Update! Mushroom Bay now America Bay Nov 28-29
UPDATE
Hi all
Thank God for 5 day weather forecasts. In view of the current forecast for the weekend it has been decided to change the destination from Mushroom Bay to America Bay. Judy and I will go around there on Saturday (changed from Friday - see post below) to take up the PAC mooring, that will leave two SYCC moorings and a public mooring so secure anchorage for all should be guaranteed.
Still a great chance to shake out some canvas
Where is it:- Coal and Candle Creek, follow the white line shown on the chart to the location of raft.
Why go there:- In the past it has been a SYCC favourite. The destination proved popular with SYCC because of the nearby road access and Marina Facilities, not to forget a great sail there and back.
What is planned is a Sail to Mushroom Bay and raft up. Every second vessel will deploy an anchor. Every other boat will deploy a stern line. This is a great way of honing our rafting at anchor skills.
Saturday night will have the usual happy hour but with a difference. Each vessel will have happy hour for their own crew. In the past we shared our happy hour nibbles. The practice is discouraged during our crazy COVID times. We can still have our usual chin wag and socialising but with a difference.
Sunday there is the opportunity of having breakfast at the Akuna Bay Marina Cafe. Afterwards it is sail home or those who have the time continue to enjoy our water ways.
Any further updates will be posted here closer to the date.
David Henderson
Trip Report 28 – 29 November 2020 + Comments from The Wall
Early this year I threw my hat into the ring to lead a trip to Mushroom Bay. The venue appealed to me as there was a nearby Marina Café and road access and it is a nice spot, previously very popular with the SYCC. In these COVID 19 days it had a good option, onshore brekkie where we could do COVID safe socialising.
The weekend before I arrived back in Sydney after a far west junket with Judy. A quick check of Willy Weather told me Mushroom Bay was not an option, stronger breeze than experienced at a previous Anniversary Weekend. A rapid change of venue to America Bay was planned. Saturday the 28th Nov arrived and an early call from Derek advised going around the corner was not a good idea. Towlers Bay was my next choice and proved to be a good one. The following will reveal the gutsy nature of our SYCC sailors. I put the latest change of venue on email, the wall and phone. I could not contact Wind Quest but left a message. Chris and David were a tad busy, getting new batteries at RMYC then Chris drove back to Brooklyn where David picked her up to go to America Bay. They arrived late and found no SYCC boats then a 40kn Nor’easter blew in, David said the SYCC mooring buoy was submerged due to the tension on the chain. In the morning when the wind dropped to 20 knots. They decided to go home.
Meanwhile back at Towlers a familiar SYCC boat was sighted at the inner mooring. It was Silver Cloud. So good to catch up with them and a good effort by Peter and Karen as they have experienced challenging times of late. Saturday arvo a pleasant happy hour was had on the beach, later dinner on Rendezvous was enjoyed. Thanks for your hospitality Cathy and Derek.
I have just read Chris and David’s account of their experience on the wall. It is a good document to show what to do when things go pear shaped. It will be good to get back to light winds and milder temperatures.
Vessels attending Silver Cloud, Wind Quest, Rendezvous and Masquerade
December 3, 2020
Masquerade 2 days ago · 0 Likes
Apologies David for choosing America Bay. After I changed the trip to America Bay I thought Refuge Bay would be better as it is nearer a COVID19 friendly beach for happy hour. My immediate thought was there are only so many times one can change a trip destination
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Bucketofvyno 2 days ago · 0 Likes
Sorry, I misread the instructions. Below is a reply to David & Chris' post.
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Bucketofvyno 2 days ago · 0 Likes
So pleased to survived everything with no harm done to yourselves or the boat.
Our son, Scott and his family were out on Bucketofvyno, and in America Bay on Saturday night as well. Their account of their experience was identical to David's - a horrendous night.
They left America Bay early on Sunday morning too, and had a relatively pleasant trip back, until they approached the marina, when the NWs suddenly blew up again. They almost had the boat berthed, when a strong (some say 40kts) gust took control of the bow and they completely lost control. Fortunately, there were several people on the marina who rushed to help - most notably David Temby (Bella Luca), who was able to jump on board to assist. After a couple of attempts to get into our berth, they chose to take the safe option and stuck the boat in the most accessible alternate berth for the night. Fortunately, the berth owner did not need it immediately.
