Sailing Around Australia; Trying new things

Box's Creek, Gippsland Lakes, Lakes Entrance, Victoria.

14/3/2015 Trying New Things.

The last two weeks on our sailing around Australia adventure aboard Easy Tiger, have seen us try a few things for the first time. These are anchoring in the dark, a bar crossing, Moreton Bay Bugs, and beaching Easy Tiger.

I keep referring to our trip as an adventure, because in the strictest definition of the word, that is what we are on. It is the unknown outcomes from our bold actions that define the word adventure.

For instance, our passage from Portland to Refuge cove took a lot more time than expected. This meant we arrived at Refuge Cove at 12.30pm with the moon hidden behind clouds. The adventure began by the bold action of motoring straight towards land, guided only by a small flashing light on the port shore of a cove that we had been told was a good place to anchor.

Once we got inside the cove, we then had a turn to the left and planned to drop our anchor in the middle (or what our instruments told us was the middle) of the southern inlet of the cove.

As we got closer to the black shapes of the cliffs looming in front of us, we found the flashing light. There were also a few other lights that confused us until we realised that they were people camping on the beach. Nervously we crept towards coast. Then, it seemed liked Alladdin’s cave as the cove suddenly opened up in front of us.

Much more confidently we rounded the bend towards the anchor point marked on our instrument. We got around the curve to see more lights. This time it wasn’t people camping on the beach, it was boats already anchored, right on our mark.

We stopped to a crawl trying to hold our position while we looked around with a couple of torches to find another suitable spot with enough room to not hit anything if the boat swings around 360 degrees on the anchor chain.

In the darkness, the rocks looked very close, the other boats looked very close and our position looked very open to the ocean.

As there didn’t seem too much choice, we dropped anchor in 9 metres of water right where we had stopped. We hoped that the anchor would hold until first light and then we could move into a more suitable position. It was now 1.30am and after 43 hours of sailing we were at least comfortable enough to get some much needed rest.

The morning light revealed that we had in fact, nailed it. We had dropped anchor right in the middle of the northern part of Refuge Cove with stacks of room to swing around on our anchor chain. The morning light also revealed a spectacular anchorage, with sandy beaches lined with huge trees. Several rocky outcrops outlined the corners of the bay.

The next “new thing” was crossing the head of a river where it pours into the ocean, commonly called a “Bar Crossing”.

As you can imagine, the ocean tide is pushing water into the river, the river is pushing out to the ocean, huge currents are created at a “bar”.

Coupled to the science of the bar currents, are the tales from other sailors about the disasters found by boats trying to cross a bar. All this makes for a very nervous crew as we approached our first bar at Lakes Entrance.

We though we had timed it right with very low swell and virtually no wind forecast on the ocean side, and high tide was between 11.30 and 12 midday on the lakes side. We planned our departure from Refuge cove to be at Lakes Entrance at precisely the right time.

Several phone calls were made to the coastguard for information on what the conditions were like and how to come across the bar as we approached from the 2nm off.

The Gippsland Ports web site has 2 webcams running pictures of the bar in real time so we could see what to expect. They also told us to keep an eye out for the lit blue triangle and to line that up with the lit blue line maker in front of it.

As we approached it was all hands on deck. Leanne with the binoculars and the navionics app, me steering and watching our navigation instruments, just look for the light, look for the light.

Through we went with so much as a bump in the water. No trouble at all, first bar crossing done.

The third new thing we tried this week was bugs. Moreton bay bugs are caught in the Lakes Entrance area and sold “off the back of the boat” at the town marina. They look like a very small crayfish that has been run over by a truck and squashed flat. Very tasty, Leanne prepared them in Lemon and Tangy sea food sauce. They are along the lines of Prawns, without the peeling.

After a couple of days on the Flagstaff Jetty, then at the town jetty while we re provisioned, we ventured upstream, into the Gippsland Lakes proper. We had been told about several spots including the Barrier and Chinamans creek. The other place that we would be well protected would be Box’s Creek.

Once we entered Box’s creek, we immediately realised we would have to try the next new thing for the week. We would have to beach Easy Tiger. Box’s creek is a really beautiful little lagoon. Emphasize the word little. There were already three other boats tied on to the banks. Several hundred metres further up there are power lines overhead. So it was find a spot on the bank, head on or anchor unprotected in the middle of the lagoon if the anchor drags…Zap!

So as we had done with all the other new things we sat and surveyed the situation and discussed options. Then with a big deep breath I drove ET straight into the sand bank. Then we took off the dinghy and I scrambled through the trees and scrub to tie the bows to a couple of trees, scratching myself and filling the dinghy with bark, twigs and leaves.

No sooner did I have Easy Tiger secured, than the other boats, all of them, undid their lines and motored away. Now, as we had the pick of spots, I untied the ropes backed Easy Tiger off the bank and did it all again about a hundred metres further around the lagoon.

We have really settled in to Box’s Creek. Today we went for a tour in the dinghy, and a walk around the neighbourhood. We even got the hammock out and Leanne snored in it for an hour or so.

No wonder though. After a week of trying new things, we are due for a lie down.