Author Archives: lj431

The passage from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour is a relatively long one, at 76 nautical miles. We discovered that Trial Bay, located almost exactly halfway between the two ports, is dubbed as one of the coasts best open roadstead anchorages (in the right conditions!). So we decided to break the trip into two shorterContinue reading “An Unexpected Storm”

After our nine day stop in Port Stephens, it was a relief to be on the move again. We had good conditions for sailing, with a steady ten to fifteen knots of breeze, and so were able to sail for six out of the nine hours of passage time. Although we encountered some big swellContinue reading “Forster-Tuncurry and Port Macquarie”

As first light was rising, at 5.20am, we slipped our mooring in Coasters Retreat and left Broken Bay, heading north for Newcastle. We aren’t often up and about at that time of day, so watching the sun rise on the horizon over the ocean was pretty special! The crisp, clear morning blossomed into a lovelyContinue reading “Newcastle and Port Stephens”

It is only a relatively short distance from Sydney Harbour to Broken Bay, less than 20 nautical miles, but it took us over six hours to sail there. There was a light southerly blowing from directly behind us and so we zigged and zagged trying to keep the wind at an optimum angle to theContinue reading “Pittwater, Broken Bay”

And so it was that on a Monday morning in May, after a leisurely brunch of French toast and bacon eaten in the cockpit while gazing across at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we found ourselves sailing slowly underneath the famous arches. It was a gorgeous sunny day with a light breeze, just enough for aContinue reading “Sydney Harbour – Part Two”

On Thursday 23rd April, we departed Port Hacking for our passage to Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour. It was a beautiful sunny day, and with very little swell and five to fifteen knot westerlies we sailed almost the entire way. Upon entering through the Heads, we got our first glimpse of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge,Continue reading “Sydney Harbour – Part One”

Port Hacking lies on the southern fringe of Sydney, only 30 km from the city centre. With the spectacular Royal National Park bordering the southern shoreline and the surfing beaches of Cronulla to the north, it is a relatively clean and unspoilt waterway. We arrived after an uneventful passage from Wollongong, motoring most of theContinue reading “Port Hacking”

We arrived into Wollongong at a quarter to six in the evening, after our ten hour passage from Jervis Bay. After first tying up to the public mooring and finding that it wasn’t deep enough for us, we settled on rafting Cool Change next to several old yachts tied to the side of the wharf.Continue reading “Wollongong Harbour”

Well, after 31 days floating around Jervis Bay, we definitely have a love / hate relationship with the place. As mentioned previously, when the sun is shining and the water is calm and flat, then it really is an idyllic place to be on a yacht. But when it is raining, windy and/or the swellContinue reading “Bye Bye Jervis Bay…”

Jervis Bay is surrounded by several different National Parks and Nature Reserves, so we were looking forward to doing a bit of hiking and biking and exploring them all during our stay in the Bay. Luckily, we organised our camping trip in Booderee National Park before the coronavirus restrictions started, as that National Park hasContinue reading “Hiking and Biking in Jervis Bay”