26/05/08, Tangalooma
Sunset at Tangalooma, freaky!
We met our friends Peter and Jane who flew up from Bowral (brrrrrrr!) to join us for the next leg north. Peter owns an X-42 , X-Yacht, and is a staunch monohull person. Jane, his wife, is a director of a regional art gallery. They were originally planning to sail there X-Yacht up to Qld this winter with us, but work commitments put that idea to rest.
Before leaving Sanctuary Cove we upgraded our 45 lb Manson anchor to a 60 lb anchor, which we bought at the show. We originally tried one of the new Manson Supreme anchors, with supposedly better holding power, but unfortunately it didn't fit our foredeck space.
Almost everyone told us the 45lb would be fine for a 38 foot cat, however we noticed in Sydney we experienced quite a bit of anchor drag, probably more to do with our anchoring technique than a problem with the actual anchor. So the decision to upgrade was made on pshycologic grounds, purely to allow us to sleep better at night when we are at anchor off some island and the wind comes in. And we will be practicing our anchoring techniques.
After powering through the mud creeks of southern Moreton Bay we ended up at Tangalooma resort. There we anchored behind man made breakwater of old rusting ship hulks laid to rest. This made a bizarre sight during the sunset as we motored in, monstrous black shapes against a red sky.
We actually anchored slightly south of this breakwater and had a very roly-poly night. Throughout the night ships were seen on the horizon, and even though the water was glassy smooth, the swells kicked up by shipping gave us our first uncomfortable night. Oh well, I'm sure well have worse in days ahead.
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24/05/08, Sanctuary Cove
Andamon at the boatshow. Thats John from CYA looking for another place he can attach a 'Charter Yacht Australia' sticker
After a week in Sydney we return to the Gold Coast where Andamon is being displayed at Sanctuary Cove boat show with John and Annie from Charter Yachts Australia. When Andamon gets to Airlie Beach John and Annie will be her adopted parents for the next 5 years. (Lyn and I have visiting rights).
We are in 'Seawind Corner', with 3 Seawinds on display. We are next to 2 Fusions and 2 Lightwaves plus a 50 foot cat from South Africa, this is truly catamaran heaven. John and Annie have Andamon looking spotless, which after 3 days of people walking all over it is amazing.
The boat show itself seems a little down on numbers. Not surprising given that the economy has had a hit over the past few months, and over the last week the price of diesel has gone through the roof and Sanctuary Cove is the home of diesel guzzling gin palaces.
Maybe everyone will turn up tomorrow (Sunday).
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15/05/08, Hope Harbour Marina
Byron Bay lighthouse - green/blue waters - perfect
Next morning we head off for Tweed Heads on the way to Sanctuary Cove. Andmanon is going on display at the Sanctuary Cove boat show where she will be at Charter Yachts Australia stand.
The glorious sou-easters we've been experiencing have finally run out of puff, and we experience light winds all the way to Tweed heads, what a shame - we had to run the engines all day.
Highlight of the day was coastal scenery around Byron Bay. Not just the coast, but the spectacular mountains, e.g. Mount Warning, become a perfect backdrop. Is this the most beautiful part of Australia? probably. A fine mist hang over the mountains, which we guessed was caused by all the dope smokers in the region. The lighthouse was spectacular. 25 years ago Lyn and I stood at this lighthouse in similar beautiful weather and watched 2 catamarans out to sea and I thought 'I'd like to be there' and its a bit weird now we are actually doing it. I'm sure some of the people we could see up at the lighthouse were thinking the same thing.
Entering the bar at Tweed Heads was easy. Lyn was at home watching all this 'live' on an MSB Web Cam on her computer......its sort of freaky as she phones to say she can see the sails moving along the sea walls.
Next morning we headed out for the short trip past the Gold Coast ghosting in light winds on azure waters with nothing but high rise in site from north to south. Then we go into the Southport bar past Runaway Bay, and Sovereign Island with the biggest houses on the most humungously expensive reclaimed land, and each with the hugest power boats parked out the front. Yes we have arrived at the Gold Coast!
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You are also getting through some very quick miles Regards Richard
12/05/08, Ballina
Rob working hard in difficult conditions
After a week back in Sydney we returned to Coffs Harbour to continue the passage north. Weather looks good - the southerlies continuing and slightly warmer. Lyn decided to sit this leg out as a cold she caught before leaving Sydney didn't improve after 4 days at sea, so she is saving herself for Queensland legs which promise tropical-ness.
