Start Loc: Cape Capricorn (23o 29.12’ S, 151o 13.87’ E)
Narrative: We had a lazy start to the day, after what turned out to be quite a calm night. After breakfast we went ashore for a quick look around, and then used the high tide to move to Yellow Patch at about 10:00am. We managed to weave our way through the sandbars, but the popular anchorage was quite crowded, and with a strong southerly, it was not that protected either. We weaved our way back out through the sandbars again, and back to the little cove under the Cape Capricorn light. Wandoo (who we have shared an anchorage with before at either Pancake or maybe even Garry's) came in while we where out, but we were still able to tuck right in. As I type this, there are now eight yachts anchored in this little cove, so it might get even tighter before last light.
End Loc: Cape Capricorn (23o 29.12’ S, 151o 13.87’ E)
Distance run: 8nm (cumulative: 415nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 25 min (cumulative: 42 hr, 19 min)
Sunday 31 July 2011
30th July, 2011
Start Loc: Gladstone Marina (23o 49.96’ S, 151o 14.65’ E)
Narrative: Having achieved all we needed to do in Gladstone (less a replacement batten for one that must have climbed out of the main sail during some strong winds), we departed the marina at 7:40am and set off north up The Narrows for Keppel Bay. There is 6nm or so of The Narrows that dries at low tide, and I wanted to get to that part for the 9:30am-ish (it varies by about 40 minutes depending where in The Narrows you are) high tide. The Narrows floods from both north and south, so I planned to have the incoming tide assist us up to the drying area, and then the outgoing tide assist us to continue north.
We got to the start of the area that dries right on high tide, and motored through the marked channel. The kids were down below reading, so they missed seeing things such as Cattle Crossing (roughly the shallowest point, and where they herd the cattle between the island and the mainland at low tide). We got over the drying area with the lowest sounding being 2.1m, so we had plenty of water thanks to the 3.5m tide. Mum and Dad lent us "Cruising the Curtis Coast" by Noel Patrick, and it was a great guide to this area. We had an average of 2kts of tide with us the whole way, so we broke into Keppel Bay (after an early lunch) just after midday.
I was planning to anchor on the north side of Hummocky Island, but Heather had read about Yellow Patch and we decided we would head there. As we came around Sea Hill (the north-west corner of Curtis Island and opposite the mouth of the Fitzroy River) the wind jumped to 20kts and swung to from the east. That wind direction suggested the Hummocky Island anchorage would be a little unpleasant, so Yellow Patch it was. All that meant was that we needed to beat into wind to get to Yellow Patch, which is on the inside of Cape Capricorn at the north-west corner of Curtis Island.
After several long tacks, we finally arrived and tried to find a way through the sand bars to the anchorage. We were about an hour before low tide, and after bumping the bottom (and then bouncing the keel off it a couple of times due to the swell) we put our tail between our legs and headed for deeper water.
We decided we would tuck in under Cape Capricorn for the night. At 4:20pm we anchored near two other yachts, but then noticed the little cove right under the lighthouse looked a bit more sheltered. We took the dinghy for a look and it had much less swell, so we moved in. One of the two other yachts decided to join us and a third came in just after last light.
End Loc: Cape Capricorn (23o 29.12’ S, 151o 13.87’ E)
Distance run: 49nm (cumulative: 407nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 20 min (cumulative: 40 hr, 54 min)
Narrative: Having achieved all we needed to do in Gladstone (less a replacement batten for one that must have climbed out of the main sail during some strong winds), we departed the marina at 7:40am and set off north up The Narrows for Keppel Bay. There is 6nm or so of The Narrows that dries at low tide, and I wanted to get to that part for the 9:30am-ish (it varies by about 40 minutes depending where in The Narrows you are) high tide. The Narrows floods from both north and south, so I planned to have the incoming tide assist us up to the drying area, and then the outgoing tide assist us to continue north.
We got to the start of the area that dries right on high tide, and motored through the marked channel. The kids were down below reading, so they missed seeing things such as Cattle Crossing (roughly the shallowest point, and where they herd the cattle between the island and the mainland at low tide). We got over the drying area with the lowest sounding being 2.1m, so we had plenty of water thanks to the 3.5m tide. Mum and Dad lent us "Cruising the Curtis Coast" by Noel Patrick, and it was a great guide to this area. We had an average of 2kts of tide with us the whole way, so we broke into Keppel Bay (after an early lunch) just after midday.
I was planning to anchor on the north side of Hummocky Island, but Heather had read about Yellow Patch and we decided we would head there. As we came around Sea Hill (the north-west corner of Curtis Island and opposite the mouth of the Fitzroy River) the wind jumped to 20kts and swung to from the east. That wind direction suggested the Hummocky Island anchorage would be a little unpleasant, so Yellow Patch it was. All that meant was that we needed to beat into wind to get to Yellow Patch, which is on the inside of Cape Capricorn at the north-west corner of Curtis Island.
After several long tacks, we finally arrived and tried to find a way through the sand bars to the anchorage. We were about an hour before low tide, and after bumping the bottom (and then bouncing the keel off it a couple of times due to the swell) we put our tail between our legs and headed for deeper water.
We decided we would tuck in under Cape Capricorn for the night. At 4:20pm we anchored near two other yachts, but then noticed the little cove right under the lighthouse looked a bit more sheltered. We took the dinghy for a look and it had much less swell, so we moved in. One of the two other yachts decided to join us and a third came in just after last light.
End Loc: Cape Capricorn (23o 29.12’ S, 151o 13.87’ E)
Distance run: 49nm (cumulative: 407nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 20 min (cumulative: 40 hr, 54 min)
Friday 29 July 2011
28th July, 2011
Start Loc: Pancake Creek (24o 01.78’ S, 151o 44.61’ E)
Narrative: 26th and 27th July were spent anchored in Pancake Creek. It is a well protected and calm anchorage. We were disappointed it was too cold to swim as the water was clean and clear. Definitely worth the stop.
