NSW Coast: Jervis Bay anchorage



Jervis bay is about 120nm north of Eden and so a reasonable 24 hour run up the coast.  With fair winds and weather we sailed into the bay with plenty of light and sunshine.  Just on the port side of the entrance are four public moorings, great for passage stopovers and just around far enough to be sheltered from the ocean. 

After a short relax on the mooring here we decided whilst it was pleasant and sheltered there would be some lovely beach anchorages further round.  We spotted another public mooring further along and it was free! so ten minutes later we were tied up at Murry's beach. 

Anchorages seem to have there own character and this spot was exceptional for spending the evening.  I often wonder why it is so inspiring to be on the water and this spot reminded me why.

Hobart: Constitution Dock and Sandy Bay anchorage

A few pictures of Hobart.  We spent some time here over the summer, from January until April in fact.  Fortunately we chose the best summer ever, one local described it as 'the summer we will talk about in twenty years time' and for sure we were spoilt with only a handful of rainy days in the whole of our stay.

It is also described as 'Australia's best kept secret' although that is a term coined for just about everywhere in Australia where tourism is needed.  After four months here though I tend to agree it is an amazing place to visit and stay.  We kept bumping into people with the same story. they came for a short visit, bit of work or sailing or visiting friends and twenty years later they had never got around to leaving.  I can easily understand why as there is just something about it, the scenery maybe reminds me of the UK, the buildings are reminiscent of English towns not surprisingly.  The people I sense are living with less energy on themselves and with more interest in others, relaxed and happy.  Of course with only 300,000 people in Hobart  the pressures of life are less than a big city and the whole feel is one of a town rather than a city. 

Of course to yachties arriving by boat then the main port of focus is Hobart.  On arrival we headed here and spent a week in the Constitution Dock relaxing, drinking coffee and going to the various pubs and cafes in Salamanca.  The market at the weekend is also worth a visit.  The port authority charge by the week only and you need to call several hours ahead and ask for the bridge to be opened into the dock.  We used VHF and they also are on the phone. 

It is obvious that the walls to the port and starboard as you go in are going to be the quietest as the far side is next to a busy main road. 

It was strange as when we called the office originally they said that living aboard was not allowed in the dock anymore.  We went in anyway, preparing to explain we were cruisers visiting the island for some weeks.  On chatting to the various local boats it felt as if there was some effort to restrict live aboard boats who stay forever, work in the town and are not too interested in cruising.  We also asked a few boats if there was water and all replied no. We were grumbling about the lack for several days when we happened to look right underneath the wall and found hidden away from view was a fresh water pipe with many taps  running around the whole dock.  This is taken from the lifting bridge that gives access to the dock, it is quite a small entrance and we needed to be careful not to catch the mast on the raised bridge as we went in.                                                                                    

As you enter from the outer harbour then you have Elizabeth pier on your port side.  This picture was taken from the inner constitution dock side and looking out to the entrance. We were happy to hear that MAST had built this new public wharf for short stays, three hours, which is handy to shop and wait for the constitution dock to open.  As always various boats stretched the rules and arrived late to stay for a free overnight.  

Outside of the dock there is no close anchorage for Hobart.  As a next stop we went to the south just a few miles into Sandy Bay and anchored outside the marina in between the various club moorings.  We had thought to use a mooring as there were plenty empty.  The marina have some available which were not easy to find so we dropped the anchor after waiting an hour.   We are more nervous picking up unknown moorings than being on anchor - at least we know that when we are dug in well and have consistent weather forecast then we are pretty secure.  In fact, touch wood, we have yet to drag on anchor once we have dug ourselves in and we have sat through some pretty blowy conditions to date.  The marina is a twenty minute walk to the town although there are shops nearby in any case and we enjoyed several days here.

  

The sunsets were often stunning in this part of the world.  Its what sundowners were made for!

Pittwater: Cowan Creek and Bobbin Head anchorage

Right at the very end of the journey inland through the Ku Ring Gai National park at the top of Cowan Creek is Bobbin head.  We enjoyed a calm and tranquil journey under motor intending to stay a night on either the public moorings or on anchor at the end of the inlet next to Empire Marina.  We stayed three eventually as it was so relaxing.

Tiki is in the distance on this photo which is taken from the road bridge facing north.  The public pontoon is in the foreground.

There are two 24 hour stay moorings in this area and they were both empty.  We were in the week after Easter and the regular moorings provided in bays along Cowan Creek were on the whole free and the river very peaceful.

The shore here has picnic and barbeque areas and a national park office where we picked up maps for the trails in the local area.  There are plenty of walks to choose from.  We took one or two that went inland and spent an energetic day working our way through the forest tracks. 

