There goes Sydney

A view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that you don't usually see.

 Finally the headsail furler was fixed the wind was right and it was 01:15am. I didn't care how extreme our departure time was, we were on our way again!

It was a quick hello/goodbye Port Stephens and on to Broken Bay which is just north of Sydney near the mouth of the Hawksbury River. 

As we were nearing our destination, we noticed a build up of menacing dark clouds approaching us from the south-west. Oh no, we were sick of thunderstorms and this one looked particularly savage. Forks of lightning stabbed at a distant headland. The thunder was so loud it was almost tangible. It got closer. We didn't want to be at the receiving end of that lightning. 

Ian reefed the sails to almost nothing. We grabbed our raincoats, ready for a soaking, couldn't do much about the lightning though. I looked to the south-east for the comfort of blue skies. I was disappointed. Another storm approaching from that direction. 

The wind built up, 30k, 40k, then a huge gust of 65k. Funny enough, when you are going with the wind, it's much more manageable than going against, hence, the strong winds we experienced with this storm didn't seem anywhere near as bad as the 25k on the nose, we had early in this trip.

We really needed luck, and instead of winning lotto, we managed to sail right between these two storms and out the other side. After the wind came the rain and there is a sailor's saying that goes 'wind before rain, don't worry, it'll soon be fine again. Rain before wind, better put another reef in'.

We were happy that the wind came first!

We entered Broken Bay and marvelled at the escarpment surrounding us. Towering heights clad in trees clinging impossibly to sandstone ledges. Stunning. 

We searched for a nice secluded spot and almost found one, except it was already claimed. Although hard to see in the photo, there was a small waterfall (just behind the front of the red canoe) and a small sandy beach. It would have been perfect but we didn't want to take on the bunch of guys playing beach cricket there. They had their shirts off and we could see they had bigger muscles than us.

Never mind, it was a large body of water with enough secluded beaches for everybody. Onto the next little beach and we had it to ourselves. It was called Little Pittwater Bay and it was home to us for the next couple of days.

It tasted better than it looked 

Since we had a bit of time here in a nice calm anchorage, I decided to bake a loaf of bread, which I hadn't done for a long time. I put the dough in the engine compartment which is just the right temperature for yeast to do its thing. 

Amazing, it rose so high it was scary!

Next I put it in the bread pan for next rising. Whoa, it was huge!
I then transferred it to our oven. Bad move in a flexible silicon bread tin. I thought it might fix itself up a bit in the oven - so much for thoughts.  

A more successful baking can be seen on a previous blog 
Baking Bread (seen as short movie at the end of this posting).




 We went ashore to get a closer look at the incredible rock sculptures. Layers of sedimentary rock of  varying hardness made these sandstone rocks look like they were wearing crazy hats and hairpieces. Other strange erosion had carved out lettering like 'I woz  here'.

Ian, gets hungry and feeds off the oysters. He shouldn't have refused that sandwich!

I still haven't got over my fascination with these jellyfish, commonly known as 'Blubberies'. These kept me and my camera occupied for days several years ago at Tin Can Bay. Click here to see.





Time to move on. Sydney landmarks glided by from a different angle than is usually seen.

Sydney Centrepoint Tower, surrounded by friends, greet us from behind the craggy coastline.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge playing peek-a-boo from behind towering cliffs.

Popular Bondi Beach needs to be included with these well known landmarks. 














We had been seeing multitudes of Short-tailed Shearwaters, commonly know as Muttonbirds. Between
the rocking of the boat and the swift flight of the birds, photography was difficult. However, persistence and plenty of time on hand, paid off and eventually, some acceptable photos emerged. 

A popular pastime around the Sydney coast is rock fishing. People seem to take it very seriously. You can see the dedication when you see a tent set up half way up the cliff.

Looking every bit as dangerous as the rock fishermen/women are the boat fishers. They've got to be kidding!

Maybe they were thinking the same thing about the mad yachties sailing past.

On we sailed, camera in one hand, helm in the other. Difficult to photograph Muttonbirds, harder to photograph Dolphins, easy to photograph Seagulls.

This is how real Seagulls feed. Off large schools of bait-chips in the ocean.

Incidentally, their real name is Silver Gulls. I made the mistake of calling them Seagulls once to an Ornithologist and was severely corrected.

Sydney slipped by. We were heading for Jervis Bay before the next southerly hit. Favourable northerlies turned furious several hours before our turnoff.

