Downtime in Surfers Paradise , 1 week,  Monday 6 to 12 August 2012.

We have arrived at the Marina Mirage in Southport, where we will stay for several days , enjoying the local environment and having a couple of niggles on LAST WORD attended to, ie coolant leak fixed, rudder sender unit changed , engine oil sampled and sent for analysis and tender leak investigated.

We are berthed on A arm,  berth A16, and the weekly rate,  including power and water is $525 , not bad at all.
We are bow in,  and this means that the back of the boat looks straight up the broadwater , not only a spectacular view , but private as well.

LAST WORD  tied up in Marina Mirage

the view out the back of LAST WORD, straight up the Broardwater, north

LAST WORD WITH A FEW MATES 

Graeme has spent several days with us, and we have sampled several restaurants , eating  out every second night.

We have even been to Graeme's house for a baked dinner.....a  superb three course meal.

The weather has been superb.

our first cloudy day, and what clouds

not a bad view, ehh

I have contacted the Vetus agent in Australia and had a replacement rudder sender unit delivered , which I have now fitted and tests ok ( with the real test to come during  the next leg to Mooloolaba ).

Whilst changing the rudder sender unit, I moved several plastic storage bins for better access to the job, and discovered that most of the nuts that secure the rudder clamps were loose ( with a couple of the nuts not only loose, but undone and on the boat hull floor), I have tightened these and put spring washers under some of the nuts. Hopefully this is the reason why the tie rod on the rudders is vibrating , and will be the end of that problem / noise.

I have also had the starboard engine coolant leak fixed ( hopefully ). This involved removing 47 liters of coolant, removing and replacing the heater element, with an  appropriate amount of thread sealant this time , and putting back the coolant.

Next I had the engine oil sampled and sent to the lab for testing. I have now had this tested three times with the results suggesting there is a serious ( but unknown ) problem with the starboard engine first being dilated by fuel ( which would suggest a fuel  injector leak ) , then the second sample saying nothing about this issue, but stating that the oil contains  an inordinately high  amount of  magnetic particulates  (eg  from  the cam shaft destroying itself ). I anxiously await the third sample  results , and will get right up caterpillars backside if after three tests they cannot tell me what s going on and what needs to be done sand when. The tests are required as part of the warranty process , and I am again thinking it is somewhat a waste of time and a money spinner. We will see.

While spending some down time , I observed some local fishing techniques.

Darn it, just hold still  and you will soon feel warm all over.

Now that was easy. Gee one throw, catch and more importantly.....only one  mouthful

I am still mystified why the tender ( starboard boob ) is deflating , and contact the Coomera ( Gold Coast City Marina , aka GCCM ) AB Inflatable agent,  and tell them I am in Southport and still have an issue with the tender deflating and organise to deliver the tender to them, the next day,(  if I cannot fix the leak in the meanwhile ).
I then crawled around under the tender, on my back,   (whilst it is on the F/B deck in its cradle ) looking for a telltale for the leak, and I think I have discovered the leak ,( being a damaged area - right on the rear bottom corner where the boob attaches to the fiberglass hull ). I set about preparing this area and glue on a patch , hoping this will be  the end of the tender deflation issues.  However, next morning the boob is again  deflated.

I contacted the RIB Force inflatable crew to confirm I would be delivering the tender to them,  and launched the tender ( by twisting  LAST WORD  in its berth to make room - as the tender launches on the port side which was tied up along side the finger )   and it took an hour travelling up the Broadwater and around Hope Island/Sanctuary Cove to the GCCM / Coomera.
RIB  Force kept the tender for two days, and found the leak ( several fine long, razor like, scratches right at the rear underneath of the boob ) and effected repairs, ie   a patch, and carried out additional work , ie adding a rubbing strip  under the keel and adding additional patches on the underneath of the  rear boobs, as a precautionary measure against future similar damage.

I tried a scenic route back from Coomera, and got lost several times in the canals. However, it was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

No wander I got lost coming back from Coomera. It is about 13 NM  (25 KLMS ) and shortcuts can be a problem. Good thing I took the Ipad as well as having a chart plotter. I left where the red pin is (top left ) and Marina Mirage is several NM south of he bottom right hand corner, and there asre several closed bridges where the chart plotter and Ipad say the canal is open.