The marina is convenient to the anchorage area and moorings and has a pleasant cafe for finishing off a walk with a coffee and snacks. There is also a fuel pontoon where we topped up with diesel and petrol. 

Pittwater: The Basin / Coasters Retreat moorings

Coasters retreat, and also called the basin by some is a popular anchorage that is entirely taken over by club moorings.  We visited several times over the March and April period and enjoyed some late summer weather as well as some small storms that came through. If you are cruising then you will likely end up having to tie up on a mooring here as there is little room to anchor in the bay.  At most times it is pretty quiet and at busy times you may be asked to move to another mooring if the club owners turn up.

Looking inshore from the mooring area towards the beach on the north. 

It is popular with good reason.  The tidal 'basin' inshore is a great place to relax and go for a swim, we made it for an end of season warm weekend in May.  Also the national park campsite provides some facilities behind the beach that include toilets and barbeques.  There is a small charge,  a few dollars, to use the facilities and a warden will appear on busy periods as you land on the beach. There are many tracks and paths into the national park that are worth exploring.  The coastal fringe is so interesting in this area it is easy to forget the region is an amazing national park as well.

The bay from the north shore beach.  the local ferry lands here regularly and the beach gets busy on the weekends as it is sheltered, warm and clean. 

Looking out to the north from the bay towards Barrenjoey Head

  

This is taken from just inside the basin entrance which is netted off, stopping sharks and boats entering.  

The basin from the campsite

Using a Parachute sail - our initial trials in Platypus Bay

Setting off from the anchorage the wind was light and right behind us, the sun was setting gloriously in front of us - what better time to trial the new parachute sail?!  We obtained an ex-army issue parachute from the US and set it up by dividing the lines equally and tying them off onto two steel rings.

It was raised by one ring on the spinnaker line towards the top of the mast. The lower end Neil attached to a line and ran it through a shackle on the bowsprit and back to the cockpit. The results were fantastic! Without a breeze to mention we were being gently pulled along at just under 3 knots. The type of breeze from behind and changing direction that would require lots of work using a spinnaker or any other poled sail was a relaxing event with the parachute. We both lay on the foredeck with our arms folded behind our heads, looking up as the parachute changed direction with the wind as required - it looks so peaceful.

The current setup which requires some tweaking causes it to manoeuvre with a jelly fish like motion, meaning the vertical sides accordion in and out because the lines attached in equal lengths are relatively shorter here than on the top and bottom sections of the chute.

We will adjust as we go to see the best set-up, for now we deem this trial a success.

Part II: Fuel diagnostics for Perkins 4236 - Delayed in Scarborough Marina

Delayed 19th - 27th July 2011

Well after a truly lovely first leg we anchored outside the Marina at Scarborough for a nights rest before heading up to Fraser island. Next morning spent on deck doing little jobs and getting used to everything. Wind picked up perfectly but unfortunately the engine didn't. Neil went through everything methodically and I helped by scouring the forums and engine manuals looking for extra clues. We narrowed it down to the fuel injector pump - a mysterious beastie that if broken can not be repaired by mere cruising mortals. It was broken. I blogged the checklist (Part 1) of how we found out it was broken if anyone is interested... So we needed a tow in, and lucky we had signed up to Coast Guard Rescue!

Long story short they towed us in the next day when it was blowing an absolute hooley and we spent the next week immobile whilst the Diesel Injection specialists did their stuff refurbishing the injector pump. We had the 4 injectors overhauled at the same time for good measure and so now they, along with the almost new pump are all set for the next 20+ years. They better be, the dent in our cruising budget was humongous.

Prop is covered in weed from the Manly stay but we've no incentive to swim, sea temperature is 16C. Brrrrrrrrr

Onion soup and cheese scones

When life throws you expiring onions, make soup!

6 onions peeled and sliced
Butter
White wine, a healthy splash
Beef stock cubes

In a soup pan, gently sauté the onions in butter for 30 mins until lovely and golden. I covered the pan, and if they
start to stick too early add a splash of wine. Have some yourself if it's not your watch..
Add 1L of water and equivalent stock cubes as per the dilution on the packet and bring to a gentle simmer for about 1hr.
Serve sprinkled with cheese and crusty bread, or it is also delicious with...

Yoghurt Cheese scones

250g SR flour
Pinch salt
50g butter
150g natural yoghurt
1 egg
75g grated cheese

Herbs / cayenne pepper added are also good!

Preheat oven to 225C
Rub butter into sifted flour and salt, then stir in cheese. Add herbs now if doing so.
Mix egg and yoghurt together and add to flour to make a soft dough.
Roll out to 2.5cm thick and cut into about 5cm rounds.
Pop everything onto a baking tray, especially the offcuts as they make tasty cheesy crunchy things..
Brush with milk or egg and bake at top of oven for 10 mins.

