Episode 69 Port Stephens to Newcastle

For Episode 68 - our last blog post, we had spent 2 weeks in Brisbane enjoying the area around Myora during a busy Easter and catching up with Brisbane boating friends.

We then did a 3-day sail to Port Stephens and enjoyed 2 weeks there in the areas around Salamander Bay, Corlette and Nelson Bay.

It also coincided with the Sail Port Stephens sailing regatta’s first event –
The Commodore’s Cup.

Finally, after a rough start to cruising again, the weather was starting to settle, and we were loving our time in the Port Stephens area.

And we weren’t in any hurry to leave…

In the lead up to the next week’s sailing regatta and part 2 of the Sail Port Stephens regatta, the large and fast TP52’s were out training and using Lorelei and the moored boats in the bay at Corlette as a rounding mark to practice gybing and spinnaker sets.

We had a great view as they came past just meters from us.
There were some very well-known racing yachts in the fleet.

For the Anzac Day long weekend, we decided to pack up early on Friday and beat the rush by leaving the Corlette anchorage at midday.

The weather was overcast with rain squalls and big seas, but it was due to drop out and have light variable winds with less than a metre swell by Sunday.

We decided to motor out towards the heads and see how rough the swell was.

On the way, we stopped to watch the sail races.

The TP52’s were racing (along with other yachts) so we stopped at the edge of the course to watch the race.

We headed out past the waterside suburbs and marinas towards the heads.

Once we got close to Shoal Bay, we realised the swell was bigger than expected and rolling in through the heads and into the bay.

We aborted pretty quickly and turned around and headed back into the protection of Fame Cove.

We had a lovely quiet evening with a near glass out at sunset.

The next morning (Anzac Day) we loaded up the tinny with nipper pump, fishing gear cameras and enough fuel to take us a long distance.

We first stopped at a sand flat area on the northern side of the bay to pump nippers and to have a swim.

The Pelicans came past to check us out.

The nippers were huge compared to the ones at Fraser Island and Brisbane.

We drift fished for ages down the sandy channels and caught a lot of different species, but most were undersized.

The whiting in NSW are 27cm legal size (compared to 23cm in QLD) so it was a lot harder to get legal ones as most were 23-25cm.

It was still a lot of fun.

When the wind started to increase, we headed up into the estuary systems around Pindamar and Winda Woppa.

We had a few more attempts at fishing but it was quiet so we went exploring instead.

The boat ramps along the river were packed being a long weekend with nice weather.

There was heaps of bird life both in the water and along the rocky shoreline.

The small town of Tea gardens has an awesome setup for boaties with a few free public wharves that you can simply tie up to and walk up to get something to eat.

Along the foreshore is a pub, bakery, ice cream shop, burgers, fish and chips and multiple cafes.

We could hear the noise at the pub before we could see it and could only assume that the ANZAC Day 2-up was taking place.

After a great later lunch, we slowly headed back down past the town area, under the bridge and back to Fame Cove.

It’s probably the longest run we’ve done with the new Suzuki 30hp engine and we were stunned when we got back to find we’d only used about 8 litres of fuel.

Thank goodness for 4-strokes.

Whilst it doesn’t have as much grunt as our old Mercury 2-stroke 30hp, it uses less than half the fuel – and with the current prices, that’s a good thing….

The sunset from Lorelei when we got back was excellent.

The cove had filled up a bit with long weekend boaties, including 2 very interesting Cara-boats, which are made locally at Lemon Tree Passage.

The Willie Wagtails had decided to come and make Lorelei home for the night.

With the wind and swell both dropping out overnight, we got up early to attempt the trip out of the bay and to Broughton Island.

It was still a little bumpy going out through the heads and out past the first islands, but it got smoother the further we went.

The headlands and surrounding islands have some amazing rock formations and geological structure.

We pulled into Coal Shaft Bay and were surprised to find it empty.

We figured with the great conditions every boat was out fishing.

