Departing Yamba marina & associated channel was less fraught, as was crossing the bar outbound on the second half of the flood. A good breeze and our ever-helpful East Aussie Current had us making a steady 8 kts SOG which made short work of the 60 nm to Coffs Harbour.
The only incident of note being a visit by a large pod of extremely frisky dolphins, including some youngsters that became increasingly friendly (belly up) under the bow until 'clunk', the falling bow connected with one. A single "Squeak!", and the entire pod vanished in the blink of an eye. Hopefully without any serious injury.
Coffs' famous Big Banana
Our Friday night supper at Coffs was a fish & chip takeaway from the local cafe - a treat we'd been discussing all day as the alternative to actually catching the promised tuna. Or mahi-mahi, or anything frankly. Also nice to receive a visit from more of Matt's family, who appear to be spread in their hundreds throughout the eastern seaboard!
The plan was to spend the weekend here, but the weather had other ideas. The forecast was shaping up for a spell of strong southerlies, which would trap us in port for 5 days. We could either weather the shift in Coffs Harbour (and after the Big Banana, there ain't a lot to do there) or bite the bullet and depart immediately for an overnight all the way to Newcastle. A quick check with the crew and we agreed we'd go for it.
Slowing down by this stage...
We just had to wrest Matt back from the bosom of his family (sorry, Matt) and refuel, which involved a couple of hours' delay after a queue of trawlers and a Police launch. Then we were off for the 200 nm hop down the coast to Newcastle.
Welcome to Newcastle
The welcoming 'Destiny'
(marking Newcastle's
bi-centennial)
About 7 nm off the coast we found the EAC, with the sea temp shooting up from 19 to 25 degs C. And for hour after hour we enjoyed a 'magic carpet' ride of 10-11 kts SOG. This was whilst motor-sailing at 5-6 kts. No surprise then, that we covered the 200 nm in 24 hrs, allowing birthday-boy Steve at the helm to playfully beat the last few miles into harbour in beautiful sunshine.
Arrival alongside at Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (NCYC) was snag-less, well in time for the next day's celebration of Australia Day, and to take Steve out for his Thai birthday dinner. Happy 52nd, Steve!
Sadly, Chris had to disembark the next day, to ensure he didn't miss a long weekend of racing on Sydney harbour with his regular boat. He saw us off as we slipped away early to catch the flood over the Ballina bar (snag-less) and the next flood for our entry into the Clarence River at Yamba.
Entrance to the Clarence River
Once again the East Australian current sped us southward at a rate of knots, and resulted in an early arrival at the bar. So again we had a decision to make: hold off for a couple of hours or suck it and see. Yep, we had a look - and another chat with the nice man at Marine Rescue Yamba/Iluka - and chose the latter option. It would be nice to be alongside at Yamba marina in time for an explore ashore.
All went fine until well inside the protection of the sea walls when a converging swell broke under the stern and had our 15t yacht surfing at 15 kts - quite an exciting ride...!
So near and yet so far...
But the excitement wasn't to end there. Oh no.
Now we had to negotiate the channel up to Yamba marina close to low tide. A quick call to the marina office posed the question: "Anything to watch out for when approaching at this tide with a 2.2 m draft?"
"Not at all!" came the confident reply. "Just follow the leads and you'll be fine.". OK then, no problem - let's give it a go.
With inches under the keel as we rounded Dart Island at the entrance to Yamba Channel, there remained a sneaking suspicion that it was only a matter of time before we found mud, but then the depths improved and we followed the lead-in marks successfully, as instructed. As far as they went.
Chart-plotter picture
The final 1/4 nm into the trawler harbour and marina has only two marks: a red and a green. Joining the two saw us aground about 100 m short of the entrance. Almost immediately an anonymous voice came on #16: "You don't want to be there..." (probably from one of the trawlers). As if that wasn't patently obvious!
Yeah, yeah...
One of the trawler skippers kindly offered to haul us off, but that would very likely lead to tears, ripped-out cleats and the like. Best just to sit it out (we have touched mud before, after all) and wait for a re-float on the tide. As if to confirm this decision, the heavens now opened so we lay an anchor for the re-float and retired to the saloon.
Almost 3 hrs later we were alongside at Yamba marina. Somewhat later than hoped, but still in good time for sun-downers. We felt we deserved them!
[Footnote: Everyone we talked to knew about this shallow patch except the marina office staff. The trick is, apparently, to steer from the last red mark direct for the trawler berths, then hug the trawlers into the marina. The marina manager knows this too, but when we suggested that a mark be laid (or re-laid; the older charts show 2 special marks in this area), he shrugged and said that was the responsibility of the Department of Roads & Maritime Services. Frankly, even a couple of strategically placed crab pots would do the trick, if they had yellow buoys attached. 0/10 for effort...]
We anchored at the Gold Coast for a couple of nights near Seaworld, in the cut known as the Marine Stadium (or Bum's Bay), but again couldn't entice the crew into the beautiful clear water for a quick hull scrub. Sharks again, ho hum. By now we'd also discovered that Charles didn't know how to cook, and his hands were allergic to washing up liquid. Hohoho hum...
Choosing to press on in the fair weather, we finally returned to open ocean through the Gold Coast Seaway, set sail and quickly caught a nice big mahi-mahi. Supper!
