1st April 2012 - Marmong Point, Lake Macquarie
Max and I had a nice quiet day while Susie was in Melbourne; I took apart the fly screen and hatch trim to the forward hatch, cleaning up the dribbles of mastic which had appeared after we had a very hot day. To say I took it apart is wrong, as it fell apart as several screws broke, the heads just fell off. After cleaning and removing some rust stains I managed to get the remains of the screws out and reassembled the screen. I hate those spring loaded things, just when you think it’s going back together something slips and whizzz, all the tension unwinds. Then it’s retrieve the bits and start over start again.
Susie arrived back as expected after the overnight trip to Melbourne.
2nd April 2012 – Marmong to Belmont
I took Max ashore leaving, Susie to try and catch some extra zeds. Max did what he had to do and as my back was turned as I headed towards the rubbish bin, he headed back to the jetty. I am not sure what made me look around but Max was nowhere to be seen, he had fallen in! I don’t know why he fell in. I found him standing up to his tummy in the water under the jetty. I washed him down and gave him a good rub with a towel. He seemed to get over it after Susie warmed him up with a cuddle and a play. We left Marmong for the 5 mile motor in glassy conditions to Belmont, and were quickly joined by a pair of dolphins who accompanied us for a couple of miles, playing on the bow wave and diving under and around us.
Everywhere we go in Lake Macquarie I scan the boats with the binoculars looking for our old boat. We had last seen her in 2000 at Yorkey’s Knob outside Cairns. The then owners told us they were from the Lake. Incredibly, Susie spotted her first, even without binnos, recognising her lines immediately. She is now named “Dream Catcher”. Our old “Peta Lynne” is now 30 years old looks in need of some TLC as the seagulls had settled in! A radar and wind generator have been added, the wind vane has gone to make way for davits and solar panels. The hull had been painted & the Tred-master on deck had gone. Over the years someone had spent some money on her. At the time however, it appeared a shame she had been left to deteriorate. We left a note on board asking the owners’ to contact us if they wished. We also made enquiries at the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club, where we had lunch.
It’s weird being anchored so close to the old boat, seeing her out of “Water Music’s” windows. She was such a good bluewater boat, and even today her lines show her pedigree having been designed by Laurent Giles.
3rd April - Belmont
Following our usual walk and breakfast routine, we had a call from Joe and Helen from “Dream Catcher” who had come to the boat to clean her. They rang to see if we were still in the area, and were surprised when I told them we were approx 100 metres to their starboard, shortly later they came for coffee. They were the same couple we had met in Yorkey’s Knob.
Since our meeting all those years ago, Joe and Helen did a couple of trips doing the usual circuit of the SW Pacific which then eventuate in a circumnavigation over several years, wow! They had only returned from their circumnavigation in November 2011, having had to leave “Dream Catcher” in Newcastle for a couple of months until the dredging of the channel into Lake Macquarie was complete in January 2012. Since their return they had been busy settling into their house and visiting relatives including taking care of elderly parents and returning to a land based life.
We were invited to their house for dinner, which has wonderful views of Lake Macquarie, unfortunately we missed the setting of the sun! Helen is the most amazingly clever quilter – her design and flair for colour is extraordinary. They made us most welcomed and we had a lovely time and Max was spoilt. We wanted to ask them, where to from now – what will they do with “Dream Catcher”, but the question was too hard to pose.
4th April - Belmont to Secret Bay
We sailed across the Lake with the MPS (multipurpose spinnaker). Susie reckons she was doing 4.4 knots in 8 knots of breeze. Once again the dolphins came to play. We into Secret Bay for a look, then onto Wangi Wangi (pronounced Wonji Wonji), which appeared a bit exposed to present conditions, so we went back to Secret Bay and had a quiet night.
There are Catalina yachts in every bay here in Lake Macquarie, it is no wonder they had there January 2012 rally here on the Lake.
5th April - Secret Bay
A quiet day spent doing chores etc. and Susie baked a batch of biscuits.
