NSW cruise

March is a time of unreliable weather. NSW is a place where lots of the entrances have bars. It is dangerous to cross a bar when the swell is large, and the tide is running against the wind. This means that one has to try to arrive at a bar in the last three hours of a rising tide, when the current is flowing in. Its also best to cross a bar in daylight.

In effect this gives us a window of 3 hours in 24 to arrive at a barred destination. Not always easy to do. Some entrances have deep water, and can be crossed at any time. They include Coffs Harbour, Port Stephens, Pitwater, and Sydney.

Over the weekend of March 3-4th, George had a gathering of women friends at Angourie, near Yamba. I sailed down with two of the husbands, to await the time when George could join me on Nimrod, and the others all drove home.

Since then, the wind has been stubbornly from the south, making further progress down the coast difficult. But Yamba, Iluca and Angourie are fabulous places to be holed up, and we have had a very relaxing time here. Lots of prawns, and mudcrabs. Plenty of walks.

Tomorrow we aim to catch a forecasted N-Easterly and duck out 50 miles to the East Australian Current and do an overnight trip down to Port Stephens.

Here are some recent photos.