Wine Glass Bay

Wine Glass Bay is possibly one of the most photogenic bays on the Freycinet Penninsula on the east coast of Tasmania.

You get by there by boat or by walking in from Coles Bay.Those who know me, will know the second choice was never an option!

Here we were.
There were when we arrived 6 other vessels , mainly tucked right up in the SW corner. Having spent the majority of our time to date as the only boat in any anchorage I still haven't developed the mania for anchoring where everyone else does. It must be my anti social gene.
Lucky as it turned out! Just after 2100 the wind changed and we dragged anchor. This I think had happened once before in Thailand when we needed to anchor in 20m depth and my entire scope is only 88m of chain  so we only just managed 4:1 which is the absolute minimum ratio I feel comfortable with. On that occasion we reckon we had in fact shifted about 10m overnight.

We heaved up shifted and re anchored a little further away from the rest of the boats and managed to stay put with a ratio of 7:1 and no more 30 knot bullets of wind which had come through with the wind shift.
As we were to discover , bullets of 30knot plus winds are common in Tasmania. Very quickly we changed our routine from one anchor alarm being set to every night at anchor having  4 independent anchor alarms set- you can never have too many alarms set - no chance of sleeping through them!

A quite large stingray was also spending time here.

Domestic duties were the order of the day.First and foremost mopping out the re-entry hatch leak.
This leak started after we "foolishly" tested the hatches before venturing to Tasmania and has only been discovered since we departed. Of course it wasn't  foolish from a safety point of view, unfortunately though it has caused problems ever since.As the water slaps under the hull  in either a head or following sea,but worse in  a head sea, it now seeps in through the hatch seal. Luckily there is a good inch, maybe two before the internal hatch board which comprises part of the base upon which the mattress sits.It has now become routine after each passage leg to dry out the ingress. It will have to be fixed but its not going to happen until I get back to Queensland.

Whilst engaged in domestic duties we had a visitor from  RooBinEsque one of our Bass Strait companions inviting us over for dinner.

A wonderful evening ,a splendid roast and vegetables complete with a table setting one only finds rarely ashore  these days- let alone afloat. The company was great , with two other couples from two other boats also being there. Amazingly the 'Roo's'  turned out to be the next door neighbours of  one of my friends in Cairns. A photograph of an aeroplane  being the talking point which made the connection. One of those things that occur in relatively small industries- ' you probably  know person X'- in this case, not only knew but actually lived in the other half of the same duplex all those years ago! Small world indeed.

We 'decided' we would wait until we returned on the rally to make the climb up to the lookout, just in case either Peter or Jo actually wanted to do it- Phew - quick thinking there!

After a couple of days in Wine Glass Bay it was time to continue south.

Sydney to Tasmania via Eden

Having spent 10 days in Sydney we headed south to Eden, with the forecast of a northerly wind (following breeze) to send us on our way.

Next time we must explore west of the Spit Bridge

As always we put a reef in the mainsail just before sunset- well I put two in, as I think the first one is a waste of time to be honest, and sailed through the night. The following day the forecast had increased to 25-30 kts from the North so we went to the third reef and sailed on in increasing following seas. By 1700 the wind dropped away completely and we ended up motoring the last few hours into Twofold Bay Eden.

Most memorable event on this leg was that I finally after three and half years tracked down the source of the mystery saltwater that intermittently appeared in or around the airconditioner compartment. More on that later, suffice to say that having discovered it ,I then was able to plug the source. Hooray!

  We were expecting to be spending several days in Eden as we awaited the passage of a front passing from the west to the east through Bass Strait.

