THE RIGHT WAY ROUND (3rd Edition)

Onboard Fair Dinkum – Bass Strait (Gabo Island) to Bermegui & beyond, NSW.

Brief phone call from ‘Fair Dinkum’ today about 20nm from Bermegui, at anchor off  W…….Island tonight (Monday) and making a dash for port before the bad weather everyone has been experiencing in Melbourne hits us tomorrow……more next time.

Another ‘Gem’ from Gerr..ard the Gent. 

‘Coming out of the slush of Gabo we had 15-20knots on the nose and 3-4mtr seas.  It took us 9 hours to do 40nm, motor sailing……topped off by copping a side wave when crossing the bar into Bermagui.....we were three very wet and sodden sailors rafting up to one of the trawlers in the harbor.  Yes you guessed it…the sun came out once we were squared away!’

BERMAGUI, NSW (pop. 1500) is a fishing village and angling resort. 

Scenically impressive are its backdrop of hills (Mount Dromedary) and its rugged coast.  Bermagui has long been a fishermen’s paradise, and in the 1930’s became known internationally after much publicity by the American sportsman and famous western novelist, Zane Grey.

The town is surrounded by secluded surf beaches, estuaries, wetlands and coastal lagoons, with Mount Dromedary watching over the scene.  The continental shelf is at its closest point to the mainland of Australia at Bermagui and many charter boats operate deep sea, dive and game fishing trips where black marlin and a chase of yellow fin tuna are regular events.

EDEN, N.S.W.   Latitude 37° 04.5 S; Longitude 149° 56.5 E.

Entrance depth into bay is 36 metres.  Width of bay is 5 km wide.  Bottom sand. MHWS 1.6m. MLWS 0.3m.  The excellent natural harbor is on Twofold Bay.  Eden (pop. 3270), is now the most important fishing port on the south coast. 

Did you know #3?

The Port of Eden is the most southern declared Port in NSW, and services the south coast of NSW, and it is home to one of the largest fishing fleets in NSW.  This is one of the few places in the world that Humpback Whales feed on their migratory route.  The waters are rich with krill and the whales quite often stop and feed.  The fact that so many species of whales can be seen in these waters and that they travel close to shores makes Eden an ideal place for whale watching.

There is a multi-purpose wharf that has a length of 200 metres that is shared with the Department of Defence.  Since its completion, it has handled not only Warship visits, but Logging and Cruise Ships.

GABO ISLAND light seemed to be with us for ever.  As the swell rose and the confusion of the opposing wave forms grew, we were looking forward to just “heading north”.  Green Point lighthouse came into view and our goal seemed to be within sight.  The opposing tidal flow in this area had us going backwards at times, even though we were motor-sailing at 6.5kts.  We eventually rounded Red Point and into Eden’s Twofold Bay. It was grand entrance.

Quote of the Week is from William Arthur Ward –

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails”.