitable boat jobs that we would have to do. The most pressing being the anchor light.

When we anchored in Iluka, and as dusk settled in, I turned on the anchor light, and to my dismay realised it wasn’t working. Fast forward a few days later, and we had enlisted the help of our friends on some other boats, and borrowed a bosuns chair (chair/harness device that I sit in to go up) and hoisted me up the mast to figure out the problem. It was about 3 hours later, and a lot of tools going up and down, and discussions, that we all realised the light had no serviceable parts and needed total replacing. It did need replacing anyways, after I mangled it trying to figure out how it worked whilst gripping on to the mast with my legs 14m up. This photo shows how I had to basically rip it off at one screw because the flat head screw was cheap and nasty and I couldn’t get the screwdriver to stay on to get it out. This was all fine in the end, and a week or so later we had our new light and up I went up again crimped the wires, tested it, and screwed it on. Works well now!

Around our time in Iluka we also cruised the Clarence River and wrote a post here: https://fiandadriansailing.com/travelling-inland-the-clarence-river/

As the dolphins circled around the bay night after night, we found ourselves settling in to the Iluka life, making friends, exploring the trails, trying out new recipes on the boat, and attempting new skills. In some respects, I stopped being cranky around this point about the Queensland border because we wouldn’t have had these experiences in this stunning little place, or perhaps even met some new friends for who’s friendship we are so grateful! Oh, also new toys – our new toys are two stand up paddle boards and this is my first attempt ever.

And one day, the news came that Queensland was opening up to us Southerners, and the race was on! The borders opened midday on the 10th of July, and whilst the weather window for our boat would have been okay-ish, we decided to let the bigger faster boats head up en masse and we’d see how they got on. Plus we could partake a little more in the delicious local seafood. All was fine and we planned our own passage for a few days later.

We planned to head north on the 14th of July, as the swells were quite low, which would mean leaving Yamba/Iluka over the river bar would be straightforward. We left at midday on a rainy and cool day, and planned to stop in at Byron Bay for the evening. During our travels, the whale activity was epic, and we saw many whales breaching, flapping around and playing quite close to us. Here you can see a whale just breaching out of the water. So awe inspiring. We finally dropped the anchor at 10pm in the rolly Byron Bay anchorage.

We had a little bit of sleep rolling around, and the next morning picked up the anchor at 06:30 for our final leg across the border and into the Gold Coast. I had been in touch with Maritime Safety Queensland to ensure our safe passage across the border, and had been assured that the authorities were aware of our approval to cross the border and we would have no troubles. It was so exciting off the Tweed Heads/Coolangatta coast line to know that we were entering Queensland finally and more adventures were to come, plus more whales, dolphins and the biggest turtle I have ever seen were there to welcome us! We travelled through the Gold Coast seaway late afternoon (shown here), and picked our way north to a marina we had booked arriving about 17:00. Big day and we were ecstatic to arrive in Queensland. The plan from here is to head into Moreton Bay and then further north to Mooloolaba and Noosa as weather permits, and as quickly as we are comfortable with.

Bernie is doing well! And so photogenic.

Travelling inland – The Clarence River

July 10, 2020 / fiandadrian

Travelling by small boat we have been surprised by the different types of waterways we can use. This week we travelled 50km inland up the Clarence river to Grafton after having spent some lovely time at Iluka and Yamba.

After a 2 hour motor inland from Iluka, our first obstacle was the Harwood bridge. Although the new highway bridge has been built, the old bridge remains in use for local traffic. The old bridge isn’t high enough to let our 14m mast through, but with 24 hours notice they open the bridge for travelling yachts and we had booked it for 10:30 that morning.

We pulled up at little towns along the way which have public pontoons big enough for a couple of boats to stay for the night and welcoming pubs often overlooking the river. With lots of shallow water we sometimes posted a double watch on the bow.

Our first stop was Harwood. We were surprised by this large partially completed houseboat that pulled up behind us to resupply before heading up the river. It had come down the coast from Ballina that day crossing two bars and was heading up the river where it would be completed, although we didn’t spot it again as we travelled up stream. We had a great meal at the pub, and could see the boat from our dinner table. Overnight the temperatures dipped to significantly lower than we were used to near the coast.

