The trip from Bermagui to Ulladulla was like most of our “hops” along the coast in that it was about waiting for the strong northerly’s to be quelled by a southerly change and then setting out 24 hours later on the back of the cold front as it passed into the Tasman. It was not very typical weather for New South Wales coast and it meant we spent a long time managing the swells rather than taking advantage of the winds.
As it turned out on this leg the winds were fairly light, lighter than were predicted so it wasn’t long before we had shaken out the 2 reefs we had put in the main to start the morning and cruised fairly easily up the coast keeping in touch with the Marine Rescue services as we went.
Having left Bermagui at 0615 we arrived off Ulladulla about 2030 and found the 2 blue lights which serve as the leads into the harbour. Chris kept us perfectly on course as we approached, which was just as well because the entrance to the harbour is very narrow (breakwaters on port and starboard are only about 50 m apart). As we entered the harbour Marine Rescue Ulladulla radioed us to check on progress – which was very kind of them – but the call came in just as we were trying to locate a berth in the small harbour. As Chris put down our spotlight and answered the call it was only sheer luck which helped me avoid one of the 3 unlit buoys which separate the narrow channel from the moored boats on the starboard side.
We rafted up 3 deep on 2 fishing boats which were in the harbour for maintenance and there we stayed for a week, unexpectedly, as we repaired the motor. But that’s another story.
Ulladulla Harbour
Rafted-up among the fishing fleet
The next morning we were surprised by a number of things – firstly, that our gas alarm was going off and secondly that Co-op wanted $40 per night for the opportunity to raft up at the jetty. But first things first – a gas alarm takes precedence over anything. We were relieved, sort of at least, to discover that we didn’t have a problem with the gas – we had a lot of diesel in the bilge. So we emptied the starboard locker which gives us access to the engine and spent some time crawling around the bowels of the boat looking for the leak that we knew had to be there somewhere. When we found that it was in a part of the engine which I have never played with, we set out to find a diesel mechanic in Ulladulla.
Things didn’t start well with the mechanic. When he turned up he announced that he loved sailing but hated yachts, which I think meant that he hated crawling into the tiny spaces in which yacht designers manage to put large diesel engines. While I have some sympathy with his view, it didn’t help us that he decided that our engine was fine. Again, I think this was code for “surely you don’t seriously imagine I’m going to crawl into that tiny little space for you, do you?”.
There's a leak here somewhere
Anyway the upshot of it was that I was left to solve the engine problem myself, along with phone calls and advice from the ever-patient Jai at Mariner Engineering in Melbourne and various gurus who emerged from Google searches. Eventually I found and removed the faulty part and sent it off to Nowra 70 km north to be repaired.
The Tree House Coffee Shop
In the meantime Chris and I explored the delights of Ulladulla. Apart from ventures into Aldi and Coles we found a delightful coffee shop, friendly people and the joys of a gourmet restaurant nearby. The gourmet restaurant wasn’t the delightfully named “Yes I Am” – the local Thai restaurant, but Bannister’s restaurant where a well-known international chef, Rick Stein, prepares outstanding food accompanied by fabulous wines, perfect service and stunning views.
Plenty of time to relax and cook
And to stay in touch
Once again the people that we met were almost universally helpful. The Ulladulla Marine rescue people were there to help us with friendly advice and to provide us with the use of their showers and bathrooms. And the owners of the boats to which we were rafted up were also very tolerant of us climbing over their boat several times a day to interrupt their work. (See the 2 videos below). They even made sure that we had shore power by connecting an extension lead from their power outlets to ours as we piggybacked on their power supplies.
Eventually, the leaking fuel injector was delivered back to us by the wonderful courier who charged us $7 each way for this 140 km round-trip and, miracle of miracles when I put it all back together the engine started and the leak was fixed.
And so we headed off for the short hop to Jervis Bay where we were intending to enjoy a few days at anchor off the beautiful beaches.