Paul flew the drone as soon as the anchor was down.

We put the tinny in straight away and went and explored along the coastline.

There were so many little inlets that we could take the tinny into with the flat calm weather.

We went around the bottom of the island and saw Dolphins.

We went only a little way around to the other side of the Island as it was bumpy and we could see the small trailer boats bobbing around a lot.

So, we decided to abort and head back to the quiet side.

There was a juvenile White Bellied Sea Eagle circling overhead as we motored along.

We also went out to the fishing grounds and sounded around looking for potential fishing locations by marking them on the chart plotter.

On the way home we pulled into the beach at Coal Shaft Bay and had a swim and beach-comb/explore.

Sadly, there were a lot of juvenile Wedgetail Shearwaters that had been left behind by their parents as they were not developed enough to fly for the annual migration.

They were both on the beach and floating in the water.

The local ranger said there were about 80-100 of them left behind and they will surely die due to being too young to fly, feed and fend for themselves.

Lisa found a great sea cave which you can walk right into.

Paul found a climbing rope on the side of one of the cliff faces and was able to scramble up and onto the top.

There was a walking trap into the centre of the island but there were Wedgetail Shearwater bird burrows everywhere along the trail and prickly pear bush along the trail sides.

At 4pm we headed out with our bait runner reels in search of fish.

The area is famous for its great Snapper fishing so we were targeting them.

We caught a few undersized squire (baby snapper) and a bunch of other fish like rock cod, sergeant bakers, mados and even a flathead.

With the sun set and it getting cold, Paul hooked into a decent one on the last drift and we boated our first Broughton Island Snapper for the trip.

We didn’t have a camera and it was so cold on returning so we didn’t get a photo.

The next day was quite busy with a lot of boats of all sizes turning up both into the bay and around the island.

We decided to leave the tinny onboard Lorelei, put the kayaks in instead and head northeast around the rocky spits and bays.

There was a bit of surge as the swell pushed in through the small passes in the rocks. We had to time our run through the gaps perfectly otherwise we risked being either pushed onto the exposed rocks on either side or bottom out on the shallow rocks underneath.

We had a few hair-raising moments getting though.

On the far eastern end of the island is a well-known dive site called the Looking Glass. It is a series of 2 channels that run though the center of a tall rocky island.

The area is a sanctuary as it has a large population of the endangered Grey Nurse Sharks.

With very flat conditions, you can paddle through it (or even take a small tender through), but it has to be a very calm day.

Paul had a look and considered it from both sides, but there was just too much surge.

As we headed around the eastern most point of the island, the was a lot of surge pushing up onto the isolated rocks.

Once we rounded the corner, we were happy to be safe inside Esmarelda Cove.

The cove is the islands best anchorage and has a series of old fisherman’s huts and a newer ranger station at the end of the cove.

Whilst the huts have been there since the 60’s, the ranger station was only built after the island became a national park in 2012.

The cove has 2 elevated camping platforms, toilets, walking trails and signage.

We took the walking trail over to where the huts are located.

The paddle back was a log one and we decided to try and take a short cut to eliminate the surge on the eastern point.

We got though the first section – just – and pulled up onto a rocky outcrop so we could walk up onto the rocks and look for a passage through.

We only needed to go about 15m but we just couldn’t see a safe route though the rocks and surge.

We aborted and had to navigate back out and paddle the 800m around past the looking glass and into the bay.

On the way back we stopped at a small beach at the other end of Coal Shaft Bay and had a swim and a walk, before heading home – tired and sore from a lot of tough paddling.

That evening most of the boats left to go home after the long weekend, so we relaxed in the cockpit and had a drink.

The sunset was awesome so Paul flew the drone.

The next morning was very quiet with no trailer boats and only 2 yachts in the bay.

The early morning westerly was present again meaning it was a little bumpy in the bay and too difficult to put the tender or kayaks in.

But by midday the wind had swung and the sea went smooth.

