Thoughts on Sailing at night

By Jen

1.30 am on a totally moonless and cloudless night. We cast off the lines that had held Sea Trek III firmly to the pontoon of the brightly lit marina. We motored slowly away from the street lights and into the dense black night. Life jackets on. Our first challenge was to pass between the two unseen break-walls standing ahead of us in the dark. We could hear the crashing waves out beyond. I watched the flashing red warning light positioned on top of the concrete boulders. I was very certain that we were already off course. I fought my panic and urged my sense of reason to take hold. "Red to Port!" I shouted and instantly knew that I was wrong. We were leaving not arriving. I knew that Glenn had charted our departure correctly. I was tormented by the thought of my children living their adult lives beyond my drowning.

Just one red light

Glenn was on the helm and watching the chart plotter. He was now blind to anything outside of the cockpit due to the illumination of the electronics. I had chosen to ride " shot gun" style, seated behind our large starboard winch. On this night sail I will be the eyes for ST3 and the lookout for everything ahead. I leaned out to the side a little. There was nothing to see. Why was there was no moon in the sky? This is a major oversight and I secretly cursed the skipper for placing us both in such danger. We knew that whales were still heading north. We had no way of detecting or avoiding them. Fishing dinghies also bob around out there without lights. Lives at risk. I was seething with frustration as we turned NNE and into the open ocean. Here we go.

We made small talk about the trip ahead in the faint glow of the cockpit. I began to sing old TV themes and relaxed more with the laughter of familiar memories. Then I noticed that the night sky with its trillions of stars had created a gentle light around us. I could see in the dark! So much around us was visible. The water surface was so still that we were travelling in exceptional conditions. No wind, no ripples, no waves and no swell. The brightest star that I could see was close to the horizon. It cast a ribbon of reflection towards our little boat. I had only ever seen this on a pond or quiet river before. The phosphorescence in our bow waves flashed as it rushed past. I was mesmerised. It was beautiful out here. As I watched I pondered on the perished lives of people taken by the water. In these moments of reflection I knew that those lost lives powered the passing specks of light energy. I also understood why ancient faiths studied the shapes of their gods in the stars patterns. The souls of the departed were also visible tonight in the heavens. I felt a wisdom descend.

 

 

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Continuing North Coffs Harbour to Iluka

Coffs Harbour. We ended up spending 5 days at the The International Coffs Harbour Marina. We spent a great deal of that time waiting to have repairs done! Our fridge is small but vital for our provisioning. It had stopped working. Our consistent problems with the autopilot continued to be consistent. (yes its meant to read like that Jen!) Coursemaster Autopilots take note: I'm only halfway through my letter of complaints. (a list of them)

Sea Trek III @ Coffs Harbour Marina.

For those of you familiar with the jetty area in Coffs you will know that its a hive of activity. It has shops, yacht club and eateries. There was no shortage of things to do and places to visit. Jen really enjoyed the walk on the monumental old jetty. I enjoyed a couple of SUP surfs at Jetty Beach. I was able able to launch from the deck of ST3 and paddle out of the marina to the beach. SUPs are amazing for catching little waves that normally would be unridable. I did scare the hell out of the whale watching skipper on the commercial vessel docked next to us when I threw the SUP overboard. It made a the huge splash and had him thinking that one of his customers had fallen in.

It seemed like every sailor we met recommended "Attitude Hamburgers" to us. We were tired after our sail from Trial Bay on Monday and fancied someone else's cooking. We arrived at 6pm anticipating the culinary delights of these boutique burgers. Jen and I scanned the menu with our stomachs grumbling. Jen chose a "Tree Hugger": a vegetarian mushroom delight, while I chose their special "Attitude" Angus Beef. There were about 10 other customers enjoying drinks around the outdoor fire place. Can you imagine my surprise (I was flabbergasted ) when I came to order only to be told by the waitress "sorry, but we have run out of meat and there will be a 40 minute wait for everything else". So we ate elsewhere and it was rather ordinary.

Monumental Old Jetty at Jetty Beach Coffs Harbour.

