Start Loc: Upstart Bay (19o 43.68'S, 147o 45.37'E)
Narrative: We spent yesterday anchored in Upstart Bay. It was still blowing 25-30kts so we decided we would sit it out for another 24 hours, and remained quite comfortably where we were. The kids did a lot of school work and we generally relaxed. I put three lines in; my light boat rod with a prawn, my heavy rig with a gang-hooked squid, and a pilchard on the small sawn-off rod we use for trolling. At one stage yesterday afternoon, the reel on the sawn-off started running. I reeled another shark (about the same size as the last one) to the back of the boat, and then it snapped my 40lb steel trace and took off with the hook still in its mouth.
I got up at first light this morning (about 5:40am) to turn off the mooring light and put the baits back in the water. About an hour and a half later the heavy rig started running. I slowly increased the drag to slow down whatever it was, but didn't even get to starting to wind in before the 40lb trace again snapped. I changed to a 55lb line trace, but will need to get some heavier gear in Townsville!
We ran the engine yesterday for 38 minutes for hot water and to put some charge in the batteries. It has been overcast so the solar panels are not producing as much power as we are using.
We raised the anchor at 9:17am this morning and a couple of minutes later motored out of Upstart Bay to where the wind was, then set a course for Cape Bowling Green (about 35nm NW). The wind was E at 20kts and seas were about 2.5m. Our compass heading of 325 degrees had us sailing on a broad reach at about 5.5kts boat speed, with two reefs in the main and the head sail reduced to 100%. Leeway and tide meant we made good a course of 319 degrees magnetic and a speed over ground of about 6.5kts. The waves over our starboard quarter meant that we rolled a bit, but it was not an uncomfortable trip. We gave Cape Bowling Green a wide berth as we rounded the cape, then sailed south until clear of the sandbanks, before dropping sail and motoring SE to towards the bottom of Bowling Green Bay.
Cape Bowling Green is unique along this part of the coast in that it is low land built on sand, as opposed to a tall rocky headland. That meant there was not much protection from the wind so we were still getting 1m seas. It is also a shallow bay, and accounting for the tidal range we would have to anchor literally miles off shore. As we motored in just before 4:00pm, Heather called a quick family conference and it was decided we would continue the 25nm or so to Cape Cleveland. We would then decide if we would anchor in the lee of the cape or continue the 10nm into Townsville. So we raised sail again and sailed on a heading of 300 degrees for Cape Cleveland.
The winds were ESE, generally around 20kts, with seas of 2.5m. We again had two reefs in the main, but less than 100% head sail. With the wind and waves off our starboard quarter we generally made 6.5kts over ground. The sun set at 18:15pm and nautical twilight was just after 7:00pm, so it was dark as we approached Cape Cleveland. We sailed into the red sector of the Cape Cleveland light and passed between Salamander Reef and Four Foot Rock (half a mile either side of us, although we couldn't see either). When we were safely in the white sector of the light again, we altered course and sailed around the cape just before 8:30pm.
We decided to head into Townsville, so sailed under full head sail (no main) towards the light at the top of Castle Hill. With seas now only about 1m it was a pleasant sail under a mostly starry sky, but some lightning in the clouds over Magnetic Island. There was not much traffic in the shipping channel (mainly the Magnetic Island ferries) and we crossed it close in to the port. We rounded the end of the offshore breakwater and anchored just inside at 10:20pm. It is shallow and with the early morning low tide there will be just centimetres under the keel. The same low tide on Monday is 20cm less, but we can find a better spot tomorrow morning; after a good sleep.
End Loc: Townsville (19o 14.52'S, 146o 49.66'E)
Distance run: 79nm (cumulative: 1331nm)
Engine hours: 1 hr, 26 min (cumulative: 162 hr 01 min)