I need a sharper knife!
We rounded Point Danger (thus leaving Queensland waters) then Cape Byron (easternmost point on the Ozzy mainland) and quickly covered the 60 nm down the coast to Ballina, but arrived a tad early to cross the bar at the mouth of the Richmond River.
These rivermouth bars are formed by the northward migration of the sand and can be treacherous in the wrong conditions, such as when >2 m ocean swells break over the bar. Or simply at the wrong phase of the tide, when the ebb can compound the river's natural flow and trigger even larger breakers.
Ballima entrance
We wanted to follow the standard advice, which is to cross the bar at least 3 hrs into the flood: say 1800. No strike that - we're now in New South Wales so the clocks have to change (strangely) - make that 1900.
However, Steve & Jo were due to meet us in Ballina and had already arrived and scoped out a berthing opportunity on the town quay near the RSL, so perhaps we could try a couple of hours earlier?
Beer-battered mahi-mahi
We sailed past on a recce fly-by and all seemed well, with breakers only really effecting the SE quadrant; we would come in from the NE then hug the northern breakwater. The nice chap from Marine Rescue Ballima, looking out over the entrance from their watch-tower, seemed to agree but hedged his bets with a "Decision made by the skipper at his own risk". Thanks, got that.
So we dropped the main, donned life-jackets (by law for bar-crossing in QLD & NSW) and flew in under motor and Genoa.
Snag-less. We were safely alongside by 1800, and enjoying our DIY beer-battered fish supper by sundown. Yum!
Courtesy of Cruising the Coral Coast by Alan Lucas
Connecting Moreton Bay to the Gold Coast is a maze of islands and waterways commonly referred to as The Broadwater route, which allows passage inside of both North and South Stradbroke Islands.
Much like the passage inside Fraser Island, probably the most famous of these sand islands, a yacht with 2.2 m draft can make it through safely enough by taking care with navigation, buoyage and the tides.
With high tide at about 0900 on the day of our departure from Manly, it meant a dawn start and a 2-day passage, anchoring off Karragarra Island for the overnight.
Doh!!!
Joining us for the trip was Chris Mallet (he loves these tight passages) who flew in to Brisbane to join us at Manly. Then we were off at first light, unfortunately under very overcast skies. We weren't going to be able to see any shallow water - if we got it wrong, the first we'd know of it would be a rapid deceleration!
The first day was short and sweet, with us anchored safely just north of Karragarra Island a little after 0930. Not far from a sunken ketch, placed just short of our anchorage, as if to remind us what happens when you get it wrong!
Chilli supper
Surrounded by a plague of jelly fish (and the ever-present threat of sharks, or so Matt would tell us), it proved impossible to get the crew in the water for a badly-needed hull scrub, so the only other thing to do was... yep, go back to bed! Later, a spicy chilli and a movie (Cape Horn, of course) was followed by another early night, ready for a quick getaway in the morning.
The next day we rode the flood, then the ebb through mostly mangrove-covered islands looking uncannily like parts of the Mississippi...
Broadwater or Mississippi...?
Until finally the sun started to come out as we approached the Gold Coast, allowing views of the towering skyscrapers of Surfers Paradise well to the south. From the sublime to the ridiculous...
After the Xmas break, Aussie Matt and South African Charles joined the crew, and we departed Mooloolaba on 15 Jan headed for Moreton Bay. First stop: Tangalooma Wrecks on Moreton Island - quite a sight!
Intended as a breakwater, the old barges & flatboats were sunk here in the 60's and offer an amazing opportunity for snorkeling and shallow diving. But they don't really provide a lot of shelter when it blows fresh out of the NW, as possible that night, so we stopped only long enough to clean the prop before heading for the Brisbane River. No snorkeling though; fear of sharks kept the new crew on the boat!
Harlequin anchored near left
This change of plan had us fighting the ebb for most of the 12 nm motor up the river, actually arriving at our intended mooring off the Botanic Gardens in the dark. And, as feared, there were no free moorings to be had. Too good a location, and too cheap to be available except on the remotest chance. Oh well, let's anchor in the dark, and try and keep out of the way of all the high-speed ferries!
Brisbane CBD
Dawn brought lovely bright weather, ideal conditions in which to enjoy the views from our unique anchorage. We couldn't leave Harlequin unattended, though, so took it in turns to explore: the boys first for their Friday night run ashore!
Only a temporary anchorage, so after just 2 nights we weighed anchor and slipped down the river again (past some lovely riverside properties, it must be said) headed for Manly marina, located close to the river-mouth.
Brissie ferries, old & new
Manly is reputed to be the biggest yacht harbour in the southern hemisphere and holds several marinas; we went for East Coast Marina, supposedly the most 'cruiser-friendly'. Which is certainly true, if a little difficult to locate one's berth amongst a maze of marinas and docks.
Reversing into our berth was tricky, given the wind direction and the tight berth. And a little off-putting was having a Marine Police RIB follow us in, filming all the way! One of the Police Officers met us as we arrived (no, he didn't assist with the lines) and invited the skipper to attend with all paperwork and be breathalyzed. I didn't think my boat handling was that bad!
I wasn't alone, several other skippers were being tested as well. So let this be a lesson that they are taking their drink-boating rules very seriously in Queensland! And no, I hadn't been drinking...
