Sydney!

We're in Sydney! On our honeymoon road-trip back in 2002 it took us 7 days to drive from Adelaide to Sydney. This time it took us 7 months, albeit with a few stops and detours along the way...

From Greenwell Point we sailed to Wollongong and then on to Pt Hacking. After four gorgeous days in Gunnamatta Bay at Cronulla (God's country, apparently), today we had a fast sail in ideal conditions into Sydney Harbour. We ran the gauntlet of hundreds of racing yachts, ferries and powerboats, and sailed under the bridge which was incredibly exciting!

We are now anchored in Rozelle Bay, near the suburb of Glebe. We'll stop here for at least a week, perhaps more. The Sydney Fish Market is just a short tender-ride away - so yeah, there's plenty to disuade us from moving on! More soon.

Anchored at Rozelle Bay

Jervis Bay - Greenwell Point

We are currently at Greenwell Point in the Crookhaven River - a nice place, and very comfortable.

We left Batemans Bay eager to push on after a pretty uncomfortable week, complete with storms and surgey anchorages. Next stop was Jervis Bay. We had a good trip despite some big seas and couldn't believe our luck when we arrived at an anchorage called "Hole in the Wall" on the south east side of Jervis Bay - it was like a millpond and so pretty, surrounded by national park. Plus,we had it pretty much all to ourselves - perhaps the only benefit of cruising in winter? ;o) Finally we got a few nights of good sleep! Kitty loved this spot too, as there were hundreds of greedy, kitty-sized leatherjackets under the boat.

The rest of the week we explored a few other anchorages around the bay, none of which were very comfortable as the swell had gone easterly and the wind northerly. The town of Vincentia was very pretty though, and had excellent facilities. We also spent a couple of days at Callala Point (not "Koala Point" as we misheard!). The storm we weathered in Batemans Bay had hit Callala really hard. Eleven boats broke their moorings and three were complete write-offs, ending up on the rocks on the northern beach. There was a lot of damage to the foreshore and evidence of huge seas all along the beach and creek entrance.

JB was quite interesting as a lot of it is Commonealth territory and falls under the laws of the ACT. So I guess you could kinda say we have sailed to the ACT! Our 5th state/territory so far. (SA, Vic, Tas, NSW and (sort of) ACT). There was quite a lot of naval training activity going on, which was fascinating to listen to on the VHF radio - for about 2 minutes! zzzzzz.... Michael says there is a saying that being in the defence force is 90% waiting around, 10% digging latrines - I can believe its that boring after listening to them training on the radio!

Yesterday we decided to move back to Hole in the Wall in preparation to leave in a few days. As we passed the entrance to the bay the conditions looked so good, Michael looked at me and said "do you want to just go?" I said "hell yes!" so we quickly packed the boat up for sea and pointed BV north once again!

We rarely make spontaneous decisions like that, and although we made it to the Crookhaven River safely we did face some 30+ knot winds which made things a bit... interesting!! We knew the westerly winds wouldn't affect the sea state too much and we were right, but we won't be making a habit of unplanned passages! Still, it is a pretty cool aspect of sailing that you have the freedom to make a split decision like that. Bored? Want a change of scenery? No need to pack a suitcase, just go! (well, its more like "check the weather and go" really) It definitely suits our restless personalities.

Anyway, with some advice from the Shoalhaven marine rescue we rounded up and entered the Crookhaven river a few hours later, picking up a courtesy mooring near Greenwell Point.

Tomorrow we head to Woolongong, then Port Hacking, then Sydney by the weekend! Wooop!

Anchorage at "Hole in the Wall". No one knows why they call it that..........

Warship HMAS Anzac

 

Anchorage at Callala Bay. 11 of these boats broke their moorings. Club Marine insurance is refusing to insure any new boats permanently moored at this anchorage now.

Beautiful cliffs along the coast between Jervis Bay and the Crookhaven River

Taken earlier today at our anchorage at Greenwell Point, BV on the right.

Finally we have some gorgeous sunny weather to enjoy!

Clyde River Batemans Bay

Just a quick update on the last few days. After my last entry the conditions got progressively worse. The storm coincided with an abnormally high tide and the resulting surge knocked us around pretty badly. Around 9pm as the tide reached its peak Michael went on deck and tossed some of our spare ropes to the marina security guard and a couple of other boat owners so they could secure some vessels that had broke their dock lines. It was way too dangerous for us to get off the boat - we were lurching and pitching so violently. Quite a rollercoaster ride! After 10pm the tide began to ebb and things settled down a bit, but we had a pretty sleepless night.

In the morning we inspected the damage. BV came through ok, although one of the stanchions on our starboard side was torn out of the deck. Other boats were not so lucky - because the tide was so high and the marina doesnt have floating pontoons one power boat with two large outboard engines on its transom was slamming up and down on the jetty doing a fair bit of damage, to itself and the dock.   The boat next to us broke one of its lines and had been scraping its transom against the dock too.

