The Last Few Days At Boat Works 26th - 30th May

Tamborine

Green Lane coffee and scrumptious,  fruity raisin toast

We borrowed the Boat Works courtesy car for the weekend and on Saturday drove the windy, scenic route 38km to Tamborine Mountain. Of course the first thing we did on arrival was find a coffee shop. Green Lane Coffee Plantation has a café serving their own home grown coffee and yummy looking cakes and food, in an old restored Queenslander. The coffee is the nicest I have ever tasted. No burnt taste, just beautifully smooth with a delicious coffee flavour. A 'Crop to Cup' tour is available, but we decided to spend the rest of the morning wandering along the Gallery Walk 7kms away perusing the shops.

The Gallery Walk is a strip of touristy shops selling mainly 'stuff' from China etc. You can find it all over Australia's touristy places. It generally has a bit better quality touristy bits and bobs, but we thought it was very disappointing. We only found two artist galleries with paintings. Our anticipation at several glass outlets was short lived as these also proved to be mass produced imports, not local  productions. The best shop was the German Cockoo Clock Nest with their wall to wall cuckoo clocks, grandfather clocks and various other styles of watches and clocks. They also had a range of toys that I have not seen since I was a kid, like tin spinning tops, music boxes, wooden puppets and many other interesting toys. By that time we had had enough of shopping and we thought we might find a café for lunch at the Botanic Garden. The garden was lovely, but no café, so we decided to drive back to The Green Lane for a focaccia toasty for lunch. What a good idea. It was just as delicious as our earlier coffee.

Over $16,000 for this Grandpappy

Just a small sample at the German Cuckoo Clock Nest

 

After lunch we drove further on through the scenic, hilly roads until we came across the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk. We paid our $16.50 (Seniors) each and set off along the metal bridge structure. Quite soon we found ourselves high up in the treetops as the ground fell away below us. The walkway has a grid to walk on so you can see clearly the vegetation underneath. At one point I felt uneasy looking down from treetop height, but could only gaze in awe at the beautiful, straight, tall trunks of the gum trees surrounding us. Part of the walk is on bush paths so you get a view from above and below. It was well worth the visit.



Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens

 

Time was moving on so we drove our trusty little Hyundai Getz back to Boat Works for a Tavern meal with Jim and Jan from Par Des Chat, Gary and Anne from Chances and Neville from The Bossa Nova. What a lovely day after our nine days of boatyard living. On Sunday evening we had a BBQ at the new BBQ area provided by Boat Works down by the river. We feel like we are settling into a way of life here.



Skywalk - It's a long way down

Finishing Touches

Ready to go

By Monday morning Olivia had just a few finishing touches to complete before she was ready for her launch back into the water. Her rudder needed some fill where the bolts had been removed, then antifouling. Finally the prop was to be painted with Prop Speed . Peter and I walked to the Oxenford shops, partly for exercise and also for some cash while the last jobs were done. We had a relaunch time of 8.30am on Tuesday. After 13 nights on the hard at Boat Works, we finalised our account and jumped on board for Olivia's relaunch. Russ from Nautilus Marine accompanied us to burp the dripless seal gland and make sure we didn't sink. Everything was fine so we motored off to the Gold Coast City Marina where there is easy access to fuel and water.

Olivia on her way back to the water

Now we are anchored in the Coomera River for two nights as it is easier for me to catch the train from Coomera Station to the Brisbane Airport. The bus to the station stops near The Boat Works front gate and drops me at the station 3-4kms away. The train journey is an hour and a half, via Brisbane City and I don't have to change trains. The Seniors train fare is $28 with no taxi needed from here which is a bonus. Peter is going to motor back down to Southport, about 2 hours, where he wants to visit Whitworths for a FEW items - Can I trust him???? He is then going to make his way slowly up The Main Channel to Moreton Bay over the next three weeks while I am back in Perth and Albany. No more Blog for 3 or 4 weeks.

Trying out the new motor. He's happy.



Frantic Friday 25th May

Action

On goes the rudder!

Last Friday really was 'Frantic Friday' in the boatyard. A constant lookout had to be kept so as not to get squashed by one vehicle or another. There are many different types of electric vehicles here that people get around on. You have to be alert as to where they are, as they are silent. My favourite are the electric skateboards that the young guys use. They look like fun as they zip around the yard leaning this way and that. The travel lift was constantly shifting boats back into the water. This Friday is definitely not as frantic but we have action here at Olivia. All the parts for our prop shaft  refit have arrived and Nautilus Marine guys are here putting the whole lot back together. It took four men to lift the rudder into place. It is very heavy, solid!

