Delivery Melbourne to Brisbane

[haiqu]

Anyone here done a delivery from Melbourne to Brisbane? Hints?

Actually the trip starts closer than that, in South Gippsland.

Obvious clue would be "don't go while the Sydney-Hobart race is on." Anything else I should know?

Plywood trimaran, 30' long, sink/stove/toilet/GPS/depth. Main & two jibs. Appears to have no boom or winches from photos, will be able to fit the latter before leaving.

25hp outboard in well behind cockpit but needs servicing before use.

My experience is fairly limited, having only done one major voyage (from Newcastle to Christchurch) but I know the coast quite well. Main worry is getting to Eden, after that I should be quite fine.

Have a laptop with OpenCPN and will probably install a full set of TackTick MN100 instruments prior to departure.

[Banshe]

G'day,
I've done that trip more than once from Refuge Bay, Wilsons Prom, to Eden direct. You can go into Sale but that's out of the way. Better to weave your way through the oil rigs but be careful, not all of them may be on your charts if you are using Open CPN. Twofold bay is a good anchorage and has cardiac hill to clime to get your grocery's. From there it's around Gabo Island to Sydney. Anchor in Blackwattle Bay. Port Stephens next then Laureton, Goffs Harbour, (you can anchor free in the outer harbour if the swell is low) then Southport where you anchor, sharp left once over the bar. Then it's a days motor through the channels to Moreton Bay. Crescent Bay anchor? (this is all from memory) then more channel sailing to the main port entrance.
Hope this will help. J

[stillbuilding]

Refuge, green Cape or Twofold, behind Gabo if you have to, Bermagui is good, The rest is easy except bloody NE winds will prevail so catch the S after a change.


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[El Pinguino]

Make sure you have a **good*** weather window to get from the Prom to Eden.... not a 'she'll be right weather' window.
Beware harmless looking lows tracking over the land to the north west of you when between the Prom and Eden.
That's it.....

[stillbuilding]

Not sure what it is like now, but phone reception was lousy in Refuge so must have radio or sat reception technology or pant up the nearby hills.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forums lily hhrn

[stillbuilding]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Make sure you have a **good*** weather window to get from the Prom to Eden.... not a 'she'll be right weather' window.
Beware harmless looking lows tracking over the land to the north west of you when between the Prom and Eden.
That's it.....

+1

Been caught by that thinking.😃

Started off thinking we had a break and was 30 knots within couple of hours. Fast run but could not see the waves coming from behind at night so got the cockpit filled a few times. Safe 38' double ender with small aft cockpit built for those waters so no problem.

Got bitten by a white tail spider in my sailing gear half way to Eden!

Bermagui is lovely stop and tight but easy entrance, good pubs and shower and fuel at the co-op.

Had a good companion and good conversation all the way to Sydney.


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[El Pinguino]

A rather long and very nasty lee shore all the way to the corner.

Last time, about 15 years ago , on a friend's boat we sailed from Refuge with a good forecast and nothing more than a small insignificant low over western Victoria. Second night out we passed Gabo in a glassy calm, two hours later we were in a screaming southerly that we would not have been able to keep off a lee shore in. The low had deepened rather remarkably when it crossed the coast. Even the Eden fishermen reckoned it was pretty bad.

[haiqu]

Thanks for the data guys, much appreciated.

I'm thinking of hopping into Mallacoota and waiting for a window, does that sound like a plan?

[JPA Cate]

I'm sure the tri could get into Malacoota... But heed El Pinguino's warning, in that type of S'ly blow, you probably couldn't get in safely.

You will have good VHF coverage the whole way. The canonical way to go north is to stay tucked in, and therefore out of the EAC. Data available on the Bureau of Meteorology website, with chartlets showing where the water swirlies are and which directions the flows in the eddies are.
.
Will you have crew, and treating the trip like a delivery, or are you cruising? If cruising, there are plenty of places to stop not yet mentioned, but if a delivery, you would only try to find shelter from a strong northerly.

If you can find a copy of Alan Lucas' Cruising the New South Wales Coast you'll be able to select the places where you could duck in. Since you're in a tri, you can ignore Alan's mentions of rolly anchorages--they shouldn't bother you so much.



Ann

[El Pinguino]

I would avoid Mallacoota like the plague... besides which by the time you get there you are as good as around the corner anyway.

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

I'm sure the tri could get into Malacoota... But heed El Pinguino's warning, in that type of S'ly blow, you probably couldn't get in safely.

