By Fi
Fame Cove – Port Stephens
We spent a few days in Fame Cove, enjoying the serenity of this quiet little bay. Eagles flying overhead, fish jumping, and the daily visit from a pod of dolphins who would come in and get their breakfast.
We spent our days fishing, finishing off some boat jobs, looking around the creek to the end of the bay that was only accessible in high tide, and watching the amazing sunsets. It really was the bay for sunsets and every day they continued to amaze us.
We caught 2 good sized blue swimmer crabs one morning and enjoyed them for lunch. The recipe is stir fried blue swimmer crabs courtesy of the Sydney Seafood School cookbook. We had to ad-lib a bit as we can’t duck to the shops to pick up the perfect ingredients, but the substitutes worked, and with such fresh seafood, a cold glass of wine, and a beautiful vista, who cares!
The Auto-Tiller repair was one job that we needed to prioritise, as we knew our next leg would likely be an overnight and we need our third crew member on overnight passages particularly. Coming up from Newcastle, the auto tiller repeatedly jumped out of its cradle, which was distracting. Adrian fashioned a new mount for the end of the tiller from some marine ply we have onboard, and some epoxy and fibreglass. Its not pretty, but its super solid and that’s what we need.
And not to be outdone by the sunsets, seafood and boat jobs, Bernie took it upon himself to have 2 unapproved swims, the first, when he decided to jump into the dingy, then while trying to get back on board the yacht, fell in, and the second when he was on the beach with Adrian, he decided he would swim all the way back to his Mum on the big boat. Adrian couldn’t keep up with him rowing. He had a great time that day, not so much when he accidentally fell in. Little guy is getting more and more confident with his new lot in life which is great.
Shoal Bay – Port Stephens
After a few days of chill at Fame Cove, we set sail for a little bay on the southern side of Port Stephens near the entrance called Shoal Bay. We sailed all the way there, enjoying some really perfect conditions and a sunny day. After picking up a mooring ball, we had some fish and chips and a coffee on shore, then went to walk up to the headland. Unfortunately with COVID19, the walk was closed so no luck. Instead we tried our luck at fishing in the clear waters there. Also no luck. Until next time little fishies.
Broughton Island
Shoal Bay is close to the heads of Port Stephens, meaning the next day we could just pop out the heads, travel up the coast for a couple of hours and arrive at a gorgeous island called Broughton Island. The sand was white, the swells were low, the water was like glass and I couldn’t wait to get onshore and explore. Its a bird sanctuary, so little Bernie was confined to the boat with a peanut butter filled Kong, as Adrian and I went and explored. After trying my hand again at a little fishing onshore, it seemed like I would have more enjoyment in the water itself, so after a tentative moment of “ooooh, it is a little chilly” I got used to the cool water and enjoyed a little float in the turquoise.
We spent about 32 hours here soaking up the sounds and smells of this gorgeous place. Our next leg, however, was calling, and so time for some final planning and checks, for our departure at 11PM on the 13th May. This leg, we will sail from Broughton Island, overnight to Laurieton, which is just south of Port Macquarie, and just north of Taree. Its our first overnight sail by ourselves, so we’re a little apprehensive and over preparing, so watch this space for our write up of our experience!
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