Location:Bird O'Passage Parade,Scarborough,Australia

Bye-bye Brisbane: shakedown sail to Scarborough anchorage

It was a slightly delayed start as some dirty fuel got sucked through the engine. Neil was on it straight away and with a replacement filter installed and a switch to the second tank we were off, albeit in a very large cloud of white smoke. We had a lovely send off from the pontoon thanks to Dave, Rose and Gail. See you all again soon! It felt sooooooo great to be out of the marina and on the water again. She looks so beautiful with all her sails up and filled with wind and Neil has that content cat that got the cream look about him that I hope will become permanent.

We set off from Manly yesterday after lunch and headed to Scarborough in Deception bay for the night. Gorgeous sunny winters day around 21C and perfect light winds for a shakedown sail, plus for a total bonus we had our first pod of dolphins yippee!

All the rather randomly stowed provisions have had a rattle around and we will no doubt be relocating a few items over the journey. The onions and spuds id long forgotten were there were first up as the bottom of the pantry soon gets toasty warm when the engine is on - the whole boat started to smell like stewed onion... not good, unless I'm making onion soup!

We will refuel here at Scarborough and head overnight up to the Wide Bay bar ready to pass through on the high tide midday Wednesday and from there the sheltered straights of Fraser Island.

Location:Bird O'Passage Parade,Scarborough,Australia

From Keppel island to Fraser

Back from Thailand diving on the Similan islands. 

I managed to book myself (well Heather did) to the wrong airport on the way back.  I had ended up in Gladstone instead of Rockhampton and so had the afternoon waiting for the train up to Yeppoon.  Looking at the weather there was no rush anyway as we are unlikely to be heading south until the Monday, the weather is in the wrong direction.

The weekend was spent relaxing and doing a few jogs to get ready for the second part of the trip to Brisbane.  The first leg is a long one of 180 nmiles down to Fraser Island.  We then will have some short days travelling in channel to the mainland, this is about fifty miles, and then a 100 nmile trip down to Brisbane for the following weekend.

More Tiki-leaks and a lesson learned

Had an interesting night, the bilge alarm went off and the fresh water tank had pumped several hundred litters of water to the bilge, talk about panic stations.  It took a few minutes to get my head clear and figure out we were not sinking badly. I was peeved as had just emptied the whole thing out by hand at sea.  You could even see the bottom again after all the nice fresh water had slished its way through. 

The lesson re-learnt of course is that the water pump electrics must be switched off when they are not being used.

Kepple / Rosslyn Bay Marina

After a relaxed morning on the anchor at Kepple we motored over to the Marina. What a lovely atmosphere in the Marina, relaxed and friendly and small enough to feel you are welcomed as a person. The office provided me with an outside berth so I have a bit more room to get in and out, I am still nervous about manoeuvring the yacht, she does not do reverse very well, or I have not figured out how to help her reverse in the right direction.

Bilges. Yuk. When we first saw Tiki her bilges were full of water and oil. We cleared them out to an extent and there was still water slopping about, some oil and with lots of sawdust after the engine beds were cut down 4" as part of the work on setting her up. I decided to clear her out more at sea on route. This got the yacht down to the last inch and finally I discovered the bottom sump that I suspected was there. It sits as the lowest part of the bilge and of course after years of neglect has filled with oily silt. I need to climb down into it to clear the silt and then put the bilge pump into it. Means the whole bilge will be much cleaner at the end of the job of course and I can see I will need to extend to a whole new level of flexibility for this job.

To delay this we had a few beers this afternoon on the Marina veranda. Lovely. Tomorrow some jobs and parts ordering for the hydraulics and a few other things and then off to Thailand.

Keppel Island

Position:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=position@-23.194607,150.946701&z=12&t=m

We made it to Keppel island last night and we anchored in the most amazing bay on the south side as the wind is northerly now.
What a dilemma, the wind and forecast are perfect for continuing south to Brisbane, the yacht is settling into a good pace and Dave and I are in cruising mode. However I need to head off to Thailand to meet Heather who has booked a break for her 40th birthday. That means we will track off to Keppel bay Marina on the coast and moor her up for a few weeks before the final leg to Brisbane.
The anchorage is stunning and we a sure to return and spend more time here. There is the adage that blue water cruising is 'the art of yacht maintenance in exotic places' and the yacht next to us proves this by spending all morning running a disc cutter and sander inside their cabin. It must be a major job and i make a mental note to leave those jobs for rainy days when possible as today is just wonderful sunshine and uplifting to be on deck watching the world.

