We've been sailing for long enough to know that occasionally, things go pear shape. When they do, it's a matter of limiting the damage. You can't prevent or foresee all of the challenges while cruising, merely hope to limit the damage.
As predicted, we had a rolly night at Trial Bay. The plan was to get some sleep after the leg from Camden Haven and to simply lift anchor if it became too uncomfortable. As it happened, the Northerly came a little earlier than expected and so at 3.00 am we decided to get going.
Unfortunately, the port engine emitted all sorts of grinding noises when I attempted to start it. It soon became clear that we would have to do without it. Luckily, catamarans have built-in redundancy and so we still had our trusty starboard Volvo. Getting away on one engine is a little tricky as the boat spins until it achieves enough boat speed for the rudders to become effective. So we decided to wait until first light before lifting anchor.
At dawn, we hoisted the mainsail and made a successful get away. It was a longer day than expected (NE at 20Knots) and we were pretty tired by the time we got to Coffs Harbour. Our assigned spot was at the end of C arm, which gave us at just one shot at getting tied up while we were on only one engine. It proved to be tricky - as the boat slowed, the wind caught it and we missed the marina at our first attempt. As was to be expected, all further attempts were futile with only one engine. We crab crawled down the channel past C and B arms and found a bit of sand. As luck would have it, we stranded opposite A arm. Fellow Cruiser Mike Quinn and the Marina Manager were a great help and with some judicious rope and winch work, Te Moana was soon alongside A arm. Of course we had an attentive audience as a yachtie making a spectacle is always popular with crowds.
Next time we'll call the marina ahead of time and have a few folks standing by before we attempt this again. And now we'll wait for a mechanic to get the port engine going again before proceeding to Yamba. [No boats were harmed in the telling of this story and thankfully, no photos or video are known to exist - just in case you had ideas, Leon]
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