Lunch at the Gong

We wanted to progress our southward journey towards Tasmania and having spent a few days in Cronulla we’d arranged to rendezvous with Onora at Jervis Bay. A westerly was predicted and according to Predictwind nothing more than 20kts. An offshore breeze would make for flat conditions. We seldom get to sail on a westerly. Prospects were OK. So off we went. Onora departed at a similar time but from Sydney Harbour. A 20 foot advantage over our hull length would have us converge at some point during the passage.

Initially we were motor sailing, then just motoring. Next going along nicely with full rig but it wasn’t too long before we sailing on jib alone. Radio messages between ourselves and Onora exchanged news of inconsistent conditions. By lunch time we were looking very seriously at our options. Jervis Bay was not going to be our day’s destination. That much was certain. Wooolongong was not far away, perhaps we could stop by and assess, or even stay, but it would be for several days by the look of the upcoming weather predictions. How would this pan out?

The public mooring in the tiny harbour, already full with a couple of dozen boats on moorings was clearly visible from the sea. It was enourmous and unused. We picked up the mooring just long enough to determine that we'd be on the tiles once the westerly died off, even at high tide. Furthermore, we'd be helpless in stronger winds predicted from other quadrants. We made and ate some lunch at The Gong (as it's known by the locals) and resolved to return to Cronulla on the same westerly we'd sailed in with. This was no place for us!

 

This harbour s not home to many boats at all. 

Anchoring is out of the question. 

 

Remnants of an historic wharf

Goodbye Wooloongong!

Crazy sea state near the sea bridge along the Illawarra coastline

 

The wind was hooting for our entire trip back with gusts in excess of 40kts across our decks. The surface of the water just lifted off onto the air. The boat was getting caked with instant-dry sea salt. Bullets are a well known phenomenon coming off the Barrington Tops, we were later told. It was just too dangerous to attempt to sail when wind would accelerate from 10 to 47kts in a heartbeat so we worked the iron jib (motor) hard and returned 6 hours later. The westerlies were so strong and prolonged that topsoil from central New South Wales, after years of drought, was blown across the Tasman Sea as far New Zealand. Were we surprised? Not in the least!

Turning directly into the wind as we entered Port Hacking we achieved barely 2knots speed over ground. Onora was forced to anchor west of Jibbon Beach waiting for sufficient tide to enter Gunamatta Bay with its deeper draft. The public mooring we'd enjoyed in Gunamatta Bay was unsurprisingly occupied by the time we returned so we anchored further north from this starting position - a nett loss for the day of 150m northward - Tasmania might as well be the moon!