Well actually, not really. The lockdown was still in progress in NSW and it was impossible to travel outside the Sydney metropolis. From week to week, the new NSW prime minister postponed the lifting of the ban, and our frustration grew. We couldn't wait any longer and we had some strong arguments to convince ourselves that we did need to bend the law a bit after all.
First, the rules for boat owners have loosened a bit. Apparently, you could go on a boat if it required necessary repairs, but you couldn't spend the night on it (you know - a virus sleeps on the boats at night, right?!). It was very unclear whether only the owner can go or maybe I can also act as a helper. And what if we need to relocate the boat (allowed), but it required a one-night stopover (not allowed). The second issue was to prove that our boat is actually located at the Lemon Tree Passage. We had no proof of that, apart from a few texts from the mooring owner and bank transfers of rent we had been paying him for the last year. We asked the owner to write down a few sentences on a piece of paper as part of the contract, but he never answered. He only wrote when he needed money. You know, he probably rented that mooring skipping the TAX. So, in the case of a police check we only had the boat's deed and proof of vaccination.
But we had to take the risk. We were hoping for the lockdown to end very soon. 80% of the NSW population had already been vaccinated. Bans were easied every week. Finally we could meet with friends in a group more than 5 people or even having a coffee in a restaurant.
As a matter of curiosity, I can tell you that today 91.3% of residents are fully vaccinated in our state (84% in all of Australia). But masks in shops are still in force, you still have to log in with a QR code when entering some public place, and unvaccinated people can only walk to the necessities. The borders are also still closed.
Returning to the topic, we decided to take a week off and on 23 Oct go on a boat with the mission of relocate her to a new mooring on the waters of Macquarie Lake.
PLAN
Our task was to sail 80 nautical miles from Lemon Tree Passage to Lake Macquaire along the coast.
Our plan was to set sail on Tuesday around noon, when the tide would be high, so as not to scrub the bottom. We wanted to get out of the Karuah river bed as close as possible to the exit to the ocean, and if the conditions allow, even leave and stop at the bay on the picturesque Shark Island. In emergency, we had four places marked where we can either drop anchors or take advantage of public mooring. With a stop at anchor, the risk is that you stay awake all night to see if the anchor is sitting well and that you are not accidentally pulling it, thus drifting near the rocks. So there is no sleep, because if you do not react in time, you can crash. With public moorings, the risk is that they can all be taken. And if you find one free, you do not know this mooring, you do not know the condition of the rope you are mooring to and when the last time it was serviced.
On Wednesday we planned to sail along the coast admiring the huge Birubi beach and the 100 meters high Stockton Sand dunes. Created thousands of years ago, the largest moving sand dunes in the southern hemisphere are spectacular. The Stockton Bight Sand Dunes in Worimi Conservation Lands cover 4,200 hectares, 1,800 of which are forest and stretch for 32 km!
Then we planned to bypass the largest shipping port in Newcastle I had ever seen, while being careful not to get sunk by one of the thousands of huge container ships that pass by there every day.
Should something go wrong, we had a bay chosen there as well and a place for an emergency stop.
However, we wanted to reach our destination on Wednesday, because on Thursday the wind was supposed to pick up and change the direction to the unfavorable side. And on Friday, storms and squalls were already predicted.
The destination was, as already mentioned, the waters of Lake Macquarie. Croudace Bay, to be exact. You must know that Awaba - as the name of this lake in Aboriginal language sounds - is the largest coastal saltwater lake in Australia and covers an area of 110 square kilometers (42.5 square miles), which is twice the size of Sydney Harbor. And with the Tasman Sea it is connected by a short Swansea Channel with a drawbridge. And with this neat sentence we pass to the biggest threats of our trip :)
THREATS
As always, the weather and time are the biggest threats. But we already had it planned. We have no influence on the weather, so we had to make contingency plans for each stage of the relocation. We had some emergency places to stop just in case. On the day of take-off it was supposed to blow very slightly from the north-eastern direction. On Wednesday, the wind was supposed to decrease to almost zero, to gain speed from Thursday. You know, we really waited for this weather for months, because it also had to match the high tide at the right time of the day so that we could even leave the channel of Lemon Tree Passage. Basically black magic, moon watching, and fortune-telling.
