And So The Journey Begins

[Paulkarlsven]

I am sure you will have noticed from some of my other posts that we have purchased ourselves our first cruiser. Admittedly it is not the Sea Ray we wanted, "Missed it by that much." as Maxwell Smart used to say. But in doing so we were given the opportunity to inspect a newly traded boat which we loved and subsequently purchased after doing all the inspections.

So after the last few weeks of having the repairs done, installing new electronics, new tender, etc the time has come for me to journey to take posession of her formally and spend a week doing shake down trips before putting to sea to relocate her to our marina in Port Stephens.

I will be leaving early tomorrow morning to drive to Port Stephens, that is 2800 kms away, where I will be checking to make sure our wet slip is ready for us. Then I will be leaving my car at the marina and flying up to the Gold Coast.
I have to collect the new tender, it is second hand but in as new condition, I could not pass up the deal as it is a 2.5 metre Hypalon RIB complete with a 5hp Mercury outboard, gas tank, seat, dolly wheels and boat and motor covers all for $1000.00. It is a fibreglass hull, the current owner has barely used it and it is taking up space in their garage.

Once I get it fitted up with davit clips it will be going on to the back of the boat to take the place of the sad looking QuickSilver inflatable that is currently sitting there partially deflated due to a seam giving out.

I will have my SPOT onboard with me for the trip down the coast if anyone wants to follow along, in fact I will have my SPOT on from the moment I leave my home here in Alice Springs tomorrow morning. It gives my wife a good feeling to look in on the SPOT page to see where I am and that I am okay.

My shared SPOT page is here:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0IJIZPvJggDfiSoUpZjEE18igP0l0pSQE

I have my video camera and my DSLR with me in order to document everything and I will post up some images later.

Oh for those that don't know we purchased a Silverton 360 Express:

 

[copb8tx]

What an exciting trip. I'm really looking forward to your progress postings. Good luck.

BTW, if you get a moment can you post a map of your intended trip and how many miles/knots you'll be traveling?

 

[billnpat]

Good luck be with you :thumbsup:

 

[Paulkarlsven]

What an exciting trip. I'm really looking forward to your progress postings. Good luck.

BTW, if you get a moment can you post a map of your intended trip and how many miles/knots you'll be traveling?

Thanks, the best I can do at the moment is this bad map image with a red line showing where I will be traveling, the distance is 300nm down the east coast from the Gold Coast in Queensland to just above Newcastle in NSW. I will endeavour to do a better one when I get a chance:

Good luck be with you :thumbsup:

Thanks, I hope it will be a pleasant and safe voyage.

 

[Paulkarlsven]

What an exciting trip. I'm really looking forward to your progress postings. Good luck.

BTW, if you get a moment can you post a map of your intended trip and how many miles/knots you'll be traveling?

You will be able to join me via my shared SPOT page which will update my position every 10 minutes. You can switch to satlite view to make it more interesting and then zoom in.

 

[Big Island Lifer]

May you find blue skies and calm seas along your way. I look forward to hearing about your trip when you reach your destination. :thumbsup:

 

[Searaybio270]

Paul,
Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to start watching your trip. I hope it makes me feel like I am on it with you, especially now that we just got about 14 inches of snow and there are snow flurries today.
I hope your trip will be memorable and filled with enjoyment.
Good Luck!!!

 

[tdschafer]

Paul,
May you have a SAFE and awesome journey. Are you running the ocean alone? I hope you have a mate onboard. From your first post it appears your wife is sitting this one out.

 

[Paulkarlsven]

Paul,
May you have a SAFE and awesome journey. Are you running the ocean alone? I hope you have a mate onboard. From your first post it appears your wife is sitting this one out.

Well it was not planned for me to do it alone as I had intended to have two crew along for assistance with docking etc. My wife does not have any leave left so she is staying at home here in Alice Springs with the two kids.

Presently I am expecting my brother-in-law to come along if he can manage to take a break from his restaurant. The big game fishing tournament starts in Port Stephens in the last week of Feb and he is usually run off his feet catering for the the crowds of big game fisherman.

I think I will end up with at least one crew person with me..

 

[Paulkarlsven]

May you find blue skies and calm seas along your way. I look forward to hearing about your trip when you reach your destination. :thumbsup:

Cheers BIL, I really hope so too. Don't want to have to drag a sea anchor due to big seas.

Paul,
Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to start watching your trip. I hope it makes me feel like I am on it with you, especially now that we just got about 14 inches of snow and there are snow flurries today.
I hope your trip will be memorable and filled with enjoyment.
Good Luck!!!