I thought long and hard about how the fine razor scratches could have occurred in the tender , and compared my notes of when the leak first  appeared ( which I thought was a leaking valve issue ) to my diary of usage of the tender, and it readily became apparent ( as the leak occurred midway through a period when the tender was not used ( as i did no boating for several months whilst recovering from shoulder surgery )  that the damage was done when the tender was lifted out of the water, in late May, for the tender engine service.
I commented at the time, to the fellow who collected the tender by trailer, that the trailer was a poor set up for my tender, and it was not worth risking damage to the boobs of the tender. He assured me it was ok , but I insisted on fitting fenders  between the gal ( rough )  trailer wheel arch covers and the boobs of the tender to protect the tender. Obviously I  missed the underneath of the boobs rubbing on the trailer as it was winched onto the trailer. Any way, the damage was probably done by then ( as the cuts would have occurred when the tender was winched up onto the trailer).

That service to the motor cost me several days chasing the cause of the leak, and approx. $600 in repair dollars and several hours to launch, deliver and retrieve the tender, plus fuel. Not a great bargain.
 I will tell the service fellow, so he knows  next time to use a trailer properly set up for the task.

Repairs to LAST WORD  and the tender are now complete and we are ready to continue our passage north.

However, we await our guests for the next passage, Ray and Maggie Gent, who arrived Sunday 12th August  2012  and we expect to depart Monday or Tuesday ( probably Tuesday as the winds and seas are up at present).

Maggie and Ray Gent arrive, collected by LAST WORD'S driver, Graeme Barker.

Ray and Maggie travel light

Ray and Maggie may travel light , but they understand what is important for a voyage

SEGMENT 8: 
Monday 6th August 2012,   ILUKA ( CLARENCE RIVER ) TO SOUTHPORT,  QLD. 97 NM

Again the tides are all wrong for our next leg north. Ideally, we should be crossing the bars after 3 hours after the ebb (ie low )  tide to allow for the over run effect (which is the time it takes some of the big rivers to continue to discharge water - as an undercurrent out to sea under the incoming tide ) which contributes to the turbulence , especially when compounded by the existence of a shoal ( ie shallower areas ) at the river /bar entrance.

Low tide ( 0.35M ) is at 4.55am at the Yamba /Iluka bar, and low is at 4.51pm at the Southport bar.

Depth s not really an issue for the Southport entrance and it can be crossed safely during an ebb tide in fair weather, which we should have, according to all the forecasts.

The night before Capt Barry telephoned the Southport VMR and received an update on crossing  the bar just before low that afternoon, According to thr VMR all looked  ok.

I sampled Buoyweather for several locations( as it is a 97NM trip ) and it predicted  seas less than 1  M, swell of 1+M from the SE at 8 to 9 secs, and winds initially from the SW at 11 to 14 kts swinging to the NE between 5 to 7 kts.
BOM ( the Govt ) predicted similar seas and swell, and winds in the morning, but showed winds swinging to the WNW between 15 to 20 kts in the afternoon (just in time to cross the bar at Southport).

Capt. Barry set the alarm for 5.45am, and after rising that morning , checked the seas / weather and telephoned the Iluka/Yamba VMR for an early bar crossing report. All looked ok.

Capt . Barry then went about final checks and when 6.15am arrived, went downstairs to shake the rear admiral out of her sweet dreams (of the handsome Capt. I assume).

We raised and cleaned the anchor ( and had to use the high pressure spray gun for the last three M) and Julie slowly threaded our way out of Iluka Harbour , between the sleeping boats, on Capt. Barry's plotted/recommended depth pathway ( as it was only a 0.35M tide), while Capt. Barry washed down the bow and stowed the anchor.

We saw clearances of less than 1 M in parts and cleared the bar ( which was flat as ) at 6.40am , and struck out for the first 2 and 1/2 hours at 1950 rpm ( 170 l/h total and 17.4 kts )  to shorten the trip a tad ( to an estimated 10 hours ).

approaching the Yamba/Iluka bar entrance at low tide as the sun rises. This s pretty calm.

We were off Evans Head at 8.30am and the wind was 15 to 20 kts from the west and seas between half and one M also from the west. So there was a bit of spray to contend with on the port side.