At 3:30pm with near perfect conditions, we put the tinny in with the snapper fishing gear and headed out to the deeper water around the island.

The first few drifts only resulted in little reef fish and lots of annoying nibbles.

But at 5:30pm, Paul got the first legal one at 37cm. Not huge, but it was a start.

The sunset was awesome with orange/pink clouds all around us and no wind.

Just after sunset the fish came on and Lisa landed a 44cm followed by a 37cm one.

As it went dark, we decided to keep fishing as the full moon was up and it was beautiful conditions.

Paul lost his hooks and sinker and, in the dark, decided it was too difficult to re-rig, so he kicked back and helped Lisa with bait and netting and listening to music.

Over the next hour, Lisa caught 4 more legal fish to bring the total to 7 Snapper.

They weren’t huge by WA standards and the ones we get at The Abrolhos Islands, but for east coast snapper, they were fine – and fantastic eating.

By the time we packed everything away, filleted the fish and washed down, it was 9pm and we were stuffed – Again!!!

We stayed for one more day before heading back in when the swell started to rise and Coal Shaft Bay became rolly.

The trip back it was pleasant and we managed to sail in through the heads and down into the bay right on sunset.

For the next few days we worked, cleaned, ate fresh fish and enjoyed nice sunsets at Salamander Bay.

When the ominous clouds showed up, we headed over to the other side of the bay at Corlette which was more protected from the southerly winds and swell wrapping into the bay.

On the weekend, Paul’s parents George and Chez came for a 3 day long weekend from their home on the Central Coast which is a 90 minutes drive away from Port Stephens.

We took them straight over to the protection of Fame Cove and spent the weekend there.

The first night sunset was interesting.

The next morning, Paul and George went for a kayak up into the inlet on the high tide.

During the afternoon both the Wangi Queen and Tamboi Queen ferries came into the bay with lots of guests aboard waving and enjoying a lovely luncheon cruise.

That evening it was cold, but the wind backed off leaving glassy conditions in the cove.

On the Sunday we put the tinny in and decided on a explore for the day.

We first went for a leg stretch on a beach around the corner.

There were lots of Terns diving into the water catching fish.

We had never explored the areas west of Fame Cove, so we decided to follow the coastline around into the bays to see what was there.

There were some beautiful waterfront houses a lot of birds and Pelicans on the private wharves and jetties.

When the wind started to pick up, we decided to head over to Soldiers Point Marina for lunch.

On the way we stopped at Pelican Island (well that’s what we call it…) to view the birds that are always sitting there.

George and Chez knew of a little restaurant/café that was on the marina wharf at the D’Albora Soldiers Point Marina so we went there and were able to park the tinny right alongside.

We went for a small walk and explore and found some nice sculptures along the foreshore.

The fuel prices on the D’Albora fuel dock were very expensive!!!

$4.00 for diesel and $3.94 for PULP98.

And to think it was about $2.35 at the land-based fuel station about 1km away.

No wonder they only brought 13 litres……

For the next week, we were able to get the tinny onto a trailer and off to the local fabricator to get the transom extended to suit the new outboards and a flat floor up in the front area for Lisa and 2 new lifting points.

We got some very funny looks from people on the shore as we towed the bare shell of the tinny along (as we had to strip it) with the kayaks both to and from the boat ramp.

When it came back Paul put some carpet on the new floor, fitting shackles and ropes to the lift point and put in a fuel filter system.

Paul also swapped over the propellor on the 30hp motor.

The 12-pitch prop was so fast but had no low-end torque, so he swapped it for a 10-pitch and the difference was huge.

Less top end speed but so much more bottom-end grunt and ease of early planning.

We are also considering going to an aftermarket 9 pitch (Suzuki only goes as low as a 10) and putting a hydrofoil plate on too.

We’d replaced most of the water pumps in Lorelei during the refit but the one we didn’t replace was the galley sink drain pump. That week it finally died and Paul had to make an additional stop at the local chandlery to buy a new one.