It was great to catch up with Izzy Foreal while we were in Coffs. Izzy and I played in the "Trashed Out Cats" in the 90's. ( I think?) James and I had recently attended and played at Izzy's "When I'm 64" celebrations at Raleigh. We did that trip by road. Izzy called down to the boat for a cup of tea and a catch up on what we have both been up to since those heady 90's days. When you're in the area make sure you catch one of Izzy's shows. He's very entertaining.

Izzy Foreal on ST3

James and Glenn perform at Izzy Forreal's "When I'm 64" earlier in 2013. I'm blessed to be able to perform with my son on stage on occasions.

Whilst in Coffs we also caught up with fellow cruisers Ines and Steve from SV Bravado. We met them in Port Stephens and have now caught up with them in Camden Haven and Coffs too. They have raced ahead of us now and are in "Bums Bay" on the Gold Coast. Jen snapped a great pic of them coming in to escape the approaching storm front.

Bravado looking for safe anchorage.

The fridge is now fixed, and I know a lot more about 12volt refrigeration. The autopilot is still inconsistent and we are now safely anchored in Iluka Harbour. We left Coffs around 2am on Saturday morning and motor sailed the whole way: about 9.5 hours.(once again timing our arrival to cross the bar). We were greeted by "I'm the skipper" star: John King! John lives here on his beautiful catamaran "Dream Weaver". We have known John since we first started looking for a yacht to sail when we all lived in the Ulladulla area. We both then moored our older yachts at Batemans Bay. John also helped me bring ST3 back from Brisbane on her delivery trip.

Just who is the skipper? Convention at Iluka

We are staying at Iluka until Saturday and we are looking forward to exploring the mighty Clarence river by yacht. We will motor to Maclean this week. We thought that it was too good an opportunity to miss this famous voyage and I don't think we will be back this way for sometime to come.

Where we are:

http://skipr.net/where-is/boat-pages/?boatid=1122

 

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Dunbogan. Calm bar crossing. Whale encounter. Trial bay

By Jen

Last Thursday afternoon Camden Haven and the Dunbogan anchorage rocked to the sounds of various poorly tuned Ukuleles. The surprise guest who drove up from Sydney for the occasion was the King of the CCRAP Band: Bruce (and his charming wife Sue). Apologies to the other yachties who had moored in the area for those 5 hours. A great gathering of mildly musical sailors.

Salty old CCRAP Uke players.

Leaving Camden Haven was on our minds. All coastal sand bar entrances need to be approached with caution and research prior to the event. When we enter in through one of these we also like to know the weather forecast for the next few days. We then decide if we should enter and when we can expect to leave. (Unfavourable weather can exclude a departure for weeks: read Port Stephens blog.) We like to use the high tide for safe transiting. We also consider any specific requirements of our next anchorage. We estimate the speed needed for arrival prior to the low afternoon sun. Swell and wind and wave activity all impact upon Sea Trek III's sailing progress. The night before departure we tend to have a very restlessly sleep. Luckily the conditions on Sunday morning prior to our sunrise crossing were glorious. So beautiful, and so perfect. Thank you Camden Haven.

Surreal.

The real highlight of our travels so far has been supplied by nature. It was late afternoon on Sunday. We were watching whales blowing wet spouts closer to the western shore. Glenn suddenly shouted at me in a weird and dreadful voice......."JJennn, oh my Llorddd, #%€¥, Look up front! Jen! Up front,". I did look up front and tried to spot anything of interest there. (Note : I do tend to cooperate in situations were loud and unexpected swearing and blasphemy are involved). But on looking forward I only saw the usual head sail and the stay sail in its bag. Nothing in the ocean ahead. By chance I glanced sideways while continuing to scan for whatever had excited Glenn. Just off to my port side and slightly frontward of our centre cockpit I saw it. We were witnessing the movement of a huge solid mass. We watched as it's dark broad back and barnacle encrusted fin descended right beside us. The whale had taken a speedy short cut right under Sea Trek III, with us onboard.! The drawing is of what I remember but Glenn says it was much bigger and broader. He was really shaken up about it. The whale didn't seem to touch ST3 and I don't know how because we were sailing at 7 knots at the time. It must have been in a real hurry.

Don't tell our mothers.

