Our younger son was to be in Newcastle for a week and being only a 25nm trip away, how could we not return to 'Newie' (which we like so much) to see him during his off-duty hours in the evenings!
We timed our return to coincide with favourable winds and as usual the forecast, baseless expectations and reality were at odds and we ended up motoring most of the way. En route we made a small detour to say hello to team Casablanca who were headed for Port Stephens from Lake Macquarie.
Casablanca emerged first as a signal on the AIS being one of our 'favourites'.
We both diverted so we could exchange some greetings across the water.
As we neared Newcastle, the Bloke declared that we probably wouldn't be worried by too many AIS signals from shipping as it was a Sunday. We discovered, days of the week mean nothing when it comes to Port movements but the tide situation is EVERYTHING. They push a many boats in and out as they possibly can through the high tide. Day or night.
Zofia with the yellow arrow wind indicator.
To begin with, the dredge stood off; a sure sign they knew something that we didn't. Then the Bloke observed one of the biggest ships he'd ever seen being directed through the heads. It was soon followed by another. The Pilots were being plucked off one ship and rapidly dropped on to the next. Tugs came out to standby for incoming ships. One headed straight for us as if to nudge us out of the way.
B I G !!
A vessel with attitude.
We noticed one of the 10 ships anchored off-shore preparing to move in and had to make a calculation as to how fast they'd be in the heads. We reckoned that they were unlikely to reach full speed in the short distance and would be delayed slightly by the arrival of the Pilot. So we made a run for it to get up the harbour ahead of the next ship. The NCYC racing fleet seized the opportunity to get out to sea while there was the slimmest of chances. We all only just made it. It's definitely the quick and the dead around here!
One ship headed out, followed by the NCYC race fleet, ahead of the next ship inbound.
The helicopter was shuttling the Pilot between ships too.
Always nice to toast the safe completion of a passage.
Back in 'Newie' for 1 week.
No comments:
Post a Comment