On Tuesday 26th we had a lazy start to the day with Pancakes for brunch at 11:00am, followed by a walk up to the Bustard Head lighthouse. I had read that there are two tracks - one that starts near the entrance to the creek, and the second from further in the creek that follows the power lines up. The latter was reported to be a longer and much harder walk. We found the second track which starts at the beach where we were anchored. There was a small sign at the back of the beach, and from there the track was well marked. After about 2km we intersected with a signed track that headed down to the entrance of Pancake Creek. After a look around the graveyard (which I think was an eye opener for Haydee, seeing graves marked for children of seven weeks and two years of age) we went up to the lighthouse. All the buildings have been well restored. Unfortunately the "site manager" was not around, so we could only see everything from the outside. On the way back down we followed the track to the head of the creek and then walked along the beaches and rock hopped back to our start point. All up it was about 8km, and the track we walked up was fine. We ran the engine for 28 minutes.
Wednesday 27th July started with some housekeeping, giving the boat a good clean on the inside. After he had done his schoolwork, Cameron and I went fishing. I am the first to admit that it is just as well we are not relying upon my fishing skills to sustain us (thanks for the vote of confidence Heather), but we always enjoy ourselves fishing. That said, apparently my pride was on the line - and now online! We came back triumphant having caught a few, but keeping a good sized bream that Cameron caught, and a lesser queenfish that gave us two good fillets. We ran the engine for 22 minutes.
High tide yesterday at Pancake Creek was at 6:53am. Given we got in no dramas on bugger all water, I knew we would get out again okay at 8:00am. I was up at 6:30am and enjoying a brew as I watched five other boats head out on the high - rush hour! Our anchor came up almost right on 8:00am, and with almost 2m more tide I simply followed out track back out of the creek. We set our course in the forecast S/SE 10-15kts, with the wind on our port quarter as we sailed across to Rodd Peninsular. After we rounded the peninsular, the wind was more on our port beam and it was all great sailing. We checked in to Gladstone Harbour Control as we entered the pilotage area (all vessels over 10m are required to do this at Gladstone), cleared Jenny Lind Bank and altered course to join the channel at the Golding Cutting. The 5nm+ run up the cutting was perfect for the spinnaker, so up it went. The wind gradually increased in strength (as was forecast) and we finally dropped the spinnaker and switched to 100% on the genoa as we came into the busy part of the port where several channels meet.
I have never sailed into Gladstone before and was surprised to see the mix of yachts like us, small power boats, larger tourist type ferries and large shipping, all on the same water. A couple of miles behind us there was a large ship (Sophia) coming in who was on the radio a couple of times asking a sailing catamaran in the channel in front of it what its intentions were (it was clearly in the way and not looking behind it). Sophia never got an answer on the radio. I imagine this is a regular occurrence involving yachties visiting Gladstone. Anyway, we got to the marina without incident, refueled (although that took some effort), and moved around to our allocated berth (having phoned and booked in advance).
There was still a 20kt wind blowing, even in the marina, and I knew it was going to play havoc with me getting into my berth. As our berth came into view, we could see a catamaran (Twisted with Chris and Margaret whom we were talking to in Pancake Creek) in the berth next to us. I told Heather there was technically enough room, but I wasn't going to attempt it in this wind. She called the marina office again who suggested another berth, but we could not have physically fitted in it as it had a wider catamaran next to it! I was unimpressed given Heather had told them our beam when we booked. Heather suggested a third berth that we could fit in, and it was agreed. The wind still made it interesting and it took a few attempts, but assisted by Chris and Margaret, we were tied up by 3:20pm. I measured the space next to Twisted. 5m and our beam is 3.94m. I like a little more than 50cm either side of me!
We will stay in Gladstone for two nights. We need to restock food, and I want to do the third coat on the toe rails and also put a coat on the teak on the sugar scoop. Saturday will see us start up through The Narrows (between the mainland and Curtis Island) and into Keppel Bay.
Refueled: 25.33L at 156.9c/L = $39.74
Economy since 17 Jul: 25.33L for 15 h 30 min = 1.63L/hr
Economy overall: 69.81L for 35 hr 34 min = 1.96L/hr
End Loc: Gladstone Marina (23o 49.96’ S, 151o 14.65’ E)
Distance run: 31nm (cumulative: 358nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 18 min (cumulative: 35 hr, 34 min)
Narrative: 26th and 27th July were spent anchored in Pancake Creek. It is a well protected and calm anchorage. We were disappointed it was too cold to swim as the water was clean and clear. Definitely worth the stop.
On Tuesday 26th we had a lazy start to the day with Pancakes for brunch at 11:00am, followed by a walk up to the Bustard Head lighthouse. I had read that there are two tracks - one that starts near the entrance to the creek, and the second from further in the creek that follows the power lines up. The latter was reported to be a longer and much harder walk. We found the second track which starts at the beach where we were anchored. There was a small sign at the back of the beach, and from there the track was well marked. After about 2km we intersected with a signed track that headed down to the entrance of Pancake Creek. After a look around the graveyard (which I think was an eye opener for Haydee, seeing graves marked for children of seven weeks and two years of age) we went up to the lighthouse. All the buildings have been well restored. Unfortunately the "site manager" was not around, so we could only see everything from the outside. On the way back down we followed the track to the head of the creek and then walked along the beaches and rock hopped back to our start point. All up it was about 8km, and the track we walked up was fine. We ran the engine for 28 minutes.
Wednesday 27th July started with some housekeeping, giving the boat a good clean on the inside. After he had done his schoolwork, Cameron and I went fishing. I am the first to admit that it is just as well we are not relying upon my fishing skills to sustain us (thanks for the vote of confidence Heather), but we always enjoy ourselves fishing. That said, apparently my pride was on the line - and now online! We came back triumphant having caught a few, but keeping a good sized bream that Cameron caught, and a lesser queenfish that gave us two good fillets. We ran the engine for 22 minutes.