Nature continues to astound me in its many colours. On arriving and anchoring in Trial Bay we witnessed an almost a 360 degree sunset. The colours of the next few photos may help explain my wonderment. Only minutes in between these shots.

Looking north as the sun sets

A few minutes later

And just a bit later.

Sea Sickness. We are celebrating at Coffs Harbour. Glenn has been using the "E.T. Sea Sickness" remedy from the BOVA compounding pharmacy, and he says that he feels great. (Previously Glenn had been so ill with escalating symptoms that he even slept through the emptying of the water tank through out his bedding. Much laughter from the delivery guys/friends on board). I am using the wrist ReliefBand Voyager, by switching it on and off for nausea control. I suspect that a combination of the two methods may end up being perfect. As we keep sailing we expect the symptoms to decrease. We are also telling other sea sick sailors the benefits of our newly discovered "wonder cures". Good luck Ines.

Surprised to see Leggo in use on the Coffs Harbour break wall.

Coffs Harbour now, here for 3 or so days a few repairs then next stop Yamba.

http://skipr.net/where-is/boat-pages/?boatid=1122

 

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BRING OUT THE TWEEZERS AND MAGNIFYING GLASS.

We are really enjoying Camden Haven and surrounds. The area is very scenic and sleepy the locals are friendly and welcoming, and I reckon its one of those places where you wouldn't have to lock things up. Today friendly local and fellow sailor Phillip from SV Seaka drove us up to the top of Brother mountain lookout. Check the view out!!!!

Camden Haven view.

We had a phone call earlier this morning from Ines and Steve from Bravado, who were sailing to Camden Haven. Imagine our surprise when we spotted them in their yacht lining up the entrance of the sandbar. I rang Steve and yes it was Bravado. Phillip was able to guide them in over the phone from the top of Brother mountain! After Ines and Steve were moored we spent a pleasant couple of hours over coffee and biscuits on ST3.

The tiny white spot outside of the breaking waves is Bravado and Sea Trek III is near Phillip's elbow.

We had a great evening at Greg and Anne's last night. Greg who is a fellow member of the CCRAP Band and also lives in the area. He is the Camden Haven Port Officer for Coastal Cruising Club of Australia (CCCA). They generously picked us up from the Dunbogan Boatshed and drove us to their beautiful acreage property at Bonny Hills. Greg baked a lovely beef and mushroom pie dedicated to Jen.

Jen's Pie. Nice work Greg!

Greg and Anne also have their own bee hive and multiple citrus trees. We felt truly blessed to be able to sample this fresh homegrown produce.

Goldie's Glowing Honey.

Greg is also a crack uke player and he was able to show me a few new tricks and riffs. Its always a pleasure to jam with him.

Again! 1, 2, 3, 4!

Now the sad part of the story...................

Jen's version:

The next chapter is not at all sad.......We returned to ST3 feeling well fed. Suddenly Glenn started experiencing excruciating pain. This was a private pain that was so private that he could not even name it. He could only point, and he was pointing to the jeans/groin. Jen the RN jumped into action. "Drop your trousers now!!!" Glenn reclined on the lounge naked from the waist down. A quick inspection of his nether nether regions and I dashed to my extensive first aid collection that I have been carting around with me unused for years. I returned with local anaesthetic, very sharp and accurate surgical tweezers and our largest magnifying glass. Glenn looked pale as I dove into his pubes for a closer look. The diagnosis was a small tick, eating its way through his delicate flesh. I applied a big dollop the numbing creme. Glenn was nervous and told me that he might faint. There was no time to loose. I began to move towards my target, spotlighting the painful swollen area with a torch and precision tweezers and magnifying glass in hand. Then I began to giggle, and I mean really chuckle. This was ridiculous. What man in the world would want to admit that a woman needed so many implements to locate their most prized possessions? I came up for air and gained my composure. Then I swooped in and removed the tick and a few pubic hairs without a shriek or cry from the patient. Success was mine, and Glenn lives!

Where we are.

http://skipr.net/where-is/boat-pages/?boatid=1122

 

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Midnight Escape from Port Stephens!