At 9.00am we dropped back to 1225 rpm and made between 8.7 and 10 kts.

At 11.30am we off Cape Byron, the most easterly part of Australia.

Cape Byron. Eastern most part of Australia

I discovered one thing which has always intrigued me, ie why do most helms only have one skippers chair? The answer is that during long passages , after a "way point" has be entered and the autopilot is engaged  to TRACK, the skippers chair is often  vacated and a casual eye only  kept out for other ships and clear seas.

We usually take it tuns to keep an eye out from the raised lounge behind the two skippers helm seats , mainly because it s out of the sun (when travelling north ) , cooler and despite the helm seats being very comfortable , one can stretch out, and position the the helm seats to maximise the view , and  partially block the sun glare /shimmer on the water,  and access the galley, computers and other accessories without moving.

The rear admiral usually  watches for dolphins and whales ( and there are lots ) , has a nap on the lounge in the saloon for an hour or so,  reads a book, makes a snack and spends time on the telephone talking to her business partner or employee, and Capt. Barry visits the engine room several times to shoot temperatures and check for loose items or new leaks etc, Etrades, writes the draft blog, reads up on the next possible leg / places to visit and marks up the paper charts.
Because there is so much room immediately accessible to the crew ( the Capt and rear admiral ) and LAST WORD  travels  relatively smoothly ( with the stabilizers on ) and quietly, walking about and normal life is not an issue, and there have been no instances ( YET ) where the Capt has felt squeamish , and the rear admiral is also travelling remarkably well.

In a nut shell, whilst 10 hours is a long passage, it does  not seem that long as one is constantly busy or snoozing etc.

Julie who never misses an opportunity to talk to the smiley dolphins that play along the bow as LAST WORD  slips through the seas.

Dolphins playing at LAST WORD'S  bow. some travel with us for 15 mins.

Whilst making this passage Capt. Barry telephoned the Vetus agent in Brisbane and organised a replacement rudder sender / sensor to replace what he thinks is a faulty unit. Capt. Barry just happened to have the Vetus catalogue on board ).  The agent tracked the part number the Capt supplied and says it is covered under a 3 year warranty and organises a replacement ( which is in stock ) to be sent to the Graeme Barker who will  receive it next day and hopefully deliver it to LAST WORD in Surfers Paradise.

Capt. Barry noticed a coolant leak coming from where the engine heater element is screwed into the starboard engine  ,took pictures and emailed them to the WesTrac people, ( who is the agent for Catterpillar engines ), and rang to ask  them to organise an engineer to attend LAST WORD,  at Marina Mirage, to fix the leak under warranty.
Capt Barry also drew to their attention the less than satisfactory oil sample report for the same engine, and said that he would like further oil samples ( both engines ) taken at the same time,  as recommended in the last report ( on the off chance  the sampling - which is a warranty requirement -  is giving a misdiagnosis of what is really going on inside the starboard engine) .  Capt Barry explained there were plenty of oil sample kits on board.
In a nutshell , Capt Barry has now had both engines sampled twice and received unsatisfactory reports for the starboard engine, but for completely different reasons. Whilst there is little doubt that taking  oil samples can be beneficial ,if done consistently ( frequently and properly ),  Capt. Barry suspects that the oil samples are a bit of guess work, as well as a money spinner for Cat/Westrac.

whales on route to somewhere. Most are travelling north . However, we pass the odd whale that either started early and is on the way home or that left the gass on and is returning  to switch it off.

LAST WORD  makes good time (partly assisted by the faster rpm sections we do every 90 mins or so at between 1850 and 2250 rpm ),and at 3.00pm we are just north of Coolangatta, in calmer seas , but with a gusting 15 to 20 knt NW wind , and  only 12 NM south to Southport.

Whilst Capt Barry has booked into the Marina Mirage ( 0414 466 688 -  in receivership - like so many marinas these days ) with the manager ( whose real name is Rooster - and is a delightful character ),  he also telephoned for prices for Palazzo Versace marina ( next door 5509 8000 ). The Palazzo s considerably cheaper , but is not live aboard for more than a couple of nights, and not as much fun as Marina Mirage.

LAST WORD  arriving off Surfers Paradise

As we approached the Southport seaway Capt Barry radioed the Southport VMR for a report ( which was that the seaway was fair ) then proceed to organise ropes and buffers for our tie up at Marina Mirage.

Whilst  Capt Barry was organising the ropes and buffers ( and checking up on the rear admiral who was piloting LAST WORD  outside the seaway ) , rear admiral Julie decide ( that as the seaway was a little busy with boats coming and going ) not to loiter outside..........and took  LAST WORD  through the seaway.

Rear admiral Julie negotiating the  busy Southport seaway. Not a problem at 1100 rpm and plenty of power to spare.  

After crossing the seaway we turned left and headed for Marina Mirage, 2 NM south.

Rooster recommended we berth "bow in"  for the view up the river and privacy.
I told Rooster I had never berthed "bow in" , and the controls were at the aft end of the boat and the cord is only 7 M.
Rooster said he had heard about my parking abilities ( presumably from Graeme who knows LAST WORD  has thrusters both ends )   and had selected ( at no extra charge ) the premium A arm with a 23M long finger and 11 M of space between  the next boat, and had organised a blow on wind of only 5 to 8kts.
Berthing was easy, as I used the remote out the port side cockpit with a good view along the port side , and  received directions about the space remaining  up front from rear admiral Julie.

heading south down the broadwater towards Marina Mirage

Rooster ran his practiced eye over LAST WORD, and assessed her as a 60 footer for billing purposes (and wondered how we got the name wrong (  as a Pama 65 )) , and even though we were plugged into 32 amp power, said as we did not need air conditioning there would be no charge for electricity.
Cost on the weekly rate $500, not bad.

We tied up about 4.50pm , plugged in to  power , and Graeme , who filmed LAST WORDS  last half NM down to Marina Mirage, was on hand to greet us when we berthed , and to assist wash off the thick coating of sea salt.

We had a drink during the delightful sunset off the cockpit , finished the left over green chicken curry , which was just as good the second time around , watched some olympics , then retired for the evening, and slept very soundly.

sunset view from the boarding platform. it will be hard to take a week of this .

plenty off fish in the marina. A lot of boats leave their blue lights on 24/7

Passage from Iluka /Yamba to Southport,  97 NM , 10.2 hours, 680 L ( total engine hours 206 ) giving an average 9.7 kts at 66.8 l/h total.

Sunday, 5th August,  2012 at Iluka , on the Clarence River.

Capt, Barry was first up , and put the genset on to charge the house batteries (which were about 80% ) and to ensure there was hot water for all and put on a load of washing. After all,life must go on, guests and all.

The hard bit was not having any breakfast , as we had organised to depart early in the tender for a day on the river, starting with a visit to the Yamba marina to look it over , then a walk to Yamba village ( about 1 klm ) for  breakfast.

Th others were stirring slowly, so Capt Barry did some ironing. Capt Barry only irons for himself, not because he is selfish ( which is definitely not the case) , but because the rear admiral would not be seen dead in anything ironed by the Capt.

A Captain has many duties and responsibilities. Ironing is just one.

We managed to depart in the tender at about 8.00am and went out through the western hole in the Iluka breakwall, crossed the river, and threaded our way through the western hole in the wall on the Yamba side , to the Yamba Marina.

One has to keep their wits about them , to work out the markers.... not only what they mean, but also which side to  pass them on ,  as you need to figure out whether you are going up or down river, ....which can get a tad confusing when rounding islands and corners with outlets to the sea at the other end.

Anyway , we cheated, and followed the ferry.

We tied up at the Yamba marina and asked about a berth and prices , then left the tender tied ( and padlocked )  to the marina wharf ( after asking for  permission to do so ).

We strolled along the river bank to  Yamba village ( about 1 klm) and had breakfast at one of the cafes, strolled about the village shops , purchased some supplies to make a chicken curry for dinner and took a different route back to the marina.

walking along the southern bank of the Clarence at Yamba

We then returned to LAST WORD  and put the groceries away, then reboarded the tender and headed out for Maclean, approx. 15 NMs up river.

After exiting the western Iluka breakwall and heading west up river, one has to be very careful not to run over the submerged rock wall that runs approx 500m west from the opening. Again it is evidenced by poles , the odd floating ball marker and some areas where the rocks just protrude above the waters surface (depending upon the tide level).