An Alien has landed! Just the bog n paint to go!

The rudder, steering assembly and prop shaft are all back together ready for a bit of fill and some paint on Monday. We are booked to go back in the water on Tuesday when Nautilus Marine guys will come with us to check that all is OK. Work begins here daily at about 6.30am (no sleeping in), but it means that most work is over by lunch time on Friday. Unfortunately we still have to stay in the boatyard for the weekend, but at least we have the courtesy car to use.

We intend to anchor nearby for Tuesday and Wednesday so that we can motor next door to The Gold Coast City Marina to refuel while I am still here to help Peter. We are also going to try out the new toy - Lily's new motor. It will be easy for me to leave from here as the Coomera Station is just up the road and a train goes every half hour directly to the airport taking 1 hour and 25 minutes. Then Peter is on his own for three weeks while I go back home to do some house jobs and see family.

A view of the steering assembly

The Boat Works Continued 20th - 24th May

An Extended Stay At The Boat Works

Olivia looks like a million dollars. She has attracted some compliments. Just the prop shaft job now.

I am beginning to feel like  a permanent resident here!! Most of the work has been completed. Anti foul has been applied, hull has been polished, and various small jobs finished. When the workmen removed the prop shaft and bearing they found that electrolysis had occurred and it was obvious that a new shaft was necessary. That meant a new one had to be machined to fit Olivia. That job has been outsourced to a business not in this complex and despite Nautilus Marine's continuous pressure the job is taking longer than expected. It seems that they are finally on to it this morning (Thursday) so I am keeping my fingers crossed. We are now two days longer on the hard than expected and at $90 per day we hope it won't be too long. It's looking more like Monday might be our launch date.

Peter works on the rudder

Meanwhile Peter keeps visiting the chandleries here and at Gold Coast City Marina and finding more items he cannot live without. He has installed jack stays (safety lines along the deck to attach personal life lines, for the non boaties). This is at least an essential safety measure.

We frequent the coffee shop here - a particularly nice one, for coffee and a shared muffin each morning. On Monday we walked to the Gold Coast City Marina next door and that place is HUGE, like The Boat Works on steroids. We had morning coffee there, but they don't have as nice a restaurant as we have here.



65 today, at The Boat Works

On Tuesday morning we decided to walk to Oxenford shopping centre to have a look for the Bunnings I saw over there when I went shopping with Val. It turned out to be a 5.2km walk there so by the time we got back my feet had had enough. It was a pleasant walk though, crossing the Coomera River and around a river parkland area. Killed some time!

Early morning visitors float past in a pumpkin

As mentioned the rates here are $90 per day for the hardstand work area, but Sunday is free so that is $540 for a week for Olivia at 43'. Lift out is $430. Austin, an American guy, who is next to us has a 32' yacht and his fee is $68 per night. For that you get free en-suite bathrooms, laundries and courtesy cars for up to 3 hours at a time and we can live aboard, so no motel fees. So far we have borrowed the courtesy car three times this week. There are several cars and a couple of utes. An honesty system operates for fuel use where you decide how much fuel has been used and put money in the jar in the office. When it looked like we were going to be here this weekend Peter went to enquire about hire cars so we could do some exploring around the district. The office girl said, 'What about the courtesy cars?' Apparently we can book the car from 4pm on Friday for the weekend and go exploring, the only stipulation being we fill the fuel tank when we deliver it back on Monday morning. Peter did explain we wanted to go exploring and she said that is what it is for. What a bonus! Now I am not dreading the weekend.

Billy

Billy is a little terrier who owns the cat (boat) next to us. He loves his boat life and has such a perky attitude. In the morning Peter and I get up before his master and he is there with his happy, yappy good morning and asking for us to take him for a walk. He looks very disappointed when we tell him to wait for the boss. Billy is 2 years old and is a Kiwi. He has changed colour since moving in here and is now a dirty grey colour and has a blue bum where he has sat down in blue anti foul paint dust. He'd make a great yard broom!! He was pristine white when he arrived. He has no problem ascending the steep ladder up to Olivia's deck for a bit of a sticky beak. It has taken me nearly a week to get over the feeling of vertigo when I step across the gap between the top step and the deck. Someone moved the steps a bit and there is an even wider gap now. No problem!!

