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