Saturday, April 07, 2007
Tuncurry-Forster to-Coffs Harbour
7 April
Still strong wind warning current. Went ashore for breakfast and visited the Coastal Patrol, where we discovered that the Solitary Islands have moorings available. This means that we cand stay over night and head off the next morning breaking the trip to Illuka. We need to wait for the swell to abate as the bar into Illuka can be tricky.
6 April
Walked into the townsite and had a coffee. Strong wind warning due this afternoon, it is a ten hour trip to Illuka and we need to catch the tide. Decided not to go due to the bar we have to cross. Paul worked on the computer on the French boat and I cleaned our boat.
5 April
Trial Bay to Coffs Harbour 36 nm
Leaving early morning (5.30am) we motor sailed as the wind was SW 0-5 knots and the swell was 0.5m. We kept close to the shore to avoid the current. The wind picked up later in the morning to a NE 10-15 Knots. We anchored in the main harbour near the wharf. We called into Tahaa and had a coffee with them before returning to our boat where we had a sundowner with French couple who have sailed here from France.
4 April
Port Macquarie to Trial Bay 38.6 nm
Left at 5.30am, hearing on the radio that Sherbro had gone aground on a sand bar in the channel. Paul assisted, Cockatoo II pulled them off fine so well that they came back and hit a channel bouy. No damage. We then continued on our way with Sherbro behind us heading for Trial Bay as well.
Port Macquarie to Trial Bay 38.6 nm
Left at 5.30am, hearing on the radio that Sherbro had gone aground on a sand bar in the channel. Paul assisted, Cockatoo II pulled them off fine so well that they came back and hit a channel bouy. No damage. We then continued on our way with Sherbro behind us heading for Trial Bay as well.
The current down the coast is very strong and we find we are travelling close to the shore so as to miss losing speed. The water temperature is a balmy 24 degrees.
Crossing the bar was fine as it was calm and there was very little wind. We motor sailed with the main and the genoa up. Looming ahead was a huge rain squall line, lowering the mast and preparing for big winds we discovered winds of no more than 20 knots and calm condition although very wet.
The swell was only 0.5 and the wind on average southerly 5-15. We have anchored in Trial Bay at Front Beach. Beautiful clear blue water, I saw the anchor hit the bottom, when wso well when we pulled back on the anchor it grabbed well.
Going ashore in the dingy we explored the huge old prison there and took a dingy ride around the shoreline. It is quite rolly but not uncomfortable here. We will be heading off tomorrow for Coffs Harbour.
3 April
Camden Haven to Port Macquarie-16 nm
Left at 7am on low tide. The rising sun made it difficult to see the channel markers, we hit bottom once as we went out the channel missing one of the markers. Thankfully it was a soft sand bottom. The bar was calm and we had a running Westerly wind at 5-10 knots and a 0.6 NE swell.
We put the genoa and storm gib up which gave us an extra 1knot with the motor running. It was a lovely day the sun was out and the seas calm. The coastline approaching Port Macquarie was stunning. We picked up a marina mooring and went into town to explore visiting a tall ship being restored.
We had a sundowner with Sherbro and Kookaroo II aboard. We did an oil change on the engine and generator, and it is so hot we are running the aircon to cool the boat down for a bit before we hit the sack.
2 April
We went for a wander through town and bought some vegetables and fruit. On return I did some washing, refilled the boat with water while Paul helped Ben with his alternator. Maritesst , Quinn and I went for a walk with their dog Lucy. We had Col and Di from Esocteric over for a sundowner. Alfter they left we went to Ben and Maritesst boat for a cuppa.
1 April
The mountains here are stunning we have decided to walk up Big Brother today with Mary and Peter from Tahaa. But as a boat has left the jetty we decided to take the space on the jetty, depth at the southern end is 2.2m and is free for a week (5 days). There is fresh water available and normally showers and toilets at the RSL Club, which are currently being rennovated and thus are not available at this stage.
There were 880 steps up the moun tain and it was a step include. Paul vertually ran up-he is very fit while I turned very red, sweated and gasped for breath most of the way. Once on top the view was stunning, we could see right down the coast to Port Macquarie and the bar entrance of Camden Haven. The walk down was much easier and we shouted ourselves a beer at the RSL Club.
This evening we met Mutineer, Footloose II, and Tahaa at the RSL Club for dinner ($7 roast). The meal was delicious and it was good to talk to everyone.
31 March
Tunncurry-Forster to Camden Haven-41.2 nm
Pulled anchor and headed out on high tide over the bar, which was very calm and smooth. The swell was about 2 meters coming southerly and the wind was also southerly which made the trip very comfortable.