Just Checking!

Clarence River to the Gold Coast and The Boat Works 11th - 19th May

Goodbye Clarence River and Yamba

Scooter had fitted our new dodger, bimini and lee cloth and it looked great, so now it was time to think about moving further north. All our friends had left and we were feeling a bit lonely. We checked the weather forecast and found that a weather window had opened up for the next couple of days. After that it looked like inclement weather would keep people here for nearly a week. The swell is especially tricky with this Clarence River Bar, as it can turn very nasty when the swell rises. Friday dawned clear and calm and the tide enabled us to get out easily. We said goodbye to Yamba and headed for the Gold Coast. Two other sailing cats exited with us, so we had company all the way. By evening we were off Byron Bay and as there was a light breeze from the west we all decided to anchor there for the night. It turned out to be rolly for the first half of the night, but as the tide turned the rolling stopped and we had a peaceful sleep. Byron Bay would only be any good in light westerly and south westerly conditions because it is so open to the north and east.

Under the New Bimini

By daybreak we were up and ready to continue on to the Gold Coast. Our sail from the Clarence to Byron was one of the best we have had on the east coast, there being a gentle westerly all day. Now we had a forecast of westerlies again, but as the day wore on the wind turned more north and even north east at times. Made it hard to keep sailing so we motor sailed. The reefs off Danger Point near the New South Wales/Queensland border provided choppy, disturbed seas and slowed us down as we fought our way around the shallow water. Eventually we arrived at the Gold Coast Seaway in the late afternoon and once inside headed north a short way along South Stradbroke Island and dropped the anchor for the night amongst a dozen or so other boats. Bliss! Quiet, calm and safe.

Gold Coast

Time for a rest, South Stradbroke Island

Early in the morning we were awoken by tuneful birdsong - unlike the raucous, racket of the parrots at Yamba Marina. The magnificent day had us off the boat exploring as soon as we had finished our breakfast. We discovered that we had anchored just south of the Currigee camp site and from here walking tracks lead to the ocean side of the island. What a magnificent beach so typical of the Gold Coast, only no-one was there. We had the whole beach to ourselves. We decided to walk about 3kms or so south to the Seaway and as we approached the rock walls could see many surfers and jet ski riders taking advantage of the perfect surf conditions. Obviously this is a favourite place to surf. We watched some jet ski riders completing 360 degree somersaults up and over the wave faces. Nuts!! We also watched the board riders paddling from the mainland to South Stradbroke Island across the Seaway Channel dodging huge motor boats, yachts, runabouts, surf skis and any other craft imaginable. Nuts too!!

Good beachcombing, South Stradbroke Island ocean side

In the afternoon we motored south around the corner to Marine Stadium to anchor opposite Southport VMR where we thought we might motor the dinghy over to the Australia Fair shopping centre to stock up on stores. We like to anchor there as "Bums Bay" is usually too full of anchored boats to worry about. Some people don't like the wake from the sea going traffic here, or the noise from seaplanes, helicopter joy rides or the quacking duck boat from SeaWorld, but we find it all settles down in the evening and it's as quiet for the night as anywhere else.

Sand Bypass Outlet, Gold Coast Seaway, South Stradbroke Island

Lily's motor would not start. Peter spent some time trying to fix it and to no avail. I even suggested he let it quietly sink to the bottom. It has been getting less reliable with each passing week. Luckily it never started, as I would have been extremely angry if it had konked out half way back from Australia Fair in the middle of the bay with all the traffic and the currents swirling us in the wrong direction. We decided then and there a new motor was called for.

South Stradbroke Island

The Boat Works

On Tuesday afternoon we motored 3nm back to South Stradbroke Is, this time to the Currigee North Camp. An interesting thing we discovered when anchoring here is that when the tide ebbs the muddy water from this inland waterway travels south and pushes the clear water out to sea. When the tide flows in the clear sea water pushes the muddy water north and it becomes so clear you can see the sand ripples on the bottom in 5m of water. We spent the night here waiting for the high tide to take us up the Coomera River to The Boat Works for our haul out and general maintenance. It gets quite shallow, especially at the entrance to the river so we needed to be within an hour or two of the high tide to give us plenty of room to clear the sandbanks. It took just over an hour to motor all the way up and we anchored opposite the travel lift to await our turn for lift out.

