SV True North

We motored from Prime Seal Island over to Fatheringate Bay north of Trousers Point.  We chose this anchorage for protection from the southeast swell which would have made the bay at the south side of Trousers Point uncomfortable.  Once safely anchored we went ashore to hike the highly recommended Trousers Point trail which took us from Fatheringate Bay south to Trousers Bay and the back again aver the same trail.  The walk was easy and there were nice changes in the vegetation along the way but it did not receive one of our highest ratings. Interesting and colourful vegetation  Orange lichen on the rocks The next day we headed out early for a strenuous hike to the summit of Mr Strzelecki.  We had to walk over three kilometres from the beach to reach the trailhead for the Mt. Strzelecki hike.  The hike is very vertical and is a difficult trail.  The weather was beautiful with a forecast 20 degree maximum temperature which helped our endurance.  Unf...

 We sailed a short passage south from Killiecrankie to anchor near Roydon Island.  We took the dinghy ashore and took a walk north along the shoreline to Egg Beach.  The hike was about 8km with a lot of scrambling over rocks. The shoreline was rugged and difficult hiking The dinghy was guarded by local wildlife while we hiked 😊 Egg Beach - the rocks really looked like large eggs on the beach. When we returned to True North we raised anchor and moved across the bay to anchor off of Roydon Island for protection from the strong westerly winds forecast to arrive overnight. Andrew prepared a delicious spaghetti dinner which we enjoyed while the sun set.

 Our first anchorage in Tasmania was at the north east end of Flinders Island near the fishing village of Killiecrankie.  We anchored well north of the village to get protection from the prevailing wind and swell.  Our first shore excursion was to climb the 316 metre Mt. Killiecrankie, an 11km hike. The beach had a massive rock arch - note True North at anchor seen through the arch The arch is very large! The start of our hike - leaving the beach headed for the summit. It was a fairly easy hike up the mountain with lots of good views. The view from about 1/2 way. Still left to climb… There were many unusual rock formations as we climbed. Lots of rocks were perched on others and created many caves  “Old Man’s Head”  The bay we are anchored in is called Old Man’s Bay  and gets,its name from this natural rock formation. We arrived at the summit and enjoyed the great views in all directions. Andrew on the summit of Mt. Killiecrankie  Looking north Looking ...

 Our sail from Jervis Bay south to Eden was east and uneventful.  We departed Jervis Bay in the evening and arrived at Eden after dark the next day.  We grabbed a courtesy mooring in East Boyd Bay for the night since it was easier than trying to anchor in the dark.  Andrew was not to pleased that the mooring tapped the side of our hull all night so we moved to anchor first thing the next morning. East Boyd Bay with True North at anchor behind the navy munitions dock .  Our friends on the catamaran “Jester” are anchored to the right. We went for a walk over to the old whaling station which was to the west over the peninsula.  The old owner’s quarters and a few bits of the production equipment still remain. The whaling station owner’s quarters  The next day we walked east to the ocean coast to view Boyd’s Tower, a stone tower that was built by one of the whaling enterprises and used to spot whales coming along the coast.  When whales were sighted a ...

 We had a good overnight downwind sail from Port Hacking to Jervis Bay.  By the time we entered Jervis Bay the wind was up to 30 knots in the gusts so we headed to a nice sheltered anchorage at Cabbage Tree Point.  This was a good spot to rest up and there was a nearby trail that we could hike the next day.  Unfortunately when we went to hike the trail, the signage at the trailhead said it was a military bombing range and closed.  We were not sure if closed meant that the bombing range as closed and we could hike or if it meant the trail was closed because they were going to bomb the area.  I found the phone number for the range security and called them.  They were very surprised that we were at the trailhead since all the road entrances were closed and gated but understood when we said we came to the trailhead in our dinghy.  We were advised to get back in the dinghy and depart as soon as possible because bombing could commence at any moment. ...

 We arrived at Port Hacking mid-afternoon.  The anchorage was quite crowded but I said to Andrew that I thought it would clear out as people headed back to Sydney to go back to work on Monday.  We had time to go for a hike along the shoreline so we launched the dinghy and set off. Starting our 7km hike along the shoreline at Port Hacking The hike was along the cliff top and turned out to be an excellent trail with great views. The strong wind and ocean swells provided great views. The hike was a loop where we ended by coming back to the beach through the back of the small village.  As we descended to the beach we saw another of our yachtie friends come into anchor.  The anchorage had cleared out and with the arrival of our friends, there were a total of three yachts left.  We had a visit with Steve and his crew Pete and Jake before returning to True North for a late dinner.

 After spending a few days at Nelson Bay, we headed south to Pittwater where we would meet up with a couple other boats also headed to Tasmania.  Pittwater is just north of Sydney and is where True North (formally Amara) was moored when I first viewed here before purchase in December 2018.  Our plan is to stay a few days to resupply, get some new parts and do a few repairs.  I’d also like to say hello to several locals who I came to know during the original Covid lockdown and who became friends while we could not leave the area. Back to Pittwater, a Thursday night race was underway. We anchored in Morning Bay which has been a common anchorage for me during my many Pittwater stays.  It is a well protected and calm anchorage in all but infrequent westerly blows. The Morning Bay anchorage  After anchoring at about 17:30, I had Andrew call the Church Point Waterfront Cafe to see if they still had their 2 for 1 pizza special on Thursdays before 6pm.  The sp...

 We departed from the Gold Coast Seaway at around 12:30PM heading for Ballina.  The winds were blowing from the south at 20 to 25 knots so we would have to beat against them all the way south.  After reaching the ocean through the Gold Coast Seaway we made a very long tack out to sea to reach the East Australia Current which flows south at up to 4 knots.once we tacked, the current increased out speed over ground to around 9 knots which would have us arrive at Ballina well before dawn.  I have never crossed the Ballina River Bar and would not attempt it at night so we continued further south down the coast to Yamba on the Clarence River.  I have visited Yamba several times so was not concerned with the bar crossing which went uneventfully. Beating to Ballina / Yamba in 20+ knots.  We have a double reefed mainsail and partially reefed Genoa. We arrived at Yamba mid afternoon and fought u- on our sleep in the very comfortable anchorage.  The next day we t...