To our surprise we awoke the next morning in thick fog- clearly the weather pattern had not eventuated.  Despite the fog a couple of  catamarans departed the harbour as we were having coffee.A quick check of the forecast indicated possibly why.The whole system had significantly slowed down. A calculation of  the distance we needed to cover to the next safe anchorage indicated that all we needed was to maintain 5 knots and we would be across the aptly notorious Bass Strait before the now stalled front would reach us.
Daylight revealed that the vessel anchored nearest to us was one of our future fellow  rally participants. We decide to head off across the Strait, but first thought we would top up our fuel tanks. Whilst we were doing that the couple from Time Bandit  launched their dinghy and came over to say hello and asked if we had any rubbish we needed taken ashore as they were doing a run ashore, to explore. We didn't, having only left Sydney two days previously. We told them we were heading off as there was a break in the weather we hadn't been expecting. They couldn't take advantage of it as they were waiting for  friends to join them in Eden, before they crossed.

It is one of the things that I have learnt, the sometimes required flexibility with plans is somewhat compromised if those  plans also involve people joining or leaving the boat. Having the freedom to go when the weather is right and not stressing about getting to the next place to drop people off  when it is not , adds a dimension to cruising that is not entirely understood until you are involved with it.

https://youtu.be/4EyU16BAsc4

Having topped up the fuel we departed at 0920 in thick fog. The fog lifted in time for us to see Gabo Island lighthouse and the last of the coast before it bends away to the SW.

https://youtu.be/NnK4U7K0d88

The conditions were now almost glassy and as can be seen in the video we weren't the only creatures revelling in the benign conditions. I don't like motoring but needs must!



I have traversed Bass Strait many times in vessels far larger than K'Gari, I know what it can do.It is in my opinion  one of the most under rated stretches of water in the world- other than by those who have crossed it ! Its relatively shallow depth (in the big scheme of things), its proximity to the roaring 40s and the weather patterns that force their way through between Tasmania and Victoria  can at times add up to incredibly awful sea conditions, which I have experienced first hand- none of which I wanted to encounter during our crossing.
During the night we caught and passed the two cats who had departed ahead of us. Strangers passing in the night indeed.
The 0800 weather forecast indicated an easing of the wind for several hours ,but the dilemma I had was that the moment I started shake out the reef  it would wake Peter who was now turned in. I decided not to bother but I noted through binnoculars  that one of our nighttime companions did as soon as they heard the forecast.  They sailed off on a course slightly further East of the track we were maintaining. True to form by lunch time we had actually reefed down further to the third reef. By 1500  we were in fog , but still with the reefs in the mainsail. The fog lifted just after midnight by which time we were abeam of Cape Barren in the Furneaux  Group. I later picked up the loom of Eddystone  Point light at 17.9nm. Eddystone Point light for those unfamiliar with it, is on the NE corner of Tasmania.
We were sailing fairly close to the coast as we were heading for Binnalong Bay.Our companions from the previous night were still further east of us and clearly heading further south
Again we checked the forecast and found that the now southerly winds we were soon expecting (having crossed the Strait the expected wind pattern would now be more from the south than the west) had slowed in their approach .  We decided after closing in on Binnalong Bay to continue on to the very beautiful Wine Glass Bay where we anchored at 1900.
Our midnight companions who had sailed wider down off  the coast thus carrying the current with them were also anchored in the bay.

A memory from 53 years ago of a day on the harbour

One of the good things about Sydney is the ease with which people on yachts can re supply.There are a couple of places around the harbour that make it really simple. Birkenhead Marina and environs is one such place with a huge shopping centre (read here two national chain supermarkets and many other shops,including as luck would have it my favourite retailer of small spheres of chocolate individually wrapped) readily accessable either from the beach or the marina. They also had the best priced fuel we could find.

We fueled up and re provisioned and spent a day or two exploring parts of the harbour unfamiliar to me  as they were west of the Harbour Bridge, a part of the harbour we had rarely ventured to when I was a  kid. Passing Greenwich on the way  revived a memory from my days of sailing the Manly Junior.

As  kids we had once  sailed in a regatta at Greenwich which has gone down in family history as the one time dad thought he was going to have to explain to mum  how he had been present but unable to assist (as he wasn't in the rescue boat that day, as it wasn't our club), and he wasn't sure we were going to make it ashore in tact. A southerly buster came through flattening the fleet - all  participants aged somewhere between 13 and 6 years old.

