Said goodbye to Port Macquarie around 10 in the morning in order to get the tide across the bar. And because it was a short sail (around 50 nautical miles) to our next destination Cape Hawke or Forster as it’s called we figured to get there in plenty of daylight. Cape Hawke, however turned into another potential disaster crossing that bar. We had to abandon the attempt and settle for the next half-descent anchorage which was Broughton Island. Another 35 NM putting us in there around midnight. The trip down was a little concerning as we had started to develop an issue with Henry, the automatic pilot. Henry started making some real clunking noises so we had to hand steer at night with 30 knots of wind behind us. We took turns at the wheel so it wasn’t too much of a burden on either of us. Got into Broughton Island finding the northern anchorage with no difficulty without really knowing anything about our surroundings. In he morning we saw how close we had come on our first attempt to anchor.
Next day we did the 25nm to Newcastle. We had to go up the river a short distance to an 
anchorage or pay the $85 for one night in the marina. Up the river we went. Quiet anchorage and we were out the next morning before light in order to make the next 50nm to Pittwater where we would moor the boat at the Royal Motor Yacht Club for 4 days over Xmas.
All the way down the coast the air was filled with smoke and the deck was getting covered in ashWe had to close all the hatches while we anchored across from the marina.
Pittwater is a very busy boating area. Sailboats, motor boats, seaplanes, kayakers, swimmers, you name it. Navigated the seaway without crashing into anybody.
Hand steering in 30 kts at night!!!….that sounds a tad stressful – glad you made it to the next stop without incident. Interesting VJJ rock!