Maclean was our next stop to resupply. There are many small trawlers in this section of the river although they were not active during the day. We met our first cross river ferry at Lawrence. These use cables across the river so we needed to time our crossing when the ferries were on the bank and the lines are slack. The ferries are surprisingly well used with queues of traffic on both sides of the river mid-week.

We stayed at Ulmarra overnight and enjoyed the great pub on the river and many small crafty shops. Again the temperatures overnight were about 1 degree celsius and we lamented not having more insulation! We do appreciate our little heater though on nights like this. The next day we did a day trip up the river to Grafton where the low bridge prevents any further progress for us upriver.

The next night we stopped at a small town called Brushgrove. Bernie especially enjoyed Brushgrove where we found a big park where he could chase his bumpers. Again there is a lovely local pub where we could have a beer and still admire our little home on the dock.

There is lots of sugar cane grown in the area, as well as the large processing factory on the river. On our last night back at Harwood they were burning the cane as we went for a dog walk along the river.

These guys were a feature up and down the river. At Harwood this Pelican would complain with a deep guttural growl every time we came out on deck and upset his normally quiet pontoon.

From Harwood we had a rainy and wet motor back to our now familiar anchorage at Iluka. The anchorage was steadily filling up with vessels preparing for the Queensland border opening (of which we are one).

We’ll be looking to move further north in the coming days, now that the border is open and we both have our QLD declaration passes at the ready.

Coffs Harbour to Yamba

June 28, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Adrian

We decided on Yamba as our next destination as it could be sailed mostly in the daylight and provides a large river system to explore if we are stuck there with border closures. Yamba has the usual bar crossing so we needed to align arrival times with the tide and weather. After 2 or 3 possible dates were discarded as the weather forecast changed, we settled on a day with sailing winds for most of the day and low swells.

We had met up with some former work colleagues a few days earlier and Howard, one of the founders of our last company decided he would join us for the trip. He stayed overnight on the boat the night before to get oriented and ensure we got an early start.

We left an hour before dawn under motor, dodging a few fishing vessels around the harbour entrance. Its usual to hug the coast to avoid the East Australian current which flows south in this area. However, our forecast recommended heading out into the current to get better wind. As we passed South Solitary Island with its lighthouse and old buildings, the wind arrived and we raised the sails.

Howard quickly picked up the knack of tiller helming replacing our trusty autohelm and saving a few amps. Shortly after taking the helm we had a whale surface just ahead of us to check us out.

The calm conditions even allowed us to diagnose our engine compartment leak. Its completely dry on flat water but on coastal passages we can have half a bucket of water in 12 hours. Fi spotted a small fountain coming out around the base of the rudder stock. It may be that the rudder stock used to be enclosed in fibreglass all the way to the deck and at some time this was removed for a steering wheel or autopilot installation that didn’t happen. Next job is to enclose the rudder stock somehow to keep the water on the outside.

As we got closer to Yamba and the coast our whale sightings got more frequent with pods passing us every few minutes on their way north. Its difficult to time your photo when whales could breach anywhere around the boat at any distance, but Fi managed this whale shot shortly before we got to Yamba. Hmmmm…

We motor sailed the last hour into Yamba to make sure we arrived before dark in a dying breeze. The seas had been getting calmer all day and we decided to sneak across the bar on the southern side against Marine Rescue advice, but in such benign conditions it turned out to be an easy crossing with no breaking waves. Dolphins arrived to guide us up the river and a short motor saw us docking at Yamba Marina at dusk for an arrival beer after an awesome days sail.

We’ll likely spend a few days checking out Yamba, and then we’re keen to head across to Iluka and then further up the Clarence River. We hear the prawns are second to none, and there are pubs and cute towns all up the river so watch this space! We’re so happy to be here!

Exploring the Coffs Coast

June 24, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Fi

We arrived in Coffs Harbour International Marina on the 22nd of May, and as of writing this a month later, we’re still enjoying the atmosphere and the weather here in Coffs. We’re in no hurry to move, as the borders are still closed, and we’re waiting for the perfect weather window to head north to Yamba. Both Adrian and I have spent time on the Coffs Coast in the past. Me as a toddler learning how to swim and ride my bike, staying at my grandparents house in Toormina, and Adrian as a young adult training for the Canoe Polo team, and working a part time job when his parents lived near here. We were both keen to see some of the places we knew and loved.

