At first light we were ready to go, and departed from Coasters Retreat at 6.30am, with low expectations of any decent sailing breeze.
Fog hanging over Great Mackerel Beach and Lion Island indicate how much wind there is
It was pretty flat water on Pittwater and not too bumpy at the entrance to Broken Bay. It was looking like we will be motoring most of the way, but have the mainsail ready to go up should a favourable breeze come our way. It was simply a matter of turning on the autopilot and enjoying the scenery.
Sunrise as we pass Barrenjoey Head
For the first half of the trip we made good time in sloppy but not uncomfortable seas. We had a keen lookout for whales etc, but we had seen nothing until just past Norah Head when we spotted this lonely seal sunbathing.
The seas increased a bit from Norah Head and slowed our progress, but we were still doing over 6 knots (motoring). As we got closer to Newcastle the forecast NE wind started building and , in combination with an adverse current slowed us further to around 4.5 knots. We had just enough angle to carry a headsail and motorsail. This got us back up to 6.5 knots, but was forcing us inshore and we furled it in just off Nobbys beach so we could head back out to clear the breaking waves near the Southern seawall. A ship decided to enter the port at the same time as us, so we had to divert and follow them in.
A trawler was hot on our tail with what appeared to be a good catch. He stopped in the middle of the harbour to clean or sort some of it and the pelicans were most grateful.
We were in our berth at the Newcastle Yacht Club by 3.15pm, and the wind was now really starting to strengthen. By 5pm, the skies were starting to look ominous and it was blowing pretty hard from the NE. I am glad we arrived earlier.
After a casual dinner at the yacht club, we were ready for an early night. There is much speculation about the weather over the next few days. We will keep an eye on the ever changing forecasts and make our decisions as they firm up. Current plan is to leave on Sunday, depending on the weather.
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