Start Loc: The Narrows (23o 36.79'S, 151o 02.60'E)
Narrative: Given there was strong wind warning for this area in place all day today, and it was blowing 25-30kts outside Curtis Island, we made the right decision to stay inside Curtis Island and come through The Narrows.
We sat at anchor this morning waiting for the tide to come in. The Narrows has a 6nm or so stretch in the middle that dries at low tide, in some places to 2.5m at LAT. The rule of thumb is that you need a tide of 1.5m plus draught, based on Gladstone. High tide at Cattle Crossing is about 30 minutes after high tide at Gladstone and 15-25% higher, depending how conservative you want to be.
We passed through The Narrows on our way north on 30th July with a Gladstone high tide of 3.5m, and showed a least depth of 2.1m as we went through. High tide today was 3.3m at 1:30pm, so we had enough water.
We raised the anchor at 12:39pm and motored towards the drying area. Just before 1:00pm, an hour before high tide and with roughly 20cm to still come in, we started through. Half an hour later we were past the shallowest part and nearly out of the drying area. The sounder showed us a least depth of 1.8m.
Clear of The Narrows and coming in to the Gladstone pilotage area, we checked in with Gladstone Harbour Control (VHF 13), pulled out some head sail and switched the motor off. The wind was E at 15-20kts, so we sailed SE towards the main part of the harbour. It was good for 30 minutes or so but then the wind was too much on our bow, so we furled the head sail and motored again.
We stayed out of the main shipping area by passing between Passage Islands and Curtis Island. They are doing a lot of development work in this part of the harbour and we would have had less traffic if we had been in the main channel area.
We came around Hamilton Point about 3:15pm and looked for an anchorage on the lee side of Tide Island. While it was protected enough, it was 15m plus deep until it shelved to 5m about 15m off the island. It was no good for anchoring so we moved and had a look at the lee side of Picnic Island. It had a swell running south to north, so we decided we would give the marina a try.
Heather tried calling the marina on the radio just after 4:00pm, but VMR responded to tell us they had knocked off early. We tried phoning, but there was no answering machine to give us an after hours mobile number or similar. We decided we would go into Auckland Creek and see if there was anywhere suitable to anchor, and if there wasn't we would then have a look at the marina.
There was no room to anchor in Auckland Creek. The public jetty was an overnight option, but it was possibly not the night to be tied to a public jetty, so we headed in to the marina. After motoring around and having a look at a few berth options and trying to anchor in the poor holding mud near the swing buoys, a bloke called us over and pointed us to a corner berth that he knew was vacant. We tied up there at 5:03pm.
The kids went and checked out the marina office for us, but there was nothing giving us an after hours point of contact. One of the other blokes lent us his key so we could use the showers, and we were invited to join a few other yachties for a barbecue and drinks. We got cleaned up and spent the evening swapping stories until we welcomed the new year.
End Loc: Gladstone Marina (23o 49.96'S, 151o 14.62'E)
Distance run: 21nm (cumulative: 2800nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 13 min (cumulative: 111 hr, 28 min)
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Friday, 30 December 2011
30th December, 2011
Start Loc: Great Keppel Island (23o 09.81'S, 150o 57.30'E)
Narrative: The forecasts had not changed this morning so we stuck with our revised plan. There were almost 20 boats anchored with us at Great Keppel last night which is the most boats we have seen outside a marina in well over a week. Given the time of year, we have been surprised at the lack of cruising boats getting around. Anyway, we were the only boat showing any signs of leaving the shelter of Great Keppel.
We raised the anchor at 9:34am and motored out of the bay. We pulled out 110% head sail to sail east across the top of the island then put it away again to motor around the east side. Seas were around 2m on top of a 1.5m swell, and it was rough going.
After clearing Bald Rock we raised sail again in SE winds at around 15kts. We sailed on a port tack as close to the wind as we could, a little west of south. Being under sail sat the boat down in the water a little better so the ride became more comfortable. We passed west of Hannah Rock and east of Humpy Island, heading towards the safe water fairway buoy at the start of the channel into Port Alma.
As we sailed the wind increased in strength to around 20kts and swung to the E so we were able to sail exactly where we wanted. When we rounded Sea Hill we came into the lee of Curtis Island and the waves settled a little. I made the comment to Heather that it had been an enjoyable day of sailing. We managed to sail down through The Narrows to Division Point and then motored to Badger Creek (on the west side of Curtis Island) which was our chosen anchorage for the night.
We spent a little over 30 minutes in five failed attempts at anchoring. The anchor kept dragging through the soft mud and would not bite into the thicker stuff underneath. I gave up in frustration and moved another mile and a half south to an unnamed creek to anchor there. After two failed attempts there (and a bit of swearing) we moved back out into the main channel and anchored there. The anchor bit first time and after an hour of stuffing around I was finally able to declare us anchored at 4:32pm.
We are only a couple of miles north of the drying part of The Narrows, so we will have a lazy morning tomorrow waiting for the tide to come in. Parts of The Narrows dry to more than 2 metres so it is important to time your crossing carefully. High tide is around 1:30pm, so we will be ready to cross through then. We will likely spend tomorrow night anchored inside Facing Island, just out of Gladstone.
End Loc: The Narrows (23o 36.79'S, 151o 02.60'E)
Distance run: 34nm (cumulative: 2779nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 23 min (cumulative: 107 hr, 15 min)
Narrative: The forecasts had not changed this morning so we stuck with our revised plan. There were almost 20 boats anchored with us at Great Keppel last night which is the most boats we have seen outside a marina in well over a week. Given the time of year, we have been surprised at the lack of cruising boats getting around. Anyway, we were the only boat showing any signs of leaving the shelter of Great Keppel.
We raised the anchor at 9:34am and motored out of the bay. We pulled out 110% head sail to sail east across the top of the island then put it away again to motor around the east side. Seas were around 2m on top of a 1.5m swell, and it was rough going.
After clearing Bald Rock we raised sail again in SE winds at around 15kts. We sailed on a port tack as close to the wind as we could, a little west of south. Being under sail sat the boat down in the water a little better so the ride became more comfortable. We passed west of Hannah Rock and east of Humpy Island, heading towards the safe water fairway buoy at the start of the channel into Port Alma.
As we sailed the wind increased in strength to around 20kts and swung to the E so we were able to sail exactly where we wanted. When we rounded Sea Hill we came into the lee of Curtis Island and the waves settled a little. I made the comment to Heather that it had been an enjoyable day of sailing. We managed to sail down through The Narrows to Division Point and then motored to Badger Creek (on the west side of Curtis Island) which was our chosen anchorage for the night.
We spent a little over 30 minutes in five failed attempts at anchoring. The anchor kept dragging through the soft mud and would not bite into the thicker stuff underneath. I gave up in frustration and moved another mile and a half south to an unnamed creek to anchor there. After two failed attempts there (and a bit of swearing) we moved back out into the main channel and anchored there. The anchor bit first time and after an hour of stuffing around I was finally able to declare us anchored at 4:32pm.
We are only a couple of miles north of the drying part of The Narrows, so we will have a lazy morning tomorrow waiting for the tide to come in. Parts of The Narrows dry to more than 2 metres so it is important to time your crossing carefully. High tide is around 1:30pm, so we will be ready to cross through then. We will likely spend tomorrow night anchored inside Facing Island, just out of Gladstone.
End Loc: The Narrows (23o 36.79'S, 151o 02.60'E)
Distance run: 34nm (cumulative: 2779nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 23 min (cumulative: 107 hr, 15 min)
Thursday, 29 December 2011
29th December, 2011
Start Loc: Rosslyn Bay (23o 09.75'S, 150o 47.26'E)
Narrative: We borrowed the marina's courtesy car yesterday to do the groceries. This is the only marina we have come across that have such a car. The next closest is Mackay who have a car you can rent. A courtesy car makes it very easy to get the groceries done.
We also changed our plan slightly in that we decided today we would head for Great Keppel Island and see how the weather was looking for the next few days, rather than try to sail the 32nm to Cape Capricorn, straight into wind. That decided, we were in no great rush to leave and it was just before 10:00am that we moved from our berth around to the fuel wharf to fill up.
Refuelled: 81.48L @ 153.0c/L = $124.66
Economy since 16 Dec: 81.48L for 30 hr 39 min = 2.66L/hr
Economy overall: 603.04L for 298 hr 01 min = 2.02L/hr
As expected, this was our least economical period so far and took our economy ofr the trip over 2L per hour. The trip from Mackay to Curlew Island chewed a lot of fuel beating into wind and waves.
We left the fuel wharf at 10:21am and motored out of the marina. The bearing to Cape Capricorn was 120 degrees magnetic, and that is exactly where the wind was blowing from, so we were glad we decided to head to Great Keppel. The wind was 15-20kts and we sailed close hauled with a reef in the main and the head sail at 110%. It was an uneventful trip and we anchored on the north side of Great Keppel Island at 12:47pm.
After lunch we had a relaxing afternoon where we all lazed around and read. Cameron and I took the dinghy ashore for a bit and played on the beach, and Cam took the dinghy for a spin when we got back, but that was as active as we got. It was very pleasant.
We checked the latest forecasts again this evening and it is not looking good. The plan was to head out to Heron Island (55nm from Great Keppel) and then travel SE through the Capricorn and Bunker groups of islands, including Lady Musgrave. Unfortunately, the forecast for the next few days is SE winds at 20-30kts. It will be hard to get there in the first instance and probably not real comfortable in the second.
Lady Musgrave is the island/lagoon that we really want to visit, so we have decided we will sail south from here (which we should be able to do in SE winds) to the north west corner of Curtis Island tomorrow, pass through The Narrows between Curtis Island and the mainland on Saturday, then on to Pancake Creek, and from there we will sail E to Lady Musgrave Island. We will basically stay inshore during the strong winds and hopefully they will settle down a bit over the few days.
End Loc: Great Keppel Island (23o 09.81'S, 150o 57.30'E)
Distance run: 12nm (cumulative: 2745nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 18 min (cumulative: 103 hr, 52 min)
Narrative: We borrowed the marina's courtesy car yesterday to do the groceries. This is the only marina we have come across that have such a car. The next closest is Mackay who have a car you can rent. A courtesy car makes it very easy to get the groceries done.
We also changed our plan slightly in that we decided today we would head for Great Keppel Island and see how the weather was looking for the next few days, rather than try to sail the 32nm to Cape Capricorn, straight into wind. That decided, we were in no great rush to leave and it was just before 10:00am that we moved from our berth around to the fuel wharf to fill up.
Refuelled: 81.48L @ 153.0c/L = $124.66
Economy since 16 Dec: 81.48L for 30 hr 39 min = 2.66L/hr
Economy overall: 603.04L for 298 hr 01 min = 2.02L/hr
As expected, this was our least economical period so far and took our economy ofr the trip over 2L per hour. The trip from Mackay to Curlew Island chewed a lot of fuel beating into wind and waves.
We left the fuel wharf at 10:21am and motored out of the marina. The bearing to Cape Capricorn was 120 degrees magnetic, and that is exactly where the wind was blowing from, so we were glad we decided to head to Great Keppel. The wind was 15-20kts and we sailed close hauled with a reef in the main and the head sail at 110%. It was an uneventful trip and we anchored on the north side of Great Keppel Island at 12:47pm.
After lunch we had a relaxing afternoon where we all lazed around and read. Cameron and I took the dinghy ashore for a bit and played on the beach, and Cam took the dinghy for a spin when we got back, but that was as active as we got. It was very pleasant.
We checked the latest forecasts again this evening and it is not looking good. The plan was to head out to Heron Island (55nm from Great Keppel) and then travel SE through the Capricorn and Bunker groups of islands, including Lady Musgrave. Unfortunately, the forecast for the next few days is SE winds at 20-30kts. It will be hard to get there in the first instance and probably not real comfortable in the second.
Lady Musgrave is the island/lagoon that we really want to visit, so we have decided we will sail south from here (which we should be able to do in SE winds) to the north west corner of Curtis Island tomorrow, pass through The Narrows between Curtis Island and the mainland on Saturday, then on to Pancake Creek, and from there we will sail E to Lady Musgrave Island. We will basically stay inshore during the strong winds and hopefully they will settle down a bit over the few days.
End Loc: Great Keppel Island (23o 09.81'S, 150o 57.30'E)
Distance run: 12nm (cumulative: 2745nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 18 min (cumulative: 103 hr, 52 min)
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
27th December, 2011
Start Loc: Port Clinton (22o 31.07'S, 150o 46.07'E)
Narrative: After dinner last night I went to bed to get a few hours rest before we headed off. While I was asleep, Heather and the kids did the final night sail preparation including fitting the jack stays and getting the harnesses and safety straps ready. I woke up a bit before 10:00pm, we made a brew, and got ready to head off.
We raised the anchor at 10:08pm last night, switched from mooring light to navigation and steaming lights, and motored out past Round Island.
So much for 15-20kts! Just after the tide turned at 11:00pm, we had a NW breeze at about 10kts. Our heading would be SSE until we cleared Cape Manifold just south of Freshwater Bay, then we would turn south. Our SSE heading had us on a training run, so I had no head sail out and one reef in the main (still kind of hoping for 15-20kts). We motor sailed like this for a bit making 4.5kts boat speed and 5kts over ground.
By 11:30pm the breeze had dropped to 8kts and the apparent 6kts could not keep the main full, so we dropped the main and motored under a few more revs, making 5.5kts boat speed and 6.5kts over ground. Heather went to bed to get some sleep and the kids had settled and were sleeping in the cockpit.
At 12:30am the breeze was less than 5kts and the engine kept reliably chugging away. By 1:30am the kids had both retired to their cabins, but more importantly the wind had picked up to around 12kts. I brought out 130% head sail and switched off the engine. The breeze was enough to give us 3.5kts boat speed and with a slightly stronger tide we made 5kts over ground. I was quite happy to sail for a bit, plus we didn't want to arrive at Rosslyn Bay too early. I was aiming to get to the marina at about 5:30am (an hour after low tide) so that we had enough tide to get in and so that we were entering and berthing after sun rise.
The wind didn't last and by 2:30am was back down to 7kts. Heather came up on watch and we dropped the sails and motored again. Although we could easily do over 7kts over ground, we kept the revs down to maintain our arrival time. I left Heather on watch and went to bed for a bit.
I came back on deck at 4:00am as we had North Keppel Island off our port beam. A heap of small boats came out of Rosslyn Bay over the next 90 minutes, making an early start to the public holiday. I was treated to a pleasant sunrise as we motored in, then woke up Heather and the kids about a mile out from the marina. We got the lines and fenders ready, motored in, located our allocated berth, and were moored at 5:37am.
Today is a rest day. We will do some groceries tomorrow, then head off on Thursday 29th December for Cape Capricorn. From there we will head out to Heron Island and Lady Musgrave for a several days before coming back in to Hervey Bay.
End Loc: Rosslyn Bay (23o 09.75'S, 150o 47.26'E)
Distance run: 43nm (cumulative: 2733nm)
Engine hours: 6 hr, 42 min (cumulative: 102 hr, 34 min)
Narrative: After dinner last night I went to bed to get a few hours rest before we headed off. While I was asleep, Heather and the kids did the final night sail preparation including fitting the jack stays and getting the harnesses and safety straps ready. I woke up a bit before 10:00pm, we made a brew, and got ready to head off.
We raised the anchor at 10:08pm last night, switched from mooring light to navigation and steaming lights, and motored out past Round Island.
So much for 15-20kts! Just after the tide turned at 11:00pm, we had a NW breeze at about 10kts. Our heading would be SSE until we cleared Cape Manifold just south of Freshwater Bay, then we would turn south. Our SSE heading had us on a training run, so I had no head sail out and one reef in the main (still kind of hoping for 15-20kts). We motor sailed like this for a bit making 4.5kts boat speed and 5kts over ground.
By 11:30pm the breeze had dropped to 8kts and the apparent 6kts could not keep the main full, so we dropped the main and motored under a few more revs, making 5.5kts boat speed and 6.5kts over ground. Heather went to bed to get some sleep and the kids had settled and were sleeping in the cockpit.
At 12:30am the breeze was less than 5kts and the engine kept reliably chugging away. By 1:30am the kids had both retired to their cabins, but more importantly the wind had picked up to around 12kts. I brought out 130% head sail and switched off the engine. The breeze was enough to give us 3.5kts boat speed and with a slightly stronger tide we made 5kts over ground. I was quite happy to sail for a bit, plus we didn't want to arrive at Rosslyn Bay too early. I was aiming to get to the marina at about 5:30am (an hour after low tide) so that we had enough tide to get in and so that we were entering and berthing after sun rise.
The wind didn't last and by 2:30am was back down to 7kts. Heather came up on watch and we dropped the sails and motored again. Although we could easily do over 7kts over ground, we kept the revs down to maintain our arrival time. I left Heather on watch and went to bed for a bit.
I came back on deck at 4:00am as we had North Keppel Island off our port beam. A heap of small boats came out of Rosslyn Bay over the next 90 minutes, making an early start to the public holiday. I was treated to a pleasant sunrise as we motored in, then woke up Heather and the kids about a mile out from the marina. We got the lines and fenders ready, motored in, located our allocated berth, and were moored at 5:37am.
Today is a rest day. We will do some groceries tomorrow, then head off on Thursday 29th December for Cape Capricorn. From there we will head out to Heron Island and Lady Musgrave for a several days before coming back in to Hervey Bay.
End Loc: Rosslyn Bay (23o 09.75'S, 150o 47.26'E)
Distance run: 43nm (cumulative: 2733nm)
Engine hours: 6 hr, 42 min (cumulative: 102 hr, 34 min)
26th December, 2011
Start Loc: Hunter Island, Duke Islands (21o 58.95'S, 150o 08.66'E)
Narrative: Fortunately Santa found us on Saturday night, and there were plenty of presents under the tree on Sunday morning. The kids (who have proclaimed themselves non-believers) woke us up just after 6:30am, and after making a brew we tackled the presents. It was a good haul all round.
The swell picked up considerably at one point on the night of Christmas Eve but it wasn't until it happened again late Christmas morning that I realised it was because of tidal disturbance with the high tide. At about 11:00am on Christmas Day, it was a bit too rolly and we decided we would move. We ended up dropping anchor on the west side of Marble Island below Homestead Bay. It was a lot calmer, and full of turtles. We enjoyed our Christmas lunch (well done Heather) in the cockpit, with a gentle breeze to keep us cool and a magic view of island beaches and hills. We logged a total of one hour and one minute on the engine.
We kicked off Boxing Day discussing the sporting events we would miss, before raising the anchor at 8:12am and motoring south. We passed through the significant tidal disturbance between the south end of Marble Island and Danger Island and set course for Cape Townshend on the way to Island Head Creek. The winds were variable (all over the shop) at less than 5kts, so we motored for a few hours. By 11:00am it had steadied from the NE at around 6kts. Our SE heading allowed us to raise full sail and motor sail on a close reach. At 1800rpm we were able to keep the sails full and make 5kts over ground.
By midday the wind had strengthened to around 10kts. With an apparent wind strength of 12kts, full sail and a bit of tidal assistance we made 6kts over ground. We sailed past Cape Townshend and continued towards Island Head.
By 1:30pm the wind had swung N dropping our apparent wind strength on our SE heading. With full sail we were able to maintain 5.5kts through the water and 7.5kts over ground with the tidal assistance. As we were approaching Island Head we decided that as we had made pretty good time we would continue another 12nm or so to Port Clinton rather than stop at Island Head Creek. Unfortunately the wind then dropped to 8kts giving us an apparent strength of about 6kts. We put the main and head sails away and at 2:30pm sailed past the mouth of Island Head Creek under spinnaker, at 5.5kts over ground.
As we approached Split and Dome Islands off Pearl Bay, we put the dinghy in the water. Cameron and I left Heather and Haydee to sail the boat, while we did some circle work and took some photos of Seasprint sailing under spinnaker. It was quite an effort getting the dinghy in the water and putting the outboard on while making way, but the photos were worth it. At the bottom of Pearl Bay we put the spinnaker away and, towing the dinghy, motored past Entrance Island towards Round Island.
We were virtually right on low tide and the waves were breaking over the shallows north of the entrance to Port Clinton. Unfortunately, they were also breaking over the shallows on our entrance route, denying us access. We dropped anchor in the lee of Round Island and had a family meeting to discussed our options.
