Hello everyone
After one or two little concerns we set off from America Bay on the Hawkesbury and headed out past Barrenjoey Head, turned the bow to the North and headed to Port Stephens. We had an extra day at Akuna Bay to deal with the last minute hiccups. We had spent the night in America Bay to avoid the likely mist and fog that collects on the Hawkesbury and hinders the trip from the marina to Barrenjoey Heads.
There was a fair swell once out at sea but Gypsea Fever took it in her stride as did we. Thank Heaven for stabilizers. In the early morning we spotted a whale, first it's water spout and then the occasional flick of its tail. We saw several other spouts in the distance and our two avid bird watchers had their far-lookers or binoculars as they are commonly known, at the ready, together with a book on Australian birds. John and Joan call them far-lookers as that is the direct translation from the Afrikaans word for them. Forgive me, but I am no longer sure of the spelling of "verkykers".
We'd planned that our lunches on board would consist of cheese and crackers and anything easily prepared with no cooking whatsoever. Well, being our first day out and the familiarizing of the boat and getting our sea legs again, we only got to put out an eagerly awaited selection of cheese and biscuits once we'd tied up on a marina in D'Albora Marina, Port Stephens.
The exterior of the boat was caked in salt so a major wash down was undertaken by Dawie's able bodied and willing slaves, sorry crew, and she was slick and span and shining in the later afternoon sunshine. One of our crew also took it upon himself to rid our dock of much of the very evident evidence of Port Stephens locally sea birds. He won't be able to do that at our next port of call though, nor will we be able to wash down the boat, as only filling of water tanks is permitted, and that only if one is lucky enough to tie up on the visitors jetty at Laurieton. Once all our chores were completed, We three girls wandered into Port Stephens town in search of somewhere to have some supper. On the waterfront, on the branches of the almost leafless trees were hundreds and thousands of parakeets, all sitting in pairs screeching and calling out. There were many white cockatoos in the trees too. This was as the sun was going down and the sound was quite deafening. After our evening drink and natter about the days voyage we went ashore for dinner and these birds had disappeared and it was tranquil apart from the merriment we could hear coming from the waterfront pubs and restaurants. We went to Mavericks where John gave us a very explicit demonstration of how to devour and savour every morsel of Australian lamb ribs.yy
We set off for the marina at 6.30am this morning and are headed for Camden Haven and Lauriton this afternoon but as the entrance to the river and channel is quite tricky and tide dependent, we may end up continuing through the night with Coffs Harbour as our next port of call. That will be a long trip so we are hopeful to arrive after low tide to cross the bar and continue up the channel following the marker buoys.
Luckily today the swell is less than yesterday and we are having a calmer ride than yesterday.
We're all hearty and happy and benefitting from life at sea and with the elements again. There is certainly no dress code. Today we are doing two hours on, four hours off watches, with our respective spouses. I suppose in the months to come, this may or could be seen as a bit of a team building period.
That's all for now, and please pass this on to those whose contact details I do not have.
Love and warmest wishes to all
Gypsea Fever
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