Hole-in -the -Wall
30 November 2013 | Jervis Bay
Sue Watt
Early morning stillness saw us untying the ropes at Ulladulla Harbour yesterday and setting off for JB - that's what the locals call Jervis Bay.
Now I've never been one for using exclusive lingo - I still like to use 'front' and 'back' and 'left' and 'right' - I still hate that idea people get of an elite club that has all the -'inspeak' down pat so others feel like outsiders! But everyone around here calls Jervis Bay JB or J Bay and we have found ourselves slipping into the lingo!
We had a fairly good run up, the wind was right on our behind and the square sail would have been perfect but once again I had a battle with sea sickness and found it next to impossible to be upright, so without an extra set of hands Peter decided to battle on with the jibs and mainsail. I am beginning to wonder if my equilibrium is being affected by my new hearing aid. I have not sailed with it in before and it seems that so far on this journey I have been sicker than ever before. Mind you the children were very green and seedy yesterday too so perhaps sea-state is playing the most significant part.
So we arrived in JB around 1 o'clock. As soon as we hit the calm waters of the bay it all settled down and everyone was up on deck ready to help. We were going to try and get a mooring over at a place called Hole in the Wall, where it is calm during a southerly, which we had.
Now anyone who has been following us for a while will know that moorings have been the death of us! We have found it very hard to pick up moorings whenever we tried and our last attempt was so disastrous it left us feeling quite trepidatious!
We have however learned a thing or two since then - we decided that trying to pick up a mooring from the bow-sprit that is so high above the water was a part of our problem. Some other boaties told us they always pick up the line at the mid-ships position so we thought we could try that. Plus we have a new boat hook as our lovely long one snapped in that last lovely attempt we made in Batemans Bay when we then got grounded and had to be pulled off the edge! Anyway enough said about that!
So we came in, ready for another go, but with a better plan. As we approached the mooring buoy there was a bit of anxiety and the kids and I were all set, ready, prepared and - would you believe we picked it up first time, no hassles! Hurrah! Yes, we were quite thrilled with ourselves!
As the one to pick up the line I was especially pleased - and it is quite clear that a significant part of our previous problems was the trying to reach down so far - the bow-sprit is so high above the water - the suggestion to pick it up at the lowest point of the hull was an excellent one. Peter managed to steer us right alongside the mooring and it was so easy for me to reach down and pick it up.
We ate then and within an hour of stopping the children were off in the kayaks to explore.
This, we reflected, is exactly why we are doing this. The opportunity the kids have to run off and explore beaches and new places is priceless. Watching them as they paddled away brought such a sense of joy to me - and this morning we have awoken to a beautiful day. We are surrounded by clean white sandy beaches, pure silica Peter told us, some of the whitest beaches in Australia. How awesome.
Last night we ran the gennie for an hour and watched some local TV, used the computers and ran the dishwasher - we are feeling quite opulent these days and so much better equipped than when we arrived in Batemans Bay 18 months ago.
We plan to spend a week or so here, and with such a big waterway about us, hope to do some sailing within the bay - putting up the square sail for some practice amongst other things.
Ah JB we are going to love you!