?Moving to Lake Macquarie?

[dism]

Swansea by drone footage off youtube https://youtu.be/0W_43sS1jmw

Pretty easy, cross mouth 3hrs after Fort Denison high tide
Follow bearing (see Lucas Cruising Guide) or line up leads
At a certain point you then bear to starboard to follow next channel markers and follow around to one of the 3 pink courtesy moorings or rsl jetty
Wait till scheduled bridge opening (order if not set weekend timers - see http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/maritime/usin ... times.html
Go thru bridge and either wait on opposite side courtesy moorings (2 there) or proceed to the dropoff
You will pass the VMR at a narrow but where the sand spit comes right into channel market

We went thru only prob 2hrs after a lowish low with no issues but watching the sand, but a 40ft French boat got stuck and needed a tow off a bar

Also we missed the best exit window by one hour and cavitated the outboard thru the heads, no but issue

You prob know all this above but thought worthwhile to summarise again (heaps of other good posts about this on this site and seabreeze site)

http://www.marinerescuelakemacquarie.co ... -macquarie

[Dolphin]

Gday Di,
Dont stress too much about the channel.
Use mid tide to enter the channel, the lake is the average height of the tide so if the tide is above mid it is flowing in, below mid tide it is flowing out.
The first set of leads are easy to see. Stay more than 300metres to sea of Moon Island, there is a long shallow sloping reef to seaward of it. If you get too far off line Marine Rescue will usually warn you.
DONT ENTER IN A STRONG NOR-EASTER. The alternative is to continue onto Newcastle. It's 12miles north.
If a strong nor-easter is forecast, sail overnight. Leave about 9 or 10pm using the gentle land breeze and you'll be off Moon Island in the morning before the nor-easter has built.

The bridge doesn't open at 0800 or 1600 on weekdays as its peak hour.

The crossing leads are hard to see until you are nearly on the line. They're hidden in the trees near the first houses in the street.

Be really careful of Tuggerah Reef, its just off The Entrance about 5miles to sea from memory.

Have fun enjoy the trip.

Greg.

[bearmcnally]

Hi Di

Yachting Heaven awaits!
Greg"s comments are spot on , I draw 5' 8'' and only touched the bottom once on a nearly low tide and that was on the lake side of the bridge about 200 metres from the drop off .So depth shouldn"t be a problem Marine Rescue might even meet you and guide you in if you contact them ,It"s a great sail up and you should enjoy it .

Cheers Bear

[SeaLady]

OK.
This is a bit different info to what I have been told.

The only bit that I need high tide for is the 'drop off'?

Is it safe in a Top Hat to get to get through the channel and bridge to the courtesy moorings at the drop off in any tide?
From my research the Drop Off is 1.4 metres at low tide. So I will be scraping the coal.

I was aiming to go through at the top of the tide.

Yes Bear.
I am looking forward to yachting heaven.
Diana

p.s.
I will be living in Toronto, a short walk uphill from the wharf, swimming enclosure.
Small house but with a lake at my doorstep. Who needs a big house.

[Dolphin]

Di, The drop off is inside the lake. The run in tide drops the sand into the lake. It goes from about 2.2m to 12m.
The bar is a coal seam that cuts across the entrance. It's about 400 meters long. The moorings are about 200m east of the bridge and 60m west of the bridge.
At mid tide the water is slack along the channel basically.
Bear forgot to tell you that he did touch bottom on the way in, because I was piloting him in. Oops.
We got a little too far east in the channel near Swan Bay. The channel moves a lot.

[Dolphin]

Di, Sorry I forgot.
The depth of water on the bar is 1.6m at Zero tide. You draw 4'6" about 1.45m. Eg, if you have a 0.4m low tide you will have 2.0m of water.
The Nor-Easter should be your biggest concern.
If you come in mid tide, the water will be slack.
Marine Rescue need 1 hours notice for the bridge and it will take you 30 minutes to go from Moon Island to the bridge.
They will let the first boats go with the flow. If it's a run in tide, they will let the boats going into the lake through first. A run out tide and they will let the boats going to sea go first. A PA from the bridge will let you know if there is a problem. The bridge has VHF 16 but Marine Rescue will answer. You have to be off the mooring with your sails furled ready to go 5 minutes before the bridge opens. You cannot sail through the bridge. If it's blowing more than 25 knots or if the temperature is above 35c they will not open the bridge. If you are running late they will hold the opening by up to 10 minutes, otherwise you have to wait for the next bridge. They only open on the hour. If there is an emergency vehicle due they will wait for it to pass.
I've seen the traffic stopped, boom gates down, about to open and they've let a fire engine through.
Greg.

[SeaLady]

I have been informed that the channel can run at 4 knots.
Is that true?

[bearmcnally]

Hi Di

Yes ! But you must go through HELL to get to heaven

It's not that bad ,Some people just like to put the wind up other people to keep them on their toes ?

Cheers Bear

[Shaun]

Yep, it's not as bad as I thought it was before I did the Bar & Bridge crossing for the first time.
As mentioned by the lucky locals get the tides right & don't go through on a strong NE (which you won't be anyway coming from Broken Bay) & it will be awesome.
Have your anchor ready to deploy immediately if engine stuffs up for any reason.
What I do is plan to be going across the Swansea bar 2.5hrs after High tide at Fort Denison, there should be a slight trickle in of tide at that time, making the Bar good.
Then by the time you get to the bridge it'll be slack tide & nice & easy through the bridge.
Look over the side at the black coal seam on the Bar
The "Drop Off" is where the channel sands "drop off" into the lake proper, at the lake end of the very well marked channel.

Why don't you sail up during the day, much nicer! Looking for a High tide time of about 1500 & go across the bar at 1730, I wouldn't worry about the sun being in your eyes...just put on your sunnies
An awesome trip & destination, enjoy

[Dolphin]

Hi Di,
I don't know how fast the channel can run. I've measured it at 1.5 kts. Philip may know better.
Just use mid tide.
Dont sweat it too much. Most people have sailed Sydney Harbour or Broken Bay for years and this is their first bar crossing and shallow channel. You will find its no problem once you've done it. I sailed Port Hacking for years and only ran aground 33 times. The channel is all sand, a Top Hat can take the bottom easily, the most damage you can do is loose a little anti foul. The channel is bouyed well, Marine Rescue have bases at the bar and at Pelican.

Another reminder, it is a Maritime requirement that you and all your passengers wear your life jackets when crossing a bar.

Greg.