Arriving at Camden Haven on low tide, the swell and the outgoing tide made the entrance interesting with us riding the swell in with every four wave breaking. Paul handled the boat well and got us in safely. We wear our life jackets over the bar (mandatory in NSW) and put the companion way boards in - just in case.
Once we were in the channel it was calm and smooth. The area is very beautiful, the channel had some shallow areas but managed to negotiate them (we will have no problems at high tide). We anchored in the river near the Laurieton RSL Club. The tise here is very strong too and with the strong 30knots this evening made us hit the anchor chain a few times.
30 March
Had a rest day, Paul did work on Tahaa-fixing their fridge and doing something with their computer.
29 March
Picking Mary and Peter up in the dingy and heading over to explore Forster. I am having problems with asthma and sinus at the moment so do not feel on top of the world.
Beautiful sunny day, the water a beautiful blue and so clear. Took the dingy and tied it up at the Forster marina and walked in to town. Forster is a bigger centre, very clean and a tourist spot. The beach is lovely too.
We also called into the Coastal Patrol Centre and talked to Norm who was on duty. The centre is new and looks rather like a air control tower. It has clear view of the bar and up and down the coast.
The day finished off with a yachties BBQ on shore with Footloose II, Sherbro, Tahaa . It was a lovely evening, with great company. We finished up on Footloose II for a game of 500's.
28 March
Explored Tuncurry purchasing a paper and Tracy had her hair cut very short ($18). Paul has the latest Microsoft Vista program and is installing it onto my laptop. We had Mary and Peter from Tahaa over for a sundowner.
The tide is very strong and the anchor is holding well.
27 March
Port Stephens to Tuncurry-Forster 39 nm
Left early morning 6.30 am, Sassoon and Footloose are behind us. Getting out of Port Stephens was interesting as the seas were very confused, rolly and uncomfortable, there was very little wind making it worse. We were heading to Broughton Island hoping to say overnight but the anchorage was very rolly and uncomfortable. It was interesting trying to pick the mooring up, I got the bouy rope but a wave pushed us forward and I dropped the lot, rope and boat hook into the water. Thankfully the boat hook floated and I was able to retrieve it and we were successful the next time. As the anchorage was too rolly we tried the next bay but that was worse and so we decided to head onto Tuncurry Forster. There was an amazing rain front over the island as we approached but it moved on before we arrived.
I turned the bilge blowers on only to discover that I has turned the bilge pump on instead-oops ($100 pump-we are hoping it still works okay).
The trip was very rolly and uncomfortable, I felt very ill. We had the main sail up and the genoa, there was not much wind and the sails kept flapping. Paul put a boom brake on the boom to stop that noise which was good. We had the motor on all the way.
Entring the bar at Tuncurry Forster the coastal patrol was great giving us a GPS point to begin our entry and we had no problems. This is a well protected harbour, the tide current very strong there is a very narrow channel into the harbour due to sandbanks. There were jetties available for $22 per night but we decided to anchor near the bridge. The anchor took a while to settle as the sand is very hard here. Once anchor alarm was on and all looking good we went for a walk ashore. The town of Tuncurry is very clean, well maintained and very much a holiday place. The water very clear blue and white sand and it is very green as well.
Crossing the bar was fine as it was calm and there was very little wind. We motor sailed with the main and the genoa up. Looming ahead was a huge rain squall line, lowering the mast and preparing for big winds we discovered winds of no more than 20 knots and calm condition although very wet.
The swell was only 0.5 and the wind on average southerly 5-15. We have anchored in Trial Bay at Front Beach. Beautiful clear blue water, I saw the anchor hit the bottom, when wso well when we pulled back on the anchor it grabbed well.
Going ashore in the dingy we explored the huge old prison there and took a dingy ride around the shoreline. It is quite rolly but not uncomfortable here. We will be heading off tomorrow for Coffs Harbour.
3 April
Camden Haven to Port Macquarie-16 nm
Left at 7am on low tide. The rising sun made it difficult to see the channel markers, we hit bottom once as we went out the channel missing one of the markers. Thankfully it was a soft sand bottom. The bar was calm and we had a running Westerly wind at 5-10 knots and a 0.6 NE swell.
We put the genoa and storm gib up which gave us an extra 1knot with the motor running. It was a lovely day the sun was out and the seas calm. The coastline approaching Port Macquarie was stunning. We picked up a marina mooring and went into town to explore visiting a tall ship being restored.
We had a sundowner with Sherbro and Kookaroo II aboard. We did an oil change on the engine and generator, and it is so hot we are running the aircon to cool the boat down for a bit before we hit the sack.
