We raised the anchor at 0630 to set off for Bermagui. The storms had passed and the winds were fairly light but we were expecting them to build during the 9 hours we had planned for the 45nm to Bermagui. We radioed Marine Rescue Eden and thanked them for their hospitality and set up a tracking sheet with them.
As we expected the winds were not a problem but the storms had left a large South-Easterly swell of about 3 metres which was on our starboard quarter and rolling us about. As a result we decided to go with the headsail only and leave the main safely zipped up on the boom where it couldnt do any damage by gybing on us.
As the winds strengthened to about 22-24 kts we reefed the headsail and were still managing a healthy 7.5 kts. The winds kept building and, despite the reef, we were beginning to round up as the wind gusted to 30 kts and the waves started breaking on top of the swell. This was when the addition of the staysail on its furler proved itself. We furled the headsail and pulled out the staysail which immediately calmed the motion of the boat and took the pressure off the helm and still we were coasting along at 6.5 kts. We even allowed the autohelm to take control again since it had been struggling a bit as the swells built and we veered down the face of a couple of waves.
We were welcomed to Bermagui by a young man from the fishing co-op who told us that the co-op welcomes visitors and hoped that we have an enjoyable stay. We tied up behind a fishing boat and were assured that we wouldn’t be in the way there but there was a quieter berth available if we wanted it.
Actually we enjoyed being part of all that was happening on the jetty and we soon found that the skipper of the boat in front of us had no trouble easing his boat in and out. It is amazing how these guys can spin their boats into the tightest places with ease.
It was also remarkable that, including us, there were 3 yachts visiting Bermagui and all were from Brighton. David James was helping deliver a Compac 35 from Pittwater and “It’s a Privilege” tied up behind us. It was nice to see familiar faces and chat about their trips.
New Horizons and It's a Privilege at Bermagui
The new Co-op building is busy with restaurants as well as with the bustle of the fishing boats coming and going, repairing nets and their equipment and unloading their catch. We loved the old Massey Ferguson tractors which were a key part of the operation. We were told that the Co-op had bought them for $50 each and they hadn’t missed a beat in years.
Bermagui is a wonderful little town, full of interest and activity. We have been here before for the “Four Winds” Festival so knew something of the town already. We had been particulalrly keen to stop here to see our friend Neilma and we were pleased we had the chance to catch up with Neilma and Yanni over dinner. We also spent time exploring the latest coffee shop to open in the town. Matt Jones opened “Mister Jones” as a way of supplementing his award as the Community Artist and he is obvioiusly working hard at connecting with the people of Bermagui and afar, if the stream of customers to his streetfront cafe is anything to go by.
The walks along the foreshore were beautiful and we visited the “Blue Pool” which wasnt very blue but with its hard lines against the natural backdrop looked like some modernist painting dropped into the landscape.
Sadly it was eventually time to move on to our next stop on the way to Sydney and so early on the 24 November we untied and headed off, farewelled by our friend Jane who came to wave us off.
WOW! And we thought we were tough driving through the puddles today!
It’s been scary at times and the puddles have been really deep! We’re in Sydney now. Are you guys around??