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Trip to Townsville 24th May

Up early on 23^rd and off around the river for a shower at the Port Fairy Yacht club. Who else has to go for a bracing walk of more than a kilometre for a shower in the morning? It was a beautiful morning so we counted ourselves lucky to  be alive. At 10.25 am we caught the bus to Warnnambool and then connected with the train to Melbourne. It was a leisurely trip and we enjoyed seeing the countryside for a change. Caught the taxi to Toni’s (our niece) in Saint Kilda and then decided we needed a walk for a coffee. Toni’s cats are gorgeous and kept us entertained while we were there. We had dinner at a delightful Thai restaurant up the road and then went for a walk around the streets to check out the night life. (Party animals!!)

This morning Toni took us for breakfast at the Boat House Café at Yarra Bend. It was cold but coffee and toasted sandwiches soon had us warmed up. Our walk along the river was cut short by a change in our flights, so it was back to Toni’s, order a taxi and off we went. It was great to see ‘Toni’s Melbourne’ and spend a bit of time with her. Thanks for having us Toni and showing us around. We appreciated it and it was very enjoyable.

 

Port Fairy 20th May 38' 23.2" S 142' 14.5" E

After our fine day in Portland we decided to move to Port Fairy so let go the ropes and sailed out of the Portland Harbour at 8 am. The sail was uneventful in dull, occasionally showery weather. The only interesting feature on the way was Lady Julia Percy Island which we passed quite close to the north side. It's a very stark, rugged piece of rock with vertical sides which looks like someone has cut it out with a giant scone cutter and plonked it in the ocean. Locals are proud of their island. It's the only one they've got.

Entered Port Fairy via the Moyne River at 3 pm. What a magnificent, secure little harbour. It reminds me a lot of some of the scenery along the River Thames in England. Actually there is a very English feel about the whole place.We motored past boats moored against the wharf lining the banks and found a small marina of pens where most of the yachts were berthed. One bloke there told us to raft up with a fishing boat across the river while we contacted Max the harbour master. This done Max gave us permission to dock in a space a little further back along the wharf. A couple of locals helped us with the ropes and instant friendships were formed. We are in boaty heaven!!!

For the last two days we have walked all over this beautiful place from the seascapes of Griffith Island, which you can get to via a manmade causeway, to the historic streets of this old town. There are some lovely historic buildings here and I enjoy just walking along the streets ogling peoples houses and gardens.

We have had good weather so far and it is just delightful sitting in the cockpit watching the world go by. On the weekend many people walked along the wharf next to us and stopped for a chat. Today is Monday and very few visitors meant we had a nice quiet day after all the buzz of activity on the weekend. Next to us on the opposite side of the river is the boat launching ramp and we watched the little stink boats go out in the morning and then arrive back with their catches of tuna in the evening. They were accompanied by a seal who entertained us all with its antics with a piece of fish donated by one of the fishermen.

We have made some good friends already. Kev is on an old wooden Collin Archer designed boat called Astrid Nelson which is tied up behind us. He has offered to keep a good eye on Rene when we go to Townsville on 23rd May. Doug owns a huge catamaran (40') which he built himself over the past two years. It is immaculate and like a house on water. We are going to miss this place and the friends we are making here.

Port Fairy 23rd May

Well I am now 60!!! How did that happen? I had a wonderful, memorable day here in this lovely little port. Thank you all the people who sent good wishes via email, text message and phone calls. I won't thank you individually in case (being 60 now) I miss someone out. We have met the most welcoming people here - I think I said that somewhere before. Early on we found that friends of ours from Albany knew sailing buddies here. Well John & Joy caught up with us and we have had such a good time with them. Joy asked me to a cancer fund raising morning tea yesterday and to meet some of her friends. The food was beautiful and they raised somewhere above $1800.00 which was a great effort. Later in the day John took Peter and I for a drive over to Warnambool as he wanted to visit Bunnings. He showed us the town, beaches, river etc. Not having a car we usually don't get to see further than 'shanks pony' can take us so it was great to see a bit of the countryside. On the way there is an extinct volcano and the crater is quite impressive.

Later that evening we went to John and Joy's house for dinner with their friends Marie and Bob. We took the Bollinger champagne that Eddy gave me to share for my birthday. Well it was a merry occasion and a very nice meal. John and Joy's son makes extraordinarily yummy Timboon ice-cream (part of his business) and we sampled Raspberry and White Chocolate. YUM! Thank you Joy and John for making us so welcome and for making my 60th birthday a treasured memory.

