Today is 26 April and we’ve been in Camden Haven since 13 April. This area is well-populated by pelicans, who mainly eat fish but are also opportunistic feeders. They eat a variety of aquatic animals and there’s an oyster farm nearby! I take great delight in seeing them.
We spent longer in Coffs Harbour than originally planned, but it was a great six weeks catching up with friends and getting our solar power installed, which I wrote about in my blog Power to Poseidon. I just checked and it’s only about 175km away, taking a couple of hours by car, but considering we left on 30 March, you might wonder what we’ve been doing for the last month!
This blog is about our trip down the coast from Coffs Harbour to Camden Haven. But first, a small selection of my favourite pelican pics.
Leaving Coffs Harbour
On Thursday 30 March, we left Coffs Harbour International Marina to drop anchor in the outer harbour. This was mainly to check that all our systems were working since we’d just finished the installing solar power, and as we know “all problems are caused by change”. Also, we had our final solar monitor delivered at 4pm so we decided the first leg would be a short one – probably about 0.5NM!
Little did we know, we’d dropped anchor where the Thursday Twilight sailors start their race – we were here first and there was nothing to indicate this on charts – but it was a hive of activity for about 30 minutes!
Heading to Trial Bay
With no tide constraints to consider, since we weren’t crossing any bars, we left Coffs Harbour and headed south to Trial Bay on Friday 31 March at about 8:30am. It’s about 35NM and took us close to 5 hours. The conditions were perfect and the sun was shining so we could harvest solar power! We were also amazed at how clear the water was. In fact, we could just see our anchor in the sand and also the chain markings where I’d painted it in Coffs Harbour.
While there, I took the opportunity to kayak to the beach, have a swim and take a few photos of Poseidon on anchor. As a precautionary measure, we also put out one flopper stopper in case the swell/wave direction changed later in the day. We spent two nights at Trial Bay.
Heading to Port Macquarie
It was anchors up at 11:30am to go to Port Macquarie on Sunday 2 April. The timing was important because we had to cross the bar into Port Macquarie. It’s about 36NM from Trial Bay to Port Macquarie, and would take us close to 5 hours. We aimed to be there about 4:30pm, an hour before high tide.
The conditions heading south were a bit bumpy but not too bad! We arrived at the bar about 4:15pm and checked it out before crossing, and it was very calm. We used the lead lights to enter the channel and Robert took us across. We had no issues crossing the bar and once inside, we picked up one of the three public moorings.
Staying in Port Macquarie
Originally we thought we’d spend about five days in Port Macquarie but the ocean swell conditions were over our threshold (1.5m from the east) and we ended up staying here for 11 days. But I’m so pleased we did as we got to see a lot more of the area. We also enjoyed lunch with friends who previously owned an Ocean Alexander, Aquabelle.
After we left the free public mooring inside the bar, we headed upstream and anchored in the Hastings River for a few days, just before the Hibbard Ferry crossing. It was a good location because we could take the tender up one of the canals, tie it up to the weir wall, and re-provision at the Settlement City Shopping Mall.
We then headed further upstream from the Hastings River, up the Maria River, and into the Wilson River, navigating with the tides. I created this video so you can get a better idea of the winding trip. When looking up at power lines and bridges, it’s deceptive because they look closer than they really are. Our air draft is 7m and we always had plenty of room.
While at Telegraph Point, we started thinking about a solution for water collection, since we could see ourselves running short before we reached Port Stephens. I also took the opportunity to do some kayaking.
We spent a couple of nights at Telegraph Point, enjoying the serenity. Here are a few more pics of this trip.
After returning to the Hastings River, we spent some more time on anchor and then went to the marina with the intention of topping up on fuel and water. We had previously tried to get a berth there, but there was nothing available. Unfortunately, at the fuel dock, the fuel hose didn’t reach but we were able to top up with water for the next leg of our voyage.
Heading to Camden Haven
On Thursday 13 April, we had a window of opportunity where the conditions were OK for us to head south to Camden Haven.
This trip was about 16NM and would take two hours. We had to cross the bar to exit Port Macquarie and then cross the bar to enter Camden Haven. So factoring in the two-hour travel time, we left about 2.5 hours before high tide at Port Macquarie. The bar crossing conditions were great, but the two-hour trip down the coast was a bit ordinary, but I don’t think the video makes it look too bad! Once again, Robert brought us in across the bar and it’s fair to say he had more confidence in my route than I did!
Staying in Camden Haven
As the name suggests, Camden Haven is a place of safety or refuge. This photo clearly shows the area and you can get an idea of why it’s so well protected. We’re anchored off the public dock at the Laurieton United Services Club, about 2.5NM from the entrance, and a few other boats are also staying here.
It’s a short walk to a supermarket, butchers, grocery store, cinema, bottle shop, and a number of restaurants and cafes. But possibly the best service is the laundromat. They collected our dirty laundry – including towels, sheets, and all our clothes – from the dock, washed and folded it and returned to the dock, all for $45. They also provide the laundry detergent. Considering it would have been 3-4 loads of washing at $6/load and drying time at $1 for 4 minutes probably in two machines taking 32 minutes, I reckon it would have cost me about $40.
Money well spent and I’ll use their services again before we leave!
Where to next?
Eventually we’re heading south to Port Stephens with a stop in Forster on the way. But, the forecast still shows pretty high swells for the next week, so we’re staying put. The last photo is a screenshot from the Windy ap and while not my only source of forecast, it gives a pretty good picture of the conditions off the east coast of Australia.
We’ve got plenty of jobs to do on board, and we’ve progressed our water collection so we should be OK for water. The worst case scenario is we’ll motor up to the fisherman’s co-op dock and top up with water there.
And if we don’t feel like working on the boat, we can just relax and enjoy what Laurieton has to offer.
5 Responses
Love your photos – especially the one of the pelican sitting on the post 😊
Following you with great interest Pam.
Amazing journey
A wonderful trip up the Wilson River I can see from your video.
May
Love the laundry information, Pam! I wish I’d known when we were there!
You’ve taken some amazing photos.. thank you for sharing!
Another awesome blog Pam. And I wholeheartedly agree that would have been the best $45 you have ever spent
Safe travels xx