The second important issue is the state of the ocean and its bottom. Two days before our departure, there was a big storm. Even on Tuesday, the indicators showed level of waves with a height of 8-10 meters. We were counting on Wednesday that this riotous element would calm down a bit. Because the storm is energy and enormous forces. And it's not that the storm ends and there is peace. The ocean has to calm down, this energy has to discharge somewhere. On Wednesday applicatios were showing a smaller wave of up to 4 meters.
You might think that four meters is not so much. Because it is not, actually from the shore you would say "Today the sea is calm". However, when we add shape of ocean bottom on which these waves bounce, these four meters grow in front of our eyes. And the perspective from the 30-foot boat is also different, when you sit in it.
At bays, river mouths and channel entrances the so-called coastal bars are formed. Underwater, moving sandbanks. Under the influence of currents and waves they constantly change their place and shape. Every day they rise or hide elsewhere and thus the waves above them shape differently.
They can be very dangerous, they are almost invisible, unpredictable and inevitable.
When you add tide-varying currents to it, the waves and wind - entering/leaving the channel and bay can look like this:
But the boys from Coastguard Boating Education will explain how coastal bars work in a more accessible way:
Well, there were two such places waiting for us - sailing out of Nelson Bay and entering the lake through the Swansea Canal.
Nervously.
See the photo below. You can see these shoals even in satellite photos. Especially the ones by Nelson Bay - they are HUGE!
On the way, we will also bypass Newcastle Harbor. I have already mentioned that passing container ships is always not a cool thing. You yourselves know that these ships are huge. And from their captain's bridge you cannot see a small sailboat like ours. Only the radars on board can let captains know that some water rats are tangling under their feet. Lack of sailing, navigational skills, sailing law and, above all, not being able to read the intentions of the captains of these ships can end up very badly.
Finally, we had to enter the lake via the Swansea Channel, which is approximately 380 meters (1,247 feet) wide and 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long. At the end of the canal, just before entering, there is also a drawbridge the opening of which - NOTE - you have to book by phone/radio, also at certain hours. And! Here, too, we must remember about the tides. As our boat is 1.6 meters submerged so when ther is a low tide of the waters of Lake Awaba, that can be quite dangerous for us.
This is what this canal looks like in calm weather. Note the difference in the colors of the water, these are the sandbars. And the wreck of a yacht that was unlucky.
We had an adventure here, but more on that later.
ACTIONS
But before all this could happen, Justine needed a bit of a up-lift. You yourselves understand now that this trip is not a Sunday sailing but a serious matter.
The plan was to first gear up the boat for a few days. We devoted Saturday, Sunday and Monday to minor repairs, checking the engine, safety systems, installing EPIRB (satellite rescue signal), preparing provisions and a safety bag, rigging, checking fixed and moving rigging, changing a few sail lines and tightening them, installing a lazy jack, putting on reefing lines, preparing the anchor set (chain and rope) and preparing the bouncers.
The most important thing, however, was to clean the bottom of the boat, because it had overgrown in the canal mercilessly over the last year. The screw no longer even had its shape, so overgrown with algae and numerous crustaceans. We wouldn't have even moved without scrubbing it. To this end, we asked a friend who is a diver to come to us on Monday for help. It was also necessary to check for play on the rudder, propeller shaft and propeller, see the condition of the anode on the shaft and check the sonar.
And that ware our plans.
How did it all look like in reality?! You will find out in part two which is already being written!
I guess I managed to arouse a bit of curiosity and thrill in you?!
So I will leave you now for a little "Reisefieber" before our first sea adventure!
(German: Reise – travel, Fieber – fever)