Sail Home to Pittwater

17^th October 2017

Time for the last leg of our journey, an overnight sail back to Pittwater. At our long term average speed of 6.3 knots we expect it will take us 24hours.

High tide at Camden Haven is 7.43am, and there is a NE swell which will make the entrance a bit bumpy, so we waited till 7am to raise our anchors, so that the tidal flow is greatly reduced, but still coming in.

There was plenty of water under us in the river with 1.1m under us at the lowest point and not too much incoming current to push against. The swell offshore is 1.5 to 2m, and it is very rolly at the entrance, so we patiently climbed our way up over one steep swell after another until we were over the bar and into deeper water.  It was slow progress and we had put our mainsails up in the river so just had to take it easy till we were out. The breeze was ESE and already blowing at around 15 knots.

We had put a single reef in the main, assuming that the forecast would probably be understated, as it has been recently.

Once clear of Point Perpendicular, we were able to set our course and had a beam reach all of the way to Seal Rocks in 15-20 knots of ESE Breeze. We made very good time averaging around 7.5 knots for this leg shaving about 2 hours of our estimated time.

Once around the Cape, we had the wind behind us, and the headsail came in. We were quickly up over 7 knots and the wind increased to 25 knots. Our peak speed was 12.4 knots, but  the sea conditions were not pleasant, with a predominant swell from NE and a secondary swell from the South. The seas were well over 3 m in places. It was particularly unpleasant off Port Stephens, but settled once we were abeam of Newcastle.

We sailed for 18 hours, only needing some engine assistance for the last 3 hours when the wind had dropped, and thankfully so had the seas. We rounded Barrenjoey at 3.30 am, and were comfortably on a mooring at Coasters Retreat by 4am. Run to Paradise arrived about 20 mins later.from lifting our anchor in Camden Haven River to tying up to a mooring at coasters took us exactly 21 hours.

We had a stiff drink and went to bed, glad to be home.

Last Day in Laurieton

Monday 16^th October 2017

It is our final day in Laurieton, so we are getting our boats ready to leave in the morning. We only need a few basic provisions from the supermarket, so a quick visit ashore solves that.

There has been some chafing of the reefing line where is passes through the ring on the leech of the sail for the first reef, so I take the opportunity to raise the sail in the light morning breeze and remove the chafed portion by shortening the line, pulling it through and retying the new section to the boom.

Our last planned activity at Laurieton is to have some fresh seafood for lunch at the Laurietion Fisherman’s Co-op. As we go ashore, there are some local fishermen cleaning fish on the tables near the waterfront and they have quite an audience of hungry pelicans waiting for the spoils.

Waiting Patiently

There is a bit of a brawl when the carcase is thrown in the water

We met up with Rob and Marg at the jetty, armed with some chilled white wine, for a short walk to the co-op along the riverfront.

Fresh local oysters are available, so we shared 6 each whilst we considered the rest of the offering. To my amazement, they had coral trout on the menu, and I didn’t need to look any further. The best fish and chips I have had for a very long time.

Enjoying our seafood at the fish co-op

After a relaxing lunch, we went back to the jetty, agreed plans to leave at around 7am tomorrow morning, and both headed back to our boats to get dinghies back on board and preparations in place for departure tomorrow.

Run to Paradise has moved off the jetty, out to one of the courtesy moorings which had become available to make their escape in the morning a bit easier. Getting off the jetty on your own in an easterly can be challenging.

Market Day at Laurieton

Sunday 15^th October 2017

After a great nights sleep in very still waters we have pretty much caught up on our sleep deficit. It is another peaceful day on the river and it looks like we may enjoy some sunshine today.

It is market day in Laurieton, and we have organized to meet Rob and Marg at the jetty at 9am, to walk around to the park area near the VMR where the market tents are just visible from our anchorage.

A short walk from the jetty along the water front delivers us to the market area. It is much bigger than any of us expected, with lots of market stalls and a great variety of good quality produce, handicrafts, goods and food outlets. It is one of the best markets we have been to and is very well supported.

We both ended up buying quite a bit of stuff including fresh fruit, processed meats and some magic medicinal potions ?

Rob and Marg can't resist the egg and bacon rolls

To walk through the entire market area keeps us entertained for a few hours, before heading back down the main street for a well earned cup of coffee. The coffee shop was also quite busy, and whilst we were enjoying our brew, some friends of Rob and Marg walked in and joined us. They are also yachties and members of CCCA, but are on a road trip, on their way home to Tasmania from Townsville. They had been watching Run to Paradise on Marine Traffic, so knew that they were in town. By sheer chance, they managed to find the coffee shop we were in.

After coffee we headed back to our boats with a pan to meet for dinner at one of the local Chinese restaurants, The Jade Garden. 

Mid afternoon I took the jerry cans ashore in the dinghy to fill them up for the trip home. There is a service station about 4 blocks up from the waterfront, walking through the area where the market was this morning. Once ashore I loaded them on to my trolley and went up to fill them, haul them back to the dinghy and motor back to Mica.

We reconvened with Marg and Rob at 6.30pm, for a short walk to the Jade Garden. It turned out to be a very good Chinese meal, with generous serves that somehow we managed to devour. It was also BYO, so it was a cheap night out for a very good meal.

It looks like the decision has been made to leave here Tuesday morning when the wind is east and heading NE. The weather and seastate window is narrow to get back to Pittwater, so it looks like another overnighter.

