Click here www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=50534 and have a read.

thanks Cisco. I did read it but it doesn't answer the questions I ask.

Alba1 I cant believe your reply to Cisco didnt answer my question???
Mate read r. e .a .d or hire someone. It takes alot of years of experience and getting beat up to have the knowledge that alot of sailors have on this forum. Cisco has more patience than i do sorry

Thanks for that....it is easy to say "hire someone" when your not actually paying the cash. I did get some delivery quotes and it is about 5 times more than I can afford. Equally difficult is "speaking to someone" as I have very little contact with people with real experience, hence my question on this forum.
On your advice, and unable to pay big bucks, I'll now just do daylight hour short distances and put into port by mid afternoon.
I did find a section on wind direction and strength of a measured average, in Allans Book, p 28 of the 5th edition.
FYI I have done English channel crossings, 1 at night, all the north coast of France from Cherbourg to La Rochelle, 2 seasons racing Div E at CYCA, and 40 years of mid to large dingy racing,so pls dont presume I am a complete novice, I'm just unaware of the offshore condition between Sydney and Brisbane.

Hi alba1, I spoke with my mate this evening and he recommends that unless you have detailed charts of the river entrances and experience and a good measure of courage for bar entrances that the inshore route is not a good way to go.

Another thing to be wary of is the fish traps that may be set 10 to 20 miles offshore. They are not lit and you will not see them in the dark until you are right amongst them.

There are a few anchorages behind islands on the way down that are safe but not necessarily comfortable.

The current out at the shelf edge is not necessarily right at the shelf edge but can be close to 5 knots. It is a warm current and is strongest where it is warmest so a thermometer will be a handy tool. The current is there fairly much all year.

If you just want to get to Sydney in as short time possible, the offshore route is best. With two people on board it is not too arduous. He says a good strategy for a trip like this is to leave in the evening of the first day of overnighting rather than early in the morning. This will get you into the rhythm of overnight sailing earlier.

I hope this is of help for you. Bon Voyage and Happy Sailing. Cheers Cisco.

many thanks to the group for this valuable and important information. Exactly what I need. Last weekend I bought the full set of charts for the trip and I am studying them in detail. I will plan a light wind/strong wind strategy so I can be prepared for most contingencies. I am reluctant to sail at night due to risks of weather/fatigue and unseen fish nets. I am watching the wind patterns for the next 6 weeks, hoping for an extended e/ NE prevailing for my July 25 departure.
Ill report back after that.

Again, thanks to all contributors.

Hi alba,

sounds like a good trip,
ive not done your proposed voyage, but am hoping to one day, i have a 25ft pocket cruiser moored on the NSW mid nth coast.
IMHO you will be pushing it to do the trip in 'day sail' sections, particuarly if single handed.
nearly all the ports in northern nsw have bars on them, you will have to time your arrival perfectly!, & be prepared to motor to keep to schedule, if the bar is uncrossable you will have to push on, or turn back or wait??

you may be better off waiting for a weather window then just covering as much distance sth as possible including sailing/motoring o/night & have an all-weather port as your destination.
You will need crew, you have some experience so your crew could just be a mate who has no sailing experience it doesnt matter, just having someone to hold the tiller or do whatever's needed will be essential.

There arent really any easy ports between Laurieton & Pt Stephens, so that will be a definite o/nighter.
remember boats of our size arent breaking any speed records, distance covered could be as little as 2nm p/h, particually that time of year (if going uphill in a SE'r).

If your lucky with the weather, by the time you get to the mid Nth coast, it will be a full moon (5th Aug) great for night sailing/motoring.
Dont worry too much about tankers they are lit up like christmas trees, for info on fishing boats groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/compass-yacht-group/TjNd2GJX_5Q

keep us informed on your prep, its an interesting trip
cheers
shaun

ps, Cisco are epirbs a legal requirement for boats under 8 metres? or is it because of this voyage? i'm really interested to get more info on this, cheers. btw im really enjoying your informative contributions to this forum.

NightCap said...


ps, Cisco are epirbs a legal requirement for boats under 8 metres? or is it because of this voyage? i'm really interested to get more info on this, cheers. btw im really enjoying your informative contributions to this forum.

Thanks for your words Night Cap. Your advices are obviously based on at least some experience of bars. They are a frightening and dangerous thing. My mate said that he had never seen the deck of his Adams 31 tilt fore and aft like it did on one of the bars on the NSW coast before and when it did he looked to the side and saw a surf board rider overtaking him. This guy has done the miles too having gone most of the way across the Pacific west to east.

Re EPIRBS and under 8m, I really don't know exactly what the rule is in NSW but I expect it would be very similar to Qld.

The rule in Qld is that a 406mhz EPIRB must be carried aboard ANY vessel more than 2 nm from land. That could be on a lake. Not only do I think it is a good rule, I think it is a damn good idea.

The 406mhz EPIRB sends its signal to a satelite and so is not dependant on being in range of a VHF radio station or overflying aircraft. It also sends an identifier so that if you are a known terrorist they just leave you out there. Good stuff eh.

Cisco Mate
Alba works for AMSA he's going to try out his new 406 and see how long it takes to recover him
wow Syd to Mooloolaba thats a good pre cruise for going the other way.
When i use to do mexico races I use to always ask the owners to look behind, every now and thenWhy they would say, looks ugly that way Yes i would say and thats what I'm delivering your boat back into, while you fly 600 miles an hour
robert

Cruising Helmsman did a feature in September 2006 about dayhopping Sydney to southport which is interesting.

If your allowing 2 weeks to do the trip , you could be being extremely ambitious, its possible it could double or triple that if dayhopping, waiting for weather etc, just my humble opinion.
If you need to get there fast, trucking the 25ft boat might be easier & not much more $$ if you take into account lost wages for extra time off, costs of moorings, food etc along the way.

cheers
nightcap

Paid leave!!! Last time I had any of that was 1974 I think.[}:)]