We sailed our boat up to Sydney Harbour from Botany Bay on Sunday, leaving around midday in a east, north easterly.

We left the heads at Botany Bay on a port tack and thought we would head out on that tack for a while before tacking and heading up the coast. When we changed to the starboard tack (heading back towards the coast) we were about 3.5 nautical miles off the Botany Bay heads. We were doing about 4.7 knots but just seemed to sit there in relation to the shore and made very little ground north when we got back closer to land.

I wonder if we were out far enough to get caught in the EAC. Otherwise I guess the wind changed more northerly after our port tack out bound.

I was 11 miles offshore Saturday down the coast a bit. During the week the current was 1.7 knots but there seemed to be none where I was till I sailed up to a FAD and could see there was some tide. That distance off the Bay is far enough to feel the effect of the current. The easiest way to check in your case is to compare the SOG on each tack on your GPS if the breeze is Easterly. If you sailed out through green water and it suddenly changed to blue you could have hit the current too although that is not always an indication the current is running.

congrats on the new mooring at drummoyne. I am in woodford bay very near. i often go out for a few hours after work as i live 5 min from mooring and sail around cockatoo island past drummoyne. look out for "Aroha" small white bluebird, 22 foot.

The wind that day was strange. firstly there was none. i was sitting at scarborough pub having lunch looking over the cliff out to sea and it was lake like.
We only hung around there for an hour , left at 1.30 and went down to the beach. onshore had kicked in. riding past botany bay it was pretty windy with the kitesurfers out.

So when i got home i thought id go out for a little sail (around 4pm) and the wind died off while we were out there. tacked from drummoyne to clark island and couldnt even downwind home (quick enough) so we motored back.

When i did broken bay down to sydney i was very careful with the engine/fuel and everything cause i was a bit nervous having never been outside the heads. I also left at about 6am, tryna beat any gusty westerlies(july 4) but alas the gusts started in the morning and my boom which i had repaired myself kinked at the join where id sleeved it.
It held on and the wind died off to 15kn. Still took a while though.

I really wanna go out and down to port hacking, but by the sounds of it better stay in a bit closer when going upwind??

haha …. i did cronulla to botany bay and had the same experience

think it was a compo of wind starting with heaps of east clocking nth plus current

sure was a nice day tho