We sat on about 20 knts and it took 45 mins to reach Maclean. The river was a dirty brown , with patches of scum, and was not inviting anyone for a  swim.

We passed the old Harwood sugar mill on route and passed under the Harwood Bridge , which  is 9 NM upstream from the river entrance and opens by the middle section  being raised vertically by big counter balances ,  to a maximum clearance of 36M.

Harwood sugar mill

Harwood bridge opens by the middle section being raised by counter weights to a clearance of over 36 M

We moored at the end of the public jetty which has power and water and once allowed visitors to tie up for three day limits ( now 24 hours thanks o those who abused the privilege).

tender to LAST WORD moored at the Maclean public jetty

We explored the Scottish Town of Maclean and I found a hardware shop ( where I spent some downtime ) and while rear admiral Julie wandered through a antique shop I purchased wine and beer from a grog shop directly opposite the public wharf. I figured it would be the closest I would be able  to buy heavy cartons of wine and beer. All I had to do  was walk it across the road, load the tender and then lift it out of the tender onto LAST WORD,  ( assuming I did not leave it on board and lift it on board LAST WORD  when I craned the tender on board ).

looking one way up the main street of Maclean

looking the other way

We returned to LAST WORD  in time for a late lunch of fresh bread with salmon, capers , lemon slices and spring onion, washed down with a lime and soda.

Graeme in the bow of the tender (and the back of Andrea's head) on the return journey. The tender  reached 38 mph with 4 adults  at full rpm , but with  out being trimmed , and gives a very soft, dry ride.

The girls then prepared a magnificent green chicken curry  for dinner, after which  we said good bye to Graeme and Andrea, and  at 8.00pm I dropped them a shore ( with a partially deflated starboard boob in the tender )  for their 2 hour drive back to Surfers Paradise.

Julie and I decided not to visit Grafton ( as we have both been there several times ) , but to continue our passage to Southport the next day , so we set about the well rehearsed drill of  preparing LAST WORD  for  sea ie the trip to Southport next morning, weather and seas permitting.

I

Segment 7 : COFFS HARBOUR TO YAMBA / ILUKA (CLARENCE RIVER)  60 NM

It is Saturday 4th August 2012 and the wind has died to less than 10 knots and the seas have calmed somewhat.

The Govt. weather and Buoyweather are closer this time. Both predicting a swell from the SE about 1.5M , seas between 1 and 1.4 M and winds up to 10 knots from the WSW in the  morning and from the ENE in the afternoon.

The recommended practice is to cross the bar at Yamba / Iluka after 3 hours after low tide. However low tide at Yamba today will be 3.45pm and we do not want to wait till 6,45pm to cross the bar after dark . So I  called  the Iluka/Yamba VMR the night before and they reported  that conditions were  fair and it should be ok to cross anytime as long as conditions did not change(  and assuming depth is not an issue).

I estimated  the trip would take approx. 6 hours assuming we average 10 knts ( which includes the 30 mins each end of the trip  releasing ropes and getting  across the bars and travelling  to where ever we  tie up or anchor as the case may be ).

We left the marina at 6.00am and planned to cross the bar at Yamba at about 12.30pm. The exit from the Coffs Harbour breakwalls was smooth and into a rising sun , and as soon as we cleared the breakwalls  we registered the first way point as South Solitary Island , and began our search for dolphins and whales.

leaving the Coffs Harbour outer harbour, looking back at the historic jetty, just before full sunrise

looking outside the Coffs Harbour breakwall, just before sunrise

sunrise just outside Coffs Harbour

South Solitary Island

The seas were smooth at this point and we made 10.3 kts at 1200 rpm using 52 l/h total.

There were plenty of dolphins that came to visit LAST WORD  for a swim and a smile around our bow and whales either side.

We mainly sat on 1220 rpm between 8.8 and 10 kts and every 90 mins or so I opened up the throttles to 2200rpm for 5 mins or so (22 to 23 kts )  then 1850 for another 10 mins, just to clean out the engines and exhausts and keep the 10 kt average for the trip.

hoping along about 100 rpm under full throttle every 90 mins or so fr 5 mins then 10 mins at about 1850 rpm to clean out the engines and exhausts, and keep the average speed to around 10 kts 

To pass the time I marked up the paper charts and answered some emails and caught up on some phone messages and shot more temperatures down in the engine room. I then sent some email inquires  to various marinas we thought we may stay in along the trip, asking  about availability, prices and facilities.