I wanted to use the 2-3kt ebb tide to assist us going south, rather than go against a 2-3kt flood tide which runs north. That meant we had the option of waiting for the tide to start coming in to settle things down and then enter Port Clinton, spend the night and sail the ebb tide from 11:00am the 40nm or so south to Rosslyn Bay. The second option was to not bother entering Port Clinton, sit tight where we were for five hours or so, and sail south on the ebb tide tonight from 10:30pm.
We decided on option two. With NE/NW winds at 15-20kts forecast overnight, it has potential to ba a good sail. We had dinner and started preparing for a night sail.
End Loc: Port Clinton (22o 31.07'S, 150o 46.07'E)
Distance run: 49nm (cumulative: 2690nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 18 min (cumulative: 95 hr, 52 min)
Narrative: Fortunately Santa found us on Saturday night, and there were plenty of presents under the tree on Sunday morning. The kids (who have proclaimed themselves non-believers) woke us up just after 6:30am, and after making a brew we tackled the presents. It was a good haul all round.
The swell picked up considerably at one point on the night of Christmas Eve but it wasn't until it happened again late Christmas morning that I realised it was because of tidal disturbance with the high tide. At about 11:00am on Christmas Day, it was a bit too rolly and we decided we would move. We ended up dropping anchor on the west side of Marble Island below Homestead Bay. It was a lot calmer, and full of turtles. We enjoyed our Christmas lunch (well done Heather) in the cockpit, with a gentle breeze to keep us cool and a magic view of island beaches and hills. We logged a total of one hour and one minute on the engine.
We kicked off Boxing Day discussing the sporting events we would miss, before raising the anchor at 8:12am and motoring south. We passed through the significant tidal disturbance between the south end of Marble Island and Danger Island and set course for Cape Townshend on the way to Island Head Creek. The winds were variable (all over the shop) at less than 5kts, so we motored for a few hours. By 11:00am it had steadied from the NE at around 6kts. Our SE heading allowed us to raise full sail and motor sail on a close reach. At 1800rpm we were able to keep the sails full and make 5kts over ground.
By midday the wind had strengthened to around 10kts. With an apparent wind strength of 12kts, full sail and a bit of tidal assistance we made 6kts over ground. We sailed past Cape Townshend and continued towards Island Head.
By 1:30pm the wind had swung N dropping our apparent wind strength on our SE heading. With full sail we were able to maintain 5.5kts through the water and 7.5kts over ground with the tidal assistance. As we were approaching Island Head we decided that as we had made pretty good time we would continue another 12nm or so to Port Clinton rather than stop at Island Head Creek. Unfortunately the wind then dropped to 8kts giving us an apparent strength of about 6kts. We put the main and head sails away and at 2:30pm sailed past the mouth of Island Head Creek under spinnaker, at 5.5kts over ground.
As we approached Split and Dome Islands off Pearl Bay, we put the dinghy in the water. Cameron and I left Heather and Haydee to sail the boat, while we did some circle work and took some photos of Seasprint sailing under spinnaker. It was quite an effort getting the dinghy in the water and putting the outboard on while making way, but the photos were worth it. At the bottom of Pearl Bay we put the spinnaker away and, towing the dinghy, motored past Entrance Island towards Round Island.
We were virtually right on low tide and the waves were breaking over the shallows north of the entrance to Port Clinton. Unfortunately, they were also breaking over the shallows on our entrance route, denying us access. We dropped anchor in the lee of Round Island and had a family meeting to discussed our options.
I wanted to use the 2-3kt ebb tide to assist us going south, rather than go against a 2-3kt flood tide which runs north. That meant we had the option of waiting for the tide to start coming in to settle things down and then enter Port Clinton, spend the night and sail the ebb tide from 11:00am the 40nm or so south to Rosslyn Bay. The second option was to not bother entering Port Clinton, sit tight where we were for five hours or so, and sail south on the ebb tide tonight from 10:30pm.
We decided on option two. With NE/NW winds at 15-20kts forecast overnight, it has potential to ba a good sail. We had dinner and started preparing for a night sail.
End Loc: Port Clinton (22o 31.07'S, 150o 46.07'E)
Distance run: 49nm (cumulative: 2690nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 18 min (cumulative: 95 hr, 52 min)
Sunday, 25 December 2011
24th December, 2011
Start Loc: Curlew Island (21o 35.62'S, 149o 47.98'E)
Narrative: We spent the last two days sheltering at Curlew Island. Thankfully, TC Fina behaved as forecast and died quite quickly.
Having got into Curlew Island well after dark on Wednesday night, we raised the anchor on Thursday morning and moved around the bay to see if there was a better spot to anchor. We ended up dropping the anchor back in much the same spot. With the moving around and running the engine later in the day for hot water and power, we ran the engine for a total of 54 minutes.
The Friday afternoon forecast told us the winds for Saturday were expected to be SE at 15-20kts. Given that, we decided we would leave the next morning for the Duke Islands. We ran the engine on Friday for a total 1 hour 30 minutes, mainly for power given the overcast skies.
Heather didn't sleep well overnight. I was woken just after 4:00am to her swinging her book at a mosquito! Given we were both wide awake we decided to get an early start. We left the kids in bed, prepared to sail, raised the anchor at 4:47am and motored out of the bay. Once we were clear of the islands and had some clean wind, we set sail. Contrary to the forecast the winds were S at 20-25kts, with short steep waves at 2.5-3m. With two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100% we sailed close hauled in a SE direction. It was rougher than we expected but at least we were able to sail in a straight line to where we wanted to go!
By 7:00am the wind had increased to 25-30kts and the waves were at 3m+. We had reduced the head sail to about 75%, but the sailing wasn't much fun.
Around 8:00am the winds dropped to 15-20kts and the seas were down to around 2m. We let the head sail out to 100% again. An hour later the winds were down to around 10kts with seas at 1.5m. With the wind down and the seas flattened out a bit, we unfurled the head sail to the full 130%. This was actually a couple of hours of enjoyable sailing.
By 10:15am wind had dropped slightly further again to around 8kts. We had shaken both reefs out of the main but even under full sail we still only made 3.5kts over ground, so we started motor sailing to bring SOG up to 5kts.
We were thinking we would anchor on the north side or Marble Island, but with the wind right down decided to have a look at the west side of Hunter Island which is more picturesque. We dropped sail, changed course to the south and motored around the reefs and shallows at Bamborough Island before approaching the bay on the west side of Hunter Island around 11:45am. Unfortunately, being spring tides with a 6m+ tidal range, we had to anchor too far off shore to be protected from the swell. We decided we would motor around to have a look at the southern end of Hunter Island. It was calm, but we also wanted to have a look at Marble Island, so we motored through Lola Montes Passage to the Bay at the east end of the north side of Marble. Somehow it had NE breezes and swell so was exposed. We dropped anchor at 1:15pm, had lunch and pondered where we would spend the night.
The SE winds were due to swing to the NE tomorrow afternoon, but looked like they might have swung 24 hours early. The bottom end of Hunter was calm, so we motored back through the passage and anchored on the south end of Hunter Island at 2:42pm. I took the kids ashore and we played around for an hour. I took my phone with me and had hit and miss reception, so we will have to go for a walk up a hill to have any hope of wishing family friends a Merry Christmas tomorrow.
Unfortunately, as the sun went down the wind decided to swing back SE. It blew up a chop and caused us to rock and roll a bit. We can't move though, or Santa might not find us!
End Loc: Hunter Island, Duke Islands (21o 58.95'S, 150o 08.66'E)
Distance run: 43nm (cumulative: 2641nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 13 min (cumulative: 89 hr, 33 min)
Narrative: We spent the last two days sheltering at Curlew Island. Thankfully, TC Fina behaved as forecast and died quite quickly.
Having got into Curlew Island well after dark on Wednesday night, we raised the anchor on Thursday morning and moved around the bay to see if there was a better spot to anchor. We ended up dropping the anchor back in much the same spot. With the moving around and running the engine later in the day for hot water and power, we ran the engine for a total of 54 minutes.
The Friday afternoon forecast told us the winds for Saturday were expected to be SE at 15-20kts. Given that, we decided we would leave the next morning for the Duke Islands. We ran the engine on Friday for a total 1 hour 30 minutes, mainly for power given the overcast skies.
Heather didn't sleep well overnight. I was woken just after 4:00am to her swinging her book at a mosquito! Given we were both wide awake we decided to get an early start. We left the kids in bed, prepared to sail, raised the anchor at 4:47am and motored out of the bay. Once we were clear of the islands and had some clean wind, we set sail. Contrary to the forecast the winds were S at 20-25kts, with short steep waves at 2.5-3m. With two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100% we sailed close hauled in a SE direction. It was rougher than we expected but at least we were able to sail in a straight line to where we wanted to go!
By 7:00am the wind had increased to 25-30kts and the waves were at 3m+. We had reduced the head sail to about 75%, but the sailing wasn't much fun.
Around 8:00am the winds dropped to 15-20kts and the seas were down to around 2m. We let the head sail out to 100% again. An hour later the winds were down to around 10kts with seas at 1.5m. With the wind down and the seas flattened out a bit, we unfurled the head sail to the full 130%. This was actually a couple of hours of enjoyable sailing.
By 10:15am wind had dropped slightly further again to around 8kts. We had shaken both reefs out of the main but even under full sail we still only made 3.5kts over ground, so we started motor sailing to bring SOG up to 5kts.
We were thinking we would anchor on the north side or Marble Island, but with the wind right down decided to have a look at the west side of Hunter Island which is more picturesque. We dropped sail, changed course to the south and motored around the reefs and shallows at Bamborough Island before approaching the bay on the west side of Hunter Island around 11:45am. Unfortunately, being spring tides with a 6m+ tidal range, we had to anchor too far off shore to be protected from the swell. We decided we would motor around to have a look at the southern end of Hunter Island. It was calm, but we also wanted to have a look at Marble Island, so we motored through Lola Montes Passage to the Bay at the east end of the north side of Marble. Somehow it had NE breezes and swell so was exposed. We dropped anchor at 1:15pm, had lunch and pondered where we would spend the night.
The SE winds were due to swing to the NE tomorrow afternoon, but looked like they might have swung 24 hours early. The bottom end of Hunter was calm, so we motored back through the passage and anchored on the south end of Hunter Island at 2:42pm. I took the kids ashore and we played around for an hour. I took my phone with me and had hit and miss reception, so we will have to go for a walk up a hill to have any hope of wishing family friends a Merry Christmas tomorrow.
Unfortunately, as the sun went down the wind decided to swing back SE. It blew up a chop and caused us to rock and roll a bit. We can't move though, or Santa might not find us!
End Loc: Hunter Island, Duke Islands (21o 58.95'S, 150o 08.66'E)
Distance run: 43nm (cumulative: 2641nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 13 min (cumulative: 89 hr, 33 min)
Thursday, 22 December 2011
21st December, 2011
Start Loc: Mackay (21o 06.84'S, 149o 13.49'E)
Narrative: It was a hard fought 45nm to Curlew Island. We dropped the lines at Mackay at 8:35am and motored out of the marina and the harbour. We motored east to the south of Slade Island before setting sail. Seas were about 2.5m and the waves were close together, so it was nice and rough. The wind was blowing from 120 degrees magnetic (a bit north of SE) and at around 20kts. Curlew Island was on a bearing of 125 degrees magnetic; straight into wind. We knew from the outset it wasn't going to be a fun day.
We had to sail out to be clear of the mainland before we could sail south. We set two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100% and sailed as close to the wind as we could and made 5.8kts over ground. We sailed on a compass heading of around 075 degrees with the apparent wind 40 degrees off the starboard bow (true wind about 45 degrees); close hauled for Seasprint. With a bit of leeway as well as the outgoing tide helping to push us north, our course made good averaged around 060 degrees magnetic; 60 degrees off the true wind.
At 11:00am we altered course and sailed south for an hour. We were sailing into the tide now, so speed over ground for this hour averaged only 4.1kts. At 12:00pm, we had been going for over three hours and only just made it back to same latitude as Mackay. We had sailed 17nm and all we had managed to do was get to a point 11nm due east of Mackay! Our destination was 45nm SE and we had to make some headway, so we put the sails away and motored into wind and waves for a bit. With the seas still around 2.5m and close together, our speed over ground was still only 3.5kts, but at least we were going in the right direction.
We looked at other anchorages but there was nothing suitable. I really didn't want to go back to Mackay or further north to St Bees and Keswick Islands. The tropical low well to our NE is dug in and not going away. We are keeping a close eye on it as it may become a small cyclone, but at the moment all it means for us is that for the next week we have SE winds around 20-25kts. We don't have the time to sit near Mackay for a week and wait for a weather window to continue south. We (read "I") decided we just had to bite the bullet and continue on to Curlew Island, even though we would be getting in well after dark.
At 2:30pm, well clear of all the shipping anchorages off Hay Point, we set sail again. The wind was still from 120 degrees at around 20kts, but seas were maybe a bit smaller at around 2.2m. We still had two reefs in the main and 100% head sail, sailing close hauled on a port tack. By 4:00pm the wind had moved more easterly and was blowing from 100 degrees, still around 20kts.
By 6:00pm we were right in close to the mainland near Cape Palmerston. We put the sails away just before it got dark and started motoring east towards Curlew Island. The wind was still blowing from 100 degrees, but had picked up to 25-30kts. We had apparent wind gusts to 35kts. We slogged into the strong winds and steep waves, averaging only 3.2kts over ground. We crossed Yaralla Shoal at a safe depth and the shape of Curlew Island slowly appeared against the night sky. Our heading was 10 degrees north of Curlew Island to counter the southerly run of the incoming tide, and then changed to south of Curlew once the tide turned and began its northerly run out.
Just north of Curlew Island, Tinonee Bank runs ENE to Hirst Islet. At the north west corner of Curlew, there is a deep but narrow passage between the rocks and the Tinonee bank. There are no navigation lights (the only light we could see was what appeared to be the mooring light of a yacht anchored at Curlew) so we weren't going to risk that passage in the dark. Instead we motored to the north of Tinonee Banks and crossed them between the drying patch and Hirst Islet. We had 4m of tide still and crossed in 4.5m of water. We could then motor back SE into the anchorage, and we dropped anchor at 10:18pm.
We had strong winds and rough seas all day. It was a long hard slog to get where we needed to go, and not our best day.
Note: At 7:00am on Thursday 22nd December, the tropical low was upgraded to Category 1 Tropical Cyclone Fina and was located 800km ENE of Mackay. It is expected to maintain a S/SW track for Thursday and weaken to a low again on Thursday night. We will remain in the shelter of Curlew Island for Thursday and see what she does.
End Loc: Curlew Island (21o 35.62'S, 149o 47.98'E)
Distance run: 65nm (cumulative: 2598nm)
Engine hours: 7 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 82 hr, 56 min)
Narrative: It was a hard fought 45nm to Curlew Island. We dropped the lines at Mackay at 8:35am and motored out of the marina and the harbour. We motored east to the south of Slade Island before setting sail. Seas were about 2.5m and the waves were close together, so it was nice and rough. The wind was blowing from 120 degrees magnetic (a bit north of SE) and at around 20kts. Curlew Island was on a bearing of 125 degrees magnetic; straight into wind. We knew from the outset it wasn't going to be a fun day.
We had to sail out to be clear of the mainland before we could sail south. We set two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100% and sailed as close to the wind as we could and made 5.8kts over ground. We sailed on a compass heading of around 075 degrees with the apparent wind 40 degrees off the starboard bow (true wind about 45 degrees); close hauled for Seasprint. With a bit of leeway as well as the outgoing tide helping to push us north, our course made good averaged around 060 degrees magnetic; 60 degrees off the true wind.
At 11:00am we altered course and sailed south for an hour. We were sailing into the tide now, so speed over ground for this hour averaged only 4.1kts. At 12:00pm, we had been going for over three hours and only just made it back to same latitude as Mackay. We had sailed 17nm and all we had managed to do was get to a point 11nm due east of Mackay! Our destination was 45nm SE and we had to make some headway, so we put the sails away and motored into wind and waves for a bit. With the seas still around 2.5m and close together, our speed over ground was still only 3.5kts, but at least we were going in the right direction.
We looked at other anchorages but there was nothing suitable. I really didn't want to go back to Mackay or further north to St Bees and Keswick Islands. The tropical low well to our NE is dug in and not going away. We are keeping a close eye on it as it may become a small cyclone, but at the moment all it means for us is that for the next week we have SE winds around 20-25kts. We don't have the time to sit near Mackay for a week and wait for a weather window to continue south. We (read "I") decided we just had to bite the bullet and continue on to Curlew Island, even though we would be getting in well after dark.
At 2:30pm, well clear of all the shipping anchorages off Hay Point, we set sail again. The wind was still from 120 degrees at around 20kts, but seas were maybe a bit smaller at around 2.2m. We still had two reefs in the main and 100% head sail, sailing close hauled on a port tack. By 4:00pm the wind had moved more easterly and was blowing from 100 degrees, still around 20kts.
By 6:00pm we were right in close to the mainland near Cape Palmerston. We put the sails away just before it got dark and started motoring east towards Curlew Island. The wind was still blowing from 100 degrees, but had picked up to 25-30kts. We had apparent wind gusts to 35kts. We slogged into the strong winds and steep waves, averaging only 3.2kts over ground. We crossed Yaralla Shoal at a safe depth and the shape of Curlew Island slowly appeared against the night sky. Our heading was 10 degrees north of Curlew Island to counter the southerly run of the incoming tide, and then changed to south of Curlew once the tide turned and began its northerly run out.
Just north of Curlew Island, Tinonee Bank runs ENE to Hirst Islet. At the north west corner of Curlew, there is a deep but narrow passage between the rocks and the Tinonee bank. There are no navigation lights (the only light we could see was what appeared to be the mooring light of a yacht anchored at Curlew) so we weren't going to risk that passage in the dark. Instead we motored to the north of Tinonee Banks and crossed them between the drying patch and Hirst Islet. We had 4m of tide still and crossed in 4.5m of water. We could then motor back SE into the anchorage, and we dropped anchor at 10:18pm.
We had strong winds and rough seas all day. It was a long hard slog to get where we needed to go, and not our best day.
Note: At 7:00am on Thursday 22nd December, the tropical low was upgraded to Category 1 Tropical Cyclone Fina and was located 800km ENE of Mackay. It is expected to maintain a S/SW track for Thursday and weaken to a low again on Thursday night. We will remain in the shelter of Curlew Island for Thursday and see what she does.
End Loc: Curlew Island (21o 35.62'S, 149o 47.98'E)
Distance run: 65nm (cumulative: 2598nm)
Engine hours: 7 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 82 hr, 56 min)
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
19th December, 2011
Start Loc: Brampton Island (20o 48.03'S, 149o 15.81'E)
Narrative: We raised anchor at 9:18am and motored away from our Brampton anchorage. We motored around Western Point to get clean wind on the south side of the island, before setting sail with two reefs and 100% head sail. The wind was, again, SE at 15-20kts, with seas around 2.2m; so it was another rough day as we beat into wind. We sailed close hauled on a southerly heading until we got to the shallows near the mainland, then tacked and sailed ENE towards Keswick Island so we could clear the eastern most point of the mainland.
I sailed further out than we needed to, to ensure we could sail straight into Mackay without any more tacks. The wind also changed a bit, so when we tacked back south we were almost sailing on a broad reach. That gave us a little extra speed and we made around 7kts over ground.
We sailed into Mackay Outer Harbour at 1:55pm and put the sails away. We then motored to the marina and were secure in our berth by 2:10pm. While Heather and the kids went to check in I gave the boat a good hose down, including washing all the saltwater from the last few days off the sails and ropes.
We will spend two nights in Mackay and restock. This will be our grocery shop to stock us up for Christmas day, so it will include a few special extras. I plan to get a reasonably early start on Wednesday for the 45nm trip to Curlew Island, as we will more than likely have to travel more than 45nm to get there!
