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.

New Year on The Clarence

At last, after weeks of  strong winds and torrential rain, the forecast for the New Year weekend was pretty good. Winds 8 - 11 knots (although they were more than that on the second day), NE and mainly dry. Worth a try even though the traffic on the Pacific Highway was likely to be horrific (it turned out not to be a problem).

Diana James and I set off for Harwood at 7.30 am on New Year's Day. We became friends over 30 years ago in Central Australia. My image of Diana used to be of someone completely at home living and working in remote Aboriginal communities and I never visualised her as having a nautical past. But recently I found out that she grew up sailing with her family and as a youngster raced dinghies. She was keen to get afloat again and volunteered to crew on Little Dragon. We agreed that the ocean (let's include The Clarence River) and the desert have many similarities. They both deserve respect and one has to learn how to survive in or on them.

On arrival at the Big River Sailing Club we found that two members, Paul Hargan and Col, were staying for the weekend so the clubhouse was open, a real bonus. We were underway by midday and it was one of those fairly rare sails from Harwood down to Iluka when the conditions were just right. The new bimini made summer sailing far more comfortable. We reached all the way and made almost record time pushed along on an extremely strong ebb tide.

At Iluka we spotted Rob Crosby out sailing in his picturesque boat SV Whisper (see photo above). We exchanged shouted best wishes for the new year and Rob suggested that we anchor near them for the night in one of his favourite haunts about half way between Iluka and Harwood (see below Whisper anchored in one of Rob's haunts). Unfortunately I misunderstood the directions and ended up stuck on a sandbar. Rob says that he watched our efforts to get afloat again while enjoying his sun downer beer. He was thinking of rowing over when we got ourselves off. The tide turned and I headed into deeper water and retreated back to Harwood for the night on a flood tide.

Rob gave me some specs for SV Whisper. 9.75 m hull. 12.3 m rig. 2.5 m beam. 0.6 m displacement. CB down 1.4 m Displacement 2750 kg. Ballast 1250 kg lead. Designed by Rob Crosby 1992 as a Shoal draft Canoe yawl, derived from Sharpie/Dory types. Closest to a Rozinante yawl. Built by Rob Crosby and Claire Daily with help of friends. Launched in 1995.

This sign is upstream of the Goodwood wharf and on the southern bank. I have never known why someone felt the need to threaten such drastic measures to protect what appeared to me to be a cane field. Rob tells me that it is a prawn farm that has at times been plundered.  OK, now I understand the rationale for the sign but  shooting trespassers is just not on.

The next morning was, as usual, a dead calm. Paul offered to drive Diana and I to the Wombah Coffee Plantation for a coffee while we waited for the wind to come up around midday. Phil has a classic Austin 1800 Mk2 and it was a real treat to ride in it. The coffee shop is well worth a visit, I had no idea that a German started growing coffee at Wombah in the 1850s.

After an early lunch we sailed up to the Harwood Bridge, I didn't want to get caught down river with such a strong ebb I wanted to be sure I could get back in good time to pack up and head home. The wind strengthened to a fresh 15 knots (Paul and my estimate) and we had a lively sail. Quite a contrast to the day before. Although it is a long while since Diana has handled a boat it must be like riding a bicycle, it all came back to her. I enjoy taking out complete novices but it is nuch easier with an experienced crew who knows what "head to wind" means and can do it. Thank you Diana. In fact Diana sailed us back to the ramp under full sail with great aplomb. The two of us made a great team for the pack up in, for me, a record 50 mins.