Hi all,
I am planning a delivery trip in a 30' Currawong from Melbourne to Queensland in March.
We are interested in the collective thought on whether it is best to go out to about 152E and attempt to pick up the offshore eddy or hug the coast ?
Its quite likely we will be coming from Deal Is. Traveling without overnight stops is not a problem, but we would like to pull in at Pittwater/Sydney before embarking on the next leg.
A
North of Sydney its best to have one foot on the beach going north.
There you will usually catch a north going eddy in-between headlands.
Any NE'er near 20 knots will be a real pain, best to wait until NE'er dies each avo and go overnight with offshore winds.
Set the sounder alarm at 15m and when it's goes off turn left not right
Simple
Unless you want to go hard in which case it is Deal to Lord Howe to port and reach into Southport across the sett.
In March sailing in a Currawong unless you are running the five headlands will be as they say "challenging:
There is reason they call one Tacking Point
100 miles in 24 hours can be a very good day in March
Also don't believe the current charts, at the micro level the way they are made presents problem
Select to expand quotelydia said..
Set the sounder alarm at 15m and when it's goes off turn left not right
Simple
Unless you want to go hard in which case it is Deal to Lord Howe to port and reach into Southport across the sett.
In March sailing in a Currawong unless you are running the five headlands will be as they say "challenging:
There is reason they call one Tacking Point
100 miles in 24 hours can be a very good day in March
Also don't believe the current charts, at the micro level the way they are made presents problem
We spent 8 hours looking at Tacking Pt in a Lotus.
I use the IMOS current charts but they have let me down. They aren't that accurate and local conditions can be different to the big picture.
From both sailing and in my Navy days doing Search and Rescue Mission Coordination on the south coast, one foot on the beach going headland to headland is best.
When we had drownings off the rocks or beaches the body always came to the surface 20nm north of where it disappeared. The EAC invariably has inshore eddies with north setting currents.
If short handed it can be difficult to stay alert close inshore but it is best if you can do it.
Select to expand quoteMorningBird said..lydia said..
Set the sounder alarm at 15m and when it's goes off turn left not right
Simple
Unless you want to go hard in which case it is Deal to Lord Howe to port and reach into Southport across the sett.
In March sailing in a Currawong unless you are running the five headlands will be as they say "challenging:
There is reason they call one Tacking Point
100 miles in 24 hours can be a very good day in March
Also don't believe the current charts, at the micro level the way they are made presents problem
We spent 8 hours looking at Tacking Pt in a Lotus.
I use the IMOS current charts but they have let me down. They aren't that accurate and local conditions can be different to the big picture.
From both sailing and in my Navy days doing Search and Rescue Mission Coordination on the south coast, one foot on the beach going headland to headland is best.
When we had drownings off the rocks or beaches the body always came to the surface 20nm north of where it disappeared. The EAC invariably has inshore eddies with north setting currents.
If short handed it can be difficult to stay alert close inshore but it is best if you can do it.
I remember watching you fellas going Nth at crawling pace just South of Tacking Pt, from the comfort of my recliner :), the Lotus was too far out. Gee that was a long time ago.
With one foot on the boat and one foot on land, the Nth going back-eddys will be useful, you have to watch it in a few places though (like Edith Breaker and Chaos! reefs accurately named by the locals, it's real name is Evans and Nth Evans Reefs)as the back eddy can sweep you into them. Had a scary experience on a moonless night when I was sliding past Chaos and a less than helpful 20-25kt Easterly sprang up, thankfully only lasted 45 minutes, and was able to bear away once clear of Chaos!
I can remember one race north in the 90s going to Coffs, on a Pawtucket 35'er had a much larger boat who would sail past go out to sea, we'd go up the inside and he'd try again to overtake us. If you are not talking to the surfboard ?? riders, you are too far out. Another race north with newbie crew on a Farr1104, he kept asking what's around the next headland, 'another beach'.