It was a pain to install as it was in a tight space under the sinks in the pots and pans cupboard.

On Saturday we decided to take the tinny on a long run from Salamander Bay to Shoal Bay so we could test the new mods out and do the Tomaree Peak Walk.

We anchored the tinny halfway between the headland and the Shoal Bay township as it was a little more protected.

There were Black Swans on the beach right next to where we went ashore.

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The walk is a well-known tourist attraction of the area and one of the most popular.

It is steep but has a well-made trail offset by a lot of steel walkways that weave around the rocky headland.

The views on the way up are amazing.

At the peak, there is a small loop linking 3 viewing platforms that give you incredible views in every direction.

During the winter time, it is very popular for whale watching.

On the way back down, we took a rough side track which leads out to the ocean side to view the WW2 bunkers and gun emplacements.

The bunkers had a steep goat track to get up to them, but it was worth it.

On our way around to the second one, we found 3 fire trucks putting out a small blaze that sadly, someone had deliberately lit.

Back down at the base we found more Black Swans swimming around the rocky foreshore foraging for food.

There were also lots of honey eaters and gill birds around as the bottle brush trees were in flower.

When the Swans moved on, Paul managed to fly his drone out into the bay and get some photos looking back over the headland, Shoal Bay and over the north side to Hawks Nest.

The trip home was a little bumpy and we had to stick close to the coast to get out of the wind and swell in the middle of the bay.

However, the tinny went so much better in the rougher conditions with the new modifications.

The next day (Mothers Day) we launched the tinny again and this time headed the opposite way and went further into the bay to explore the areas of Taylors Beach, Bobs Farm and Lemon Tree Passage.

At Taylors Beach we saw the Wangi Queen ferry loading a lot of guests onboard from the local wharf. The boat was packed for a special Mother’s Day luncheon onboard.

The area at Bob’s Farm looked very protected and promising as a heavy weather anchorage for Lorelei if required.

On the way home we stopped into Lemon Tree Passage and had lunch at the local fish and chip shop on the waters edge next to the small marina.

By the time we were getting ready to leave, the clouds were rolling in for a forecasted storm and rain that night.

We raced home and had the tinny up and all packed away just on sunset and the heavy clouds rolled in.

That night it was a little bumpy but not too bad, and the rain didn’t come until about 5am.

The next 10 days were forecast to be rain and drizzle but fortunately, not much wind.

We moved back over to Corlette which was more protected and closer to the shops.

Lisa had a big week of work with the Kimberley Cruise season starting and Paul picked up 3 of the 7 parcels we had ordered and proceeded in getting them installed and set-up.

He ran new power cables up to the bow area to make a more permanent power supply for the 2 new fridges.

The kayaks received a makeover with new lines, shock cord fittings, seats and covers.

The battery box had some new ventilation grill installed to hopefully fix the issue of the overheating star-link power supply.

We also picked up the modified outboard locks from the steel fabricator.

And between all of that was cooking (and some yummy baked treats), cleaning, catching rainwater, shopping and clothes washing.

The downside of no wind and no sun was we were using more power than we could collect with the wind generator and solar panels, so we ran the generator every second day to keep up.

The upside was lots of nice rainwater in the main and drinking water tanks.

With all the cloud about, the sunsets were varied and colourful.

The weekend was still very overcast with lots of rain squalls.

On Saturday we stayed inside and pulled out the large bag of wetsuits to see what we had for colder conditions.

It took ages to sort through what was suitable - and still fitted!

We did have a bit of fun with the tri-laminate drysuits, which still had the new tags on them and had never been used.

That evening we were surprised to see friends Steve and Prue on their new boat anchor up next to us.

We first met them in the Philippines on their old vessel Keira.

Then they moved to Geraldton like us and Prue is also an avid underwater photographer.

We caught up with them the next morning only briefly as we were moving to Fame Cove – but vowed to catch up in a few days’ time.