Now we have to leave Port Fairy for just over two weeks to go to Karin and Paul's wedding. I am s-o-o-o looking forward to that. We have at least half a dozen people watching our boat so we think it will be in very good hands while we're away. Must go now to catch the bus to begin our journey to Townsville. 

Portland 11th May - 38' 20.7" S 141' 36."6 E

We dropped the huge mooring at Port Macdonnell at 7am and headed for Portland, Victoria with the prospect of brisk winds from the north. As it turned out we had a great sail in 12 to 18 knots from the north, so it was warm and comfortable as we crossed Discovery Bay. The speed indicator showed over seven knots most of the time and occasionally into the eights. As we closed on Cape Bridgewater the coast became more rugged and lined with high limestone cliffs and very much more scenic. Dolphins escorted us for most of the way across Bridgewater Bay to Cape Nelson. What a show! They must have been with us for at least an hour and at times we had possibly twenty of them around the boat showing off, leaping out of the water, chasing each other and generally having fun in our bow wave. Amazingly there were also some seals in amongst the mix early on, with their flippers looking like wet flannels hanging off the back end, it was easy to tell them from the dolphins.

Arrived at Portland harbour at 4.30pm and looked about for a place to spend a few days. Peter eventually managed to contact the Portland Council, who run the new marina in the harbour, and was directed to tie up on the outer end of the pontoons. This is a brand new marina, so new in fact that the power has not been switched on yet - unfortunately. Water is available, but it is very cold since the arrival of a cold front and rain, and if we could use our heater it would be very nice. At the moment I have two pair of socks on and am just keeping the toes from turning to icicles. However at $20 per day it is a very nice place to be,

Portland is not generally given a very positive write up in the literature that we have read, but we are most impressed with the place. The harbour is certainly an all weather port with shipping wharves, fishing boat harbour, marina, moorings and extensive boat launching ramps all in the one rock wall encircled area. Only a couple of hundred metres from us several ships are loading woodchips, logs livestock or grain. Peter read that they also unload alumina for a smelter near here. Very interesting.

We have discovered an excellent café for morning tea or lunch called The Blue C Café. Each morning we rug up and bolt up the hill for a nice warm coffee and scone. These are the biggest scones you have ever seen - thickly spread with jam and dolloped with loads of real cream. A bargain at $3.50 and big enough to share. We are not going to lose weight here. Today we went back for Lamb Shank Soup and fresh bread for lunch. We sat in the window, ate soup, read the paper and watched the rain and hail pelt down once again.

  What are you doing with that dead bat Peter? Actually it's a Target umbrella, but is probably less useful that a dead bat. I suppose at $9.99 you shouldn't expect much. We walked to the far side of Fawthrop Lagoon, as far from shelter as you could get, and the rain poured down. Unfortunately the umbrella's performance did not live up to expectations.

16th May Portland Harbour

We are still in Portland having decided to stay an extra day as the weather has fined up and the forecast is for a couple of days of reasonably good weather. After five days of constant rain, diving from one veranda to another between the showers, we thought we should see something of Portland in the sunshine. Today we walked along the Great South Coast walk path to the south of the town as far as Point Danger and the Gannet Rookery around 12 kms or so we estimate. It was a scenic walk close to the port at first then climbing to hug some deceptively steep cliffs just out of town. Of course dark clouds gathered and gave us a shower or two, but not enough to cause too much trouble. On arrival back in town we devoured a late lunch at one of the local cafe's.

While we have been here we have had showers courtesy of the Portland Yacht Club. Peter noticed a sign in their window early on that showers were available to visiting yachties and a contact number was given. Lawrence came and set us up with hot showers. (Thank you Lawrence they were much appreciated.)

The cold, wet weather was getting to us. Our West Aussie gear was definitely not warm enough. By chance we discovered an amazing shop called Portland Disposals on our way up to town. It is one of those places that if you spend some time poking around you can find some very interesting things that you wished you'd discovered years ago. I found some socks. These socks are amazing. They are called 'Heater' socks and at $20 are on the expensive side. (I learned my lesson with that umbrella.) I now have a pair of pure pink pleasure and another gorgeous lime green pair that literally feel like heaters on the feet. No more icicles! We also lashed out and bought Peter some water proof 'Bogs", boots that will keep his feet warm when on shift at night, some warm ski gloves and a brand new umbrella which at $25 is much more robust that the Target one. We are now set up for this cold Victorian climate.

We have found that Portland has some lovely old bluestone buildings, especially around the council complex. Others are scattered through the town and are quite impressive. Here you can see Peter sheltering under the portico of the Courthouse as more rain sets in.

 There was a quaint little cottage in the Botanic Garden. While there was only a few flowers it was still worth a visit and a quiet stroll around the garden.