I recall we capsized , righted her, baled like crazy ,got the venturi sucking away and of course continued racing to the bottom turning mark, sailing through our competitors who were all in the same predicament of being capsized. Both of us (weighing I guess perhaps a combined 50kg ringing wet -which we were ) hiking as far aft as we could and we were planing- the ultimate speed buzz, until we tried working back to windward  again.
Capsized again , and now the chop/sea state was up. We were buggered after re-righting and immediately capsizing several times consecutively.

Out of the pelting rain appeared the bluff grey shape of what I now know was a naval landing vessel. Someone up there yelled out did we need assistance .Yes was my screamed answer .'NO' was my brothers answer  -'go away we are ok'.

This was an early lesson in the line of command. My brother was the skipper, I the crew. His word won. Now of course I understand totally,well intentioned as the navy's offer was we would probably have been crushed by them in the attempted  rescue.
Eventually  the club rescue boat got to us and took us in tow- but the story hasn't ended yet.

We had no way of lowering the mainsail as it was lashed to the top of the mast and not on a halyard. As we were taken in tow , we kept flipping each time we got upright. They couldn't tow us upside down, so it was an endless cycle of  righting and flipping and we were just sort of being towed along.
Throughout this I was hanging on to the mainsheet to ensure that I stayed with the boat,something that had been instilled in us from the beginning of our sailing days,never ever leave the boat if you found yourself capsized or in trouble.
Well we were both, as far as I was concerned .
Hanging on grimly to the mainsheet and now trailing along behind the boat having been flipped out time and again, the mainsheet and my wrist became entwined, so I think I probably was doing an impression of a seal rolling along and coming up for air on each roll. Geoff was frantically trying to get the attention of those in the rescue boat so that they would stop and I could be disentangled. At which point my interest in sailing,being crew or any further aquatic adventures was stretched to breaking and I was finally hoisted into the rescue boat, leaving the skipper to fend for himself and the boat.
Suffice to say , we survived ,but have never entirely forgotten.
Seared into my memory bank as clearly as it was 53 years ago, is just how green then black the sky to the east of the Harbour Bridge looked as the front came at us. Watch and be wary is a very apt family saying that has stuck with me ever since . 

           

I was recuperating from appendicitis
when this was taken -but they were flying

Sydney

I was born here. I learnt to sail here. I never envisaged myself sailing my own yacht in through Sydney Heads, but it has happened now.

The  first plan was head  straight around into Store Beach, drop the pick and have a snooze after the last 78 hours.
Hmmm!
Rethink required. Although it was only 0900 on a Saturday morning Store Beach already appeared to be a) quite popular, b) there were no go areas designated by buoys, c) a  much smaller bay than I remembered it being 53 years ago!

Time to refer to some updated information. RMS NSW (Roads + Maritime Services NSW) have some excellent information available in both electronic chartlets and apps.They also have lovely pink visitor moorings all over Sydney Harbour, which until now I knew nothing about. They provide the moorings in sensitive areas for seabed protection so that a gazillion anchors are not chewing up the sea grass etc.
As we quickly discovered the buoys are in excellent condition and in some very handy spots. They have a limit of 24 hours per visit.

Being not the peak season we were as it turns out, easily able to find a mooring each night for the next week in a variety of different locations,whilst we waited for the next weather window  Thankyou RMS, I always sleep better when on a well maintained  buoy than on the pick.

Sydney at night from Athol Bay 

Although I grew up  in Sydney , there is still much of the harbour I had never sailed in or even seen from the water.
We made our way a short way up the Parramatta River, visited some old haunts like Mort Bay, Balmain, and spent many evenings with prime viewing positions of the departing passenger vessels.

Also managed to catch up with my longest term girlfriend (we started kindergarten on the same day, just a few summers ago now), and her sons , her husband being away unfortunately. They have just returned to Sydney after some years away overseas, and although the weather was somewhat ordinary that particular day it was still a fun day on  Sydney Harbour.