End Loc: Mackay (21o 06.84'S, 149o 13.49'E)
Distance run: 28nm (cumulative: 2533nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 09 min (cumulative: 75 hr, 23 min)
Narrative: We raised anchor at 9:18am and motored away from our Brampton anchorage. We motored around Western Point to get clean wind on the south side of the island, before setting sail with two reefs and 100% head sail. The wind was, again, SE at 15-20kts, with seas around 2.2m; so it was another rough day as we beat into wind. We sailed close hauled on a southerly heading until we got to the shallows near the mainland, then tacked and sailed ENE towards Keswick Island so we could clear the eastern most point of the mainland.
I sailed further out than we needed to, to ensure we could sail straight into Mackay without any more tacks. The wind also changed a bit, so when we tacked back south we were almost sailing on a broad reach. That gave us a little extra speed and we made around 7kts over ground.
We sailed into Mackay Outer Harbour at 1:55pm and put the sails away. We then motored to the marina and were secure in our berth by 2:10pm. While Heather and the kids went to check in I gave the boat a good hose down, including washing all the saltwater from the last few days off the sails and ropes.
We will spend two nights in Mackay and restock. This will be our grocery shop to stock us up for Christmas day, so it will include a few special extras. I plan to get a reasonably early start on Wednesday for the 45nm trip to Curlew Island, as we will more than likely have to travel more than 45nm to get there!
End Loc: Mackay (21o 06.84'S, 149o 13.49'E)
Distance run: 28nm (cumulative: 2533nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 09 min (cumulative: 75 hr, 23 min)
Monday, 19 December 2011
18th December, 2011
Start Loc: Shaw Island (20o 30.29'S, 149o 02.83'E)
Narrative: We raised the anchor and left Shaw Island at 9:41am. There was a bit of wind but it was calm until we rounded Burning Point. The wind picked up and as we motored south, and when we no longer had the shelter of Shaw Island, it was obvious how protected our anchorage was. It was basically as forecast; the winds were a little south of east coming from 100 to 110 degrees magnetic at 15-20kts, and seas were a little under 2m. We set sail with two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100%, and sailed between a close haul and a close reach on 160 degrees magnetic towards Blacksmith Island.
We sailed right in on Blacksmith Island until we were on the lee of the island and had no wind. We put the sails away to motor between Blacksmith and Hammer Islands, and between Ladysmith and Bellows Islets. As we came out of the passage we found the wind had strengthened a little and was sitting around 20kts, and that seas had increased to 2-2.5m. We set sail again and sailed close hauled on 150 degrees magnetic. We decided we would continue past Goldsmith Island and make for Brampton Island, which should make an easy sail to Mackay tomorrow. After a bit we found the frequency of the waves had also increased so that before we cleared one we were on to the next. This constant wave action took a lot of boat speed off and we lost a little over a knot.
Given the wind direction, we had to sail well to the west of Brampton until we were south of the island, so we could then tack basically north east and sail to to the island. We made the tack and sailed close hauled on 055 degrees magnetic, but the wind also shifted further north to 080 degrees, so we had to sail 030 degrees. We were basically sailing back the way we had come, so we decided to tack back and head south-ish a little further. We were able to sail SE, so I had just about decided we would continue to Mackay when the wind swung back south of east again. This allowed us to tack and sail close hauled direct to Brampton. The waves were still steep and close, the wind was gusting to 25kts and we weren't having our best day on the water, so we were looking forward to the shelter of Brampton.
The wind swung north of east again when we were about 2.5nm out, so we dropped sail and motored the last little bit into Brampton Island. We anchored at 3:30pm. Although we didn't go that far and we weren't sailing for that long, it felt like a long day.
End Loc: Brampton Island (20o 48.03'S, 149o 15.81'E)
Distance run: 34nm (cumulative: 2505nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 30 min (cumulative: 74 hr, 14 min)
Narrative: We raised the anchor and left Shaw Island at 9:41am. There was a bit of wind but it was calm until we rounded Burning Point. The wind picked up and as we motored south, and when we no longer had the shelter of Shaw Island, it was obvious how protected our anchorage was. It was basically as forecast; the winds were a little south of east coming from 100 to 110 degrees magnetic at 15-20kts, and seas were a little under 2m. We set sail with two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100%, and sailed between a close haul and a close reach on 160 degrees magnetic towards Blacksmith Island.
We sailed right in on Blacksmith Island until we were on the lee of the island and had no wind. We put the sails away to motor between Blacksmith and Hammer Islands, and between Ladysmith and Bellows Islets. As we came out of the passage we found the wind had strengthened a little and was sitting around 20kts, and that seas had increased to 2-2.5m. We set sail again and sailed close hauled on 150 degrees magnetic. We decided we would continue past Goldsmith Island and make for Brampton Island, which should make an easy sail to Mackay tomorrow. After a bit we found the frequency of the waves had also increased so that before we cleared one we were on to the next. This constant wave action took a lot of boat speed off and we lost a little over a knot.
Given the wind direction, we had to sail well to the west of Brampton until we were south of the island, so we could then tack basically north east and sail to to the island. We made the tack and sailed close hauled on 055 degrees magnetic, but the wind also shifted further north to 080 degrees, so we had to sail 030 degrees. We were basically sailing back the way we had come, so we decided to tack back and head south-ish a little further. We were able to sail SE, so I had just about decided we would continue to Mackay when the wind swung back south of east again. This allowed us to tack and sail close hauled direct to Brampton. The waves were still steep and close, the wind was gusting to 25kts and we weren't having our best day on the water, so we were looking forward to the shelter of Brampton.
The wind swung north of east again when we were about 2.5nm out, so we dropped sail and motored the last little bit into Brampton Island. We anchored at 3:30pm. Although we didn't go that far and we weren't sailing for that long, it felt like a long day.
End Loc: Brampton Island (20o 48.03'S, 149o 15.81'E)
Distance run: 34nm (cumulative: 2505nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 30 min (cumulative: 74 hr, 14 min)
Saturday, 17 December 2011
17th December, 2011
Start Loc: Hamilton Island (20o 20.85'S, 148o 57.03'E)
Narrative: We left Hamilton Island at 10:45am and motored out of the marina. As we got to the southern end of Dent Passage (between Hamilton and Dent Islands), we got the full weather effects. It was pretty well as forecast; SE winds at 20-25kts and seas at about 2.2m. The highest wind gust while I was looking at the guage was 31kts, so the weather was all a bit wild.
We set sail with two reefs in the main and and 100% head sail and sailed south close hauled on a port tack. We tacked east before we reached the shallows of Long Shoal and sailed towards Lindeman Island. We decided that we would head for Shaw Island rather than continue beating SE towards Goldsmith Island, so we tacked south and then east again before sailing into Kennedy Sound between Lindeman and Shaw Islands. We lowered sail and, under motor, tucked in behind Burning Point on Shaw Island, dropping anchor in 5m of water at 1:55pm.
We will spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at anchor. The kids are currently deciding what movie to watch. The forecast for tomorrow is SE winds at 15-20kts. Our planned destination of Keswick Island is also SE, but we have the option of stopping at Goldsmith Island if we don't like the weather.
End Loc: Shaw Island (20o 30.29'S, 149o 02.83'E)
Distance run: 17nm (cumulative: 2471nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 49 min (cumulative: 72 hr, 44 min)
Narrative: We left Hamilton Island at 10:45am and motored out of the marina. As we got to the southern end of Dent Passage (between Hamilton and Dent Islands), we got the full weather effects. It was pretty well as forecast; SE winds at 20-25kts and seas at about 2.2m. The highest wind gust while I was looking at the guage was 31kts, so the weather was all a bit wild.
We set sail with two reefs in the main and and 100% head sail and sailed south close hauled on a port tack. We tacked east before we reached the shallows of Long Shoal and sailed towards Lindeman Island. We decided that we would head for Shaw Island rather than continue beating SE towards Goldsmith Island, so we tacked south and then east again before sailing into Kennedy Sound between Lindeman and Shaw Islands. We lowered sail and, under motor, tucked in behind Burning Point on Shaw Island, dropping anchor in 5m of water at 1:55pm.
We will spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing at anchor. The kids are currently deciding what movie to watch. The forecast for tomorrow is SE winds at 15-20kts. Our planned destination of Keswick Island is also SE, but we have the option of stopping at Goldsmith Island if we don't like the weather.
End Loc: Shaw Island (20o 30.29'S, 149o 02.83'E)
Distance run: 17nm (cumulative: 2471nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 49 min (cumulative: 72 hr, 44 min)
Friday, 16 December 2011
16th December, 2011
Start Loc: Sawmill Bay, Cid Harbour (20o 15.90'S, 148o 56.49'E)
Narrative: We raised the anchor at 8:46am and motored out of Cid Harbour. The winds were strong SE, but flukey down the the west side of Whitsunday Island, and then we were into wind as we approached Hamilton Island. We motored most of the way with Heather on the helm and me relaxing with my book. It was an uneventful trip and we motored into Hamilton Island Marina not long after 10:00am. We were secured at the fuel wharf and started refuelling by 10:15am.
Refuelled: 38.89L @ 180.0c/L = $70.00
Economy since 09 Dec: 38.89L for 16 hr 10 min = 2.41L/hr
Economy overall: 521.56L for 267 hr 22 min = 1.95L/hr
After sorting out some confusion over our berth allocation (there was a boat in the berth we were told to use), we motored across to our berth and were secure by 10:55am. After lunch we headed across to the resort area and went for a swim. On the way back to the boat we grabbed some milk, bread and a few other items, and then spent a couple more hours relaxing before going out for dinner.
End Loc: Hamilton Island (20o 20.85'S, 148o 57.03'E)
Distance run: 8nm (cumulative: 2454nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 20 min (cumulative: 71 hr, 55 min)
Narrative: We raised the anchor at 8:46am and motored out of Cid Harbour. The winds were strong SE, but flukey down the the west side of Whitsunday Island, and then we were into wind as we approached Hamilton Island. We motored most of the way with Heather on the helm and me relaxing with my book. It was an uneventful trip and we motored into Hamilton Island Marina not long after 10:00am. We were secured at the fuel wharf and started refuelling by 10:15am.
Refuelled: 38.89L @ 180.0c/L = $70.00
Economy since 09 Dec: 38.89L for 16 hr 10 min = 2.41L/hr
Economy overall: 521.56L for 267 hr 22 min = 1.95L/hr
After sorting out some confusion over our berth allocation (there was a boat in the berth we were told to use), we motored across to our berth and were secure by 10:55am. After lunch we headed across to the resort area and went for a swim. On the way back to the boat we grabbed some milk, bread and a few other items, and then spent a couple more hours relaxing before going out for dinner.
End Loc: Hamilton Island (20o 20.85'S, 148o 57.03'E)
Distance run: 8nm (cumulative: 2454nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 20 min (cumulative: 71 hr, 55 min)
15th December, 2011
Start Loc: Maureen's Cove, Hook Island (20o 04.09'S, 148o 56.23'E)
Narrative: We decided that with forecast SE winds of up to 25kts that Daydream Island and Whitehaven Beach would both be too exposed and make for rather uncomfortable nights. The forecast for tomorrow is for wind up to 30kts, and then 20-25kts again on Saturday. So we decided that we would cross Daydream and Whitehaven off our "do again" list and head for the known good shelter of Cid Harbour tonight followed by Hamilton Island Marina tomorrow night, and then continue south through the southern Whitsundays to Mackay.
We raised the anchor at 9:58am and motored out of Maureen's Cove. As we left the cove a charter boat rounded the corner and headed for the mooring we had just dropped. Minutes later a commercial dive boat raced past us into the cove and got to the mooring just before the charter boat. It's a public mooring and was bloody rude of the dive boat.
We had just the main sail up knowing the wind would be all over the shop as we passed between Hook and Hayman Islands, and we motored to assist. One of the things we had learned was that the wind tended to be very flukey down the west side of Hook Island so we headed a coupe of miles off the island, but it wasn't much better. We brought the head sail out as well and finally cleared Hook Island, which gave us reasonably clean winds SE at around 15kts. We sailed south close hauled, tacked around Cid Island, then dropped sail and motored into the Harbour. We dropped anchor in the south of Sawmill Bay at 1:30pm.
After a late lunch we had a restful afternoon. The kids swam while Heather and I read. It was very relaxing.
End Loc: Sawmill Bay, Cid Harbour (20o 15.90'S, 148o 56.49'E)
Distance run: 19nm (cumulative: 2446nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 21 min (cumulative: 70 hr, 35 min)
Narrative: We decided that with forecast SE winds of up to 25kts that Daydream Island and Whitehaven Beach would both be too exposed and make for rather uncomfortable nights. The forecast for tomorrow is for wind up to 30kts, and then 20-25kts again on Saturday. So we decided that we would cross Daydream and Whitehaven off our "do again" list and head for the known good shelter of Cid Harbour tonight followed by Hamilton Island Marina tomorrow night, and then continue south through the southern Whitsundays to Mackay.
We raised the anchor at 9:58am and motored out of Maureen's Cove. As we left the cove a charter boat rounded the corner and headed for the mooring we had just dropped. Minutes later a commercial dive boat raced past us into the cove and got to the mooring just before the charter boat. It's a public mooring and was bloody rude of the dive boat.
We had just the main sail up knowing the wind would be all over the shop as we passed between Hook and Hayman Islands, and we motored to assist. One of the things we had learned was that the wind tended to be very flukey down the west side of Hook Island so we headed a coupe of miles off the island, but it wasn't much better. We brought the head sail out as well and finally cleared Hook Island, which gave us reasonably clean winds SE at around 15kts. We sailed south close hauled, tacked around Cid Island, then dropped sail and motored into the Harbour. We dropped anchor in the south of Sawmill Bay at 1:30pm.
After a late lunch we had a restful afternoon. The kids swam while Heather and I read. It was very relaxing.
End Loc: Sawmill Bay, Cid Harbour (20o 15.90'S, 148o 56.49'E)
Distance run: 19nm (cumulative: 2446nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 21 min (cumulative: 70 hr, 35 min)
Thursday, 15 December 2011
14th December, 2011
Start Loc: Bait Reef (20o 48.70'S, 149o 03.88'E)
Narrative: Sea birds will land anywhere they can when they are so far off shore. They will sit on the line of a mooring buoy as it floats on the water, and dinghies are obviously attractive. When I got up this morning I climbed into the dinghy to scrub the bird poo off the motor and the dinghy itself, and found an egg in the bottom of the dinghy. It was cracked from when the bird laid it and it dropped into the bottom of the dinghy, so I threw it straight into the water. It was not there more than a second before the alpha GT swallowed it whole. Heather saw the whole thing, and likening me to the pigs, made some comment about Angry Birds!
After breakfast this morning we decided to move around to Manta Ray Dropoff at the SW corner of Bait Reef. We dropped the mooring buoy at 10:14am and motored out of the Stepping Stones. The GTs followed us, possibly because the kids were feeding them bits of bread. I was tempted to see if we could lure them all the way out of the green zone so we could try to catch one! We motored the mile or so around to the mooring buoy at Manta Ray Dropoff, and saw half a dozen turtles before we picked up the buoy.
We went straight in to snorkel with the turtles and get some photos but they weren't quite as friendly as the Low Isles turtles. We hadn't snorkeled this part of the reef before and it was interesting to see the differences between two parts of the same reef. We did also see a manta ray as were swimming back to the boat.
The weather was looking true to the forecast, and we decided it was too windy for Cateran Bay. We have moored there before in 20-25kts and it was not the best spot; calm enough, but the wind raced over the low saddle and screamed through the rigging. So when we dropped the mooring at Manta Ray Dropoff at 11:17am, we set sail for Maureen's Cove, next to Butterfly Bay on the north side of Hook Island.
The winds were SE at 15-18kts, with seas up to 2m. Our heading of 200 degrees magnetic had us sailing on a close reach with an apparent wind of 20-22kts. With two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100%, we consistently made 6-7kts through the water. We also started with 2kts of tidal assistance, but it was down to 0.7kts by the time we approached Hook Island. We averaged 7.3kts speed over ground for the trip, so we made good time and it was good sailing.
About 7nm north of Hook Island, Heather pointed out a ship approaching from the west. I kept an eye on it as we sailed and 10 minutes later the aspect hadn't changed, an indication that our courses were going to cross the same piece of ocean at the same time. Five minutes later it was a lot closer, but otherwise the situation hadn't changed. Technically we were the stand on vessel, but he would pack a much bigger punch. Even through binoculars we couldn't make out the name on the bow, so I radioed "the east bound ship passing north of Hook Island". A heavy accent answered, but we didn't catch the name of the ship. I told him we were the sailing vessel on his port bow and asked how the situation looked to him. We thought he said he was about to alter course to starboard and we should pass across his bow, but that would have made things worse for us. I asked him to confirm he was going to alter course to port and pass astern of us. His answer was again unclear. I am unsure what was going on with the Australian pilot I think they are supposed to have on board, but I ended up telling him that I would alter course to starboard and pass astern of him. He seemed to acknowledge that and I made an obvious course change. We bled off speed and let him pass before coming back on course and crossing his wake about 200m behind him. They are big scary beasts, even at a couple of hundred metres. At least as he passed we saw that he had put a lookout on his port bridge wing to keep an eye on us. There was never any danger, but it's as close as I want to get to one of them!
There was also a lot of sail traffic around the top end of the Whitsundays, and we reminded ourselves that somehow we had again managed to be in the Whitsundays during school holidays! We dropped sail as we came into Maureen's Cove and picked up a mooring buoy at 1:43pm. We had a late lunch, rested while the sun was still high, then went for a snorkel. It was another good day.
End Loc: Maureen's Cove, Hook Island (20o 04.09'S, 148o 56.23'E)
Distance run: 18nm (cumulative: 2427nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 38 min (cumulative: 69 hr, 14 min)
Narrative: Sea birds will land anywhere they can when they are so far off shore. They will sit on the line of a mooring buoy as it floats on the water, and dinghies are obviously attractive. When I got up this morning I climbed into the dinghy to scrub the bird poo off the motor and the dinghy itself, and found an egg in the bottom of the dinghy. It was cracked from when the bird laid it and it dropped into the bottom of the dinghy, so I threw it straight into the water. It was not there more than a second before the alpha GT swallowed it whole. Heather saw the whole thing, and likening me to the pigs, made some comment about Angry Birds!
After breakfast this morning we decided to move around to Manta Ray Dropoff at the SW corner of Bait Reef. We dropped the mooring buoy at 10:14am and motored out of the Stepping Stones. The GTs followed us, possibly because the kids were feeding them bits of bread. I was tempted to see if we could lure them all the way out of the green zone so we could try to catch one! We motored the mile or so around to the mooring buoy at Manta Ray Dropoff, and saw half a dozen turtles before we picked up the buoy.
We went straight in to snorkel with the turtles and get some photos but they weren't quite as friendly as the Low Isles turtles. We hadn't snorkeled this part of the reef before and it was interesting to see the differences between two parts of the same reef. We did also see a manta ray as were swimming back to the boat.
The weather was looking true to the forecast, and we decided it was too windy for Cateran Bay. We have moored there before in 20-25kts and it was not the best spot; calm enough, but the wind raced over the low saddle and screamed through the rigging. So when we dropped the mooring at Manta Ray Dropoff at 11:17am, we set sail for Maureen's Cove, next to Butterfly Bay on the north side of Hook Island.
The winds were SE at 15-18kts, with seas up to 2m. Our heading of 200 degrees magnetic had us sailing on a close reach with an apparent wind of 20-22kts. With two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100%, we consistently made 6-7kts through the water. We also started with 2kts of tidal assistance, but it was down to 0.7kts by the time we approached Hook Island. We averaged 7.3kts speed over ground for the trip, so we made good time and it was good sailing.
About 7nm north of Hook Island, Heather pointed out a ship approaching from the west. I kept an eye on it as we sailed and 10 minutes later the aspect hadn't changed, an indication that our courses were going to cross the same piece of ocean at the same time. Five minutes later it was a lot closer, but otherwise the situation hadn't changed. Technically we were the stand on vessel, but he would pack a much bigger punch. Even through binoculars we couldn't make out the name on the bow, so I radioed "the east bound ship passing north of Hook Island". A heavy accent answered, but we didn't catch the name of the ship. I told him we were the sailing vessel on his port bow and asked how the situation looked to him. We thought he said he was about to alter course to starboard and we should pass across his bow, but that would have made things worse for us. I asked him to confirm he was going to alter course to port and pass astern of us. His answer was again unclear. I am unsure what was going on with the Australian pilot I think they are supposed to have on board, but I ended up telling him that I would alter course to starboard and pass astern of him. He seemed to acknowledge that and I made an obvious course change. We bled off speed and let him pass before coming back on course and crossing his wake about 200m behind him. They are big scary beasts, even at a couple of hundred metres. At least as he passed we saw that he had put a lookout on his port bridge wing to keep an eye on us. There was never any danger, but it's as close as I want to get to one of them!