Our Turn Next

This is a busy place and finally we received our call to make ready. Once we entered the travel lift structure the Boat Works staff took over and we just did as instructed. The boat was lifted, we climbed off and were presented with coffee and muffin vouchers and the workmen took Olivia off to wash down the hull and park her in her spot for the next week of work. What an amazing place. Every business pertaining to boats is here, in multiples. The place is huge. We had arranged with Nautilus Marine to replace the cutlass bearing, a big job, involving taking off the rudder, sliding?? out the shaft and replacing various parts in a spot inside Olivia's stern that would fit an elf. Neville was no elf, but he managed to get at the offending part and by Friday lunchtime all the bits were back at the workshop ready for work on Monday morning. Nautilus Marine reps were at the dock waiting for us to arrive to survey the job. We were very impressed.

Olivia gets The Boat Works Treatment

New Yamaha Dinghy Motor and New Life Raft

Our decision to purchase a new dinghy motor had Peter searching for suppliers. Just down the road leading away from here there are many more boat dealers, manufacturers etc. He had always fancied a Yamaha and after a bit of research in the area decided to buy a new 5hp, 4 stroke Yamaha at $1650. It is now happily perched on the stern, fitting perfectly on the old motor's bracket. The dealer has given the old Evinrude 4hp motor to his new apprentice to work on. Should provide him with some entertainment during the slack moments. Now we can't wait to try out the new Yammy.

The next job was to have the life raft serviced as it was now a year out of date. We had had it serviced at a business in O Connor, south of Fremantle, before we started on this journey and as we're now thinking of sailing to New Caledonia next year we need to have everything ship shape. There are courtesy cars here, available for use for up to 3 hours. Fuel is an honour system where you decide how much to put in the box. Peter had found the only business that serviced our make of life raft and it involved a trip of 40kms north up the freeway towards Brisbane. We struggled to half lift and half shuffle the old life raft down the steep steps to the ground and off he went to Marine Safe at Slacks Creek.

Best not to look down. We had to shuffle the old life raft down here.

        .
The man insisted on opening the life raft in front of Peter as he said that way he can tell him what will be needed. As they opened the plastic cover sea water poured out - not a good sign. It became apparent that the job in O Connor had not been done properly. It was supposed to have been sealed, some of the parts were not the correct ones and the sea water had corroded all the metal fittings, gas bottle, zips etc. What a mess!! Anyway the whole thing was unsalvageable and Peter (life raft man) told Peter Scott that he could not lawfully fix it anyway. Then he proceeded to show Peter how the life raft worked, some tricks and tips for operating it and what it looked like when it is deployed. We have now purchased a new Ocean Safety ISO 4 man life raft at $2650. It is made in the UK.

The boat Works is a very impressive place to come for lift out and maintenance. They are very helpful and friendly and nothing seems to be too difficult to accomplish. You are able to live aboard while here, so no motel costs needed. There are keyed ensuite bathrooms, laundries and common room with TV and coffee/tea making facilities. This is all part of the deal. The place is as clean as can be expected with all care taken to reduce dust. We are towards the southern end of the row, with views over the sugar cane fields, so in the southerly breezes we've had, the wind blows most of the dust away from us.

The result of hitting a sandbank in the Clarence River

Today we had a visit from Ray Gibson, from yachting days in Geraldton, who now lives just south of the NSW border in a retirement village with his wife Janet. Janet has pulled her hamstring muscle and was not able to come, but it was good to have lunch at the Galley (a great little restaurant here) and catch up with their news and relive some old Gero sailing tales. It's now Saturday evening and we are looking forward to completing our jobs here and to our lift back in the water next Wednesday 23rd May.

Up the Coomera River

More Shag Islet Cruising and New Bimini at Yamba 3rd - 9th May

Brushgrove, Clarence River

Brushgrove Pub

After our slow, careful motor up river to Brushgrove we anchored with the other cruisers on the south side of the river. A picturesque place, so we didn't take long to go ashore to have a look around. The only community places we found were a lovely park and the old Brushgrove Pub where the Shaggers were meeting for dinner and entertainment. What a great night. Delicious food, bush poetry and a good blues style band. Bill Kearns, bush poet, is a clever man who kept the whole company laughing well into the night. He even had a wonderfully funny poem about the Shaggers. Bill's poem about the Stack of Plastic Chairs is famous and he recited that one for us. I haven't laughed so much for ages.