On the Sunday we loaded up the tinny and took a run down to Bob’s farm which is a private long-term van park where Paul’s brother Rod and wife Kelly have their holiday home.

Fortunately, the rain and wind stayed away, and we were able to get there and back without getting wet.

The Pelicans turned up straight away thinking we had just returned from fishing and were waiting for fish frames at the cleaning table.

The area where they are is very tranquil with lots of leafy and green foreshore
 parkland.

We had a great BBQ lunch and lots of laughs.

For the next week it was back to work while we had a week of heavy rain and strong winds.

The Gold Coast flooded – again!!!

We spent Monday on the web searching for new wetsuits and neoprene drysuits for diving, Tuesday catching water, washing & cleaning, Wednesday sewing, Thursday moving & shopping and Friday visiting the dentist.

Certainly not a fun week of activities and nice weather, but the cruising life is not all palm trees and clear water.

On the weekend it rained again but we put on wet weather gear and braved the walk up to the shops to pick up 3 more parcels that were at the post office and groceries.

With the bad weather, the place was packed!

Sunday daybreak was more rain but finally the wind had dropped.

The swell off the coast was a large 4.5m and was rolling into the bay and anchorages.

Further north and all the way to Fraser Island, there were warning for large and hazardous surf conditions.

There were segments all over the news about surfers riding huge waves on the Gold Coast.

The BOM Radar showed a small break in the rain during the middle of the day so we put on our wetsuits and launched the kayaks.
It was nice to finally get off the boat and do something fun.

We paddled along the shoreline towards the protected corner of the Corlette Bay.

We had purchased new kayak seats online and installed them on Lorelei, but we had to take them ashore so we could sit in them in the shallows and adjust the straps to get the perfect fit.

In the reserve at the end of the beach is a tree called the “Thong Tree”.

It’s even on the tourist map!

We paddled further around towards the break walls to the The Anchorage.

It offers luxury Hamptons style waterfront accommodation, marina facilities as well as spa’s, fine dining and cocktail bars.

Despite the swell invading into the bay, we decided to brave the roll and kayak further along towards Nelson Bay.

At Bagnalls Beach, we decided to go ashore and walk along the beach for a leg stretch.

It’s a dog walking beach and there were a lot of dogs swimming and walking.

The return trip home was easier with the flooding tide, and we just got back onboard before it started to rain again – and it rained all night.

For the next week the weather was forecast to be horrible.
The news had warnings for 4 Australian states to have potentially very bad weather with damaging surf, winds and flash flooding.

There were warnings along most of the NSW and SE QLD Coast.

The Monday forecast was not too bad, so Paul jumped on a bus and headed out to do the shopping and get enough parts to complete a lot of inside jobs.

It was a mission carrying 6 fire extinguishers and other bit & pieces back home on the bus!

In the afternoon he did 6 loads of washing, knowing that he’d be able to catch heaps more fresh water and top up the tanks once the rains came.

Over the week, Lisa worked full time while Paul installed new fire extinguishers (and made custom webbing/velcro mounting straps for them), made a new lazarette cover, sewed up & overhauled our scuba wings & backplates, made new furler drum covers and ran the fuel system for the new diesel heater.

Each morning's sunrise over the course of the week was very different.

There were overcast glass outs, fog ranging from light to super heavy and anything from light drizzle to downpours.

Towards the end of the week, the weather was going to get even worse - and a lot of rain!

Thursday wasn't as bad as the forecast but on Thursday afternoon we did a walk around Lorelei and double checked everything was secure for the overnight onslaught as the low-pressure cell came towards us, threatening to bring heavy rain, strong winds and a big swell.
There were warnings for most of the NSW coastline.

Whilst it did rain a lot overnight (and put over 300 litre of fresh water into our tanks), the real drams didn’t start until 5:30am.

As the trough came over, winds went to 30-40 knots and there was carnage in the bay.

Almost every boat on anchor dragged and one trimaran ended up right across the bay from where they started.