High tide yesterday at Pancake Creek was at 6:53am. Given we got in no dramas on bugger all water, I knew we would get out again okay at 8:00am. I was up at 6:30am and enjoying a brew as I watched five other boats head out on the high - rush hour! Our anchor came up almost right on 8:00am, and with almost 2m more tide I simply followed out track back out of the creek. We set our course in the forecast S/SE 10-15kts, with the wind on our port quarter as we sailed across to Rodd Peninsular. After we rounded the peninsular, the wind was more on our port beam and it was all great sailing. We checked in to Gladstone Harbour Control as we entered the pilotage area (all vessels over 10m are required to do this at Gladstone), cleared Jenny Lind Bank and altered course to join the channel at the Golding Cutting. The 5nm+ run up the cutting was perfect for the spinnaker, so up it went. The wind gradually increased in strength (as was forecast) and we finally dropped the spinnaker and switched to 100% on the genoa as we came into the busy part of the port where several channels meet.
I have never sailed into Gladstone before and was surprised to see the mix of yachts like us, small power boats, larger tourist type ferries and large shipping, all on the same water. A couple of miles behind us there was a large ship (Sophia) coming in who was on the radio a couple of times asking a sailing catamaran in the channel in front of it what its intentions were (it was clearly in the way and not looking behind it). Sophia never got an answer on the radio. I imagine this is a regular occurrence involving yachties visiting Gladstone. Anyway, we got to the marina without incident, refueled (although that took some effort), and moved around to our allocated berth (having phoned and booked in advance).
There was still a 20kt wind blowing, even in the marina, and I knew it was going to play havoc with me getting into my berth. As our berth came into view, we could see a catamaran (Twisted with Chris and Margaret whom we were talking to in Pancake Creek) in the berth next to us. I told Heather there was technically enough room, but I wasn't going to attempt it in this wind. She called the marina office again who suggested another berth, but we could not have physically fitted in it as it had a wider catamaran next to it! I was unimpressed given Heather had told them our beam when we booked. Heather suggested a third berth that we could fit in, and it was agreed. The wind still made it interesting and it took a few attempts, but assisted by Chris and Margaret, we were tied up by 3:20pm. I measured the space next to Twisted. 5m and our beam is 3.94m. I like a little more than 50cm either side of me!
We will stay in Gladstone for two nights. We need to restock food, and I want to do the third coat on the toe rails and also put a coat on the teak on the sugar scoop. Saturday will see us start up through The Narrows (between the mainland and Curtis Island) and into Keppel Bay.
Refueled: 25.33L at 156.9c/L = $39.74
Economy since 17 Jul: 25.33L for 15 h 30 min = 1.63L/hr
Economy overall: 69.81L for 35 hr 34 min = 1.96L/hr
End Loc: Gladstone Marina (23o 49.96’ S, 151o 14.65’ E)
Distance run: 31nm (cumulative: 358nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 18 min (cumulative: 35 hr, 34 min)
Monday 25 July 2011
25th July, 2011
Start Loc: Round Hill Creek, Seventeen Seventy (24o 09.82’ S, 151o 52.86’ E)
Narrative: Yesterday was spent anchored in Round Hill Creek as we explored 1770 and Agnes Water. We learned it was 24th May 1770 that Lieutenant Cook landed there, as well as a few other facts the kids will use as part of their school project on Cook. We ran the engine for 30 minutes.
The plan for today was to sail across Bustard Bay, around Bustard Head and Clews Point, and into Pancake Creek. (Bustard Bay and Bustard Head are so named because Cook and his crew killed and ate a large bustard bird, declaring it the best bird they had eaten since departing England.) Low tide at 1770 was 0.9m at 10:11am. Given 0.5m of water (LAT) and 0.9m of tide, I knew I was not able to get out of the creek at low tide. To maintain 30cm clearance under my keel, I calculated we had to be out of the creek by 8:41am.
I got up at 7:00am, woke Heather, and then took a load of rubbish ashore. The first thing I noticed was that several other yachts had left already while there was more water. We got the boat ready and weighed anchor at 7:50am. I cautiously took us out, wondering why everyone else had left so early, but confident in my calculations. In the end, we had about half a metre under the keel, cleared the bar at the head of the creek, and came to port onto 315o magnetic.
The forecast was for winds SW to SE at 10-15kts. What we found was wind from the SW with true speed of about 8kts. We went full main and head sail, and motor sailed across the bay. After about 8nm the wind had dropped to about 4kts true, so it wasn't enough to fill sails let alone have them contribute, so we proceeded just under motor.
From about 4nm out, we could identify through the binoculars Inner, Middle and Outer Rocks, as well as the unnamed rock between Inner and Middle. Being good weather and visibility I planned to go between Inner Rock and the unnamed rock. Clews Point came out from behind Bustard Head, and when the Clews Point light bore 170o, I came to port onto that course to pass safely between the two obstructions. We rounded Clew Point at 10:38am. Low tide at Pancake Creek was 1.0m at 9:58am, rising to a high of 2.5m at 4:49pm. Some advise anchoring just inside the creek and waiting for close to high tide before proceeding to the inner anchorages. A quick check of the tidal curve showed we had 1.1m of tide on top of charted depths, so we figured we would give it a crack. The water was clear, and I had three lookouts at the bow to help guide me in. Unfortunately two of them were looking out for, and alerting me to the presence of, numerous fish, turtles and rays. At least Heather called where the deeper water was! In the end, we had no dramas getting in, and were anchored in 3.8m of water at the southern end of the beach just after 11:00am.
End Loc: Pancake Creek (24o 01.78’ S, 151o 44.61’ E)
Distance run: 18nm (cumulative: 327nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 45 min (cumulative: 33 hr, 26 min)
Narrative: Yesterday was spent anchored in Round Hill Creek as we explored 1770 and Agnes Water. We learned it was 24th May 1770 that Lieutenant Cook landed there, as well as a few other facts the kids will use as part of their school project on Cook. We ran the engine for 30 minutes.