 I offered to take over the helm for a while so Ian could have a rest. No sooner had I taken over than a huge swell caused us to broach. With the wave breaking on us and the boat sideways, I thought we were gonners. Tough little Winkali didn't care though. She hung on and poor Ian didn't get a break. 

We entered Jervis Bay and now instead of having the northerlies behind us, we had to battle it head on.  Winds of 36k, waves whipped in a fury, it was man against the elements.

Dolphins which had been entertaining themselves at our bow, continued on with us. Ian was soaked, I was sheltering (well there was not much I could do at this stage apart from encouraging Ian) and the dolphins were having a wonderful time. The stronger the wind, the more furious the waves, the more the dolphins loved it. They would effortlessly glide along side the boat, roll to their side and fix us with their friendly eye and give us a happy smile. Then they would give a leap for joy. At one stage we almost had an extra passenger when one literally leaped over our bow.

Photography was out of the question, even for me at this point. The dolphins eventually left us as we battled our way into calmer waters.

Besides being a beautiful spot, Jervis Bay is a great haven for sheltering boats. We spent the first night on the north side, protected from the northerly wind. The following day, the weather forecast proved to be correct when it turned southerly.

Over to the other side for us. Lucky for us the wind didn't pick up too much at first. That gave us time to go ashore and replenish our food and water provisions as well as meeting up with Ian's daughter, Jessee who was visiting her friend, Gai. Gai lived in Woolongong but had grown up in Jervis Bay and was the perfect tour guide. Her Grandparents had owned the boatyard in Huskinson, and although it is no longer there, the site is of great historical importance to the area.

The wind picked up and we had to get back to the boat. There we sat out the weather and watched in dismay as the waves pounded the beach. Going ashore was out of the question. Only teenagers and dolphins can delight in these conditions and we watched the young ones (teenagers) surf near the boat ramp, where the best break was.

We watched as this little yacht
disappeared behind each swell, with the illusion of sinking.

Only to reappear against  a foaming backdrop of breaking waves.












As the winds died down somewhat, we were able to go ashore once again. While we waited for the ocean outside the bay to calm down enough for sailing, it was time to dust off the cameras.

I needed a subject and looked around. Now what could I photograph?  😊 

About 50 photos of foam and glassy waves later (I'll spare you the other 49) I found some more subjects.

Just what you always wanted to see - a fly. However, if you look closely, it appears to be feeding on a sand louse.

The beach is alive with these sand lice, which propel themselves with giant leaps. You have to be quick to photograph them because as soon as they land , they leap again. I soon outsmarted them by guessing where they were going to land, and then, 'snap', gotcha.

Eventually the swell died down and the winds turned favourable.
During our stay at Jervis Bay we had met Helene and Graham on Roo Bin Esque who were also on their way to Tassie and Steve on Aiko,  who was heading to Eden. 

With Eden being the last jump off point for us to Tas, we were all to meet up there. We have met some wonderful people while cruising and this trip is no exception. 

So, with kind winds and the promise of good company in Eden, we head off and say goodbye to the imposing Point Perpendicular at the entrance/ exit to Jervis Bay.

Storms and Delays

Another approaching storm blots out a sunset

Coffs Harbour is a pretty little town, which looks nothing like the last time I was here over 30 years ago. 

A safe sheltered beach nestles in the safe embrace of two breakwaters. A great spot enjoyed by many, from toddlers to adults, swimmers, kayakers and sun-bakers. It is also a great spot for mariners, seeking a sheltered anchorage.

There's an island called Muttonbird Is at the end of the northern breakwater. There is a popular walk up the steep slopes of this island for people wanting to see Muttonbirds - or to get fit. I prefer to think they are interested in the birds. The Muttonbirds (Shearwaters) fly over 15,000ks each year on their migration to breed. They use the same burrow to nest in and usually have the same mate. The young leave several weeks after the adults and only about half of them survive the first migration. 

We spent several days here, waiting for the southerlies to pass us by. The arrival of the southerlies occurred in the middle of the night (natures sense of humour).

 Ian, being a light sleeper, was woken by the boat being buffeted by the violent rocking motion of the boat. 
I slept. 
Ian checked that all was well outside. 
It wasn't. 
Ian woke me up (brave man).

We were dragging anchor, drifting ever nearer to the pier, which was a lot more robust than our boat. It was time to relocate a safer distance and throw a bit of extra anchor chain out.

I went back to bed and slept.
Ian went back to bed and didn't.

This rusty old trawler wasn't deterred by the wind warnings issued, while others, much more flash, stayed in the marina. 