Dunbogan Boatshed sentinel

We've finally done it! We've left. After 17 days of incarceration at Port Stephens we've managed to sail out totally unobserved. It was a still and dark cloudy moonless night. Now we're in the lovely Camden Haven river after a 13 hour motor sail. I'm very familiar with Camden Haven. I have previously spent 21 days here when bringing Sea Trek III to Sydney from Brisbane approx. 18 months ago. It rained then and it's raining now. Camden Haven is the site of my greatest life time sporting achievement. I was able to swim faster than Ian Thorpe when I fell overboard on a outgoing tide. This record breaking swim was witnessed by none other than the Prince of Whales ( a well known figure in Sydney yachting circles). He commenorated the event by naming his most famous seafood dish after me: "Dumplings and Flounder". Anyway We are on a mooring at the Dunbogan Boatshed and the prices are family friendly and haven't changed in years!

"Ye good olde" fashion prices at Dunbogan Boatshed.

We really did enjoy our time at Port Stephens and we tried really hard to experience relaxation again. (The Sydney Effect) In Port Stephens we met local fellow cruisers who are also commencing their trip north, SV Bravardo with Ines and Steve. They were very generous people and drove us to the shops for our final provisioning before the trip here. We will catch up with them again in Coffs Harbour. I owe them a drink at the yacht club.

We must be somewhere exotic Jen, I'm fixing things again!

We had a last minute drama with ST3 after refuelling and heading out of Port Stephens. I heard the bilge pump working continually as we pulled away. A quick diagnostic check by Jen revealed that the engine had developed a major water leak due to a failed hose clamp on the raw water intake filter. Sea water was spraying all over the engine compartment. I found a safe anchoring spot. Luckily Jen had effectively packed many spare parts in her workshop and knew exactly where to locate the right spare. Sheer genius that girl. My panic settled and the fix was a five minute job.

One or two hose clamps

 

50 shades of grey: sailing to Camden Haven.

We were happy to face the drab wet weather because the sea was basically flat and friendly with low waves and non existent swell.

Where we are now.

http://skipr.net/where-is/boat-pages/?boatid=1122

 

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AWAITING

By Jen

The Thermo Cooker:

Report on our dinner last night.....Well this was a beginners disaster for me and has extended my reputation as being better at just about everything else. I wished that I had watched a few youtube demonstrations first. I just didn't get the Jen and Glenn Love Stew heated to the max. and so after waiting eagerly all day the veggies were raw and the uncooked mixture was weirdly luke warm.etc. However it was all very convenient to remedy this: I just put the inner cooking pot onto the stove top and 30 mins later it was delicious. In fact that darn cooking pot managed to stay incredibly hot for ages afterwards, and I burnt two fingers. Glenn is still not convinced about it at all. Youtube says that food will never overcooked once it is actually reaches max. temperature. It will save gas too. I'll try a desert next, because I guess if it fails I can just cover with cream. It is weird having the cooking pot just sitting on the cabin's sole. (floor) I favour a position in the work shop but Glenn just doesn't like the idea. Yes ST3 has a workshop, and its all mine!

A miracle or a future washing machine?

If the Thermo Cooker doesn't work out it for us it may well be a very useful on board washing machine. It has all of the attributes: a tightly sealing lid and a convenient 12 litre size. It could swish and slosh around with the movements of ST3 and I'd only expect clean clothes at the eventual opening. Friends will know that I will be much more successful in this area of pursuit than trying culinary experimentations. I'm so glad that Glenn is developing his cooking skills.

One of yesterdays feeding troupe having a rest

Where we shelter for the night is always a very informed decision. Glenn has a life long passion (if not obsession) with weather/ meteorology. At present the forecasting of the Bureau of Meteorology is extremely changeable which causes us frustration. We have spent days reading reports of huge seas outside of Port Stephens and we keep seeking safe havens. We have been preparing for horrendous conditions and have battened down many times. The overcast skies are always a threat to our solar power intake ( yet to reach critical level) and the damp and cold conditions have sent us to our warm V berth ( our triangle shaped bed in the forward section) early each night. We set the anchor alarm or gps to check that we aren't dragging while we sleep. But weirdly at times on ST3 it feels like an alpine retreat, with chocolate drinks and wooly sox. We sure don't want snow.

