Log of Masina – Surfers Paradise to Sydney.

 

Thursday Night – I arrive in Brisbane and meet Amanda for the first time. There is always an element of risk when agreeing to go sailing with someone you have only just met and I was relying on my instinct in this case because I had neither met Amanda nor seen her boat. Our appropriate weather window meant leaving at dawn on Friday and I was keen to get to know my new client and the boat as quickly as possible in order to decide if I was happy to go to sea the next day – we had a long night ahead!

 

“Masina” - “the Moon” in Samoan is a 27ft Vega, sloop rigged with a Yanmar 17hp diesel auxiliary.  She is a sturdy ship that has already sailed from the UK with a spacious cockpit and solid rig.  Amanda has owned her for 4 years and lived aboard.  Last season she slipped the mooring lines from the Gold Coast and cruised the Queensland coast to the Whitsundays and back, mostly on her own and always day sailing, picking her weather and never rushing.

 

This journey will be her next challenge – blue water sailing with overnight legs.  I was pleased that Amanda had already determined that she would prefer overnight sailing rather than facing the more dangerous bar crossings of the NSW coast and we had a passage plan that includes potential stops at Coffs Harbour and Pt Stephens – both en route to Sydney.  These locations offering safe haven without risky bar crossings.

 

I explore on deck while Amanda stows the last of our supplies and then we get to know each other a bit more by doing the passage plan and waypoints together.  Our nervous energy is depleted by midnight and we settle down for 4 hours sleep before the alarm goes off.

 

Friday 5am –As the grey light of dawn appears we are already hauling up the anchor and motoring out of “Bums Bay” headed for the Gold Coast Seaway.  The weather looks good for the next 48 hours and the passage out is marked only by the radio call  “This is Masina with 2 POB departing Goldcoast Seaway – destination Sydney………”

 

Masina is a light boat with a long keel and small rudder.  She is very light to steer and I have to adjust to the challenge of handling a small ruddered vessel in the blue water swells.  So different from Kindred Spirit with her large stern hung rudder.  I find it a bit disconcerting not to feel the water pressure on the rudder in the same way. On a broad reach with full main and headsail she is a bit sloppy on the helm and the autopilot takes a while to settle.  Soon there is now wind and we are motoring out passed Danger Point in search of our course south about 10nm offshore and importantly the East Australian Current.

 

When the current appears about 6 nm out, we also find a sloppy confused sea.  We are able to sail at about 3.5 knots and together with the 3 or 4 knots of current we have the disconcerting feeling of travelling at 7+ knots while just drifting along with a wallowing sailing motion and the vessel just creeping through the water.

 

By mid afternoon the wind picks up and we reef down rapidly to 2 reefs and ¾ headsail.  We are making 8+ knots and the auto pilot is handling things well.  With the approach of night and a bit of sea sickness plaguing us we settle into a routine of watches. The tried and true rules of short handed sailing come into play.  Never get into the cockpit without wearing a harness and clipping on.  Never go on deck without waking the person off watch and for Amanda on her first night passage we go through the possible shipping lights and navigation lights we are likely to see.

 

Lastly – if you are unsure about anything - then wake me! Everything on her first watch went according to plan including waking me when the depth sounder started to show alarmingly shallow depths that were rapidly diminishing!  This was nothing more than the depth sounder not being able to find the bottom when we crossed the continental shelf!  All was well and we were trucking down our course line and the wind was holding.

 

I was still concerned about some of the storage systems on board that was fine for day sailing but not quite adequate for these blue water swells and with the possibility of a front approaching further south I suggested that we make for Coffs Harbour to have some rest and “regroup” which Amanda was happy to do.  Having arranged my own life so that I had a few extra days meant that we could wait for the next weather window and then continue south.

 

 

Saturday – Landfall in Coffs was briefly complicated by the amount of set we experienced while trying to cross the current, but gradually this diminished as we slipped out of the current and we were able to sail into the outer harbour basin before dropping the main and preparing for entering the marina.

 

In Coffs we had time to tidy up the general boat systems and now Amanda was able to understand the reasons why ocean sailors are so pedantic about preparations and stowage.  One night at sea in 2.5 metre swells had helped her to appreciate the deficiencies of her current stowage and prep and she embraced the challenge of preparing Masina for the next leg of the journey. 

 

After three days in Coffs with lots of cruising yachtie company and many credits put in the emergency black box – just in case :), the boat restowed, spare lines sorted, food for 2 meals at sea prepared, tanks refilled, etc, etc we were ready to face the next leg.

 

Wednesday – we had an easy morning departure with no wind, a great forecast and flat seas. Now departing with three other small yachts we had some company yet plenty of sea room as the vessels were travelling at different speeds and with different destinations. The ocean didn’t feel too crowded and our major focus was watching for shipping and fishing floats.

 

It wasn’t long before we saw both but apart from this challenge with little or now wind for 48 hours the journey became another endurance marathon of motoring – engine checks and refuelling (the tank only held 30 litres and required regular to ups).

 

Sadly we lost the current after Seal Rocks were reduced to a more realistic 5 knots under the “iron headsail”.  Wild life abounds in this mid north coast of NSW and we saw dolphins, sharks, flying fish, sail fish, boobies and mutton birds.  I saw a beautiful Mahi-Mahi streaking by in the indigo waters just beside the cockpit and dolphins led us out of Coffs and into Sydney, with the occasional visit during the trip just to check up on us!  Amanda was able to film them with her digital camera – a great idea as it is always so hard to get good photos of them as the play in the bow wave.

 

Friday 0700 – Entering Sydney Heads was a buzz – unfortunately some sea haze and cloud diminished the colours and visibility but we had added adrenaline due to a 400ft bulk carrier coming up behind and passing just as the entrance was reached!  We both felt a great sense of satisfaction on completing the journey safely and what a fabulous harbour to sail into.  We took turns staying focused on boating traffic and navigation while we recorded the passage past the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge en route to Birkenhead Point Marina.

 

With Masina safely in her new berth both Amanda and I were able to go on to new adventures – for her establishing her career and life in Sydney and for me to more Cruisability experiences. Both of us the richer for our brief shared adventure and knowing that through that sharing a friendship had developed.