The plan for today was to sail across Bustard Bay, around Bustard Head and Clews Point, and into Pancake Creek. (Bustard Bay and Bustard Head are so named because Cook and his crew killed and ate a large bustard bird, declaring it the best bird they had eaten since departing England.) Low tide at 1770 was 0.9m at 10:11am. Given 0.5m of water (LAT) and 0.9m of tide, I knew I was not able to get out of the creek at low tide. To maintain 30cm clearance under my keel, I calculated we had to be out of the creek by 8:41am.
I got up at 7:00am, woke Heather, and then took a load of rubbish ashore. The first thing I noticed was that several other yachts had left already while there was more water. We got the boat ready and weighed anchor at 7:50am. I cautiously took us out, wondering why everyone else had left so early, but confident in my calculations. In the end, we had about half a metre under the keel, cleared the bar at the head of the creek, and came to port onto 315o magnetic.
The forecast was for winds SW to SE at 10-15kts. What we found was wind from the SW with true speed of about 8kts. We went full main and head sail, and motor sailed across the bay. After about 8nm the wind had dropped to about 4kts true, so it wasn't enough to fill sails let alone have them contribute, so we proceeded just under motor.
From about 4nm out, we could identify through the binoculars Inner, Middle and Outer Rocks, as well as the unnamed rock between Inner and Middle. Being good weather and visibility I planned to go between Inner Rock and the unnamed rock. Clews Point came out from behind Bustard Head, and when the Clews Point light bore 170o, I came to port onto that course to pass safely between the two obstructions. We rounded Clew Point at 10:38am. Low tide at Pancake Creek was 1.0m at 9:58am, rising to a high of 2.5m at 4:49pm. Some advise anchoring just inside the creek and waiting for close to high tide before proceeding to the inner anchorages. A quick check of the tidal curve showed we had 1.1m of tide on top of charted depths, so we figured we would give it a crack. The water was clear, and I had three lookouts at the bow to help guide me in. Unfortunately two of them were looking out for, and alerting me to the presence of, numerous fish, turtles and rays. At least Heather called where the deeper water was! In the end, we had no dramas getting in, and were anchored in 3.8m of water at the southern end of the beach just after 11:00am.
End Loc: Pancake Creek (24o 01.78’ S, 151o 44.61’ E)
Distance run: 18nm (cumulative: 327nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 45 min (cumulative: 33 hr, 26 min)
Sunday 24 July 2011
23rd July, 2011
Start Loc: Burnett River, Bundaberg (24o 45.69’ S, 152o 23.17’ E)
Narrative: The last two days have seen the aft head restored to full working order, and the teak toe rails sanded back and two new coats of stain/protection applied. I will do a third coat when the opportunity presents.
The entrance to Round Head Creek has an LAT depth of 0.6m. Low tide at 10:04pm tonight is 1.3m, so the combined 1.9m of water is enough for us to get in. That said, I don't know the entrance and the sand banks are constantly moving, so I wanted to get here closer to high tide (2.1m at 2:13pm) than low, and definitely before dark. I applied the usual conservative figure of 5kts as a planning speed for the 50nm or so trip, and hence disappointed Heather by saying I wanted to be underway by 6:00am. We went to bed last night with water tanks full, all rechargeable things on charge, and brews pre-made (just waiting for hot water and milk).
I got up at 5:00am and started the final prep (including boiling the billy and making brews) before waking Heather at 5:20am. We cast off and were motoring out the channel by 5:40am. Two miles out we turned NW on to course. We had winds from the SW at 14-18kts. With one reef in the main and full head sail (130% genoa), we made 6.5-7kts on a beam reach. The max boat speed recorded was 7.5kts. With a knot of favourable current we had a speed over ground of 7.5-8kts, so I was pretty happy with the progress we made. After 25nm or so, the wind started to die off and by the time we had done 35nm it was down to about 8kts from the SE. With any sort of NW headway, the apparent wind was not enough to fill the sails, so we dropped them and motored for a while. It gradually picked up again and we progressed from motoring to motor sailing with the genoa, then with full sail, to just sailing.
Just after 2:00pm we came abeam Round Hill Head and got the latest off the local VMR. After swinging around the head, we approached the starboard lateral on 170o magnetic and the came in 25mins after high tide (2:38pm). The lowest sounding we got was 2.5m with 2m of tide, so I now know exactly what tide we need to get out of the creek again. We had the anchor set by 3:15pm. All in all, a good day's sailing with glorious weather. The next stop is Pancake Creek.
End Loc: Round Hill Creek, Seventeen Seventy (24o 09.82’ S, 151o 52.86’ E)
Distance run: 53nm (cumulative: 309nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 25 min (cumulative: 29 hr, 11 min)
Narrative: The last two days have seen the aft head restored to full working order, and the teak toe rails sanded back and two new coats of stain/protection applied. I will do a third coat when the opportunity presents.
The entrance to Round Head Creek has an LAT depth of 0.6m. Low tide at 10:04pm tonight is 1.3m, so the combined 1.9m of water is enough for us to get in. That said, I don't know the entrance and the sand banks are constantly moving, so I wanted to get here closer to high tide (2.1m at 2:13pm) than low, and definitely before dark. I applied the usual conservative figure of 5kts as a planning speed for the 50nm or so trip, and hence disappointed Heather by saying I wanted to be underway by 6:00am. We went to bed last night with water tanks full, all rechargeable things on charge, and brews pre-made (just waiting for hot water and milk).
I got up at 5:00am and started the final prep (including boiling the billy and making brews) before waking Heather at 5:20am. We cast off and were motoring out the channel by 5:40am. Two miles out we turned NW on to course. We had winds from the SW at 14-18kts. With one reef in the main and full head sail (130% genoa), we made 6.5-7kts on a beam reach. The max boat speed recorded was 7.5kts. With a knot of favourable current we had a speed over ground of 7.5-8kts, so I was pretty happy with the progress we made. After 25nm or so, the wind started to die off and by the time we had done 35nm it was down to about 8kts from the SE. With any sort of NW headway, the apparent wind was not enough to fill the sails, so we dropped them and motored for a while. It gradually picked up again and we progressed from motoring to motor sailing with the genoa, then with full sail, to just sailing.