Since I'm starting in Bairnsdale it would be a good first point for a break, but I'll need to remain aware that I may not be able to get in there if the WX turns nasty. Thankfully I'll still be fairly fresh and alert at that point.

You will have good VHF coverage the whole way. The canonical way to go north is to stay tucked in, and therefore out of the EAC. Data available on the Bureau of Meteorology website, with chartlets showing where the water swirlies are and which directions the flows in the eddies are.

Good to know the VHF network actually works down there, but I may only have a handheld radio so I don't expect to get much more than 5km range which is enough for reporting in but little else. Of course I'll also take a GPS-enabled EPIRB. I'll be downloading wind/wave GRIBs into OpenCPN so that's covered.

Will you have crew, and treating the trip like a delivery, or are you cruising? If cruising, there are plenty of places to stop not yet mentioned, but if a delivery, you would only try to find shelter from a strong northerly.

Solo, and I'm in no hurry. It's a delivery in the sense that the yacht will be less than fully prepared (Note comment about lack of a boom in the OP). But since I'm soloing I'll be hopping between ports to get rest.

If you can find a copy of Alan Lucas' Cruising the New South Wales Coast you'll be able to select the places where you could duck in. Since you're in a tri, you can ignore Alan's mentions of rolly anchorages--they shouldn't bother you so much.

I have Alan Lucas' NSW & QLD books, but don't regard them as gospel due to discrepencies in areas I'm familiar with. Apparently it's a long time since he visited many places, or he didn't stay long. e.g. He claims there's a general store at Woolwich NSW, but it has been gone for many years. He also didn't know about the water tap available at the Woolwich baths under the jetty, or mention the free council showers.

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by Banshe

G'day,
I've done that trip more than once from Refuge Bay, Wilsons Prom, to Eden direct. You can go into Sale but that's out of the way. Better to weave your way through the oil rigs but be careful, not all of them may be on your charts if you are using Open CPN. Twofold bay is a good anchorage and has cardiac hill to clime to get your grocery's. From there it's around Gabo Island to Sydney.

I think you'll find that Gabo Island is before Twofold Bay ... unless you're going South!

Thanks for the tip about the oil rigs, I wasn't aware of that.

[JPA Cate]

You can do most of the trips in day hops, at least from Eden north. I prefer open roadstead anchorages to barred rivers, but both offer shelter. There are many places where you can stop. Figure out what kind of days runs will suit you.

The problem you mention about Woolwich is typical of books, they tend to be out of date when they're published. However, you can trust Alan's soundings, and I think the geographical information about the anchorages is correct [the land doesn't move around much], and conservative. We've been using them for 20+ years.
Ann

[El Pinguino]

Some points....

Coming out of Lakes Entrance you are already clear (and inshore) of the production platforms.

Its only about 100 miles to Gabo... something has going badly wrong in the planning stage if your wx window is less than 24 hours long.

If you are in conditions that make you want to seek shelter you won't be seeking it in Mallacoota... there is a reason its not on the list of fun places to visit on a yacht.

You could - if the the wind comes out of the east- take shelter behind Gabo.

I would be getting 'real ' weather forecasts rather than relying on gribs... read the grib warnings on the sailmail pages.

Do I read this right ..that you will not have a boom?....oh..OK.....

[Jim Cate]

I have Alan Lucas' NSW & QLD books, but don't regard them as gospel due to discrepencies in areas I'm familiar with. Apparently it's a long time since he visited many places, or he didn't stay long. e.g. He claims there's a general store at Woolwich NSW, but it has been gone for many years. He also didn't know about the water tap available at the Woolwich baths under the jetty, or mention the free council showers.

No printed cruising guide is ever up to date in all respects. Alan tries to address this by posting updates on his website -- did you ever check there ?

And really, does the existence of a store or placement of a water tap in a minor port make all that much difference? Things do change, and while Alan is meticulous and conservative, he ain't superman. I'll trade reliable soundings for missing stores any day!

If you do find such discrepancies in his books, a note or e-mail to him with suggested corrections might be a good idea. Alan doesn't use other folks critical data, like soundings, etc, but shore facilities, which tend to change rapidly, should be an acceptable input, even from strangers. So, instead of griping about the missing store, let him know about it. He will likely post it on his site, and everyone will be the better for it.

As Ann says above, we've used his works for years. They are not as detailed as some of the ones that cover smaller areas (100 Magic Miles, Cruising the Curtis Coast), but do a very respectable job for several thousand miles of coastline.

Cheers,

Jim