Coffs Harbour – Australia – November 2023

With the threat of an early tropical cyclone heading our way, we made a hasty exit from Vanuatu late on the evening of 4th November, with 1100nm ahead of us to reach our next destination, Australia. Our final week at sea in the Pacific was thankfully drama-free. Two days out from Tanna, we passed through the Canal De La Havannah, a channel which snakes through the reefs surrounding the islands of New Caledonia. We would have loved to have stopped to explore but we needed to make distance between us and the brewing cyclone.

As we made Southwards, we had to dig out our wooly hats, trousers and duvets which had been in storage since leaving Europe, 2.5 years previously. On our 7th morning at sea, land was sighted on the horizon and later that day, with a favourable 3 knot current and the wind gusting over 30 knots we surfed into Coff’s Harbour in New South Wales.

So tired, but euphoric to have sailed our little boat 20,000-ish nautical miles all the way from the UK, across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean, to South America, through the Panama Canal and finally, across the Pacific Ocean all the way to Australia! Against the odds, no one had died and we were all still talking to one another! High on the promise of hot showers, good coffee, supermarkets and sleep, we anchored for the night outside the harbour, too late in the day to clear customs and be allowed ashore. The following morning, we were boarded by super friendly customs/ immigration and biosecurity officials. They had a quick rummage in our bilges, thankfully found no bugs, stowaways or contraband goods and we were free to explore Australia, our 4th continent!

In Coff’s we spotted our first kangaroos, hiked in the Dorrigo National Park, got high on flat whites, feasted on fresh fruit and veg, indulged in Hollywood showers, competed in our first Parkrun in over 2 years, joined the local library (mega) and commenced our love affair with all things Aussie.

The following week we sailed into gorgeous Pittwater, in the northern suburbs of Sydney. Highlights here included the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Avalon sea water pool, Barrenjoey lighthouse, and Angus enjoyed a trip to the ‘Home and Away’ beach – possibly the pinnacle of his travel experiences to date!