Port Stephens to Coffs Harbour

Sat 20 July to Mon 12 August 2019 Port Stephens
In Port Stephens we caught up with friends and family members. My sister Janice and husband Daniel were up doing some work on their house on top of Wanda Wanda Head and we anchored nearby to visit them. We also kayaked along a fair bit of the shoreline and found another Cape Barren Goose called Wybalena on a mooring at the entrance to North Arm. Nearby is Fame Cove which has some courtesy moorings and is almost land locked by a native bush reserve with lots of bird life.
We did a lot of day sailing and testing of the new cable steering connected to the Fleming wind vane, it was like magic. We bought some plywood and made some more vanes as the lightweight plastic ones that it came with are reported to be a bit too light by friends that have used the Fleming wind vane. Also we were visited by pods of dolphins many times during our stay. They are permanent residents in the port and there are around seven charter boats that fill with tourists, from all parts of the world who arrive by bus daily.
We weathered a big blow during our stay and chose to tie alongside the public wharf again for protection for 6 nights. Even the large dolphin spotter boats found manoeuvring difficult in the strong winds and seas and their customers on return, looked relieved to be back on land.
We summited Yakaaba head with friends Andy and Narelle which was a great day outing as it involved a big drive around the port to Tea Gardens then a walk along the beach to the base of the climb. A very good track leads to the summit where there are some ruins, perhaps from one of the world wars. It would have made an ideal lookout post as the views of the coastline north and south are extensive. On Monday evening the four of us found the local club and enjoyed a big dinner of roast lamb and baked potatoes and all the trimmings, delicious.

Tue 13 - Wed 14 August Port Stephens to North Haven
On a good forecast it was time to head north again. We departed at 09:30 and made our way towards the entrance of Port Stephens with just the head sail deployed as we had a 15 knot south westerly. Once clear of Yakaaba Head we set the mainsail as well and poled the head sail to run wing and wing. We ran with this configuration until 19:00 when a shift to an 8 knot westerly took over. The breeze then went north westerly at the same strength just before midnight. We were able to keep this breeze, close reaching through to our destination arriving off the Camden Haven River at 05:00. As the conditions were ideal in a few more hours to enter with the tide, we hove to until first light and got under way with the engine on at 06:20. The bar way was smooth and we came to anchor off the North Haven boat ramp at 06:40. We had covered 78 nautical miles in 22 hours.
In North Haven we caught up with good friends Phil and Cheryl who had been collecting our mail, including Ambler's new shipping registration papers from Canberra. We also topped up with LPG and diesel from the nearby service station. We stayed Thursday and Friday and did a drive to Port Macquarie for some more provisions too. We had spotted a good weather window developing next week for a voyage departing customs at Coffs Harbour to Noumea, New Caledonia. I phoned Customs also now known as Australian Border Force at Coffs Harbour to give them advance notice of our departure, they would let us depart as early as Monday if the conditions remained favourable.

Sat 17 - Camden Haven River to Coffs Harbour
We weighed anchor at 07:00 and found the bar way smooth again for an easy exit. Once at sea we set sail with a 10 knot north westerly which we made use of through to midday. We sighted whales off Port Macquarie and we came closer into the beach to escape the southerly setting current again. Along this leg we experimented with the new plywood wind vane blades and gained some more experience with different steering settings in the light breeze.
We were expecting a southerly change during the day and it came around noon when abeam of Point Plomer. We turned into the strong breeze and dropped the mainsail then turned back on course allowing the 25 knots to fill the head sail and pull us north. At 14:40 we were abeam of Korogoro Point where the current against wind was standing up the seas making for a great ride as we surfed along. Also enjoying the conditions were numerous humpback whales which were all travelling south with the current, they were leaping right out of the water into the wind and crashing back down in the waves. It was a spectacular sight and fortunately no whales came too close to us this time.
Just after dark the strong southerly eased off and turned south west allowing the mainsail to be re hoisted and the head sail to be poled out. We carried this configuration through until 23:30 when we altered course to enter Coffs Harbour. We came to anchor near the south west corner of the bay right on midnight. We had covered 89 nautical miles in 17 hours.

Sun 18 - Coffs Harbour
After dawn we weighed anchor and moved over to a courtesy mooring next to the jetty. We had breakfast then went ashore to check out the markets in the nearby park. There were plenty of fresh fruit and vegies so we stocked up on a few good bargains. We then caught a bus into Coffs and found the main supermarkets open as well. We completed the list of products we needed for the voyage ahead. The next bus back was another hour away so we decided to walk back to the boat following the bush track next to the creek, appreciating the birds and smells of the bush. We spent the rest of the day preparing Ambler for sea.