We decided to stay in Coffs Harbour for two nights as I had to fit a replacement water level sensor to our number 1 water tank. The instrument showed half a tank (150l), but the tank was empty. Before departure in Sydney the agents replaced the number 2 tank sensor as it permanently indicated half a tank (100l). This has me a bit concerned about the accuracy of the 200l diesel tank sensor which shows 75% full.

Having learned our lesson on the passage to Coffs by arriving well after dark, we decided to make an early start to Yamba about 60 nm to the North. We left Coffs at 5:30, setting sails at 6:00 and immediately had a good N-W wind, allowing us to enjoy a beautiful, but cold sunrise, sailing past South Solitary Island. Considering this is Big Banana country we were surprised at how cold the wind was on this leg.

Here comes the sun

Good day sunshine

We continued North making good progress in a freshening N-W, sometimes a bit wet, as we ploughed through a 1.5m swell from the North.

This is supposed to be warmer!

Wet sea conditions

Check the video below:

IMG_1657

We entered Yamba harbour at 16:00 after a 10 hour passage averaging 6 knots. We anchored in the Clarence river off the town of Iluka and had a few stiff whiskey’s! Also note, you can check our progress on skipr.net by selecting the name Esprit in the drop down menu. This will show you our route and where we are at the moment. Today we plan to motor up the Clarence river to visit the town of MacLean.