I'm planning to move my 25 ft cruiser from Brisbane to Sydney. Wondering if some can offer advice to me as I haven't done a trip of this distance before.
I'm hope to leave late June. What will the predominant wind direction/strength and wave heights be coming down the coast.
Should I hug the coast line and risk hazards or should I keep clear and risk getting run over by a tanker ?
I have a new 408 epirb, VHF with DSC, GPS plotter, read Alan Lucas' book and 100 hours coastal cruising experience day and night.
As I cant afford to pay a delivery skipper I will do it alone, and in daylight hours only.
thanks in advance for your response
As mentioned read my post sailing Cairns - Tasmania, cisco and others have offered some good advice, feel free to ask your questions there also and perhaps they will assist us aswell.
I am pushing to leave in mid june at this point but still a little up in the air, perhaps we could cross paths along the way.
Alba1 I cant believe your reply to Cisco didnt answer my question???
Mate
read r. e .a .d or hire someone. It takes alot of years of experience and getting beat up to have the knowledge that alot of sailors have on this forum. Cisco has more patience than i do sorry
Just staying polite on the forum.
Thanks for that....it is easy to say "hire someone" when your not actually paying the cash. I did get some delivery quotes and it is about 5 times more than I can afford. Equally difficult is "speaking to someone" as I have very little contact with people with real experience, hence my question on this forum.
On your advice, and unable to pay big bucks, I'll now just do daylight hour short distances and put into port by mid afternoon.
I did find a section on wind direction and strength of a measured average, in Allans Book, p 28 of the 5th edition.
FYI I have done English channel crossings, 1 at night, all the north coast of France from Cherbourg to La Rochelle, 2 seasons racing Div E at CYCA, and 40 years of mid to large dingy racing,so pls dont presume I am a complete novice, I'm just unaware of the offshore condition between Sydney and Brisbane.
I don't think finding someone to crew with you would be too difficult. There are a number of websites that have "crew find" things.
Here is one you could try "www.cruisersforum.com" . There are plenty of people around with sailing experience who don't have boats of their own and are happy to share expences on a trip like yours.
In AussieSailors post I mentioned the southerly current at the edge of the continental shelf. It is really worth taking advantage of this. We were motor sailing on a Salar 40 and about half way to Sydney we copped the inevitable blow from the south. For a while the boat was virtually dead in the water (ie not moving forward through the water) and yet the GPS showed we were making 3-4 knots forward over the ground.
Also it wasn't until we were off Newcastle that there was any commercial shipping nearby.
I have only done that trip once but I have a close friend here who has done it several times both off shore and inshore. I will try to speak with him over the weekend and post his advices early next week. Cheers Cisco
PS. I assume the boat in your avatar is the one we are talking about. It looks like a capable sort of yacht. What is it's design and build??
Hi alba1, I spoke with my mate this evening and he recommends that unless you have detailed charts of the river entrances and experience and a good measure of courage for bar entrances that the inshore route is not a good way to go.
Another thing to be wary of is the fish traps that may be set 10 to 20 miles offshore. They are not lit and you will not see them in the dark until you are right amongst them.
There are a few anchorages behind islands on the way down that are safe but not necessarily comfortable.
The current out at the shelf edge is not necessarily right at the shelf edge but can be close to 5 knots. It is a warm current and is strongest where it is warmest so a thermometer will be a handy tool. The current is there fairly much all year.
If you just want to get to Sydney in as short time possible, the offshore route is best. With two people on board it is not too arduous. He says a good strategy for a trip like this is to leave in the evening of the first day of overnighting rather than early in the morning. This will get you into the rhythm of overnight sailing earlier.
I hope this is of help for you. Bon Voyage and Happy Sailing. Cheers Cisco.
many thanks to the group for this valuable and important information. Exactly what I need. Last weekend I bought the full set of charts for the trip and I am studying them in detail. I will plan a light wind/strong wind strategy so I can be prepared for most contingencies. I am reluctant to sail at night due to risks of weather/fatigue and unseen fish nets. I am watching the wind patterns for the next 6 weeks, hoping for an extended e/ NE prevailing for my July 25 departure.
Ill report back after that.
Again, thanks to all contributors.
alba1 i sure hope you get those conditions that would be supreme but that time of year???
well the weather can do funny things my fingers are crossed for you
Hi alba,
sounds like a good trip,
ive not done your proposed voyage, but am hoping to one day, i have a 25ft pocket cruiser moored on the NSW mid nth coast.
