Sailing Archives - Mel On The Go

Cruising From Gold Coast to Brisbane

After a week enjoying the fun activities in Gold Coast, we started sailing north. We’re trying to get to the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef where it’s warm even in the winter. The East Coast of Australia is ideal cruising grounds. We only need to sail a couple hours between stops because there are so many nice anchorages. Cruising from Gold Coast to Brisbane is about choosing which beautiful anchorage to stop in and for how long. Here’s where we went.

Leaving Gold Coast

The first leg of the trip, leaving Gold Coast, was the trickiest part. Depths are shallow in the inlet, and you’ve got to take care with shifting sands and tides. A superyacht which was also docked at Southport Yacht Club when we were there went aground in the area just north of the marina.

Sunday afternoon is a busy time to be in the Gold Coast Broadwater, and that’s exactly when we left the marina. The bay was full of pleasure boats, other yachts, jet skis, tour boats, and fishing craft. We were behind the wheel the entire time navigating all the obstacles.

sand bar, pelicans, Gold Coast — Sand bar in the Gold Coast Broadwater

Once we got several miles outside of Gold Coast, the traffic eased significantly. Later that first day, we had to navigate underneath electric wires crossing the bay between the mainland and Stradbroke Island, which was a little nervewracking. We don’t often have to navigate under wires, but we did it!

The Sail from New Zealand to Australia

I am still recovering from the sail from New Zealand to Australia. It was one of our longest passages and a challenging trip. The good news is we made it, and are now basking in the warm sun in Australia!

The Route from New Zealand to Australia

Our sail from New Zealand to Australia covered over 1200 nautical miles. We departed from Bay of Islands Marina in Opua, New Zealand aiming for Southport Yacht Club in Gold Coast, Australia.

Map sailing from New Zealand to Australia — Our route across the Tasman from New Zealand to Australia

Our route took us from the Pacific Ocean north up the east coast of New Zealand and then west along the north of New Zealand into the Tasman Sea to Australia. The Tasman Sea, known as “The Ditch” in sailing circles, is infamously rough due to the currents of the Southern Ocean colliding with those of the Pacific. So yes, we expected rough wind and waves and that’s what we got.

Rough Seas

From the first day until near the end of our passage, the waves were like a washing machine. Also known as confused seas, the waves came from every direction. To make it even more uncomfortable, there was no break between waves. The incessant confused waves made me sick a few times the first night and next morning, and I continued to feel sick for a couple more days. It wasn’t until late on the third day that I felt human enough to spend time inside the boat and to eat anything besides crackers.

A rainbow on the sail from New Zealand to Australia — We saw a few rainbows on the passage.

We’re Sailing to Australia

After over six months exploring beautiful New Zealand, we’re sailing to Australia. It’s always hard to leave a place as welcoming and wonderful as New Zealand has been, but we’ll always have the memories, photos, and friendships we’ve made here. After short hops in New Zealand, the Go crew is ready for the next voyage.

rear view from our sailboat, islands, wake — We’re leaving New Zealand behind and sailing to Australia

Why We’re Sailing to Australia

We are going to Australia for a few reasons.

First, we have a few friends living there who we want to see. Friends we met our first year cruising, and friends we met in Panama. Second, all the things to see and do in Australia, including great sailing, beautiful reefs, and great wildlife. We’ll finally see kangaroos and koalas! Last, we’ve never been there. But now we’re sailing to Australia and should be there soon.

Our cat is the reason we’re going straight to Australia non-stop. Having Domino on board was easy until we got to Fiji, when it got ridiculously difficult. Ever since last July, we have to go through bureaucratic hoops to make sure Domino is allowed in country.

Sailing Around Auckland

Auckland is known as The City of Sails. So many boats sail and anchor in the waters around New Zealand’s biggest city. The islands and bays near Auckland are some great cruising grounds. We enjoyed sailing around Auckland.

Getting to Auckland by Boat

We sailed from Fiji to Whangarei, New Zealand in November, and spent a few months in the marina there. With friends on board in late December, we took our catamaran to several anchorages before berthing in Auckland for a couple of nights.

The anchorages were varied except for a few things: they were all beautiful, very busy with mostly Kiwi boats, and had good holding. Finding a place to anchor is easy. Being a liveaboard is relatively painless when you’re sailing around Auckland.

sailing around Auckland map — The waterways between Whangarei and around Auckland

We spent most of our time motoring or motor sailing around Auckland. The winds were not strong, but they were mostly with us, at least. We chose not to sail further south because the winds get a lot stronger, and further south there are nowhere near as many places to anchor.

Five Nights in Niue

Discovering a truly special place is one of my favorite aspects of this nomadic seafaring life. We recently sailed from French Polynesia to the compact island nation of Niue, spent five nights in Niue and loved every minute of our short visit there!

About Niue

I hadn’t even heard of Niue a few months ago, and that’s not surprising. Most of its visitors and many of its residents hail from New Zealand. However small, Niue is an impressive country. It left its mark on us!

Niue, which means “Behold the Coconut,” is pronounced Nyoo-Ay.

Niue is a ruggedly beautiful country in the South Pacific Ocean. Itis defined by dramatic high cliffs, which we could see as we approached by boat. This explains why Niue is also known as the Rock of Polynesia.

Looking at Niue from the water. High rugged cliffs, caves, and no beaches

For sailors, Niue has one safe bay on the western side of the island near the town of Alofi. The bay is very deep almost right next to shore (the cliffs), so Niue’s yacht club installed moorings for boats to tie to for their stay. We were one of the first boats there after several years of Covid lockdowns, so it was exciting for us and the people of Niue!

Continue reading “Five Nights in Niue”

Category: Sailing

Cruising From Gold Coast to Brisbane

Leaving Gold Coast

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