Percy to Keppel overnight

We left Percy anchorage late yesterday at 4pm. The weather had not changed and we could not get ashore at all. We had planned leaving for earlier and were delayed as the anchor chain got caught on a bommie. The tide had been catching us and I suspect had turned us in a circle overnight. We tried circling to release her, tightening up and running over the position and all to no avail. We had just about resigned to waiting the night and diving down when the weather had settled in the morning when I inched her up and she began to give bit by bit and freed off. Three hours of effort and seceded off under sail.

The night passage was overcast with some breaks of moon, strong NW winds pushed us down with maybe over 2m of swell behind us and so we averaged over seven knots reefed down. It reminded me of the English channel trips we have taken and as dawn appeared the day brightened to sunshine and warm winds now on the starboard beam. A great dry day for sailing on our way to Keppel Island for anchorage.

Last night was the first night at sea with Tiki. I reefed her down before dark and she sailed well with the wind about 30deg off the stern. She feels safe and stable, what we would expect really from a solid long keeled blue water cruiser. The swell behind us was taken in her stride and never felt uncomfortable unless we steered her off at the wrong angle. We are hand steering as we have no autopilot and this is good for me as I am learning more about how she handles as a result. I love sailing into the dawn, whatever the weather, it is the most inspiring part of the day.

I plan to sail into many more daybreaks.

Percy Group

Position:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=position@-21.676281,150.249802&z=12&t=m

Sunday morning. The night on anchor was very stormy, winds and gusts over 30knots. Tiki sits beam on to the wind! Upright and a slight roll. There was nothing I could do to persuade her to head to the wind and she is happiest beam on. We had 60 or 70m of chain out and it held perfectly. I had been expecting an early sail if she dragged in the night. We are on a Lee shore so we would only drag to the open sea.
The conditions are still strong and we will not be able to get ashore or anchor in west bay to go ashore, it is open to the NW so is not a goer right now. Shame. The plan will be to relax to lunch time and then head further south overnight and through tomorrow.
This should give us some coverage on Telstra as we approach the coast for an update on the weather. There seems to be no routine coverage on VHF that I can find so far.

Percy Anchorage

Position:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=position@-21.676271,150.249741&z=12&t=m

We arrived at Percy Group at 1845 and made to the southern anchorage in order to stay out of the northerly wind. We are here at one of the rare times that the popular west bay is untenable. We anchored in the moonlight which made life easier. We ate the fresh fish we caught and headed to bed very tired. The wind is almost howling from the north, 30knots maybe or a bit less. I can never decide if a wind gauge is useful, I have sailed so much without one over the last years I give it little attention, focusing on how the boat sounds feels under sail and on anchor. I have checked and rechecked the anchor and let out about 60m with the stubber in place in max 10m of water so there is plenty of scope. We have the place to ourselves. Tomorrow may be a trip ashore if the wind dies down and then a run south overnight to see where we get to.

Scawfell Island Sanctuary anchorage - more Tiki-leaks

We arose at 0530 to up anchor from what was a calm and relaxing nights anchorage at Goldsmith Island. The engine ran for a while and then engine stopped. There was no fuel and we sailed south as I finally figured out that the starbord fuel tank was empty. What happened to the 150L that has disappeared? It would transpire that it has leaked from somewhere and emptied to the bilge. I changed tanks, bled the system and off the engine went.

We planned to go direct to Percy overnight if all went well. Weather fair, overcast and wind moving around to the east for the journey. Contra to every forecast there was monsoon rain for about five hours from 10am until 4pm. Also no wind. We motored down and then decided we did not fancy doing this all night and so detoured to an anchorage.

We anchored at Scawfell Island in Sanctuary Bay and to little wind, flat sea along with two other boats. Tiki is drenched outside and little better inside, we found some more horrendous leaks over the galley. The biggest problem was the main hatch that was leaking and then when you open it to go below huge amounts of water pour in off the boom. There was no way to stop it so the main cabin is soaked, maps got drenched, seats damp.

Glad to be anchored up and trying to dry out. Even here we had the great experience of enjoying another motor boats' loud rock music (they were 200m away at least) and then the joy of them helping us see in our cabin all night with their special spotlight ranging around the bay and into the yacht portholes for no apparent reason. Beyond that a very special anchorage to return to.

Whitsundays sailing - departing Airlie Beach

We are underway and great sailing. Engine broke down once already, now fixed by inboard mechanic at 1300.
Left Airlie at 0545 in light wind, dry and SSE winds 10-15 knots, dry and sunny.
Wind gone to SEE and 15knots. Great sailing at 1530, planning to anchor on Goldsmith Island at 1745 ish.
Short first day, sailing really well at 4.5 knots beating to wind and very comfy on deck and inside cabin.
Steering is difficult and system needs bleeding again. Engine problem was fuel filter and mucky fuel. Will keep an eye on and poss filter tanks overnight to clean remaining crap out of them.
More updates later.

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