Just after 2:00pm we came abeam Round Hill Head and got the latest off the local VMR. After swinging around the head, we approached the starboard lateral on 170o magnetic and the came in 25mins after high tide (2:38pm). The lowest sounding we got was 2.5m with 2m of tide, so I now know exactly what tide we need to get out of the creek again. We had the anchor set by 3:15pm. All in all, a good day's sailing with glorious weather. The next stop is Pancake Creek.
End Loc: Round Hill Creek, Seventeen Seventy (24o 09.82’ S, 151o 52.86’ E)
Distance run: 53nm (cumulative: 309nm)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 25 min (cumulative: 29 hr, 11 min)
Thursday 21 July 2011
19th - 20th July, 2011
Start Loc: Urangan Harbour, Hervey Bay (25o 17.59’ S, 152o 54.67’ E)
Narrative: We spent 18th July taking it easy at Urangan. I bought and installed some new speakers for the cockpit (Heather's happy), and we stocked up on groceries. We walked (the kids scooted) a couple of km to the shopping centre, and then caught a taxi back to the boat. We stayed at Urangan for a second night to let the fridge and freezer churn away on shore power rather than on the batteries. Yesterday morning, after bacon and egg rolls (everyone got a banjo, so no one was grumpy), we left Urangan at about 10:00am. The forecast was for S/SW winds at 10-15kts, strengthening to 15-20kts from the S late afternoon. Sure enough, we had a 20nm spinnaker run up the west coast of Fraser Island (Platypus Bay); very pleasant sailing. We were anchored outside Lagoon Anchorage (24o 58.22’ S, 153o 13.48’ E) by 4:40pm. It was low tide so the entrance was dry, and I am not sure we could get into the lagoon even on high tide. Although it was still quite mild, I set up the sea-anchor to trial it as a dampener to reduce the amount of roll when at anchor (I will need to add a weight for use in this role in the future) and we enjoyed sundowners as the sun went down. As we finished dinner, the wind picked up and remained from the SW, so we were in a very exposed anchorage. Heather washed, the kids dried and I put away; but after I put one plate in, the cupboard would spit it back out. We were in for an uncomfortable night with none of us getting much sleep, so we all agreed we would sail through the night to Bundaberg (about 50nm west, across Hervey Bay). Fortunately, I had only had one beer and Heather one wine. We rugged up, put on the wet weather gear, set up the jack-stays and harnesses, pulled anchor and set sail at about 8:00pm (as always for a night sail, with two reefs in the main and reduced headsail). I estimated we would get into Bundy's Burnett River at about 6:00am this morning. I recorded 32kt winds and the seas were about 2 metres, so while it didn't rain there was plenty of spray, and we had a good coat of salt on our wet weather gear as the east cardinal marking the start of the Burnett River channel came into view just before 5:00am. It was then 7:00am by the time we were tied up at the marina. Heather went straight to bed, while I stayed up to check the log and the charts to confirm distances etc, and then book in once the marina office opened at 8:30am. I then got a couple of hours sleep as well, while the kids quietly entertained themselves (maybe they were loud, but we didn't hear them!). After lunch, I cleaned down the boat and rinsed all the lines, sheets, jack-stays, etc in fresh water and laid them out to dry. We have decided we will stay here for another two nights with tomorrow spent doing some maintenance, and Friday having a look around. We will then continue north on Saturday towards Round Hill Creek and the towns of Agnes Water and 1770.
End Loc: Burnett River, Bundaberg (24o 45.69’ S, 152o 23.17’ E)
Distance run: 85nm (cumulative: 256nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 42 min (cumulative: 25 hr, 46 min)
Narrative: We spent 18th July taking it easy at Urangan. I bought and installed some new speakers for the cockpit (Heather's happy), and we stocked up on groceries. We walked (the kids scooted) a couple of km to the shopping centre, and then caught a taxi back to the boat. We stayed at Urangan for a second night to let the fridge and freezer churn away on shore power rather than on the batteries. Yesterday morning, after bacon and egg rolls (everyone got a banjo, so no one was grumpy), we left Urangan at about 10:00am. The forecast was for S/SW winds at 10-15kts, strengthening to 15-20kts from the S late afternoon. Sure enough, we had a 20nm spinnaker run up the west coast of Fraser Island (Platypus Bay); very pleasant sailing. We were anchored outside Lagoon Anchorage (24o 58.22’ S, 153o 13.48’ E) by 4:40pm. It was low tide so the entrance was dry, and I am not sure we could get into the lagoon even on high tide. Although it was still quite mild, I set up the sea-anchor to trial it as a dampener to reduce the amount of roll when at anchor (I will need to add a weight for use in this role in the future) and we enjoyed sundowners as the sun went down. As we finished dinner, the wind picked up and remained from the SW, so we were in a very exposed anchorage. Heather washed, the kids dried and I put away; but after I put one plate in, the cupboard would spit it back out. We were in for an uncomfortable night with none of us getting much sleep, so we all agreed we would sail through the night to Bundaberg (about 50nm west, across Hervey Bay). Fortunately, I had only had one beer and Heather one wine. We rugged up, put on the wet weather gear, set up the jack-stays and harnesses, pulled anchor and set sail at about 8:00pm (as always for a night sail, with two reefs in the main and reduced headsail). I estimated we would get into Bundy's Burnett River at about 6:00am this morning. I recorded 32kt winds and the seas were about 2 metres, so while it didn't rain there was plenty of spray, and we had a good coat of salt on our wet weather gear as the east cardinal marking the start of the Burnett River channel came into view just before 5:00am. It was then 7:00am by the time we were tied up at the marina. Heather went straight to bed, while I stayed up to check the log and the charts to confirm distances etc, and then book in once the marina office opened at 8:30am. I then got a couple of hours sleep as well, while the kids quietly entertained themselves (maybe they were loud, but we didn't hear them!). After lunch, I cleaned down the boat and rinsed all the lines, sheets, jack-stays, etc in fresh water and laid them out to dry. We have decided we will stay here for another two nights with tomorrow spent doing some maintenance, and Friday having a look around. We will then continue north on Saturday towards Round Hill Creek and the towns of Agnes Water and 1770.