We went for a walk down the promenade where the waves had been crashing well over the walkway, tearing up paving and depositing it on the doorsteps of the riverside cafes. "It was the worse Ive ever seen it" was a phrase we heard a number of times that day.

Anyway, we were keen to move out of the marina as even in calm conditions it was very surgey and uncomfortable so two days later we are happily anchored out in the Clyde river enjoying the post-storm sunshine and calm waters and planning the next leg of our journey to Jervis Bay. We hope to leave on Sunday or Monday once the swell has settled. Bye for now!

Damage to the Batemans Bay promenade

 View from our anchorage in the Clyde River. Hard to believe we saw a big storm just two days ago!

Kitty

We are stuck on the boat today as the weather is APPALLING - heavy rain and 60 kts recorded nearby at Montague Island couple of hours ago. Michael is playing Diablo III and I am soooo bored! ;o) To amuse myself I'm looking back through our latest photos and videos. Here's a cute little one of our ships cat Kitty - she gets a mad look in her eyes when there's fresh fish around!

Eden - Bermagui - Batemans Bay

We've had a few "firsts" since arriving in NSW two weeks ago. We have explored a navy warship, seen migrating humpback wales, caught a bonito, and crossed our first river bar. We also weathered some pretty yucky conditions on the Eden wharf, and found ourselves seeking safe harbour again as a particularly weird low pressure system approaches us from the east...

We spent just over a week in Twofold Bay, mostly at the Eden wharf, plus two nights over at East Boyd Bay sheltering from some feisty southerly weather. Eden was a great place to stop. So pretty, and it only cost us $5 per night on the wharf which included shore power, water and shower facilities. (They are putting it up to $25 per night in July, which is still a bargain compared when compared to most marinas).

A local on the Eden wharf. I need to buy a bird ID book so I can tell you what she is! Anyway, she was a real poser. - Update: Beverly from Three Hummock Island tells me she is an Egret!

The day after we docked in Eden a navy warship the HMAS Broome (an Armidale Class patrol boat, apparently) also arrived in port, en route to Tasmania. Michael was having a sneaky close-up look when one of the crew said - "Hey - do you want a tour?" Michael said "Sure! Let me go get my wife!" We spent the next hour or so being shown all around the ship and meeting the crew. There was a really great vibe on board with lots of joking around, and they talked about how much they enjoyed their jobs travelling around Australia and beyond in this mean-looking warship. There was a lot of obvious pride - in a good way. What surprised me was how young the crew were! The boatswain that showed us around must have only just been 18 I reckon. All these young girls and guys living a pretty bizarre existence chasing illegal fisherman, drug traffickers, and not to mention those pesky asylum seekers (why is it that those three are somehow in the same category???) Anyway, it was an eye opening experience for us - and that's the best thing about travelling I reckon - those spontaneous, unplanned opportunities that just fall in your lap.

Unfortunately in any strong southerly weather the Eden wharf gets really uncomfortable, a lesson we learned the hard way. We got seriously knocked about one night, but it was our own fault as we were tied up stern to the swell - noobs! Oh well, even after 2000 miles we are still learning... I don't expect we'll ever stop - both learning and making mistakes!

The next day we headed over to East Boyd Bay along with four other boats to hide out behind the large Navy wharf. Unfortunately there was a warship loading ammunition, which meant we had to wait until after dark when they gave the all clear to enter. We had a really nice time relaxing and fishing over the next few days before returning to Eden to do some final jobs (including a day trip by bus to Bega) before once again heading North.

Anchorage at East Boyd Bay

We left Eden on 1 June and sailed in excellent conditions to Bermagui. On the way I was gazing out over the calm seas when I saw a puff of spray a few hundred metres away. At first I thought it was a rock with waves crashing over it but there was nothing on the chart ... and then suddenly there was another puff, and another! Whales! We knew there was a chance we'd see them as they are heading north at the moment (like us!) but they are not expected in this close to the coast. They didn't come very close to us (a good and a bad thing I guess!) but I did manage to get a few long distance photos.

I promise there is a tail in this shot if you zoom in!

We entered the Bermagui river in the mid afternoon and were directed by the fishing co-op to raft up to a fishing boat which wasn't going anywhere fast as it had just had an engine room fire. I make no apologies for the name of the fishing boat - it takes a certain type of courage to name your boat that - although the easily offended may wish to skip over the next photo! We really liked Bermagui - not sure what we were expecting but it was a really pretty town, although quiet now the summer crowds have departed.

Rafted up in Bermagui. Poor BV needs a really good wash! We'll give her some TLC before we hit ritzy Sydney harbour.
 

We stayed at Bermagui for two nights as the winds were going to be non-existent the next day, and there was a nice SW forecast for the following day. Michael caught a beautiful bonito along the way on a $6 lure that had been recommended to us in Eden. You can't get these fish in SA, so it was a first for us, and highly underrated in our opinion. Kitty agreed!

