After a busy six weeks in Shellharbour preparing for our trip to Tasmania, it was time to continue our journey south to Bermagui, where we spent about 10 days both enjoying the township and biding our time for the next leg of our adventures.
Waiting, watching (and a little worrying!)
We spend a lot of time waiting and watching for the “best” weather conditions for our boat. But sometimes we cruise with less than perfect conditions because we want to keep heading south, not spending all our time (and money) sitting in marinas. From my perspective, our trips do involve a little worrying too. While I check weather information from several sources (Windy and Seabreeze apps) and my last check is the Bureau of Meteorology’s METEYE website, sometimes the conditions are not as expected!
I’ve included some videos in this blog to give you a bit of an idea of these conditions, and I think sometimes the video doesn’t quite convey what we’re experiencing! A number of times I’ve asked Robert if Poseidon’s hull is strong enough to withstand the conditions we’re experiencing, and the answer is emphatically YES! (Although I still do worry a bit and sometimes, I wish I could snap my fingers and arrive at the next safe anchorage.
In this blog we head south from Shellharbour Marina to Bermagui, so if you want to take a sneak peak of our route, have a look at the following video. And then, if you’re like me and want more details, keep scrolling.
* I forgot to start the track when we were leaving Shellharbour! And there’s a separate video of our trip up the Clyde River.
Shellharbour Marina to Shoalhaven Heads
On Thursday 12 October we left Shellharbour Marina and headed about 26NM south to Shoalhaven Heads. We timed this trip to coincide with crossing the bar at the Crookhaven River close to the high tide. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, this is the safest time to cross a bar. If you’re new to cruising, NSW government provide information on crossing bars on their website, Crossing coastal bars.
We enjoyed a stunning sunrise as we left, and had great conditions crossing the bar. We cruised to the Shoalhaven River, where our friends, Brian and Sandra had a mooring we could pick up (location shown in the following map). They’ve recently sold their Ocean Alexander, so the mooring was perfect for our boat, being the same size and weight.
Conditions were beautiful when we arrived, but later we experienced some strong winds, seeing gusts upwards of 66km/hour at some times. The video below will give you an idea of the change that came through.
Shoalhaven Heads to Jervis Bay
On Sunday 15 October we left Shoalhaven Heads to go to Jervis Bay. Below are a few photos I took, while Robert brought us across the bar.
We knew the conditions to Jervis Bay wouldn’t be great (click the video) but it was only about 15NM so we could put up with a couple of hours rolling around.
After taking these videos, we put the phone away to focus on entering into Jervis Bay and avoiding too much beam-on swell.
*Jervis Bay/Jarvis Bay, I’ve been told it’s pronounced both ways, so take your pick!
We picked up a public mooring (rated for a 40tonne, 20m vessel) at an area called Hole in the Wall and it was lovely, until it wasn’t!
While we were in Jervis Bay, we cruised around as far as Huskisson but the predicted weather conditions meant we’d be better off at the south side of the bay, so we returned to Hole in the Wall.
When we had calm conditions and beautiful sunshine, we took the opportunity to do some kayaking.
Jervis Bay to Batemans Bay
On Friday 20 October, we left Jervis Bay and headed about 60NM south to Batemans Bay. Once again, we had to time our arrival as Batemans Bay has a bar crossing if you want to go to the township or up the Clyde River.
I’m pleased to say it was a relatively calm trip south and we were lucky to see some whales in the distance. I tried to capture some highlights in the next video.
After crossing the bar, we went under the new(ish) Batemans Bay bridge and headed about 8NM upstream to anchor at Big Island.
We spent a couple of days there and I took the opportunity to do some kayaking. It was also lovely upstream because the conditions were very calm.
Before leaving, we did a trip further upstream to Nelligen just to see what it was like. This next video shows our trip up the Clyde River, and while it doesn’t compare to the pub crawl we took of the Clarence River, it certainly is great to explore. We then headed downstream, across the bar, and picked up a public mooring just off Chain Beach.
We chose to stay here for the night because we were heading to Bermagui, which involved another bar crossing. So it made sense to anchor outside the Batemans Bay township and only cater travel time for one bar crossing.
Batemans Bay to Bermagui
On Monday 23 October we made the final hop down the coast to Bermagui, or Bermi to the locals!
It was also a very enjoyable cruise south as we experienced minimal waves and swell. When approaching the bar crossing I was able to get a screenshot from the Bermagui web cam as we were approaching the bar.
Bermagui is a lovely little township, and we spent 12 days here. During this time we explored Bermagui itself, took the bus to Bega, caught up with friends, and I even had a few bike rides. We also frequented Honorbread bakery, which sells amazing sourdough bread and a variety of scones, The Boneless Vegetarian Cafe, which makes delicious vegan tacos and boneless eggs, and of course the pub!
The Blue Pool on a good day is simply stunning and I was lucky to see a group of seals frolicking in the water when I rode past.
We also took the opportunity to install a new speaker in our cabin. This now sounds another anchor drag alarm, separate to the beeping on the Garmin device. We’ve always been a bit concerned that we might not hear the anchor drag alarm – I don’t think this will be a problem in future.
Imagine being fast asleep when this starts going off (you’ll need sound for this one!).
And finally, here are some other photos of Bermi.
Where to next?
When we have better weather conditions, we’ll be leaving NSW waters and heading to Victoria, with our first stop being the Gippsland Lakes.
5 Responses
Love the new anchor drag alarm! 😄
Fantastic ! What an adventure. You have learnt a lot since you first took on this challenge. Beautifully captured in your blogs & wonderful photos. Continue to have fun living your dream❤️
Keep safe. Keep enjoying your wonderful journey.
Love Rob & Chicka
Another great vlog Pam 👍 it’s bringing back memories of my trip north in Drooy in June/July 🥶
Yet again another great blog with awesome photos and videos….although I did feel sea sick watching a couple.