At 0530 on the 3rd of December we finally set sail in our new boat, 680NM lay in front of us down the East Coast of Australia and around the bottom corner of the mainland to Melbourne.

We hired a skipper, because we have no real sailing experience between us and were not really sure how to put up a mainsail, what those blinking lights meant or how to read a navigation map…. wouldn’t have been a good start to run aground in Newcastle harbour.

Darryl the skipper arrived the afternoon before we left, he had given us a list of things we needed to do to prepare for the trip.  This resulted in me having a large shopping bag of spare oil and fuel filters and spending 2 hours looking for the primary fuel filter.  I had taken photo’s of the auto pilot fluid filter and the secondary fuel filter, proudly txt’d them to the marine mechanic.  To be told no, thats not it.  I found the bilge pump as well, kind of handy to know were that is.  Finally I gave up and figured if there was a primary fuel filter…. we were not going to be able to find it at sea, so bad luck.

The next issue discovered was a total lack of 12V power…. an issue when we are planning to be at sea for the next 6-7 days.  It was 4pm by this stage, an emergency phone call to all available marine electricians in Newcastle (there are 2), revealed both were interstate.  My final chance was the auto electrician across the road from the marina, Newcastle Auto Electricians are the bomb.  In 10 minutes they had a wonderful electrician walking across the road, I gave him the wiring diagram and he had the 12V working in 5 minutes.  It had developed a short, no idea why or how but it was fixed and I now know were the fuse board is.

Final issue discovered at 4.30pm when we tested the lights…. no port light.

Removing the cover and we discover that the fitting has totally corroded.  Tell me again why we sent $2000 getting a inspection of the boat done by a professional who stated all lights working and the primary fuel filter was OK???????  Obviously the inspector did a great inspection for his $$, I just hope he did’t miss anything major!!!

So at 4.30pm we were faced with no port light, luckily we had a spare globe and spare mount, unlucky while trying to fit it at 4.45pm the skipper dropped the whole lot into the ocean… Fuckity Fuck.  Everything closes in Newcastle at 5.30pm.  Bunnings and Supercheap are at least 20mins drive away.  Waiting for a taxi for 20 mins meant it was 5.10pm before we left for Supercheap.  BTW we were more then a little pissed off with the skipper for dropping the light unit into the ocean and sitting around all afternoon before finally checking the lights etc at 4pm.  After $60 in taxi fares, we finally had a $4 trailer brake light!!!  Back at the boat, I set about with some gaffer tape and a ziplock bag making the trailer brake light waterproof for a 6 day ocean trip.  Nursing ingenuity at its best, tape will fix anything.

Finally at 7pm we were ready for dinner and an early night.  The ocean awaited first light in the morning.

Leaving port for a journey is an odd feeling.  When I leave for a road trip in a car, there is excitement mixed with road snacks, a play list and the rough knowledge of were you are going and how fast you are going to get there.  This sea-road trip was a different beast, there was more trepidation, mixed with uncertainty and lots of boat snacks.  I nervously munched a packet of BBQ shapes as skipper Darryl maneuverer the yacht out into the ocean.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to go, wether or not I could sail a boat and do night watch.  We were planning to do 2 hours on and 4 hours asleep through a 24 hour rotation.  Lots of unknowns and first experiences.

We headed about 10NM offshore were the water temperature suddenly jumped 4 degrees and we gained 3knots of current in the right direction.  Suddenly we were cruising down the coast, past Gosford towards Sydney.

It was liberating to be on the ocean, dolphins became our frequent visitors.  Diving out of the water and playing under the bow.  Our first pod met us as we left Newcastle Harbour, suddenly appearing out of no-were and joining us for 20 minutes.  Every day all the way down the coast we were privileged to meet at least two pods, they always brought a smile and excitement to the boat.

About 4pm on the first afternoon we could see Sydney on the horizon, hidden behind the heads.  We kept sight of Sydney until after 11pm, from the ocean Sydney looks like a large hive.  The lights of the city radiate into the sky with a golden glow, planes circle blinking and flashing constantly landing and taking off.

With the current carrying us, we kept up an even speed of about 8 knots till 10am of Day 2.  Covering 174NM in 29 hours we were on track to meet a storm coming around Gabo Island, so we decided to take shelter at Batemans Bay for the night. With a 2mt keel we can only enter and exit Batemans Bay at high tide (with 30cms to spare!!).  But once safely inside there is a great marina, with one of the best marina cafes in Australia.  $60 a night gave us safe harbour, a very friendly marina manager and a good nights sleep.