A misty moisty morning at Brushgrove

 

Grafton

Next morning the river was swathed in mist and only the nearest boats could be seen outlined against the grey morning light. Once the mist cleared we began the last part of our journey to Grafton. Once there the Grafton Bridge stops any masted boats progressing further, so we anchored near the bridge and spent the afternoon walking around South Grafton, (lots of historic buildings) and on the north side of the river to Grafton. Towards evening we motored down the river a short distance, to a park opposite Elizabeth Island. While we were anchoring, Peter noticed that the winch felt wobbly and strange and after inspection found that the bolts that anchored it to the deck had fallen out or sheared off. Oops!! We did not join the others in the park for a BBQ as Peter was trying to work out what had happened.

Historic South Grafton

Olivia reaches fresh water

Ulmarra

 In the morning four of the other blokes showed up to help pull in the anchor, survey the damage and offer some advice. After the anchor was up they all dinghied off to their boats and we slowly motored down river to Ulmarra. Here we rafted up next to Arkaydes on the wharf so that we didn't need to use the anchor. This is a touristy little town with a delightful pub overlooking the river (Great meals) and several art galleries, antique and collectable shops that are well worth perusing.

 

Olivia rafted up with Arkaydes at the Ulmarra jetty

Lawrence & Harwood

 

Lawrence was the next anchorage and again dinner was organised at the local pub along with a quiz night. All good fun. Peter won the pub's meat tray raffle and we scored some very nice rump steak, lamb chops and sausages. We decided to anchor by ourselves instead of rafting up to Arkaydes again because we didn't want to cause problems if the wind came up in the night. It meant Peter had a job pulling up the anchor in the morning, but managed, as I motored slowly forward and then when the chain was straight up and down drove over the anchor and pulled it out of the ground. It worked. We did the same thing at Harwood the following evening. Luckily it only had to be done twice as we booked into the Yamba Marina in order to get our bimini etc made by Scooter of Scooter Sails.

At Harwood the Lake Macquarie contingent, sixteen of us, had a 'pot luck' night aboard Moor R & R. Hosts Kathy and Paul's Lagoon 45 (cat) is like an apartment and we enjoyed great company and good food provided by us all. Thanks Kathy and Paul for your hospitality. It was a wonderful evening. The Harwood Bridge opened for us the next day at 10.30am and from there everyone dispersed to various locations, some to Iluka Bay, others to Yamba Marina with us, some north to Byron Bay and the Gold Coast Seaway and others back to various homes on the Clarence River. The Inaugural Shag Islet Clarence River Cruise was a resounding success thanks to the very hard work of Rick and Glad Smith and helpers who organised it. Peter and I loved being a part of such a successful trip. 

Lining up to go under the Harwood Bridge

Back in Yamba Marina. New Bimini, Dodger and Lee Cloth

Peter managed to get some new bolts to attach the winch to the underside of the deck and after much hoisting, muttering, and hard work the whole thing came together well. We have spent four days here doing maintenance and having our new bimini, dodger and lee cloth (roof) made. It looks fabulous and will be wonderful providing shade and weather proofing over the cockpit. Yippee.

 

Scooter and Peter work on the bimini

It looks fabulous and will be great in the sun and the rain

Tomorrow we are going to take the opportunity to head north to the Gold Coast Seaway and start thinking about our Boat Works lift out to antifoul the Olivia's bottom, replace the propeller shaft bearing and a few other less expensive maintenance issues (hopefully!!) It'll be an early night for us tonight.

How about this toadstool semicircle we found on the way to Yamba shops

Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club Inugural Clarence River Classic Cruise

Iluka to Brushgrove  3th April to 2nd May 2018

Waiting for 6pm and the bridge opening at Harwood

The event was to have commenced with an introductory BBQ at the northern beach area of Iluka Bay. It rained, and rained, and...., wind as well. The BBQ was cancelled and the 'Shaggers' met in a convenient local coffee shop. Rick and Glad (organisers), gave us the necessary information to get us all safely through the Harwood Bridge, which is also a construction site for the new four lane bridge catering for the busy Pacific Highway. The bridge operator was organised to do a special opening for the Shag Islet CYC at 6pm. I wasn't looking forward to this as I like to be safely anchored before nightfall and at 6pm it is quite dark now. Nineteen boats went through the bridge and amazingly there were no incidents and everyone anchored in the dark without any problems. Why was I worrying? Must take after my mum!!

