Gold Coast Seaway to Port Stephens, Australia

[Mav]

Hi Folks,

I am about to relocate my boat, Silverton 360 Express cruiser, from Runaway Bay on the Gold coast to Port Stephens on the mid north coast of NSW.

I would really like to get some knowledge on what are the good marinas along the coast between these two places for overnight stops.

I have ordered Alan Lucas's book "Cruising the East Coast of Australia" but as yet it has not arrived and I set off in two days to journey to the boat.

I am specifically interested in knowing which marinas have fuel docks with unleaded fuel availability? I had originally planned to overnight at Coffs Harbour till I rang them today and found out they only have diesel available.

I know Yamba has unleaded petrol as I rang them today also but I would like to have a choice of fuel stops just in case.

I have been working on figuring out my expected fuel range and I think I should be able to get around 200 to 250 nm on one load of fuel if I take it easy doing around 10 to 15 kts.

I am hoping for good weather and a kind sea but knowing my luck I will get neither. So I would like to know which harbours along the route have good lay over facilities should I need an extended stay till the weather blows over?

[Mav]

So after the last few weeks of having the repairs done, installing new electronics, new tender, etc the time has come for me to journey to take posession of her formally and spend a week doing shake down trips before putting to sea to relocate her to our marina in Port Stephens.

I will be leaving early tomorrow morning to drive to Port Stephens, that is 2800 kms away, where I will be checking to make sure our wet slip is ready for us. Then I will be leaving my car at the marina and flying up to the Gold Coast.
I have to collect the new tender, it is second hand but in as new condition, I could not pass up the deal as it is a 2.5 metre Hypalon RIB complete with a 5hp Mercury outboard, gas tank, seat, dolly wheels and boat and motor covers all for $1000.00. It is a fibreglass hull, the current owner has barely used it and it is taking up space in their garage.

Once I get it fitted up with davit clips it will be going on to the back of the boat to take the place of the sad looking QuickSilver inflatable that is currently sitting there partially deflated due to a seam giving out.

I will have my SPOT onboard with me for the trip down the coast if anyone wants to follow along, in fact I will have my SPOT on from the moment I leave my home here in Alice Springs tomorrow morning. It gives my wife a good feeling to look in on the SPOT page to see where I am and that I am okay.

My shared SPOT page is here:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/f...EE18igP0l0pSQE

I have my video camera and my DSLR with me in order to document everything and I will post up some images later.

Oh for those that don't know we purchased a Silverton 360 Express:

[dacust]

Very nice. Have a great trip and keep us posted.

BTW: We are simple folks and are easily amused with pretty pictures. Post more.

-dan

[ozskipper]

Yamba and coffs are your best choices. Ballina is accessable at some times as is the Mclay and sometime Nambucca. But you really need local knowledge for these I have been told in the past. Ballina is the best out of that bunch as I undersand it.

If petrol is a problem, you may need to organise drums to be shipped to and from the marina as Coffs is the easiest to access of the lot. Taxi or rent a ute!

Cheers
Oz

[Jim Cate]

Mav,

You really should have the Lucas book as I recommended long ago. If your copy has not arrived, you will be able to buy one in Southport (Whitworths or the chandlery at the Southport YC). Alan's advice will answer most questions that you will generate along the way...

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Towlers Bay, NSW, Oz

[Mav]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Mav,

You really should have the Lucas book as I recommended long ago. If your copy has not arrived, you will be able to buy one in Southport (Whitworths or the chandlery at the Southport YC). Alan's advice will answer most questions that you will generate along the way...

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Towlers Bay, NSW, Oz

Jim, Alans book arrived from whitworths on Friday just in time. I have only had a quick look at it. I am currently sitiing at maccas in Broken Hill on my way to Port Stephens


@Ozskipper - Thanks for the info Oz.

@Dan - Thanks mate, I hope to post more from the trip.

[dacust]

I think I found your boat on Google Earth. In same slip, but bow in with big boats on either side.

I'm having fun following your drive on Spot. That's some really wide open country.

-dan

[dacust]

Last SPOT activity was 7 days ago. I hope you didn't have any trouble from the typhoon...

-dan

[Mav]

The dream became a nightmare and the boat sucked up more money than we expected to make it seaworthy. We have almost completed the repairs but are now faced with the reality that there is not enough money left in the kitty to relocate it to our home port. So we were left with the only viable option and that was to put it back on the lot for sale. As heart breaking as this is to do we simply can not afford to keep shovelling money at it.

I have spent the past two weeks at the marina on the Gold Coast trying to get the boat ready and it has been one set back after another, the final straw came two days ago when the genset quit working and whilst searching for the cause I noted that the stqrting batteries for the genset and both motors were on their last legs. The genset starting battery was completely dead with buckled plates. So I had the batteries replaced but when that was being done it was discovered that the power cabling was all screwed up, so that all had to be redone. Then it was discovered that the aft bilge pump was not working so that had to be replaced and that was the largest bilge pump, would have been disterous to have set to sea without that one working as all the deck drains empty into the bilge instead of dunping the water back into the sea as happens with scuppers.

Then I discovered that the newly installled Icom VHF radio was not TXing or RXing, I had a local marina business check out the install and the antenna is broken. New antenna being fitted tomorrow.

The new autopilot system still needs to be sea commisioned as the tech that was installing it basically walked away from the job after he failed to install it correctly. I have another business redoing that install.

Overall it has been an unpleasant two weeks which I am happy to be putting behind me, the weather has been awful with high temps and high humidity. Working in the confines of the engine room has been horrible to say the least.

[dacust]

Dang. I am really so sorry to hear that. I totally remember what it felt like when I was in a similar situation years ago.

I sure hope you can recoup some of your losses.

-dan

[Bergovoy]

wow, not sure why you fix her up just to sell her... if she is on the market let the buyers deal with it.. stop putting money into her..

or, fix her up, and let hte 'kitty' get re-established, then move her then enjoy her..

from my research the bleeding doesnt really ever stop, we just try to keep it to a slow trickle...

but good luck, either way you choose...

[trapper1]

Sorry to hear about your problems,after all that travelling to get there,
I had lots of problems when I bought my Yacht,I should have gotten a good Surveyor,but no, I decided it was out of my budget,bit different in your case I have sails.
If you have spent, or are spending so much on her,why not keep it, don't give up,a buyer may ask for a survey and find you will have to pay for repairs anyway.
I hope to head off from Adelaide on Monday for my 2500 km road trip to pick up my yacht and bring Her down from Gladstone Qld to Adelaide,I will be in for a repair bill too.
So, best of luck to you and stick with it.

[SimonV]

It sounds like you nearly had all the problems licked.

[Mav]

The boat is now in great shape, just the genset to be done but. I did think about just hanging on to it but I have used up my leave so it would be quite a while before I could get back there to relocate it.

Anyway my wife was not in favour of keeping it so the decision was made, the good news is I think we will recoup our losses so in the end it will just be my vacation time that was lost.

[Bergovoy]

if you can recoup what yhou put into it, then you made a profit... congrats... and good call.. timing is everything... strike before you get into trouble with the wife.. is a double bonus...