7th – 8th November Yamba to Broken Bay, Sydney 289nm

We woke at 5.30am with the sound of the alarm. Surprisingly we both got good nights sleep. Must be all the walking we did yesterday, or the dinner and red wine that did the trick.

We checked the weather forecast with a cup of tea and there were no changes from what we had been expecting. We have a 48 forecast to get to Sydney before another blustery southerly wind change is forecast. If we do not go to Sydney we will have to wait for at least 5 days before I will be able to get the boat back into Sydney. That would push the friendship with Robert who said he has 2 weeks for the trip south.

It is 280nm from Yamba to Broken Bay. We figured we could make it by 2am Saturday about 8 hours before the southerly buster is due. Not a lot of margin for error but in our favour should be the northerly wind and the strong current.

We departed Iluka at 6am along with Stolen kiss and motored out over the bar and set the mainsail. There was not a lot of wind and the bar was flat so we had to motor sail for about 6 hours before the wind strengthened.  Also to my surprise there was no current. In fact at times we had current against us. This is not what we expected as we were relying on the current to assist our journey and make it shorter. I made a course for the edge of the continental shelf where the water depth drops from 100 meters to 1000 meters.  As we approached the drop off we gained a knot of current and as we went into the deep the current picked up to 2.5 knots. The wind slowly increased and we were able to turn the motor off. We were reaching SOG of up to 9 knots for most of the day.

After dinner Robert and I went into our watch system. First I was on watch until midnight and the wind increased and the waves increased. I saw speeds of 14 knots SOG with the current now running at more than 4 knots. Robert took over at midnight and the wind increased and the waves increased. I found it difficult to sleep. We kept the full main and poled out head sail as we surfed down the waves. Robert saw a speed through the water of 14.8 knots which meant our SOG was more than 18 knots.  

 Our max speed of the passage 14.8 knots!!!!

 Robert called me back on watch after 3am and the wind and waves had subdued a little. We were still making good speed with the current but as we came back in from the deep to the coast the current flow south reduced considerably. By day light we were back to a speed of 8 knots and eventually had to put the motor on as the wind died.

 The last Sunrise. It looks like a sunset with all the bushfire smoke.

At 6am I was completing the log book and tracked our progress and discovered we had achieved 216 nm in the 24 hours since we left Yamba. That is the fastest 24 hour passage Billabong has ever made and also the highest speed through the water she has achieved. We averaged 9 knots for the 24 hours.

We were now on target to enter Broken Bay in daylight hours 10 hours ahead of schedule. Also the bureau issued a strong wind warning of 30 knots from the north and this was expected in the early evening. We would like to be in before then but the increasing wind will ensure we will get their before dark.

As the day progressed the wind became stronger and we were able to sail again. As we entered Broken Bay we had gusts above 25 knots. We surfed in across the bay doing 9-10 knots which was a great way to complete the journey.

We arrived into a very smoky/ hazy Broken Bay at 3.30pm. The smoke from the bushfires engulfed the coast line which made for difficult observation and not a pleasant homecoming but we were very happy to be home before the wind got any stronger.

 We completed the 289 nm in 33.5 hours. It was an incredible run averaging 8.6 knots for the entire journey thanks to that great Eastern Australian current for the assistance and to the weather gods for the perfect wind.

I have to thank Robert who crewed for me on the leg from Mooloolaba. Robert was fantastic to have on board with his years of sailing and navigational experience and sailing wisdom. He also showed me a lot of functions my chart plotter could do that I never knew about. I guess after 9 years I should read the manual!!!

We docked Billabong and washed her down as they do with the horses after the Melbourne Cup. I felt Billabong had run a fantastic race down the coast (although we were the only ones in the race!!). The Bavaria 44 is a thoroughbred ocean cruising yacht that is capable of handling the strong sea conditions. At no stage did we feel threatened during the big wind and big seas at night and “George” the auto pilot never missed a beat. I have great confidence in Billabong and her sea capabilities.

Billabong has now completed traveled 11,000nm

The 2013 Coral Coast Cruise has been fantastic. It has been punctuated by Tamara’s operation, my friend Steve’s passing and Graham’s fathers passing. They were unwelcome but you have to play with what life deals you and make the most of your hand which we did and we will have fond memories of this trip. We met some great people who we intend to stay in touch with.

I must thank my friends Peter, Graham and Robert for crewing with me and helping take Billabong up and down the coast when Tamara was absent. Your help is much appreciated and I hope you received the same enjoyment of the cruise as I did.

Also thanks to Rob Starkey of the RPAYC who was the cruise coordinator. The work you put in to enable all participants to be cruise ready is very much appreciated. 

I am really looking forward to seeing our grandson Oliver. I have missed him greatly. Judging by this photo that Marina sent, I think he will require some coaching with the girls.

Oliver - attracted to the girls already!!!

I am not 100% sure when Billabong will undertake the next cruise however we are planning for 2015.

For now it's back to Port Stephens to bring the garden and lawns back up to health and plant a few herbs and veggies. Oh and go fishing!!! I love this retired life.