There was also a lot of sail traffic around the top end of the Whitsundays, and we reminded ourselves that somehow we had again managed to be in the Whitsundays during school holidays! We dropped sail as we came into Maureen's Cove and picked up a mooring buoy at 1:43pm. We had a late lunch, rested while the sun was still high, then went for a snorkel. It was another good day.
End Loc: Maureen's Cove, Hook Island (20o 04.09'S, 148o 56.23'E)
Distance run: 18nm (cumulative: 2427nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 38 min (cumulative: 69 hr, 14 min)
13th December, 2011
Start Loc: Breakfast Bay, Gloucester Island (20o 03.19'S, 148o 27.67'E)
Narrative: I checked the latest weather forecast when I got up and it was good for a trip out to the reef. We got ready to sail, raised the anchor at 8:42am, and motored east out of Gloucester Passage. The winds were NNW at 12kts, so our course of 060 degrees magnetic had us on a close reach. Under full sail, we made 5.2kts through the water and 6.8kts over ground.
By 10:30am the wind had swung NW and weakened to 5-8kts, so we motor sailed for a couple of hours to keep speed up. Not only did we want to ensure the sun was still high enough to see the reef, but we wanted time to have a swim and a snorkel.
We switched the engine off about 12:20pm after the wind had strengthened to 10kts. On a close reach we had an apparent wind of 12kts, and under full sail we made 5kts through the water and 7kts over ground. Seas were less than 1m, the sun was shining, and it was great sailing.
We lowered sail half a mile off Bait Reef and motored into the Stepping Stones. As we motored inside a pair of Giant Trevally started shadowing us, following us to our mooring. There were no other boats there so we had our choice of mooring buoys, and we were moored at 2:20pm.
It didn't take long to do everything that needs to be done after a sail, and we were in for a swim to cool off. There were now six GTs, and the largest had staked his claim to any food we may offer by continually chasing off the rest. He did not get shy when we got in the water and would often swim within arm's reach. We were also soon joined by an inquisitive Humphead Maori Wrasse, who was also happy to swim right up to us.
It was another good day. The wind will strengthen to 15-20kts late tomorrow morning, then 20-25kts later in the afternoon. We will head off late morning and sail the 20 or so miles to Border Island. We didn't snorkel in Cateran Bay last time we were there and I am told it is well worth it.
End Loc: Bait Reef (20o 48.70'S, 149o 03.88'E)
Distance run: 38nm (cumulative: 2409nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 34 min (cumulative: 67 hr, 36 min)
Narrative: I checked the latest weather forecast when I got up and it was good for a trip out to the reef. We got ready to sail, raised the anchor at 8:42am, and motored east out of Gloucester Passage. The winds were NNW at 12kts, so our course of 060 degrees magnetic had us on a close reach. Under full sail, we made 5.2kts through the water and 6.8kts over ground.
By 10:30am the wind had swung NW and weakened to 5-8kts, so we motor sailed for a couple of hours to keep speed up. Not only did we want to ensure the sun was still high enough to see the reef, but we wanted time to have a swim and a snorkel.
We switched the engine off about 12:20pm after the wind had strengthened to 10kts. On a close reach we had an apparent wind of 12kts, and under full sail we made 5kts through the water and 7kts over ground. Seas were less than 1m, the sun was shining, and it was great sailing.
We lowered sail half a mile off Bait Reef and motored into the Stepping Stones. As we motored inside a pair of Giant Trevally started shadowing us, following us to our mooring. There were no other boats there so we had our choice of mooring buoys, and we were moored at 2:20pm.
It didn't take long to do everything that needs to be done after a sail, and we were in for a swim to cool off. There were now six GTs, and the largest had staked his claim to any food we may offer by continually chasing off the rest. He did not get shy when we got in the water and would often swim within arm's reach. We were also soon joined by an inquisitive Humphead Maori Wrasse, who was also happy to swim right up to us.
It was another good day. The wind will strengthen to 15-20kts late tomorrow morning, then 20-25kts later in the afternoon. We will head off late morning and sail the 20 or so miles to Border Island. We didn't snorkel in Cateran Bay last time we were there and I am told it is well worth it.
End Loc: Bait Reef (20o 48.70'S, 149o 03.88'E)
Distance run: 38nm (cumulative: 2409nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 34 min (cumulative: 67 hr, 36 min)
Monday, 12 December 2011
11th/12th December, 2011
Start Loc: Townsville (19o 15.16'S, 146o 49.43'E)
Narrative: We did the grocery shopping on Saturday morning, rested during the heat of the day, and took the kids to the water park at the Strand late in the afternoon. The fans were running all night overnight to keep the air circulating. It was stinking hot again on Sunday morning, so after doing some preparation to depart we went to the Tobruk Pool and we all cooled off. Once back at the boat, we had lunch and did our final preparation to depart.
We dropped the mooring lines at 1:52pm and motored out of the marina. We sailed NE across Cleveland Bay, close hauled into 15kt N winds. With two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100%, we made around 6.5kts over ground. We sailed around Cape Cleveland, passed between Four Foot Rock and Salamander Reef, and settled on an easterly course towards Cape Bowling Green.
The winds remained N during this leg, but gradually weakened to around 10kts. Seas were about 1.8m off our port quarter, giving us enough roll to make the leg slightly uncomfortable. We sailed on a beam reach making 6.5-7kts over ground. The sun set at 6:42pm, and the light on Cape Bowling Green soon became visible. We stayed well clear of the sandbanks around the cape.
By 8:20pm we were clear of Cape Bowling Green and altered course 30 degrees to starboard to 120 degrees magnetic. The wind chose this time to swing to the NW, so we were virtually on a run. It was too close for the head sail, so we sailed under full main. The winds were still about 10kts but now that we were running, our speed over ground dropped to around 5kts. The wind would pick up to around 12kts and we would sail, then drop to around 5kts and we would motor. Our course saw us pass Cape Upstart almost 20nm to its north.
I handed over to Heather at about 1:30am and got a few hours shut eye. During this time both the kids did a half hour stint on watch, albeit with Heather still in the cockpit. At around 4:25am, the GPS decided it was time to wake up and wanted to know where it was, so it just started working again!
I took over again at 4:30am as we passed Abbott Point, plotted a fix on the paper chart, and altered course slightly to 130 degrees magnetic. The wind was now W at 10-15kts, so I set the sails and we made about 5.5kts over ground.
By 7:00am the winds were SW at 12kts with 1.2m seas, and we sailed on a beam reach making about 6.5kts over ground. The winds died to less than 5kts by 7:30am, so the sails went away and we motored the last short stint down to Gloucester Passage. We came into Breakfast Bay on the south end of Gloucester Island at around 8:10am, but it took a couple of attempts to get the anchor set so we were not happily anchored until 8:23am.
Throughout the passage we only saw one other yacht, a catamaran, which we surprisingly overtook and left behind on the leg from Cape Cleveland to Cape Bowling Green. As the sun set we were overtaken by a tug heading the same way as us and it was a couple of hours before his stern light disappeared over the horizon. Other than that it was all big ships. We saw a few in the shipping lane on the horizon to our north, had one pass about three miles north of us, and a small cruise ship overtook us about five miles to our north (we heard her leaving Townsville on the VHF, bound for Hamilton Island, so we knew to keep an eye out for her).
It was a long night, but we made some good miles. We are resting today and tonight at Breakfast Bay, and a final weather check will determine whether or not we head to Bait Reef tomorrow. If not, we will head to somewhere in the Whitsundays.
End Loc: Breakfast Bay, Gloucester Island (20o 03.19'S, 148o 27.67'E)
Distance run: 123nm (cumulative: 2371nm)
Engine hours: 8 hr, 17 min (cumulative: 64 hr, 02 min)
Narrative: We did the grocery shopping on Saturday morning, rested during the heat of the day, and took the kids to the water park at the Strand late in the afternoon. The fans were running all night overnight to keep the air circulating. It was stinking hot again on Sunday morning, so after doing some preparation to depart we went to the Tobruk Pool and we all cooled off. Once back at the boat, we had lunch and did our final preparation to depart.
We dropped the mooring lines at 1:52pm and motored out of the marina. We sailed NE across Cleveland Bay, close hauled into 15kt N winds. With two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100%, we made around 6.5kts over ground. We sailed around Cape Cleveland, passed between Four Foot Rock and Salamander Reef, and settled on an easterly course towards Cape Bowling Green.
The winds remained N during this leg, but gradually weakened to around 10kts. Seas were about 1.8m off our port quarter, giving us enough roll to make the leg slightly uncomfortable. We sailed on a beam reach making 6.5-7kts over ground. The sun set at 6:42pm, and the light on Cape Bowling Green soon became visible. We stayed well clear of the sandbanks around the cape.
By 8:20pm we were clear of Cape Bowling Green and altered course 30 degrees to starboard to 120 degrees magnetic. The wind chose this time to swing to the NW, so we were virtually on a run. It was too close for the head sail, so we sailed under full main. The winds were still about 10kts but now that we were running, our speed over ground dropped to around 5kts. The wind would pick up to around 12kts and we would sail, then drop to around 5kts and we would motor. Our course saw us pass Cape Upstart almost 20nm to its north.
I handed over to Heather at about 1:30am and got a few hours shut eye. During this time both the kids did a half hour stint on watch, albeit with Heather still in the cockpit. At around 4:25am, the GPS decided it was time to wake up and wanted to know where it was, so it just started working again!
I took over again at 4:30am as we passed Abbott Point, plotted a fix on the paper chart, and altered course slightly to 130 degrees magnetic. The wind was now W at 10-15kts, so I set the sails and we made about 5.5kts over ground.
By 7:00am the winds were SW at 12kts with 1.2m seas, and we sailed on a beam reach making about 6.5kts over ground. The winds died to less than 5kts by 7:30am, so the sails went away and we motored the last short stint down to Gloucester Passage. We came into Breakfast Bay on the south end of Gloucester Island at around 8:10am, but it took a couple of attempts to get the anchor set so we were not happily anchored until 8:23am.
Throughout the passage we only saw one other yacht, a catamaran, which we surprisingly overtook and left behind on the leg from Cape Cleveland to Cape Bowling Green. As the sun set we were overtaken by a tug heading the same way as us and it was a couple of hours before his stern light disappeared over the horizon. Other than that it was all big ships. We saw a few in the shipping lane on the horizon to our north, had one pass about three miles north of us, and a small cruise ship overtook us about five miles to our north (we heard her leaving Townsville on the VHF, bound for Hamilton Island, so we knew to keep an eye out for her).
It was a long night, but we made some good miles. We are resting today and tonight at Breakfast Bay, and a final weather check will determine whether or not we head to Bait Reef tomorrow. If not, we will head to somewhere in the Whitsundays.
End Loc: Breakfast Bay, Gloucester Island (20o 03.19'S, 148o 27.67'E)
Distance run: 123nm (cumulative: 2371nm)
Engine hours: 8 hr, 17 min (cumulative: 64 hr, 02 min)
Friday, 9 December 2011
9th December, 2011
Start Loc: Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island (19o 06.78'S, 146o 51.68'E)
Narrative: It was calm overnight which continued into this morning. The kids decided that rather than go for a swim they would prefer to water ski, so after bacon and eggs for breakfast we put the 15hp on the dinghy and got the ski gear out. They both did amazingly well and by the end of the session they were both turning easily and crossing the wake.
By the time we had washed down the ski gear, put the dinghy back on the davits and got ready to sail, it was 12:03pm when we raised the anchor. We motored out of Horseshoe Bay, around The Point and east past Radical Bay. The wind was NE at about 10kts, so as we passed Orchard Rock on the NE corner of the Island, we set full sail and turned the motor off. We sailed SSW on a broad reach down the east side of Magnetic Island, paralleling the shipping channel and dodging all the commercial and private traffic coming and going from Nelly Bay, as well as all the small craft out and about fishing.
It was a good sail into the breakwater and we tied up at the fuel wharf at 2:10pm. Heather and the kids went to the marina office to check in while I refueled.
Refuelled: 57.70L @ 165.0c/L = $95.21
Economy since 29 Nov: 57.70L for 26 hr 33 min = 2.17L/hr
Economy overall: 482.67L for 251 hr 12 min = 1.92L/hr
The economy for this period is a bit higher than average as expected due to all the motoring into wind we have done since Port Douglas. That said, the overall impression is not one of having beaten into wind for days on end, so it hasn't been too bad.
We moved from the fuel wharf around to our marina berth and spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning. The whole boat got a good scrub down, we flushed the outboards, and we washed the salt out all the lifelines and stay swages, the furling drum and the winches. The cockpit also got a good scrub and the whole boat sparkles again.
We will spend a couple of days in Townsville and restock provisions. We are yet to decide exactly where to from here, but I am thinking of a long haul past Cape Bowling Green and Cape Upstart to Gloucester Island off Bowen (a passage of about 110nm) before heading back into the Whitsundays. Alternatively, if the weather is right we could go straight from Townsville to Bait Reef or to Hook Island which are both about 135nm from Townsville. We'll see what the forecast is when we leave.
End Loc: Breakwater Marina, Townsville (19o 15.16'S, 146o 49.43'E)
Distance run: 13nm (cumulative: 2248nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 13 min (cumulative: 55 hr, 45 min)
Narrative: It was calm overnight which continued into this morning. The kids decided that rather than go for a swim they would prefer to water ski, so after bacon and eggs for breakfast we put the 15hp on the dinghy and got the ski gear out. They both did amazingly well and by the end of the session they were both turning easily and crossing the wake.
By the time we had washed down the ski gear, put the dinghy back on the davits and got ready to sail, it was 12:03pm when we raised the anchor. We motored out of Horseshoe Bay, around The Point and east past Radical Bay. The wind was NE at about 10kts, so as we passed Orchard Rock on the NE corner of the Island, we set full sail and turned the motor off. We sailed SSW on a broad reach down the east side of Magnetic Island, paralleling the shipping channel and dodging all the commercial and private traffic coming and going from Nelly Bay, as well as all the small craft out and about fishing.
It was a good sail into the breakwater and we tied up at the fuel wharf at 2:10pm. Heather and the kids went to the marina office to check in while I refueled.
Refuelled: 57.70L @ 165.0c/L = $95.21
Economy since 29 Nov: 57.70L for 26 hr 33 min = 2.17L/hr
Economy overall: 482.67L for 251 hr 12 min = 1.92L/hr
The economy for this period is a bit higher than average as expected due to all the motoring into wind we have done since Port Douglas. That said, the overall impression is not one of having beaten into wind for days on end, so it hasn't been too bad.
We moved from the fuel wharf around to our marina berth and spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning. The whole boat got a good scrub down, we flushed the outboards, and we washed the salt out all the lifelines and stay swages, the furling drum and the winches. The cockpit also got a good scrub and the whole boat sparkles again.
We will spend a couple of days in Townsville and restock provisions. We are yet to decide exactly where to from here, but I am thinking of a long haul past Cape Bowling Green and Cape Upstart to Gloucester Island off Bowen (a passage of about 110nm) before heading back into the Whitsundays. Alternatively, if the weather is right we could go straight from Townsville to Bait Reef or to Hook Island which are both about 135nm from Townsville. We'll see what the forecast is when we leave.
End Loc: Breakwater Marina, Townsville (19o 15.16'S, 146o 49.43'E)
Distance run: 13nm (cumulative: 2248nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 13 min (cumulative: 55 hr, 45 min)
Thursday, 8 December 2011
8th December, 2011
Start Loc: Little Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island (18o 35.73'S, 146o 29.26'E)
Narrative: Last night was a comfortable night and we all got a good rest. It didn't rain either! It was well after 8:00am when I managed to get the crew out of bed. We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:20am and motored out of the bay.
The BoM has really had trouble with this trough, and normally their forecasts have been pretty good. Despite the northerly winds that were forecast last night, we had southerly winds at about 8kts so we motored south down the western side of Orpheus Island.
As we rounded the bottom of Orpheus Island and turned SE towards Steamer Passage, the passage between Great Palm Island and Eclipse Island, the wind made a corresponding course change and we still had it on our nose as we motored through the passage. Once south of Great Palm Island, the wind was E at around 8kts, so we set sail and motor sailed close hauled on our SE course towards Magnetic Island.
After lunch the wind had freshened to around 11kts and swung NE. We had switched the motor off and sailed happily on a beam reach making 6-7kts over ground. It turned out to be several hours of pleasant sailing, and we sailed into Horseshoe Bay and had the anchor set by 3:52pm.
We took the dinghy ashore and had a drink, and the kids had a play in the park. I have promised to take the kids for a swim in the swimming enclosure tomorrow morning, and then we will sail to Townsville.
End Loc: Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island (19o 06.78'S, 146o 51.68'E)
Distance run: 40nm (cumulative: 2235nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 24 min (cumulative: 54 hr, 32 min)
Narrative: Last night was a comfortable night and we all got a good rest. It didn't rain either! It was well after 8:00am when I managed to get the crew out of bed. We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:20am and motored out of the bay.
The BoM has really had trouble with this trough, and normally their forecasts have been pretty good. Despite the northerly winds that were forecast last night, we had southerly winds at about 8kts so we motored south down the western side of Orpheus Island.
As we rounded the bottom of Orpheus Island and turned SE towards Steamer Passage, the passage between Great Palm Island and Eclipse Island, the wind made a corresponding course change and we still had it on our nose as we motored through the passage. Once south of Great Palm Island, the wind was E at around 8kts, so we set sail and motor sailed close hauled on our SE course towards Magnetic Island.
After lunch the wind had freshened to around 11kts and swung NE. We had switched the motor off and sailed happily on a beam reach making 6-7kts over ground. It turned out to be several hours of pleasant sailing, and we sailed into Horseshoe Bay and had the anchor set by 3:52pm.
We took the dinghy ashore and had a drink, and the kids had a play in the park. I have promised to take the kids for a swim in the swimming enclosure tomorrow morning, and then we will sail to Townsville.
End Loc: Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island (19o 06.78'S, 146o 51.68'E)
Distance run: 40nm (cumulative: 2235nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 24 min (cumulative: 54 hr, 32 min)
7th December, 2011
Start Loc: Dungeness (18o 31.35'S, 146o 19.68'E)
Narrative: We had a gentle westerly blowing when we got up this morning, so it looked like the change had come through. A check of the weather showed a favourable forecast, so after breakfast, we raised the anchor at 9:03am and motored back out of the Hinchinbrook Channel.
We did indeed have W winds, at 8kts. We raised full sail and motor sailed on our heading NNW heading. We were halfway between a beam and close reach, making 5-6kts through the water and 6.5-7.5kts over ground. We dropped sail as we came into Zoe Bay, and the wind also picked that time to switch to a northerly. Although we motored into Zoe Bay just before 11:00am, it took us a few goes to set the anchor and it was 11:20am before I was happy. I recall we had the same issue last time we were here. For some reason the sand/mud mix does not provide good holding.
The kids started to get the dinghy ready while Heather and I made a picnic lunch for us all. We then put the motor on the dinghy and went ashore. We had lunch at the camping area in the south-west corner of the bay before walking up to the waterfall and rock pool. We went past the waterfall and continued up the track a bit to the creek at the top of the waterfall. There was some nice deep swimming holes at the top as well, but faster flowing and not as big as at the bottom of the waterfall, so we headed back down. After a couple of hours swimming and playing in the fresh water, we left just after 3:00pm and headed back to the boat.
The tidal flow within Zoe Bay held us beam on to the gentle swell coming into the bay, and that was enough to make us roll a fair bit. We decided we would head to Orpheus Island where we knew that Little Pioneer Bay would provide us good protection from N weather. We raised the anchor and departed Zoe Bay and Hinchinbrook Island at 4:45pm.
We had N winds at 8-10kts. Our SE course had us between a training run and a broad reach, and we were making about 6kts over ground. The sun set at 6:42pm and the wind dropped to about 7kts, but it was pleasant twilight sailing so we were happy to make just 3.5kts. We dropped the sails at 7:20pm, just on nautical twilight, and motored into Little Pioneer Bay. All four public moorings were vacant, so we picked up the one furthest into the bay, at 7:29pm. It was a good day.