But first, friends! With COVID19 restrictions relaxing a little, we had a welcome visit from some friends! We spent one day with some friends having little boat tours, eating some yummy burgers at the local chargrilled burger place called “Attitude”, and soaking up the warm winter weather with an icecream and going for a walk’along the jetty and foreshores discovering the history of the place. Then another day more friends and more boat tours! Was so great to see people!

“Coffs” was “discovered” by Europeans, namely John Korff, originally as a safe haven in 1847. Soon after, its proximity to fine timber was realised, and given the troubles of getting large logs onto large ships off the beach, a jetty was proposed. The jetty here was completed in 1893 (after a few set backs given the NSW coast’s ability to pick up the waves and winds and storm down on these settlements). Soon after this the walls of the harbour were also constructed, evolving into the marina and harbour we now see. There’s a load more history and well worth the trip here.

We hired some bikes, and took a loop ride around Coffs Creek which was gorgeous, and the next day did the 20km round trip to Boambee Creek, where I spent idealic summers learning to swim, discovering the crabs and fish, going for explorations with my cousins over the railway bridge and out to the scary surf beach. It all seemed a lot smaller now I’m grown. Bernie ran next to Adrian the whole way, and had a swim with us at Boambee Creek, and was still wanting more when we got back to the boat.

The next day we left for a quick trip to Sydney to see family, and on our way back north we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to visit Scotts Head. This is very close to where Adrian’s family lived and we got to catch up with more friends! The beach is off leash and so the doggies had a great time eating sand and chasing balls. We also took Bernie out to visit Eungai Creek Buffalo farm for lunch. Well worth the trip. We had their persian fetta, buffalo lasagne, and a buffalo curry for lunch, and took home some milk (which is delightfully creamy), extra feta and some steaks. So freaking yummy.

So then we were back in comfy warm Coffs, settling in to a routine of dog walking, boat jobs and making some yummy food with our haul from Sydney and the Buffalo farm. Here’s Bernie and I enjoying the off leash area at Coffs Creek. We still have his floating fetch things (“bumpers”) from when we were trying to teach him to be a proper gun dog. Given we all failed at gun dog stuff, the bumpers make great fetch toys. The Sunday marina markets here are excellent and we’ve loved the fresh veges, macadamia nut spread, pickled garlic, cured meats, bananas and avos. Adrian’s also taken some time to connect our AIS (the system that means we can see other boats and they can see us) to our old, but big VHF antenna, make the outside speakers work with the VHF radio and also install me a new magnet board so I can collect magnets because I love it, and I don’t know why – but every place we go I get a magnet, for years now. I have hundreds and just started a new board for our cruise.

After all the land based travelling, both of us were keen to get out on to the water again, and so we planned a nice day to sail out to South Solitary Island to do a loop and take a look. The island, whilst not overly “remote” (you can see it from land easily) would have been a harsh place to live when people were occupying it. The shore is basically sheer cliffs all around, and to get people and goods onto the island, they had to pick calm seas and also build a large crane, the remnants of which still remain. Now, if there is work to be done, or the rare tourist is booked to visit the island, a helicopter is used. The island has a lighthouse, and it is the lighthouse keeper and their families that occupied this island for almost 100 years up until 1975 when the lighthouse was automated. It is a very special marine sanctuary as well, and given how it is fed from the East Coast Australian Current, contains a variety of temperate, sub tropical and tropical species. We saw a green sea turtle and numerous whales and birds on our quick trip.

Speaking of protect marine areas, the Coffs Harbour Marina is also a protected area, and there are strict rules on fishing and pollution in the marina. These rules have meant that on our little walks out of the marina we have seen an abundance of marine life in the clear marina waters. We have seen spotted eagle rays, mullet, bream, mangrove jacks, flathead, dolphins and a bunch of colourful tropical looking fish that I wouldn’t hazard a guess of the name. Apparently wobbegong sharks also frequent the marina. We never could get a good photo, so here is a beautiful sunset.

We also took time out to visit the botanic gardens. Once a dilapidated landfill site, the place has been transformed into a wonderland of landscaped gardens and plants from all over the world. I was particularly in love with the super healthy roses, and Adrian took this fantastic picture of an upturned tree. There was even a family connection as John Wriggly (Adrian’s mothers cousin) created the original design for the botanic gardens in 1979.

