Sydney Harbour to Jervis Bay

Approaching Point Perpendicular

We managed to buy two cruising guides before we left Sydney Harbour. There is a well-stocked shop near the Crow’s Nest district called Boat Books Australia. They sell charts, cruising guides and nautical books. We bought a guide to cruising Victoria and another for South Australia.

We left Port Jackson just before midnight on 2^nd January. The winds were light so we motor sailed until the afternoon winds began to blow. It was hot and sunny as we sighted the appropriately named Point Perpendicular, the entrance to Jervis Bay. As we rounded the point we were hit with sudden 20knot winds and had to reef down quickly. We still had nine miles to go to a mooring in the north, but the strong, northerly winds made the long beat unpleasant. To our delight, although there were many boats on moorings in Callalla Bay, the pink, public mooring was free. After putting the sails to bed, we picked it up just before 1800 hours.

Callandra Bay in Jervis Bay

Jeremy had telephoned Marine Rescue Shoalhaven to report our arrival and we were given an update on the bush fires. We learned that further south the navy had evacuated over 1000 people by ship and the roads north to Sydney were were filled with vehicles leaving the area. The next day, Saturday 4^th January, we learned that there was an extreme fire warning for our area. Strong southerly winds were forecast, so we took local advice and decided to move to a southern anchorage later in the day. Meanwhile, the strong northerly wind blew hard.

Hazy sunset, Jervis Bay

Jeremy was on the bow, shirtless, when a hot wave of air, like somebody opening an oven door, hit him. He was okay - just a little shocked. We watched a huge cloud cross the bay ahead of us; the sky turned orange; black ash and debris fell on the boat. Yachts in the north east anchorage called Marine Rescue Jervis Bay to say they were moving south as burning embers were falling on their boats. We decided to do the same. All the moorings were taken when we arrived, but we were able to anchor. Although the air was clearer, a smoky haze filled the northern part of the bay. Black soot continued to fall on the decks, which we swilled with sea water and washed down several times.

Hot, smoky sky

The southerly wind change came and we had less debris falling on us. The next day there were two moorings free and it was much calmer. We listened to the news. All the fires further south were now under control. It began to rain. We moved to a mooring off Vincentia, where we went ashore and used the local laundrette. Jeremy bought petrol for the outboard. Locals advised us not to go to Eden, an overnight sail further south, as we had intended, because Eden was running low on supplies.

Escaping the smoke and debris

The following morning Brenda and Bill sent a text message telling us Eden was being evacuated. We learned from the news that the wharf was not safe because of embers from the fire that had flared up overnight. We spent an hour and a half checking the weather and the fire reports. If we maintained 5 knots we could make Devonport in Tasmania on the other side of the Bass Strait before a SW gale swept through the area. The wind had turned northerly again. Our overnight trip was to be a four day passage. There was no time to go ashore for fresh provisions and no time to cook in advance. We had to leave immediately.

Ash on the decks