We should have N winds for the next two days, so tomorrow we will probably sail down to Magnetic Island and then into Townsville on Friday.
End Loc: Little Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island (18o 35.73'S, 146o 29.26'E)
Distance run: 29nm (cumulative: 2195nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 51 hr, 08 min)
Narrative: We had a gentle westerly blowing when we got up this morning, so it looked like the change had come through. A check of the weather showed a favourable forecast, so after breakfast, we raised the anchor at 9:03am and motored back out of the Hinchinbrook Channel.
We did indeed have W winds, at 8kts. We raised full sail and motor sailed on our heading NNW heading. We were halfway between a beam and close reach, making 5-6kts through the water and 6.5-7.5kts over ground. We dropped sail as we came into Zoe Bay, and the wind also picked that time to switch to a northerly. Although we motored into Zoe Bay just before 11:00am, it took us a few goes to set the anchor and it was 11:20am before I was happy. I recall we had the same issue last time we were here. For some reason the sand/mud mix does not provide good holding.
The kids started to get the dinghy ready while Heather and I made a picnic lunch for us all. We then put the motor on the dinghy and went ashore. We had lunch at the camping area in the south-west corner of the bay before walking up to the waterfall and rock pool. We went past the waterfall and continued up the track a bit to the creek at the top of the waterfall. There was some nice deep swimming holes at the top as well, but faster flowing and not as big as at the bottom of the waterfall, so we headed back down. After a couple of hours swimming and playing in the fresh water, we left just after 3:00pm and headed back to the boat.
The tidal flow within Zoe Bay held us beam on to the gentle swell coming into the bay, and that was enough to make us roll a fair bit. We decided we would head to Orpheus Island where we knew that Little Pioneer Bay would provide us good protection from N weather. We raised the anchor and departed Zoe Bay and Hinchinbrook Island at 4:45pm.
We had N winds at 8-10kts. Our SE course had us between a training run and a broad reach, and we were making about 6kts over ground. The sun set at 6:42pm and the wind dropped to about 7kts, but it was pleasant twilight sailing so we were happy to make just 3.5kts. We dropped the sails at 7:20pm, just on nautical twilight, and motored into Little Pioneer Bay. All four public moorings were vacant, so we picked up the one furthest into the bay, at 7:29pm. It was a good day.
We should have N winds for the next two days, so tomorrow we will probably sail down to Magnetic Island and then into Townsville on Friday.
End Loc: Little Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island (18o 35.73'S, 146o 29.26'E)
Distance run: 29nm (cumulative: 2195nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 51 hr, 08 min)
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
6th December, 2011
Start Loc: Bowden Island (18o 02.44'S, 146o 11.74'E)
Narrative: Last night was not the best one we have had. Despite the forecast the wind strengthened and we were getting high teens with gusts over 20kts. We had seas coming over the reef between Smith and Bowden Islands, as well as coming around the south of Bowden Island, so we were getting seas up to 1m from two directions. That's alright when sailing, but not good for an overnight anchorage. It also rained most of the night, and generally quite heavy. It's not surprising I guess seeing we are at much the same latitude as Tully, but it meant we had to have all the hatches and ports closed, so the batteries got a workout running the fans all night. To top it off, the hatch over Heather's and my bed decided it was a good time to start to leak, so I spent most of the night with a towel over me to absorb the water. It wasn't a fun night (but still beats a good day in the office!).
The low trough is proving really unpredictable for the BoM, but with the forecast of variable winds at 5-10kts for this afternoon, we gambled that the change would come late this morning, so we decided we would give Zoe Bay a go. Zoe Bay is on the east side of Hinchinbrook Island and very exposed to easterly weather, but it is the one with the walk to the waterfall and fresh water rock pool, so it is on our list of places to visit again.
We raised the anchor at 8:52am, motored clear of the shallows around Bowden and Hudson Islands, and set a course for the NE corner of Hinchinbrook Island. The wind was from the SSW at only about 5kts, with seas of around 0.8m. With the lack of wind, I only raised the main and we motor sailed on our SE course. An hour later I had dropped the main as the wind had swung SE and was now straight on the nose. The sea had picked up and was now around 1.2m, and we continued motoring into wind and waves, past the Brook Islands.
Just as we were passing between Cape Sandwich on Hinchinbrook and Eva Island at around 11:20am, the GPS decided it wasn't going to play anymore. I think it is moisture related. We had a similar problem with all the rain at the start of the year. It was in and out for a bit, we pulled the antenna and wiring apart to dry, and then just stopped playing up; until now. It's handy but not essential, and we will make do until we can get it all dry and working again.
We arrived at Zoe Bay around 1:00pm. There was still 1.2m waves rolling straight into the bay and no sign of the weather change. We may have been able to get into the creek at the north end of the bay close to high tide, but that was still four hours away and no guarantee, so we decided we would move to shelter in the Hinchinbrook Channel.
The wind had swung to ESE and freshened to around 12kts, so we motored clear of Hillcock Point SE of Zoe Bay then sailed SSE heading towards the end of the Lucinda Jetty, to the fairway buoy. We then dropped sail, confirmed we had enough tide, and motored on the leads over the shallows into the Hinchinbrook Channel. We dropped anchor at 3:46pm just past the old molasses jetty at Dungeness.
The plan is to get a good night's rest and check the weather first thing in the morning. Unless it is atrocious we will head back to Zoe Bay and go to the rock pool. If it is as forecast and suitable for overnight we will stay there, otherwise we will head down to Orpheus Island for the night.
End Loc: Dungeness (18o 31.35'S, 146o 19.68'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 2166nm)
Engine hours: 6 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 48 hr, 08 min)
Narrative: Last night was not the best one we have had. Despite the forecast the wind strengthened and we were getting high teens with gusts over 20kts. We had seas coming over the reef between Smith and Bowden Islands, as well as coming around the south of Bowden Island, so we were getting seas up to 1m from two directions. That's alright when sailing, but not good for an overnight anchorage. It also rained most of the night, and generally quite heavy. It's not surprising I guess seeing we are at much the same latitude as Tully, but it meant we had to have all the hatches and ports closed, so the batteries got a workout running the fans all night. To top it off, the hatch over Heather's and my bed decided it was a good time to start to leak, so I spent most of the night with a towel over me to absorb the water. It wasn't a fun night (but still beats a good day in the office!).
The low trough is proving really unpredictable for the BoM, but with the forecast of variable winds at 5-10kts for this afternoon, we gambled that the change would come late this morning, so we decided we would give Zoe Bay a go. Zoe Bay is on the east side of Hinchinbrook Island and very exposed to easterly weather, but it is the one with the walk to the waterfall and fresh water rock pool, so it is on our list of places to visit again.
We raised the anchor at 8:52am, motored clear of the shallows around Bowden and Hudson Islands, and set a course for the NE corner of Hinchinbrook Island. The wind was from the SSW at only about 5kts, with seas of around 0.8m. With the lack of wind, I only raised the main and we motor sailed on our SE course. An hour later I had dropped the main as the wind had swung SE and was now straight on the nose. The sea had picked up and was now around 1.2m, and we continued motoring into wind and waves, past the Brook Islands.
Just as we were passing between Cape Sandwich on Hinchinbrook and Eva Island at around 11:20am, the GPS decided it wasn't going to play anymore. I think it is moisture related. We had a similar problem with all the rain at the start of the year. It was in and out for a bit, we pulled the antenna and wiring apart to dry, and then just stopped playing up; until now. It's handy but not essential, and we will make do until we can get it all dry and working again.
We arrived at Zoe Bay around 1:00pm. There was still 1.2m waves rolling straight into the bay and no sign of the weather change. We may have been able to get into the creek at the north end of the bay close to high tide, but that was still four hours away and no guarantee, so we decided we would move to shelter in the Hinchinbrook Channel.
The wind had swung to ESE and freshened to around 12kts, so we motored clear of Hillcock Point SE of Zoe Bay then sailed SSE heading towards the end of the Lucinda Jetty, to the fairway buoy. We then dropped sail, confirmed we had enough tide, and motored on the leads over the shallows into the Hinchinbrook Channel. We dropped anchor at 3:46pm just past the old molasses jetty at Dungeness.
The plan is to get a good night's rest and check the weather first thing in the morning. Unless it is atrocious we will head back to Zoe Bay and go to the rock pool. If it is as forecast and suitable for overnight we will stay there, otherwise we will head down to Orpheus Island for the night.
End Loc: Dungeness (18o 31.35'S, 146o 19.68'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 2166nm)
Engine hours: 6 hr, 00 min (cumulative: 48 hr, 08 min)
Monday, 5 December 2011
5th December, 2011
Start Loc: Mourilyan Harbour (17o 36.14'S, 146o 07.30'E)
Narrative: We bumped the bottom on the low tide overnight. Just before we anchored, I checked how much depth we needed; the tide was to go out 1.4m, plus our 1.7m draught, meant we needed to anchor in 3.1m of water plus any fudge. As we manoeuvred around during anchoring, the least depth I saw was 3.4m, so we should have had 30cm of clearance. Either the tide tables were not accurate, or more likely, at low tide we just happened to be sitting over a bump. Heather woke up to "funny" bumping and when we checked the depth we were 10 minutes after low tide and showing 1.6m. It was only mud and not enough to keep me awake, and certainly not worth moving, so I went back to bed. Heather stayed up 20 minutes or so until we were clear of the bottom as the tide came back in.
We all had a bit of a sleep in this morning, but still decided that rather than a short leg to Stephens Island we would continue south to an anchorage around Smith and Bowden Islands, with Dunk Island as a fall back should the going be slow. It was 10:20am before we raised the anchor and motored out of the harbour. Once clear of the entrance, we motored SE direct into wind for a bit over an hour until clear of North Barnard Islands. The winds were SE at around 12kts as we sailed SSW. We were against the tide so speed over ground was as low as 3.5kts. After an hour or so of slow progress, we tacked not long before 1:00pm and sailed E. We now had 1.5kts of favourable tide so it was a good tack.
The wind swung to more ESE as we tracked south again, and as the strength varied between 8kts and 14kts, we sailed and motor sailed as needed to keep speed up. The tide eventually turned and started to assist, and we ended up making good time as we sailed past Dunk Island. We dropped sail as we came to our anchorage and dropped the pick off Bowden Island at 4:53pm.
Bowden and Smith Islands are both small, uninhabited islands, and part of the Family Islands Group. There is a reef that links the two islands and provides a reasonable anchorage on the lee side. We connected a mooring line with a float to the head of the anchor to aid recovery, just in case we get snagged. Hudson Island is just south and we got our anchor caught there on the way up, so I might be a bit gun shy. After anchoring the kids and I went for a swim to the beach and had a quick look around, then showers and dinner. It is a bit blowy and hence a bit rough as I type this, so we will see how comfortable the night is.
End Loc: Bowden Island (18o 02.44'S, 146o 11.74'E)
Distance run: 36nm (cumulative: 2129nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 39 min (cumulative: 42 hr, 08 min)
Narrative: We bumped the bottom on the low tide overnight. Just before we anchored, I checked how much depth we needed; the tide was to go out 1.4m, plus our 1.7m draught, meant we needed to anchor in 3.1m of water plus any fudge. As we manoeuvred around during anchoring, the least depth I saw was 3.4m, so we should have had 30cm of clearance. Either the tide tables were not accurate, or more likely, at low tide we just happened to be sitting over a bump. Heather woke up to "funny" bumping and when we checked the depth we were 10 minutes after low tide and showing 1.6m. It was only mud and not enough to keep me awake, and certainly not worth moving, so I went back to bed. Heather stayed up 20 minutes or so until we were clear of the bottom as the tide came back in.
We all had a bit of a sleep in this morning, but still decided that rather than a short leg to Stephens Island we would continue south to an anchorage around Smith and Bowden Islands, with Dunk Island as a fall back should the going be slow. It was 10:20am before we raised the anchor and motored out of the harbour. Once clear of the entrance, we motored SE direct into wind for a bit over an hour until clear of North Barnard Islands. The winds were SE at around 12kts as we sailed SSW. We were against the tide so speed over ground was as low as 3.5kts. After an hour or so of slow progress, we tacked not long before 1:00pm and sailed E. We now had 1.5kts of favourable tide so it was a good tack.
The wind swung to more ESE as we tracked south again, and as the strength varied between 8kts and 14kts, we sailed and motor sailed as needed to keep speed up. The tide eventually turned and started to assist, and we ended up making good time as we sailed past Dunk Island. We dropped sail as we came to our anchorage and dropped the pick off Bowden Island at 4:53pm.
Bowden and Smith Islands are both small, uninhabited islands, and part of the Family Islands Group. There is a reef that links the two islands and provides a reasonable anchorage on the lee side. We connected a mooring line with a float to the head of the anchor to aid recovery, just in case we get snagged. Hudson Island is just south and we got our anchor caught there on the way up, so I might be a bit gun shy. After anchoring the kids and I went for a swim to the beach and had a quick look around, then showers and dinner. It is a bit blowy and hence a bit rough as I type this, so we will see how comfortable the night is.
End Loc: Bowden Island (18o 02.44'S, 146o 11.74'E)
Distance run: 36nm (cumulative: 2129nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 39 min (cumulative: 42 hr, 08 min)
Sunday, 4 December 2011
4th December, 2011
Start Loc: Fitzroy Island (16o 55.78'S, 145o 59.29'E)
Narrative: Today was another long, slow day. I wanted to get a reasonably early start, and it was 7:48am that we raised the anchor. We motored down the west side of Fitzroy Island so I could confirm the wind direction before setting sail. It was blowing basically from the south at 10-12kts, with seas around 1.5m. I figured that the wind would bear more to the SE later in the day and the further south we got, so I decided to head out. We set full sail and sailed SE towards Stagg Patches. I had to tack back in to get around Scott Reef, but then continued SE until past Flora Reef.
It was a little after 1:00pm that we tacked back SW. The wind had dropped to around 8kts, so we motor sailed to keep some speed. By mid-afternoon the wind had swung SE and picked up to 12kts again, so we had an hour and a half or so of great sailing before the breeze dropped to less than 10kts again and we had to motor sail. We maintained this tack until we were close to the coast just north of Mourilyan Harbour, then dropped sail and motored the last few miles. We got in just after sunset, and anchored at 7:08pm. Heather started dinner while the kids and I got set up for the evening.
Fitzroy Island to Mourilyan Harbour is 42nm by the rhumb line. We covered 44nm in a little less than 8 hours on the way up, but it took us 57nm and almost 12 hours on the way back! I look forward to northerly winds.
Speaking of which, the forecast has changed. There is some uncertainty with the trough and the wind should now change tomorrow afternoon rather than overnight tonight. It suits me as tomorrow is a reasonably short hop to Stephens Island, but some northerlies would be nice after that.
End Loc: Mourilyan Harbour (17o 36.14'S, 146o 07.30'E)
Distance run: 57nm (cumulative: 2093nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 44 min (cumulative: 38 hr, 29 min)
Narrative: Today was another long, slow day. I wanted to get a reasonably early start, and it was 7:48am that we raised the anchor. We motored down the west side of Fitzroy Island so I could confirm the wind direction before setting sail. It was blowing basically from the south at 10-12kts, with seas around 1.5m. I figured that the wind would bear more to the SE later in the day and the further south we got, so I decided to head out. We set full sail and sailed SE towards Stagg Patches. I had to tack back in to get around Scott Reef, but then continued SE until past Flora Reef.
It was a little after 1:00pm that we tacked back SW. The wind had dropped to around 8kts, so we motor sailed to keep some speed. By mid-afternoon the wind had swung SE and picked up to 12kts again, so we had an hour and a half or so of great sailing before the breeze dropped to less than 10kts again and we had to motor sail. We maintained this tack until we were close to the coast just north of Mourilyan Harbour, then dropped sail and motored the last few miles. We got in just after sunset, and anchored at 7:08pm. Heather started dinner while the kids and I got set up for the evening.
Fitzroy Island to Mourilyan Harbour is 42nm by the rhumb line. We covered 44nm in a little less than 8 hours on the way up, but it took us 57nm and almost 12 hours on the way back! I look forward to northerly winds.
Speaking of which, the forecast has changed. There is some uncertainty with the trough and the wind should now change tomorrow afternoon rather than overnight tonight. It suits me as tomorrow is a reasonably short hop to Stephens Island, but some northerlies would be nice after that.
End Loc: Mourilyan Harbour (17o 36.14'S, 146o 07.30'E)
Distance run: 57nm (cumulative: 2093nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 44 min (cumulative: 38 hr, 29 min)
Saturday, 3 December 2011
3rd December, 2011
Start Loc: Cairns (16o 55.15'S, 145o 46.87'E)
Narrative: Well, we had a fruitful few days in Cairns. The first thing I did on Wednesday was go and pick up a hire car. With a lot of running around to do and a reasonable amount of rain, it proved to be well worthwhile. We dropped the freezer off at an authorised Waeco repairer. They tested it concluding there did not appear to be anything wrong, and suggested it must be a power supply problem. I later checked all the electrics and found the fuse had blown. I replaced the fuse and everything worked fine, but that does not explain the gradual decline in performance of the freezer. We will see how it goes. We also dropped the main sail off at a sail maker who cut the head off and repaired it for us. He had a general look at the condition of the sail and reckoned it has about two years left in it. He did a great job, quickly, and at a very reasonable price. We would be happy to recommend him. We also took the broken door spring to a few people. We ended up at a spring place who said they could make a new one for us. We were looking at over $100 for a new door handle and mechanism (as the door is so thin), and we couldn't find one that fitted without chiseling bits of the door here and there, so $30 for three new springs (two spares) we again thought was a reasonably priced solution. After a day running around, we treated ourselves to dinner out.
We spent all day Thursday shopping. We knocked over the large majority of our Christmas shopping and finished the day with groceries. The kids were great so while I put all the groceries away, Heather took the kids to the Lagoon for the official turning on of the Cairns Council Christmas tree lights. Apparently it sounds a lot better than it was and the kids came back unimpressed! After dinner, we finished a long day with the whole family sitting around the table in the saloon wrapping presents.
We started Friday morning early with picking up the springs for the door handle. I then dropped Heather and Haydee at the post office where they sent off all our presents, while Cameron and I took some stuff back to the boat and returned the hire car. After we were back at the boat, we had our third science lesson for the trip. This one was touched on states of matter, using the sublimation (solid to gas) of dry ice as a case study. The kids thought the experiments were great, and the class finished with a fizzy cordial drink and home made ice-cream. Heather had a rest in the afternoon while I took the kids to the Lagoon, and then we all put the main sail and boom bag back on when the day had cooled down a bit.
It was a hectic few days, but we achieved a lot.
This morning, we cast off at 10:40am and motored out of the marina and out of Cairns. Once we had deep enough water on the east side of the channel, we turned east and motored into wind. Fortunately, as we passed False Cape, the land stopped affecting the wind as much and it settled as a 10kt SE. We were able to sail close hauled past Cape Grafton, but then had to continue east until we could tack south towards Fitzroy Island. The wind stayed around 10kts and we maintained 5-6kts, sailing close hauled. We were anchored in Welcome Bay just off the resort by 2:20pm. I told the kids they had to tidy their cabins, which Cam did quickly so we went for a snorkel. Haydee was a bit slower, so she got a quick swim before evening routine.
We will do a reasonably long leg tomorrow; about 40nm down to Mourilyan Harbour. The forecast is for E/SE winds at 10-15kts, so hopefully it will be more east than SE, but I suspect it will be a long day. The winds are due to change N/NE on Monday, so it should be easier sailing for a few days while the low trough passes over. There should be another trough close behind, so all going well we will have favourable winds for a week or so.