Every day we are planning our trip to Yamba by checking the weather in PredictWind (our weather program). It will be a longish day – about 12 hours, and we need to time it perfectly to get through the Yamba bar at the best time of tide, which is 3 hours after low tide. This is when the waters are at their best to navigate over the sand bar, and into the Clarence river. Coffs has treated us so well, and I can see why we so easily spent a whole month here!

Guess the anchor location?

June 12, 2020 / fiandadrian

By Adrian

I snapped this photo of the chart plotter after 24 hours anchored at Broughton Island. It shows how the boat moved as the wind changed direction. Any guesses where the anchor is?

If you look closely you can see where we came in checking the depth and looking for a sandy spot to drop the anchor, and then looped back with anchor ready.

Over the next 24 hours the wind swung around the compass and we stayed up watching the anchor and the conditions.

When we drop the anchor we reverse against it to make sure it digs in. But what happens when the wind or tide spins us in the opposite direction like this? A good anchor (hopefully the new one we have installed) will pull up and then reset in the new direction. But there are examples where they don’t reset with very messy consequences. Anchors drag along the ground, taking the boat with them, potentially into neighbouring boats, or onto ground.

In this case we started 160m off the beach with 30m to the anchor. The wind was blowing from the south, which means if the anchor was to drag, we would drag out towards the sea which is the safest option. So when the wind blew us round 180 degrees (which we were expecting and ready for) we would end up 100m from the beach if the anchor stayed stationary. This is a lee shore and its not ideal.

We watched closely for any anchor drag. As best we can tell the anchor moved less than 10m as we spun around and it dug in again. A good result and hopefully it work as well in mud and other substances.

Laurieton to Coffs Harbour

May 25, 2020 / fiandadrian

We tied up to the pier outside the United Servicemans Club in Laurieton. Its free for a few days and they have a hot shower and toilets…very welcome. Oh and a coffee shop. And ordinarily a club serving cold beers, but in COVID19 world, its closed of course.

Most days someone came to the pier to say hello to the visiting yachties. Some days we did little else but talk to and learn from these more experienced sailors. From the young guy who had sailed a Janeau 36 from Sydney to Gladstone, the local who knew the safe line across the bar to the guy who grew up in Sydney building his own boats and competing in Sydney to Hobarts.

The BIG news was Fi’s fishing success. After a bunch of just under the limit bream, this chap turned up for lunch, lightly fried with some salt and pepper.

We went for a big walk to the Dunbogan Boat Shed for coffee and beyond to the surf beach where Bernie was delighted to run, splash and consume large amounts of sand. We were picking up little piles of sand posing as poos for a day.

Of course there are always a list of boat jobs to complete. After arriving at Laurieton we found water in engine compartment. Like, a lot. The bilge is almost always dry in Addictive, but we found that after long periods of following seas the engine bay has some water (Fi is editing this and says “a lot”). We soon traced it to the cockpit drains that needed re-sealing and tightening, which was straight forward apart from the contortions required to reach around behind the inside of the cockpit.

A weather window appeared for us to leave and head up the coast to Coffs Harbour. Crossing the Laurieton bar and arriving at Coffs in the day light meant sailing overnight again. The bar was mostly calm as we crossed at 4:30pm

We headed up the coast towards Port Macquarie as the sun set. Not enough wind to sail but knew there would be a be blow during the night.

By Hat Head the wind had picked up and we were under sail again, but soon reefing down the sails and then dropping the main as the wind increased to 20-25 knots, with stronger gusts. It quickly became like the set of one of those old movies where they throw buckets of water from just off camera. Fi stayed indoors and watched the chart plotters and placated Bernie as Adrian watched the sails and seas, and enjoyed the good test of his foulies.

The wind moderated before dawn and as the sun rose we increased sail and had a beautiful sail up the mid north coast. Bernie was invited on deck to sniff a new part of the world and clean up the crumbs from snacks consumed during the night.

At about 10am we entered the harbour at Coffs and headed straight for our assigned berth. After a long salty night we savoured some champagne and oysters for breakfast and a well deserved snooze.

We’ll likely stay in Coffs for a few weeks. Fi spent summer holidays here with her family and so we’re planning a nostalgia visit to Nan’s old house, and Boambee Creek where she learned how to ride a bike and swim. So far, the burgers are excellent, the fish coop is fresh, and the beach is doggy friendly and off the lead so Bernie is getting some great running and swimming in!