Batemans Bay 30th June to 3rd July 35" 42.9'S 150" 11.4'E

That insane music of the mobile alarm rang out at 2.00am. The trouble is if you don't answer it the thing continues on indefinitely - no sleeping in! Helen and Brian heard us making preparations to leave and came out to wish us a safe trip and help us let go the lines. Thank you. Hope we catch up soon. The Bermagui Bar was behaving beautifully and we were underway, motoring to Batemans Bay. Actually we spent about two thirds of the time sailing today which was a change and as our route took us close to the coast the scenery was stunning. We sailed past many cliffy headlands interspersed with golden beaches. Again there was more forested land than cultivated.

We made good time and at 11.30am we approached Batemans Bay Bar. The weather was superb and the bar calm, the only ripples on the water being on the sandbanks to the north of the channel. The bar was crossed gingerly at 2 knots and at one stage there was 0.2m under the keel. The water was murky and muddy so no seeing the bottom. Luckily it is sand and as planned the tide was rising, so if we got stuck it was a matter of waiting for a bit more water to continue our journey. Peter had organised a marina pen for us for two days and we docked at midday after and incident free trip.

The facilities here are good with toilets and hot showers not far away. The town of Batemans Bay is a little over 1km walk along the rock walls retaining the river. Once in town coffee shops and eating places line the banks and we found a very nice place to sit and observe the activities on the river and walkway.

I have had a continuing blocked ear problem since leaving Port Fairy so we decided to bite the bullet and do something about it. We were advised to front up to the local hospital emergency department for treatment. Anyone who has done this before knows that you should not be in a hurry. Three hours later, after a syringing the problem was solved and I can now hear perfectly for the first time in a couple of months. Yay!!!!

Today is the 3rd of July and we are going to do a small shop and pay our marina fees. Peter is now filling the water bags and then we will motor over to Chain Bay on the north side of Batemans Bay. We may be there for a couple of days as there is a strong wind warning N/NW, of course exactly where we plan to go. Our research tells us that Chain Bay is a secure, comfortable anchorage in northerly weather and the holding is good in sand. Sounds good to me. Murramarang National Park extends into Chain Bay so there should be some exploring to do to keep us occupied over there for a couple of days.