Year 2 – 5 February 2025 -Back to Pittwater

It was a very still stifling morning in Bobbin Point with no breeze at all. We had a light breakfast and were waiting to hear from the electrician who said he would do us as his second job with his first job at the marina starting at 7.30am.

He contacted me about 8.30am and I went to collect him and he came onboard and replaced the AIS unit which then worked but there was an issue with wires being bent and intermittent issues. He resolved this and then put in a new external GPS unit which did not need to be put outside (surprisingly) and he stuck it to the underside of the cupboard and it worked fine!!

Once he was done we thanked him and prepared ourselves and left in the heat. It was so still but as we went up Cowan Creek the breeze increased and it was a little cooler but the wrong angle to sail. We motored the whole of Cowan Creek (about 7 nm) and headed out over to Patonga Beach opposite the entrance to Broken Bay. We anchored and there was a bit of a swell but it was not uncomfortable. We had a nice lunch in the cockpit and were potentially expecting thunderstorms about 3.00pm. We decided not to go ashore for a swim.

I was contacted by Paul Hardcastle – the HLR CA (Cruising Association) rep who had helped me in Sydney and he said there were some CA members who wanted to meet us so we agreed to go back to Newport (in Pittwater) and to meet them for supper. We therefore upped anchor and then motored over to Pittwater and came down over the shallow patch and through the yacht racing which is a daily occurrence here it seems. We came round Scotland Island and anchored opposite Church Point and we were due to meet the members at the Waterfront Café.

We had a break for a couple of hours but a water taxi came up and said we should not anchor there as there were cables etc. We therefore upped anchor and moved about 300 meters East and anchored again. We went ashore about 5.30pm and met Paul and then Dean and Jan – the CA members who were originally from Scotland and have been in Australia some time. They used to have a boat in Australia and the Med.

We had a very enjoyable evening socialising with them and talking sailing and what they have done and what my plans were etc. The picture of the day is of us all at dinner.

We plan to go North up the coast tomorrow to Newcastle. This is about 50nm and the wind is forecast to be light but we need not be in a rush and we need to make some water. The wind will be from the South at first and then will gradually move to the East then Northeast during the day. It will be good to move on as I feel we have really seen Broken Bay and the area and the technical issues has allowed us to explore it properly.

Need/Opportunity Year Two

I am in need of more crew from April to September so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com