It is an indoor life right now ( keeping warm and snug and dry) and I am starved of something amusing to read. The Alan Lucas book "OFF THE WATCH" is full of snippets of nautical trivia, and of no use to me at all, but I have devoured it and now have no memory of it's contents? I have never bothered to clutter my brain with bits of precise and useless detail and anyway I can't readily recall detail when I want to. But hey, if I had only read this book a few months ago before the Commodore's dinner our table would have had a chance at being the Trivia champions.( but only if the book was in my hand bag).

Useful trivia: DUNNAGE: cargo secured against shifting seas, typically by lengths of timber used to brace. Less commonly called FARDAGE.

Update on my spoon: thanks to Fiona in Cairns: George III's reign ended earlier than I knew: spoon now dated 1792, and possibly made by Wildman Smith, or William Sumner I. (presuming that the silversmith's initials were upside down.)

More exciting than most breakfast utensils

Pirates not welcome.

 

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Does anyone have any questions about Port Stephens?

By Glenn

Its our 12th day in Port Stephens so I now know quite a bit about the place and can tell you how entertaining it is. If you have anything you've ever wanted to know about the place ask away. My special subject is Fame Cove!

We are now back in Fame Cove after spending two nights at Soldiers Point Marina, and several nights at other anchorages. We needed to do some laundry, (everything seems damp) and shopping etc: We can highly recommend this marina. The facilities are superior, Eco rated top class, staff are friendly and helpful and we roamed around in the courtesy cars: a red Mercedes!

Ensuite for marina guests.

Meanwhile just outside the Soldier crabs were gathering in huge numbers...

 

This one was not at all afraid of me

I noticed that Sydney is copping this east coast low that's expected here tonight. Fame Cove will be very protected from the easterly gale that's predicted, but right now it is so still that it feels impending.....

An eerie stillness

Our next port of call is either Foster or Camden Haven and both have sand bars to cross. It's certainly not recommended to cross bars when the swell is greater than 2 metres. Not sure if it was on the news but a yacht was rolled on the Yamba bar on Friday. Two crew members and the dog on board required rescuing. The woman and Doberman dog were thrown into the churning waters and the man was tangled up with the yacht and rolled over three times. The mast was lost. Luckily the crew only received minor injuries and the yacht was insured. We are both very happy to be in a safe port while the turbulent weather is about.

By Jen

A complete change of subject. Now that I have some head space I am doing some catching up. I have finally researched the markings on my special breakfast spoon.

The symbols indicate: Sterling Silver , London, George III is the fourth symbol and the year is indicated by the letter r = 1832 ! My muesli now tastes extra nice, but unfortunately I am missing the complete set. No more dish washer for this one ever.

I wonder what this means: M.I.R. The original owners initials are on the end of the handle on the upper side of the spoon.

We closely follow the amazing blog COASTAL DELIGHTS written by our good friend and culinary genius Gertie. (Photography by David) She has recommended this THERMO COOKING pot to us. It is a pot within an insulated clamped pot. Once the cooking process has begun in the regular way the heavy based saucepan is removed from the stove top and sealed in the outer pot. Then no further heat is required to finish the cooking process. In 6 hours dinner is ready to eat. Tonight we are trying the Jen and Glenn Love Stew with sailing variations: (just using the ingredients that we have aboard). I am sure that after long day sailing passages this Therm Cooker will be a blessing for us. Neither of us want to cook after an exhausting day, but both of us want to eat and then sleep. Interestingly it will also keep food items frozen if needed. I can seen that it will be very useful for the cruising life but Glenn it not convinced, yet.

The Aldi Thermo Cooker

 

We have just witnessed a remarkable activity by four species of birds. ( no specific photos because we were spell bound) . Four Pelicans were paddling along the shore in formation. Small darting Little Pied Cormorants were behind and fishing below the surface by bobbing up and down. Scooping and skimming all around were larger Black Cormorants and darting in and out of the cohesive flock were diving Herons. The entire group just moved past like a street parade and continued onwards into the next bay.

No need to post where we are, but here it is anyway.

http://skipr.net/where-is/boat-pages/?boatid=1122

 

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