Once the survey ordeal is done and if nothing too bad is found on the boat, I will settle and the final destination will be Coffs Harbour. I have not done a long sail like that,mostly day sails only. I will have one of my mates with me to keep me company and looking for some advice how to plan the trip, where to overnight and what to watch out for.
Leave Gold Coast after lunch with a good sea breeze go 135 until you hit 100 fathom line turn to 185 and you will be there before lunch the next day
it is 155 miles from memory with about 50 miles of set if you are hunting for it
I usually never go into Coffs as it is 25 miles in from the best track and 25 miles back out so you waste half a day
smokey cape is the usual landmark after 24 hours and port Stephens after 48 and Sydney after 60 hours
depends how hard you hunt the set
Looks like 3 knots plus in a narrow band from bryon to wool I but heads out to lord Howe after that and very atypical for this time of year south of tacking point
I agree with Lydia. If your vessel has a water temp gauge go out until it drops 2C and then you are in the East Coast Current. The 2C drop indicates your in the current flow and in deeper (cooler) water. Use Navionics or similar or your sounder to stay in the deep water. Expect two to three knots assistance from the current.
We usually leave the Seaway around sunrise and get to Coffs about 24 hrs later. If we are going further south we don't go into Coffs for the same reason Lydia states.
You'll "overnight" at sea, while sailing.
Is your mate an experienced sailor?.
Not a light undertaking for a newbie to coastal sailing.
I will be going Sth through the area in a couple of weeks, a sail in company might work, but I'm on a tight time frame.
PM me,
cheers
Select to expand quoteBlueMoon said..
You'll "overnight" at sea, while sailing.
Is your mate an experienced sailor?.
Not a light undertaking for a newbie to coastal sailing.
I will be going Sth through the area in a couple of weeks, a sail in company might work, but I'm on a tight time frame.
PM me,
cheers
Yep. It's interesting how people handle their first night offshore. We did a delivery up from Sydney once with 5 pob. All very experienced sailors except for 3 of the guys it was their first time offshore at night.
One did fine.
The second one did fine but was terrified.
The third was really freaked out. Would jam himself into a stern quarter and not move his entire watch. He insisted we go in through the Gold Coast Seaway and leave him at Southport rather than make it to Brisbane.
They were good sailors, we got caught off Newcastle in some pretty fresh conditions and it was no problem. It was just that lights were moving closer or further away, the wind changed and they unknowingly followed it and started heading to NZ, a near miss with an unlit boat.
The not liking sailing at night offshore wasn't the big issue, it was they started making lots of mistakes they wouldn't dream of making n the daylight. Weird how fear can effect people.
If you really don't want to sail overnight, we have usually done GC to Yamba in 12 to 14 hours (usually with a good NE'er in the afternoon) in a 35 footer Cruising orientated Euro boat.
We usually leave GC just before dawn, go out far enough to avoid Point Danger and the rest is in daylight. The light spill from the GC is often enough to give reasonable visibility in the short period before dawn.
But we do use the engine when necessary to keep the boat moving at hull speed.
If you are running late, you'd want a chart plotter to get into Yamba. For someone not familiar with the port, the mass of navigation aids visible inside the river as you try and enter is very confusing.
I was thinking hugging the coast a few miles out offshore and just overnight while anchoring by the beach somewhere.
Select to expand quoteDavid967 said..
I was thinking hugging the coast a few miles out offshore and just overnight while anchoring by the beach somewhere.
Absolutely not on mate, unless you are very familiar with each area you want to anchor in.
In fact the ONLY open anchorage that is used regularly is TRAIL BAY which is south of Coffs Harbour.
Select to expand quoteDavid967 said..
I was thinking hugging the coast a few miles out offshore and just overnight while anchoring by the beach somewhere.
Yeah nah.
So many safe places to easily pull into and chill for a night or a week.
I took 6 months to go sydney to Southport!