End Loc: Burnett River, Bundaberg (24o 45.69’ S, 152o 23.17’ E)
Distance run: 85nm (cumulative: 256nm)
Engine hours: 5 hr, 42 min (cumulative: 25 hr, 46 min)
Monday 18 July 2011
17th July, 2011
Start Loc: South White Cliffs, Fraser Island (25o 31.21’ S, 152o 58.39’ E)
Narrative: We used the morning high tide to give us plenty of water to proceed up to Urangan. We had a southerly of about 5kts apparent, so with full head sail we motor sailed up the main channel. The sun broke through and the breeze freshened as we continued north, and as we came up on the east side of Big Woody Island we raised the main, cut the engine and had a very pleasant sail.
I considered taking a bit of a shortcut across the sandbanks immediately north of Big Woody Island. We had enough water, but with only two marks to guide us and a lack of local knowledge, I decided on the longer safe option of continuing NW to the special mark and then SSE down the channel to Urangan.With the breeze now from the SE, it was tack after tack down the narrow channel - we sailed 8nm for a distance of 3.5nm! It was not all boring though. We were "racing" Cygneture (a Bavaria 38) down the channel. Being less beamy, she could sail closer to the wind than us and as we criss-crossed down the channel, I eventually had to give way and pass astern of her. We also got to watch the local VMR attempt to pull Boomerang 7 off a sandbar in the area I decided to go around, so I felt somewhat vindicated in my decision to take the safe option. They were unsuccessful and the owner remained on board for a long and uncomfortable wait through the low tide until the next high.
After refueling, we went to our berth, cleaned up, and went for a walk (a scoot for the kids) to have a look around. We then showered and went to the the boat club for dinner - something we won't bother to do again if we drop in on the way back down.
Refuelled: 44.48L at 154.9c/L = $66.90
Economy since 11 Jul: 44.48L for 20 hr 04 min = 2.21L/hr
End Loc: Urangan Harbour, Hervey Bay (25o 17.59’ S, 152o 54.67’ E)
Distance run: 29nm (cumulative: 171nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 15 min (cumulative: 20 hr, 04 min)
Narrative: We used the morning high tide to give us plenty of water to proceed up to Urangan. We had a southerly of about 5kts apparent, so with full head sail we motor sailed up the main channel. The sun broke through and the breeze freshened as we continued north, and as we came up on the east side of Big Woody Island we raised the main, cut the engine and had a very pleasant sail.
I considered taking a bit of a shortcut across the sandbanks immediately north of Big Woody Island. We had enough water, but with only two marks to guide us and a lack of local knowledge, I decided on the longer safe option of continuing NW to the special mark and then SSE down the channel to Urangan.With the breeze now from the SE, it was tack after tack down the narrow channel - we sailed 8nm for a distance of 3.5nm! It was not all boring though. We were "racing" Cygneture (a Bavaria 38) down the channel. Being less beamy, she could sail closer to the wind than us and as we criss-crossed down the channel, I eventually had to give way and pass astern of her. We also got to watch the local VMR attempt to pull Boomerang 7 off a sandbar in the area I decided to go around, so I felt somewhat vindicated in my decision to take the safe option. They were unsuccessful and the owner remained on board for a long and uncomfortable wait through the low tide until the next high.
After refueling, we went to our berth, cleaned up, and went for a walk (a scoot for the kids) to have a look around. We then showered and went to the the boat club for dinner - something we won't bother to do again if we drop in on the way back down.
Refuelled: 44.48L at 154.9c/L = $66.90
Economy since 11 Jul: 44.48L for 20 hr 04 min = 2.21L/hr
End Loc: Urangan Harbour, Hervey Bay (25o 17.59’ S, 152o 54.67’ E)
Distance run: 29nm (cumulative: 171nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 15 min (cumulative: 20 hr, 04 min)
Sunday 17 July 2011
16th July, 2011
Start Loc: South White Cliffs, Fraser Island (25o 31.21’ S, 152o 58.39’ E)
Narrative: It was a wet and dreary day, and we decided we couldn't be bothered moving. The kids risked going a bit stir crazy, so I took the dinghy and dropped them ashore. They played on the beach and then tried climbing the cliffs. They found a bit of a natural slide, so they proceeded to climb up and slide down. Naturally, they managed to get themselves pretty dirty. Heather was concerned they would slip and hurt themselves, but I pointed it it was the first time they had cooperated in a long time, so we let them be. I ran the engine for 30 mins to charge the batteries a bit, and probably just as importantly to give the kids some hot water, and then went and picked them up.
End Loc: South White Cliffs, Fraser Island (25o 31.21’ S, 152o 58.39’ E)
Distance run: 0 nm
Engine hours: 1 hr, 00 min
Narrative: It was a wet and dreary day, and we decided we couldn't be bothered moving. The kids risked going a bit stir crazy, so I took the dinghy and dropped them ashore. They played on the beach and then tried climbing the cliffs. They found a bit of a natural slide, so they proceeded to climb up and slide down. Naturally, they managed to get themselves pretty dirty. Heather was concerned they would slip and hurt themselves, but I pointed it it was the first time they had cooperated in a long time, so we let them be. I ran the engine for 30 mins to charge the batteries a bit, and probably just as importantly to give the kids some hot water, and then went and picked them up.
End Loc: South White Cliffs, Fraser Island (25o 31.21’ S, 152o 58.39’ E)
Distance run: 0 nm
Engine hours: 1 hr, 00 min
Saturday 16 July 2011
15th July, 2011
Start Loc: Garry’s Anchorage, Fraser Island (25o 37.84’ S, 152o 58.34’ E)
Narrative: It blew up a bit overnight and the wind brought some drizzle with it, but it was still a calm night. I got up at 2.47am just to make sure all was secure, and it was.