Thanks and brrrr I get a shiver just thinking about that much snow. :grin:

 

[Ozzie-iv]

one word of warning to you if you don't already know.

THERE IS NO PETROL AT COFFS HARBOUR only diesel

Your stops will be Yamba and then Port Macquarie. Check the range of your boat
Also there are two Cyclones of the northern Queensland coast so there might be very heavy swell a possibility which means Yamba Bar could be dangerous and especially Port Maquarie

Ozzie

 

[Paulkarlsven]

one word of warning to you if you don't already know.

THERE IS NO PETROL AT COFFS HARBOUR only diesel

Your stops will be Yamba and then Port Macquarie. Check the range of your boat
Also there are two Cyclones of the northern Queensland coast so there might be very heavy swell a possibility which means Yamba Bar could be dangerous and especially Port Maquarie

Ozzie

Thanks mate, I am already on top of it. I have been monitoring the Qld cyclones and checking the swell predictions.

I found out about Coffs the other day as it was going to be my preferred refueling stop till I found out there is no ULP there only diesel.:smt013

I have already contacted the Yamba marina, not sure if the Iluka boat shed is still in buisness as nobody answered the phone there. They had ULP too.

I have the Bar crossing wecams URL saved so I can check them out totally before crossing.

Also lodging a trip plan with the Gold Coast Seaway Coastal Patrol who will hand me off all the way down the coast to the other Coastal Patrol bases.

Cheers

Mav

 

[AKBASSKING]

Good luck mate!

Take lots of pictures and give a brief when you get back. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I for one will watch your progress. Nice looking boat!

Cheers!

 

[Ozzie-iv]

you will need to get your fuel from yamba marina. Once you come into the bar (follow the leads) then you will need to go through the "hole in the wall" This is a bunch of rocks in a row
which were part of the old sea wall. It is very shallow coming into yamba so stay close to
land (port side) as this is where it is the deepest. (if a trawler is heading in follow it)

The other issue is the amount of water running out of the Clarence river which pushes up huge waves. Last time I was there a 60ft trawler was kicked and so was a 43ft Perry catamaran. ( nearly the same as that KIWI trawler except in this case the trawler was heading out.

Another issue is strong NE winds which start around midday. If possible get going by 5am where at least the seas will be smooth ( unless there is a southerly then you don't want to leave anyway)

 

[Paulkarlsven]

Good luck mate!

Take lots of pictures and give a brief when you get back. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I for one will watch your progress. Nice looking boat!

Cheers!

Cheers mate.

you will need to get your fuel from yamba marina. Once you come into the bar (follow the leads) then you will need to go through the "hole in the wall" This is a bunch of rocks in a row
which were part of the old sea wall. It is very shallow coming into yamba so stay close to
land (port side) as this is where it is the deepest. (if a trawler is heading in follow it)

The other issue is the amount of water running out of the Clarence river which pushes up huge waves. Last time I was there a 60ft trawler was kicked and so was a 43ft Perry catamaran. ( nearly the same as that KIWI trawler except in this case the trawler was heading out.

Another issue is strong NE winds which start around midday. If possible get going by 5am where at least the seas will be smooth ( unless there is a southerly then you don't want to leave anyway)

Thanks mate, I appreciate the help, I have been watching the trawlers come and go on the bar cam these past few weeks and noticed their track. Thanks too for the heads up on getting into Yamba, I have Alan Lucas's NSW Coastal Cruising book with me too which gives detailed charts for all the ports and river entrances along the coast which will be very useful.


Well that is it for me for now as I am getting in my 4X4 and heading out, my SPOT is already active and in tracking mode.

Cheers

Paul

 

[SCORPIO]

I just looked at his SPOT page, that is one straight road he is traveling on! I think I'd have a hard time staying focused without at least a few turns. This should be an interesting trip to follow.

 

[Searaybio270]

I finally found the thread for this trip. I have been looking all afternoon. This is a kick to follow. Can't wait for Paul to get on his lap top and start posting. Safe Trip - Mate !!!!

 

[Jakeo]

Question........Is he still on land? SPOT is confusing to me. Thanks

 

[Ozzie-iv]

yep still on land..looking at his last "spot entry" he has reached his destination(where he will keep his boat) before he heads north to Queensland to collect his boat to bring it back down to where he is now.

 

[Stray Cat]

Safe travels, you have another yank watching :grin: