Broken Bay to Bermagui (18th - 28th February)

We arrived at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and quickly enjoyed the wonderful facilities and had a spot of lunch at the club.  After the usual jobs and a bit of pottering around we caught up with Ron, Ros, Brian and Sue from Cloud Nine and went to the RMYC just up the road for a lovely meal and a catch up on our various adventures etc.  Cloud Nine had an excellent day on the water and got a third so a bit of celebrating was also enjoyed!

During our stay at RPAYC Mark spotted a number of new yachts which certainly caught his attention including the new McConaghy 38 all carbon everything race machine,  the super luxurious cruising Buizen 52 and the very fast "Cruising" 66' Gunn Boat

New Buizen 52

66' Gunn Boat

McConaghy 38

19th February

Leaving Broken Bay

It is a beautiful day and after a leisurely morning we leave Broken Bay and head south along the coast down to Sydney - as usual we are staying at the CYCA which almost feels like our second home these days.  The trip down the coast was really lovely with a very gently northerly blowing and still seas so we hugged the coast and enjoyed the awesome coastal panorama.



20th February
Jobs day. Did the washing, Mark serviced the main diesel motor which has now done 1500hrs and did a general clean up on the boat in preparation for the final chapter in the journey back to Melbourne!

21st February
Decided to do a bit of sightseeing and at the recommendation of Sue and Ros decided to take the ferry to Parramatta.  The day started early catching the 9.15am ferry from Darling Point across to Circular Quay where we caught the Rivercat which travels all the way up to Parramatta which takes around 1hour.  It is a really pleasant trip through the harbour and the up the narrow, shallow and windy Parramatta River.  We wandered around Parramatta for a few hours before we headed back on the ferry and decided to stop at the Sydney Rowing Club for lunch.  What a spot which a great location, excellent views and a comprehensive wine list.

Rivercat

22nd February
Our new crew Barry (aka Walu) arrived in the arvo and after settling in we wander up to the club for dinner and met up with two of his nephews that joined us for a meal.

New Farr 400 at CYCA

There was another a new arrival at the CYCA which caught Mark's attention - the new Farr 400 .  As well as the chaos of the Wednesday arvo twilight race there was a new boat / arrival party going on the aft deck of the Farr 400 which we believe belongs to the very well known Matt Allen.


23rd February
We are on our way south again.  First stop is the fuel wharf and then we head out of Port Jackson on our way to Woolongong.  It is around 45NM to Woolongong and we have a light North Easterly blowing and arrive around 4.30pm in time to have a quick shower before heading out for a meal at the local leagues club

Jervis Bay Lighthouse

24th February
The good weather continues at this stage and we have another sunny morning with light winds for our trip down to Jervis Bay.  We arrived at Montague Roadstead anchorage and the north end of Jervis Bay mid afternoon and enjoyed a swim off the back of the boat however we have noticed a distinct drop in water temp which is down to around 23C "BRRRRRRR". 

25th February
As we are spending the day at Jervis Bay we have a more leisurely morning before we head off for a beach reconnaissance.  We originally thought this was going to be a quiet little anchorage but it looks like it is quite a popular spot for all sorts of water craft especially as it is a sunny weekend!.
With great pleasure and relief our dinghy outboard starts first time after the various trials and tribulations we have had with it lately.  We first wandered down to South Long Beach where the boats  launch on the beach only to find someone bogged.  We then walked to North Long Beach where we were lucky enough to get a lift with the ranger to the start of the Green Point walking track which then took us along the coast back to our anchorage.  We had a great stroll and enjoyed a swim when we arrived back at the boat and had a leisurely afternoon on the boat and in the water.

26th February
Back on the road again but today it is a fairly short hop of 30NM down to Ulladulla.  Luckily the harbour is a lot less busy than last time when we were here, which was Easter when all the trawlers are in for the blessing of the fleet, so we manage to find a nice spot rafted up to a big 50' catamaran.  We had a good sail today with a 20kt northerly blowing.  The first time we have sailed (without the motor running) since we arrived back on the boat in Manly.

27th February
The march south continues and we are up early for the big trip down to Bermagui (70NM).  Again the winds are favourable so we are able to sail for most of the day and also have a bit of current just to make the trip a bit quicker.  After a good day on the water we arrived around 4.30pm into the snug little harbour of Berma. 
It looks like our good run of weather is about to stop as we have rain forecast for the next few days and we are also a bit miffed about the wind forecast which seems to keep changing on a daily basis so we are not quite sure how long we are going to be here before we can start making our way south again.