Fun & games in Yamba

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...]