Stockton - Tuff Trip
July 2005

Written by Max Pegler.

This month was listed as Jenolan State Forest. With all the rain in the prior week, it wasn’t looking good. But then again, it is in the Warragamba catchment area, so it could be bone dry..

A couple of phone calls with our local spy Herve confirmed it had been snowing, it was very boggy underfoot, and no chance of drying out. So Jenolan gets postponed.

And everywhere else would have been closed or too boggy as well. Except Stockton. So, emails to everyone, and we change destination.

Checking the tides consisted of grabbing a newspaper at the Maccas meeting place. So far so good.

We headed up to Anna Bay taking the 1970s route across Newcastle, over the Stockton Bridge to get a glimpse of the Sygna wreck away to the north. The beach is a first for the TT group, although the club has been there many many times before.

So, refuel, grab some coffee and beach permits at Anna Bay, and onto the beach proper we go. I can’t say that we’ve lowered tyre pressures in front of a group of camels before.

We drove the full length of the beach, down to the wreck.. The usual beach fisherman not watching the traffic, some idiots driving way too fast, and on the wrong side of the “road” . Bit that’s normal unfortunately. As is illegal pippi collection, but it continues quite openly.

The Sygna is a bit sad and sorry these days. She ran aground in 1976 or 1977 when all shipping was ordered 20 miles out to sea for an impending storm. The Sygna stayed put in the usual spot about 5 miles out, and dragged anchor stern first into the beach. And there she sat for some months, the subject of union black bans. The vessel owners made the mistake of trying to refloat her as quickly as possible.

I can’t remember now whether the Sygna broke up, or the bow half was floated off during the recovery when it eventually got underway. Anyway, the bow half was moored in Nelson Bay for ages. I had just got a boat licence them and remember ferrying friends out to have a close-up look.. I remember even more distinctly the air horns of the Water Police for the first time!

The Sygna was a minor celebrity in Newcastle and surrounds by then. It got a lot of media coverage. By the time the recoveries were attempted on the high tides, it was of course all too late. And the stern section remains there today.

The bow half was eventually towed out to sea with a bit of fanfare, its intended destination being Taiwan’s wreckers. But she didn’t make it, and sank off Lord Howe. Maybe Norfolk.

So for us in 2005, the Sygna is a landmark (what’s the nautical equivalent? Not watermark!) and a coffee stop. No overheating cars today. After that we head north again, back through the sand hills, past the tin city. Always entertaining when Paul is leading.

Lunch was in the beer garden of the Anna Bay Tavern. Very pleasant indeed, these tuff trips can be strenuous.

After a late lunch, we explored the dunes at the northern end, with a view to wandering south and exiting via Lavis Lane. We watched some tourist groups on boogie boards, but the sand was too damp for anything spectacular. Paul, Chris & Gordon recovered a Ford Territory that was well and truly bogged.

And we needed a bit of self recovery in places. It was hard to pick just where the really soft stuff was going to be.

Right at the end we unfortunately got split up, which delayed getting off the beach for a few minutes. After that it was refuel, air up, and home down the F3.

All in all a fun day. We had a couple who hadn’t driven on sand before, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Even young Logan using an esky lid as a boogie board. No car trouble, no tyre trouble.

We’ll be going back soon.