It was still wet this morning, so we had a lazy start to the day. Heather and I stayed in bed reading until 9:00am, Haydee read and was grumpy, Cameron tried fishing but got frustrated and grumpy! Heather suggested bacon and eggs for brunch, but we realised I forgot to buy bacon, so we were all grumpy. There was then a bit of art and craft/science with batteries, and Cameron made a battery powered boat, followed by Haydee making some friendship bracelets. There were no crabs in the pots, so I pulled them in to try again later.
I got tired of the grumpiness and decided we needed to move, so at 12:00pm we weighed anchor and carefully weaved our way up to South White Cliffs. It is probably the shallowest part of the Great Sandy Straits, and defying common sense I was doing it halfway through an outgoing tide, so I was pretty keen not to get stuck and be grumpy on a 30o lean for six or seven hours – which would also make it dark and against all common sense! We gently bumped the bottom once, but despite Heather’s doubts as to my abilities, we made it and dropped anchor at about 2:30pm. We anchored in 10m of water an hour before low tide, and it took 50m of chain and three goes to get the anchor to bite.
Heather served lunch at 3:45pm, after I got back from putting out the crab pots. It was really her brunch (seeing I didn’t buy bacon), and she was surprised that I suggested it was almost time for sundowners. All in all, a lazy day – with a bit of school work for good measure.
End Loc: South White Cliffs, Fraser Island (25o 31.21’ S, 152o 58.39’ E)
Distance run: 13 nm
Engine hours: 3 hr, 23 min
Narrative: It blew up a bit overnight and the wind brought some drizzle with it, but it was still a calm night. I got up at 2.47am just to make sure all was secure, and it was.
It was still wet this morning, so we had a lazy start to the day. Heather and I stayed in bed reading until 9:00am, Haydee read and was grumpy, Cameron tried fishing but got frustrated and grumpy! Heather suggested bacon and eggs for brunch, but we realised I forgot to buy bacon, so we were all grumpy. There was then a bit of art and craft/science with batteries, and Cameron made a battery powered boat, followed by Haydee making some friendship bracelets. There were no crabs in the pots, so I pulled them in to try again later.
I got tired of the grumpiness and decided we needed to move, so at 12:00pm we weighed anchor and carefully weaved our way up to South White Cliffs. It is probably the shallowest part of the Great Sandy Straits, and defying common sense I was doing it halfway through an outgoing tide, so I was pretty keen not to get stuck and be grumpy on a 30o lean for six or seven hours – which would also make it dark and against all common sense! We gently bumped the bottom once, but despite Heather’s doubts as to my abilities, we made it and dropped anchor at about 2:30pm. We anchored in 10m of water an hour before low tide, and it took 50m of chain and three goes to get the anchor to bite.
Heather served lunch at 3:45pm, after I got back from putting out the crab pots. It was really her brunch (seeing I didn’t buy bacon), and she was surprised that I suggested it was almost time for sundowners. All in all, a lazy day – with a bit of school work for good measure.
End Loc: South White Cliffs, Fraser Island (25o 31.21’ S, 152o 58.39’ E)
Distance run: 13 nm
Engine hours: 3 hr, 23 min
Friday 15 July 2011
14th July, 2011
Start Loc: Tin Can Bay Marina (25o 54.41’ S, 153o 00.42’ E)
Narrative: Yesterday was spent at Tin Can Bay Marina so I had shore power and access to parts while I installed the new toilet. I quickly discovered that the toilet had a self priming macerator meaning it doesn’t need the external water pump I have to pump sea water into the bowl. Unfortunately, the Sani-loo system I have isn’t set up for a self priming macerator. The new toilet ended up being installed in the forward head; so instead of the non-compliant (no macerator) manual toilet we didn’t use, we now have an electric macerator toilet in the forward head that we can use. Unfortunately, that means we are back to square one with the aft head.
We left Tin Can Bay at 10:00am in 1 kt of true wind, so it was again up to the diesel sail to get us to where we wanted to be. As we came abeam of Inskip Point, there was an awful clunking noise from the engine. We think bolts on the emergency high volume bilge pump came loose, allowing it to move and its drive belt to come off. As it moved, its hose pulled a rag (that I keep tucked away in the engine compartment for the daily oil check) into the main belt. With that cleaned up and the bolts tightened (and added to the weekly check list) - and rag and spare coolant relocated to a less convenient but safer location – we continued on our way.
As Garry’s Anchorage came into view, we were surprised at the number of vessels. We knew that this is a popular anchorage, but given it is winter, not school holidays and not a weekend, 17 boats was surprising. We had anchored by 2:30pm, had a quick chat with a couple off Welcome Swallow whom I had talked to at Scarborough before we headed off, and headed ashore to explore. Garry’s is nice enough, but I am sure we will see lots better over the coming months. We threw the crab pots in and Cam caught a few small fish to finish the day.
End Loc: Garry’s Anchorage, Fraser Island (25o 37.84’ S, 152o 58.34’ E)
Distance run: 22 nm
Engine hours: 3 hr, 27 min
Narrative: Yesterday was spent at Tin Can Bay Marina so I had shore power and access to parts while I installed the new toilet. I quickly discovered that the toilet had a self priming macerator meaning it doesn’t need the external water pump I have to pump sea water into the bowl. Unfortunately, the Sani-loo system I have isn’t set up for a self priming macerator. The new toilet ended up being installed in the forward head; so instead of the non-compliant (no macerator) manual toilet we didn’t use, we now have an electric macerator toilet in the forward head that we can use. Unfortunately, that means we are back to square one with the aft head.
We left Tin Can Bay at 10:00am in 1 kt of true wind, so it was again up to the diesel sail to get us to where we wanted to be. As we came abeam of Inskip Point, there was an awful clunking noise from the engine. We think bolts on the emergency high volume bilge pump came loose, allowing it to move and its drive belt to come off. As it moved, its hose pulled a rag (that I keep tucked away in the engine compartment for the daily oil check) into the main belt. With that cleaned up and the bolts tightened (and added to the weekly check list) - and rag and spare coolant relocated to a less convenient but safer location – we continued on our way.