6th April (Good Friday) Secret Bay to- Toronto to Bolton Point
This morning we motored in windless conditions to, again in the company of dolphins, we have many photos of them. In Toronto, we caught up with Bruce & Thelma on “Tui of Opua” who were setting up for the Wooden Boat Festival which starts on Saturday. Later in the afternoon we moved to Bolton Point Bay for flat water so that I could service the outboard motor (first time for me as Alan did it at Sanctuary Cove more than a year ago – oops!).
7th April - Bolton Point to Toronto - Wangi Wangi
The Wooden Boat Festival was good, there were several works of art, others were just old and wooden, but in particular the steam driven launches were very special.
We have been expecting a Southerly bluster to blow up the coast, so with this in mind we set the MPS up for the sail to Wangi Wangi, we should have left earlier as the wind eased away to nothing and then the southerly change arrived very quickly. Fortunately, we were motoring and had no sails up when the front hit. It was quite a spectacular sight, seeing boats scuttling everywhere trying to shorten sail and seek shelter.
We spent well over an hour visiting William Dobell’s house (famous Aussie artist who won three Archibald portrait prizes). We found it very interesting, as it depicted not only his life but that of his sister.
8th April - Wangi to Swansea
Up early (not that early really means anything to us, unless it’s earlier than 05.00) to make the 8 am bridge opening at Swansea and transit the Swansea channel near high tide at 09:10. After about 15 minutes of motoring, I told Susie we could slow down as I had scaled the chart with a ruler and made the first leg to be 5 miles, when I re-checked the chart, the scale was in kilometres (divide by 1.852!) I have never seen a marine chart in kilometres before, that’s my excuse!
We briefly touched the bottom at 1.7m in the Swansea channel, a very light grounding somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd starboard marks on the Lake Macquarie side to the channel. Once over this area the channel deepens, we then pushed on and made the 7 am bridge opening.
On the other side we picked up a courtesy mooring. We spent the day on the boat just pottering, but this is not a comfortable place because the tide rips through so fast and wind over tide can make it quite ordinary, hence an uneasy and restless night.
9th April - Swansea to Port Stephens
We departure at 06.30, crossing the bar at the wrong time but it was okay as the wind was from the west and the seas were calm. We had a good sail past Newcastle and 18 ships waiting to go to the coal loading docks. As we were approaching Morna Point and heading towards Point Stephens the wind dropped and we motored in the last hour into Port Stephens continuing onto Salamander Bay to drop the anchor and take Max ashore. Beautiful fine white sand beach and very clear water, Max loved it.
Max hates these trips, particularly the longer trips. We now try to get in the habit of giving him 2.5 mgs Valium at least 30 minutes before departure, then he goes into the flight cage with water, treat and comfort toy. Usually he settles, and we generally let him out after a couple of hours and we spend some time with him on the cabin floor, which he loves, giving him another 2.5 mgs Valium 2 ½ -3 hours or so after the 1st dose. Sometimes the Valium does not appear to work, he can be very artful at spitting out the tablets, therefore we have to be sure he takes it.
10th to 14th April - Salamander Bay, Port Stephens
We are presently experiencing very strong S and SW winds and have had continuous winds of 25 knots with frequent gusts of 30 knots with the forecast unlikely to change for a day or two which makes leaving difficult. Not that we are really in a hurry, so sitting it out is our option.
Our mission today is to catch the bus to Nelson Bay, to collect our mail from the Post Office (thanks to Tony for forwarding it on).
We also walked to the industrial area of Soldiers’ Point to pick up some spares for the Honda outboard, in particular new zinc anodes which I will install immediately as they are overdue for a change.
14th April - Port Stephens to Tuncurry
We left the anchorage at 03.45 (that’s early for us), in perfect conditions aiming to get to Crowdy Head by late afternoon. Having cleared the heads of Port Stephens we were able to sail and had a good sail in flat conditions then the wind disappeared. As we only had a 1 metre of swell and no waves and with ideal tide conditions to cross the bar, we decided to divert at Forster/Tuncurry instead. Our last attempt to enter this harbour had been aborted due to breaking seas and the sun in our eyes making it difficult to see the leads to cross the bar, this time it was much easier as the tides were just right.