Peacefully at anchor in the Camden Haven River

Saturday 14^th October 2017

Once the anchor was down, it was time to get a few hours sleep, after which we had a cooked breakfast and got the dinghy in the water so we could go ashore to stretch our legs. It is an overcast day in Laurieton, with mist hanging around the Brother mountains and regular patches of rain through the day.

After going ashore and tying our dinghy up at the wharf near the RSL, we went for a walk around the town running into Rob and Marg on the way home from their walk. The town hasn’t changed much, if anything, it looks a little less prosperous than when we were last here.

The Welcoming Party were waiting for us at the wharf

We had a very good cup of coffee at one of the nice little coffee shops down near the old theatre, before walking down to the Fisherman’s Co-op. The fresh local seafood looks good and warrants a trip back for lunch one day whilst we are here.

Laurieton Fish Co-op (note the Pelican on the light pole top right)

The “fleet” of boats on the pile berths near the co-op is looking a bit tired, but there are some bargains for renovators !

Walking back along the riverside toward the RSL, we saw a sign that there will be a market on tomorrow morning, apparently in the park near the VMR. That should help fill in tomorrow morning. We went into the RSL to get a key for the shower and toilet facilities that they make available to visiting yachties., and then on to check out the other end of town.

There is a good sized Coles supermarket where we bought some fresh bread and a few salad vegetables before heading back to Mica for lunch and another rest. We have arranged to meet Rob and Marg at the RSL for dinner. As we go ashore at around 5.30pm, there is a large wedding party getting photographs taken on the wharf before also heading up to the RSL for the wedding reception. Naturally, club was buzzing, filled with a large wedding party as well as the normal Saturday night crowd. We found  a quiet corner for a predinner drink well away from the crowd.

  

Dinner was good RSL fare, and we were all ready for an early night to catch up on our sleep deprivation after last nights sail. We are all very happy to be sitting in such a peaceful anchorage and a good nights sleep is assured.

Mica at anchor in the Camden Haven River

The Long Way to Camden haven

Friday 13^th October 2017

Obviously when we set out this morning we failed to note that is was Friday 13^th !

We left the marina at 5am with a plan to get to Camden Haven at around 5pm, just after the high tide. Previous trips had been done in 11 hours, and Dalwhinnie did it yesterday in 10.25 hrs, so we reckoned we had it covered.

The forecast was for a light South Westerly, turning SE , then E and NE from around Smoky Cape. Seas were forecast to be around 1-1.5 meters.

What we actually experienced was a stubborn Southerly blowing 10-15 knots, and very ugly seas, with short period steep waves. This severely retarded our progress. Run to Paradise had left 30 minutes before us and were making even harder work of it.

About 4 hours into the trip it was clear we were not going to get to Camden Haven in time for a suitable tide for crossing the bar, and we were getting pretty tired of getting bounced around in the sea making only slow forward progress.

After assessing the alternatives, we reckoned we could get to Port Macquarie in time for a marginal bar crossing, or could pull into Trial Bay, drop anchor, and wait for things to settle down and complete our journey to Camden Haven tonight in time to cross the bar at 6am on Saturday.

This was our preferred option, and by 11am, we had the anchor down, and were sitting in relative tranquility , enjoying the displays the many whales in the bay were providing for us. Run to Paradise arrived 30 mins later and also anchored for a rest.

Run to Paradise anchored at Trial Bay

We are anchored in behind Laggers Point with good shelter from anything from the South or East

The bay is full of whales who swim very close to the anchored boats

The wind has gone East and promises to go NE, (observations at Port Macquarie already show the wind direction as NE). We will venture back out at around 8.30pm, and hopefully find better conditions. In any case we have built in a fair safety margin in the transit time, so we can just slow down if we are doing too well. There could be a bit of rain also.

With the weather being so unsettled at the moment and the forecasters using dartboards, we could be in Camden Haven for a few days.

Run to Paradise jumped the gun and were raising their anchor at just before 7pm, worried that their underpowered engine may not get them to Camden Haven in time for the tide, not knowing what the conditions were like back out on the high seas. We pulled ours up an hour later, a bit earlier than planned but we can always slow down.

Once back out around Smoky Cape and on our rhumb line to Camden Haven, it was like getting back into the washing machine, but not as bad as our earlier trip. Miraculously the East Coast Current is now running in our direction at around 3 knots, and the engine is barely ticking over and we are doing 6 knots. Slowing down may not be as easy as we first thought. The fast flowing current is obviously contributing to these ugly seas when there is a bit of wind against it. The wind has now gone east alleviating the sloppy seas a little.

For most of the night the weather was well behaved, but by the time we reached Port Macquarie (we almost had the anchor out now trying to slow down), there was plenty of thunder and lightening, and as we got closer to Camden Haven, the winds increased to 15-20 knots, from the SE and it started to rain. It was not yet sunrise, so we had to waste a bit of time before going through the bar as soon as there was sufficient light to see at around 6 am.

By the time we got down the river to the anchorage off the RSL, it was still raining, and the 2 moorings and jetty were already occupied and there were a few other boats anchored in the river. We were fortunate that a large motor boat decided to leave as we arrived, so we anchored where they were (which was pretty much where we anchor whenever we come here).

It is hard to believe it is blowing like hell outside with rough seas

Run to Paradise arrived about 20 minutes later, just in time to take a spot on the jetty that had just been vacated by a catamaran.

Run to Paradise tied up at the Jetty