I then telephoned my brother , Graeme , who lives in Surfers Paradise, and invited him to drive down to join us on board for a couple of days while we explored the lower reaches of the Clarence River. Graeme readily accepted the offer , and the rear admiral said she would prepare a salad and bake a  chicken for dinner, and Graeme should bring fresh bread rolls.

For most of the passage the wind was mainly from the west between 5 and 10 kts and for a stage the seas got sloppy and confused, and the even the swell changed as it seemed to come from the NE (instead of the SE where it has been for the last couple of weeks) and we were slowed to 8+ kts.

At 11.00am, while doing another higher rpm run, we passed Sandon Bluffs  , and at 11.30pm Brooms Head.

Due to the slower section mentioned above we arrived at the Yamba bar at 12.45pm, and even though the bar looked calm we radioed Iluka/Yamba VMR ( 6646 6311 ) for a confirmatory check all was ok, which it was, so we proceeded to cross the bar. The tide was midway on a falling tide and we had about 1 M above dead low.

Yamba on approach

I telephoned Yamba Marina ( 6646 9245 ) and was told that we could berth there , but they needed to know within the next 15 mins whether to leave a key out for us. We told them we would visit them tomorrow as we would anchor at Iluka.

We crossed the bar, hugging the southern breakwall,  then switched to the center of the channel , at the end of Moriarty's Wall , and proceeded straight past the hole in the wall on our port side  ( which is the recommended entrance in the stone wall if one is proceeding to the Yamba Marina ).

looking across LAST WORD  at the bar entrance waters . Very calm.

the hole in the wall. One goes through here to venture on to the Yamba marina on the south side of the Clarence . It is not a big opening , and at high tide the wall is  covered by water ie largely unseen (other than by the markers)

As we headed for the first (eastern most ) break in the breakwall around the Iluka fish co-op and mooring area , I closely monitored the depths as we would probably be leaving at a lower tide on our outgoing journey to Southport ). We recorded some clearances of less than a M, but that was ok ( provided we could follow the same route when leaving).

Just before entering the break in the wall to Iluka harbour, we had to change direction for an outcoming fishing vessel. One has to be careful, as the entrance is probably only about 15 to 20 M wide.

On entering the inner harbour,  at Iluka, we dog legged a little to the right then to the  left to avoid the shoal just inside and to the left of the hole in the breakwall. There were about twenty vessels at anchor inside the harbour and we motored through the middle and let down the anchor ( 16 M in  2.5 M of water), west of all the other boats and closer to the breakwall. At some stages motoring through the inner harbour  we had less than 1 M under the props.

a shot of the screen showing the Iluka harbour on the right  (sorry about the glare from the flash)

stirring up the bottom in 2.5 m getting ready to drop and set the anchor

Coffs to Yamba/Iluka is 60 NM and took 6.5 hours ( including 0.75 idle hours ). Fuel used was 424 L total, so av speed was 9.1 kts at av fuel of 64 l/h total.

After setting the anchor, I gave LAST WORD  a quick bath to use up some of the horrible water we took on board at Coffs. Not only was the Coffs water foul to taste, but it left dirty water marks all over the boat, So, all I really achieved, was swapping thick salt residue for dirty windows and stainless.

Whilst waiting for Graeme (and Andrea ) to arrive , I launched the main tender, and decide to look over the fishing fleet and sound the depths of the  inner harbour for future reference.

The leak in the starboard rear boob of the tender was back ( meaning the air in that boob was gone )  and I had to pump it back up before setting off on my exploration. I reported the leak to  rear admiral Julie, ( who was already busy, beading and on the telephone to her business partner, Dixie, whilst organising the nights baked meal). At first I did not think the rear admiral had heard my complaint about the tender , however, I was mistaken , as  ( whilst doing several things at once ) the rear admiral disengaged her ear from the telephone, stopped wrestling with the (dead ) chook , and told me " you had better take the pump then ....." The rear admiral's concern for the captain's safety was duly noted in the ship's log , and off I set.