Joining me are Rob and Peter. Rob sails Etchells with me at Cronulla Sailing Club, is an engineer and owns a number of boats including an Etchells, a Halvorsen and a steel 'Temptress' class yacht currently undergoing restoration. Peter is Qantas Flight Engineer, a die-hard catamaran sailor, the owner of a Seawind 1200 and from what I can gather a number of smaller cats he sails out of Kurnell cat club. Within nanoseconds of coming on board he had the tools out and was servicing the motors, teaching me the ins and outs of marine diesel maintenance. I knew that after a few days with Peter my knowledge of diesel engines would go from zero to something meaningful. Buying a production catamaran means we treat the engines as something you have to use to get on and off moorings, or to use when the wind dies. I hadn't really thought of the engines as things that could break down - after all they were new! We couldn't believe checking before we left Coffs that after only 80 hrs of operation there was virtually no oil registering on the dipsticks! Ah, even a technical luddite like me knows this is not good. We bought 5 litres oil and each engine was topped up. Peter suggested it was normal for new engines to burn more oil when new, so hopefully things will get better.
We headed for Yamba. The sleigh ride we were experiencing before we reached Coffs Harbour continued, sunny skies, the winds now warmer and blowing 15-18 knots from behind and the boat surfing gracefully at 7-9 knots - just wonderful. After a fairly routine passage so far we had our first excitement at Yamba. Coming in on high tide was easy, leaving the next morning bought us back to earth. We were heading towards the entrance 'the bar' , we noticed some waves coming towards us, not big enough to worry about, but a little strange we thought. As we got closer to the bar, things turned nasty. In the space of a minute we were caught in a strong outgoing tidal surge (where did that come from?) with a meeting of incoming waves. We floored the engines hoping to crash through what was developing. In no time the bows had started heading downwards just as a few waves built into a verticle wall in front of us. Peter, yells 'Hang on we're going to get wet !' (I've removed a few four letter descriptive words here). Next thing we had a massive wall of water 'scooped up' by the bows, over the cabin, and sliding across the top of the boat drenching all in its path. The boat submarined under this wall of water, then reared up and crashed down into the next valley. '**** , where did that come from?' , we all say whilst looking like drowned rats. A few more crashes and we are through. Outside we look back at the bar. All looks calm, a fishing trawler goes in , no fuss. Surreal.
This was our introduction to bar crossings. We had heard the stories about bar crossings, now we had first hand experience.
After we each changed our underpants, we turned north and set the sails. Then it was a dream run for the day, with Rob lying on the foredeck reading educational novels, and even Peter relaxing all the way ( though he did spend a fair bit of time inside reading all of the Seawind manuals). We charge north at 8 knots in a 16 knot south easterly. What we didn't know was that after our early bar experience we were in for more 'bar' experiences.
The Ballina bar has a more savage reputation than just about any bar in NSW. However we were due for dinner at a friends place (Steve), and Peter's sister Brenda lives in Ballina , no bar was going to stop us getting there. As we approached we noticed some breaking waves, but nothing too dramatic. I had asked Steve to video our entrance, and he stood on the sea wall to film Amandon's spectacular entrance. All the action is at the beginning of this video, and as we steering down the first big wave , I forgot to look at the speedo to see what we were doing (damn, I'm sure it was a record), however we are truly surfing the waves, and fighting the helm to keep us steering down the face of the wave and away from the sea walls. - (Only expert helmsmanship and a cool head stopped us from certain disaster) . {click here} to see Andamon surfing the waves at Ballina At the end of this we decided that bar crossing was definitely a very critical component of passage making in NSW.
At the marina we met Peter's sister, Brenda, who is 60+ years old, surfs every day on a 3 fin thruster, and with such a positive outlook on life, was easily the most impressive woman I've met in a long time. We had a wonderful night eating Lasagna at Steves place whilst recounting about a 100 times our now legendary bar crossings where the waves were now 25 feet high, (higher with each glass of red) it became just one of those magical days which had many elements all mixed together.
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03/05/08, Coffs Harbour
Lyn rugged up as we slide past Crescent Head
Absolutely superb conditions took us from Part Macquarie to Coffs Harbour. We had been advised against entering Port Mac because of the bar, but found it easy to enter in light southerly winds and a great anchorage with easy access to moorings not far the entrance.
