Port Macquarie is a lovely little coastal town with a storied past as a penal colony from back in the early 1800’s. We had set off from Coffs Harbour later in the morning and knew that the timing would put us there early the next morning. The overnight sail was uneventful except for the dolphins that showed up on my watch. At first you think that you are hearing things as they splash and blow air from their blowholes, then when you look over you see the dolphins in the water and they are lit up from the phosphorescence. Awesome sight! They stayed and played around the boat for a good 45 minutes.

Port Macquarie also has a notorious bar that needs to be crossed at the right time. Arrived ahead of first light so waited outside the entrance until daylight, but we knew we needed to cross before the winds picked up and sure enough it did. Crossed the bar without any problem and chose to carry on up the river to anchor for the night. Relaxing anchorage with the winds howling at 25 knots.

Next morning headed to the marina where we had booked in for the night and if we had of thought it through our better option was the FREE mooring ball outside the marina. No harm as we had a wash down of the boat. A trip into the local mall for some supplies. We walked down the foreshore to the entrance over the bar for a little exercise. It was very interesting how they allow people to paint the rocks. A lot were dedications to past friends others were family holiday notices.

In the evening we caught up with our new found friends, Mike and Helen aboard Nika. Had a great evening, a couple of bottles of wine and a few interesting stories. We hope to catch up with them again in Pittwater.