End Loc: Fitzroy Island (16o 55.78'S, 145o 59.29'E)
Distance run: 20nm (cumulative: 2036nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 30 min (cumulative: 34 hr, 45 min)
Narrative: Well, we had a fruitful few days in Cairns. The first thing I did on Wednesday was go and pick up a hire car. With a lot of running around to do and a reasonable amount of rain, it proved to be well worthwhile. We dropped the freezer off at an authorised Waeco repairer. They tested it concluding there did not appear to be anything wrong, and suggested it must be a power supply problem. I later checked all the electrics and found the fuse had blown. I replaced the fuse and everything worked fine, but that does not explain the gradual decline in performance of the freezer. We will see how it goes. We also dropped the main sail off at a sail maker who cut the head off and repaired it for us. He had a general look at the condition of the sail and reckoned it has about two years left in it. He did a great job, quickly, and at a very reasonable price. We would be happy to recommend him. We also took the broken door spring to a few people. We ended up at a spring place who said they could make a new one for us. We were looking at over $100 for a new door handle and mechanism (as the door is so thin), and we couldn't find one that fitted without chiseling bits of the door here and there, so $30 for three new springs (two spares) we again thought was a reasonably priced solution. After a day running around, we treated ourselves to dinner out.
We spent all day Thursday shopping. We knocked over the large majority of our Christmas shopping and finished the day with groceries. The kids were great so while I put all the groceries away, Heather took the kids to the Lagoon for the official turning on of the Cairns Council Christmas tree lights. Apparently it sounds a lot better than it was and the kids came back unimpressed! After dinner, we finished a long day with the whole family sitting around the table in the saloon wrapping presents.
We started Friday morning early with picking up the springs for the door handle. I then dropped Heather and Haydee at the post office where they sent off all our presents, while Cameron and I took some stuff back to the boat and returned the hire car. After we were back at the boat, we had our third science lesson for the trip. This one was touched on states of matter, using the sublimation (solid to gas) of dry ice as a case study. The kids thought the experiments were great, and the class finished with a fizzy cordial drink and home made ice-cream. Heather had a rest in the afternoon while I took the kids to the Lagoon, and then we all put the main sail and boom bag back on when the day had cooled down a bit.
It was a hectic few days, but we achieved a lot.
This morning, we cast off at 10:40am and motored out of the marina and out of Cairns. Once we had deep enough water on the east side of the channel, we turned east and motored into wind. Fortunately, as we passed False Cape, the land stopped affecting the wind as much and it settled as a 10kt SE. We were able to sail close hauled past Cape Grafton, but then had to continue east until we could tack south towards Fitzroy Island. The wind stayed around 10kts and we maintained 5-6kts, sailing close hauled. We were anchored in Welcome Bay just off the resort by 2:20pm. I told the kids they had to tidy their cabins, which Cam did quickly so we went for a snorkel. Haydee was a bit slower, so she got a quick swim before evening routine.
We will do a reasonably long leg tomorrow; about 40nm down to Mourilyan Harbour. The forecast is for E/SE winds at 10-15kts, so hopefully it will be more east than SE, but I suspect it will be a long day. The winds are due to change N/NE on Monday, so it should be easier sailing for a few days while the low trough passes over. There should be another trough close behind, so all going well we will have favourable winds for a week or so.
End Loc: Fitzroy Island (16o 55.78'S, 145o 59.29'E)
Distance run: 20nm (cumulative: 2036nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 30 min (cumulative: 34 hr, 45 min)
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
29th November, 2011
Start Loc: Port Douglas (16o 29.61'S, 145o 27.54'E)
Narrative: Unfortunately we didn't find a crocodile, which the kids were very disappointed about. I told them we would have to pull out the crocodile photos from when we did a Daintree River cruise a few years ago, but they don't remember it so apparently it doesn't cut it. We did achieve everything else we needed to though, including 100m of 60lb line and a new lure. Once we finish the spanish mackerel we will start trolling again.
We raised the anchor this morning at 8:03am and moved the short distance to the fuel wharf. We topped up the diesel tank, got 20L of ULP and filled up the forward water tank.
Refuelled: 34.70L @ 149.9c/L = $52.02
Economy since 13 Nov: 34.70L for 19 hr 54 min = 1.74L/hr
Economy overall: 424.97L for 224 hr 39 min = 1.89L/hr
We departed the fuel wharf at 8:40am and motored out of Port Douglas. The forecast was for winds E/SE at 15-20kts. We were hoping for more E than SE, and around 15kts. As we rounded Island Point, what we got was SE winds at 10kts; perfectly what we didn't want for our SE course. We motored SE for a bit to down near Wentworth Reef, then raised the sails and sailed close hauled ENE to take us out to sea. That then allowed us to tack and sail SSW for a while back in to the coast. The winds for this few hours stayed SE at 10kts, and we maintained 5kts over ground.
I decided it was then time to lower the sails, start the engine and power in the right direction to keep the miles ticking over, so we didn't get into Cairns as late as we got to Port Douglas. Once down near Double Island, the wind had swung more E, so we sailed NE for a bit to take us away from the coast. We then sailed south to the channel into Cairns. The wind picked up to 20kts during this leg, so we put a reef in the main and reduced head sail. We were secure in our berth t the marina by 5:00pm.
Port Douglas to Cairns by the rhumb line is about 37nm, but we had to cover 47nm. We averaged 5kts over ground.
The last thing we did was take the main sail off so we can take it in and get a sailmaker to do some preventative maintenance for us. It took us nearly an hour to do as we had to unthread the reefing lines and take the boom bag off to get the main off.
End Loc: Cairns (16o 55.15'S, 145o 46.87'E)
Distance run: 47nm (cumulative: 2016nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 03 min (cumulative: 33 hr, 15 min)
Narrative: Unfortunately we didn't find a crocodile, which the kids were very disappointed about. I told them we would have to pull out the crocodile photos from when we did a Daintree River cruise a few years ago, but they don't remember it so apparently it doesn't cut it. We did achieve everything else we needed to though, including 100m of 60lb line and a new lure. Once we finish the spanish mackerel we will start trolling again.
We raised the anchor this morning at 8:03am and moved the short distance to the fuel wharf. We topped up the diesel tank, got 20L of ULP and filled up the forward water tank.
Refuelled: 34.70L @ 149.9c/L = $52.02
Economy since 13 Nov: 34.70L for 19 hr 54 min = 1.74L/hr
Economy overall: 424.97L for 224 hr 39 min = 1.89L/hr
We departed the fuel wharf at 8:40am and motored out of Port Douglas. The forecast was for winds E/SE at 15-20kts. We were hoping for more E than SE, and around 15kts. As we rounded Island Point, what we got was SE winds at 10kts; perfectly what we didn't want for our SE course. We motored SE for a bit to down near Wentworth Reef, then raised the sails and sailed close hauled ENE to take us out to sea. That then allowed us to tack and sail SSW for a while back in to the coast. The winds for this few hours stayed SE at 10kts, and we maintained 5kts over ground.
I decided it was then time to lower the sails, start the engine and power in the right direction to keep the miles ticking over, so we didn't get into Cairns as late as we got to Port Douglas. Once down near Double Island, the wind had swung more E, so we sailed NE for a bit to take us away from the coast. We then sailed south to the channel into Cairns. The wind picked up to 20kts during this leg, so we put a reef in the main and reduced head sail. We were secure in our berth t the marina by 5:00pm.
Port Douglas to Cairns by the rhumb line is about 37nm, but we had to cover 47nm. We averaged 5kts over ground.
The last thing we did was take the main sail off so we can take it in and get a sailmaker to do some preventative maintenance for us. It took us nearly an hour to do as we had to unthread the reefing lines and take the boom bag off to get the main off.
End Loc: Cairns (16o 55.15'S, 145o 46.87'E)
Distance run: 47nm (cumulative: 2016nm)
Engine hours: 4 hr, 03 min (cumulative: 33 hr, 15 min)
Sunday, 27 November 2011
27th November, 2011
Start Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.84'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Narrative: What a long and slow day. We raised the anchor at 8:45am, picked our way through the coral and motored down the passage between the two islands. Once clear of all obstacles we had a look at raising sails. The winds were SE at around 15kts, whipping up seas of 2m. Unfortunately our course was SSE. We tried motor sailing to assist us so close to the wind, but the head sail was just flapping. We ended up dropping all sail, accepting that we would chew some fuel today, and motoring with the wind and waves virtually right on the nose. The 2m waves were also close together and the frequency meant even at 3kts we were coming down hard too often. Heather normally hates sailing close hauled, but in this case suggested it. We came off the wind to the east, winched on both sails nice and tight, and started our zigzag south.
We slowly beat our way south, sometimes with the motor to assist, always close hauled, and generally making about 5kts over ground. It was not much fun. Fortunately from about 3:00pm the wind started to switch more ESE, still at 10-15kts, and seas settled to 1-1.5m. Relatively it was much better and at least we were able to sail unassisted by the motor and make 6kts or so over ground.
We sailed through Penguin Channel between Cape Kimberley ans Snapper Island. As we passed the east end of the island we noticed a vacant public mooring buoy. We were tempted to take it up and spend the night there, but decided it was too exposed and that we would continue the 11nm or so into Port Douglas. It was actually a pleasant sail across the bay, as the sun went down and the day cooled off. We did this final stretch sailing between close hauled and a close reach, making about 6kts over ground. Seas were now only about 1m and I started to relax.
We entered the channel at 8:13pm, motored upstream, and anchored in the east-west stretch of Dickson Inlet at 8:25pm. We completed our post-sailing routine, mozzie proofed the boat, had a quick dinner (the kids had cereal, Heather had crackers, but I had mackerel mi goreng noodles) and packed the kids off to bed.
Hope Islands to Port Douglas by the rhumb line is about 48nm. We covered 60nm to get there, and took longer than planned(8-9 hours became almost 12 hours!).
We will relax here tomorrow; get some essential groceries to tide us over until Cairns (milk, bread, etc), get some more fishing line and lures, and search for a crocodile.
End Loc: Port Douglas (16o 29.61'S, 145o 27.54'E)
Distance run: 60nm (cumulative: 1969nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 15 min (cumulative: 29 hr, 12 min)
Narrative: What a long and slow day. We raised the anchor at 8:45am, picked our way through the coral and motored down the passage between the two islands. Once clear of all obstacles we had a look at raising sails. The winds were SE at around 15kts, whipping up seas of 2m. Unfortunately our course was SSE. We tried motor sailing to assist us so close to the wind, but the head sail was just flapping. We ended up dropping all sail, accepting that we would chew some fuel today, and motoring with the wind and waves virtually right on the nose. The 2m waves were also close together and the frequency meant even at 3kts we were coming down hard too often. Heather normally hates sailing close hauled, but in this case suggested it. We came off the wind to the east, winched on both sails nice and tight, and started our zigzag south.
We slowly beat our way south, sometimes with the motor to assist, always close hauled, and generally making about 5kts over ground. It was not much fun. Fortunately from about 3:00pm the wind started to switch more ESE, still at 10-15kts, and seas settled to 1-1.5m. Relatively it was much better and at least we were able to sail unassisted by the motor and make 6kts or so over ground.
We sailed through Penguin Channel between Cape Kimberley ans Snapper Island. As we passed the east end of the island we noticed a vacant public mooring buoy. We were tempted to take it up and spend the night there, but decided it was too exposed and that we would continue the 11nm or so into Port Douglas. It was actually a pleasant sail across the bay, as the sun went down and the day cooled off. We did this final stretch sailing between close hauled and a close reach, making about 6kts over ground. Seas were now only about 1m and I started to relax.
We entered the channel at 8:13pm, motored upstream, and anchored in the east-west stretch of Dickson Inlet at 8:25pm. We completed our post-sailing routine, mozzie proofed the boat, had a quick dinner (the kids had cereal, Heather had crackers, but I had mackerel mi goreng noodles) and packed the kids off to bed.
Hope Islands to Port Douglas by the rhumb line is about 48nm. We covered 60nm to get there, and took longer than planned(8-9 hours became almost 12 hours!).
We will relax here tomorrow; get some essential groceries to tide us over until Cairns (milk, bread, etc), get some more fishing line and lures, and search for a crocodile.
End Loc: Port Douglas (16o 29.61'S, 145o 27.54'E)
Distance run: 60nm (cumulative: 1969nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 15 min (cumulative: 29 hr, 12 min)
Saturday, 26 November 2011
26th November, 2011
Start Loc: Cape Bedford (15o 13.90'S, 145o 19.48'E)
Narrative: We dragged anchor yesterday evening. It was blowing a gale and a bit rainy, so we were all downstairs. Haydee went into the cockpit to set the table for dinner and said, "Ummm ... I think we might be dragging anchor." I went up to have a look and sure enough, we were 1.7nm further from the cape than when we anchored! In a little over three hours! We did 34 minutes on the engine just to move back in and make sure the anchor was set. One of the problems we had was that there were no handy visual references to see if we were dragging when we dropped the anchor. I used the GPS the second time, keeping an eye on speed over ground. We ended up leaving central navigation turned on all night so that we could have the anchor alarm set, as well as a bearing to a light we could see on a reef about 8nm away. We didn't move overnight, but I was up plenty of times to check.
I was wide awake well before the rest of the family, so after losing two lots of tackle yesterday I made up a new single strand steel wire trace and rigged my heavy rod for trolling.
We raised the anchor at 8:38am and motor sailed around Cape Bedford. The wind was ESE at around 15kts. We motor sailed SE to clear South Cape Bedford, and then came off the wind a bit sailing SSE close hauled with one reef in the main and 110% head sail. The wind varied between 10-15kts, so we made 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging around 5.6kts over ground. This was not too bad given we were close hauled and on the boat's least preferred port tack (we would have an extra knot of speed in the same conditions close hauled on a starboard tack).
We put a lure out the back once we cleared South Cape Bedford and at around 10:30am we had a strike and hook up. This time we landed a good spanish mackerel; 105cm long and 6.5kg.
We were overtaken by HMAS Melville (never heard of it, but googled it and found out is a hydrographic vessel, so I am a fan) as we came level with Cooktown. We passed Bee Reef and dropped sail 1.5nm north of Hope Islands. There were three boats near Hope Island East for only two public moorings, so as we motored in Heather prepared an anchor buoy to allow us to pull the anchor up head first if it got snagged. As we weaved our way through the reef Heather noticed the public mooring buoy we were on last time we were here was vacant (two of the boats were anchored), so we took that up at 3:10pm.
Tomorrow we will head into Port Douglas. One of the aims is to head up the creek in the dinghy and find a croc for the kids; another is to set up a few things (sail maker, freezer, etc) for when we head to Cairns on Tuesday.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.84'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 35nm (cumulative: 1909nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 03 min (cumulative: 25 hr, 57 min)
Narrative: We dragged anchor yesterday evening. It was blowing a gale and a bit rainy, so we were all downstairs. Haydee went into the cockpit to set the table for dinner and said, "Ummm ... I think we might be dragging anchor." I went up to have a look and sure enough, we were 1.7nm further from the cape than when we anchored! In a little over three hours! We did 34 minutes on the engine just to move back in and make sure the anchor was set. One of the problems we had was that there were no handy visual references to see if we were dragging when we dropped the anchor. I used the GPS the second time, keeping an eye on speed over ground. We ended up leaving central navigation turned on all night so that we could have the anchor alarm set, as well as a bearing to a light we could see on a reef about 8nm away. We didn't move overnight, but I was up plenty of times to check.
I was wide awake well before the rest of the family, so after losing two lots of tackle yesterday I made up a new single strand steel wire trace and rigged my heavy rod for trolling.
We raised the anchor at 8:38am and motor sailed around Cape Bedford. The wind was ESE at around 15kts. We motor sailed SE to clear South Cape Bedford, and then came off the wind a bit sailing SSE close hauled with one reef in the main and 110% head sail. The wind varied between 10-15kts, so we made 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging around 5.6kts over ground. This was not too bad given we were close hauled and on the boat's least preferred port tack (we would have an extra knot of speed in the same conditions close hauled on a starboard tack).
We put a lure out the back once we cleared South Cape Bedford and at around 10:30am we had a strike and hook up. This time we landed a good spanish mackerel; 105cm long and 6.5kg.
We were overtaken by HMAS Melville (never heard of it, but googled it and found out is a hydrographic vessel, so I am a fan) as we came level with Cooktown. We passed Bee Reef and dropped sail 1.5nm north of Hope Islands. There were three boats near Hope Island East for only two public moorings, so as we motored in Heather prepared an anchor buoy to allow us to pull the anchor up head first if it got snagged. As we weaved our way through the reef Heather noticed the public mooring buoy we were on last time we were here was vacant (two of the boats were anchored), so we took that up at 3:10pm.
Tomorrow we will head into Port Douglas. One of the aims is to head up the creek in the dinghy and find a croc for the kids; another is to set up a few things (sail maker, freezer, etc) for when we head to Cairns on Tuesday.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.84'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 35nm (cumulative: 1909nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 03 min (cumulative: 25 hr, 57 min)
Friday, 25 November 2011
25th November, 2011
Start Loc: Lizard Island (14o 39.79'S, 145o 27.08'E)
Narrative: Our time at Lizard Island over the last few days was magnificent. The place is amazing. On Tuesday Haydee, Cameron and I walked to Cook's Look. Heather dropped us at the beach and we headed off at 8:50am. It took us 70 minutes to walk up, including stopping at the signs and outlooks on the way, plus a couple of rest stops (it was already 30 degrees when we stepped off). We signed the visitors book at the top, took a photo of the kids in front of the cairn, and snapped a few photos of the view. After 20 minutes at the top it took us 45 minutes to walk back down. The track was well marked and easy in most places, and the kids agreed the two and a quarter hours was worth the experience.
The rest of Tuesday was spent with the kids doing their schoolwork, some lazy reading, swimming and snorkeling. Late afternoon we took the dinghy around to have a look at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove, and decided we would come back to Turtle Beach for a swim. We then joined a smaller group than yesterday on the beach for sundowners. We chatted with Colin and Ally from Indigo who told us their day trip to the outer ribbon reefs was not very enjoyable as they hit the reef and took 90 minutes to float off. They put some decent scratches on one skeg (Indigo is a Seawind 1000) and some pretty bad damage to one rudder, which also knocked the steering cables off that quadrant, so sailed back with one rudder. The quadrant is in a small area that Colin can't get to properly, so Cameron and Haydee offered their assistance. We ran the engine for 1 hour on Tuesday.
On Wednesday we took the dinghy around to the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS). It is staffed permanently by four people; two directors (both academics) and a maintenance couple. (The maintenance job is six months on, six months off and the couple that do the summer months October to March are retiring in March 2012. They will advertise for for replacements around March next year. Hmmmmm...) We watched a DVD in the library that told us all about what happens at the station, and then had a look around. One of the researchers grabbed us and asked if we would like to see some baby coral. We went into a lab and he told us a bit about his research. It was all very interesting. After LIRS we took the dinghy a bit further around the island and had a quick look at Blue Lagoon before heading back to the boat for lunch.
After lunch we went and helped Colin. Cam couldn't quite get the cables back on the steering quadrant, so I squeezed in and finished it off. That done, the kids and I went ashore. I showed them the treasure chest and visitors book, we had a look at the bore water pump, and then walked around to have a look at some ruins referred to as Mrs Watson's House but some evidence suggests it is not. The kids then showed me the cubby house they inherited from the kids that left on Tuesday on Footprints. After a quick snorkel, we headed back to the boat and got ready to go to the Marlin Bar near the resort for a drink. We finished a long day with dinner back on the boat. We also turned the freezer off on Wednesday. It had been running more and more to maintain -10 degrees, and in the last couple of days was not able to maintain that temperature. Rather than waste power we turned it off and will get it looked at in Cairns. I suspect it is a gas issue, but it is only six months old so there shouldn't be a problem.
Thursday was my birthday. The kids went ashore and hid some presents, then took me ashore and gave me a treasure map to find them. Indigo beached herself on the ebb tide and Colin put two screws through the rudder to help hold it together until he gets back to Port Douglas and can have her hauled out and repaired. After lunch we took the dinghy and had a swim and a snorkel at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove. We ran the engine for 34 minutes to warm up water for showers (and to put some charge in the batteries). We again finished the day swapping stories with other yachties at the Marlin Bar.
After a bit of a sleep in for most this morning, we had breakfast and prepared the boat to depart Lizard Island and commence our trip south. We raised the anchor at 9:04am, motored out of Watson's Bay and down the east side of the island. At the south east corner of the island we raised sail and set a course for Cape Bedford.
