Another shower while you can have them, before leaving at 7.15am to head for Port Stephens. The sea state started off with a big but gentle swell that got more boisterous as we got closer to Port Stephens. Again the wind ranged about 17-20knots with more (up to about 26) in front of the rain clouds. Today we were lucky and did not actually get rained on. The coastal scenery was beautiful with Stockton Beach offering 17 miles of sand dunes. We saw a shark just outside the entry to Port Stephens. The plan was to stay here for 3 nights. First stop, Shoal Bay just inside the entrance, where Di tried her hand at some fishing again and this time caught herself some bait. After lunching in Shoal Bay, we moved to Fame Bay and anchored for the first night. A very peaceful and beautiful location. 
The next morning Mark and Di got in touch with an old friend of theirs from their yacht club (Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron). His name is Rob van Zandvliet and he had a catamaran called Moreli. After an extensive sailing trip of his own, 3 years worth I believe, he is now living in North Arm Cove which is not far from Fame Bay. He tootled over in his tinny as you do I guess when you live on an extensive waterway like Port Stephens. He brought the papers which was very civilised of him. After chatting for a while, Rob agreed to pile us all in the tinnie and take us over to show us his project which is just building a two storey house, by himself!! Quite an idyllic setting, house amongst the forest, walking distance to the shore and the tinnie and a short row out to Moreli!
Once back at the good ship Mustang Sally we headed over to Soldiers Point Marina for the night. Rob made the trip with us and helped get us sorted. The Soldiers Point Marina is quite flash and most impressive were the facilities that looked like something out of a 5 Star Hotel! There is a photo on Mark and Dis blog for those interested (markanddicruising.blogspot.com). Least impressive were the marina rates which were the highest yet as I understand it...and they were the low season rates...eek! That night he joined us for dinner at Soldiers Point. The marina at Soldiers Point is pretty flasho and has set a new gold standard in bathrooms and also berthing fees (the picture may explain a bit clearer). We all went for our afternoon constitutional (walk, not happy hour yet!) around the area and chatted to some friendly (but just a little scary) fishos. That night we had happy hour on board, Rob joined us, again scooting across in the tinny in 10 minutes, rather than taking the one hour by car route! We all went to dinner at the restaurant there and had a lovely meal and lots of fun.
The next day, still in Port Stephens, we headed over to Nelson Bay Marina which is quite large and adjacent to a built up waterfront area complete with bars and restaurants. Di and I liked our chances of getting a green drink in this spot! The standard investigation of our local area was undertaken. We had some delicious fare for lunch at Red Neds Gourmet Pies. My favourite aspect was that you could pay a little extra and get mashed potato (one of my favourite things, sung in a Julie Andrews voice) on top of any pie...noice! It went nicely with my kangaroo teriyaki pie. While Mark and Di went on a walk up to the look out I did yoga on the marina hidden as best I could between the boats. The afternoon passed happily and suddenly it was time for cocktails at one of the upstairs bars before heading to a restaurant for dinner. Another happy day in the life of a cruiser. Oh and guess who has a new camera...extra photos today!
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| Rob and I (btw its windy okay!) |
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