He was probably taking advantage of the fact that there would be a prawn shortage for Xmas and he would get a good price for his catch. We felt sorry for his crew. The departure was accompanied by rain and crashes of thunder. 

We waited, shopped, did laundry and read, waiting for the weather to settle. We watched in awe as two racing yachts emerged to race just as another thunderstorm was gathering force. Considering there was only two contenders, it must have been an important race between them.

After four days, it was almost, but not quite right to leave. No, the best time was 1:00am so we could catch the right tide. Ian woke me about an hour and a half before we had to leave. Ggrrr!

The wind picked up from the north during the night and sped us to Port Macquarie by midday the following day.

It was two days before Christmas and a glorious sunny day.
People dotted the beaches against a backdrop of .... units. Well, I suppose you could appreciate them more if you was inside looking out.

Christmas eve was a different matter. 

The clouds came rolling in, menacing thunder rumbled in the distance and rain began to fall. 

People abandoned their evening stroll, with many seeking refuge in their tents, caravans and cabins, dotted along the foreshore. Outdoor Christmas festivities came to an end.


Like Christmas festivities, the run of bad weather had to come to an end as well. Several days later, the sun emerged as if it had never gone. 

Early morning on the Hastings River with Oyster beds in the background.

The boat dried out and we waited. What for, you might ask.
Well, it had so happened that Ian noticed that the Headsail was feeling very stiff as he wound it in coming in to Port Macquarie.
On inspecting it on Christmas eve, he found that the bearings had ceased. They needed replacing and everything was closed. The bearing would have to come from Sydney and we wouldn't be able to order it till the 2nd Jan. 

Lucky for us to be in Port Macquarie. It's a beautiful spot with the convenience of shops in walking distance from the shore, and plentiful taps for fresh water which is always an issue when living on a yacht. It also has an airport which is handy if you need to order an item and have it delivered pronto.

As well as these conveniences, we have friends living here on the beautiful North Shore. 

As well as the pleasure of catching up, it was good to have somewhere to shower. Washing on the boat is limited to bucket and flannel baths in the cockpit. It was also great to have a look around on land as Rob and Henma took us on several outings.

A kayaker paddling past North Shore with a dolphin swimming past

 The North Shore is a secluded area on the north bank of the Hastings River, only accessible by ferry which runs 24/7.  
Many dolphins patrol the river. Residents with homes on the riverside are often treated to seeing them cruising by.

Well, almost two weeks went by before we had the new bearing and Ian was able to fix the sail. We had almost constant northerly winds after the storms had abated and were ready to go. Unfortunately, a southerly had developed and we had to wait two more days for departure.

As was becoming a habit, we left just after midnight to arrive at Port Stephens the following afternoon. A day of rest and we should be right to leave in the morning.

Of course, I had to make a short movie of the storms we went through. 

To leave on a more pleasant note, here's a few photos I took during our stay.

Pelicans, cormorants and seagulls kept us amused. The Pelican and Cormorant seemed to keep constant company. I think that they formed a team when catching fish. In this instance the seagulls were trying to get in on the act with one of the gulls using the pelican as a good perch.

A Lace Monitor patrols the beach in search of ???? 

Winkali basks in the setting sun prior to another thunderstorm.
See main photo at the top.

CHEERS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Swift Sailing to Southport

Sunset over Tin Can Bay

As much as we love Tin Can Bay, we had spent time here in 2014 and we are getting impatient over our slow progress. 

We have let our comprehensive boat insurance lapse and downgraded to third party, as insurance costs skyrocket and risk is small.

Unfortunately, marinas which usually were happy to accept boats on third party insurance are now requiring comprehensive. We enjoyed our last two days of remaining comprehensive insurance at Tin Can Bay marina, and now it's all anchorages, unless the more southerly marinas aren't as strict. (For my non-yachting savvy friends - marinas are the nautical equivalent of caravan parks whereas an anchorage is the equivalent of a sheltered bush camp.)

So we edged out from the convenience of the marina with it's fancy flushing toilets, hot showers and coin laundry to the other side of the bay, which was sheltered and secluded and from which we could watch spectacular sunsets over Tin Can Bay.

From there we edged out further to Inskip Point from which a ferry takes 4WD vehicles the short distance to Fraser Is.

As you can see, it's all unsealed roads and fun, fun, fun. 

Inskip Point is a popular camping area where hundreds of campers get away to relax about 6 inches away from the next camper!

The sandy spit at the end was what interested us the most. From aboard Winkali, we had been watching hundreds of birds roosting on the spit and a spectacular sandbar at low tide.