Prue and Steve were the first to leave and head the short 1 mile across to Wanda beach for more protection.

We were ok and Paul decided to put a wetsuit on and scrub the decks in the pouring rain.

At 9:30 am as he was halfway through a very violent squall hit and Lorelei went sideways and started dragging too.

We put out another 30m of chain out to make it more the 80m but incredibly, it only slowed the drag.

We waited for about 10 minutes for it to abate a little and for the heavy rain to ease before we also lifted the anchor and headed over to Wanda Beach.

It was very hard for Lisa to drive into the heavy wind, blinding rain and visibility down to only 200m.

Paul stayed in his wetsuit outside and called directions into the cockpit.

It wasn’t fun but we got in and anchored in a much calmer and more secure location.

We talked to some of the other yachts and they had every bit of anchor chain put out in the hope to hold them in place.

We also put out a lot.

For the rest of the Friday, it rained heavy and blew hard but we just stayed inside and rode it out.

At times we couldn’t even see the yachts on moorings that were across the other side of the bay.

By the late afternoon and evening, the trough had past and we had some blue sky and stars.

Our hope of a nice day (and a half decent forecast) on Saturday evaporated when we woke to a red sky morning.

The old sailors saying of “Red Sky in the morning – Sailors Warning…” definitely held true and within 1 hour it was back to heavy clouds, strong winds for the NW and a lot of swell in the anchorage making it pretty bumpy onboard. 

We ended up staying onboard for the entire weekend riding out the bumby weather.

The Monday was a public holiday in WA but not in NSW.
With the nicer weather forecasted and not many people on the waterways, we decided to do a full day tender excursion up into the Myall Lakes National Park.

It was going to be a long day!!

We woke early and packed the tinny for the large outboard, food, drink, warm clothes, camera gear and 2 full tanks of fuel for the 40nm/80km round trip.

It was still quite windy in the morning (but it was due to drop out) and the trip across the bay turned into a bumpy, wet and slow weave across until we got into the protected waters of the river system.

It was really cold and we were rugged up in many layers of clothing

We stopped at Tea Gardens for breakfast and went to a great little Bakery/Café in the back streets the is called 2 Fat Bakers.

It appeared to be very popular with the locals.

We also had a walk around the town looking at the murals and sculptures. 

As we started to head up the river from Tea Gardens, we found a submerged shipwreck in the side of a small island in the channel, so we stopped and flew the drone over it, and also over the town of Tea Gardens.

The next stop was a few miles up and is a large camping area on the rivers edge. There are also a few glamping and on-site bungalows on the water’s edge.

There were heaps of birds and ducks both on the land and hovering overhead.

There weren’t many houses along the river, but the ones on the lower part were very nice.

The further we went up the river, the narrower it go and the more protected it was from the wind, making it glassy and great for photos.

We found a second stop with a wharf that was nestled amongst pine trees.

There were a lot of 4 knots zones in the area meaning it was slow going through that section.

As we were about 2/3’s of the way up the river, we stopped to watch a RAAF 35-A Lightning fighter aircraft that was doing manoeuvres overhead.

The sound was crazy loud, particularly when it was doing vertical climbs.

It was doing low-level barrel rolls, loops and had its bomb doors open.

The last few miles had a large amount of water flow, and the levels were very high on the bank and signs which indicated the lake was in flood from all the recent heavy rainfalls.

The top end has a lot of camps that are used by the local fisherman during the season.

They have been there for more than 50 years.

But they were underwater in some parts.... 

There were a lot of Pelicans on the fisherman's wharves.

Once in the first lake, we crossed it diagonally and went past the Bombah Point Ferry which takes cars and pedestrians across the narrow passage.

We went around to the Legges Camp dock that is in the second lake.

There were heaps of pelicans on it that didn’t seem very pleased when we pulled up and they were forced to fly off.

We walked up to the Legges Camp kiosk which has changed so much since we were here last – which was over 25 years ago.

