Sailing down the Australian East Coast Adivce

[SailingSerenity]

I'm currently refitting a 13.5m monohull in the Gold Coast with the intention of sailing down to Melbourne once the boat is ready. Although I'm not new to sailing, this would be my first time sailing down the east coast of Australia. I'm curious to know if anyone has any advice to share?"

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Serenity.


“Cruising the Queensland Coast” ~ by Greg Luck
Each of the 13 coasts, from the Gold Coast to the Cooktown Coast, is covered in detail.
$99.99 - $129.99 ➥ https://curlewescape.com.au/book/cru...oast-book.html

“Cruising North: Guide To Marinas Stopover” ~ by Boat Gold Coast
Free [on-line] ➥ https://boatgoldcoast.com.au/cruisin...marinas-guide/

“Queensland” ~ by World Cruising Wiki
Free ➥ https://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Queensland

[Jim Cate]

The Aussie standard cruising guides are by Alan Lucas, one for Queensland, one for New South Wales. Many editions, all well and personally researched by Alan himself. We've used them for years.

Jim

[JPA Cate]

Welcome aboard CF, SailingSerenity.

The "bom" site (Aus. Bureau of Meteorology) has an area within it that shows what the EAC (East Australia Current) is doing and how much of a "boost" it will give you for a given approximate distance offshore.

When Jim and I sail south, we tend to jump on the northerlies and the "escalator," the EAC, and ride them till they're finished; and we spend part of our time all the way out with the shipping. When we need to stop, we stop in open roadsteads. If you have crew and are using a delivery mentality, it is the most efficacious way to get south, imo.

If you are in a mood for exploring, you can plan easy day hops or overnighters.

It is wise to plan arrivals at barred harbors for the latter half of the flood. The volume of impounded water on the inside of the bar pretty much determines how long the overruns are. Especially the NSW bars normally have run out or run in times of about 3 hrs.

Some insurances do not cover you in Twofold Bay, Eden (South NSW), where you have to shift sides of the bay to accommodate the wind shifts, so you should check your policy if you plan to stop there. [There is a marina about 15 n. mi. north of there, at Bermagui.]

We have sailed the coast many times, but never the section between Gabo Is. and Melbourne, so no comments on that part of the trek.

Ann

[chrisr]

1. use the current. the EAC runs at up to 4kts and can be a real boost. BOM website has an interesting bit on actual / forecast curent, but generally stay about 10nm offshore

2. be very careful with all ports that have bars in the entrance and realise that in the wrong weather or at the wrong time, you cannot get in. do your research and plan carefully. the only all weather ports between brisbane and sydney are coffs, port stephens and newcastle - and i've send all of these closed at times too. DO NOT TRY TO GET OVER A BAR IF THE CONDITIONS ARE NOT RIGHT.

3. lucas's Cruising the NSW coast is invaluable. get it. read it

4. you don't say when you are going, but weather in summer is usually NE'ly sea breeze, with a southerly change every 10 days or so. the BOM website has very useful real time coastal observations so you can constantly see what sort of weather is coming . it's generally easy sailing however many RTW sailors we know have said the NSW coast was some of the roughest conditions they met, so don't get lulled into a false security eg when a southerly gale hits the south running current, the seas stand up something awful !

5. don't stop at sydney harbour unless you really have to. pittwater or port hacking are much better.

6. south of sydney, most of the ports have bars and can be very dangerous. jervis bay is all weather although can be difficult to find shelter once inside. eden is nice but as ann mentions : don't leave the boat unattended

7. weather from eden to the prom can change quickly so watch your forecast. stops at lakes entrance and inside wilsons prom can be handy

all in all, its pretty easy. lots of support (the whole coast has vhf coverage to marine rescue) and some really lovely little spots to stop along the way. enjoy !

cheers,

[JPA Cate]

Yes, there are web cameras for most of the barred entries, so if you have an internet connection, the camera on land will show you what the camera sees. Here's a link I have for the one at Pt. Macquarie: https://roads-waterways.transport.ns...macquarie.html

You can take that link and substitute any of the bars: The first one you might encounter is the Clarence R. bar. It is often good, and Lucas' book shows the preferred entries. A full strength ebb after a big rain inland, and a strong SE airflow can close the entry.