We went ashore armed with cameras which had been gathering dust.

Thousands of Soldier Crabs disappeared into the wet sand as we approached. After many photos of wet sand and vanishing crabs, I managed to sneak up without scaring them away for a few shots.

Some amazing choreography went into the coordinated patterning on the sand flats of Inskip Point.








Tearing ourselves away from the distraction of the Soldier Crabs, we went after larger quarry - birds.

Thousands of migratory birds fly from the Arctic region each summer to fatten up on abundant food supplies in various areas of Australia. The Great Sandy Straits between Fraser Is and mainland, is one of these important areas. Unfortunately, migratory birds are in decline as strategic feeding areas along their migratory route are being destroyed by human activity.
Click here for further reading on migratory birds.

Lucky for us, there were many still to be seen and we feel privileged to be able to see them still. I worry that generations to come will have to rely on photos to see them.

Most of the waders were out on the sand bar but I managed to get close up to a few locals.

From L - R
Red-capped Plover
Crested Terns
Bar-tailed Godwit and
Common Sandpipers
Mistletoe Bird





Although we had resigned ourselves to waitings for several days at Inskip Point, we found ourselves off and sailing after only one night as the northerlies kicked in early.

It was about 150 nautical miles (or 277.8k) to Southport which meant an overnight sail. When there is a crew of only 2 on board, no-one gets much sleep so we were quite exhausted when we arrived at 1pm the following day.

Although we were prepared to drop anchor and get some much needed sleep, we had arrived in an area totally different to any other we had ever visited. Sleep was some hours away.

The Gold Coast is well known for its Theme Park attractions, fantastic surf beaches and wild night-life.

However, we were unprepared for the wild abandon on the Broadwater waterways. Every conceivable watercraft was to be found going flat out, every which way. Jet skis, boats, aeroplanes, paragliders and even a crazy guy in a futuristic jet pressure water suit sorted out the hopefuls who were sedately weaving their way through this mayhem while sitting for their boat license. 

This is best described through this short movie of our travels from Inskip Point to Southport. It ends with a special guest appearance from Boston, our grand-dog who stayed with us for the weekend with Jess (Ian's daughter who wouldn't let me take her photo).

Well, we are now at Coffs Harbour after another fantastic sail and another overnighter. Southerlies are forcing us to rest here a couple of days till a northerly change which will hopefully arrive by Saturday.

Then it's off to Port Macquarie :)

Slow Boat to Tin Can Bay

Cyclone Debbie victim

 We finally found a small weather window which came in the form of easing south-easterlies. We took this opportunity to set sail as we felt that we had stalled before the trip had really started.

It turned out that the winds hadn't eased enough but we were committed, so after a couple of days of battling opposing winds, along with the obligatory tacking, we finally made it to Gloucester Is. 

Gloucester Is is about 30km North West of Airlie, which was at the epicentre of Cyclone Debbie earlier this year.

It was here that we found the first evidence of that destructive cyclone. It came in the form of Tateyama Maru (above picture).

Ian googled up the Tateyama Maru and came up with an interesting story. Apparently the owner tried to quickly insure the boat when Cyclone Debbie was imminent. The insurance company required a survey before they would insure (which is normal for any boat). As the owner had neither the time nor the funds to do this, he quickly tried to give the boat away to government maritime agencies. Of course, they didn't want it either. The result was that it washed up on Bona Bay, Gloucester Is.

We rested for a day at Gloucester. It is a beautiful island with turquoise waters and a sandy beach. We went for a walk and Ian ignored the beach and led me straight into a swamp. It was supposed to be a short cut to another sandy beach (better perhaps?).


We battled the swamp for a while, till we decided the first beach was pretty good and eventually, found our way back.

Picnic shed after Cyclone Debbie 

Here we found more relics of Cyclone Debbie. Ian was off on a mission as there was a fair bit of 'treasure' washed up in the corner of the beach.

Ian searches for exactly the right treasure.

While Ian was doing his thing, I looked for some wildlife to photograph. The most prolific wildlife, which wasn't too shy to be seen, were March-flies.

I captured this one as he landed on my backpack, possibly sampling it for blood. I knew I was next in line for the sample - RIP March-fly.





Back on the boat, Ian proceeded to make much mess with his treasure and a drill.

As it turned out, he was making a present for me!

Ian tries it out to make sure it's safe.

It can sometimes become a little awkward transferring from the dinghy to the boat. A helpful step goes a long way to preserving my dignity, especially when the water is a bit choppy :)







One day's sail from Gloucester Is took us to Airlie. The damage from Cyclone Debbie was a lot less than I expected. A clean up well done and you had to look hard for any evidence.

