Sailing down the east coast Gold Coast to Geelong

Recommend you get Alan Lucas' Cruising the NSW Coast. Lots of information on anchorages from north to south.

If you're happy to use casual berths in marinas, then the Cruising Yacht Club of Newcastle is good, and has showers and washing and drying machines, fuel and water and pump out facilities. Walking distance to shops. There's also a new marina at Shell Cove (near Shellharbour) about 50 NM south of Sydney, which has a supermarket in easy walking distance. Its a bit of a soulless place, but fine for an overnight stop with facilities. 140NM South of Sydney there's Batemans Bay Marina. That requires a bar crossing, but the leads are good, and for 1.8m you may need to cross after at least the halfway mark of the incoming tide, depending on the tidal height. There's a public courtesy mooring inside (West of) Snapper Island where you can tie up if you need to wait for the tide. South of Batemans the next major stop is Eden/Twofold Bay. No marina (they're still trying to find a developer to develop one), but you can tie up at the fisherman's wharf, or if there's a southerly and no explosives being loaded at the Navy dock, better to anchor close in at East Boyd Bay.

If you need to shelter from a southerly further North, there're places to anchor or get on courtesy moorings in Jervis Bay, and north of Beecroft Head, or in Ulladulla fisherman's harbour, for example. Also you can drop anchor in Gunnamatta Bay in Port Hacking, south of Botany Bay, or there's a courtesy mooring off Bundeena Beach in Port Hacking that should be OK in a Southerly if it is not a spring tide or close to a spring tide. In some tides you may be down to a foot or so under your keel on that mooring, so you may prefer anchoring in Gunnamatta Bay. You could also try approaching the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Gunnamatta Bay about casual overnighting on the end of their dock, but not certain they'd agree.

You should factor the Australian East Coast Current into your calculations when heading South along the NSW Coast. It can add a knot or two to your VMG, depending whether you're close in or a bit further out.

Below from chart notes:
"During the period November to April, lobster fishing takes place between Port Stephens (32 degrees 45 minutes S) and Bermagui (36 degress 30 mins S); and for the period January to June between Evans Head (29 degrees 05 mins S) and Port Stephens (32 degrees 45 mins S). When passage permits, mariners are requested to transit outside the 200 metre contour."

There are also humpbacks that can sleep just below/on the surface, but you'd be unlucky to strike one. Some suggest keeping your depth sounder on may let them know you're coming, but that could also be a complete furphy.

I have no experience of the stretches North of Newcastle (ie Port Stephens for example) and South of Eden or the coast of Vic. That said, you need to be aware of the shipping channel along the Vic coast, and the oil rigs off the Vic coast North East of Bass Strait.

The prevailing weather in Bass Strait is westerlies, often quite strong. Suggest you'd be best to wait in Eden/Twofold until you get more favourable winds to make a dash along the Vic coast to Port Phillip heads.

Excellent thank you both for the advice.