Pam and Jill explore Yamba

29 and 30 January 11.
I wanted to give Jill Trevillian a really good weekend sailing on The Clarence to make up for the fiasco last time when the heavens opened and we got flooded in Grafton. The forecast for Saturday was 14 knot SE and for the Sunday 9 knot E. The tide was favourable for heading down rivcr from Harwood to Yamba  Saturday midday and returning on Sunday afternoon on the flood. I should also mention that the forecast said less than 1 mm rain each day. Sounded good, but...

The first hitch was at Harwood. The ramp was unusable from the recent flooding. After a brief discussion with Harriet and John at the Big River Sailing Club we decided to drive on and launch at Yamba. It was my first time at Yamba but luckily Jill knows the area from the water.

We launched at the excellent ramp adjacent to the fish co-op, roughly above the word "Yamba" on the map below. If I am allowed a little boast; I am getting better at backing down ramps. As we set off the wind was increasing way above the forecast 14 knots. Observations say it was gusting 23 knots at 3 pm. I decided not to venture out into the main channel. We just motored up and down the river inside the wall. It was a good opportunity for me to familiarise myself with the rather complicated narrow channels around Yamba. Good to have Jill aboard. We found a snug spot to anchor near the ferry terminal. There was just room for us between the oyster beds and the first mooring. I was towing my Zodiac and as I don't have an outboard for it I wanted to anchor close to a jetty as it is a beast to row very far across a strong current.

We enjoyed a glass of red aboard then headed ashore for some Thai tucker. Before we had finished dinner there was a very heavy shower. We hadn't expected rain so weren't prepared and ended up pretty damp by the time we get we got back aboard. My experience so far has been that no matter how much wind there is on The Clarence in the afternoon it dies down after dark. Well not this particular Saturday night. The observations show that from midnight to 10 am it was gusting between 23 - 25  knots and it rained continuously. The Zodiac needed bailing in the morning. We bobbed around and things went bang and clank. I kept peering out nervously to check that our anchor was holding. It did.

 Sunday morning and it was still blowing and wet so we brewed a cuppa and stayed in our bunks for a while (see the photo below Jill took of me). By the time we were up and breakfasted the rain dried up and the wind started to abate, although it never dropped to the forecast 9 knots. We decided to have a sail while the going was good. We needed to be back at the ramp by early afternoon.

We sailed off the mooring on a broad reach,  Jill helped navigate us up the narrow channel to the west of Freeburn Island (see top left of the map). It was shallower than I expected and I hit the bottom a couple of times. Luckily we were on a run so I could take the plate up and as we only draw 30 cm we managed to sneak through. It is a while since Jill has taken the helm so she took over while we were reaching but I took charge on the run. Once we rounded Freeburn Island Jill had a great time practising tacking down the main channel. I think we were both sorry that the gap in the wall which leads to Yamba appeared so soon. Then it was back to the ramp and the usual pack up.