Sail Pittwater
By David Waples
During the first week of November 4 boats headed north to Broken Bay and the calm waters of the Hawkesbury. Indulgence, from Wollongong Yacht Club, a South Coast 32 from Jervis Bay, a Beneteau 399 from Port Jackson and a 33 foot Hunter, a charter boat out of Church Point gathered at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club at Newport.
Light northeast breezes ensured a pleasant motor sail in company to Jibbon Beach with WYC members Steve Long and John Lane crewing on Indulgence and Pete and Marc on Sophia, the South Coast 32. Taking up a mooring off the beach there, a good meal of pasta and homemade sauce washed down with a beer finished off the first day of our adventure.
The next morning a swim to the beach before boarding again and heading off into even lighter north easterly winds. On approach to Port Jackson, the AIS showed us on a collision course with HMAS Hobart as she departed the Port. This situation continued for 5 minutes so I called her up over the VHF however received no reply. She did increase her speed though and soon crossed our bow within half a mile which I guess is acceptable. An impressive sight to be that close to a big old warship.
That afternoon saw us sail in to Broken Bay with nice southeasterly developing to welcome us into Pittwater. Where was that all day when we needed it? The two other boats then joined us, seeming to leap out of The Basin, and the race was on. We all tacked down the channel into the wind and eventually pulled into our berths at RPAYC Marina. Dinner at the Newport Arms followed, with the crew of 8 enjoying recounting the passage north.
The next day, probably Thursday I'm thinking (how good is retirement) Steve left us to meet up with his brother and John Lane and I and the other boats sailed north on the channel with our spinnaker making light work of the 6 to 10 knot south-east breeze over the rear quarter. As we turned to head towards the Hawkesbury the wind increased to 17 knots and from the East and we goose winged along at a very decent 6 and 7 knots. All boats met up in Refuge Bay and dinner and drinks went well into the night. The next morning saw the boats on moorings off Brooklyn where we paddled to shore due to the outboard motor failing to fire up, in pouring rain but warm conditions for lunch at a local cafe. There we bid farewell to John Lane and Pete from Sophia as they boarded the train home.
We had a very pleasant couple of weeks on the various waterways and creeks in the area including Coal and Candle creek up to Akuna Bay and Cowan Creek up to Bobbin Head. We were joined by our various wives, partners and friends and while heavy rain often fell, mostly overnight, it failed to dampen our enthusiasm for this beautiful area within the Ku-Rin Gai Chase National Park. Lots of mooring buoys were available in the area but our most enjoyable times were spent on the anchor when we pushed as far up into some of the creeks as we could, leading us to invariably keep away from other human beings.
All good things come to an end, however with sailing the greatest adventure is often in the journey and our return home was every bit of that. Sophia and Indulgence departed Broken Bay at the very civilised time of 11:00 hours on the 1st of December with 13 knots of northerly just forward of the beam and gradually coming around behind us. Off Mona Vale, the spinnaker went up and carried us along very nicely until I saw 17 knots in the wind instrument and although the boat was doing it easily my inexperience with the spinnaker on the newly fitted top-down furler urged me to put it away about that time. We continued on under full headsail and main at a very decent speed averaging 5.7 knots for the day, arriving back in Port Hacking around 16:00 that afternoon.
A swim and a beer and we settled in for the night after sharing a meal on board Sophia.
A couple of knots of breeze from the southwest greeted us the next morning so we motor sailed the 5 or so miles down to Wattamolla Boat Harbour. We anchored in 4 metres of water over good holding sand and swam to the beach for a look around. Back on board for morning tea and with the NNE now in at around 12 knots we weaved our way around the reefs and back to sea. The charts are not very detailed in the Wattamolla area however I did a screen dump a very nice satellite photo of the Harbour and laminated it and kept it on board. The mind memory I have of this photo was very helpful getting us in and out of Wattamolla as my laminated original is still on Travis's boat from when he last visited this area.
Back up goes the spinnaker and we sailed towards Wollongong at 199 degrees with 7 to 10 knots of apparent wind 142 degrees to the port of the boat and some very nice boat speeds, 5, 6 and 7's and even higher as the small swell pushed us along.
Pete on Sophia was going to Shellharbour Marina for a month so I took the opportunity to continue along and go in there with him. The northeaster was up around 18 knots by mid-afternoon and when at a good approach angle to the rock walls at Shell Cove we put in a jibe and sailed the 2.5 miles towards the entrance. On approach, I started the engine and turned to windward to get rid of the main, the head sail already furled as we sailed down wind.
A bit of a strange noise emanated from under the boat just 50 metres off the rock wall and I could see a lot of weed in the surrounding water. A quick burst in reverse seemed to improve things and we motored down the channel into Shellharbour Marina around 16:00. On taking up my berth beside Sophia my thoughts turned to an inspection of the propeller; however, the word was that two local sharks were holding court at the nearby public wharf. Fearless, I donned my shark-proof speedo's and a dive mask and jumped into the water. Three seconds later I was on dry land after confirming that all the weed was gone. I'm a brave soul!
Upon inquiry, I learned that the usual $65 dollar overnight fee was to be reduced by 20% due to the shower and toilet facilities not yet being available, and rightly so. Another pleasant night alongside Sophia with good friends and the prospect of a southerly change about 15 to 20 knots to carry us back to Wollongong in the morning.
We waited until late morning on Friday 3 December to make the short 11 or 12-mile passage to Wollongong. The southerly came through early while we were enjoying a coffee at a local cafe with the crew and Trav who had visited to return my laminated photo should I need it any time soon.
Back out to sea at 10:15 and into substantially more than the 15 to 20 knots forecast. With half the headsail unfurled we made our way out to round Martin Island doing 5,6,7 and 8 knots of boat speed as the wind and waves built. Swell from three different angles, throwing the boat around and regularly shipping water over the bow. A high level of concentration was required at the helm to keep from rounding up as the wind increased to over 30 knots. Things were much better around and behind Martin Island however, as the fetch across the water increased the further we were away from Hill Sixty and the associated islands we were back in lively conditions. We continued to furl bits of the headsail until all we were left with was a handkerchief on the forestay when we brought the wind onto the beam for the run towards the harbour entrance.
Things were quite blustery in the harbour too when we ran in there soon after 12 midday. With Merlot on the public mooring, we opted to have a go at getting on our mooring and, to my surprise, we hooked up first go and settled back for some well-earned beer and prawns back in our beloved Wollongong Harbour. |
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