We approached Batemans Bay with a certain amount of trepidation as it would be our first proper river bar crossing - a common challenge in NSW but not something we'd encountered before. With some guidance from the local marine rescue guys we crossed the bar at high tide, holding our breath as we slipped over with only 1/2 metre of water under our keel.

We had chosen the Clyde River to see out the nasty storm that is forecast for this week as there is a good anchorage upriver beyond the opening bridge. Wouldn't you know it though? The bridge is closed for maintenance for the next month! A huge pain in the butt. This left us with only a few options: make a run north to Jervis Bay (not our preference given the weather on the way), anchor in the river on the ocean side of the bridge (we did this on the first night and it felt very exposed behind the sand bar, and 6 metre swell is forecast), or beg and plead with the chock-a-block local marina to squeeze us in for a few nights. Although its costing us quite a lot of money we decided for peace of mind we'd take the marina option. Not something we can afford to do often, but totally justifiable when there are 45 knot winds and big seas on the horizon!

So that's where we are - spider-webbed to a pen in the Batemans Bay marina where will stay until we see the back of this storm. 

Wow, this turned into a really long post - apologies for that!

Bass Strait crossing

With a favourable four day forecast we decided to leave Wineglass Bay early Friday morning and get a head start on the trip. As I retrieved the anchor I notice a large clump of what I though was the usual seaweed attached but was very surprised when it got closer. It was in fact a large reddish brown Octopus which was comfortably wrapped around our anchor. He didn't really want to budge but eventually woke and shot off. The rest of the day went down hill from there. Instead of the 15-20 knots NW-W we were expecting we got 20 - 25 knots of North - dead on the nose, unsailable and with a head on 2-3m steep wave pattern. It was very uncomfortable and slow. We had to bail out and found shelter at a small bay called Long Point where we anchored for the night and got some much needed rest from a tiring effort.

The forecast for Saturday was better but we were a little cautious as to how accurate it would be but unfortunately there is only one way to test the accuracy of the forecast. We were in luck this time and had 15-20 knots Westerly on the beam which BV loves. With a gentle following swell we managed to keep up 6-7 knots for much of the day. At night the wind died right off so we had to motor sail for a few hours but it finally came back early in the morning. Again we were able sail quite fast as the wind built up to 25 knots at times. Later we decided to pull in the Genoa and run with a reefed main and inner stay sail as she was getting a bit hard to handle and we needed some rest. Soon after the wind died off and we were forced motorsail once again. The weather had been upgraded and we were expecting 30-35 knots and 3m plus seas right behind us so the decision was made to motorsail through the night and keep the speed up  - we needed to get as far from the bad weather as possible.

It worked, perhaps a little too well. By the next morning there was no wind and very little swell - amazing conditions really considering where we were. At this point we figured we would make Eden by about 8:00PM and it would be dark - not good. We talked to Marine Rescue Eden and consulted our guides, charts and Google Earth. Although we avoid night anchorages as much as possible - especially ones we have never visited - we decided that this one should be safe enough to attempt with a couple backup options. We were pleasantly surprised upon arriving to find the pier well lit and a berth right at the end perfect for an easy berthing. You have to get lucky some times.

More on Eden Later.

A quick video of the Octopus on our anchor chain at Wineglass Bay

Video from our second day offshore when we were pushing ourselves and the boat pretty hard under full sail to stay ahead of the weather. Sea state was pretty comfortable at this point and we are doing 6 or 7 knots on a beam reach.

Wineglass Bay

I wrote this last night but the internet was flakey, so Im posting it now... 

Well, here we are at the end of our Tasmanian odyssey! We are currently anchored in the incredibly pretty Wineglass Bay, the boat is locked down, the weather is looking good (touch wood!) and tomorrow we will start our passage across Bass Strait to Eden. 320 nautical miles which should take us at least 3 days - more if the winds are light like they are predicting. I'm pretty excited at the prospect of the trip. Michael, ever cautious, is less so, but he's keen to get moving too. Kitty however has disowned us.

We've both been reflecting a lot on the last 6 months since we left Adelaide, and our time in Tassie. We've met some really great people that have so selflessly helped and advised us along the way. Its been a massive learning curve for us both. We're better sailors than we were (although that's not hard!), and certainly better at living aboard and taking each day and challenge as it comes. Ive taught myself how to make shortcrust pastry and perfected my bread baking skills. Michael continues to be the MacGyver of all things mechanical - I swear he could jury-rig just about anything out of a tube of sikaflex and a couple of stainless steel bolts. Neither of us wants to throw the other one overboard ... yet! ;o)

We have the sneaking suspicion that we have just experienced the best cruising Australia has to offer - Tassie is AMAZING - but we are very excited about the next stage of our adventure. Oh for warmer waters!!!! Seriously - bring it on. Kitty is a little fluffball and ugg boots on a boat is a baaaaad look!

Anyway, wish us luck, we'll check in once we're on the other side of the ditch!

Grainy camera-phone picture of our anchorage at Wineglass Bay