Port Macdonnell 10th May

We had a brilliant sail today from Robe to Port Macdonnell. The alarm went off at 2 am and after struggling out of bed we walked over to the yacht club beach to get an idea of wind conditions out in the bay. I say get an idea because the night was pitch black. It was windy, but as the weather forecast had been amended from a strong wind warning to 15 - 20 knots NE, we could not miss this opportunity to go a little further east. Our chart plotter is fantastic and makes night work relatively painless. The day dawned pale and slightly cloudy but, as it went on it became fine and warm and the wind was perfect. As it was blowing off the land the sea was flat and we arrived in Port Macdonnell at 4.30pm after the nicest sail we've has so far. On arrival some fishermen directed us to a huge mooring near the sea wall and here we are ready for an early night.

This picture shows a contented skipper after a good days sail.

 

 

 

 

Robe 8th & 9th May

We had a fast trip to Robe after a bumpy voyage through Backstairs Passage. Thank goodness we headed the local info about going through with the tide. At 2.30am we hove to about eight miles from Robe as it was windy, very dark with no moon and plenty of obstacles in our path in the form of limestone outcrops. This is not called the Limestone Coast for nothing. Entered the marina at 9am under escort from a local recreational fisherman. He must have decided we needed a little help, which in fact was great as the entrance was difficult to spot from the bay. We tied up on the end of the fuel jetty and were directed to the council building nearby to book in and be allocated a pen for the next two nights. This is a lovely marina, very protected, but care is needed as there are some very shallow patches that are not dredged. We found this out because at one stage we came to a standstill and when I looked over the side it was obvious that Peter had grounded us. Luckily it was soft mud and a quick rev of the engine fixed the problem.

The council receptionist was very friendly and helpful and we were soon allocated our berth close to the yacht club and showers. Our pen cost us $44 for the first night and $22 each night thereafter. After one of the best showers I've had we walked down town looking for brunch. The Union Café proved to be excellent and Peter had a huge steak burger, chips and salad and I had a chicken wrap with all the trimmings. YUM! We felt much better after that. Next job was the laundry, which we found at the local caravan park about 2kms up the beach. At least it was a nice walk.

Today we started with a boat clean up and Peter refuelled and topped up the water,
then it was time for the touristy bit. We spotted a walk track around Point Dombey, which started near our marina, and followed it along the rocky cliffs to the Obelisk. The Obelisk was a pyramid type structure erected in about 1860 by a local to help ships find the port of Robe in a coast that has few outstanding landmarks to guide them. Many ships were wrecked on this coast in the early days. The sea here has weathered the limestone cliffs into interesting shapes and at one place there were three tunnels through which the sea was pounding.

The town of Robe is a pretty little seaside town of 1500 people. It has many historical buildings and quaint cottages and these are made of limestone. We enjoyed a walk around town looking at the sights.

I have decided that I will become a bit more creative in my cooking while on the boat, partly because it is difficult to cook some of the usual stuff I do and partly because I have decided it's time to branch out into new territory. (We'll see how long this lasts!) Tonight I have cooked Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Tomato Salsa, which I might say were very nice. I have included a photo of my culinary delight especially for you Clive.

Our next stop is Port Macdonnell.

  

Kangaroo Island 1st - 6th May

We had six beautiful days on Kangaroo Island. It had been intended to spend about three days there, but the wind being strong SE for most of the time meant that it was difficult to head SE to Robe, our next destination. It turned out to be a wonderful bonus as there is so much to see on the island. Our introduction came after we had anchored just north of the Kingscote jetty amongst fishing boats and one other yacht. The dinghy was blown up and we were off to town for showers and lunch. On shore we met John, a long time local, who advised us to move to Bay of Shoals to a mooring he organised for us, because the wind was going to make the Kingscote anchorage very rough. John, Peter and I met again at the bakery buying pies for lunch so we sat on the lawn overlooking the bay, ate lunch together and found out that John was a farmer amongst other things.

That afternoon we motored around to Bay of Shoals where we spent five nights. It was very protected from the choppy seas as this anchorage is behind a point with a long spit of sand jutting out. There are steep hills around the bay and from our mooring we could see a picturesque vineyard and an old cottage on the hill top. This turned out to be the residence of Greg and Leisha's friends Ben and Abbi. Ben's father owns the Bay of Shoals winery and we went and made ourselves known to them. We also taste tested some of the wines and bought ourselves several bottles of very nice
shiraz.

Abbi and Ben made us feel very welcome and supplied us with showers, a delightful meal and a tour of the very scenic north coast of the island. Thank you Abbi and Ben. We will always have fond memories of your historic stone cottage on the hill and Kangaroo Island.

