Year 2 – 9 February 2025 -Newcastle- Port Stephens
We woke to a slightly grey morning with a bit of wind. The forecast was for little wind until about 12.00noon and then it should back East and then Northeast by the end of the day. This seemed fine for us and thought if we leave about 11.00am the wind will help us considerably and we should hopefully be in Port Stephens before it gets set in Northeast which would be on the nose and we would have to tack and not sail directly there. It did not turn out as forecast and it seems they can never get it right.
Oblivious to this we had banana pancakes which was good as we had ripe bananas which needed eating up. Once we had breakfast we got the boat ready and brought the dinghy up on the davits. We read and prepared and due to the fact that there was some wind (not forecast) we decided to leave about 10.30am. There seemed to be a bit of rain in the air.
Once we upped the anchor we headed down the Stockton Channel and had to go over the shallow patch to get out into the harbour. This was fine and we then motored out along the starboard markers of the channel. The problem was that there was a tanker coming with three tugs escorting it. I had little room to my left so I decided to go across to the port side of the channel where there was more room. This proved to be a good move and I had to do a 360 degree turn to keep out of the way so I could pass the stern of tanker and tug being towed behind it.
We then went out of the harbour and there was only about 9kts of wind and coming from the South/Southeast (not forecast) and so we decided to sail. This meant we were able to make about 4.5-5.00 kts and I decided to head East as if the wind goes East and Northeast this would push us back to the real course we wanted. It also gave me an opportunity to make water and charge the batteries. We therefore put the generator on and sailed slowly. The threat of rain disappeared and it was a nice sunny day. It was good to be on the water, that we were moving on and it felt good to be alive!. There was a bit of a swell but we just rode over it.
After a few hours we turned the generator off and the wind began to die. I looked at the Predict Wind models and all, save PWE, predicted that by 12.00noon we would have 12-15kts from the East and backing Northeast by about 5-6.00pm. At 12.00noon we had 6 kts from the South and it continued like that until about 5.00pm when it started to go more Easterly. PWE was the most accurate and said the wind would be from the South and light until about 4.30pm. It makes me wonder how so many models can get it wrong. We had in reality to put the engine on for about 3 hours when 5 of the 6 models predicted we would have 15-20 kts from the East/Northeast. This can be quite frustrating when you pay for a service and are trying to plan your trips to find it is so badly wrong.
The wind did come round to the East and so we were able to sail for the last hour only close hauled (near the wind) and managed 10.5 kts at one point. We were able to sail between the Heads as they are called. Tomaree Head being the South Head and Yacaaba Head on the North.
Port Stephens is an open tide-dominated drowned-valley estuary and is a large natural harbour of approximately 134 square kilometres (52 sq. mi) located in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. It lies within the Port Stephens–Great Lakes Marine Park and is situated about 160 kilometres (99 mi) north-east of Sydney. The harbour lies wholly within the local government area of Port Stephens.
Port Stephens is formed through the confluence of the Myall and Karuah rivers, Tilligerry Creek, and the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean. The lower port has a predominantly marine ecology and the upper port an estuarine ecology. The area to the east of Port Stephens comprises the Tomago/Tomaree/Stockton sand beds.
A narrow entrance between two striking hills of volcanic origin marks the opening of Port Stephens to the sea. The southern headland, Tomaree or South Head, rises to 161 metres (528 ft) above mean sea level (AMSL) while Yacaaba, the northern headland, is 210 m (690 ft) AMSL. The harbour is mostly shallow and sandy but contains sufficient deep water to accommodate large vessels.
With an area of approximately 134 square kilometres (52 sq. mi), Port Stephens is larger than Sydney Harbour. The port was named by Captain Cook when he passed by on 11 May 1770, honouring Sir Philip Stephens, who was Secretary to the Admiralty. Stephens was a personal friend of Cook and had recommended him for command of the voyage. It seems Cook's initial choice had actually been Point Keppel and Keppel Bay, but instead he used Keppel Bay later. The first ship to enter the port was the Salamander, a ship of the Third Fleet that later gave the suburb of Salamander Bay its name, in 1791. In that same year escaped convicts, then known as 'bolters', discovered coal in the area. In 1795 the crew of HMS Providence discovered a group of escaped convicts living with the Worimi people. Port Stephens became a popular haven for escaped convicts and so in 1820 a garrison of soldiers was established at what is now known as Soldiers Point. This is near where we are anchored and we actually ended up anchoring in Salamander Bay.
Port Stephens has rather poor soil for the most part and has limited agricultural potential. For this reason, no large towns developed there historically and it was never developed as a significant port. The major city and port of Newcastle developed at the mouth of the Hunter River, about 45 km (28 mi) south-west of Port Stephens which is where we have been for a few days.
Once we came in the two heads described above we headed into Shoal Bay which is a bit exposed to the North and we decided it did not have enough shelter and the swell was coming in. On the North side was Jimmy’s Bay which would have been more sheltered but it was a long way from anywhere. The next best anchorage was Salamander Bay but first we had to go through the channel past Nelsons Bay where you cannot anchor. We motored past and noted the marina. We then came on to another bay but it was narrow. We then went on and came to Salamander Bay. There were a number of yachts there mostly on moorings but with plenty of space to anchor. We found a spot and by this time the wind was from the NE and about 16-20 kts – correct but forecast about 6 hours late!!.
We settled down and had a welcome beer. We looked around and there was little sign of any industrial development. There were fish farms, beaches and mangroves with some houses on the shore. We have arrived in one piece which was good but it would have been nice to sail more which we could have done had the forecast been right.
We had the other half of my spag bol (which we had frozen) with broccoli which went down well. We look forward to exploring this area tomorrow. We are not far from the wine region Hunter Valley which we wish to visit so we need to make this happen. The picture of the day is sailing toward the heads.
Need/Opportunity Year Two
I am in need of more crew from late April to Mid-July 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