IMHO you will be pushing it to do the trip in 'day sail' sections, particuarly if single handed.
nearly all the ports in northern nsw have bars on them, you will have to time your arrival perfectly!, & be prepared to motor to keep to schedule, if the bar is uncrossable you will have to push on, or turn back or wait??
you may be better off waiting for a weather window then just covering as much distance sth as possible including sailing/motoring o/night & have an all-weather port as your destination.
You will need crew, you have some experience so your crew could just be a mate who has no sailing experience it doesnt matter, just having someone to hold the tiller or do whatever's needed will be essential.
There arent really any easy ports between Laurieton & Pt Stephens, so that will be a definite o/nighter.
remember boats of our size arent breaking any speed records, distance covered could be as little as 2nm p/h, particually that time of year (if going uphill in a SE'r).
If your lucky with the weather, by the time you get to the mid Nth coast, it will be a full moon (5th Aug) great for night sailing/motoring.
Dont worry too much about tankers they are lit up like christmas trees, for info on fishing boats groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/compass-yacht-group/TjNd2GJX_5Q
keep us informed on your prep, its an interesting trip
cheers
shaun
ps, Cisco are epirbs a legal requirement for boats under 8 metres? or is it because of this voyage? i'm really interested to get more info on this, cheers. btw im really enjoying your informative contributions to this forum.
thats VERY interesting about Laurieton to Pt Stevs. and yes I am planning on the full moon to asssit the night watch if required. Crew update: I have 4 potentials, 1 is a definite who has done a Sydney -Moolloolaba race and she loves to cook !!! double bonus ! the 2 others have extensive dinghy experience so will know a halyard from a jib sheet at least. yes all I need is someone to assist the main handling as my track is not the easiest to feed. that and reefing. the rest of the boat is quite easy. MY only foresail is a small jib. Right now I am seeing SE mornings and NE afternoons, but will expect a lot of W-SW by July. I emailed my yacht's designer and he confirmed my keel-foot can hold the boat in a freestand for a short period, i.e. 1 or 2 tide changes, but I dare not near the coast on a short trip like this unless I really have to. My definite crewperson has a casual job so she can take her time, as can I so we may stretch it to a 2 week cruise...as it should be done...
So- taking into account the 3-4 kts SOG southerly current + 3-4 SOG kts I can do in a decent wind over 12 kts, can I assume a daily distance of say, 50 nm per day ? or is this too ambitious and plain silly?
RE EPIRB: all vessels going more then 2 nm from the coast must carry a 408 as I read it.
.
Alba1 you have got to be kidding us mate. One definite crew and SHE HAS done Sydney Mooloolaba AND she LOVES to cook.
I am not sure if I want to hear anything more about this trip.
Cisco Mate
Alba works for AMSA he's going to try out his new 406 and see how long it takes to recover him
wow Syd to Mooloolaba thats a good pre cruise for going the other way.
When i use to do mexico races I use to always ask the owners to look behind, every now and thenWhy they would say, looks ugly that way Yes i would say and thats what I'm delivering your boat back into, while you fly 600 miles an hour
robert
Sounds like you have some really good stories in you Miltihull1. I look forward to hearing a few of them one day complete with alcohol induced embellishments.
Cruising Helmsman did a feature in September 2006 about dayhopping Sydney to southport which is interesting.
If your allowing 2 weeks to do the trip
, you could be being extremely ambitious, its possible it could double or triple that if dayhopping, waiting for weather etc, just my humble opinion.
If you need to get there fast, trucking the 25ft boat might be easier & not much more $$ if you take into account lost wages for extra time off, costs of moorings, food etc along the way.
cheers
nightcap
Dont need it fast really, I had considered the road transport option, but thats not sailing really...I have paid leave owing, willing companions also with paid leave, a safe and steady passage planned and if we dont compete voyage in 14 days, I can moor it wherever and commute back form Sydney the next few weekends at leisure to complete the trip. All part of a small adventure for me. I will be paying for the crew meals, port fees and transfer airfares as this is still a fraction of the cost of some of the vultures out there who are only interested in reaping profits.
FYI Skeptics update: we have all completed 4 days prep training with MOB drills, single /double reef procedure, mechanical and electrical troubleshooting exercises, nav checks, radio course, sails removed and re-stitched on loaded seams, instrument alignment etc. All this 6 weeks before departure. We are well on track for the Aug 9 ETD.