The staff were awesome and made us a yummy lunch, despite being outside of normal lunch hours.

After lunch we went for a walk around the area and had a look at the caravan park (which was flooded) and the ferry.

Before leaving the wharf, Paul flew the drone over the area.

On the way home we dropped into the northern foreshore and found our old campsite area.

Paul camped there for about 10 years as a child and for about 8 weeks each year over the Christmas, Easter and school holidays.

When we were all old enough to drive and Lisa was part of the family, we’d come up to go surfing, sailboarding, waterskiing and camping.

Paul reckons he’s spent about 80 weeks of his life at that camp spot.

Sadly, the area no longer allows camping.

The irony is, it now has a paved road, fully fenced off street parking for day trips and access to the fully set-up kiosk.

On the way back across the lake, we dropped in to see the changes at Mungo Brush.

We never really liked this staged camping area anyway, so we just had a look from the boat.

On the way back into the river system, we anchored at the river entrance and flew the drone.

The trip home was super cold as the sun low in the sky.

The upside was, it had glassed off completely and there were perfect reflections for most of the way down the river.

The wildlife was quite active late in the afternoon.

The campground area looked fantastic in the glass out conditions.

As we got close to Tea Gardens, we could see flocks of birds sitting in the shallow waters and sandbars that were just below the surface.

The sunset glow and glass-out had Paul reducing speed and breaking out the cameras.

It was the same for when we transited through Tea Gardens – more birds and a glass-out.

The sun set just as we were passing the last oyster leases and heading out into Port Stephens.

The last run across the bay was so much flatter than the early morning westerly blow and bump.

It was dark and super cold but we made it back safe and sound.

Overall, it’s the longest run we’ve done with the new 30hp outboard in a single day.
The chartplotter showed we had travelled 48.92nm or 90.6km.
And all on about 18 litres of unleaded fuel – gotta love 4-strokes!!

The rest of the week was horrible weather again with strong NW winds which meant a very bumpy week onboard.

There wasn’t a lot of rain, but it was overcast and lots of drizzle.

When the weather improved, Paul linked up with his brother Rod and they took Rod’s 625 Cruisecraft Outsider to Broughton Island for a fishing day out.

There were small seas and virtually no wind, but there was still a lot of drizzle and light rain about.

They caught a few small Snapper before Rod landed a 11kg Longtail Tuna.

On the way back into the bay, they spotted a large vessel that was anchored up in the middle of Shoal Bay.

It looked exactly like Reef Prince, the vessel that Paul was the Cruise Director on in The Kimberley.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the sister ship.
Paul didn't even know there was one....

Leda in Shoal Bay

Reef Prince in The Kimberley

When they got back to Lorelei, it was a great test of the new boom bar on the side of Lorelei to see how it managed Rod’s 21ft boat. It worked perfectly.

Rod left just in time as a late arvo storm came over and brought rain with it.

That night we had a great plate of Tuna sashimi.

With a week of light northerly winds forecast, we packed up and left the Corlette/Salamander Bay area and headed over to Jimmy’s Beach and the spit.
It was super glassy but cold when we left.

It is very shallow with shoaling sand bars extending out a long way into the bay, so we had to anchor a long way from the shoreline.

There were Dolphins smashing into the schools of Mullet around Lorelei once we were anchored up.

Paul used his surf SUP for the first time from Lorelei and he paddled over to the spit, then walked across to Bennetts Surf Beach and paddled out to catch some waves.

That afternoon we decided to tackle the Yacaaba Headland trek to the peak.

It is the northern headland that marks the entrance to Port Stephens.

However, it is a very different walk from the popular Tomaree Headland walk that we did a few weeks prior.

This one is way longer, way steeper, and the walking talk is less defined – and in a much-needed state of repair – as we were about to find out!!

We parked the tender on the sand spit and walked to the start, which is on the surf beach side and right at the end of the spit.

There were some massive trees as we hiked up the side of the hill and lots of flowering plants and fungi.