The wind was mainly ESE at around 15kts. Our southerly heading had us sailing mainly on a close reach. We started with two reefs in the main and 110% head sail, but I soon shook one reef out of the main, and later went to full head sail. Once we were abeam Cape Flattery and clear of the green zone around Lizard Island, we put a lure out the back. Within 15 minutes we had a hook up but it resulted in a snap off soon after, losing fish, lure, and trace. I rigged the line again and put another lure out. It soon had two strikes, but no hook up. It went quiet for a bit until we were south of Low Wooded Island and then we got another hook up. The line was rapidly running off the reel, so I didn't finish heaving to before I gave the helm to Heather and went for the reel. I got to it just before it ran out of line; there was a half second pause and then the line snapped with a twang. This time I lost the fish, lure, trace and all my line. The way it ran suggests something big, but we will never know...
We generally made 4.5-6kts through the water, and 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging 6.2kts over ground for the trip. Cape Bedford is normally visible "in average conditions" from 25nm. There was a heavy haze today and we could not make out the cape until we were 5nm away. We kept a constant watch for ships to make sure one could not sneak up on us from out of the haze. We anchored in the lee of Cape Bedford in 2.8m of water at 3:25pm. Overall, it was not a bad sail for our first day heading south.
End Loc: Cape Bedford (15o 13.90'S, 145o 19.48'E)
Distance run: 39nm (cumulative: 1874nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 22 min (cumulative: 22 hr, 54 min)
Narrative: Our time at Lizard Island over the last few days was magnificent. The place is amazing. On Tuesday Haydee, Cameron and I walked to Cook's Look. Heather dropped us at the beach and we headed off at 8:50am. It took us 70 minutes to walk up, including stopping at the signs and outlooks on the way, plus a couple of rest stops (it was already 30 degrees when we stepped off). We signed the visitors book at the top, took a photo of the kids in front of the cairn, and snapped a few photos of the view. After 20 minutes at the top it took us 45 minutes to walk back down. The track was well marked and easy in most places, and the kids agreed the two and a quarter hours was worth the experience.
The rest of Tuesday was spent with the kids doing their schoolwork, some lazy reading, swimming and snorkeling. Late afternoon we took the dinghy around to have a look at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove, and decided we would come back to Turtle Beach for a swim. We then joined a smaller group than yesterday on the beach for sundowners. We chatted with Colin and Ally from Indigo who told us their day trip to the outer ribbon reefs was not very enjoyable as they hit the reef and took 90 minutes to float off. They put some decent scratches on one skeg (Indigo is a Seawind 1000) and some pretty bad damage to one rudder, which also knocked the steering cables off that quadrant, so sailed back with one rudder. The quadrant is in a small area that Colin can't get to properly, so Cameron and Haydee offered their assistance. We ran the engine for 1 hour on Tuesday.
On Wednesday we took the dinghy around to the Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS). It is staffed permanently by four people; two directors (both academics) and a maintenance couple. (The maintenance job is six months on, six months off and the couple that do the summer months October to March are retiring in March 2012. They will advertise for for replacements around March next year. Hmmmmm...) We watched a DVD in the library that told us all about what happens at the station, and then had a look around. One of the researchers grabbed us and asked if we would like to see some baby coral. We went into a lab and he told us a bit about his research. It was all very interesting. After LIRS we took the dinghy a bit further around the island and had a quick look at Blue Lagoon before heading back to the boat for lunch.
After lunch we went and helped Colin. Cam couldn't quite get the cables back on the steering quadrant, so I squeezed in and finished it off. That done, the kids and I went ashore. I showed them the treasure chest and visitors book, we had a look at the bore water pump, and then walked around to have a look at some ruins referred to as Mrs Watson's House but some evidence suggests it is not. The kids then showed me the cubby house they inherited from the kids that left on Tuesday on Footprints. After a quick snorkel, we headed back to the boat and got ready to go to the Marlin Bar near the resort for a drink. We finished a long day with dinner back on the boat. We also turned the freezer off on Wednesday. It had been running more and more to maintain -10 degrees, and in the last couple of days was not able to maintain that temperature. Rather than waste power we turned it off and will get it looked at in Cairns. I suspect it is a gas issue, but it is only six months old so there shouldn't be a problem.
Thursday was my birthday. The kids went ashore and hid some presents, then took me ashore and gave me a treasure map to find them. Indigo beached herself on the ebb tide and Colin put two screws through the rudder to help hold it together until he gets back to Port Douglas and can have her hauled out and repaired. After lunch we took the dinghy and had a swim and a snorkel at Turtle Beach and Mermaid Cove. We ran the engine for 34 minutes to warm up water for showers (and to put some charge in the batteries). We again finished the day swapping stories with other yachties at the Marlin Bar.
After a bit of a sleep in for most this morning, we had breakfast and prepared the boat to depart Lizard Island and commence our trip south. We raised the anchor at 9:04am, motored out of Watson's Bay and down the east side of the island. At the south east corner of the island we raised sail and set a course for Cape Bedford.
The wind was mainly ESE at around 15kts. Our southerly heading had us sailing mainly on a close reach. We started with two reefs in the main and 110% head sail, but I soon shook one reef out of the main, and later went to full head sail. Once we were abeam Cape Flattery and clear of the green zone around Lizard Island, we put a lure out the back. Within 15 minutes we had a hook up but it resulted in a snap off soon after, losing fish, lure, and trace. I rigged the line again and put another lure out. It soon had two strikes, but no hook up. It went quiet for a bit until we were south of Low Wooded Island and then we got another hook up. The line was rapidly running off the reel, so I didn't finish heaving to before I gave the helm to Heather and went for the reel. I got to it just before it ran out of line; there was a half second pause and then the line snapped with a twang. This time I lost the fish, lure, trace and all my line. The way it ran suggests something big, but we will never know...
We generally made 4.5-6kts through the water, and 5.5-7kts over ground, averaging 6.2kts over ground for the trip. Cape Bedford is normally visible "in average conditions" from 25nm. There was a heavy haze today and we could not make out the cape until we were 5nm away. We kept a constant watch for ships to make sure one could not sneak up on us from out of the haze. We anchored in the lee of Cape Bedford in 2.8m of water at 3:25pm. Overall, it was not a bad sail for our first day heading south.
End Loc: Cape Bedford (15o 13.90'S, 145o 19.48'E)
Distance run: 39nm (cumulative: 1874nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 22 min (cumulative: 22 hr, 54 min)
21st November, 2011
Start Loc: Cape Flattery (14o 57.17'S, 145o 19.87'E)
Narrative: The swell started to come around the cape at about 6 o'clock this morning, and of course it was right on our beam. By 7 o'clock we had had enough of rolling and decided we would head off and have breakfast on the move. We raised the anchor at 7:45am and motored NNE until clear of the shoals running north off the cape, which also put us in clean air.
The wind was E at around 15kts and seas were about 1m. Our NNE heading had us sailing on a close reach, and under full sail we were generally making 5.5-6.5kts through the water and 7-8kts over ground. It was great sailing.
As Lizard Island grew larger, its satellite islands of South and Palfrey became distinguishable. These islands and surrounding coral form the lagoon anchorage on the south side of Lizard, which is where the Australian Museum research station is located. We sailed past them and the resort, dropped sail, and motored into Watson's Bay on the NW side of Lizard Island at 10:35am. We motored around the bay for a few minutes to select our anchorage amongst the 20 or so other boats in the bay, before dropping anchor at 10:43am in 3.5m of water. We were secure first time in good holding sand.
In a word, "spectacular". We all immediately agreed that the mix of reef, white sand and clear water make this an absolutely stunning place to stop. We swam and snorkeled the reef off the back of the boat, had lunch, then went ashore to have a quick look around. I found the start of the walks we want to do, and also found the "treasure chest" which has a visitors book and made an entry. We headed back to the boat to grab some snacks and drinks, then joined about 30 other people on the beach for sundowners.
Tomorrow we will do the walk up to Cook's Look (from where he confirmed his safe passage through the reef), and probably on Wednesday we will walk past the remains of Mrs Watson's house, past the airstrip and on to Blue Lagoon.
End Loc: Lizard Island (14o 39.79'S, 145o 27.08'E)
Distance run: 20nm (cumulative: 1835nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 23 min (cumulative: 19 hr, 58 min)
Narrative: The swell started to come around the cape at about 6 o'clock this morning, and of course it was right on our beam. By 7 o'clock we had had enough of rolling and decided we would head off and have breakfast on the move. We raised the anchor at 7:45am and motored NNE until clear of the shoals running north off the cape, which also put us in clean air.
The wind was E at around 15kts and seas were about 1m. Our NNE heading had us sailing on a close reach, and under full sail we were generally making 5.5-6.5kts through the water and 7-8kts over ground. It was great sailing.
As Lizard Island grew larger, its satellite islands of South and Palfrey became distinguishable. These islands and surrounding coral form the lagoon anchorage on the south side of Lizard, which is where the Australian Museum research station is located. We sailed past them and the resort, dropped sail, and motored into Watson's Bay on the NW side of Lizard Island at 10:35am. We motored around the bay for a few minutes to select our anchorage amongst the 20 or so other boats in the bay, before dropping anchor at 10:43am in 3.5m of water. We were secure first time in good holding sand.
In a word, "spectacular". We all immediately agreed that the mix of reef, white sand and clear water make this an absolutely stunning place to stop. We swam and snorkeled the reef off the back of the boat, had lunch, then went ashore to have a quick look around. I found the start of the walks we want to do, and also found the "treasure chest" which has a visitors book and made an entry. We headed back to the boat to grab some snacks and drinks, then joined about 30 other people on the beach for sundowners.
Tomorrow we will do the walk up to Cook's Look (from where he confirmed his safe passage through the reef), and probably on Wednesday we will walk past the remains of Mrs Watson's house, past the airstrip and on to Blue Lagoon.
End Loc: Lizard Island (14o 39.79'S, 145o 27.08'E)
Distance run: 20nm (cumulative: 1835nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 23 min (cumulative: 19 hr, 58 min)
Monday, 21 November 2011
20th November, 2011
Start Loc: Cooktown (15o 27.68'S, 145o 14.78'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday at Cooktown. We went ashore late morning and started by arranging with the owner of Cooks (sic) Landing Kiosk to come alongside his jetty in the morning and fill up our water tank. We then wandered down and had a look at the History Centre, had lunch at the Sovereign Hotel, went to the James Cook Museum, and finished the day by grabbing a few grocery items before heading back to the boat. We ran the engine twice for a total of 1 hr 40 mins.
We needed tide this morning to get across the small bar and into the channel of the Endeavour River. I worked out that 10:00am was the absolute latest we could leave the outgoing tide to still get across, otherwise it would be a little after 2:00pm before there was enough water again. As it turned out, we raised the anchor at 8:30am and crossed into the channel before tying up at the jetty. We filled the forward water tank, paid the $10 fee (which we were not made aware of until after the fact!) and cast off again at 9:28am to motor out of Cooktown.
Once clear of the channel, I continued motoring NE until we reached the 10m depth contour, and then set sail. Throughout the day the wind was E (and a little south of it), mainly 15-18kts, but occasionally dropping to around 10kts. Seas were 1-1.5m. When we raised sail we had around 17kts true wind. Our NNE course was to have us on a close reach and I expected apparent wind to be around 20kts. So we set the main with one reef and unfurled the head sail to 110%. This point of sail had us making 7-7.5kts over ground.
After about 2 hours we were clear enough of Cape Bedford, and we altered course to a more northerly heading, bringing us on to a beam reach. The wind dropped slightly and we had already gone to the full 130% head sail, so we shook the reef out of the main. We maintained this point of sail for almost 2 hours, our course bringing us between Low Wooded Island and Three Islands. Speed over ground was 7-8kts, and there was one half hour period when we covered 4nm.
Once we had the top of Low Wooded Island abeam us we altered course slightly west again, to a more NNW heading, to bring us in to Cape Flattery. This heading had us on a broad reach. The wind had dropped slightly and, being on a broad reach, apparent was now less than true wind speed. Our speed also reduced, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. We rounded Cape Flattery, crossed the shoal running north off the cape, and anchored in the first bay on the north side of the cape at 2:50pm. We anchored in 3.5m of calm water in good holding sand.
We covered the 37nm in 5hr 20 mins, averaging 6.9kts over ground. It was a great sail, maintaining good speed. Even better is that if the wind remains easterly, we will still have good sailing once we turn and head back south in a few days.
We have had interrupted sleep over the last few nights as we have had to get up several times throughout each night to shut hatches as it starts to rain. Once the shower passes we open them again as we need the circulation. And then it rains again! It has been mostly showers, but we had a good downpour at one stage last night. I think the wet season may be breaking and we will be in for more rain.
Tomorrow we will make the short hop to Lizard Island, which we can see about 16nm to our NNE, and spend a couple of nights there.
End Loc: Cape Flattery (14o 57.17'S, 145o 19.87'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 1815nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 43 min (cumulative: 18 hr, 35 min)
Narrative: We spent yesterday at Cooktown. We went ashore late morning and started by arranging with the owner of Cooks (sic) Landing Kiosk to come alongside his jetty in the morning and fill up our water tank. We then wandered down and had a look at the History Centre, had lunch at the Sovereign Hotel, went to the James Cook Museum, and finished the day by grabbing a few grocery items before heading back to the boat. We ran the engine twice for a total of 1 hr 40 mins.
We needed tide this morning to get across the small bar and into the channel of the Endeavour River. I worked out that 10:00am was the absolute latest we could leave the outgoing tide to still get across, otherwise it would be a little after 2:00pm before there was enough water again. As it turned out, we raised the anchor at 8:30am and crossed into the channel before tying up at the jetty. We filled the forward water tank, paid the $10 fee (which we were not made aware of until after the fact!) and cast off again at 9:28am to motor out of Cooktown.
Once clear of the channel, I continued motoring NE until we reached the 10m depth contour, and then set sail. Throughout the day the wind was E (and a little south of it), mainly 15-18kts, but occasionally dropping to around 10kts. Seas were 1-1.5m. When we raised sail we had around 17kts true wind. Our NNE course was to have us on a close reach and I expected apparent wind to be around 20kts. So we set the main with one reef and unfurled the head sail to 110%. This point of sail had us making 7-7.5kts over ground.
After about 2 hours we were clear enough of Cape Bedford, and we altered course to a more northerly heading, bringing us on to a beam reach. The wind dropped slightly and we had already gone to the full 130% head sail, so we shook the reef out of the main. We maintained this point of sail for almost 2 hours, our course bringing us between Low Wooded Island and Three Islands. Speed over ground was 7-8kts, and there was one half hour period when we covered 4nm.
Once we had the top of Low Wooded Island abeam us we altered course slightly west again, to a more NNW heading, to bring us in to Cape Flattery. This heading had us on a broad reach. The wind had dropped slightly and, being on a broad reach, apparent was now less than true wind speed. Our speed also reduced, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. We rounded Cape Flattery, crossed the shoal running north off the cape, and anchored in the first bay on the north side of the cape at 2:50pm. We anchored in 3.5m of calm water in good holding sand.
We covered the 37nm in 5hr 20 mins, averaging 6.9kts over ground. It was a great sail, maintaining good speed. Even better is that if the wind remains easterly, we will still have good sailing once we turn and head back south in a few days.
We have had interrupted sleep over the last few nights as we have had to get up several times throughout each night to shut hatches as it starts to rain. Once the shower passes we open them again as we need the circulation. And then it rains again! It has been mostly showers, but we had a good downpour at one stage last night. I think the wet season may be breaking and we will be in for more rain.
Tomorrow we will make the short hop to Lizard Island, which we can see about 16nm to our NNE, and spend a couple of nights there.
End Loc: Cape Flattery (14o 57.17'S, 145o 19.87'E)
Distance run: 37nm (cumulative: 1815nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 43 min (cumulative: 18 hr, 35 min)
Friday, 18 November 2011
18th November, 2011
Start Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.85'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Narrative: We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:29am and motored through the reef away from Hope Island East. We decided we would head north to Cairns Reef and do a bit of fishing, before heading in to Cooktown. I motored the 5nm or so to the reef even though we had a SE breeze of 10kts, simply to put some charge in the batteries. The fridge and freezer are both working harder now the ambient temperature is a little higher; they are running longer and using more power. Coupled with the fact that we have had on and off cloud cover and rain over the last few days and the solar panels can't keep up, it means we need to run the engine more to charge the batteries. Well over half the engine time yesterday was not spent getting from A to B.
We were trolling two lures behind us, and as we came up to the passage between Bee Reef and Cairns Reef I decided to move closer to Bee Reef and troll along the face. Almost straight away we had a strike on one of the lures and reeled in a small, but nice, 55cm shark mackerel. It will give us a good feed. We ended up anchoring just after 10:30am at the north end of the east face of Bee Reef, in 18m of water. We put some lines in the water but there was no action, so we had lunch and moved on again at 12:18pm.
The winds were still SE but had strengthened to 15-20kts. Seas were about 1.5m. We set full head sail and ran NW, passing to the east of Cowlishaw and Dawson Reefs, making around 6.5kts over ground. The following sea rolled us around a bit, but it was not unpleasant sailing.
As we rounded the headland and Cooktown came into view, we furled the head sail. The working sheet was let a bit loose and the sail started flapping as Heather furled. The lazy sheet ended up whipping around and getting Heather under the chin, leaving a somewhat nasty rope burn; nothing too serious, but painful. We could not see the leads as there were several boats anchored in front of them, so we just stayed between the channel markers. We anchored in Endeavour River at 2:55pm just past the first lead in good holding sand. The 3.4m of water we anchored in means that on tomorrow night's low tide we will have about 30cm under the keel.
After anchoring, we took the dinghy ashore. Heather and the kids went to the park while I walked down the road to "The Lure Shop" and picked up a new remote speaker for the VHF. The old one died a week or so ago. We confirmed the model number we were after on the internet and emailed GME, who put us onto The Lure Shop as a supplier in Cooktown. We rang them so they could get one in before we arrived, but it turned out they had what we wanted on the shelf. I installed it when we got back to the boat, and we can again hear the VHF while we are in the cockpit.
We will spend tomorrow here as well. We will do the tourist thing and have a look at the Cook Museum and a better general look around, as well as pick up a few items such as fresh bread and milk. On Sunday we will top up water at the public jetty before heading off on our final northerly stage to Lizard Island.
End Loc: Cooktown (15o 27.68'S, 145o 14.78'E)
Distance run: 23nm (cumulative: 1778nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 37 min (cumulative: 15 hr, 12 min)
Narrative: We dropped the mooring buoy at 9:29am and motored through the reef away from Hope Island East. We decided we would head north to Cairns Reef and do a bit of fishing, before heading in to Cooktown. I motored the 5nm or so to the reef even though we had a SE breeze of 10kts, simply to put some charge in the batteries. The fridge and freezer are both working harder now the ambient temperature is a little higher; they are running longer and using more power. Coupled with the fact that we have had on and off cloud cover and rain over the last few days and the solar panels can't keep up, it means we need to run the engine more to charge the batteries. Well over half the engine time yesterday was not spent getting from A to B.
We were trolling two lures behind us, and as we came up to the passage between Bee Reef and Cairns Reef I decided to move closer to Bee Reef and troll along the face. Almost straight away we had a strike on one of the lures and reeled in a small, but nice, 55cm shark mackerel. It will give us a good feed. We ended up anchoring just after 10:30am at the north end of the east face of Bee Reef, in 18m of water. We put some lines in the water but there was no action, so we had lunch and moved on again at 12:18pm.
The winds were still SE but had strengthened to 15-20kts. Seas were about 1.5m. We set full head sail and ran NW, passing to the east of Cowlishaw and Dawson Reefs, making around 6.5kts over ground. The following sea rolled us around a bit, but it was not unpleasant sailing.
As we rounded the headland and Cooktown came into view, we furled the head sail. The working sheet was let a bit loose and the sail started flapping as Heather furled. The lazy sheet ended up whipping around and getting Heather under the chin, leaving a somewhat nasty rope burn; nothing too serious, but painful. We could not see the leads as there were several boats anchored in front of them, so we just stayed between the channel markers. We anchored in Endeavour River at 2:55pm just past the first lead in good holding sand. The 3.4m of water we anchored in means that on tomorrow night's low tide we will have about 30cm under the keel.