Peter admires the old and the new. Harwood Bridge

Once all the boats were secured most of the crews adjourned to the Harwood Hilton for pizza. Everyone seemed to make the effort to attend as there must have been about fifty people there, along with a dog or two.

Early the next morning Peter and I motored Lily ashore and walked over the old bridge to observe at close hand the construction of the new bridge. It is enormous. The high concrete pylons looking like an imitation of the Roman Emporium. As we walked across the bridge, I was impressed by the assault on the senses that such a huge construction site can deliver, along with the constant traffic roaring across the old bridge within a metre of us. Great road trains rumbled over the bridge setting the concrete platform and massive steel girders of the bridge vibrating and trembling under their wheels and weight. The tranquil scene of the anchorage, in contrast, full of 'Shagger' boats looked peaceful along side of this frenetic activity.

New Harwood Bridge

Grounded!!

After our early morning stroll around Harwood village we readied ourselves for the next stage of our trip up the river to Maclean, the Scottish town. Some of the boats had gone on ahead and we lead the second group of late starters. I was steering and Peter was trying to work out how to put our track back on the iSailor chart when all of a sudden there was a bump then another much stronger thump and we came to a halt on terra firma. After recovering from almost being thrown over the steering wheel we tried to work out where the deep water was. There was no shifting Olivia. She was stuck fast. We were miles from the green marker and later we found that the locals were amazed that we had run aground there. Maybe that buoy needs shifting!!!

Blu Glass, a 38' Lagoon catamaran, did a 360 around us and found deep water all around. We had grounded on one very small pile of mud and sand in the middle of the river. They gave us a tow and with very little effort Olivia was free. We proceeded very carefully around the corner to the Maclean anchorage.

Maclean to Brushgrove

St Josephs Maclean

Maclean is a scenic little town with beautiful of buildings and touristy shops lining the main street and along with all the others we spent the morning exploring. An interesting attraction in this town is the Scottish tartan decoration on the electric light poles in the town with many different clans represented. We didn't find the Scott tartan.

Found a Scot though

The gathering of the clan

The Official Welcome ceremony was held at 4.45pm on the waterfront and the local press were there taking photos. The Mayor, Aboriginal Elders, a Scottish Piper and other dignitaries attended and leant a bit of formality to the occasion. The Elders welcomed us to the river and wished us a safe journey, which was nice, and afterwards we all traipsed up the main street to the RSL Club for dinner.

The night was quiet and we were up early to prepare for a 9.30am start. Next stop Brushgrove 11kms further up the river. Peter and I were a little tentative after our experience with the riverbed yesterday and we decided to follow someone else today. The 'cats' left early, having shallow draft and not needing to be so worried about depths. The 'monos', mostly with drafts from 1.5 - 2.1m (Olivia's being 1.9m) needed to be very careful today as the shallowest part of the river is just upstream from Lawrence. Jake, Rick and Glad's motor boat, went ahead to show the best route. They are the organisers of this rally and locals, so we all put our trust in them and followed along like a line of little ducks behind their mother. Everyone arrived unscathed, but I think one or two touched the bottom today.

Brushgrove looks lovely surrounded by its green pastures and trees lining the river banks. Dinner will be at the Brushgrove Hotel tonight and floral shirts are to be worn. Luckily I brought an Hawaiian shirt for Peter to wear. Apparently we are to be entertained by Bill Kearns, a renown bush poet. Should be fun.

Beautiful Brushgrove Anchorage

Rain, Rain,More Rain and Wind 20th - 28th April

Off To Coffs  20th April

On the courtesy mooring between the jetty and marina wall at Coffs Harbour

The northerly breeze blowing into Providence Bay, Broughton Islands, fizzled out during the night and we left on our northern journey at 6.30am with no wind at all. The trough line still hung in, in the east and storm cells built and thankfully dissipated as we motored and sailed north. Occasionally we gazed with trepidation (I did anyway!!) as huge rumbly clouds loomed in front, but we avoided them as we sailed close in shore. Part of the reason for that was to avoid the east coast current that runs south on this part of the coast at 1-3knots and takes a toll on your speed.

