April 2021
We left the Crookhaven River with nearly five days of good weather so the aim for this leg of our journey was to reach Port Stephens, 150nm away. We left Crookhaven at first light, reaching the bar crossing just as the sun was rising over the headland. As the sun rose above the hill we were mildly blinded at what was nearly a critical moment but everything was fine and instead we witnessed an absolutely stunning sunrise.
The goal that day was to reach Port Hacking, sleep the night at anchor and then move on the following morning. But to start the day we were completely becalmed with barely 5kts of wind blowing over the boat. However it was so steady that we decided to set everything including the flying jib and gaff topsail, causing us to really look the part of a Tiny Tallship. Although this only lasted about an hour before the wind picked up and the light air sails had to come in. But that didn’t stop us from flying along at 5-6kts and giving us renewed hopes that we would reach Port Hacking before dinner. This lasted for a couple of hours before once more the wind died out to the point that even the topsails (which got a second use that day) were hanging limp and our speed had dropped to under 2kts. Even though we were on a rather loose timeline this trip we still wanted to get further then Port Hacking with so many days of good weather ahead of us so we started the motor to keep us going at 3-4kts. Unfortunately this continued for the rest of the afternoon, dropping the anchor just after dark off Jibbon Beach in the entrance of Port Hacking.
We only stayed in Port Hacking long enough to see the sunrise the next morning and even that was witnessed as we were winching up the anchor. That day we were forecast to have moderate southerlies so we thought we would go out with the aim to get to Sydney. This was just as well because the sea state outside Port Hacking was horrible. The wind hadn’t blown long enough for swell to form so we had to contend with short sharp wind chop. This caused Allagai to pitch up and down and roll gunnel to gunnel in waves that were only 2-3m and about 7-8seconds apart. Although on the bright side we had wind and even with a third reef in the main sail and the staysail we flew along at 4-5kts and were entering the Sydney Heads just before lunch. Entering Sydney Heads felt like we had reached a real milestone in our sailing adventure and since we were there we decided that we might as well see some of Australia’s most iconic features, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, if only by boat, especially since I hadn’t seen either before.
Passing through Sydney Harbour was pure chaos, there were ferries and fast tour boats darting about everywhere and multitudes of sailing boats out for a lunch time sail. Thankfully with Hugo’s expert helming we stayed out the main thoroughfare and out of the way of the fast ferries, making it to the bridge in one piece. Passing the Opera house and then under the bridge was another surreal moment and made that mornings uncomfortable conditions worth the effort. However once we passed the bridge we were ready to find a nice quiet anchorage so did a quick 180 and went under a second time in less then five minutes now in search for somewhere to spend the night. With a little searching we found a free public mooring in Vaucluse Bay about a mile from the heads.
The following morning we were once more up at first light wanting to leave the mooring before the harbour got too busy, especially as it was the weekend. That day we were aiming for the Hawksbury River but unfortunately we had no wind. So that day even though we had the sails up they hung limp above us while the engine pushed us to our destination. We were amazed by the difference in sea state as compared to the previous day the ocean was flat. We still had swell of 1-2m but it rolled past us about every 15 seconds and so was barely even noticeable.
That afternoon we arrived in the Hawksbury River just as the local yacht fleet was
preparing for a race, passing about 50 boats on their way out. Entering the Hawksbury I was amazed by the amount of green trees and the mountainous terrain. It felt like I was back in Tasmania, only a lot busier. Although we were leaving the next morning we couldn’t resist travelling about 5nm from the heads, up the Hawksbury River to anchor in a much recommended spot called Refuge Bay. It was a truly beautiful spot that I wish we had more time to explore with several waterfalls running off the cliffs and many walking trails through the national park behind. However we just added that spot to the places we wanted to come back and visit in the Summer.
That evening we decided to move to the entrance of the Hawksbury and anchored behind Barrenjoey Head. Even though we were sad to leave our beautiful little anchorage behind by being near the heads we were in a good position to leave early the next morning. This was because we wouldn’t have to time our departure with the tide, be on the lookout for logs and flood debris and it was also 5 less miles to do the next day.
So at first light the following morning we weighed anchor and headed off to our final destination, Port Stephens. That day we had 70nm to make which we expected to take us 20 hours however we had the flattest sea state that I have ever seen in open waters. With a light 5-10kts off the land and no waves we flew along at 5-6kts for the better part of the day, although we may have had help from a current. That day we once again had all sail set including the flying jib and at times the topsail although occasionally even all this sail wasn’t enough to keep us moving. Even though we were determined not to use the engine we had moments where we were forced to use it just to keep us moving. It took us 15hours to get to Port Stephens only needing the motor about a third of that time, turning it on and off as we lost and gained the wind. That night we dropped anchor in Shoal Bay, arriving about 5-8 hours earlier then expected meaning we got an early night and no overnight watches.
The following morning in the light of day we realised just how far away we had dropped the anchor, we were well off the beach and away from other boats. So after a nice breakfast we weighed anchor. Although instead of heading in closer to this beach, as there was a bit of swell rolling in, we decided to motor to the other side of the headland and found a free public mooring in Little Nelson Bay off of the towns main beach. It was just as well the we arrived when we did as no sooner had we picked up the mooring yachts come flooding out of the nearby marina. Apparently it was Port Stephen’s annual regatta week which was the reason for the nearly 100 boats exiting from the marina.
We spent a total of four nights in Port Stephens going ashore to the local town once and for a walk to Zenith Beach, on the other side of Tomaree Head. Most of our time in Port Stephens was spent a board Allagai enjoying a flat boat after plenty of sailing to get there. Our next destination was set to be Coffs Harbour but we were forecast for nearly seven days of favourable weather so Brisbane was also not out of the question.