As Garry’s Anchorage came into view, we were surprised at the number of vessels. We knew that this is a popular anchorage, but given it is winter, not school holidays and not a weekend, 17 boats was surprising. We had anchored by 2:30pm, had a quick chat with a couple off Welcome Swallow whom I had talked to at Scarborough before we headed off, and headed ashore to explore. Garry’s is nice enough, but I am sure we will see lots better over the coming months. We threw the crab pots in and Cam caught a few small fish to finish the day.
End Loc: Garry’s Anchorage, Fraser Island (25o 37.84’ S, 152o 58.34’ E)
Distance run: 22 nm
Engine hours: 3 hr, 27 min
Wednesday 13 July 2011
12th July, 2011
Start Loc: Laguna Bay, Noosa Heads (26o 22.79’ S, 153o 05.84’ E)
Narrative: Noosa is not renowned as a stopover for yachts travelling between Wide Bay and Moreton Bay. Probably because Mooloolaba has a Marina (the Mooloolah River has a deeper entrance than the Noosa River), and Noosa generally has a SE swell. We must have jagged it, because we had a nice calm night.
The aim for today was to get across the Wide Bay Bar. Sunset was at 5:12pm and the larger of the two high tides was at 6:29pm (at 2.0m), so the plan was to get across the bar at about 4:00pm – 4.5 hrs into the 7 hr flooding tide and before dark. We weighed anchor at 7:20am and headed off, expecting to motor sail all day, with the forecast being “variable winds at 5 to 10 kts”. By about 9:00am the wind had freshened to 13 kts and we turned off the motor. We were making good time, assisted by the 1.5-2.0 kt northerly current. About 13 nm S of Double Island Point, the wind dropped off to less than 5 kts and the motor was turned back on. We made good time, crossed a relatively flat bar at about 1:30pm, and headed S to Tin Can Bay to follow up the phone calls we had made to see if the Marina Chandlery could assist us with a new macerator.
Apparently I couldn’t just get a macerator; I had to get a whole new conversion kit That didn’t phase me as I was looking at replacing the cracked toilet base anyway, but it would take a day and a half to arrive. Then I realised they had complete toilets on special for just $11 more. Does anyone want a new toilet bowl?
End Loc: Tin Can Bay Marina (25o 54.41’ S, 153o 00.42’ E)
Distance run: 50 nm
Engine hours: 6 hr, 57 min
Narrative: Noosa is not renowned as a stopover for yachts travelling between Wide Bay and Moreton Bay. Probably because Mooloolaba has a Marina (the Mooloolah River has a deeper entrance than the Noosa River), and Noosa generally has a SE swell. We must have jagged it, because we had a nice calm night.
The aim for today was to get across the Wide Bay Bar. Sunset was at 5:12pm and the larger of the two high tides was at 6:29pm (at 2.0m), so the plan was to get across the bar at about 4:00pm – 4.5 hrs into the 7 hr flooding tide and before dark. We weighed anchor at 7:20am and headed off, expecting to motor sail all day, with the forecast being “variable winds at 5 to 10 kts”. By about 9:00am the wind had freshened to 13 kts and we turned off the motor. We were making good time, assisted by the 1.5-2.0 kt northerly current. About 13 nm S of Double Island Point, the wind dropped off to less than 5 kts and the motor was turned back on. We made good time, crossed a relatively flat bar at about 1:30pm, and headed S to Tin Can Bay to follow up the phone calls we had made to see if the Marina Chandlery could assist us with a new macerator.
Apparently I couldn’t just get a macerator; I had to get a whole new conversion kit That didn’t phase me as I was looking at replacing the cracked toilet base anyway, but it would take a day and a half to arrive. Then I realised they had complete toilets on special for just $11 more. Does anyone want a new toilet bowl?
End Loc: Tin Can Bay Marina (25o 54.41’ S, 153o 00.42’ E)
Distance run: 50 nm
Engine hours: 6 hr, 57 min
Tuesday 12 July 2011
11th July, 2011
Start Loc: Scarborough Marina (27o 11.65’ S, 153o 06.41’ E)
Narrative: While we planned to leave around midday on Sun 10th July, we decided we needed to hang around a little bit longer to ensure we stowed everything safely and that we had some essentials – like food! The plan for Sun was to go across to Bulwer on Moreton Island and then north to Noosa on Mon. Given we lost the head start afforded by going to Bulwer, we decided to get an early start this morning to make sure we were at Noosa by 4:00pm, so at 5:45am we finally started our trip and motored out of the marina.
Overall it was a good run. The winds were around 15kts until mid morning, then as it was looking safe to launch the spinnaker jumped up to 25kts. Pulling in the half snuffed MPS provided the excitement for the day – lesson learned. As we approached Noosa Heads, the wind rapidly dropped to ~2kts, so the engine brought us around the heads and we were anchored just before 3:00pm.
End Loc: Laguna Bay, Noosa Heads (26o 22.79’ S, 153o 05.84’ E)
Distance run: 57 nm (1 night hour)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 02 min
Narrative: While we planned to leave around midday on Sun 10th July, we decided we needed to hang around a little bit longer to ensure we stowed everything safely and that we had some essentials – like food! The plan for Sun was to go across to Bulwer on Moreton Island and then north to Noosa on Mon. Given we lost the head start afforded by going to Bulwer, we decided to get an early start this morning to make sure we were at Noosa by 4:00pm, so at 5:45am we finally started our trip and motored out of the marina.
Overall it was a good run. The winds were around 15kts until mid morning, then as it was looking safe to launch the spinnaker jumped up to 25kts. Pulling in the half snuffed MPS provided the excitement for the day – lesson learned. As we approached Noosa Heads, the wind rapidly dropped to ~2kts, so the engine brought us around the heads and we were anchored just before 3:00pm.
End Loc: Laguna Bay, Noosa Heads (26o 22.79’ S, 153o 05.84’ E)
Distance run: 57 nm (1 night hour)
Engine hours: 3 hr, 02 min
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