On Friday we hired a car for the day and took ourselves for a drive from the eastern end of the island at Penneshaw to the western end and the Flinders Chase National Park. Penneshaw is where the ferry plies its trade to the mainland and back. We also saw Ben and Abbi's yacht there in a small marina at Xmas Cove. After morning tea we felt the need of a bit of exercise and climbed the very steep Prospect Hill for a wonderful view of the American River area. We then drove down the island to the Flinders Chase NP and visited the Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch where there was a huge colony of seals. The rocks were indeed remarkable, great boulders of granite that had been hollowed out into weird shapes over millennia.

Later we caught up with John again at the boat ramp in Bay of Shoals and he invited us to a BBQ on Sunday at American River along with his friend Mike, who had his yacht in the bay. Mike, also a long term resident of KI drove us to the BBQ and gave us a tour of this area.  There we met Greg and Trudie and John's wife Jenny. We had a great time and really felt like we were made very welcome. Thank you John, Jenny, Mike, Greg and Trudie.

A favourable weather forecast for the 7th April saw us anchored off Kingscote ready for a two o'clock start for Robe. This was necessary as the current in the Backstairs Passage is such that going through on a ebb tide with the current was sensible. We said a last goodbye to beautiful Kangaroo Island at 1.40am as Peter read his watch wrong and cheated us of twenty minutes sleep.

Max Mariner (Also known as Mad Max)

Max has been invaluable on our trip across the Bight. He is an Aries wind vane. His previous owner gave him to Peter’s brother Clive, who then passed him on to us for our trip. Clive had the paddle and coupling rebuilt and Peter made some new vanes and renewed the ropes and tiller connections. A robust aluminium frame was commissioned for attaching Max to the stern of Rene. After much tweaking and tuning we have got him working well. It took Peter many trials to work out the vagaries of a wind vane self-steering system, but is now confident that he has mastered the settings. Max is a great helmsman as he makes little noise and uses no power from the battery. He tends to wander a bit, occasionally decides to disobey and take off on his own tangent (hence Mad Max) but generally does a good job. Max loves upwind work, especially in a good breeze.

 

Harry Helmsman

Harry is our Raymarine ST 4000+ electronic auto-helm. He is much more accurate than Max, but of course uses battery power. We use Harry when inshore and more precise movements are required or the wind is so light that Max does not work properly. These three pieces of equipment are an essential part of our trip so we decided to give them names.

 

Crossing the Bight has been uneventful thanks to Peter for the preparation, me able crew member and Rene our very seaworthy yacht. Our motto comes from a small plaque on Rene’s    which says, ‘Grab a chance and you won’t be sorry for a might have been.’ I’m glad we have grabbed our chance.

 

Lily and the Two Dunkings

I guess it’s time to introduce our other indispensable ‘crew members’. Lily is our 2.6m inflatable dinghy. She has a 4hp Evinrude outboard motor. Lily has served us well exploring much of the Abrolhos Islands when we lived in Geraldton. Sometimes, however, she can be hard to handle when conditions are right for letting us know we are not always in charge.  On Middle Island the surge running up the beach was problematic as it seems to be along much of the south coast. We observed for a while and decided that the best place to go ashore was in the south western corner. All plans are made with the best intentions, but on approach to the shore we decided it would be better if I jumped out and ran up the beach with the haversack to keep camera equipment etc dry. Peter was to grab the bow and hold it into the surge (real waves) until I came back to help him pull Lily up the beach. Well of course it happened. One particularly large surge rolled up the beach and Lily ran straight over Peter giving him a good dunking.

On the way back we watched the surge and thought we detected periods where it quietened a little. Taking our opportunity we launched Lily, me holding the dinghy into the waves while Peter started the motor. I was supposed to leap on board as the motor started. Luckily I decided that it was best to undertake this operation in my underwear and not risk any more wet clothes. The next thing a huge surge sucked the lot of us out as it gathered momentum for its inward rush. Peter yelled ‘Hold the boat!’ That would have been OK if I could touch the ground. The beach shelved steeply and holding a surfing dinghy while my toes clawed at the soft sand almost out of my depth is not possible. After a fair amount of yelling and swearing Lily was launched and with the motor under full throttle we slowly pulled away from the shore with me half in hanging onto one of the pontoons.

Lily usually behaves herself and serves her purpose well. She tows beautifully between anchorages on a short painter, tucked in on Rene’s starboard side with the bow near the cockpit. The Aries wind vane and exhaust fumes preclude her from going behind. Also we find she tends to nose dive when towed out the back.

