After 3 months travelling in Europe and China we arrived back to Sydney in early June 2017. After settling back in, it was a high priority to get the boat back to Sydney. So we headed up to Port Macquarie to check out the boat and make sure it was ready to sail.
The boat was filthy and a couple of seagulls had taken up residence. Battery voltage was low so the solar panels are not coping well. Inside needed a very good airing. Ran both motors and the starboard motor stopped after a short while. Some water in the primary filter but that should not cause the engine to stop. Definitely need to sort out why the motors are running short of fuel. After bleeding the fuel line it ran okay.
So the Boat was not in great condition but I needed to get it back to Sydney so I could sort out the problems. The sails are new and although the engines are not that reliable, there are two of them and we can get them working if they stop. My sweetheart had visions of sailing down with the boat but she suffers from sea sickness and would probably be more of a burden than help. So I drove her back to Sydney and waited for a good weather window to sail down.
Where is my Crew?
Sailing is one activity that depends heavily on the weather conditions. If the conditions are right it is a pleasure to be out there. If the conditions are not right it can be an absolute nightmare, hard on the boat and physically draining. Unfortunately your crew often has other commitments and they are not always available at the right time.
The first week in July looked like really good conditions to sail back to Sydney. But try as I might, I could not get anyone with sailing experience to come with me. So I decided to go solo. Not the best option when you are not that familiar with the boat and have very limited ocean sailing experience.
Headed up to the boat on first of July. Spent a day getting ready and servicing the engines. Monday 3rd July looked like a good day to leave. The strong southerly wind was abating and was forecast to swing around to the NW by morning. The southerly swell was abating and high tide in the morning should mean a safe passage over the bar at the entrance to Port Macquarie.
Heading Out to Sea
Left Port Macquarie at 7am to catch the high tide as the bar was still a bit rough with the SE swell. Very nervous as this is the very first time solo sailing on the ocean and handling a 40ft catamaran is not easy if the conditions deteriorate. Not much breeze but it was forecast to increase during the day.
Managed to negotiate the bar with both engines running.
Fortunate because shortly after Starboard motor stopped. Down to one motor till I can get the motor running again.
By 9:30 the wind picked up enough to cut the motor and sail. A bit slow to begin with but the wind was slowly picking up. Really nice sailing once you get out a bit and the swell is very gentle. By this time I was feeling a lot better. Very good sailing for rest of the day. The boat sails very well with a tail wind. Only sailing with the Genoa just to keep it simple.
Most of the day was moving at between 6 and 8 knots. Originally I planned to come into Port Stevens to take a break. Reached Port Stevens at 11pm so decided to continue through the night.
Heading for Pittwater
Was sailing about 20 miles out to sea to take full advantage of the South current which adds 1-2 knots of speed. This puts you right in the shipping lane and vigilance is absolutely essential. Not a problem till passing Newcastle where there is bulk carrier traffic. Difficult at night because some are well lit with deck flood lights and it is often difficult to make out the navigation lights. Many are anchored waiting to go into port. It would be very nice to have AIS on board!
In the early hours of the morning the wind died down and so did our speed. No way to get up the Parramatta river in daylight hours and don’t really want to be sailing through Sydney Harbour at night. So decided to head to Pittwater. An easy harbour to enter and plenty of mooring at this time of year. As i was entering broken bay a large whale surfaced just in front of the boat. A magnificent sight against the sunset. Pity I could not get a photo!
Coasters Retreat is an idyllic spot and at this time of year it is easy to pick up a mooring for the night… Would like to spend a few days there! But
have to get the boat back.
After sailing overnight single handed you need a very good nights sleep to recover. Easy to sleep for 12 hours.
Battling up the river
Headed out of Pittwater at 8:30am. Takes about 7-8 hours to get the boat back to the mooring and would like to do it in daylight.
Beautiful day to sail down to Sydney Harbour but a bit more breeze would be nice, only doing 3knts! Wind picked up as headed down the coast.
Wind was coming from the NW but as you enter the harbour the wind swings around to the west as it funnels through the heads. Had to motor sail to get through. Just ran the Port engine as that was proving to be more reliable.
Had to furl the Genoa at Bradley’s Head so just running on rather unreliable motors. With westerly wind of 12-14 knots fighting into it all the way!
All good till just past Cockatoo Island and the wind increased to over 20 knots.
Struggling to keep course and then the port engine stopped. Started the starboard engine with the intention of finding a sheltered place to fix the port engine. After another 5 minutes the starboard engine also stopped midway between Cockatoo Island and the Gladesville bridge.
No other option but to throw out the anchor! Dropped right to the bottom and ran out of chain. Amazing how deep it is! It was going dark – not a good look. Drifted a bit and then the anchor took hold!! Bled the
fuel system and port engine started. Started to raise the anchor and the windlass stopped after about 5 meters.
We were drifting with the anchor dangling! Had to pull the remaining 40 meters up by hand and that was tough. The chain is old and corroded it was jamming coming off the windlass.
Resumed the journey hoping that the port engine would last the distance.
Got to Kissing Point ferry wharf and my sweetheart was waiting there but I didn’t see her. Too busy with the boat to notice her. Too preoccupied to hear the phone ringing.
back home safe and sound
Got to Brays Bay and couldn’t find the mooring in the dark. So after 4 attempts picked up the one I thought it would be. So decided to row around and eventually identified the right mooring.
Went to shore to get my Sweetheart – so good to see her after the voyage.
So now we have to change moorings and the wind has increased again so needed to wait for a break. As we manoeuvred the boat the Port engine stopped again. Fortunately it is easy to drop anchor here.
Finally secured to our mooring I could relax, head home and have a hot shower. Good to be home. Good to get there safely. Don’t have to stress out about not having a crew anymore!
