Exploring Cowan Creek and environs...

Yesterday we got up, had a quick swim in America Bay, Nick tinkered with some boat 'stuff', then we went for a little motoring adventure up Cowan Creek.

We went to Cottage Point first, and admired the seaplane and HUGE houses...



Then Nick went ashore in the dinghy, and the kids and I did circles in the channel for 20 minutes. He brought back some petrol, ice, bread and treats :-).

Then we went and had a look in Yeomans Bay, and then to the end of Jerusalem Bay, where we anchored and had lunch. Unfortunately the wind funneling down there was upwards of 20 knots, and the anchor started dragging, so we packed up shop and headed off again. Ryan assisted with the navigation, wearing a pair of the previous owners' sunglasses that he found (which we will also try and return)...


We went right to the end of Smiths Creek, which is a very beautiful and tranquil little place. We spotted a Lagoon 47 called The Classic, who we think is about the same age as Lucey Blue (who was built by Tillotson Pearson Inc. Rhode Island, in 1992) and Nick wanted me to do a slow drive-by so he could take a sticky beak...


Unfortunately all the National Park moorings in Smiths Creek were taken, and as we've dragged the anchor almost every time we've put it down up here, and strong windes were expected, we decided to move along.

We headed further down Cowan Creek, all the way to Bobbin Head. All the moorings were taken along the way, so we turned around and hightailed it back to the good old America and Refuge Bays parking lot...where we picked up a mooring on the Refuge Bay side...for a big change of scenery ;-).

We got there about 5 pm, so we took a quick dinghy ride ashore. Nick found another anchor, unfortunately it wasn't big enough to help solve our dragging problems, so Ryan and Emily used it to plow the beach instead...

Emily steered us back to Lucey Blue...


After dinner the kids and I played hair salons...they did my hair first, but we didn't get a shot of that...oh, that's too bad ;-)


...then a big electric storm hit. I sat in the cockpit for 15 minutes trying to get a shot of the abundant lightning...this is the best I could do...


It POURED down with rain after that, so the decks have all had a good wash down.

I went to bed pretty early last night...but was woken by Nick telling me that the Coastguard had just brought another yacht in to the bay! I hope they are ok...but not sure that it warranted a wake-up call ;-).

It looks like it is going to be a rainy day today...so we might do some exploring up the Haweksbury (where we can't go very far due to the rail bridge), and perhaps around Umina.....or maybe we'll just chill out here!

:-)
Sam.