By lunch time we arrived at the entrance of the Cape Hawk Harbour at Tuncurry/Foster. We decided to take a look as the bar was calm and the tide right for entry. One of the courtesy moorings on the Tuncurry side of the harbour was taken and the vacant one was too close to the sandbank for us to hook on to it. We contacted the Fishermen's Co-op for a jetty mooring and were allocated one on the bridge side of the Co-op. It looked shallow. As the tide raced out it became obvious that we would soon be aground. We decided to leave and do an overnight passage to Coffs Harbour.

Coffs Harbour

The thunder storms remained to the east of us and thankfully the weather was pleasant, apart from the anticipation of what might happen if they came closer. Great black mountains of cloud agitated out to the east all night and kept me on edge. However the night was calm and I had an uneventful shift from 10pm until 1.30am. Between the east coast current and the light winds we did not arrive at Coffs Harbour until late in the afternoon as the light was beginning to fade.

Both courtesy moorings between the old jetty and the marina wall were taken, so Peter and I decided to anchor in the south east corner near South Coffs Island in the outer harbour. Popular opinion has it that the holding in Coffs Harbour is less than ideal, so we made sure that the anchor was well stuck in the sandy bottom. A relentless swell enters the bay, but luckily we were held stern on to it so it was reasonably comfortable. Windy gusts punctuated the night, but we held firm.

The dinghy, having no working motor, and the wet weather kept us on board for the day as it is a long dinghy ride across the outer harbour to the marina and one of the only landing places for the dinghy. After two nights out there one of the yachts on one of the courtesy moorings vacated and we quickly motored Olivia over to take advantage of it. Now we could row Lily into the marina right next to us to explore ashore. Peter ordered the impellor for the dinghy motor at the chandlery, then we walked along a picturesque path beside the beach to the north. Our friends, Ric and Val sailed Arkaydes in during the day and decided to take a marina berth.

The small dinghy landing beach in the marina soon gets covered by the tide. Scrambling up the wall is a pain!

The Coffs Marina was badly damaged some time ago, but there is still much work to be done on the northern wall to make it weatherproof. We discovered a new public pontoon in the western end of the marina that is for loading and has a 20 min limit on time, but dinghies were tied behind the pontoon next to the rock wall. It is quite a convenient spot to leave the dinghy. The little beach in the eastern corner floods quickly on a rising tide and getting on shore can be tricky.

Damage remains at the Coffs Harbour  wall

A short weather window appeared for the sail to the Clarence River and we studied the tide charts along with the weather forecast and decided to leave at 5am in the morning. That would have us arriving at the Clarence entrance bar 3 hours after low tide when the incoming tide favours entry into the river.

Clarence River, Iluka and Yamba

Fifteen boats left Coffs Harbour between 5 and 6am. Everyone had been sheltering in the harbour during the inclement weather. We sailed most of the day in 10 - 15kt SE winds and generally stayed inshore to avoid the current and the rain squalls still lurking just east of our track. Several yachts lined up with us to enter the river. The bar was flat and entry easy. We motored into Iluka Bay and anchored by mid afternoon.

Moor R & R owners, Paul and Kathy, invited all the Lake Macquarie people on board their Lagoon 45 for pre dinner snacks. A dozen or so sailors enjoyed Sashimi tuna, caught fresh on the trip north, along with other yummy treats. Paul is an excellent cook. Thank you Paul and Kathy for your hospitality.

Hibbertia flowers. Note the umbrella!!

On Thursday we decided to take Olivia over the other side of the river to the Yamba Marina for a few days in order to be measured up for a new bimini, dodger and lee cloth by 'Scooter' of  Scooter Sails. I can't wait for our shelter as this rainy weather means we can't spend time outside and we have to keep everything shut against the rain. The marina is not overly expensive at $49 per night. It is nice to be able to do the washing, plug into the power and run our electrical appliances for maintenance and cleaning. There is a pleasant café here. They have allocated us a berth that is close to the facilities and readily accessible. Peter spent Friday morning replacing Lily's impellor, which is a particularly fiddly job. After much cursing and some swearing the job was done, so I hope it works now.

Clarence Head walk

We have been exploring Yamba, between the blustery showers, and restocking the larder. Monday sees the start of our cruise up the river to Grafton, with the Shag Island Cruising Yacht Club, for six days.  Apparently sixteen boats and crew are participating. I am looking forward to exploring this "Big River' again. It is the second biggest river in Australia.

I have started Isabelle's quilt - Red Work patches