Sailing South (as far as Port Macquarie, NSW)

Friday 29 November 2024 - finally arrived and we departed Scarborough. Feeling nervous excitement, we were ready to start sailing South, home to Adelaide and hopefully in time for Christmas - this year :)

The weather conditions weren’t great for sailing, but we were sailing not too far, to our first stop, St. Helena Island. I couldn’t believe we were on our way after all this time. We motored most of the way to the Island and anchored in the bay. Once settled in we ventured to shore on our tender to explore.

Markus put wheels on the tender, so it made it easier to wheel the tender over the sand. They were a success!

St. Helena Island was a penal colony. From 1867 prisoners and wardens lived and worked there. The prison closed in 1932. The buildings are still there; however, you need to book a tour to see them, otherwise you can walk around to certain parts of the Island like we did. The Island is very picturesque, green and worth seeing.

When we arrived back to Dione we decided to also visit Green Island as we heard the beach was worth visiting. Seeing that Green Island was only a half hour sail away we left later that afternoon. It was an easy and quick trip over to the Island and appeared to be a great place to anchor. There were only two other boats anchored in the bay and as it was late we decided to go explore the beach in the morning.

During the night I checked whether the boat was drifting and that the anchor was holding firm. It was holding, until I woke up again at 4 am in the morning and we had drifted. Not a little distance but almost to the other side of the water close to the mainland. This was a major problem because the wind had picked up and we had to sail back to Green Island as soon as possible. We attempted a few times to anchor, however, the anchor was just not holding due to the soft seabed and the high winds. We decided at that moment to leave and sail to Peel Island, which we had visited before on our first sail. We knew the Island offered a protective shelter and anchorage. Little did I know this was to be my first traumatic and dramatic experience on the high seas. The wind and storm conditions were unexpected and picked up dramatically. Markus was ok and was happy to test how the boat sailed and handled the rough weather, however, for myself it was not what I signed up for.

If you can imagine, waves rolling and smashing the hull continuously, water spilling over the front deck, when loose items are being thrown around and hatch cover shades hanging on by a thread and having to be removed from the inside of the cabin. During this, the forward hatch was blown back on the deck which I had to use all my strength to close it shut breaking the adjuster arm of the hatch, which caused heavy sprays of sea water to enter the cabin and soak all our bedding and then myself. Then to top that off I had the same problem to remove the cover in the gallery on the hatch, where I can’t reach so I must stand on a step to open and close the hatch. I was thrown not once but twice into the heater flue. Once the inside cabin was sorted then it was up in the cockpit to see how to help next, and as I was about to sit down with the roaring waves I was thrown to the side of the cockpit and really hurt my side/back, I think it might be a rib fracture, well that was it. We contacted the Coastal Guards again to advise them of our whereabouts and of our destination. As soon as we arrived at Peel Island, Horseshoe Bay the situation changed due to the sheltered location, plus the sun had come out and it was as if the storm never happened. We anchored at Peel Island reasonably close to the shore to get maximum shelter and protection, however, had to move later in the afternoon due to a low tide changing and our keel was going to be very close or touching the bottom.

Both anchorages held well and were both successful and we were extremely happy and content being in a settled and safe bay with many other boats.

Day 3 - Sunday, 1 December was a beautiful day. We woke up to lovely calm water, and sunny weather so we took our tender to shore and went for a short walk along the beach. There were people already swimming in the water, and the water was so clear and inviting. Even I who do not like swimming in the ocean due to shark phobia, was tempted to jump in, plus the water was so warm and you could see fish swimming around. Even saw some dolphins close by from the tender when we visited the wrecks in the water on the other side of Peel Island.

The weather had cleared, and we decided we were off to our next destination which was Coochiemudlo Island. We attempted to visit the Island on our First Sail with Bill and Lida, but we both had anchoring problems and then the weather picked up and on top of that had problems with our leaking propellor shaft seal and Bilge pump. So, we thought we would give it another go and try visiting Coochiemudlo. I was a tad nervous on anchoring again at the Island, however, this time was perfect and so quick. We anchored further out and away from other boats. The weather wasn’t great when we arrived but a couple of hours later the sun was shining, and the waters were calm. It was so beautiful.

We had heard so much about Coochiemudlo Island, it’s a very popular island that people visit and enjoy. It was great being there finally and checking it out for ourselves. (Go to the Gallery for lots of pics of the Island).

We went to shore later in the day and had a walk around the Island. People on the island were very friendly and lots of them were also out walking. The island has a very relaxed tropical feel about it. A lovely natural environment with a cafe and a bar.

The tender ride over and back was very enjoyable - lovely and flat, we left the Island early the next morning and the water was so calm, a perfect time to leave. We sailed and motored towards the Gold coast. The route taken was peaceful and scenic at that time of the morning. Travelling down the channels needs constant concentration and attention. The channels are very shallow in parts and if you don’t watch the markers carefully you could end up bogged high and dry. I found it stressful at times steering in a zig zag motion and staying on the correct side of the channel markers. There was a lot of debris floating down the channels from the recent storms. There was even a section with power lines over the water which you have to be extremely careful as the power lines hang low and the only way to avoid a significant incident is to sail very close to the tower where the power lines are higher. So sailing isn't always smooth sailing, as the saying goes!

We were almost at our final destination, Tipplers Island, very close before the Gold coast and our motor stopped due to a fuel issue. We were fortunate that a passing work boat pushing a barge was travelling behind us and when we broke down, Markus yelled out to him and asked him if he could give us a tow’?’ - talk about perfect timing! He towed us past where we wanted to stop, and we stopped opposite Sovereign Island in Tipplers passage instead. By the time we had arrived Markus had the engine running again - so everything was good. We were back in business. We left for the Gold Coast the following morning.

