Port Stephens to TCB

We stopped only for a day this time in Port Stephens, just long enough to catch up with friends from Gladstone who relocated some years ago to back to NSW.
Three quarters of the family were home and were good enough to drive from Lake Macquarie to Port Stephens on a particularly drizzly day to come visit. The missing man was away at work way over west! It was a great catch up and next time we will fit Lake Macquarie in to the itinerary, weather permitting.

Talking of weather it was beginning to look a little unpromising.

Go now or wait out the next front. We opted for the go now choice and thus departed at 0200 on the run home.
We managed to fly the MPS for about 5 hours before the increasing wind had us stow it away. Sailing conservatively as I always do we struck the mainsail about 2130 that night and continued under jib alone.
Arrived off the Gold Coast seaway 56 hours later after an 'ordinary' but conservative  run up the coast, in rainy conditions and  a relatively unpleasant increasing swell .

Entered the seaway and the very pleasant protection of South Stradbroke Island.As we had the tide with us we decided to sail on until the change of tide. Thus we found ourselves anchored snugly off Raby Bay that evening having averaged a not to shabby (considering the conditions and my conservative sailing technique- 'tis better to arrive slowly and in tact) 5.5kts since departing Port Stephens.

Now we were going to have to juggle times to arrive off the Wide Bay Bar for high water.
There are a couple of options widely used here apparently.Head to Mooloolaba and stop there overnight, and then do the 55-60nm run to coincide with a daylight rising tide at the Bar. Or perhaps when conditions are right, an anchorage in Laguna Bay, off Noosa is possible and then its only a 40nm run to the Bar (I've done that once). I'm not enamoured of the stop at Mooloolaba, not that I've done it yet, but it involves entering a breakwater with a bit of a sand bar- unless the sand bar has  recently been dredged, with the every couple of years dredging that occurs, then anchoring up in the 'duckpond' and then leaving again, a 5nm detour for very little gain as far as I can see.
I hate to use the motors , but will when I need to, so estimating the speed that we would manage without them makes it a bit of a lottery.
However what we can and do use are the tidal currents which we know will be going our way, thus we left the anchorage just after 0400 and had a great run through Moreton Bay,using the most direct courses past Moreton Island and out the NE Channel. We arrived off the Wide Bay Bar  at  2030 having averaged a very useful 6.36 kts for the 105nm. I had allowed 5kts to make the high water in the predaylight hours rather than awaiting the following afternoon high.
We sailed around,off the Bar for 5.5 hours awaiting the maximm water over the Bar.
We anchored off  Carlo Creek  and in daylight entered and berthed back in the marina at 0830.

Three months, 3017nm, one newer and better anchor, two destroyed and replaced  blocks,later.
We have met some amazingly generously spirited Tasmanians, caught up with family and friends  and overall had a great experience, with the wonderful K'Gari carrying us safely there and back.