20th - 21st April Forster/Tuncurry to Crowdy Harbour

Yesterday we spent the morning exploring Forster. This seems to be the most popular side of the estuary and certainly is very scenic. It took a while to locate a suitable spot to leave Lily (dinghy) where there were no sharp oyster encrusted rocks, people fishing or boating and with a place to padlock her to. We have heard a few tales of stolen gear, usual thing. Finally we found a tiny rocky beach with a purpose built padlock tree where we left her to go for a walk. What a superb day. Being Easter Sunday and such gorgeous weather people were out on the water by the thousands participating in every water activity imaginable. It was lovely just walking along the waterfront watching the people.

On the way back to Rene we took the scenic route and eventually wound our way back to the anchorage via the northern bank and Tuncurry. The current was really racing by this stage and we had lunch watching a man ferry his entire family (about 6) across to a sandbank out in the waterway in a kayak. Didn't appear to have lifejackets either. We walked around Tuncurry in the afternoon before retiring to Rene for sundowners. 

This morning we were up early and ready to negotiate the bumpy channel again. It looked, shall we say interesting, as the water lumped up when the outgoing tide met the ocean which by then was beginning to turn to come back in. Maybe we left it a little late. However it wasn't scary or dangerous, just a little uncomfortable as Rene shipped a wave or two over the bow. Light winds accompanied us on our sail to Crowdy Heads Boat Harbour some 24nm north. As we neared our destination Peter spoke to Crowdy/Harrington Marine Rescue on VHF and gleaned some useful local knowledge about depths in the harbour and where to tie up.

Crowdy is an all weather harbour built as a refuge for the fishermen when foul weather prevented entry across the bars at the other ports in the area. It is tiny and has three jetties. The visitors jetty is no longer able to be accessed as it is closed to boating and fast becoming derelict. The fishermen's jetty only had four small trawlers moored alongside and many empty pens. In recent years industry regulation has meant that the small boats and licences have been brought out by larger vessels operating from Coffs Harbour and Forster. This little harbour with its abandoned fishermen's co-op appears to be getting little use nowadays. We tied up to the unloading jetty and spoke to some locals nearby and were told it was fine to tie up there. No-one would be using it. Peter filled the water tanks as we found a convenient tap nearby.

Locals, Jack and Kate, drove us the 6kms to Harrington for lunch at the pub. We were starving! After a huge lunch we walked back along the beach to Crowdy Harbour. At least I felt like I'd earned lunch. Now the mozzie coils are out as for the first time since Esperance, the mozzies have found us. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will have a go at crossing the bar into Camden Haven River and Laurieton 13 nm north of Crowdy.