Another, Sydney38, spent all day bashing north inside the set, lying second of the sisterships racing, back in the day when there was a good fleet. Went off watch at night with strict instructions to not go to sea off Tacking Point, came up a couple of hours later to se us the most seaward boat. Blew my stack and literally steered form there to Cook Island. Got us back in the race, but absolutely stuffed by the time I got us through Cook. The owner wanted to stay outside!
Done over 30 trips north.
Sailed Ramona from Greenwell Point to Pittwater yesterday and last night. 100miles from one mooring to the other. SW to SE wind. Daylight hours sailed in close to admire the views, in the dark moved out and ran the 3 mile range ring on the plotter along the coast. There was no noticeable tide. The current is hard to predict and changes rapidly on occasions. Best is to listen to the profession fishers chatting and pick up info there or look for the clues as you go. Locally March can have strong currents either way or non at all!
Hi Andrew,
Hoping to leave Pittwater week starting 1st March heading for Lakes Entrance. Lets stay in touch, it would be great to catch up en route.
@Ramona - sorry we missed yesterday, my fault for not checking messages, glad the delivery went well.
Cheers,
Kinora
I also look out for fishing bouys. They can help you work out how much set is flowing. Using the thermal images off the BOM is what we did coming back from Tassie up the NSW coast.
www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/forecasts/idyoc300.shtml?region=NSW&forecast=SST#
A really fast tri I helped build spent a whole night tacking at Tacking Point. You may as well cross the bar, have a good sleep and then get up and go in the morning rather than task offshore in the north coast.
Select to expand quoteBlueMoon said..MorningBird said..lydia said..
Set the sounder alarm at 15m and when it's goes off turn left not right
Simple
Unless you want to go hard in which case it is Deal to Lord Howe to port and reach into Southport across the sett.
In March sailing in a Currawong unless you are running the five headlands will be as they say "challenging:
There is reason they call one Tacking Point
100 miles in 24 hours can be a very good day in March
Also don't believe the current charts, at the micro level the way they are made presents problem
We spent 8 hours looking at Tacking Pt in a Lotus.
I use the IMOS current charts but they have let me down. They aren't that accurate and local conditions can be different to the big picture.
From both sailing and in my Navy days doing Search and Rescue Mission Coordination on the south coast, one foot on the beach going headland to headland is best.
When we had drownings off the rocks or beaches the body always came to the surface 20nm north of where it disappeared. The EAC invariably has inshore eddies with north setting currents.
If short handed it can be difficult to stay alert close inshore but it is best if you can do it.
I remember watching you fellas going Nth at crawling pace just South of Tacking Pt, from the comfort of my recliner :), the Lotus was too far out. Gee that was a long time ago.
With one foot on the boat and one foot on land, the Nth going back-eddys will be useful, you have to watch it in a few places though (like Edith Breaker and Chaos! reefs accurately named by the locals, it's real name is Evans and Nth Evans Reefs)as the back eddy can sweep you into them. Had a scary experience on a moonless night when I was sliding past Chaos and a less than helpful 20-25kt Easterly sprang up, thankfully only lasted 45 minutes, and was able to bear away once clear of Chaos!
Yes a long time ago. 2014 about May.
I was on watch and was determined to get past that f....... headland. Tack after tack slowly drawing up to it. 8 hours. We could have come in half a mile or so but the little Lotus would only point at about 60-70 degrees. It made maybe 4 kts 5 at a pinch. A neat comfortable boat but neither fast nor high pointing.
Once we had the point 1 degree astern I went to bed. It was a great trip anyway. Havefun and I became great mates, went to Lord Howe twice on my boat and will go on his as soon as we can. Cisco came to Lord Howe once on my boat.
Making friends is key to my sailing.
Select to expand quoteKankama said..
I also look out for fishing bouys. They can help you work out how much set is flowing. Using the thermal images off the BOM is what we did coming back from Tassie up the NSW coast.
www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/forecasts/idyoc300.shtml?region=NSW&forecast=SST#
A really fast tri I helped build spent a whole night tacking at Tacking Point. You may as well cross the bar, have a good sleep and then get up and go in the morning rather than task offshore in the north coast.
