Navigating by Google Earth

A small aside, for those who haven't heard of the Google Earth plug-in available for chart-plotters such as OpenCPN, which is the laptop nav program we use at our nav station. It's free to download, as are many of the charts, depending on where you are in the world.

Here is a pic' of our plotter, as we dangled on the mooring waiting for the Swansea bridge to open. To be followed by a spot of pretty tight navigation/pilotage between sand banks - a prime use for the GE plug-in. It shows the GE window with present position indicated; the GE window view moves and scales automatically with the main OpenCPN chart picture...

GE plug-in for OpenCPN

We also found it very useful in places like Fiji where the charts are inaccurate and out of date. Coral grows swiftly in these areas! Often GE was the only nav aid we had there, besides the Mk I Eyeball, with someone up the mast, sitting on the first spreader.

If you expect to be out of coms, and therefore off-line, you can even scan an area in advance then save the GE cache for use later. Again, we've used this technique successfully and would recommend it in out-of-the-way areas with poor chartage. An on-line article here describes it, courtesy of Yachting World and Rory Garland aboard SV Soggy Paws.

The program SAS.Planet is also discussed, of which we have no experience, but will be experimenting later...

Lake Macquarie

Lake Macquarie

Leaving Newcastle for Sydney, it was never our intention to visit Lake Macquarie.

The pilot notes and chart for the approach through the Swansea Channel just seemed a little daunting, with shifting sandbanks and incomplete dredging v's our 2.2 m draft. Best to get a local pilot they suggest - so why bother? I took a ride down there on 'The Beast' to check it out, and watched a yacht having fun and games as they convincingly snagged the mooring line around keel & rudder in the fast-flowing current at the bridge. Hmmm...

Swansea Channel

Then a chance conversation with a couple of locals at the NCYC seemed to suggest otherwise. They were now using a different, more effective dredger and, perhaps more importantly, a different dredging technique (removing the dredged sands completely), so the channel should be "no problem" at high tide. OK then.

Further investigation raised the question of which high tide. One has to cross the outer bar (actually a projecting coal seam) at local high tide obviously, then wait for a spell on one of the public moorings short of the bridge for one of the scheduled opening times.

But no rush, since high tide at the other end of the channel, one of the shallowest parts known as "The Dropover" into Lake Macquarie, occurs 3 hrs later than at the entrance! The lake has a very small tidal range, and simply empties through the narrow channel until about half tide, when it starts to re-fill. Varying slightly with actual lake levels due recent rainfall, barometric pressure, etc.

All went well on the day, never seeing less than 2 or 3 feet under the keel, which is just as well since, riding the flood, the boat was making 4 kts - even motoring at min RPM for steerage. Getting the navigation (mostly pilotage) wrong would result in riding up onto a sandbank a fair distance, at that speed!

Harlequin track, to and from the bridge

After a short but windy passage from Newcastle, and the concentration through the channel (solo on this leg), bursting out into the huge salt-water lake (Australia's largest) was like arriving in a different world.

The sun was shining, fishermen were everywhere (many jigging for squid), speedboats flew by with screaming kids on boogy-boards and doughnuts, yachts cruised more sedately past, everyone smiling and waving, having a whale of a time. And we nearly missed this!

Catalina memorial

First night we anchored off the WWII flying boat ramps at Rathmines (with all their history) then moved up to Marmong Point marina to collect Sue, inbound by train to Booragul station.

And so followed a week of exploring the various nooks and crannies of the northern (and deepest) half of the lake, sometimes at anchor but often overnighting at the public piers - not a problem, it seemed in the post-school holiday off season. Also alongside at the RMYC, Toronto, and even one night at the Wangi Wangi Workers Club pier. What a brilliant name!

Just chillin'...

Bottom line: thoroughly recommended, and I wouldn't let the Swansea Channel put anyone off visiting the lovely Lake Macquarie...

Newcastle

Various kayak trips exploring the harbour

Newcastle's NCYC was the perfect spot to secure Harlequin for a while. In fact, it turned out to be a month!

Marking time for a spell, the town offered a wide variety of shops, services, entertainment, sights, history, some excellent surf beaches and possibly the world's best ice-cream to be found outside Italy, at Kiwi Waffle 'n Cones on Zaara Street. You've got to try it and see.

The Beast

We also invested in a couple of fold-up bikes to explore further afield, and are kicking ourselves for not doing so earlier. They were perfect for exploring far & wide in the beautiful summer weather.

Finally, the loan of a monster BMW 1200LT motorbike made transport even easier. But not having ridden a motorbike in years - and never anything as large as this beast - one had to try very hard not to drop it! In fact that's what the huge bike became known as: 'The Beast'!

Nuff chat. Let the pictures tell the story...

A wet Aussie Day...

with pipe bands...

and Dad's Army!

Jo loves her ice-cream

Beaches closed for sharks

Yumm!

Welcome to Port Newcastle

Colin & Glenda visit

Wreck walk

Nobby's Head

Marlin catch

Newcastle cathedral

     And finally...

Then...

...and now.

Ocean life video

Here's a brief switch away from Harlequin's adventures..

We're so often amazed by the awesome (sic) moments we experience travelling the seas & oceans, but find impossible to capture on film. This video does it so well...