SYDNEYTOMELBOURNE

EilaYarnall2016

Brian,CiarinMara,IanMcGrathandRobinWarlondleftRoyals on the 19th December to take the boat up toSydney,theypulledintoEdenovernightduetoastrongnortherly,otherwiseitwasagoodtripup.Theyarrivedon the 22nd to a wet welcome, leaving the boat at aprivatemarinainBalmainandflewhome.Thanksguys.

Brian, Steve and Karen Lanyon and I flew out on the29thDecemberandmeetMargandIanLloydatSydneyairport.OncewewereorganisedweheadedupthehilltothemainstreetandfoundalovelyItalianrestaurantfordinner, a calmnight soeveryone sleptwell.Wokeup toa sunnyday,perfect togo fora sail around theharbour, work out where we should drop anchor forthefollowingnight,foundaspotnottoofarawayfromwherewewerestaying.SailedontoManlyforlunch,agreat Vietnamese café down a side street then aleisurely sail back to Balmain. Back up the hill fordinner, decisions, found a fantastic Turkish restaurantcalledEfendyonDarlingstreet;thefoodwasamazing,aswastheservice.

NewYear’s Eve and time to go shopping for tonight’sfestivities,MarkandMerrynarriveearlyafternoon,weheadofftoourspotoppositeLunaPark,theothersideoftheOperaHouse.Afewattemptsatsettingtheanchorandit’stimefornibblesanddrinks,afewmoreboatsarrivebutit’snotcrowdedlikewethoughtitwouldbe.ABBQfordinnerandsettleinwithmusicplayingtowaitforthefireworks.Betweenthe9.30andmidnightfireworksagroupoftallshipswiththeir rigging lit up sailed past, they looked like ghost ships. At 11.30 the wind directionchanged toa slightnorthwesterlywhich turned theboataround so that the cockpitwasfacingthebridge,wegottoenjoythebrilliantdisplaywithouthavingtomove.Amustdo!Everyoneshouldtickitofftheirbucketlist.

NewYear’sDayit’sanotherbeautifulday,breakfastonboardandthenwesaygoodbyetoMargandIan,backhomeforthem.Brian,Steve,KarenandIleave,nextstopPittWater.Aniceeasysailtotheheads,turnleftittakes4hourstogettoPittWater,boats,boatsandmoreboats.WehavearrangedamooringatRoyalPriceAlfredYacht, theyhavea tenderservicetogetyoutotheclub.Howgoodisthat?TheplaceisbusyastheCoffsHarbourraceisstaringthenextday,abeautifulYachtClubwitheverythingthatyoucouldwishfor.Weleaveonthe3rdtoheadtoRefugeBaywhichisonlyashortsailaway.Thereareheapsof

moorings and a nicewaterfall in front of us,happy sailors. We take the tender and goexploring,nexttoRefugeBayisAmerica’sBaywhich also has moorings, nice part of theworld. Thenext daywehead toBrooklyn tohave a look around and to get supplies.Wefind a nice little seafood café tucked awayamongst the trees. Brooklyn also has fuel aswellasatrainstationandonlyanhourfromSydney.HeadbacktoRefugeBayandpickupa mooring just as the rain starts, it rains allnight.Stillraininginthemorningsoit’sawetdrop off and farewell to Steve and Karen atthe train station. Back to Refuge Bay in therainwhichdoesn’tstopforanother2days.Itfinallystopsandwecangoexploring,headofup Cowans Creek which is 23 meters deep,stoptohavelunchatthecaféatCottagePoint,alsorefuel.Weexplorefortherestoftheday,upSmith’sCreekandthenbacktoCowansCreektopickupmooringatWaratahBay,allthebayshaveafewpublicmooringsinthem.Thisplaceislikesailingthroughaforest,justneedtokeepaneyeoutforlogsetcaftertherain.Arelaxingnightonboard.