 

 

The Bight

On the 26^th April we departed the beautiful Middle Island at 6.30am in a brisk northerly breeze of about 15 knots. During the night the wind had gradually built in strength and the anchorage became bouncy. Peter says, ‘It is to be noted that the Rocna held us tight.’ It was good to get out of there after a fitful night’s sleep being on a lee-shore and the worries that come with that position.

The northerly kept us moving at 5 – 6 knots all day and built in the evening so we put a reef in the main as evening approached. The sea became very lumpy and as the sea and swell were opposite each other, quite uncomfortable. We both had queasy periods. As the night progressed we rolled in more headsail and generally had an uncomfortable night and were glad to see the morning. That was our initiation and was also the worst sailing conditions that we had for the whole trip.

From the 27h to the 30^th April the wind was very light, even with the passage of a weak cold front, which brought in SW winds for a short time. Mostly the light winds had E in them so the trip was slow and we used the motor a lot.

The only sea life we saw was a pod of Pilot Whales. (at least we think they were being too big for dolphins and too small for other whales) We have seen Mutton Birds and Albatross gliding the waves looking for lunch. They are both graceful fliers and watching them is seeing perfection in flight. As for human life the Bight has very little. One ship passed us on the second night but it was so far away that it was only a pinprick of light. The AIS picked up several other ships, but they were too far away to see. However thousands of people came and went every day as we were directly under one of the flight paths between east and west and it was amazing how many flights passed on that route.

Southern Ocean Swell

I should mention the swell – huge. I am very glad our trip was relatively windless because I would not want to witness these monsters in an angry mood. The most awe inspiring was when the boat was on the top of one swell looking down the metal grey trough and up to the next one rolling through. Mostly it is best not to look or think about the predicted cold front.

Land Ahoy

Oh excitement plus! It is the 30^th April and this morning we finally saw the tip of the Eyre Peninsular, a mere shadow on the horizon. After half an hour of indecision on my part and scepticism on Peter’s it was established that it was actually land. This morning we saw an albatross scratching its ear in flight and it must have been very itchy as it kept up the scratching for ages. Two exciting events in one morning!

Middle Island 23/04/13

Had some wind at last and managed to sail for a good four hours on the 30 mile leg from the Duke to Middle Island. There are some huge rocks just under the sea around here and the waves rear up into huge breakers and a mass of white water just to keep the navigator on his toes. They were awesome to watch.  Anchored in the corner of Goose Island Bay (appropriate name don’t you think Greg?) near the Pink Lake which is one of the designated anchorages at Middle Island and of course the light wind came in from the north. We had been told that this island is good in all weather, but a northerly. Luckily it was light. We spent the morning walking along the beach and over the huge sheets of granite rock which makes up this island. There were some amazingly fast little stripey lizards which flashed in all directions as we walked over the rocks. Now I know where the best Cushion Bushes come from. They have been sculpted by the salt laden winds of the Southern Ocean on Middle Island and they are just like a tough mounded cushion. We explored Goose Island Bay in the dinghy and are now about to partake in ‘Beer O’clock’ out on the deck. Tomorrow - The Bight.

Duke of Orleans Bay 23/04/13

Made it just in time as the sun was going down and the mozzies were on the prowl. Out with the coils! After a good night’s sleep, were in bed at 8pm. We readied the inflatable and drove over to the caravan park. For those who love their caravans or camping this has to be a number one spot – treed sites with plenty of lawn, friendly manager and lovely location. Had our last fresh water shower for a while, an ice-cream, a coffee and bought some diesel and we were off back to the boat to prepare for the trip to Middle Is.

Liz joins Rene in Eperance

I left Albany at 8.15 am on 20-4-13 and drove to Esperance in drizzle and at times heavy showers. Arrived there at lunch time and Greg and Mike were ready to leave Peter and Rene and drive our car back home. Settled in then did a quick stocktake of the stores on board and found that we didn’t need much as Greg and Mike had brought plenty of food with them. That evening had dinner with the friendly people at the Esperance Bay Yacht Club.

Next day Geoff (my brother) came and picked us up and we went for a drive out to Cape Le Grand National Park. That wet our appetite for things to come. What a dramatic landscape that is.  Huge granite hills, weathered and stark, interspersed with coastal heath and pretty blue bays with the whitest beaches. On the way back we stopped at the Esperance Stonehenge which is a replica of the real one in England as it would have looked around 1950BC. The statistics for the weight of the stones are incredible, eg some of the Trilithon stones weigh in at between 38 and 50 tonne and the lintels 18 tonne. How did they make that original one? The day ended with a roast lamb dinner at Geoff and Darlene’s.