Ann

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

The Aussie standard cruising guides are by Alan Lucas, one for Queensland, one for New South Wales. Many editions, all well and personally researched by Alan himself. We've used them for years.
Jim

Books by Alan Lucas ➥ https://www.alanlucascruisingguides.com/

Cruising Guide Updates [2019]
➥ https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...288415/nsw.pdf
➥ https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...2885/coral.pdf

[BobFord]

My preferred ,many times used , anchorages South of GCSW. Clarence River, Port Stephens ,Broken Bay ,Jervis Bay, Eden, Wilsons Prom. Keep eye on weather from BOM.

[Oceanride007]

I'd recommend after the new year and do it with delivery mentality, Stop in Refuge cove is recommended for a rest.

[molly1]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Welcome aboard CF, SailingSerenity.

The "bom" site (Aus. Bureau of Meteorology) has an area within it that shows what the EAC (East Australia Current) is doing and how much of a "boost" it will give you for a given approximate distance offshore.

When Jim and I sail south, we tend to jump on the northerlies and the "escalator," the EAC, and ride them till they're finished; and we spend part of our time all the way out with the shipping. When we need to stop, we stop in open roadsteads. If you have crew and are using a delivery mentality, it is the most efficacious way to get south, imo.

If you are in a mood for exploring, you can plan easy day hops or overnighters.

It is wise to plan arrivals at barred harbors for the latter half of the flood. The volume of impounded water on the inside of the bar pretty much determines how long the overruns are. Especially the NSW bars normally have run out or run in times of about 3 hrs.

Some insurances do not cover you in Twofold Bay, Eden (South NSW), where you have to shift sides of the bay to accommodate the wind shifts, so you should check your policy if you plan to stop there. [There is a marina about 15 n. mi. north of there, at Bermagui.]

We have sailed the coast many times, but never the section between Gabo Is. and Melbourne, so no comments on that part of the trek.

Ann

Can you give a more precise address for the BOM site that shows current and speed. Can not find it no matter how hard I try.
Thanks in advance.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by molly1

Can you give a more precise address for the BOM site that shows current and speed. Can not find it no matter how hard I try.
Thanks in advance.

here you are

IDYOC300 product of Oceanography

cheers,

[JPA Cate]

And, for the met bureau: New South Wales Forecast Area Map

[SailingSerenity]

Thank you all for your input, there is defiantly a wealth of information here.

[catsketcher]

All great advice here, but here is my two cents so I can reminisce.

I reckon, if you have time, that the NSW coast can be a good cruise in summer. You can hang out in Iluka and go surfing or walking in the littoral rainforest. Coffs is next and has great surfing too, fab little body surfing waves INSIDE the harbour, nice enough if you are in the marina. A great spot especially if you have a bike, but great beach lazing at Coffs.

Probably next stop for you will be Port Stephens, but I like to stop in Camden Haven. If you can this is lovely, walk up Middle Brother, but it can get a bit spinny in a blow with wind against tide.

Don't go blasting past Broughton Island. If you can stop there, it is a jewel, especially if uncrowded. Great walking up the headland though at Shoal Bay in Port Stephens.

I love Broken Bay and if you haven't done it before try to avoid Boxing day till the 16th of Jan or so and poke around. It is beautiful. Then down to Sydney if you like - Sydney can be great, but if you want peace head up Middle Harbour to Bantry Bay and chill out. Port Hacking is a bit shallow for you but can be a nice place to stop off.

Then you are off to Jervis. As stated before it is great of the wind is not changing, but with noreasters and then southerlies it is a trial. We like Batemans, but the bar is shallow but you can stop off behind an island for the night. Bermagui is nice but it does have a bar (well protected from the south)

Then Eden. I love a little place 10 miles south of Eden called Bittangabee, but you should only go there in a multi or in calm conditions. Like Ann and Jim I don't do Melbourne.

Tips? Keep and eye on the forecasts and use the BOM coastal observations site when wondering about a southerlies timing. Fishing floats can be a problem sometimes, we have had them wrap around our centreboard which was not fun. It can be a great trip IF you go with the forecasts and give yourself plenty of time to stop and hole up.

cheers

Phil

[tjcrash2002]

I’ve made the trip from Brisbane to Sydney 3 times. And, I’ve gone south from Brisbane along the coast to then turn east to New Zealand. All in the last 5 years. I live just south of the GC. I’m happy to chat if you like; you can contact me at tjcrash2002@yahoo.com.
Regardless, what all the others have written about the Lucas books being essential reading is very true.