Having attempted to anchor in the channel with slippery bottom conditions, we went alongside one of the pile berths owned by the fish co-op. The charge of $25 a night was a bit steep for no facilities, ho-hum! The decision was made to have fish and chips for dinner as we had previously been told Tuncurry has the best fish and chips but the choice of NZ fish or crumbed (frozen) whiting, I cannot understand as this in a fishing port. Very disappointing!
15th April - Tuncurry to Port Macquarie
Up and off early at 05.00 and over the bar safely. At first we had a really good westerly breeze which fizzled away to nothing after about 1 – 1 ½ hours. Although we had expected light westerly to south westerly winds but rather hoped for a little more and after 9 hours of motoring we safely crossed the bar into Port Macquarie.
We picked up a marina mooring, heading over to the office next morning to be knocked with a 33% increase to $30 per night in mooring fees since November. At least they have hot showers.
As usual Max hated the trip, except for the periods when one of us would go below and give him our undivided attention. We have also noticed that the electric halyard winch causes him some distress. However, it is amazing as soon as we have anchored, he recovers and is bright and squeaking with delight to be taken to ashore.
16th to 23 April - Port Macquarie
We are enjoying the flesh pots of Port, doing the laundry at the “Willing and Able” laundromat, trying to keep dry during the relentless periods of rain. Why is it when we are in Port it always rains, buckets of it, poor Max he gets wet at least 3 times a day and he hates it. Susie bought him a rain coat and a warm winter coat from the RSPCA.
We caught up with fellow yachties Chris and Trish “Reliance” for drinks or dinner several times which was great fun and relaxing. We met them last time in Port and will meet again when they come up after their new generator is installed. We also met Chris and Caroline sailing on little “Kaleuha”, and Greg and Natali on the large catamaran “Le Tigre”, both heading north. Another couple Mike and Beverley, sailing their newly acquired boat ? to be renamed “Eleanor”, heading towards Brisbane and beyond.
Time is marching on and Susie is booked on flights from the Gold Coast to attend the APNA conference at the beginning of May. With that in mind there is the need to look at contingencies. Fuel at the dock is very dear, so I decided to fill the tank with enough fuel to get back to Southport. Using 2 jerry cans I filled up with fuel and saved $0.40 a litre in the process thanks to Woolworths nearby servo.
While Susie was baking a boiled Fruit Cake she noticed an Osprey on the masthead of the yacht nearby clasping a rather large live fish, which the predator then proceeded to eat. Amazing sight as I managed to get some photographs.
Susie had her first visit to a hairdresser since leaving home (humph – he can’t give an opinion about how much nicer and fresher and looked it makes me appear!).
We also had the bicycles out, to pedal around Port. Susie also took Trish for a ride. Both feel they are only suitable for short rides as they can be uncomfortable.
The weather is beginning to look suitable for heading north. With the anticipated long days, Susie has made a fresh Minestrone soup – yummy!
24th April - Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour
Up early, the boat was drenched with dew, I had to wipe the dodger inside and outside so we could see our way through the harbour, we crossed the bar at 0615, the timing was not perfect, neither was my position, a bit too far to the south, we had a couple of short steep seas to go through before we got into deeper water. We managed a couple of hours sailing until the wind dropped too far to make progress so the engine was started as we watched heavy clouds form ahead of us and swell increased from the south east. Fortunately for us the internet was still working and we were able to see a band of rain just north of Coffs receding northwards. Smoky Cape – yuk! Even motoring we seemed to looking at the thing for hours, the south setting current runs at about 1-2 knots generally but increases anywhere up to 3-4 knots near major headlands, it also increases the swell near the headlands.
About lunchtime, Susie went below to give Max some out of flight cage time, she reappeared not too long after clutching the bucket. A combination of lunch and swell.