After waking at 5:30am - early morning starts ensure we get to destinations in daylight - we had sails set by 6am to catch the first of what was supposed to be a 15/25 knot cold front coming through. In fact we never saw more than 20 knots all day, but with the wind mainly from the South West, which kept the seas flat, we had a fantastic trip up hugging close to the coast. The winds lightened off in the afternoon, but we made Coffs Harbour (78nm) by 4:00pm.
The sailing was like a giant sleigh ride. One of the strengths of catamarans is that they provide a wonderful sensation of effortless speed. Wheras in a monohull a 20 knot puff would have the boat tipping substantially, and generally things becoming unpleasant, in Andamon we just accelarated faster but at all times the boat felt 'hunkered down'. Without a spinnaker, we were travelling at about 1/2 the wind strength, e.g. in 20 knots wind we'd be travelling at 10 knots. It is possibly this sensation that lulls the unwary into over canvassing their boats, leading to mishaps that we all know about.
We have decided that long passages are much more interesting if we stay close to the coast. We can hear the waves breaking, can see cars and walkers on the beaches, Lyn has her binoculars out looking for that yet-to-be-discovered beachside hamlet in which to build her fantasy beach house. Out at sea, you can't see much at all, and what can be seen passes very, very slowly.
Another reason for hugging the coast is to avoid the southerly current. In some areas, especially near headlands we noticed our northing drop considerably, if we are tacking more than 30 degs off north our VMG (Velocity Made Good - speed in the direction to your destination, as distinct from speed of the boat actually travelling) -would almost dissappear completely. If we sailed back to hug the coast, the current was unnoticeable. We all became a little obsessed with our VMG and had endless discussions about when to tack in or stay out and by the time we reached Coffs Harbour we were all highly attuned to the boats potential and actual performance.
One part of the coast we came in really close was South West Rocks. It is an area that we and our friends have holidayed for many years. About 10 familiies would get there at the end of January to eat, drink and go sailing on an assortment of 'water toys'. We've spent so many hours in Trial Bay, under the jail, blasting all over the place on sailboards and Hobie cats, so it was great to go past it on the ocean side. With Marco in control {click here} , we sneaked ever closer to the shore and seawall, and all fell silent as we paid homage. (Note on the video how Marco talks about speed, as you can see he is obsessed with speed - probably why the Swiss keep winning the Americas cup)
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Regards,
Irene Jim and Peter
02/05/08, Port Macquarie
A busy day at the office
This photo is taken as we watch the sun go down in beautiful Port Macquarie.
This photo was taken as the sun was putting on a performance , and just before we put a few T-bones on the BBQ. The last 3 days finally gave us pleasant winds, a little too light in some parts as we spent most of yesterday with one motor on. A Seawind needs about 8 knots to get moving - no flying-a-hull for us.
Joining us on this leg is Marco. Originally from Switzerland, Marco takes pride in explaining how the Swiss have won the America's Cup for the last 2 contests, and therefore sailing is in his genes. Certainly the winds have been Swiss like, and we are learning just how long it takes to get anywhere by boat, and we spend a great deal of time just watching the coast go by, contemplating life, and discussing the design of the 'perfect' yacht, which we now believe is a sailing catamaran with twin 120hp engines to get you through the light patches really fast. I'm sure the perfect yacht will change as we get more miles under our belt.
As seen on the video life can pretty relaxed in light winds. We did have lots of fun with dolphins but they were off and away by the time I thought to get the video camera out. When I did get it out, it was all pretty relaxed-
{click here}I took this at 6:45 in the morning - already along way off shore - but as you can see we are not quite awake !
Tomorrow takes us to Coffs Harbour, a stretch of 78nm. In fact we are no longer planning to sail more than 70nm in a day. The ideal day is about 50nm because it allows you to get to port by about 3:00pm (after a 6:00am start), and relax before getting dinner under way. 78nm may mean entering port at dark, something to avoid at all cost - we did for the very first time at Nelson Bay, and it was a little tense to say the least (and only possible due to GPS and chartplotter technolgy - what on earth did sailors do before these came along!). Our plans to travel vast distances in a single day have certainly changed given we want to moor somewhere every night. However tomorrow we are expecting 25 knots from the south (pushing us north) so we are expecting some record speeds, hopefully making it a quick passage.
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