After exploring the immediate surroundings , I picked up Graeme and Andrea from the public floating pontoon in front of the local pub and we had drinks on LAST WORD'S cockpit,  and enjoyed the warm  sun soaked afternoon followed by a lovely  sunset followed by a magnificent feast for dinner. The sunset was particularly strong due to the smoke from the burn off that was taking place in several locations nearby.

picture of LAST WORD  taken just before sunset after Graeme and  Capt. barry went for a short tender ride

sunset at last

We then watched some of the Olympic coverage, made plans to explore Yamba , and Maclean ( and maybe the girls would visit the local Iluka  markets) and retired for the evening.

Friday 3rd August 2012, and we are still in Coffs Harbour , but it is a beautiful sunny day and the wind has at last subsided to less than 5 knts. However, we have  decided to wait another day for the swell to reduce ( as the next stop is Yamba ) and Julie wants another day working with her stock of beads.

I started the day with the breakfast of champions, ie coco pops,

BEAUTIFUL............ just like a crunchy milkshake

then I spent the morning doing paperwork and  visited the marina office to settle the account. There was another lady on duty , Jasmond, who had the rope incident in her records and wanted to check with Elise before preparing  the account, as they were offering a credit for my wasted ropes.  I told them $100 credit would be ok, and they said they would charge the smaller boat size rate  (all up $195 for the week ), so I left them my mastercard details and headed back to LAST WORD,  and decided to fill in the afternoon polishing and waxing  the flying bridge rooftop. I got so carried away that I also waxed the pilothouse rooftop.

I had some time to kill so i decided to take a look at the Vetus rudder sender unit, as the rudder indicator has been playing up during the trip. The rudder indicator works fine for small turns, but frequently goes haywire and rotates counter clockwise to the stop position at 12 oclock every now and then, and sometimes stays there. It has been doing this for some time , but is getting worse....so back down to the lazz for a look. I ask rear admiral Julie for some assistance so I do not have to keep running back to the pilothouse to test the rudder indicator after making different adjustments down below.
Nothing seems to work and i suspect it may be the potentiometer . I even dismantled the actual sender to check for loose wires inside the brain, but no luck. I did not have an installation manual for the rudder sender , and did wonder about plugging the lead wire ( not the hard wired power wires ) into one of the other two ports, but decided not to without talking to someone or downloading the installation manual first, as I  thought "a rudder indicator  part of the time is better than no rudder any of the time".
Well no luck there today. Further investigation another day is ok by me, as I still have the auto pilot with a rudder indicator. It's just that I prefer the real rudder indicator ( with the outline  of the boat ) than looking at bars appearing and dissappearing.


With my unexpected cheap weeks accommodation at Coffs marina, rear admiral Julie and I decided to lash out and try our third restaurant at Coffs
Yes folks we are eating our way up the NSW coast to the Whitsundays.

We decided to try the Italian pasta restaurant , Fiasco, near the local shopping village and  were not dissappointed. There was a big crowd due to the race day at Coffs, and everyone was well dressed and there were plenty of delightful  "fascinators " about. However, we asked to be moved to a quieter table when a group of ten blokes took a table next to us and we had trouble hearing our own diatribes of sotto voce. They were initially offended , but we said we would return.
The food was fantastic, and yes we did return and ended up joining their table for an hour or so. They explained that consensus was that I was about to propose to Julie, and needed a quieter table.

We strolled back to LAST WORD watched some of the Olympic coverage then  prepared for the early start the next morning.

Downtime at Coffs Harbour , 29th July to 2nd August  2012.

We decided to have some down time at Coffs Harbour International Marina , even though we cold have squeezed another day out of the weather/seas  to Yamba/Iluka.

Sunday 29th July we had a fruit breaky and lazy start and I caught up with  emails and the blog.

As there was only a light wind blowing, and we were not sure what day or time in the morning we may leave for the next leg,  I decided we should exit the berth and venture over to the fuel wharf and fill up.

The fuel wharf had a couple of boats from the fishing fleet tied up and there was not much space for  LAST WORD . There was debate between the Captain and rear admiral as to whether there was enough space, so  I  decided to stroll over to  the fuel wharf and pace out the actual space ( instead of guessing ) and find out the fuel price and whether they would sell me fuel, as it was 12.45 pm and they sometimes leave early.