Today, in the calmer weather, we were able to return Bucketofvyno to its correct home.
The weekends events are a good lesson for all of us - while none of us plans to venture out in strong winds and unfavourable conditions, we don't control the weather. and we must be prepared for the unexpected and make sure our boats, equipment and our skills are ready to face any challenges the weather presents us with. Preparation and Practice are essential.
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Sabi Star 3 days ago · 0 Likes
Thanks for sharing your experience David. I am so pleased that you survived relatively unscathed. We can all learn from reading your report. We were woken at home by that storm and the wind sounded terrible
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Perroquet 3 days ago · 0 Likes
So pleased you didn’t have any damage David, albeit no doubt a little shaken up. The wind at home was absolutely horrendous. We were hoping all those who were out, were safe.
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Valhalla 4 days ago · 0 Likes
Thanks for sharing the experience David. 40 kts is a force to be reckoned.
I believe Bucket of Vino was out this weekend and may have a tale to tell.
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Blue Tattoo 4 days ago · 0 Likes
David, glad that you are both safe and the moorings held. Yes America’s has always been bad in NW winds, also Southies coming in over the waterfall.
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Wind Quest 4 days ago · 0 Likes
Sorry to have missed you all at Towlers. I was busy all day having to pick up Wind Quest after antifouling at RPAYC, replacing house batteries then returning to Brooklyn to pick up Chris before heading down to America Bay arriving about 7pm. I was probably already in America Bay when David and Derek tried to get in touch. Phone off because of dodgy reception there. Hope your experiences in Towlers were better than ours. I can verify the cone mooring holds well. May not have been the case if there were more than one boat attached.. Good decision David!
Saturday evening the wind had dropped and apart from the heat, the night started well. By about 1am the wind started to pick up and we were woken by the wind noise and sunshade flapping. It has coped with 20kts before so not overly concerned after checking it was still secure. However, as it was keeping us awake we got up about 2am and took down the cover and shortened the painter to the dinghy as the outboard was still attached.
Suddenly, about 5am, there was a stronger gust and we veered on the mooring with some heeling from the wind. We stayed that way longer than I expected so we went on deck to check. It was like surf outside with wind of estimated 40 kts or so with blasts of spray coming towards us but the mooring was holding. One of us was on standby at all times to start the engine if the mooring did break. The rocks looked mighty close. We were in time to see our dinghy flip upside down and less than 30 sec later flipped back (thankfully). We pulled it up nose on to the swim platform and a line tied to a side D ring to hopefully prevent another flip. By that point everyone nearby was up and securing dinghies etc. A few boats left with some relocating into Refuge Bay where it appeared to be calmer.
This is the second time I have been in America Bay as supposed shelter from a NW wind. I believe it is unsuitable with Refuge probably better protected because the NW wind turns around Challenger Head and roars up America Bay in gusts stronger than the main airflow.
Anyway, by 6:15am the wind had moderated a little and the day was getting lighter so we decided it was time to head home. As we motored out of America Bay we had gusts to 20 kts but the wind was indicating <15kts as we approached the entrance to Refuge Bay and outside there was no sign of white water!
Having safely reached our mooring which is reasonably sheltered from the NW at Parsley Bay, it was time to see if the outboard could be started. After several unsuccessful attempts we brought the outboard into the cockpit where we could support it at the closed table. I drained the carburetor but there were only a few small drops of water. (The vent on the outboard was closed during the dunking.) The electrics looked a bit wet so I sprayed all metal terminals with WD40. It still took several attempts to start but it did start and ran smoothly all the way around to the marina.
In future if strong winds are forecast, I'll take the outboard off the dinghy before going to bed, even if I expect to use it the next day.
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Coromandel 2 days ago · 0 Likes
Wow David, that does sound like a very unpleasant experience for you. Sounds like many of us have experienced nasty winds in America’s. We were rafted with Kemara once and didn’t enjoy the buffeting we got.
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Masquerade 5 days ago · 0 Likes
Hi all
The 28/29th. Trip venue has been from America Bay, changed to Towlers Bay due to strong wind warnings.
Apologies for late notice
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Masquerade 6 days ago · 0 Likes
Despite the weather we have five boats going to America Bay 28/29th. Will be good to meet up on the water again
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