Anotherlovelydaytogoexploring,walkeduptoanicewaterfall,thereareplentyofthemaroundthankstotherain.PickedupamooringatWinsonBay,afterdinnerdecidedtoturnthemotorontochargethebatteries.AllgooduntilBrianseesblacksmokecomingupfromthe campionway, he rushed down and I turn off themotor but neither one of us had achancetoseeiftherewasstillwatercomingout,sowedon’tknowifthemotoriscooked.Decidedtoleaveittocooldownovernight,itwillbefineinthemorning,famouslastwords.Morning arrives, turn the key…nothing, try again…nothing, there is no wind so we can’tattempttosail.WeradioMarineRescueatCottagePoint,theyarriveinabout20minutesandtieupnexttous.TheytakeustoBobbinHead,greatserviceandanicebunchofguyswhoaremostlyvolunteers.OffcourseitsSaturdaysonooneisavailabletohavealookatwhat the damage is, at least we are in the right place as everything is here, MarineMechanic,Electrician,Shipwrightetc.Theonly thingmissing isa supermarketwhich isupthehill throughtheNationalPark,soyouneedacarora taxi. Problemsolved,Markthemanageroffers todriveus,hewaitsand thendrivesusback, I thought thatkindof thingonlyhappened inTasmania.Webuyhima fewdrinkstosaythankyou.Sinceweare inaNationalParkwedecidetogoforabushwalk,3hourslaterwearrivebackattheboat,abitlongerthanwethoughtbutwellworthit,stillcan’tbelievethatweareonlyanhouroutofSydney,feelslikeamillionmilesaway.Monday…timetofindoutwhattheproblemis,Craigtheelectricianarrivesand finds theproblem.Thestartermotorstayed ingearso itburntout,YAYit’sonlyasmallthing,anewoneisorganisedandput inplacebytheendoftheday.

We head off on Wednesday to start the trip back home, first stop Wollongong, lightnortherlysoit’sacomfortablesail,arriveat7.30pmandraftupagainstafishingboatwhichwehadorganisedontheway,agreatplacetobewhenthereisastormonitsway,whicharrivesthefollowingafternoon.Wespend3nightssafelytuckedin,it’sthefirsttimeinover20yearsthatwehavehadnofamilytostaywithasmybrothermovedafewyearsago,feelsstrange.

Timetomoveon,windisaSouthtoSSE15to20knotswitha2mtrswell,headingtoJervisBay, and the coastline isbeautiful.Wearriveat4.30andpickupyet anothermooringatDarlingRdwhichisatthetoplefthandside, it’sgorgeouswithpurewhitesandandaquacolouredwater,dinneranddrinksinparadise.Thefollowingdaywegoforawalkalongthebeach, have a swim and then take the tender to have a look around,we end up seeingalmostthewholeBay,wishwecouldstaylonger.

NextstopBermagui,againweraftupnexttoafishingboat,nicespotwithallnewfacilities,wehavedinneratthepub,greatfishandchips.LeaveinthemorningforEden,thesunisoutandjusttherightamountofwind.ThedayisalmostperfectsowedecidetoskipEdenandcontinueontoLakesEntrance. A nice sunset, dolphins saying hello, life’s good.The night starts with a clear sky, as the nightwears on itgets darker and darker until you can’t tell the differencebetweentheskyandtheocean,atleastitsflat…Istilldon’tlikenightsailing.WetakeitinshiftsandarriveoutsideLakesat 6.30am, could have been earlier but Brian wanted tohavedaylighttomakesuretherewouldbenoissues,greatleads,welldredged,upthecutandturnright toa floatingpontoon,niceandeasy.Oncewearetiedupitstimetohaveasleep.

EarlystartforthelongsailtoRefugeCove,ittakes14hoursandtheweatherisnothingliketheBureauofMeteorologypredicted,notahappysailor.Wearriveanddropanchorandit’sasniceasweremembered.Thenextdayisovercastanddrizzly,weheadtoshoretoplaceadriftwoodplaqueforMikaontheboatwallandlookforRedSky’swhichwefound.Headedback on board as it’s no longer drizzle. The following morning we head off, destinationClevelands,onceagainit’scompletelyoppositetowhatisontheBureau’ssite,webangintoit fora fewhoursuntilwegetpastSkullRockandthen itsettlesdowna little.Arriveandpickuponeofthe4publicmoorings,nicetobeabletobreakupthetrip.Sundayandit’sontoQueenscliff,apleasantsailandarriveearlyafternoon.

Hometime,arriveatRoyalsintheafternoon.It’sbeenagreattrip,wepurchasedMikatodoalotmorecruising,sothistripisthestartofmanymoretocome,bonuswecandoittwohanded.