My brother and his partner had been away for several months overseas and with  amazingly  fortuitous timing flew into Sydney. Nicely jetlagged the day after their flight we managed to pick them up from Rozelle and go for a bit of a jaunt around the harbour.Although K'Gari is now 3 and half years old, they have never had a chance to see her , let alone sail on her.

Before we left Sydney I had a chance to check out 'what lies below'.The anodes were looking fine and no growth build up other than a light fuzz, so I could foresee no issue with K'Gari taking unwanted passengers into the National Park wilderness areas of  Tasmania we were planning to visit.

Other than catching up with friends and family I think the most interesting time was visiting the Quarantine Station located just inside North Head.

Just couldn't lose the light bulb! Overview of Q Station .Flagstaff Point in foreground and top left the wee beach is Store Beach- which seems to have shrunk over the last  50 years!

As kids free ranging around North Harbour in our dinghy,Quarantine Beach was off limits to us. We had a defined area in which we could sail during the holidays. An imaginary line from Flagstaff Point to the now iconic white building (Smedley Tower) which anybody who has ever been to Manly by ferry has seen, was the eastern limit of our play area. From Flagstaff Point to Dobroyd Point , was the southern extremity. That left all of North Harbour to not try to drown ourselves in - obviously we managed quite successfully!
Now the Quarantine Station has been disbanded from its original use and is a heritage listed national park containing a  hotel/resort/ wedding venue/conference centre in the old buildings , but the best part for me is the buildings have been preserved and the small museum/visitor station down at the landing point  was fascinating. The history and time line all outlined . The 'graffiti' carved into  the sand stone rock face from the ships and crews who spent time there- the RMS Lusitania , probably being the most well known vessel, was brilliant to see, still there and still perfectly legible from July 1895.
Having opened in 1832, it was shut as a Quarantine Station in 1984. During my lifetime  it housed people from Darwin whose homes were destroyed with Cyclone Tracey and was used in Operation Baby Lift when 2000-2500 Vietnamese orphans were airlifted just after the fall of Saigon .

K'Gari off Quarantine Beach. Dobroyd Point is obscured by the  sea fog which moved up the harbour during the morning.
Smedly Tower to the right and Flagstaff Point to the left.Q beach was out of bounds when we were kids.

Looking down into Quarantine Bay from a building in the former second class precinct

Tin Can Bay to Sydney

We got away right on schedule and crossed the Bar , it was as slightly more bumpy than on other occasions but no problems.
Set the full main and jib and headed south. The wind then inconveniently disappeared just as we were inside and abeam of Wolf Rock at quite close proximity , but that's what reliable motors are for! Then the perfect wind for us , an easterly kicked in about 11am and we were truly  off and running.

Started the watermaker,not that we needed fresh water, but needed to check that it was going to "play nicely" after not being used for a year or so. Once the initial installation  problem I encountered was finally rectified,this machine has been magic. I leave it for 12-18months at a time and as long as its connected to a power source either the 12v from the batteries, or 24v if I'm plugged into shore power, the 'brain' side of it keeps the all important membrane in tip top condition- so far! Tip for the interested - I do adhere to the manufacturers  guidelines for changing the charcoal filter. Ran it for a couple of hours and then gave the produced water  a salinity test and even more reliably, the sniff and taste test. Salinity came up as 220ppm - anything less than 750ppm being deemed potable by world standards and it smelt and tasted just fine. No sulphur smell ,no metallic taste. With the wind from the right direction and the ability to produce fresh water when and as required, cruising becomes so much easier.

Tin Can Bay-Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour -Sydney 

 Reefing the mainsail at night is just a no brainer as far as I'm concerned and so each sunset we shorten the mainsail down to give us an easy run through the night, especially if there are only two on board, it just decreases the chance of having to wake each other up to attend to a "reefing moment".
How many reefs is entirely dependent on the weather forecast. The first night we reefed down to the second reef and stayed that way all day, averaging a very acceptable 7.25kts. The second night with predicted winds of 30 kts (albeit from astern) we came down to the third reef. It's always easier to shake out the reef in daylight if it's not needed, than to wake someone up and try to reef down in a hurry in the dark!

