#79 NOW December 6, 2005, 1900—UTC +11 hours (New South Wales, Australia) Tied to a courtesy buoy in Fame Cove, Port Stephens. Temperature in the 90’s Greetings, It is HOT! Each day seems to run competition with the previous one for an even higher temperature, and I am not at my best when the temperature goes up. I have been running the air-conditioning most of the time during the day. Fortunately, at night it does cool down some. So, I guess I will survive. Coffs harbour was a bit of a disappointment with its busy and crowed harbor. I left after just two nights there and made a 13 hour run direct to Port Macquarie arriving just at sundown. It was close to slack high but a swell was running from the NE, which created 5 to 6 foot breaking waves over the bar. I called Port Macquarie Coast Control and asked them what they thought. Their comment; “It’s really not too bad.” With almost full throttle for good steerage and picking the back of a good wave my 50,000-pound boat came surfing into Port Macquarie. I will have to admit it was just a little scary. Once inside I found a very peaceful harbor and tied up to a mooring buoy. This is a lovely town with a population of around 40,000. Just a few minutes from the marina was a large mall, with everything you could possible want. On my walk into town, I passed a large outdoor bowling and croquet club. This is very popular down here and most every town has these clubs. Also, I came across a small maritime museum. Their main claim to fame was that the inventor of the surfboard was from this town. They had quite a write-up about him and a replica of the “first surfboard.” Later I went to the Kola hospital. I never tire of looking at these wonderful little creatures. Unfortunately, many of the ones here had been injured by cars, or caught in a forest fire. The dedicated staff was working to restore them to health and if possible release them back into the wilds. After checking the charts, I determined that the next good harbour, without a bar, was Port Stephens. It was 95 miles down the coast, which required a night run. Leaving around 10:00 AM, to depart at high slack, I crossed the bar with no problem. I do not like to arrive at new destinations when it is still dark. Therefore, I had 20 hours to go 95 miles. Hum! Looks like a little less than 5 kts. I throttled back to 1100 RPM, put out the para-vanes, and sat back for the long run. However, with the East coast Australian current pushing me along, my arrival was still going to be before daylight. So I dropped back to 1000 RPM. I figure I burned about 18 gallons to go almost 100 miles. How is that for economy? Along the way, I checked my e-mail and there was a letter from a Mr. Gale of Sydney. He recommended that I pull into Fame Cove when I arrived at Port Stephens. His recommendation could not have been more timely or appreciated. Fame Cove is a lovely spot isolated from the hustle and bustle of Port Stephens. I have been tied up to a courtesy buoy for three days, enjoying the peaceful surroundings. In the evenings, as they are doing right now, dolphins come cruising by the boat. Of course, there are always many things to do, shining stainless, 1200-hour maintenance check on Genset, planning the next leg, etc. Tomorrow, I will rejoin civilization—will maybe. Life is a Cruise, Larry -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm http://www.travelmood.com/site/australia/NSW/Intros/PS.asp http://www.auinfo.com/aboutportstephens.html