After anchoring, we took the dinghy ashore. Heather and the kids went to the park while I walked down the road to "The Lure Shop" and picked up a new remote speaker for the VHF. The old one died a week or so ago. We confirmed the model number we were after on the internet and emailed GME, who put us onto The Lure Shop as a supplier in Cooktown. We rang them so they could get one in before we arrived, but it turned out they had what we wanted on the shelf. I installed it when we got back to the boat, and we can again hear the VHF while we are in the cockpit.
We will spend tomorrow here as well. We will do the tourist thing and have a look at the Cook Museum and a better general look around, as well as pick up a few items such as fresh bread and milk. On Sunday we will top up water at the public jetty before heading off on our final northerly stage to Lizard Island.
End Loc: Cooktown (15o 27.68'S, 145o 14.78'E)
Distance run: 23nm (cumulative: 1778nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 37 min (cumulative: 15 hr, 12 min)
Thursday, 17 November 2011
17th November, 2011
Start Loc: Low Island (16o 22.86'S, 145o 33.83'E)
Narrative: We got an early start this morning. After doing the preparation to go, I hoisted the main sail with one reef, Cameron dropped the mooring buoy, and we sailed off the mooring at 6:33am.
Throughout the sail the winds varied from E to SSE, but were generally at 15-20kts. Our NNW course had us sailing from a beam reach through to a run as the wind swung further south. We had several sail combinations; we started with one reef in the main and full head sail on a beam reach, switched to full main and reduced head sail as the wind came more and more astern, and finished with just full main on a run. Our boat speed was mostly 4.0-7.5kts, and there was generally another 1-1.5kts of tidal assistance.
We put the sails away and motored between Hope Islands East and West. Heather went to the bow as lookout as we came through the reef to a protected coral lagoon off Hope Island East. We had read that the bottom can be foul and anchors can get snagged, so we were happy to see a public mooring buoy which we picked up at 1:16pm. We covered the 41nm in 6 hr 43 min, averaging a little over 6kts over ground.
After a late lunch we got the dinghy ready and went ashore. The kids flew their kites and we went for a swim to cool off. All in all, a good day.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.85'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 41nm (cumulative: 1755nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 27 min (cumulative: 13 hr, 35 min)
Narrative: We got an early start this morning. After doing the preparation to go, I hoisted the main sail with one reef, Cameron dropped the mooring buoy, and we sailed off the mooring at 6:33am.
Throughout the sail the winds varied from E to SSE, but were generally at 15-20kts. Our NNW course had us sailing from a beam reach through to a run as the wind swung further south. We had several sail combinations; we started with one reef in the main and full head sail on a beam reach, switched to full main and reduced head sail as the wind came more and more astern, and finished with just full main on a run. Our boat speed was mostly 4.0-7.5kts, and there was generally another 1-1.5kts of tidal assistance.
We put the sails away and motored between Hope Islands East and West. Heather went to the bow as lookout as we came through the reef to a protected coral lagoon off Hope Island East. We had read that the bottom can be foul and anchors can get snagged, so we were happy to see a public mooring buoy which we picked up at 1:16pm. We covered the 41nm in 6 hr 43 min, averaging a little over 6kts over ground.
After a late lunch we got the dinghy ready and went ashore. The kids flew their kites and we went for a swim to cool off. All in all, a good day.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.85'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 41nm (cumulative: 1755nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 27 min (cumulative: 13 hr, 35 min)
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
16th November, 2011
Start Loc: Low Island (16o 22.90'S, 145o 33.82'E)
Narrative: A couple of the crew had a bit of a sleep in this morning. After breakfast we went for another snorkel, despite the light drizzle, and again swam with a turtle. When we got back to the boat, I tried to see past all the bat fish, ramoras etc off the back of the boat, as I wanted to get some footage of the black tip reef sharks that have been swimming around.
At 11:06am we dropped the mooring buoy and set sail for the safe water mark near the mouth of the Daintree River. The winds were ESE at 15-20kts with seas and swell of 1.5-2m. We ran on a WNW heading of 300 degrees magnetic under full main, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. As we neared the safe water mark we dropped sail and motored in.
We approached the bar right on high tide (12:50pm, 2.17m). We had no dramas motoring from the safe water mark to the starboard lateral, and once we rounded it we made direct for the port lateral. After a few hundred metres the depth dropped from 3m pretty quickly and we bumped the bottom. We probed around a bit but couldn't find deep water leading to the port lateral. As we motored around looking for deep water, the wind and waves pushed us further in and we bumped the bottom fairly violently as we came into the troughs between waves. That was enough and we decided to abort. We had some trouble getting out and came down harder on the keel than I would have liked several times more than I would have liked, but we made it back to deep water.
At 1:15pm, having decided against crossing the bar into the Daintree River, we decided the only real option was to head back to Low Isles for the night and come up with a new plan from there. We started motoring straight into wind and waves, but at 1:30pm decided we would rather take 2 hours to sail than 1.5 hours to motor, so we tacked our way close hauled back to Low Isles. We dropped sail and started the motor as we got close, and Heather helmed us up to the mooring buoy while Haydee and I did the business at the bow. By 3:32pm we were secured to a public mooring buoy just north of the one we had last night.
As a priority we checked the keel bolts and surrounds for any signs of stress cracks, but there was nothing to alarm us. I then donned fins and goggles, took a torch and inspected all around the keel and hull join, but again there was nothing alarming. We emptied the bilge and will monitor it just in case.
The sand bar around the entrance to the Daintree River may have moved since the buoys were last repositioned, so we will see if we can get any updated advice on the best way in to the river. Spring tides on 25th and 26th November will give us 2.86m of tide at 9:00am and 9:50am respectively. We may be back this way by then, and if the weather is a bit calmer and the waves are less than 2m, we may give it another crack. In the meantime, with 15-20kts SE forecast for the next few days, we will do a 40nm run tomorrow up to Hope Islands which is the next spot to provide good SE protection. We will have to leave early to get in around mid-afternoon so we can still see the coral as we come to anchor.
End Loc: Low Island (16o 22.86'S, 145o 33.83'E)
Distance run: 22nm (cumulative: 1714nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 16 min (cumulative: 11 hr, 08 min)
Narrative: A couple of the crew had a bit of a sleep in this morning. After breakfast we went for another snorkel, despite the light drizzle, and again swam with a turtle. When we got back to the boat, I tried to see past all the bat fish, ramoras etc off the back of the boat, as I wanted to get some footage of the black tip reef sharks that have been swimming around.
At 11:06am we dropped the mooring buoy and set sail for the safe water mark near the mouth of the Daintree River. The winds were ESE at 15-20kts with seas and swell of 1.5-2m. We ran on a WNW heading of 300 degrees magnetic under full main, making 4.5-5kts through the water and 5.5-6kts over ground. As we neared the safe water mark we dropped sail and motored in.
We approached the bar right on high tide (12:50pm, 2.17m). We had no dramas motoring from the safe water mark to the starboard lateral, and once we rounded it we made direct for the port lateral. After a few hundred metres the depth dropped from 3m pretty quickly and we bumped the bottom. We probed around a bit but couldn't find deep water leading to the port lateral. As we motored around looking for deep water, the wind and waves pushed us further in and we bumped the bottom fairly violently as we came into the troughs between waves. That was enough and we decided to abort. We had some trouble getting out and came down harder on the keel than I would have liked several times more than I would have liked, but we made it back to deep water.
At 1:15pm, having decided against crossing the bar into the Daintree River, we decided the only real option was to head back to Low Isles for the night and come up with a new plan from there. We started motoring straight into wind and waves, but at 1:30pm decided we would rather take 2 hours to sail than 1.5 hours to motor, so we tacked our way close hauled back to Low Isles. We dropped sail and started the motor as we got close, and Heather helmed us up to the mooring buoy while Haydee and I did the business at the bow. By 3:32pm we were secured to a public mooring buoy just north of the one we had last night.
As a priority we checked the keel bolts and surrounds for any signs of stress cracks, but there was nothing to alarm us. I then donned fins and goggles, took a torch and inspected all around the keel and hull join, but again there was nothing alarming. We emptied the bilge and will monitor it just in case.
The sand bar around the entrance to the Daintree River may have moved since the buoys were last repositioned, so we will see if we can get any updated advice on the best way in to the river. Spring tides on 25th and 26th November will give us 2.86m of tide at 9:00am and 9:50am respectively. We may be back this way by then, and if the weather is a bit calmer and the waves are less than 2m, we may give it another crack. In the meantime, with 15-20kts SE forecast for the next few days, we will do a 40nm run tomorrow up to Hope Islands which is the next spot to provide good SE protection. We will have to leave early to get in around mid-afternoon so we can still see the coral as we come to anchor.
End Loc: Low Island (16o 22.86'S, 145o 33.83'E)
Distance run: 22nm (cumulative: 1714nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 16 min (cumulative: 11 hr, 08 min)
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
15th November, 2011
Start Loc: Meridian Marina, Port Douglas (16o 29.15'S, 145o 27.62'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday in Port Douglas and knocked over the shopping and some minor maintenance. We were in no great hurry this morning, and left the marina 10:58am. After motoring out of the channel we hoisted sail and set a course for the Low Isles.
The winds were ESE at around 15kts. Our NW course had us on a close reach giving a few knots extra on the apparent wind strength, so we set sail with one reef in the main and the head sail reduced to 105%. We sailed along nicely averaging 6-6.5kts through the water and an extra knot over ground. The seas were 1.5-2m and almost beam on to us, which made it a bit lumpy but otherwise it was a great sail.
We lowered sail as we came up the west side of Low Island, then motored in and took up a mooring buoy in the lagoon type feature formed by Low Island and Woody Island (the Low Isles) and the coral in between. It gives good protection from SE weather, so it should not be too bad a night.
Low Island is a picturesque coral cay with a lighthouse and houses for the keepers, which are now occupied by a caretaker and researchers. We walked around the island and then went snorkeling. It was not the prettiest coral we have seen, but we did swim up close with a turtle. We also had a few black tip reef sharks off the back of the boat.
The plan for tomorrow remains to head up the Daintree River and to find a crocodile or two.
End Loc: Low Isles (16o 22.90'S, 145o 33.82'E)
Distance run: 10nm (cumulative: 1692nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 34 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 52 min)
Narrative: We spent yesterday in Port Douglas and knocked over the shopping and some minor maintenance. We were in no great hurry this morning, and left the marina 10:58am. After motoring out of the channel we hoisted sail and set a course for the Low Isles.
The winds were ESE at around 15kts. Our NW course had us on a close reach giving a few knots extra on the apparent wind strength, so we set sail with one reef in the main and the head sail reduced to 105%. We sailed along nicely averaging 6-6.5kts through the water and an extra knot over ground. The seas were 1.5-2m and almost beam on to us, which made it a bit lumpy but otherwise it was a great sail.
We lowered sail as we came up the west side of Low Island, then motored in and took up a mooring buoy in the lagoon type feature formed by Low Island and Woody Island (the Low Isles) and the coral in between. It gives good protection from SE weather, so it should not be too bad a night.
Low Island is a picturesque coral cay with a lighthouse and houses for the keepers, which are now occupied by a caretaker and researchers. We walked around the island and then went snorkeling. It was not the prettiest coral we have seen, but we did swim up close with a turtle. We also had a few black tip reef sharks off the back of the boat.
The plan for tomorrow remains to head up the Daintree River and to find a crocodile or two.
End Loc: Low Isles (16o 22.90'S, 145o 33.82'E)
Distance run: 10nm (cumulative: 1692nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 34 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 52 min)
Sunday, 13 November 2011
13th November, 2011
Start Loc: Dickson Inlet, Port Douglas (16o 29.63'S, 145o 27.47'E)
Narrative: The kids and I took the dinghy up the creek a bit this morning, and saw a total of four sunken boats. They were all in various states of salvage, but one still had both masts, anchor and chain, etc. I assume a couple at least are victims of Cyclone Yasi, but we are amazed the hulls are allowed to remain where they are.
We raised the anchor at 9:45am and moved down stream to the marina. On the way, we filled up fuel just south of the marina where the trawlers berth and refuel. Given we refuelled in Cairns five days ago and have not used the engine that much since then we did not need fuel, but as we are getting more remote I will top up when I get the chance. Keeping the tank as full as possible will also help keep moisture out as the weather gets more and more humid.
Refuelled: 15.02L @ 143.8c/L = $21.60
Economy since 08 Nov: 15.02L for 9 hr 18 min = 1.62L/hr
Economy overall: 390.27L for 204 hr 45 min = 1.91L/hr
We came into the marina just before 11:30am and found our allocated berth (A22) no dramas, but the boat in A21 had his dinghy in our berth. A19 and A20 were free, so we tied up in A20 as we were set up for a starboard tie up. Heather went to check in and the bloke in the marina office said he thought the boat from A20 had just gone out for the day, and asked us to move to A18. Heather came back, and we noted there was a boat in A18 as well. Heather went back to the marina office but it was locked up; still business hours but he must have gone out and about. We decided he didn't know what was where in his marina and that we weren't going to wait for him to reappear, so we headed out.
We went to the Sunday markets and had a look around before getting some lunch. After lunch we headed back to near the marina and went for a ride on the historic Ballyhooly steam railway, which the kids loved. We finally found the marina bloke and he told us to stay where we were, which was good as we had no intention of moving.
We rounded off the afternoon with milkshakes for the kids, a couple of beers for me and cocktails for Heather, accompanied by some tapas, at a bar overlooking the marina. Another hard day ...
End Loc: Meridian Marina, Port Douglas (16o 29.15'S, 145o 27.62'E)
Distance run: 1nm (cumulative: 1682nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 18 min)
Narrative: The kids and I took the dinghy up the creek a bit this morning, and saw a total of four sunken boats. They were all in various states of salvage, but one still had both masts, anchor and chain, etc. I assume a couple at least are victims of Cyclone Yasi, but we are amazed the hulls are allowed to remain where they are.
We raised the anchor at 9:45am and moved down stream to the marina. On the way, we filled up fuel just south of the marina where the trawlers berth and refuel. Given we refuelled in Cairns five days ago and have not used the engine that much since then we did not need fuel, but as we are getting more remote I will top up when I get the chance. Keeping the tank as full as possible will also help keep moisture out as the weather gets more and more humid.
Refuelled: 15.02L @ 143.8c/L = $21.60
Economy since 08 Nov: 15.02L for 9 hr 18 min = 1.62L/hr
Economy overall: 390.27L for 204 hr 45 min = 1.91L/hr
We came into the marina just before 11:30am and found our allocated berth (A22) no dramas, but the boat in A21 had his dinghy in our berth. A19 and A20 were free, so we tied up in A20 as we were set up for a starboard tie up. Heather went to check in and the bloke in the marina office said he thought the boat from A20 had just gone out for the day, and asked us to move to A18. Heather came back, and we noted there was a boat in A18 as well. Heather went back to the marina office but it was locked up; still business hours but he must have gone out and about. We decided he didn't know what was where in his marina and that we weren't going to wait for him to reappear, so we headed out.
We went to the Sunday markets and had a look around before getting some lunch. After lunch we headed back to near the marina and went for a ride on the historic Ballyhooly steam railway, which the kids loved. We finally found the marina bloke and he told us to stay where we were, which was good as we had no intention of moving.
We rounded off the afternoon with milkshakes for the kids, a couple of beers for me and cocktails for Heather, accompanied by some tapas, at a bar overlooking the marina. Another hard day ...
End Loc: Meridian Marina, Port Douglas (16o 29.15'S, 145o 27.62'E)
Distance run: 1nm (cumulative: 1682nm)
Engine hours: 0 hr, 33 min (cumulative: 9 hr, 18 min)
12 November, 2011
Start Loc: Michaelmas Cay (16o 36.28'S, 145o 58.40'E)
Narrative: The anchorage at Michaelmas Cay was a lot more comfortable than at Vlassoff Cay, and we all got a reasonable sleep. At 9:30am we all went ashore. People are only allowed to land on a small part of the beach, and only between 9:30am and 3:00pm. The first tourist boat arrived at 9:30am as well, so we only had about 15 minutes before they all came ashore; but that was long enough.
After putting the outboard on its bracket, raising the dinghy on the davits and completing the other preparation, we dropped the mooring buoy at 10:08am and set sail for Port Douglas. The forecast was for SE winds at 15-20kts, but we had S at about 15kts. That suited my heading of 280 degrees just fine, so with one reef in the main and full head sail we sailed on a beam reach, making 5.5-6kts through the water and 6.5-7kts over ground. Seas and swell were 1.5-2m, and it was good, comfortable sailing.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. By midday the winds had swung SSE and eased slightly to 10-15kts, so I had shaken the reef out of the main to maintain similar speeds. By 1:00pm the winds were more SE and weakened further to around 10kts, and the apparent wind was still a few knots less. The broad reach under full sail only had us making 3.2kts through the and 3.8kts over ground. At this rate it was going to take us a while to get to Port Douglas!
We decided that we really need to spend Monday in Port Douglas as well, as we want a sail maker to take a look at our main which will need some repairs shortly, particularly at the head of the sail. Hence, Heather rang the marina and changed our booking from Sat/Sun nights to Sun/Mon nights. We decided we would anchor up the river overnight tonight and then move back downstream to the marina in the morning. To help us get there, we dropped main and head sail and raised the spinnaker. From 2:00pm we sailed in SE to E winds of 6-8kts, making 3-4kts through the water and 3.5-4.5kts over ground. It was slow but comfortable sailing, and we were no longer in a hurry to get in.
At around 4:00pm we snuffed the spinnaker and motored into Dickson Inlet at Port Douglas. By 4:30pm we were anchored in the east-west stretch, just before the bend where Dickson Inlet becomes Packers Creek. The creek is lined with mangroves, but has deep water close to the banks and good holding mud. After mozzie proofing the boat, we took the dinghy downstream to the yacht club and had a cold drink. It was not a bad day.
End Loc: Dickson Inlet, Port Douglas (16o 29.63'S, 145o 27.47'E)
Distance run: 33nm (cumulative: 1681nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 10 min (cumulative: 8 hr, 45 min)
Narrative: The anchorage at Michaelmas Cay was a lot more comfortable than at Vlassoff Cay, and we all got a reasonable sleep. At 9:30am we all went ashore. People are only allowed to land on a small part of the beach, and only between 9:30am and 3:00pm. The first tourist boat arrived at 9:30am as well, so we only had about 15 minutes before they all came ashore; but that was long enough.
After putting the outboard on its bracket, raising the dinghy on the davits and completing the other preparation, we dropped the mooring buoy at 10:08am and set sail for Port Douglas. The forecast was for SE winds at 15-20kts, but we had S at about 15kts. That suited my heading of 280 degrees just fine, so with one reef in the main and full head sail we sailed on a beam reach, making 5.5-6kts through the water and 6.5-7kts over ground. Seas and swell were 1.5-2m, and it was good, comfortable sailing.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. By midday the winds had swung SSE and eased slightly to 10-15kts, so I had shaken the reef out of the main to maintain similar speeds. By 1:00pm the winds were more SE and weakened further to around 10kts, and the apparent wind was still a few knots less. The broad reach under full sail only had us making 3.2kts through the and 3.8kts over ground. At this rate it was going to take us a while to get to Port Douglas!
We decided that we really need to spend Monday in Port Douglas as well, as we want a sail maker to take a look at our main which will need some repairs shortly, particularly at the head of the sail. Hence, Heather rang the marina and changed our booking from Sat/Sun nights to Sun/Mon nights. We decided we would anchor up the river overnight tonight and then move back downstream to the marina in the morning. To help us get there, we dropped main and head sail and raised the spinnaker. From 2:00pm we sailed in SE to E winds of 6-8kts, making 3-4kts through the water and 3.5-4.5kts over ground. It was slow but comfortable sailing, and we were no longer in a hurry to get in.
At around 4:00pm we snuffed the spinnaker and motored into Dickson Inlet at Port Douglas. By 4:30pm we were anchored in the east-west stretch, just before the bend where Dickson Inlet becomes Packers Creek. The creek is lined with mangroves, but has deep water close to the banks and good holding mud. After mozzie proofing the boat, we took the dinghy downstream to the yacht club and had a cold drink. It was not a bad day.
End Loc: Dickson Inlet, Port Douglas (16o 29.63'S, 145o 27.47'E)
Distance run: 33nm (cumulative: 1681nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 10 min (cumulative: 8 hr, 45 min)
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