From Sydney, the Pacific Beckons

[andrsn]

hi all, my name is josh im 27 and i live in cronulla in sydney australia .
I have grown up in a very nautical family and spent all my life in the ocean either on boards or boats so i definately have salt water in my veins,
my partner and i had come to the stage in our life whrere we were about to buy a flat settle down and have kids, we had been saving for one last big round of travels around the world then we had a major change of plans ....... two days ago we put in an offer and it was accepted on a 38 foot steel alan payne koonya named polly (attached picture)... she has already done two circumnavigations and has recently been total stripped back and refitted and she is ready to go again with fresh wardriobe of sales brand new volvo penta, fleming self steer system and more nav and comms gear than the space shuttle and this design is renowned for its ocean going ability .....
our first big adventure will be next year we are hoping to see as much of the south pacific as possible , we have travelled by plane to samoa vanuatu and tonga and always had great experiences and we are keen to get to the more remote islands of these countries plus much more we both love to surf fish and dive on reefs.....
after scanning this forum it seems there is lots of knowledgable people willing to help ,, we are young and have a lot to learn but luckily for us my father has done alot of open ocean sailing and is really keen to pass on his knowledge ....

any way my first questions are about good travel routes and times..
could any one suggest or make rough recommendations as to routes to take from sydney , we will have plenty of time and want to see as much as possibe any where from lord howe to hawaii and beyond ,,,does any one have links to good pilot chats showing predominant wind and weather patterns in the pacific ,,,
also we need to sail her down from brisbane where we purchased her within the next two months , can any one suggest what sort of weather patterns we shoul look out for for easy cruising down the east coast ,,

any other advice or tips in any area would be much appreciated and hopefully in time we can give back to the cruising community with knowledge we gain ,,

all the best Josh and skye .... and polly

excuse my spelling and punctuation ,, i am better at tying knots than typing..

[ozskipper]

Hi mate. Congrats on the boat. Prepare yourself for either those nasty August westerlies or light sou'easters. If you get the westerlies they are kick ass, but at least the fetch will be short so the wave hight wont be too bad. Stick in the EAC as best you can.

Coffs and Port Stephens make really good stopover points as they are both easy to enter in just about any weather or time of day. Of course Pittwater is a good one too, but youre nearly home by now. Up north, in Big River country nsw, some of those bars can be nasty, so unless you know bars well, dont plan to use them should the weather turn on you. Although the one at Yamba usually has plenty of water under it.

I do have one other suggestion for you though. Dont sail it back to sydney. leave her there and start your trip from Brissie. Why sail the down and back for no reason. It would be the best part of a month lost. (not all sailing time of course- but i am hoping you get my drift)

Cheers OZ

[andrsn]

Hey oz thanks for the quick reply ..
we need to get the boat back to sydney to romance and get to know her before our big adventures which may not take us north till 2012 ..
sound advice regarding river bars as i dont have any experience with these, I would say we will go from brissy to south port then south port yamba which will be our first longer passage with polly (i have not done much night sailing but the old boy has \) then yamba coffs etc ,,, hopefully we dont get hit by a low like the one that is brewing at the moment ..
how far out do we need to get to take advantage of EAC?

[ozskipper]

The eac varies, depending where on the coast you are, averages about 4-6m out from memory. It will be on your charts. Also your water temp guage is a good indicator of when you are in it, as it has the warmth of the northern pacific.

During your overnighters we wary of the trawler fleet up in big river country. We usually have to give way to them but their deck lights are so frkkin bright its often impossible to see their nav lights and figure out what they are doing. Our rule of thumb has been that if we see a trawler, we dont expect him to see us untill his nets have dragged us onto his decks. There is so much light on board his vessel that it would be impossible for him to see our mastheads let alone port/starboard nev lights. They are easy to spot as they are so bright. Get a compass fix on them and make sure it doesnt stay the same, else change course drampatically. cheers

[ozskipper]

If your sailing down the coast today you will be getting a ride and a half. Nobbies top gust for the day was 41knots NNW. Flat water and Whooshka, your back in the shire. Hope for your sake that your not tho. Its arctic out there atm. Cheers!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
It looks like you are already getting the advice you need.
Kind regards,

[andrsn]

thank you !
driving to brisbane tonight to sail back on saturday weather looking nice and just bought some new lures . surely trolling for 1000kms we will get some action.

[Underdog]

Your trolling will be water temperature dependent - is what I have found doing that trip. Heard of a good tip to knockout a fish without bleeding it all over the deck - somewhat of a waste but...... tipping a capful of alcohol (Vodka, Rum etc) in their gills and they are brown bread almost instantly. Saves a lot of cleaning up.
Enjoy the trip, and may the westerlies give you a blast of a run.

[andrsn]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Your trolling will be water temperature dependent - is what I have found doing that trip. Heard of a good tip to knockout a fish without bleeding it all over the deck - somewhat of a waste but...... tipping a capful of alcohol (Vodka, Rum etc) in their gills and they are brown bread almost instantly. Saves a lot of cleaning up.
Enjoy the trip, and may the westerlies give you a blast of a run.

interesting,, the alchohol must go straight to the blood stream, shame we running a dry ship for this passage ......... I much prefer apolagising to the fish, thanking it for the sashimi or bbq steaks and ripping below gills before snapping head right back..... true, blood goes every where but most pelagics like tuna need to be bled for best eating quality .. might sound barbaric but i think its a lot more humane and respectful than a fish dying slowly in a net or on longline (this is what i tell people who oppose recreational fishing due to cruelty)
As for water temps what should i look for on sea surface temerature charts? we are in no rush and are happy to detour to get amongst fish .

cheers josh.

[SaltyMonkey]

Nice boat. What is that crazy radar mast on the back!

[ozskipper]

Those nor'westerlies are back today. Hopefully they will lul to a stiff 25 knots for you on sat arvo. I notice that Nobbies cracked 41 knots " again" today. No time for fishing in that stuff mate . Be safe and have a great trip.

[Ozbullwinkle]

Hi Josh,

Congratulations on your boat purchase - it looks great. I'm also from "the Shire" and sail regularly out of Port Hacking. I'll keep a lookout for Polly, where do you plan to moor her in the Port?

All the best,
Steve

[Uncle Bob]

Josh,
I too am from the shire but my boat is moored in Gawley bay, but I find myself around the Hacking regularly and will keep an eye out for you. All the best for the trip, cheers Rob.

[andrsn]

I have a mooring at dolans bay and so if your in the hacking or bate bay you should see me around very soon ... just look for the red hul =)..
left the boat at port stephens on friday 40 knt winds and confused sea was interfering with my fishing and hurting my eyes .. but we did discover that polly is very capable .... i will post a full run down and photos of our adventure at the end of the week when she is home ...

the mast on the rear - she used to be a yawl but this is now just a big flag pole now !