When I tried to arrange fuel on my arrival at Coffs on the Saturday, the fellow I spoke to at the  fish co-op made it clear that one needs to check before tying up for fuel in case they have closed early, and that  fuel for visitors is dependent upon the fishing fleet ( who more often than not, are tied up and completely block off the fuel wharf).

Fuel was a tad under $1.60 / L and they were happy to sell me fuel as lang as we arrived and tied up in the next 20 mins, and i paced out 23 m ( 3 to spare).

I returned to LAST WORD , fired her up and moved her over the other side of the inner harbour  and parallel to the space available at the fuel wharf , then took the hand held controls at the cockpit and used the thrusters to slide in sideways using the rear space to one of the moored fishing boats  ( approx 1.5 m ) as the reference. We had about 1 m clearance at the front.
We tied up,  fuelled up, and exited  in the same fashion, and spun LAST WORD  back into her berth.

That afternoon we went for another walk.

 we walked along the historic jetty that juts well out into the main harbour

We even came across some local aboriginal art???

is this real aboriginal art? never been seen before?

The next day Tuesday, 31st July, the predicted winds came ( 20 to 25 knts) , and that is when I discovered what rusty cleats can do to good boat ropes. I had 4 ropes cut through in about 4 to 5 hours with the wind moving the boat around and the ropes tensioning and  fretting on the sharp rusty vertical parts of the cleats. I visited the marina office and organised two new cleats to be installed later that day, and borrowed some crappy green rope and tied them to shackles that I put around the crappy cleats.  Then I visited the local  chandlery and purchased new ropes and plenty of hose to further protect the ropes while I remained at Coffs Harbour.

They call it Coffs Harbour INTERNATIONAL Marina. Maintenance is not high on their list. I understand Star Marinas , the owner, wants a longer lease then tey will redo the marina, and they think maintenance is a waste of time/money in the meanwhile.

one new cleat and one handy shackle , all because the marina is too stingy to do a little maintenance

As we knew we were remaining in Coffs for up to a week ( as the next port of call was Yamba , and we needed the swell to subside to safely navigate the entrance bar ) we ventured out to dosome shopping with the NANNA TROLLEY.

Captain Barry with the NANNA TROLLEY crossing the train tracks . No it is not full of booze. It s full of fresh fruit, bread  , milk and Julie's  pepsi max

The next day ( Wednesday ) the wind continued to blow 20 to 30 knts and LAST WORD  moved around a fair bit as there are no poles to tie off on the side opposite the finger. The fishing fleet was stuck in port, and only one yacht ventured to return to Sydney, and i climbed the bluff to check its progress and can report that t was a very hairy escape. 


Below are some pictures of the  swell across the main Coffs Harbour Entrance with the swell breaking in places over the southern  breakwall. 

breakers all the way across the main Coffs harbour entrance

picking your time between breaking waves would be shear luck

Today is Thursday 2nd August and the weather /sea predicters are saying that Friday could be ok to continue north, but Saturday is probably the better bet as we are trying to cross the Yamba entrance bar.


About lunchtime 7 yachts,  returning from the Sydney to Southport yacht race , all changed plans and decided to call into Coffs Harbour for the rest of the day , and continue tomorrow.Some of them said that the seas and wind were much bigger than predicted, and tacking into the wind was just a waste of time and they were breaking gear left right and center.One unfortunate yacht broke and lost its mast about 30 mins north of Coffs and had to cut it loose and motor into Coff, which they said was a little scarey relying upon a small motor in those conditions.

whoops, That will be expensive.

look, no mast

We decided to cook lamb chops and prepare a salad for dinner, so I got out the fire extinguisher and ventured to the fly bridge and char grilled the chops  on the BBQ.  As you can see, I produced my usual char grilled sensation. The chops were accompanied by a couple of glasses of Wirra Wirra Church Block.
After dinner we watched some of the Olympic coverage then  retired for the next days surprises.

just the right amount of flame to keep warm on a cold windy evening

We are hoping that tomorrow, Friday the 3rd, will be ok for moving on  or our last day in Coffs.