It is funny how staying in marinas has never been our thing; they are expensive, they can be noisy and we’d much rather be anchored in the wild! And yet our time at the Batemans Bay Marina has been really pleasant; we each secretly found we were actually enjoying ourselves and finally admitted this to each other with a sheepish look. I guess when you have gear problems and it is winter, access to facilities makes a big difference to your comfort levels. However our stay here is coming to an end. We are now ready to go. So let us share with you what has happened over the last week.
Rudder Saga
Take It Easy was supposed to be hauled out on hard stand to attend to the last bit of fiddling with the rudder and while we were at it some touch up paint. But with the only cradle for catamarans being used by a house boat and the work on it taking much longer than planned, we would have had to wait for another week at least, not something we wanted to do. We talked to Peter Snell, the designer of the Easy Catamarans and maker of Take It Easy, who suggested two options to adjust the rudder post: rim out the bottom bearing or shave a bit off the stainless steel post. “If the rudder turns, it is only a tiny fraction out”. We decided to go for sanding the outside of the stock. The only hassle: Wade would have to jump in the water to remove the rudder, then give it to Sam the shipwright to file a bit away. The post was somewhat recalcitrant and it took a couple of goes, but it finally worked, and the rudder is back in place and moving much more easily. We should have done that from the onset, but it is easy to be smart in hindsight! A big thank you to Sam and Daniel at the Marina for their patience and assistance.
We were starting to fret about our anchor which had not yet arrived, but it turned up at the last hour. We had forgotten how big it was! You’d think we would have found that in the sand at Broulee, woudn’t you?
Pleasures of Batemans Bay
One of the pleasures of being in Batemans Bay is that an exciting new event took place while we were here: The “Sculpture on Clyde” exhibition graced the town and the river foreshore. Large artistic pieces made of steel, bronze, copper, aluminium, stone, wood and ceramic were on display. Some of the pieces were absolutely stunning. If interested, have a look at the beautiful work on Sculpture on Clyde on Instagram or on Facebook.
We particularly liked the work of Jesse Graham:
Buoyansea
Every day we went for walks for a couple of hours, enjoying the foreshores. We really like this region, with its mix of hills, expansive water views and islands. And the seafood here is to die for. We indulged in the local oysters and prawns!
And now we are heading off further north, towards Ulladulla, Jervis Bay and the Heads of the Shoalhaven River. As usual we will see what the weather lets us do before the wind shifts from southerly to northerly over the weekend.
Here is a gallery of what we have enjoyed during our 10 days at Batemans Bay.
Sv-Anui 
Yay, great news all around! Happy and safe navigating. ❤️
Thanks John!
Amazing art work! Thank you for the photos!
Hi guys – we were really impressed! Glad you enjoyed them.
Hurray! There you go! I’m happy for you, even when you adapted to spending some days at the marina. It’s not something that wasn’t planned originally. I think that you must be happy to continue your journey shortly. I wish for you… A pleasant sailing, let the good winds propel your vessel to reach your destination. 🙂
Thanks HJ – we are glad to be on the move again!
It’s a pity you’re leaving. You tempt us to jump in the car and nip up for a visit. It looks like a nice place and we love a sculpture by the sea.
Hi Ann & Greg! It really is a lovely area and the exhibition is amazing. It finishes on Sunday. We are heading of this afternoon with the high tide … no tempting fate with a low tide departure! Intending to anchor at Snapper Rock, still in the bay, for an early start tomorrow – destination Jervis Bay!
Happy to hear you are underway again and all bits and pieces working. It was not such a bad place to be if you were stuck. Very good of the locals to put on a sculpture show for you and keeping the seafood supplies up. Happy sailing and hope the sun is shining on you.
Thanks Ann! We would easily come back to this Marina for maintenance in the future! And yes the sculptures were magic! Inaugural exhibition which is sure to get bigger each year.
Beautiful photos I will make point at calling in there it looks relaxing thanks for the update take care
Hi Dianne, it is a really nice spot and the sculpture exhibition was a bonus.
Glad you got your rudder issues sorted! Safe travels x
Thanks Viki – we’ll keep right away from sandbars!
We spent some time in Bateman’s Bay when I was a kid, I don’t really remember it much, but it is a place I’ve wanted to go back to.
Glad things have got sorted and you will be on your way soon.
Hi Leanne – worth a visit. The whole south coast of NSW is very scenic with wild shores, and a network of rivers and lakes. We are heading off at high tide today and hiding behind Snapper Island overnight (still in the bay) then off early tomorrow to Jervis Bay or the Heads of the Shoalhaven River, before the northerlies arrive.
Nice shots!
Thanks Janis
Glad you enjoyed the unplanned stop! Good luck on the next leg!
Thanks Craig!
Love the sceptres, what a good exhibition. Like the one on the cliffs in Sydney. From the map it looks like you are bypassing Jervis Bay? Been thinking about your arrival. I am taking Pepa to Di’s probably on Thurs so Patonga or on the Brisbane water sounds good as I do not particularly want to drive back and forth to Sydney. What do you think?
Hi Sue, we are not sure when we are going to get there – end of next week at the earliest. Patonga is only OK on a northerly which is not what we will come in on, and we haven’t been on the Brisbane waters so not sure, but we will call you.