South Stradbroke Island to the Clarence River 4th - 8th September

The Motor is Fixed

John from Nautilus Marine Services, Gold Coast City Marina turned up on his jet ski at 9.30am - right on time. That was a good start. He took the parts and said he'd be back at the same time tomorrow. Peter asked him if he could bring back some coolant and insulation tape for the exhaust system as well, which he agreed to do. He was a friendly, helpful sort of bloke. Then we decided to spend the rest of the day on South Stradbroke Island, this time walking south to Couran Point to check out the marina and resort. The resort is huge, but does not appear to have many guests. After a wander around we walked back to Lily, on the beach at Tipplers Resort, along a pleasant walking track.

Paperbarks at Couran Point, South Stradbroke Island

We had just arrived back on Olivia for a late lunch when John rang and informed us that the repairs were completed and he could bring the parts back at 3pm. How's that for service? We were ecstatic! He turned up at 3pm on the jet ski and the repairs looked great. He was happy to come about 7nm to our boat to collect and deliver the parts. He looked a bit wet on the return trip as the wind had strengthened from the north, but when we apologised for not getting the parts to him he said that he had enjoyed going to work on the jet ski for a change. The two jobs - re-plugging the heat exchanger, welding the broken exhaust pipe, along with the coolant and insulation tape and call out fee cost us $460. We were happy and recommend John for any engine repairs. Peter put the engine back together and as the sun set we sat back and enjoyed the prospect of completing our trip to Southport the next day.
A Night at Southport

Southport from the anchorage

We pulled up the anchor and left our 'Mad Mile' spot at 7.15am. Under motor we made our way south to Marine Stadium at Southport. Like a couple of 'obsessive, compulsives' we checked the temperature gauge every few minutes, but all proceeded as normal. Slowly the skyscrapers of the Gold Coast came into view and we finally anchored just outside of Marine Stadium (Bum's Bay) for the night. A long dinghy ride across the bay to the Southport Pier took us close to a huge shopping centre where we restocked ready for the sojourn south to the Clarence River.

Overnight to the Clarence River

 At 98nm the Clarence River is an overnight sail away. At one stage we thought we might stop over at Byron Bay for 6 hours or so as the wind was predicted to be westerly. It wasn't! In the north easterly Byron Bay was not an appealing prospect so we decided to continue on to the Clarence. Of course this had us arriving at the Clarence at the wrong time to cross the bar, so we had to slow down or heave to off Clarence Head for a few hours. We decided to slow down. The 10 -12kt north easterly and the east coast current had us flying down the coast. (How come this happens when we want to go slow!!!) Down came the mainsail - still too fast. Next we rolled in the headsail until there was just a tiny triangle left and we were still going a bit too fast. In the end the wind died and Peter ran the motor at 1300 revs and we putted along slowly for most of the night. The moon was full and visibility amazing. It is recommended that you arrive at the Clarence River 3 hours after low tide to safely cross the bar if you do not have local knowledge. Peter timed it perfectly and we were there at exactly the right time to enter the river.  As we motored in, in calm weather the swell kicked up beside us in an alarming way - not dangerous, but reminding us that you need to get this right.



The mermaid at the fishing boat harbour, Iluka Bay

We have anchored in the Iluka Bay, behind the river training wall, which is a favourite place for itinerants. It is also one of our favourite places. There is a great dinghy dock here, a wonderful caravan park that welcomes stragglers like us to use the laundry and showers ($3 each). For anyone who uses caravan parks the Clarence Head Caravan Park is a friendly, welcoming place to stay.

Yamba Bay

This morning we took Lily across the river to Yamba. There is a pleasant walk along the river and around Clarence Head. We had morning tea in a nice little coffee shop in the main street. There was a great Op Shop there where I found some Tupperware spice containers that I have been watching out for. At .50c each I had my bargain for the day and purchased eight of them.

We need a new head sail as our laminated, asymmetrical headsail in delaminating and is not a good shape. Ric, from Arkaydes recommended us to get a quote from a fellow he knows in Yamba. This morning Peter rang and made an appointment for him to come and measure Olivia up for a new headsail. He is happy to come over here to Iluka Bay to check out what we want and will be here on Monday afternoon. It looks like we will be here until Tuesday anyway because the weather forecast is predicting southerly winds for a few days. We have several options for delivery, including picking it up ourselves next year on the way north or to New Caledonia. He likes the idea of having it ready for us next April as he has plenty of work at the moment.



The Bar - not so good today. Swell's up not much wind.



Liz watching the surf off Clarence Head