The weather hasn't been too kind to us this trip. We have often had to wait in sheltered anchorages for the weather to ease up a bit. The Bureau of Meteorology has been a bit out with its predictions and we have been caught up in some weather which we would have preferred to sit out. Well, I can see an analogy here with life in general. Ha, it's the tough times that make us appreciate the good times more.

We're in Tin Can Bay at the moment, waiting for the go-ahead from the Bureau of Meteorology. Thursday should be good!

I'll leave you with a short movielett of some of the sailing conditions we had.

A New Adventure - To Tasmania

Well it's been 3 years and 8 months since our last cruising adventure and poor Winkali has been sitting idle for most of that time with only the very occasional short trip since then.

It's finally time to dust her off and go cruising - to Tasmania.

We left Port Douglas on 1 November for the first leg of the trip which took us to Townsville. Winkali was due her 2 yearly haul out for a bit of maintenance. Sailing was quite uneventful with calm seas, meaning we had to motor most of the way. 

We had a bit of a hiccup as we left Orpheus Is when Ian noticed a bubble in the hose leading from the water pump. Worried that it might burst and leave us motorless, we headed back to Orpheus Is to the safety of a mooring.

On closer inspection, the bubble seemed 
to a result of corrosion on the metal pipe to which the hose was attached. The following day we had fair winds in which to sail which brought us closer to Townsville. From there we were confident the hose would hold out and we weren't disappointed.

Travel lift awaits

Now hauling a yacht out for maintenance is always an interesting thing. First up we manoeuvre into a u-shaped enclosure where a travel lift awaits.

Two giant slings are then carefully (we hope) placed into position under our boat so as to lift it without tipping the boat out. Incidentally, we are still on board as we haven't had a chance to get off yet. You can see Ian standing at the bow.

Winkali is carefully lifted out of the water.

The travel lift then drives forward far enough so Ian and I can step off the bow onto land.






Winkali is then lifted high into the air to clear the dock.

From there she is taken onto dry land where she is lowered so all the growth and sludge can be guerneyed (high pressure hose). Ian kindly offered to take a photo of me doing it, however, OHS rules mean that we stand and watch while someone else does it for us 😊.




From there she is parked and propped up so we can work on her. 

I dressed up as a marshmallow and did the painting.

Ian dressed up as a tradie and did the mechanics.





We both worked very hard and completed our work within two days and were ready to be set back in the water first thing on Friday.

Unfortunately, strong winds arrived which made it unadvisable to launch without risk. Not wanting to damage the paintwork, and the rest of the boat under the paint, we decided to delay. This meant having to wait till Monday as all the workers around here have weekends off. How inconvenient!!





Might as well make the most of it and get the washing dry. Winkali becomes a clothes line for the day.




Winkali is ready to sail and we have three days to kill, so I google up the 10 best things to do around Townsville (for free).

Number 1 is to go to the top of Castle Hill, the only hill in Townsville. 
We have the choice to drive up there or to walk the Goat Track. Since we don't have a car . . . . . Mmaaaaa.

It's a fair old walk from the boat yard to town which is the starting point. We time it perfectly for walking in the hottest part of the day.

Castle Hill against the backdrop of high-rise units

We have already walked 3.5k to get to this point. Another couple of ks should get us to the base.

Getting closer

At last, the beginning

It's steep

The view from the top made it all worth while.







We even befriended an unsuspecting tourist so she could take a photo of us. We had to abandon her later though as she was too fast for us.

Now google hadn't listed our next major activity in the top 10. As a matter of fact, I don't even think google knows about this place!

Well, it's not a secret that Ian and I like nothing better than to go poking around swamps with our cameras, and our boat yard was located right next to a lovely tidal mangrove swamp. 

Tides out. Perfect!

This is what we found:

An enormous mudskipper, with an old man face.

A Great Egret eating an enormous mudskipper.

A Royal Spoonbill, looking for a mudskipper.

A Reef Egret fleeing from a mudskipper.

More small mudskippers, with a weird periscopic fin on their backs which they erected when they got aggressive.

These little ones were extremely territorial and would erect their fin and go at anything which stood in their way, even crabs. 

Ian emerges safely from the mangroves.







Well, fingers crossed. Tomorrow is Monday and we are hoping to get back into the water first thing in the morning. It's still windy, but it should ease off over night.

As I have already covered most of Queensland in previous blogs, I won't bore you too much by going over old stuff.