We left Sydney early last friday morning in the dark for Port Stephens in fairly lively conditions. After a couple of hours of being thrown about like a washing machine and after the third of fourth wave to completely drown the cockpit and its inhabitants, we promptly turned around and went back into Broken Bay and spent the night in the Basin. Our Journey north had begun, we had only made it three miles but slow and steady wins the race!
The next morning, refreshed and more prepared with calmer seas we again set off for Port Stephens getting into Nelson Bay about 3pm. With a day off the next day to refuel and have a wander around Nelson Bay, we then left for Coffs Harbour Monday morning. Sophie seemed to quite enjoy her first overnight passage, plenty of dolphins and a whale kept us company, as we fought with the EAC dude( Finding Nemo reference for those not into Disney films)! It is at it’s strongest at this point on the coast, and despite the Boat flying along at a 7.5 knots we were only making 4 knots speed over the ground.
We have safely arrived in Coffs Harbour, but look to be be stuck here until probably Thursday with big seas and strong winds for the next few days. We were going to head for the small town of Yamba next, but with the delay here and time getting away from us we will probably do another overnighter into Southport on the Gold Coast.
Slow Travelling 