We entered Coffs Harbour at 8pm and after a snoop around looking for a berth we tied up the fixed marina dock and took Max ashore. Soup and toast for late dinner then off to bed.
25th April - Coffs Harbour to Gold Coast
After an interrupted night (getting up every couple of hours to adjust the length of our mooring lines because of the falling tide) we left at 06.30. Our plan is to head into Yamba.
Four hours of motoring with the winds increasing and we were able to sail. The wind increased progressively reaching 25knots and we were doing 6 – 7+ knots over the ground with a known counter current of at least 2 knots. Lurching off an increasing easterly swell and waves developing from the west was decidedly uncomfortable. As the boat and conditions dictated we reefed the sails to calm the boat. As soon as the reefs were put in and the sails trimmed, the wind eased for a wee while, and then returned veering and gusting 30 knots.
We got to the point where we were supposed to turn and head towards Yamba, while at the same time the wind had decreased and shifted to the northwest, with this we thought that the entry to Yamba may be dangerous particularly as we would be crossing the bar at the wrong time, tide wise, so we diverted to the Gold Coast.
By 4pm, we had the reefs back in the sails, by 8pm the wind was up to 25+ knots at times but dropping to 15 knots, fortunately it was an offshore wind which was still warm, with waves to 1 metre making it uncomfortable because of the underlying easterly swell. We passed Cape Byron at3 am after gusts up to 35 knots, from 4am the wind started to ease and by 6am we were under full sail, at 9am on went the motor again so we motored the last 17 miles on glassy smooth calm water.
We did 1 to 2 hour watches depending on the amount of traffic and wind. The big ships tend to be a bit further offshore but still passing within a couple of miles. Thank God for AIS! For some reason that had stopped working after leaving Coffs but I was able to use an alternate antenna and got it working again.
We telephoned SYC and also Bob & Joan from “Cat’s Away” who made a quick dash to see us coming through the Gold Coast Seaway and then with their help tied, up in berth C21. It was a bit tight and fortunately with no wind and the top of the tide, we manoeuvred in to our allocated space. The next day, I received a call from the marina office, we were supposed to be in B21! We moved to the new berth which is much easier to get in and out. I am not sure who made the mistake, probably me but excusable after 26-28 hours at sea.
During the 28 hours, Max had a total of 7.5mgs Valium, it should have 10mgs but he is so artful at spitting doses, I missed one he chucked. It was a horrid trip for him and he had about 3 “accidents” in his flight cage while we were either reefing or un-reefing. We are still amazed as to his recovery as soon as we are moored or anchored.
Bob and Joan kindly gave a lift to the house to collect the car. RACQ was called to replace the battery, then we had wheels!
26 April – onwards at Southport Yacht Club
We spent the next few days working in the garden at home and cleaning up after the geckos who have been the only occupants in our house for 6 months. Alex has moved out of the little house to share a house with friends.
Nick and I have both had sleepless nights about what we should be doing next and in what order the approach should be made. We have decided to rent out our house, as it is better than leaving it empty and will give us an income stream which will be great.
Susie
It’s strange to be back - actually I have quite mixed emotions.
Reflecting back on the trip, we have enjoyed many aspects but it has been very restrictive with Max and also of great concern for his wellbeing during the trip. On one side, we hate seeing him becoming so distressed when underway but on the other hand he is quite normal within seconds of the mooring the boat. All in all he is happy on the boat as long as we are stationary and he has us to dote on him.
On another matter, neither of us are as young as were when we sailed from England and the long trips seem to take us more time to recover.
With those points made, my intention is to slow our trips down and spend more time with each community we visit. I also would like to try to get some locum work in some of the areas we visit.
We arrived back in good time for me to go to the APNA conference in Melbourne, as this was my final obligation as a Member of the Board to end my 2 year appointment to the Board.
We plan on heading north, chasing the sun late in May after the Boat Show at Sanctuary Cove, there’s always a wish list…..!