tophatyachts.com

hi fellow top hatters i have now purchaced a top hat and have to sail her back from gladesville to port hacking [ new home ] , i have mapped it out and comes out at approx 30 nm i was wondering if any one had compleated this trip ??? i was planning to leave gladesville at 7am and reach the hacking at around 4pm ? would love to hear from anyone who has tips or advice for this trip as it will be my first offshore adventure cheers dan

Provided you get a 15 knot NE or other suitable breeze for a beam or broad reach you should have no problems. I have not done this trip in a Tophat but I find that it usually takes a little longer than you think it should to do coastal hops, so be prepared for the possibility of the trip taking a bit longer. Hope you have a great trip.

Mark

Sonia, 'Curly Tops' and I did it leaving Christmas Day on my boat 'Sea Lady'.

We left from Tarban Creek, (Gladesville Bridge) 1.5 hours to Sydney Heads then about 6 hours to the mouth of Port Hacking. Depending on wind and waves plus whereever you are going in there.

Port Hacking is very shallow and you really need to look at the channel markers closely. They can be a little confusing. Very easy to run aground at low tide.

There is basically nothing to crash into on the way until you get into Port Hacking.
As people were telling me, turn right at Sydney Heads then the second on the right.

We stayed about 5 nautical miles out to sea the whole way.

Our trip down was a little bumpy but we had a brilliant sail back.

Ring me if you like.

Diana 0417 068877

G'Day Dan,
I used to be in Port Hacking and race with RMYC.
Where are you going to in Port Hacking?

Remember you have certain safety requirements with Maritime. Life jackets type 1 and other regs. VHF Radio if you are going more than 2 nautical miles offshore. etc. Appropriate paper charts, compass etc.
Don't forget to log in with Marine Rescue and more importantly don't forget to LOGOFF. That is the reason they ask you for a mobile number ie. To ring you before they start the search! As stated earlier coastal passages do take a LOT longer than you first estimate. Remember that when you log on. The times you estimate and distance sound about right for that trip. Stay on board the night before to get used to the motion of the boat. It helps avoid seasickness the next day. Don't eat greasy or acid or spicy food the night before.

There can be some tricky parts to the trip. Don't get in too close to the cliffs between South Head and Ben Buckler. Its 3 nautical miles of washing machine in there. 5 nautical miles is too far off the coast I think, you wont see anything. 2 Nautical miles is good. Stay on about the 40 to 50m depth contour. It takes you a comfortable distance off shore. If you can see the waves breaking on the rocks you are within 3 nautical Miles of the coast.

Be careful at Botany Bay for shipping movements. Container ships move a lot faster than you expect and appear at the mouth of the port very quickly. Always pass behind the ships. Keep a good distance off Cape Bailey (Kurnell) as again its a washing machine with the steep cliffs.

When entering Port Hacking use the white sectors of the sector light on Glaisher Pt (Oak Park) for bearings. I know its daytime but use the chart for reference bearings. I think its 240 deg magnetic from memory. This keeps you clear of The Merries reef, Osbourne Shoal and Jibbon Bommie. Osbourne shoal can break in heavy seas of more than 3 to 4 metres. Its only 8m on the shoal. You can also get rough seas in Port Hacking with a runout tide and an established Noreaster.

Its a great trip. There are courtesy moorings at Jibbon. You may need some local knowledge to navigate the sand bars. We were on the water for about 15years and ran aground about 30 times. A Top Hat can take the bottom easily and is the ideal yacht for the area.

Enjoy the trip, its beautiful, especially in the early morning.

As with any sailing trip you do, if the weather isn't right, or you don't feel confident, don;t go! Wait for better conditions and DON't sail to a schedule. It puts pressure on you and you will go in conditions that aren't the best for you.

Usual disclaimers apply.
Greg.

thank you guys for all the tips i will be sailing down on sunday if the wind is right. have a competent crew so that should help and the boat has an auto pilot , i was plannig on just hugging the coast all the way down not straying more than 2 nm off shore does anyone have any comments as to weather staying that close in is a good or bad idea ???? i have navionics charts first time using them so will be checking how accurate they are , thanks again everyone for your comments and tips

Hi - I've done that sail many times in Top Knot and a few times in my new boat. I agree with Greg and recommend you go out a bit further early on because until you get past Bondi and onto the south eastern beaches you'll have a really uncomfortble sail as the rebound swell gets you (just like under the Harbour Bridge!).

Make sure you've got a EPIRB and log on and off. The first sail I did after I bought Top Knot I foolishly didn't pay too much attention to safety but an EPIRB buys you a second chance if things go wrong -

Have a nice sail down,then drop anchor and have a few (responsible) beers! Although Sunday's forecast is for very very light s/e for most of the day so it might take a while.

It's great fun though and it's rare that you don't see either dolphins at the heads of Sydney Harbour or a seal or whale on the way down. Take your camera and have a great day out on the water -

Brendan

A Soueaster I always found was good going south because the sails are close hauled and that stops the boat rolling. It can increase the sea a bit as its wind against tide.
As Brendan said you need an EPIRB. You can borrow one if need be and you can update the details on line to put your sail plan in. "An EPIRB takes the search out of search and rescue".
It looks like you might get a thunder storm in the afternoon. There are a number of troughs around inland NSW according to Seabreeze. If there is a storm nearby take your sails down and motor as you can get some quite severe squals before the rain hits. The experienced sailors with you should be able to atest to that. Don't study the charts too much on the way down. Being below and having your head down will make you queezy.
Likewise to Brendan, my first trip to sea was lacking in safety a bit. You are doing a wise thing asking for advise before you go and having some experienced people on board.

Lets know how you went and what you learnt.

Have a great trip and plan for the unexpected.

Greg.

Drink lots of water.
Sunscreen regularly, sunglasses and hat.

When you are out all day it sneaks up on you. Especially your feet and ankles. And lips. My lips got sunburned.
Keep a watch out for fish traps. On my trip there were quite a few.

Have the phone number of Marine Rescue Port Jackson 02 9337 5033 handy as well.
You may loose radio contact as you approach Port Hacking.

Report in also when you are about half way.

Log off to the same Marine Rescue that you log on with.

If using Navionics on an iPhone beware it uses a lot of power.
Have paper charts as well as perhaps just use the Navionics as a double check.

Ensure your EPIRB is registered and let the 3 people you have listed know you are going so they can correctly answer that you are at sea if necessary. Hopefully not.

If it gets bumpy, don't be too macho. Be hooked on.

The courtesy moorings at Gibbon can get bumpy.

Hope your dolphin phogography is better than mine.
I tend to get photos of holes in the water.

Have a great trip.

Diana

Sorry Jibbon Beach moorings can be bumpy

thanks for that phone number diana that will come in really handy ,oh and i have a charger and inverter for my power needs ,so it seems im all set will post photos and a log of my journey in the top hat voyages section