2 April
We went for a wander through town and bought some vegetables and fruit. On return I did some washing, refilled the boat with water while Paul helped Ben with his alternator. Maritesst , Quinn and I went for a walk with their dog Lucy. We had Col and Di from Esocteric over for a sundowner. Alfter they left we went to Ben and Maritesst boat for a cuppa.
1 April
The mountains here are stunning we have decided to walk up Big Brother today with Mary and Peter from Tahaa. But as a boat has left the jetty we decided to take the space on the jetty, depth at the southern end is 2.2m and is free for a week (5 days). There is fresh water available and normally showers and toilets at the RSL Club, which are currently being rennovated and thus are not available at this stage.
There were 880 steps up the moun tain and it was a step include. Paul vertually ran up-he is very fit while I turned very red, sweated and gasped for breath most of the way. Once on top the view was stunning, we could see right down the coast to Port Macquarie and the bar entrance of Camden Haven. The walk down was much easier and we shouted ourselves a beer at the RSL Club.
This evening we met Mutineer, Footloose II, and Tahaa at the RSL Club for dinner ($7 roast). The meal was delicious and it was good to talk to everyone.
31 March
Tunncurry-Forster to Camden Haven-41.2 nm
Pulled anchor and headed out on high tide over the bar, which was very calm and smooth. The swell was about 2 meters coming southerly and the wind was also southerly which made the trip very comfortable.
Arriving at Camden Haven on low tide, the swell and the outgoing tide made the entrance interesting with us riding the swell in with every four wave breaking. Paul handled the boat well and got us in safely. We wear our life jackets over the bar (mandatory in NSW) and put the companion way boards in - just in case.
Once we were in the channel it was calm and smooth. The area is very beautiful, the channel had some shallow areas but managed to negotiate them (we will have no problems at high tide). We anchored in the river near the Laurieton RSL Club. The tise here is very strong too and with the strong 30knots this evening made us hit the anchor chain a few times.
30 March
Had a rest day, Paul did work on Tahaa-fixing their fridge and doing something with their computer.
29 March
Picking Mary and Peter up in the dingy and heading over to explore Forster. I am having problems with asthma and sinus at the moment so do not feel on top of the world.
Beautiful sunny day, the water a beautiful blue and so clear. Took the dingy and tied it up at the Forster marina and walked in to town. Forster is a bigger centre, very clean and a tourist spot. The beach is lovely too.
We also called into the Coastal Patrol Centre and talked to Norm who was on duty. The centre is new and looks rather like a air control tower. It has clear view of the bar and up and down the coast.
The day finished off with a yachties BBQ on shore with Footloose II, Sherbro, Tahaa . It was a lovely evening, with great company. We finished up on Footloose II for a game of 500's.
28 March
Explored Tuncurry purchasing a paper and Tracy had her hair cut very short ($18). Paul has the latest Microsoft Vista program and is installing it onto my laptop. We had Mary and Peter from Tahaa over for a sundowner.
The tide is very strong and the anchor is holding well.
27 March
Port Stephens to Tuncurry-Forster 39 nm
Left early morning 6.30 am, Sassoon and Footloose are behind us. Getting out of Port Stephens was interesting as the seas were very confused, rolly and uncomfortable, there was very little wind making it worse. We were heading to Broughton Island hoping to say overnight but the anchorage was very rolly and uncomfortable. It was interesting trying to pick the mooring up, I got the bouy rope but a wave pushed us forward and I dropped the lot, rope and boat hook into the water. Thankfully the boat hook floated and I was able to retrieve it and we were successful the next time. As the anchorage was too rolly we tried the next bay but that was worse and so we decided to head onto Tuncurry Forster. There was an amazing rain front over the island as we approached but it moved on before we arrived.
I turned the bilge blowers on only to discover that I has turned the bilge pump on instead-oops ($100 pump-we are hoping it still works okay).
The trip was very rolly and uncomfortable, I felt very ill. We had the main sail up and the genoa, there was not much wind and the sails kept flapping. Paul put a boom brake on the boom to stop that noise which was good. We had the motor on all the way.
Entring the bar at Tuncurry Forster the coastal patrol was great giving us a GPS point to begin our entry and we had no problems. This is a well protected harbour, the tide current very strong there is a very narrow channel into the harbour due to sandbanks. There were jetties available for $22 per night but we decided to anchor near the bridge. The anchor took a while to settle as the sand is very hard here. Once anchor alarm was on and all looking good we went for a walk ashore. The town of Tuncurry is very clean, well maintained and very much a holiday place. The water very clear blue and white sand and it is very green as well.
