10. Yamba to Southport - Tues 17 May (90nm)

I went to yoga again this morning, after a somewhat ruckus start.  Up at 5.30am I packed all my things including my water bottle into my backpack as usual.  When I noticed a pool of water on my sleeping bag I suspected something was wrong, top not on the water bottle properly...oops!   So quickly unloaded everything and grabbed the bare essentials to carry.  Threw the backpack into the head and mopped up the spilt water.  Quietly crept off the boat only to realise I had forgotten my phone.  I crept back on the boat and accidently upended my backpack looking for my phone and everything toppled out onto the floor.  So much for sneaking around quietly!!  I walked along the river path and again I wished I had taken my camera as the sun was rising behind some impressive clouds, sail boats bathed in darkness and the planets were visible in the sky.  A beautiful peaceful scene.  I used this as my focus for yoga.  A more challenging class this morning which was good.  I had not realised how stiff I had gotten!  After yoga I walked on the beach, wanting to feel the wet sand beneath my feet again.  The water was warm as I paddled in the shallows watching Southpaw leave from the breakwater.  The sun shone brilliantly over the beach and warmed me as I walked from one end to the other.  Finally I dragged myself away and enjoyed the walk back to the boat along the river.

I had breakfast at the Marina Cafe in the sun again while Mark and Di were off tackling some Di size waves on their boogie boards!  Our last activities here in Yamba before we headed off to Southport.  After some lunch we organised ourselves for our overnight trip and left about 3pm.  The winds were light and swells low.  To make it through the night we ran shifts.  As there were 3 of us we decided on 2 hours on deck for each person, then 4 hours off watch to catch some zzzzs.  It was pretty easy going, Max (the autohelm) kept us on track and keeping a look out was easy, made so by the brilliant full moon which was the highlight of the night.  Er well there was that stray fishing float that seemed to appear a long way off but was actually quite close to the boat, but other than that...:)!  It would have to be the brightest night sailing I have ever done.  I have a thing for moonlight but believe me when I say the moonlight this night was even more beautiful than I had seen before.  Unfortunately the photos didnt work so well but they give you an idea. 

As the moonlight faded and sunrise approached the lights of Southport got brighter and the cityscape of the Gold Coast became more and more visible on the horizon.  It seemed so out of place after the peaceful night we had had at sea!  Originally we were planning on staying at the Southport YC but were not able to get a suitable berth but luckily we were welcomed in at the Marina Mirage which we found out is the home of the super yacht.  Poor Sally, which is actually 44ft long, looked quite small and only really took up a half of the berth we were given.  We wondered what time the sun would shine on us given the height of the decks on the boats around us.  Dont get me wrong we were grateful to have a spot to park!  We were tied up by about 8am so had to fill in some time before "Rooster", the marina manager, was available to give us our keys and book us in.  Rooster is a well known local character apparently and also had a book of his poems available for sale at the marina office.  Christine, the client liaison and concierge for the marina, was very friendly and helpful.  We slowly got familiar with our surroundings....helicopters flying in and out; a floating church; the Palazzo Versace Hotel; restaurants; designer shopping and lots of really big boats for sale!  This would be my last night on the boat so I was looking forward to ending the trip with a green drink (cocktail) or two!