Sunday 29th
The trip to Sydney would be about 250nm (around 450km). Predict Wind estimated we may be in around 10pm on the 30th.
Coffs is an all weather harbour with no bar or time restrictions, however we got underway at about 7:30 after showers and getting the boat ready.
We motored out and waved our goodbyes to Ambrosia who were still anchored out in the harbour.
We didn’t have much wind to start with, so we kept motoring for an hour or so.
The wind was supposed to be SE to start with, then swinging around more to the East. We had to do a few tacks before the wind backed to the East and we could round the headlands without having to tack again.
The wind picked up to about 10-12knts, and we started making good progress. By the time we passed Fish Rock Cave the wind was closer to 15knts, and we were doing 9-10knts.
We were never really to far from shore on the way down, and had many pods of dolphins come and check us out and swim alongside for a bit.
It’s a magical experience that we hope does not get old.
The three of us took turns skippering through the day.
The wind then died off completely around dusk, so time to motor again :(
We turned on the autopilot and let it do the driving through the night.
Trent and I took shifts through the night, 2 on, 2 off, while the 2 girls and Kristie slept in the cockpit.
Monday 30th
By the time dawn was on us, we were off Seal Rocks.
The wind eventually turned up around 10am and we could finally raise the sails and turn off the engine.
We were making good progress, but it was still a LONG way to go to Sydney.
We were still 20nm out from the Heads at dusk, so we dropped the sails and motored in. We’d had dinner by then so the girls went to bed: Emma in her bed, Kristina and Kristie in the cockpit.
It was about 11pm by the time we entered the Heads and started to make our way to Athol Bay (our intended anchorage for NYE).
The top NE corner of Athol Bay was already full, however there was plenty of space down the SW corner near the exclusion zone.
When we dropped anchor, there were only two other catamarans there that night.
We finally had Lazuli and ourselves ready for sleep by 1am. A very long 40hrs since we left Coffs.
