Eden to Bermagui
Bermagui entrance
Friday 8th April 2022 Nauti Time 033
We were up early before sunrise as we knew we had a short weather window to get to Bermagui some 7 hours sail away. Predicted winds of 15-20 knots and seas of up to 1.7meters all sounded like a pleasant day sail.
Boy were we wrong!!!
Of course if predictions had been true it would have been but it didn’t take long to realize the seas were way bigger and very confused with them coming at us from many directions. 2-3 meter swell often breaking and wind 23 knots plus gusting well up to 30s. FFFAAARRR OOOUUTT!!!
We had only been going for just over an hour when I said to Rick That we should probably head back! We had engines on and reefed sail up to keep boat balanced. We had already broken one glass and things in the saloon were bashing around. (At least this time I had remembered to put away the red wine!).To make matters worse it started teeming with rain. Rick couldn’t even look down and virtually had to be at the wheel. We knew if we turned around the impending weather would have us trapped at Eden unable to get off the boat for supplies for about another week. We decided to turn off the motors and see if that helped to keep going. As it turned out Nauti Kitty handled it all super well. Once we had her sailing she was much easier to handle and we could get an angle to most of the waves that meant we weren’t being thrown around quite as much. The rain stopped and Rick was able to keep us sailing a pretty good line. We were super uncomfortable but safe.
I went below to the toilet and a few minutes latter I was back on deck absolutely soaked. Rick was baffled. I explained while I was having a sit on the loo we had a wave crash over the side a dump in through my bathroom hatch (which was supposedly securely closed) straight over me. It ends up the hatch handle is loose and although closed it wasn’t providing enough pressure to seal. I had to pump out the bathroom a few times over the rest of the trip. What I also discovered while down below was Ricks computer monitor which is on one of those adjustable arms was bouncing up and down smashing onto the desk before shooting up toward the ceiling. Well with securing the monitor and pumping out the bathroom and the constant turbulence and wave crashing you can imagine how my stomach was churning buy the time I raced upstairs it all got the better of me.
I spent virtually the rest of the trip braced on the hull behind Rick just keeping the wind on my face and the horizon in view. That is until it came time to get sails in and find our way into the very narrow entry of the Bermagui breakwater. From our vantage point we could see waves crashing at the entrance and a huge rock that seemed to be right in the middle. Fortunately I had done my home work and had called the marine rescue Bermagui for the lead bearings and once we had it lined up we went for it. Trusting the lead markers and carefully watching the waves we made it in to smooth waters where we both let out a huge sigh of relief and virtually collapsed with exhaustion but not before the final challenge of docking with strong current against us.
Well the only thing that went to plan for the day was our timing. 7 hours and 15 minutes of extreme discomfort. It was like going through the rip of Port Phillip bay for hours on end. Thank goodness we did it in daylight. Now for some rest and recovery and a short wonder through town. If only the land would stop rocking!
Saturday 9th April 2022 Nauti Time 034
Had a pretty leisurely start to the day with a walk around town visiting little shops and the visitor’s Centre. Found a lovely brunch spot that over looked the beach of horseshoe bay. The food was great probably because we fell asleep without dinner last night it made it seem extra nice.
View of horseshoe bay with brunch
Headed back to boat for a clean up before our Guests arrived. Steve and Carol Lieberman now live in Narooma which is about 30 km north of here. Steve worked with Rick and I for a number of years so when we knew we would be fairly close we arranged a catch up. We had a lovely afternoon with a few wines and cheese and easy conversation while snug on the boat while it rained again!