We did leave early that morning and motored/sailed to Runaway Bay, Labrador, just North of Wave Break Island. It’s such a busy place. Jet skis, motorized boats, sailing boats, catamarans, house boats, dinghy’s, fishing boats going past. It was fun and always something to see. Once we were anchored and settled in, it was a beautiful place to be. Now this is the life, and what we signed up for :)

I can understand why so many people move up there. It’s such a chilled and relaxed place. People are so nice and friendly. We stayed anchored in Runaway Bay for 6 nights. We met up with our friends Judith and Ray, which was fantastic, and they helped us out a lot with picking up boat parts and giving us tips on where to moor and tie up our tender when we went to shore for groceries, petrol and water supplies. By the time we left the Gold Coast we were pros. knew exactly where to go.

We stayed on the Gold Coast longer than we planned as we were waiting for a fuel pump to be delivered to our friends place, but the tracking of the package said it was still in Amsterdam, yes that is correct, in Europe!  So Markus being as clever as he is modified the fuel system to work and not leak fuel.  We probably should have done that at the start, but it is always good to have a spare of most things for the boat in case it breaks during your sailing. Markus was feeling confident that what he did with the fuel pump, was going to work, so we decided to leave and do our first night sail out of the Gold Coast to Yamba, NSW, Monday, December 9. 

A friend who has sailed lots said to leave around 11 pm and then we should arrive at Yamba the following afternoon.  We thought we would give ourselves a bit extra time and leave at 7 pm so that we could see a little more that leaving later.  I am so glad we did because as we were sailing out of the Bay, there were so many boats that did not have their anchor night lights on and as the bay is crowded, it was so difficult to see the boats with no lights and dodge the other boats and follow the markers to the seaway entrance/exit, all in the dark.  I was already stressed.  I couldn’t understand why you would like sailing at night when it’s so dark and you can’t see a thing.  It was very scary.  I steered and Markus was the navigator and gave directions.

We made it out of the seaway, and that was it we were in the open waters.  No turning back now.  While you sail at night you leave the navigation lights on and leave only the red lights on your boat.  White lighting ruins your night vision. I found it hard to get used to, and I found red lights can hurt your eyes after a while.

We sailed for 20 plus hours until we arrived in Yamba, NSW.  Funnily enough the time did go fast and the voyage went well and was smooth.  We motored/sailed all the way as there wasn’t enough wind.  During the voyage you are super alert checking out for any boat lights in the water or obstacles you might run into.  The fishing trawler boats were lit up like Christmas trees, their lights are so bright.  Dolphins followed along side us for a while which was exciting to experience, plus they say having dolphins swim along side your boat is good luck – so I was more than happy that they were there.  We took it in turns to have a bit of a snooze.  There was always one of us on the lookout.  It was a bit lonely and weird being out in the middle of nowhere, and in the dark.

It was so lovely to see daylight, but actually then there was nothing but ‘just water’ for miles and miles.  The overall sail was reasonably calm.  There were some large swell waves but I think I got used to them.  I am just so grateful I don’t seem to get seasick, so that is fantastic.

We arrived in Yamba around 3 pm Tuesday 10 December.  We were so glad that overnighter was complete.  It was a long trip and we just wanted to get off the boat.

After dodging the obstacles in the bay we anchored and settled in. We took the tender to shore for a look around and went for a walk and stretch our legs.  We slept very well that night.

Next morning, around 7.30 am we were off again to go to Coffs Harbour.  We motored most of the trip to Coffs Harbour.  It was a long day and I must admit I was over it.  The seas were very rough and the waves were rocky and very rolly, it felt like we were going to tip over. The waves were crashing over the bow of the boat. We also had quite a few leaks inside our boat to contend with, so much of inside cabin was wet.  It was quite daunting and worrying at the time for myself. Markus was a happy man just to be out on the seas and able to find the leaks so they could be fixed.  We did try putting up the sails at some point, but the wind was in the wrong direction, or there wasn’t any wind at all.  It was so nice to arrive at Coffs Harbour, I had had enough and was feeling so tired.  We didn’t go ashore like we normally do, we were so tired we anchored in the bay, did a few jobs, mainly tidying up and fixing the leaks and it was an early night.  The bay was protected but the whole night it was so rolly and pitchy that it wasn’t the best sleep after all for me, Markus sleeps well on the boat.

At this stage of our voyage we were aiming to arrive in Adelaide with Dione for Christmas. 

Coffs Harbour is a beautiful bay where there’s lots of activity happening.  The beach is very popular with lots of people swimming.  The jetty is very impressive – large and quite grand.  The marina is close by with fishing boats and motor cruisers coming and going, plus lots of boats anchored in the bay. There was even a sailing race with about 10 smaller keel boats in and around the bay which was amazing to watch and be amongst it all. We went to shore for water, fuel and food supplies and a look around the town, which was very nice. Also to the marina and the beach on the other side of the marina which was beautiful but not as sheltered.

Friday, 13 Dec we left Coffs Harbour and sailed to Port Macquarie.  It was pure sailing for our first time and hardly used the motor - Markus was a happy man! The trip to Port Macquarie was going to take approximately 10 hours, but we made good time as a good wind, current and seas were with us pretty much all the way, so our trip was quicker than expected. Port Macquarie was an easy harbor to enter and the river offered a quiet sheltered anchorage within easy reach using the tender for transport. We went ashore, picked water and groceries while having a look around the town. We found it to have a tropical feel about it, lovely shops, lots of people out walking in the warm afternoon and a very calm natural river. In the evening a party boat went past us what looked like a work Christmas party on boat which added to the festive atmosphere since we missed out on Christmas parties so far this year being on the high seas later than intended.