The thermal images are unfortunately 24 hours old when we view them. Tuna longliners pay a fee to have the live images beamed in and use them to set the long lines and they even get caught out on occasions when the current changes direction while they are still shooting away. Checking fish trap buoys is good but there are very few professional fishermen left. When the current is fresh the buoys are regularly pinned down for up to 6 weeks or so.
Tide tech use a different satellite system as well which measures sea surface height which they say is more accurate that thermal imaging
goung north keep looking at water temp and going south keep comparing boat speed against speed over ground
Reading all this, I think I'll stick to sailing in Pittwater, outside is too hard.
Select to expand quotesamsturdy said..
Reading all this, I think I'll stick to sailing in Pittwater, outside is too hard.
But very rewarding Sam. I'll help you go out one day.
Select to expand quotesamsturdy said..
Reading all this, I think I'll stick to sailing in Pittwater, outside is too hard.
As a youngster I was first taught old time navigation with the prawn trawler crews out of Mooloolaba
Been practical and knowing that these guys might be a bit rough with the plotting we were taught to lay off sett on the chart by rolling a box of matches across it, short side and long side depending on the time of year.
Everyone had a box of matches then.
On a 1:150000 chart and about 7.5 knots SOG it works.
Thanks MB, if it's going to happen I'll let you know.
Lydia...That statement is completely foreign to me. I've always considered pondering the art of sailing, the sort of art that saves your life when you sail blue water but, right now I've got something more important to cope with so I'll have to put it off awhile.
Select to expand quotesamsturdy said..
Thanks MB, if it's going to happen I'll let you know.
Lydia...That statement is completely foreign to me. I've always considered pondering the art of sailing, the sort of art that saves your life when you sail blue water but, right now I've got something more important to cope with so I'll have to put it off awhile.
Sam, not just blue water, is what we used to do before plotters but of course most plotters can't do it either.
But it will save your life one day.
Remember you are on the magic carpet ride!
The Port of Brisbane Wall collision deaths was exactly caused by the shortcomings of the plotter and flooding spring tide.
Conversely, my old mate from the Tamar when asked by a newbie about about plotting tide on the trip to Port Phillip just replied "Why bother, it will take us just over 24 hours and the tide will go in and out twice putting us on the rhumb line again.
Select to expand quoteMorningBird said..
We could have come in half a mile or so but the little Lotus would only point at about 60-70 degrees. It made maybe 4 kts 5 at a pinch. A neat comfortable boat but neither fast nor high pointing.
To be fair on the "little Lotus", on that occasion it was the first time we had the main up and the heady rolled out after I had just bought the yacht.
I recall your comments at the time that the heady looked to be somewhat stretched and that the full battened main had some stretch in it too.
Blue Moon's comment at the time was that we were looking good.
Close into Tacking Point we were pushing into the EAC that was running at what we estimated to be 3 to 4 knots and we were in close.
Whatever angle we were making into the wind can only be pure conjecture as we only had a wind bird on the top of the mast visible only in day light due to a non-opertating tri light.
If you care to revisit my "Bundaberg to Brisbane three and a half days" thread you will see there that the "little Lotus" does indeed have a slippery hull as evidenced by the photos of the plotter showing 8 knots and touching 9 between Double Island Point and Mooloolaba (no EAC or current helping).
This was motor sailing with only the working jib on hanks. The motor gives 5.5 knots in smooth waters so the jib put 3 knots on top of that.
This is as it should be in comparison to an S&S 30 with the Lotus having 3.25 feet more LWL and 482 kg less displacement and a lot better hull form.
Unfortunately I did not get the chance to have her out in 20 knots plus in which I am sure she would have powered to windward at 45 to 50 degrees with two reefs in the main and the working jib.
The current custodian of the yacht has said I am welcome to go sailing with him so I may get the opportunity to confirm my beliefs in the "little Lotus". The design is way ahead of it's time.
