On 5th November 2008 we took delivery of Lemaris form her previous owners, Geoff and Judy Richey at the Port Bundaberg Marina.
taking the broker Ian MacKenzie at his word we loaded on our personal gear and supplies and at 1030 he next day we left Bundaberg for the journey home to Melbourne.
Our crew for the first part of this trip into the Cold Coast was Martin and Judy Greasley and Mike Clancy.
The first day was quite overwhelming but we managed to anchor behind woody Island in the north of the Great Sandy Straits, a truly fantastic place that had me wondering why we were going south at all.
The next morning mike and I were up early and decided to get an early start, a decision we would later regret as we did not check the tides and spent several hours waiting with our keel on the sand waiting for water.
Eventually we were able to float free and continue on our journey.
We crossed the Wide Bay bar at about 1700 hours and headed south.
We dodged the many ships at the entrance to Morton Bay during the night and proceeded down to the shallow waters of lower Morton Bay and down the channel towards the Broadwater.
We managed to get pat Jacob’s Well with just a touch but not stopping but further south we could not find enough water and we anchored and waited for the tide.
Eventually we felt there was enough water for us but we really only got through by going the wrong side of a lateral mark.
Finally we made to the mouth of the Coomera River and then proceeded up to the Hope Island Resort marina where we were to leave the boat for 2 weeks whilst Eva and I returned to Melbourne to attend my farewell lunch from work as I was retiring at the end of the year.
We found that not having a chart plotter in the cockpit confined the navigator in this case Martin to the chart table at the computer so 0ne of the first thing we did was buy a Raymarine C120 and left Mike on board to install it during our absence.
Eva and I returned to the Gold coast and Lemaris 2 weeks later and our friend Julie Webb joined us from Melbourne for the remainder of the trip to Melbourne. After fitting a new mascerator pump to the forward holding tank, a task that Eva and Julie enjoyed immensly,not, we set off for Melbourne on Monday 24th.
After negotiating the Coomera River and the Broadwater under raining windless conditions we finally reached the ocean via the Gold Coast Seaway. We were able to set full sail and sail a beam reach on our course to Melbourne. It was quite lumpy and Mike was having some difficulty with the conditions.
We made good progress but when Mike informed us that he had developed an irregular heartbeat we maake the decision to make for the Clarence River and hand him to a waiting ambulance at Illuka at about 0100 the next morning.
Once again I found the bottom when trying to anchor in Illuka harbour but decided that we wiould float off in the morning so dropped the anchor and relaxed.
Sure enough we were afloat in the morning and a call to the local hospital revaeled that Mike had made a full recovery and would rejoin us at the Yamba Marina on the opposite side of the river.
He turned up by taxi and off we went again out the river and on course for Melbourne.
The conditions were quite pleasant and we eventually reached Pittwater on the night of the 28th.
taking the broker Ian MacKenzie at his word we loaded on our personal gear and supplies and at 1030 he next day we left Bundaberg for the journey home to Melbourne.
Our crew for the first part of this trip into the Cold Coast was Martin and Judy Greasley and Mike Clancy.
The first day was quite overwhelming but we managed to anchor behind woody Island in the north of the Great Sandy Straits, a truly fantastic place that had me wondering why we were going south at all.
The next morning mike and I were up early and decided to get an early start, a decision we would later regret as we did not check the tides and spent several hours waiting with our keel on the sand waiting for water.
Eventually we were able to float free and continue on our journey.
We crossed the Wide Bay bar at about 1700 hours and headed south.
We dodged the many ships at the entrance to Morton Bay during the night and proceeded down to the shallow waters of lower Morton Bay and down the channel towards the Broadwater.
We managed to get pat Jacob’s Well with just a touch but not stopping but further south we could not find enough water and we anchored and waited for the tide.
Eventually we felt there was enough water for us but we really only got through by going the wrong side of a lateral mark.
Finally we made to the mouth of the Coomera River and then proceeded up to the Hope Island Resort marina where we were to leave the boat for 2 weeks whilst Eva and I returned to Melbourne to attend my farewell lunch from work as I was retiring at the end of the year.
We found that not having a chart plotter in the cockpit confined the navigator in this case Martin to the chart table at the computer so 0ne of the first thing we did was buy a Raymarine C120 and left Mike on board to install it during our absence.
Eva and I returned to the Gold coast and Lemaris 2 weeks later and our friend Julie Webb joined us from Melbourne for the remainder of the trip to Melbourne. After fitting a new mascerator pump to the forward holding tank, a task that Eva and Julie enjoyed immensly,not, we set off for Melbourne on Monday 24th.
After negotiating the Coomera River and the Broadwater under raining windless conditions we finally reached the ocean via the Gold Coast Seaway. We were able to set full sail and sail a beam reach on our course to Melbourne. It was quite lumpy and Mike was having some difficulty with the conditions.
We made good progress but when Mike informed us that he had developed an irregular heartbeat we maake the decision to make for the Clarence River and hand him to a waiting ambulance at Illuka at about 0100 the next morning.
Once again I found the bottom when trying to anchor in Illuka harbour but decided that we wiould float off in the morning so dropped the anchor and relaxed.
Sure enough we were afloat in the morning and a call to the local hospital revaeled that Mike had made a full recovery and would rejoin us at the Yamba Marina on the opposite side of the river.
He turned up by taxi and off we went again out the river and on course for Melbourne.
The conditions were quite pleasant and we eventually reached Pittwater on the night of the 28th.