            9.5kts of true wind .10kts of boat speed with a double reef mainsail and maybe
a touch of East Coast Current this was before the wind picked up!

The wind did indeed come away about 0100, in fact at 0700 I furled the jib and we were still skipping along. By 0940 I decided to wake Peter as the following sea was by now reaching surfing proportions. We struck the mainsail altogether and continued with partial jib alone. Considering that over the 24 hour  period we were at times doing as little as 4.5kts, the average speed of  8.25kts that we achieved, under a partially furled jib is indicative of the weather, but it was astern of us so not at all uncomfortable.

We entered Sydney Heads on a beautiful summer Saturday morning at 0900, rugged up with wet weather jackets , long pants and in my case a beanie as the last 15 hours had been cold. We were a little surprised to see a group of kayakers- (Sydney harbour  on the weekend is alive with kayakers these days), wearing very little in the way of warm clothing. From their point of view they must have thought we were a tad overdressed for the occasion ourselves and we suddenly realised why.

Entering Sydney Heads - paddlers abound 

We went from being cold to literally sailing through a wall of heat, which had us peeling off the layers of clothing. The temperature change I would hazard a guess was 12- 15 degrees. We went from about 15 degrees to 27-30 degrees within two boat lengths. The NW'ly wind  which had propelled us down the coast was cold over the water but here in Sydney it was hot -after travelling for the last three days across the land. I have never experienced such a natural heat  differential before. I've certainly felt it the other way, when during summer the longed for cool change arrives but never before cold to hot.

Tin Can Bay to Sydney  547nm in 78 hours .Av speed 7.0 kts.

It's a new year and a new adventure

A new year, in fact New Year's day and we are back on board, we being Peter and myself, readying K'Gari for the next phase  of  the adventure.

This time K'Gari is heading to Tasmania for the what remains of the summer, to participate in a circumnavigation rally of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania, for anybody overseas who might be reading this).

Prior to participating we have to get there, a wee jaunt of  1800 miles down the East coast of Australia just to reposition to commence  the rally- why ever  not?

Today its just the usual pre departure routine, checking and starting the engines, checking the obvious, rigging, sheets halyards, blocks and shackles,stowing everything that we brought with us, a quick washdown to remove what I thought was ash from the recent bushfires but has a much more tarry consistency and I suspect might have more to do with fall out from the trawler fleet which berths just to the north of the marina and with the recent wind being from the north I think its possibly exhaust fall out. Bugga that is going to need more work than we have time to dedicate to it.

To leave Tin Can Bay and head south we need to cross the Wide Bay Bar , best accomplished during the last two hours of a rising tide. The weather report is looking good. The high pressure system has moved across and is now east of us which means we will be able to "ride the high" down the coast.
Riding the high, means that the winds will be from the north or north east or even east depending on the exact position of the system.
The high tide is just after 0700 tomorrow, so we need to leave the marina by 0430 to cover the distance required to cross the Wide Bay Bar  .

Careening K'Gari style

Before heading south for the summer, I finally bit the bullet and did what countless other stub keel catamarans do , put K'Gari on a sand bank deliberately, to change the anodes.

Having spent my entire working life actively trying to avoid this very scenario- grounding a vessel, this was a foreign  scenario for me .

I stalked over a couple of near by sand banks at low tide, sort local opinion, decided on the tide that I would try it and finally that day arrived.

Positioned the boat and waited for the tide to start to drop, then having judged that an hour to an hour and half of ebb would suffice I nosed my way towards my selected sand bank.

In the end I touched out about 10m short of where I intended, and then began the wait for the tide to drop.

According to Jo, it was like being imprisoned with an agitated meerkat , as I was continually up and looking to see how the tide was dropping.

We did sink a few degrees by the head as the water receded - something I hadn't quite expected but the sand I had touched down on wasn't as hard as i expected being about 10m short of my spot.

Anodes were changed and then the wait for the tide to flood back in.

Having touched out at 0840 , we refloated about 1640, the actual anode changing taking about an hour.

All done and here comes the tide.