The view from the halfway lookout was amazing and looked north over Tea gardens and up to Myall Lakes.

The trail past that was terrible and resembled a goat track.

There were heaps of fallen trees down over the track that we have to go over, under or sometimes around – if we could.
It made for very slow going.

By the time we reached the ridge line at the top, we could barely make out the trail.

Thankfully, someone had tied pink ribbons in the trees so we could follow them to the peak.

The view from the ridge line was awesome with views over the nearby islands and all the way up to Broughton Island.

At the peak, Paul flew the drone, but for some reason the images didn’t transfer to the SD card. Paul was not happy!
We could however now look south and see Fingal Spit and the lighthouse, Tomaree Headland and Shoal Bay.

The problem with the slow ascent, meant we reached the peak much later than expected and the sun was getting very low in the sky.

We knew we wouldn’t get down before sunset, but we knew we had to get through the rough stuff and back to the first lookout while we still had enough light to do it safely.
The sun was falling fast over Tea Gardens.

We went as fast as we could without risking falling. It was touch and go!

We were very happy to make it safely back to the lookout and stopped for a quick sunset photo and drink before tackling the final 1km down in low light.

By the time we got to the bottom and back to the beach, the sun and long gone and the sky was glowing with the colours of dusk.

We walked from the surf to the bay side and walk along the shoreline while the pelicans followed us in the final glow before it got dark.

We got back to the tinny in the dark and Paul had to swim out to get it from anchor in the cold of night.

We were very glad to be back onboard safe and well at 6:30pm – just a little cold, sore and hungry.

The next day Paul went for another morning surf to make Tuna and Tempura Snapper Sushi Rolls, which we had some for lunch.

That afternoon we packed away everything for our final night in Port Stephens as we were planning to sail to Newcastle the next morning.

We enjoyed a great final sunset in Port Stephens.

The next morning, we were up before dawn and exited the heads at daybreak.

As we rounded Tomaree headland and headed south towards Fingal Bay, we could see Humpback Whales already and they were very close to the rocky shoreline.

It was nice to see the lighthouse in the early morning glow of the sunrise.

At we went past the Fingal Spit, we could see the lighthouse from a different angle and there were lots of whales.
Some travelled past only meters from Lorelei.

As we travelled further south past Stockton Beach, the whales were a bit more playful. 

We even had pods of Dolphins playing in Lorelei’s bow wave.

There was a lot of air force aviation traffic close overhead as we neared the Williamtown RAAF base.

At the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, we stopped and waited for a large bulk carrier to enter the port before following it in.

 

The harbour has a unique headland at the front called Nobbys Head. 

The city of Newcastle is built on industry and for many years was known as the “Steel City” as the huge BHP Steelworks was the major industry.

It has since closed but is still a busy major industrial port with mining operations close by.

The harbour has all the industry on the north side and the picturesque city on the south side.

As we transited up past the city we could see a mixture of the old and new buildings that make up the city.

The marina is in a side channel and is lined with luxury hotels, residences, cafes, eateries and boardwalks.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a breath of wind when we arrived, which made it easy to get into our allotted berth.

It had been six months almost to the day since Lorelei had been in a marina berth
(the last one was Bundaberg Marina) so she certainly deserved a decent wash down and clean.

This was our first time at the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club and it didn’t disappoint.

It's modern, clean and conveniently located to restaurants, the city, shops and public transport.

So that’s it for this Episode of Lorelei’s sailing adventures.

As far as sailing distance, it's only been a short one, but we made up for it with excursions in the tender & kayaks as well as land-based activities.

It still hasn't been the best weather, but it is winter, and we made the best with what we had.

Stay tuned as enjoy the city of Newcastle before we head further south to explore Sydney, southern NSW and VIC before summer in Tasmania. 

And yes – we haven’t started scuba diving yet.

It’s cold and we are waiting for our new custom wetsuits and drysuits to be manufactured in Sydney before we take the plunge.